The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-16 00:00:00

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CULTIVATION of TUSSAC GRASS.
At the last monthly meeting of the Highland and Agri-
cultural Society of Scotland, in Edinburgh, Dr. Balfour
read a communication 'rat Tussac Grass, 'sentto the so-
ciety by Colonel Moody, the commanding officer of the
Riyal Engineers in Scotlard, and father of Captain
Moody, Governor of the Falkland Islands, to whose
exertions the public are indebted for the introduction of
that grass from which so much is expected. Colonel
Moody referred, to the notice of the Tussac by Bougain-
ville, who was the first to discover its nutritious pro-
perties, but who did not, so far as he is known, attempt
to introduce it into the agriculture of France. It was
afterwards described by Cook, under the name of sword
grass, and must have been known to Sir Joseph
Bunks, who accompanied the circumnavigator. It was
again noticed by Captain Henry Foster, in the narra-
atinvde onf
3hoi
aysoyt
ha
eg edtaoc
ft,hdeis Southerna :re aTn inusa a
nlBG2Br,a
sl
aB,2a9s,
-it was afterwards designated by Dr. Hooker, who ac-
companied the expedition under Sir James Ros
Ross. Since
that period, Captain Moody has been unremitting in his
exertions to bring the subject under the notice of the
public, and has repeatedly sent home parcels of the seed
fer trial. Colonel Moody's communication mentioned
the success with which some of that seed had been tried
in deep moss contiguous to the sea, in tine island of
Lewis, and referred to certain experiments, the re-
sult of which was, that cattle in this county eat
Tussac with avidity, and prefer it to native grasses,
and that in nutritive matter the Tussac is superior
t o
Dr. the Fescue
a s,
particularly
rmentioned
s,teu theed thattproportionhis
grass
in
washe Dublin B
of aboutt six to four
thriving
well
ino
tanical Garden ; at Barochan Castle, in Renfrewshire ;
in Mr. Lawson's nursery grounds ; and in the Orkney
Islands. Mr. Trail!, of Viera had the merit of intro-
ducing it into the last.locality ; having failed in rais-
ing the plant from seed, he procured some small
specimens from the nur: ery, n hich were planted in
the island of Rousay, in peaty soil, under the imrne •
diate influence of the sea ; they tripled their size in
July and August, and their growth during that period
was equal to aix months' progress in the nursery.
Dr. Neill said, that from his own experience, he could
confirm the fact mentioned
,by Mr. Moore, of the Glas-
nevin Botanic Garden, that where Tussac plants are
scarce, they may readily be multiplied by dividing the
tufted roots. In the end of July last he directed his gar-
dener to Llivide two plants, being average specimens of a
number raised from seed sown in March, 1844.• Each
plant afforded about fifteen offsets. The offsets of the
one were placed in good garden mould, and hive suc-
ceeded well, promising to make fine tufts against next
season. The offsets of the other plants were dibbed into
the worst soil which th.e garden afforde4l; a coarse ferru-
ginous sand, and in this they have not flourished.-
The Chairman said, that the thanks of the society,
and of the public at large, was due to Captain Moody, the
Governor of the Falkland Islands, for the efforts made by
him to introduce the Tussac grass into' Great Britain,
and that it would be gratifying to him to learn that its
culture was now exciting so much interest in the agricul-
tural world.

A MODERN ROMANCE OF THE

CONFESSIONAL.
A tale which would have served very well as a re-
miniscence of every day doings in " the good old Ca-
tholic times" of the 13th or 14th century, but which
sounds very strangely in modern ears, has been told to
us with corroborative proofs, which leave us in very little
doubt as to the accuracy of the whole of the following
details, so far as the transactions rarrated as having oc-
curred in Worcester are concerned. It is said that a
few weeks ago a lady of respectable appearance en-
tered one of the numerous Protestant places of
worship with which our city is happily so ornate,
and her attention appeared to be rivetted with somewhat
of wonder on the service as it proceeded. On re-
tiring, She remarked to a lady who happened to
emerge from the door the same moment with herself,
that the prayers which she had just heard were very
beautiful, and only wished that the persons who had
been engaged in offering them at the footstool of the
Deity were in " the true church." Struck with the sin-
gularity of the remark, the person addressed observed
her companion with careful attention. The mark of
care and sorrow was on her brow, and she was evidently
much depressed in spirits. Being confirmed in her sur-
mises that she was a Catholic, she replied that perhaps
the prayer offerers were in the true church, and it would
be well if she would make some investigation- upon
fee matter ,for herself. The conversation ended in
the lady being earnestly invited to come to the place
of worship again, and hear more of the doctrines
preached there, in order that she might judge whether
they were in accordance with the tenets of Scripture or
not. Once and again the lady was observed to attend
and take increasing interest in the services performed
there. At last she waited upon the minister, and, appa-
rently, its the greatest anguish of her mind, told him the
story of her life. She had, she said, been married to a,
respectable person in -, and for some time lived
happily with him. He, however, was a Pro-
testant, and she was a Catholic, and, as all
true believers in the directions of the infallible
church are supposed to do, she had been a regular at-
tendant at the confessional Here, however, a guilty
passion was fostered in the breasts of both the con-
fessor and the confessed, which neither the celibate
vows of the one nor the marriage vows of the other
could restrain. In an hour of weakness and sin, won
by his blandishments and seduced by his artifices, she
consented to leave her husband and her home to be-
come the adulterous companion of one who, by the
vows of his religion and his office, was bound to per-
petual chastity. She had now lived with him for some
considerable time, but latterly her slumbering conscience
had been awakened, and its reproaches had rendered
her truly miserable and wretched. In this state of
mind it was that she had strayed into the place of wor-
ship alluded to, and what she had hear.] there had added
so much to her misery and pain, leading Ler to see and
feel on the borders of distraction, and she could bear it
no longer. She could net, she dared not continue to
live the life of sin which she felt she had been hitherto
spending, and the doctrines she had heard from the
minister's lips encouraged her to hope that if she forsook
r.wickedness and turned from her evil ways she might
even yet have mercy at the hands of Him who had an-
nounced himself as the God of Love. She expressed her
firm determination to continue apart from her seducer,
and in a most impassioned manner called upon the
minister to lend her his advice and assistance. Her 'story
was sifted, and its truth as far as possible ascertained.
Her husband was written to, but as he refused to receive
again the faithless consort who had injured him, she was
placed for
_protection in the house of a lady well known
for her piety and works of usefulnesss. Her flight,
doubtless, caused no little consternation, and two or
three days sufficed to trace her to her place of refuge.
Every means were adopted to induce her to return, but
she remained firm to her purpose, and, as she was much
annoyed by the watch kept upon her movements, she
was tracked, with an evident determination to procure
possession of her person, in order, possibly, that the only
scene of her sorrow and expiation might be some seclu-
sion beyond which the tale of scandal can never pass.
Again she shifted her place of concealment, and whether

