The Sun.
London, England, 1869-03-29 00:00:00

TILE QUBEN AND MR. CARLYLE.

The London correspondent of the Dumfries Standard says!
m With reference to a paragraph which has been going the
round of the papers as to the Queen's mentioning to Thomas
Carlyle that she was thinking of visiting Dumfriesshire, lain
in a position to state that no such intention was expressed.
The Queen and Mr. Carlyle bad a good deal of conversation
as to the district of which our distinguished countryman is
a native ; and her Majesty made a reference at considerable
length to her fondness of Burns, and the increased enjoy-
ment which must be derived in perusing his poems from an
acquaintance with the local surroundings. Her Majesty also
alluded with some force of wcrds to the bad taste and folly
of the attack made upon the memory of the poet by the
Rev. Fergus Ferguson. Mr. Carlyle told the Queen that the
land of Burns was to the full as well worth seeing, and as
rich in historical memories as was the land of Scott, which
the Queen visited last year; and he did make the sugges-
tion that, as the Queen had been at ono ducal residence--
Floors—there was another in Dumfriesshire—Drunilanrig
—which was well worthy of being honoured by the Royal.
presence. Tho reply of the Queen made to this very broad
hint was a smile and a shako of the head. T understand,
however, that the Duko of Euceleuch, is not going, if he
can help it, to allow Mr. Carlylc's suggestion to full
barren."

THE PRINCE AND THE PRINCESS OF

WALES IN EGYPT.

A correspondent of the Daily Nems, writing from Cairo,
by date March 38, says :—" The Prince and the Princess
of Wales reached Minieh somewhat earlier than was anti-
cipated. They took train there at nine o'clock on Tuesday
morning, and arrived at the station of Gizeh, opposite
`Old Cairo,' shortly after three in the afternoon. They
were met by the Viceroy's son, Taufick Pacha, some of
the Ministers, and the principal members of the Consu-
late. There was no ceremony, but hearty greetings and
glowing accounts given and eagerly listened to of the
travels up the river. The Prince, in light-coloured tra•
yelling dress and an Indian puggaree round his pith
helmet, looked the very picture of health; so likewise did
the Princess as she stood underneath her sunshade, talking
gaily with the young Egyptian Paella. The Prince
•)f Wales related his shooting adventures, and hoW
between the two cataracts he had shot a crocodile.
He seemed proud of his exploit, and so he may be, for
:rocodiles are tough-skinned, and it requires a very
unerring aim to make the wound a mortal one. The sacred
animal—symbolical of the Nile, or abundance and -luck--
was stuffed on the spot, and is to be taken in triumph to
England, where, maybe, the Prince will have him nailed
as people do in this country—aloft of his door at Marl-
borough House. When at Thebes the Prince of Wales
was informed of the existence of a tomb not yet come to
light. Excavations were commenced, and under the
superintendence of Colonel Stanton, who returned from
Assouan while the Prince and Princess proceeded to the
Second Cataract, a sarcophagus of red granite, in the form
of an Osiride figure, covered with hieroglyphics and
cartouches—the feet partly broken—was found. It is
buried at a depth of some 60 to 80 feet, at a distance of
30 to 40 feet from the face of the mountain. The
tomb will be carefully removed, and proper engineer•
ing appliances have been sent thither for that purpose.
But the sarcophagus is many miles away from Gizeh. At
the station chars-it-banes, drawn by two pairs of percherot
horses, ridden by French postillions, with pipers, or out'
riders, ahead, all in faultless boots and leathers, jackets,
and glazed hats—perfect imitations of the Emperor's mode
of conveyance at Fontainebleau and St. Cloud—are stand'
ing in readiness. The Prince and Princess, with their
suite, got into their chars, and instead of crossing the Nile
to their palace, and recrossing it in order to visit the
Pyramids of Gizeh, they adopt the better plan, and drive
there at once. The Prince and most of his suite climbed
the first pyramid, and dined afterwards in the
pavilion I have alluded to in one of my former letters.
Yesterday the Prince visited the Citadel Mosque, and tcfr
day he intends seeing some of the others. The view, on a
bright sunny day, from the heights of the citadel of the
densely-populated city, with its maze of streets, myriads
of houses, and domes and minarets of mosques, is glorious,
and the Prince appreciated it thoroughly. Towards the
cool of the evening the Prince rode on horseback, and the,
Princess drove out with Mrs. Gray in a carriage and
four. Their Royal Highnesses went to the Circus in the,
evening, and appeared in high spirits the whole 01
the time, much amused at the performance, where
they remained until midnight, when it was over,
This afternoon the Viceroy is expected back foul
his excursion through the Isthmus. He had never been
there, and his visit is quite an event in the annals of the
company. The Prince and Princess start on Monday'
and intend visiting the whole of the canal. To-W°rovi
night the Viceroy gives them a grand banquet, and on
Saturday there are to be theatricals in their honour in one
of the palaces. The fele cliampetre has been fixed for
Saturday, and so have the races. The weather is begin'
ping to be decidedly hot, and the Prince and the Princess
will embark in the nick of time to escape the many desagit
inens heat entails. They have been travelling in tb"'
country under very favourable circumstances—and were
able to lay aside the baguette of royalty—the Princess, for
a charming abandon, which will ever be recalled by the
gentlemen of her party; and the Prince, for the laisser
aller of any ordinary Nile traveller.

