The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-26 00:00:00

COURT CIRCULAR.

WINDSOR, DEC. 25.
Lieutenant-General Sir Colin Campbell arrived yes-
terday afternoon and had the honour of dining with her
Majesty in the evening.
The Queen and Prince, the Prince of Wales, the
Princess Royal, the Princesses Alice and Helena, the
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court and the Domestic
Household, attended divine service this morning in the
private chapel of the Castle. The Prince of Leiningen
was also at the service.

The Hon. and Very Rev. the Dean of Windsor per.
formed the service and administered the Holy Sacrament,
Sir Colin Campbell left the Castle for Landon,

CHRISTMAS GIFTS.—Mr. Smith, the lessee of Drury-
lane Theatre, according to his annual custom for several
years past, distributed yesterday his gift to the poor and
aeoessitoua of the neighbourhood. Tickets were given
out to 300 poor recipients, for which they received a piece
of beef and a four pound loaf.
SUDDEN DEATH OF MR. HUGH MILLER.—On Wed.
nesday forenoon the people of Edinburgh were startled
by a rumour of the sudden death of Mr. Hugh Miller,
the well-known writer on geology and the editor of the
Witness newspaper. Mr. Miller had been found lying
dead on the floor of his bedroom, shot through the head
with a pistol bullet. That he died by his own hand there
seems to be no doubt, but the circumstances under which
the melancholy event happened do not lead to the sup-
position that his death was an act of intentional suicide.
For some time past Mr. Miller had been in a somewhat
indifferent state of health, brought on, we believe, by
over-study in the preparation of a new work on geology.
He suffered considerably from nervous excitement, and,
though at all times a man of eccentric manners, an un-
usual strangeness was remarked by his acquaintances.
The evening before his death he was to have delivered a
lecture en the " Mosaic Creation" to an audience at
Portobello, a bathing place in the neighbourhood of
Edinburgh, where he resided. He had prepared the
lecture, but the state of his health prevented his deliver.
ing it, and it was read in his absence by a friend. In
the course of the day Mr. Miller saw his medical ad-
viser, to whom he complained of headache, brought on
by the want of refreshing sleep. Following the direc-
tions he had received, he took a warm bath and retired
to rest at an early hour. He bad for some time been in
the habit of keeping a loaded revolver in his bedroom,
having, it is said, a strong apprehension of danger from
housebreakers, for which, in reality, there was some
reason, as an attempt was made not very long ago t.,
break into his valuable museum. No explosion was
heard by the servants during the night, and it was not
till the morning that the body was found lying near the
bath-room. These circumstances seem to prove that the
melancholy event was purely accidental, while the state
of Mr. Miller's mind as wed as his general character and
position preclude the idea of premeditated or intentional
self-destruction.
AN AUSTRALIAN CELEBRITY.-111r. William Nichol.
son, a native of Cumberland, emigrated some fifteen
years ago to Victoria, and became a resident of Mel-
bourne. "Old colonists (says the Melbourne Argus)
will recollect Mr. Nicholson, the owner of a small shop
in Little Collins-street, carrying on a limited business,
with a stock probably worth a couple of hundred
pounds. Little by little things improved around him,
and people seemed to think him a thriving and
rising young man. In a year or two he shifted to
more extensive premises in our principal thorough.
fare, extended his business, gradually attaining land and
houses, ships and shares, large stone stores and bonded
warehouses, till now, when he is able to retire from ac-
tive superintendence of business a very wealthy man in-
deed. Between Mr. Nicholson and those by whom he
was surrounded there was this great difference, that,
whilst most of them contented themselves with an increase
of their wealth, and left public affairs to take care of
themselves, Mr. Nicholson never held his hand when there
twr
esus workpai
et os t bd a
ke
inogn et, and r
adee
lsuccessfullyanwith blended ended the id
patriot
and neu:a,--
lightened citizen." Mr. Nicholson was chairman of the
A
his
n adoptedt i- T r ans po rta
countryti o nLag
in etheut e,and
capacity.
renderedn tghoeo dservi ce
mercantileto
w nas the i
n chairmanelhee
reef
e. one
On of the
leaodrugld behthe
aonation of the municipal institutions in that city, Mr.
Nicholas," 'became a city councillor and afterwards alder-
man, wello
and tilled the ardnous post of mayor in 1851, when
the gold fields were first discovered, having been elected
man, establishments kno
ny the South Bourke county a member of the Legislative
Council. He was one of the committee of that body who
prepared the Constitution for the colony of Victoria, sub-
equently adopted and confirmed by the Crown and Par-
liament of England. Pursuant to that Constitution, the
Legislative Council, prior to its dissolution, had to frame
an electoral law for the colony. Mr. Nicholson, fore.
seeing the necessary rise of bad influences at elections
under open voting, proposed that vote by ballot should
form part of this law, and against the strenuous opposi-
tion •f the Ministry secured the adoption of secret
voting. In fact, the anti-ballot Ministry resigned office,
and Mr. Nicholaan was sent for and charged with the
formation of a ministry. Commercial engagements,
made prior to this date, rendered it necessary for him
to visit this country, and prevented the formation of a
[ Nicholson Cabinet.

THE BANK Novc—Comparing a note of the present
time with a note two or three years old, it will be seen
that the general tone of the design is the same ; the
Britannia is a little more artistic, but the letters,
figures, and flourishes present the same family
likeness. In this matter the bank directors have re-
mained immovable. Yet there are not wanting
many experienced men who insist strongly on the ad-
vantages of a more ornate de-ign. Mr. Henry Bradbury,
in a paper recently read before the Royal Institution,
contends that the vignette ought to be more sedu-
lously attended to.. --Mr. Bradbury advocates the
rubination of high artistic excellence in the vignette,
with elaborate guilloche or rose-argive work in other
parts of the design ; he also considers roller-printing to
present many advantages over surface-printing for bank
notes ; and an art manufacturer who has produced such
beautiful results as the nature printed plates of ferns
and weeds deserves to be heard on these points. It
must, however, be observed that forgers have hitherto
imitated the most elaborate engraving sufficiently
well to deceive the public. The parti-coloured notes
invented by Sir William Congreve, and the intricate
beauties of Messrs. Perkins' and HeaA's notes, have
been successfully simulated ; because, 99 recipients of
bank-notes out of 100 not being judges of artistic effect,
and having no discrimination whatever for the different
styles of different artists, are thoroughly deceived by
the same general appearance in a forged note that they
have been familiar with in a real note, and take even
imperfect imitations of it quite as readily. Long fami-
liarity with one form of inscription and one style of or-
nament is the best preventive against forgery. We,
therefore, incline to the view of the Bank director, that
it is change of style and manner which is more to be
dreaded than mediocrity of execution.—Dickens's
hold Words..