last has been dis Covered or not we do not know.—
Worcester Herald.

TEM FROST.—The thermometer during the night
of Monday stood, at the Royal Humane Society's Re-
ceiving House, Hyde Park, at 19, being 13 degrees
below freezing point. This caused the ice to attain far
greater solidity than on the preceding day. During
yesterday the sliders and skaters upon the various orna-
mental waters in the several parks were very numerous.
We arc happy to say that, owing to the precautions
taken by the society, not a single accident occurred.
Detention of Mails—ln consequence of the bad state of
the roads and the weather a great number of mails were
overdue yesterday morning, particularly on the north
road. The Edinburgh mail of Saturday arrived nearly
forty-eight hours after its proper date, leaving three still
due; in fact, nothing beyond Carlisle has reached town
later dated than Saturday. The whole of the bags due
from the north is fifty-one, end ten by the mail from
Swansea due on Monday. In the north the delay arose
from a heavy fall of snow. The Dutch mail, due on
Sunday, had not arrived yesterday, and the Ilamburgh
mail of Monday is also overdue.
ST. PANCRAS BOARD OF GUARDlANS.—Yesterday
the weekly meeting of the board of guardians and direc-
tors of the parish of St. Pancras took placo in the board-
room in the workhouse, in King's-road, Agar-town, and
was very fully attended. Mr. Wagstaff, junior church-
warden, was in the chair. After the discussion of some
routine business, Mr. M‘Gahey, clerk to the board, read
a letter from the Poor-law Commissioners, in which
they desired to be furnished wifh certain returns of the
parochial expenditure of St. l?ancras. On some members
objecting to its being furnished, Mr. Prendergast said
that it would not do to play " fast and bose" with the
Commissioners, for by their concessions to the Poor-law
Commissioners on former occasions they bad, is his
opinion, committed themselves, and formed a precedent.
Still he would advise the board of guardians to obtain
the best legal advice as to their power to refuse the re-
quest of the Commissioners, and should the legal opinion
be favourable to the directors to resist the Commis-
sioners to the utmost. Mr. Morris said he would only
furnish the Commissioners with such information S 3
they were legally entitled to. Mr. Bermingham and
Mr. Crouch thought that the Commissioners by this
request had no sinister intention of extending their
authority, but Merely sought for such statistic Informa-
tion as the Legislature required. The following resolu-
tion was then proposed and carried, viz. :—" That the
returns be made in the usual way." After the usual
business the board separated.
A PREMATURE INTERMENT.—Another instance of
the danger of precipitate interment has just taken
place at Lampe, a commune near Bordeaux. The
wire of a rich farmer, after a short illness, appeared
to have expired. The usnal visit of the physician
to verify the decease took place, and The funeral
was proceeded with in the ordinary manner. Two
or three hours after, the sacristan, in passing near
the grave, heard a noise which resembled stifled groans.
He hastened to give the alarm, and the coffin was taken
up. The unforttivate woman was found to be warm, and
gave unequivocal signs of lite. It was proposed to
take her at once to the village, and employ the ordinary
means of resuscitation ; but, through a barbarous pre-
judice of the place, not a person would consent to open
his door, through the idea that a buried person always
brought misfortune on the occupants of any house into
which he or she entered. The poor woman was in con•
sequence, placed on the board of a wine-press, and there
administered to. It would seem that naturewas,after
worn
out by the lengthened confinement in the coffin, as,
a short time, death really supervened.
The remains of Lieutenant- General Richard Col-
eton Dickinson, late Colonel-Commandant of the 2d
Battalion of Royal Artillery, were yesterday consigned
to their final renting-place, iu the ataeombs at Hensel-
green Cemetery. The funeral was strictly privatte,Aono
but the General's family being present. - •

,K