The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-08 00:00:00

THE .ABITIE

The invalid troops from the regiments serving
in the Mediterranean who were brought home in
the Himalaya screw steamer arrived at Fort Pitt,
Chatham, on Monday evening. They comprised 88
non-commissioned officers and men of the 2d bat.
2d Royals, Ist bat. 21st North British Fusiliers,
and 4th bat. Rifle Brigade, from Malta; 2d bat. 3d
Buffs, and Ist bat. 14th Regt., from Corfu ; and
28th Regt., from Gibraltar, with 7 women and 4
children. The Himalaya left Corfu on the 15th
ult., Malta the 20th, and Gibraltar the 26th. Dur-
ing the passage home two deaths and one birth
occurred on board. The invalid troops were under
the command of Lieut. A. Harness, Royal Artil-
lery, and in medical charge of Dr. J. T. U. Brem-
ner, of :the Himalaya. The officers who came
home as passengers in the Himalaya were Captain
Rider, Mr. James Morris, mate, R.N. ; Mr. N.
Bourne, naval instructor ; Mr. Kidd, chief engi-
neer • and Mr. Paul, boatswain.
The reinforcements for the Ist Dragoon Guards,
12th Royal Lancers, 69th Regiment, and the 74th
Highlanders, under orders to embark yesterday
morning at Giravesiond on board the Tartar, Com-
mander F. Jean, for Madras, are not to embank on
board that vessel until further instructions. This
counter-order kits been issued from the War De-
partment in consequpace of the unfavourable report
which has been made to the authorities respecting
that vessel. On General Eyre, the Commandant
at Chatham garrison, proceeding to Gravesend to
inspect the Tartar, it was found that the great
quantity of goods taken on board for conveyance to
Madras had rendered it unsafe to send troops to
India in the overloaded state of the ship, the Tartar
being a compratively small vessel of 571 tons. It
was mainly- owing to the overloading of the Bom-
bay troops-hip that such a series of disasters befell
that vessel, and the military authorities have since
come to the determination not to permit any vessel
to proceed with troops should the ship taken up be
in any respect overladen.
The 2d battalion of the 19th Foot will proceed
from Exeter to Winchester this day, and occupy
quarters.

EALTH OF LONDON DURING THE

WEEK.

(From the Registrar-General's Report.)
The Loudon returns still show an excessively
high mortality as the effect of the recent severity of
the weather. The weekly deaths rose in the latter
part of Nov. from 1,487 to 1,802 ;. in the week end-
ing last Saturday they were 1,738. In the first of
these three consecutive weeks the mean tempera-
ture was 35.5 deg. ; in the last it was 46.3 deg. A
rate of mortality as high as that which has pre-
vailed during the last fortnight would deprive the
population of its natural increase ; for, in the two
weeks taken to(retherthe deaths, which are usually
much below the births, slightly exceeded them.
In the 10 years 1848-5 7 the average number of
deaths was 1,175, but as the deaths now returned
occurred in an increased population, they should be
compared with the average after the latter is raised
in proportion to the increase—a correction which
will make it 1,293. The comparison shows that tho
deaths of last week exceeded by 445 the number
that would have occurred according to the average
rate of mortality.
The mortality of measles and scarlatina has been
reduced, the deaths from the former having fallen
from 51 to 39, those from the latter from 163 to
128. Whooping-cough, on the other bind, shows
an increase from 46 to 69. Smallpox exhibits a dis-
position to increase ; it was fatal last week in 13
cases. It is stated that in a house, 29, Great Or-
mond-yard (in St. George-the-Martyr, Holborn)
three deaths from smallpox have occurred, and two
children are now ill from the same disease. In the
last three weeks the deaths fromphthisis have been
166, 190, and 176 ; those from bronchitis, 211, 310,
and 298 ; those from pneumonia, 166, 169, and 171
and from asthma, 20, 28, and 30.
The deaths of three persons are recorded as hav-
ing been caused by want of the necessaries of life,
and those of an. equal number by the intemperate
use of spirits. Seven persons died who had reached
the age of 90 years, or had passed that limit, of
whom the most advanced was a man aged 99 years.
Last week the births of 898 boys and 865 girls
(in all 1,763 children) were registered in London.
Ii the ten corresponding weeks of the years 1848-
57 the average number was 1,570.
At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean
height of the barometer in the week was 29.476 in.
The barometrical readings varied from 28.87 ir. to
30.03 in. Tho mean temperature of the week was
46.3 deg.. which is 4.7 deg. above the average of the
same week in 43 years (as determined by Mr.
Glaisher.) The mean daily temperature was above
the average throughout the week, On Sunday and
Monday the thermometer attained its highest point
in the shade—viz., 53.8 deg. ; it fell to its lowest
point-33.5 deg.—on Friday. The extreme range
was therefore 20.3 deg. ; the mean daily range was
9.7 deg. ; the range on Saturday was only 5.8 deg.
The difference baween the mean dew-point tempe-.
rature and air temperature was 2.8 deg. The mean
degree of humidity of the air was 90. The • d
rain
blew on every day from the S.W. More or less
wind
F •
fell on every day except Friday, and the total
amount was 0.39 in.

A JAPANESE JUGGLER,—Here are some of the
feats :—No. 1. He took an ordinary boy's top, spun it in the
air, caught it on his hand, and then placed it (still spinning)
upon the edge of a sword, near the hilt. Then he dropped tha
sword point a little, and the top moved slowly towards it.
Arrived at the very end, the kilt was lowered in turn, and
the top brought back. As usual, the sword was dangerously
sharp. No. 2 was also performed with the top. He spun it
in the air, and then threw the end of the string back towards
it with such accuracy that it was caught up and wound itself
all ready for a second cast. By the time it had done this it
had reached his hand, and was ready for another spin. No.
3 was still performed with the top. There was an upright
pole, upon the top of which was perched a little house,
with a very large front door. The top was spun, made to
c7i..tith the pole, knock open the said front door, and disap-
pear. As well as I remember, the hand end of the string,
was fastened near the door, so that this was almost a repe-
tition of the self-winding feat. But feat No. 4 was some-
thing even mars astonishing than all this. He took two
paper butterflies, armed himself with the usual paper fan,
threw them i :Ito the air, and, fanning gently, kept them
flying about him as if they had been alive. "He can
make them alight whenever you wish! Try him," re-
marked the liami (Prince) through the interpreter. Mr.
H - requested that one might alight upon etch ear of
the juggler. No sooner expressed than complied with.
. .
Gentle undulations of the fan waved them s'owly to the
required points, and there left them comfortably seated.
Now; whether this command over pieces of paper was ob-
tained simply by currents of.air or by the power of a con-
cealed magnet Mr. II could not tell or ascertain. One
thing,. however, was certain—the power was there.—Phila-
', (1:1ph 2a, Ledger.