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

THE QUEEN AND MI?. CARLYLE.

The London correspondent of the Dumfries Standard says:
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, I ant
in a position to state that no such intention was expressed.
The Queen and Mr. Carlyle had 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 Au
acquaintance with the local surroundings. Her Majesty also
alluded with some force of words 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 one ducal residencee—.
Floors—there was another in Dumfriesshire—Drurnlanrig
—which was well worthy of being honoured by the Royal
presence. The reply of the Queen made to this very broad
hint was a smile and a shako of the head. I understand,
however, that the Duko of •Buccleuch, is not going, if 1.,°
can help it, to ailow Mr. Carlyle'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 18, 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 Gizeb, opposite
' Old Cairo,' shortly after three in the afternoon. The/
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.
-Jelling 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 Pacha. The Prince
of Wales related his shooting adventures, and hose
between the two cataracts he had shot a crocodile.
He seemed proud of his exploit, and so he may be, for
crocodiles are tough-skinned, and it requires a veil
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 t°
England, where, maybe, the Prince will have him nailed--
as people do in this country—aloft of his door at garl-
borough House. When at Thebes the Prince of Wales
was informed of the existence of a tomb not yet come t°
light. Excavations were commenced, and under the
superintendence of Colonel Stanton, who returned froth
Assouan while the Prince and Princess proceeded to the
Second Cataract, a sarcophagus of red granite, in the forth
of an Osiride figure, covered with hieroglyphics and
cartouches—the feet partly broken—was found. It I°
buried at a depth of some GO 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.
the station ehars.et-bancs, drawn by two pairs of perchcroA
horses, ridden by French postillions, with piquers, or out'
riders, ahead, all in faultless boots and leathers, jackets,
and glazed hats—perfect imitations of the Emperor's code
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 W.
day he intends seeing some of the others. The view, on
bright sunny day, from the heights of the citadel of th°
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 °°
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 0'
the time, much amused at the performance, where
they remained until midnight, when it was over.
This afternoon the Viceroy is expected back from
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 gondol;
and intend visiting the whole of the canal. To-Enorroll
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 fete champette has been fixed
."
Saturday, and so have the races. The weather is begul•
ring to be decidedly hot, and the Prince and the Princess
will embark in the nick of time to es..!ape the many desa9,ll;
,Hens heat entails. They have been travelling in t"-
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 lais'let
alter of any ordinary Nile traveller.

A telegram fl om Philadelphia, through /17
Atlantic cable, states that Mr. Andrew Johnson is not &11l
as reported, but is ill. His recovery, however, is COI
doubtful.
Her Majesty, on the recommendation of gr'
Gladstone, has (says the South London Press) grantee
pension of £5O per annum to the widow of Pr. E°l3rh
et.
Armstrong, the late head master of the South Larabo
Grammar School, author of the "Dictionary of the Graell
Language," &c.
THE K

,wards of

ILDONAN GOLD DIGGINGS.—UP
forty men left Thurso during last week for these
diggings. Companies have been formed of eight, tea'
and twelve men, who have got wooden sheds Wade f°l'
their accommodation, and had them conveyed to Kildonsti
by
The carts.
Liverpool Mercury states that the Governmen:
has virtually abandoned the prosecution of Michael Ja°lea
Kelly, the Liverpool printseller, who was lately cononitte.o
to the assizes for having exposed seditious plates for sale
his shop. The object of the prosecution was attained by
the publicity given to the proceedings in the earlier staget
so that when Kelly surrendered for trial at the local assise;
on Thursday, the Attorney-General for the c)unty Pald%
consented to the discharge of the accused on condition the
ho should come up for j g rent when called upon.
The Yorkshire I'ost publishes the recommendation:3o
of the committee appointed at the January Quarter Seer ei°of
to inquire into the question of increasing the tier
polling places in the West Riding. They recommend in
of
Northern Division—instead of 14, the present nun'ber
polling places, that in future there be 45 ;in East('
the
rn
Division—instead of 16, 48 ;in the Southern for 13' t h'l3-1"
recommend 44. The number of polling booths requisite I°'
a contested election will not be largely increased. requisite
also propose that the revising barristers shall hold courts 73
In the Northern Division-14 places as at present; Stead
Division-18 instead of 16; Southern Division-17 instea

of 13.
HEMLOCK.—Scientific discovery has destroyed
anothern of our most popular theories. Hemlock, to which
So
crates and Phocion were said to owe their death, ill
pronouncedotss
by Mr. Harley and other eminent toxieolce_
to be no poison at all. Sixtry grains °I
tincture of hemlock were administered to
:
youngir woman without any apparent effects, an.
IV . Harley, after a dose of 24 grains of the pure juice ca
the leaves of the hemlock, only experienced a slight re°.
Fron.,
cularflatii numbness, which passed off after an Lour.
re-
neither experiments it appears that the common hemlock).
r 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 We
ti
always translated the Greek koncion and the Lan cicatil
by our word hemlock. Some change of classification
lock
hal
no doubt taken place. What the ancients called hem
was perhaps the cicuta vivosa L., which is, in fact, a
most
poisonous plant.
AMUSEMENT FOR THE VOLUNTEERS.—SPeakiri
theo "f the amusement for the early-arrived volunteers at Dovetai
l'.
correspondent of the Daily News says: So far
they have come under my notice, they were confined to
the performances at one or two music halls, where nigger
minstrels and second-rate acrobats did their hest;
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 °L_
one of these institutions—it would be invidious t:
mention his name—animated by a spirit of gener°ll,l
hospitality, nobly threw open his establishment to a'•
the Wilri!
comers. There no stern cash-receiver storPca
no suspicious cheque-taker barred the entrane. 1 ~c,
approaches were as free to the sad-clothed civilian as bi
the volunteer in his gay uniform ; and mail 0
spacious
both classes made their way into the
The
hall so hospitably thrown open to them.
seats were hard, it is true, but clean. Tile lights were
numerous. The decorations, if not CO'stlY were.
The spirit :
appropriate. Only one thing was wanting.
proprietor, overpowered by his enthusiasm, had forgotte
to provide any entertainment. The eager multitudes who.
thronged together at his invitation found a
time theis
orchestra and an empty stage. For some
amused themselves by singing the cherouses of varioud,
well-known popular songs ; but even this joy soon palled,
and untempted by the manifold attractions of a refr n
ment•bar—which w
--MaoPen grAtuitoualy—t e11',...541
thankleee AWAY.". 4 deserted