The Sun.
London, England, 1869-05-01 00:00:00

SWIMMING AND SAILORS.

The Daily Telegraph calls attention to the report til3t
two sailors were drowned on Wednesday in Plyin°llt
Sound, while a third saved himself by clinging to an elloPtvil
!
keg. He could nut swim, and, though it is not stated 'l3
the account, in all probability the other sailors were, Ill':
nearly all their class, deficient in that art. It is a 10°,5.
extraordinary thing (says the Telegraph) that, familiar
sailors are with the sea, they rarely know how t;
swim. Does familiarity Lreed contempt for nautiel°
perils ? or what other odd cause can there be for a defee
" most strange and most unnatural," when we consider th:
circumstances and the casualties of their life ? 1 13°„
this little question in itielf worthy the attention of v`'
economical Admiralty ? Is it not wise to econon3ise
human life ? Hardly a month passes but, in s°l:
quarter of the globe, able-bodied seamen lose their livei;
while bathing or by the upsetting of a bOat. A sill;
regulation—two or three hours' practice in the wee',
would enable every sailor in the fleet to swim ;
once- that was learned, the new drill would become-
healthy and refreshing pastime. There is son:let/dim
absurd as well as pathetic in the fact that a fine, 11,3°,11
fellow, ever so many inches across the chest, stroa;
Hercules, and lithe as a leopard, should lose his
within a few yards of a boat, simply fur want of tbi'a
knack of keeping afloat in the water which boys of 10
scores of young women sometimes learn in a few WI.
Why, also, should not swimming be made part of aB°
dier's drill? The benefit is not so obvious in their CS
but all such things tell in war ; and the practice ViUti.if
afford an additional occupation for wearisome barrger
hours.

It is stated that a marriage has been arranged b 6:
tween Lord Lyttelton and Mrs. Mildtnay, widow of the
member, for Herefordshire.
The Cork Herald learns that t‘ great preparatiol):
have been made by the Corporation of New York co 0,0
Warren and Costello a splendid reception on their
the Empire City."
The Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, s'ill°6
was absent last week from his judicial duties in consequence
of illness, was on Friday unable to take his seat upon t"
Bench from the same cause.

LONDON OVER THE WATER.—It was state,. the
other day, by a member of the Lambeth vestry, that h"
t,
sanitary condition of one portion of the parish in t;s
neighbourhood of the vestry-hall was so bad that a brewers
drayman had refused to deliver beer there because h
would not face the stench.
A Co-operative Congress is to be held at the Socil
of Arts on the 31st inst. Mr. Hughes, M.P., Mr. Mundell;
M.P., and Mr. Morrison, M.P., are the promoters of it' eti
variety of topics will be discussed, among them the caul
which have led to the failure of co-operative storA;to
or
proper working of partnerships of industry; and the APO

tion to agriculture.
of
The proposed Select Committee of the House,te 0
Commons on the peerages of Scotland and Ireland Orisi
of the Lord Privy Seal, Duke of Somerset., Duke of Vici.ll;
mond, Marquis of Batb, Earl of Doncaster, Earl of
v
Earl of Portarlington, Earl Grey, Viscount Eversley, f-a
Elphinstone, Lord Redesdale, Lord Silehester, and

Monck. d
'The Brussels correspondent of the Evening Stan(4_,Joi
"
telegraphs as follows :—" The magistrates intrusted 7.0
the prosecution of the leaders in the recent disturbance°-6'
the coal districts of Belgium, have received evidence that
strikes which led to those troubles had a revolutionary ‘i
not an economical tendenc3t
The summonses against Messrs. Stuart Labe,
Chapman, and ilelbert, the directors of the Aferchon:.
company, who were charged with having issued a The
prospectus, were on Friday dismissed by the Lord Mayor. L 4
defendants (said his lordship) were morally guilty, but
kept within the law.

REJEUTION AND DEJECTION. Bitter laraelltil;
Lions already reach us from various quarters, brancb2
from Burlington House. We bear of established art' ;
whose works have been wholly rejected, their art ficii
meeting the views of the hangers. Surely, however,
is scarcely the right thing. If an artist has attained
;
certain position, and is pursuing creditably his profesB.°oo
it seems hardly fair to cut him short for the year, hecli,ilit
one of the hangers says this is not the sort of art t'e,
ought to be encouraged. However, we hope the sti't
ments made to us may have been overdrawn.—Buildtcs
The will of Mr. Charles Bell, M.P. for
City of London, was proved under £300,000 persono
The testator was formerly residing in St. Petersburg, fr-i 1
was in partnership with Messrs. Thomson, Bonar,
Co., of that city, and of Old Broad-street, London- tiero
had latterly resided at Terrace House, Richmond, v;'-oil
he died, on February 9 last, in his 65th year, froo3;bo
attack of bronchitis, accompanied by enlargement of 'oo'
heart. His will bears date Sept. 19, 1.867. The (ii°'
sitions are confined to the members of his family. 1.°,1111
three sisters he has left veryconsiderable annuities ; t°e-cp,
~f his executors, Robert Gladstone and Henry P. °,1:00
Le leaves £500; and has directed that a sum not less "":.
250,000 may remain in the partnership business in
he was engaged.—lllustrated London News.
ROSSINI AND THE DRUM-HATER.—It eanno.
said that Rossini's overture to " La Gazza Ladra
applauded without a single dissentient voice. One Y°l.lllo,
man in the pit—a student of music, and a pupil of 11°.10110
the leader of the orchestra—went almost into convnlsl
on hearing the drums, and wished to take suol°o
vengeance on the composer who had velitnrejuo,
introduce such instruments into an operatic orebesi-or
The youthful conservative, with all the °.`"tiyi
of .an Italian revolutionist, swore that he
have Rossini's blood, and went about witlitiji,
stilletto in the hope of meeting him. The master of Qt
vehement orchestral purist warned Rossini that be I of
mischief ; but Rossini was so much amused at the ide:110-6
anyone wishing to assassinate him because in an overt, of
of a military character he had introduced a COul;10
drums, that he got Rolla to bring him and the young 00
together. Then, in a humble tone, he set forth his pea
for introducing the instruments which had so irritated cog
student's susceptible ears, and ended by prom eater
to offend in a similar manner again. For which, or
reasons, Rossini never afterwards began an overture,
a duet fQr drums.--Life of Rossini. by Sutherland