The Sun.
London, England, 1869-12-14 00:00:00

THE WELSH FASTING GIRL.

The watching of the Welsh fasting girl by four profes-
sional nurses from Guy's Hospital, London, commenced on
Thursday afternoon. The local committee met at the
house of the girl's parents at Llanfihangel-ar-Arth, and,
in addition to the nurses, the following gentlemen wero
present :—Mr. T. Lewis, M.D., Carmarthen ;Mr
Corseillis, ➢I.D., Llandyssul ; Mr. H. H. Davis, M.R.C.S.,
of the same place ; Mr. G. J. Herder, M.D., superintendent
of the Joint Counties Asylum, Carmarthen ; Mr. D. G.
[lowlands, M.R.C.S., ditto; the Rev. E. Jones, B.D. (vicar
of the parish) ; Mr. W. Thomas, M.A., and Mr. J. Griffiths
(" Cohebycld"). Tho room underwent a very minute
examination. The bed was removed and thoroughly ex-
mined. A clothes cupboard and a number of drawers
were emptied, and the keys handed to the superintendent
nurse. Everything in the room was subjected to the
closest scrutiny, and the examiners went so far as to tear
some loose paper off the walls. The girl's bedwas made by
the head nurse, and the girl placed into it. The girl, who,
on being taken from her bed for the purpose of its being
examined, appeared to become unconscious, now reco-
vered consciousness. The gentlemen named above signed
a certificate that they had searched the room, and
found no traces of food anywhere. The medical gentle-
men also examined the girl, and reported as follows:
"Cheerful face, flushed ; eyes brilliant ; pulse regular,
averaging 8G per minute; temperature in the mouth.
93 degrees, after two minutes' rest. She has a warm-
water bottle at her feet. Seems quite well, and says she
has no pain anywhere, except when touched."

THE MISFORTUNE OF BEING AN llEntEss.--Mr.
Galton, F.R.S., in his remarkable volume of statistics, col-
lected in order to shew that ability goes by descent, makes
the startling discovery that intermarriage with heiresses is
a notable agent in the extinction of families ! An exhaus-
tive search among records of extant and extinct peerages
shows that one-fifth of the heiresses have no male chil-
dren at all ; a full third have not more than one child;
three-fifths have not more than two. It has been the
salvation of many families, says Mr. Galton, that the
husband outlived the heiress whom he first married, and
was able to leave issue by a second wife.
TIIE VENTILATION OF TUE LAW COURTS—.It is
stated that the death of the late Mr. Justice Hayes was
accelerated by the foul air of the court over which he pre-
sided. Whether this bo true or not, there can be little
doubt that the atmosphere of the law courts is very far
from being as pure as could be desired; and there are few
more puzzling questions awaiting solution than that
involved in the proper ventilation of a building of limited
dimensions, which is open to all corners and is gene-
rally crowded by that class of humanity least remark-
able for cleanliness. It is a well-known fact
that the dirtier a man is the greater the interest he
appears to take in watching the administration of
justice, which, if tempered with mercy, would certainly
accommodate him with a shower bath before he left its
halls. Perhaps of all dirty audiences the dirtiest may be
found in the police-courts of London, standing packed
together, a steaming mass in a small compass, listening
with delighted attention to the dreary details of the
drunken quarrels of their friends, which form the subject
of investigation by the worthy magistrate. Yet in many
of the police courts the difficulties of ventilation have, we
believe, been successfully contended with. It is almost
time that steps should be taken to purify the atmosphere
of the law courts, which is at all times pestilential enough
to satisfy even the miasmatic cravings of a St. Pancras
guardian.—Pall Mall Gazette.

THE EMPRESS AND THE CAMEL.—The most
amusing of tho Ptes which were given on the occasion of
the opening of the Suez Canal took place at Ismailia, and
in order that the Empress of the French might see them
with advantage, it was arranged that she should ride
throughout the lines of tents on a camel. The first time
of mounting a camel by a European is generally the occa-
sion of amusement to bystanders, as the sudden elevation
of the hind quarters when the animal is commanded to
rise usually throws the would-be rider over the camel's
head. Where dignity has to be regarded, instructions are
usually given as to how the balance can be maintained.
The Empress seated herself on the back of the huge camel
provided for her, and orders were given the animal to rise,

but the attendants omitted to explain the nature of tLe
case to the keepers, and her Majesty was leaning forward in
the timid manner usual to new riders. A catastrophe was
imminent; but a tall Italian, who rode up at
the moment upon a donkey scarcely high
enough to keep his feet from the ground,
perceived the danger, and exclaimed, " Madam, unless you
throw yourself Lack you will be pitched forward over the
camel's head." The Empress instantly obeyed the injunc-
tion, and rose successfully as the camel ascended. She
turned immediately towards the shrewd Italian and his
donkey, and said, with much empressement, "Monsieur, I
thank you." The Italian remarked that as the Emperor
had saved Italy, it was fitting that he should save the
Empress, who, but for his timely exclamation, would cer-
tainly have suffered the ignominious fate of making an
unexpected summersault, and finding herself under the
;&4191 1.41114•