A telegram from Philadelphia, arough the
Atlantic cable, states that Mr. Andrew Johnson is not dead,
as reported, but is ill. His recovery, however, is considered
doubtful.
Her Majesty, on the recommendation of gr.
Gladstone, has (says the South London Press) granted a
pension of £5O per annum to the widow of Dr. Robert
Armstrong, the late head master of the South Lambeth
Grammar School, author of the "Dictionary of the Gee'l°
Language," &c.
THE KILDONAN GOLD DIGGINGS._UpwardS of
forty men left Thurso during last week for theant'
diggings. Companies have been formed of eight, t,
and twelve men, who have got wooden sheds made for
their accommodation, and had them conveyed to 0(1°511
by carts.
The Liverpool Mercury states that the Governinen
g
has virtually abandoned the prosecution of Michael Jome,
tts °
Kelly, the Liverpool printsellor, who was lately conimi
1.11
to the assizes for having exposed seditious plates. for sale
his shop. The object of the prosecution was attained
the publicity given to the proceedings in the earlier staseeag
so that when Kelly surrendered for trial at the local ase!_
Pal
tha
t.
on Thursday, the Attorney-General for the county'
consented to the discharge of the accused on condition
he should come up foi nent when called upon.
The Yorkshire Post publishes the recommend
3f the committee appointed at the January Quarter Scssio f
to inquire into the question of increasing the "Tiber in
polling places in the West Riding. They recommend
mber of
Northern Division—instead of 14, the present ter!'
nu
polling places, that in future there bo 45 ; in the Ea
s
Division—instead of 16, 48; in the Southern—for 13' thel
recommend 44. The number of polling booths requisite for y
a contested election will not be largely increased. Tile
--
also propose that the revising barristers shall hold courts.
in the Northern Division-14 places as at present ; Eastern
toad
.Division-18 instead of 16; Southern Division-17 ins

of 13.
HEMLOCK.—Scientific discovery has destroyed
another of our most popular theories. Hemlock, to which
Socrates and Phocion were said to owe their death,ie
pronounced by Mr. Harley and other eminent toxicolo-
gists to be no poison at all. Sixtry grains of
tincture of hemlock were administered to
and
young woman without any apparent effects, e °
Mr. Harley, 4fter a dose of 24 grains of the pure juic
the leaves of the hemlock, only experienced a slight plus'
111
cular numbness, which passed off after an hour. fr°
further experiments it appears that the common hemlock
neither a poison nor even a medicinal remedy. The facts re
lating to Socrates and Phocion may, however, be reasonabY
explained in another way. Hitherto dictionaries have
always translated the Greek koneion and the Latin cicuto
by our word hemlock. Some change of classification bas
no doubt taken place. What the ancients called hemlock
was perhaps the cicuta vivosa L., which is, in fact, a most
poisonous plant. •
AMUSEMENT FOR THE VOLUNTEERS.—SPeaking
of the amusement for the early-arrived volunteers at Dover,
the correspondent of the Daily NeIVS says : so far aS
to
they have come under my notice, they were confined
the performances at one or two music bails, where nigger
minstrels arid second-rate acrobats did their best--
how bad that best was only those who witnessed
it could guess—to enthral the senses and excite the
admiration of the spectators. The proprietor of
one of these institutions—it would be invidious to
mention his name—animated by a spirit of generous
all
hospitality, nobly threw open his establishment to
comers. There no stern cash-receiver stopped the
waY ;
no suspicious cheque-taker barred the entrance. The
approaches were as free to the sad-clothed civilian as to
the volunteer in his gay uniform ; and manY
both classes made their way into the spacious
s
hall so hospitably thrown open to them. fili
seats were hard, it is true, but clean. The lights
were
numerous. The decorations, if not costly,
appropriate. Only one thing was wanting. The spirited
proprietor, overpowered by his enthusiasm, had forgotten
to provide any entertainment. The eager multitudes who
thronged together at his invitation found timeesertd
were
orchestra and an empty stage. For some they
amused themselves by singing the chorotises of vari°lll
well-known popular songs ; but even this joy soon Palle?!
and untempted by the manifold attractions of a refej:t
m ent-bar—which was not open gratu...ailolOOY IV 13