The Sun.
London, England, 1866-11-06 00:00:00

DINGWALL AND SKYE.

The annual meeting of this company was held on
Tuesday at Inverness—Mr. Matheson, M.P., in the
chair.

Th
state report stated that chiefly in consequence of
themonthstatettfetorksemoney-market during the last 12
the directorshad not been commenced, and
regretted
ith to say that the difficulties in
arranging
certain landowners on the line, al-
luded to in the last report, still existed. The sum of
£10,293 had been
arencdeived on capital account to the
31st August last,
balance of £6,459. £3,831 expended, leaving a
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, said there were certain deviations
to Parliament
in the line
g
which would oblige them to
T before
any work could be commenced. did not in-
tend to go to Parliament next session, buNovember,
t ha hoped
they would be able to give notice in
1867, for a supplementary Act in 1868, when they
would proceed with the works.
Mr. GREIG seconded the motion for the adoption
of the report, which was agreed to.
The retiring directors and auditorwere re-elected,
and the proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks
to the chairman.

ATLANTIC AND GREAT WESTERN.
The traffic receipts onothis company's line from
the Ist of January to the 15th of October amounted,
for passengers, to $1,029,909 ; for freight, to
$3,227,222 ; and for sundries to sl43,9G7—total,
$4,401,098 ; and for the corresponding period last
year to 0,059,873, showing an increased 041,225.

MISCELLANEOUS AMERICAN NEWS.

WHAT CAME OF SMOKING A PIPE ON A KEG OF

POWDER.

From the Winona Republican.—Our townsman,
Mr. H. C. Train, had a narrow escape from a
frightful death on Wednesday. He started for
Rushford in the morning, in company with a Mr.
Hanson, a merchant of that place. The two gen-
tlemen were riding in a buggy drawn by one horse.
In the buggy there was a keg of powder weighing
twenty-five pounds, together with other small
packages of light goods. When they had got to a
place about two miles east of the " T" tavern; the
powder by some means exploded. The explosion
was, of course, terrific, and Mr. Hanson and his
companion were thrown some distance up and for-
ward. The horse, in addition to losing all the hair
on his tail, became considerably demoralised, and ran
at the top of his speed. The two men fell upon the
whiffietree, and Mr. Hanson, to clear himself from
the wreck, jumped over the wheel, falling into a
mudhole in a half-stupefied condition.
Mr. Train clung to the pieces and was carried
forward about a mile at a pretty rapid pace. On
coming to a stop he took an inventory of the con-
cern, and found that the buggy was completely
shattered—the bottom and seat entirely gone, an
the reach and axles bent nearly double, so that the
four wheels came almost together. Mr. Train him-
self had been stripped of his outer clothing, about
one-thirdof thehair on his head, and all his whiskers
burned off, and his eyebrows and lashes gone. Yet,
strange to say, he was not hurt in any other way,
and after extinguishing the fire in his remaining
clothing he started back to find his companion.
Upon meeting him he laughed heartily at the ridi-
culous figure which they presented, but Mr. Hanson
could not nee it in that light. The latter was badly
bruised, and one of his hands was severely burned,
but he had suffered no serious injury. The two
contrived to get into Rushford, thankful that a
worse fate had not overtaken them. Mr. Train
thinks that the powder was ignited by a spark from
Hanson's pipe, who was smoking at the time the ex-
plosion took place.

A WONDERFUL DREAM AND A NARROW ESCAPE

FROM DESTRUCTION.

From the Dayton Journal, Oct. 3.—Mr. Robert-
son, Mail Agent on the A. and G. W. Road, be-
tween this city and Cleveland, related to us,
yesterday, the strange item about a farmer who
prevented a terrible disaster on the road near
Mansfield, Ohio, at the time of the recent great
freshet. We bad before seen a paragraph relating
to the singular affair. Mr. Robertson conversed
with the farmer, and here is the story, in short :

The farmer (a Pennsylvanian) went to bed during
the heavy and protracted storm on Monday night,
and dreaming that the fill across a chasm, some
hundred feet deep, had given way under a passenger
train, and let it down into the abyss, he sprang to
render assistance to the passengers, ran to the door,
and was hastening from the house when his wife
awakened him.

Ele related his dream, and went to bed again,
but slept little more during the night. The dream
made such a deep impression on his mind that he
hastened to the chasm the next morning early, to
see what condition it was in; but the road was ap-
parently all right, although the water was pouring
and surging through the large culvert beneath, as
though it would wash the earth away. On Tues-
day night the farmer could not rest for thinking
about his dream of the preceding night, and getting
up he procured his lantern, and hurried off to the
chasm. When he arrived there he found to his
terror that the huge fill had been washed out, leaving
nothing but the unsupported ties and track over the
chasm.

Hearing the train thundering towards destruction
the farmer clambered across the dreadful break,
and running down the road some distance he signalled
the approaching train to stop. And so short was
the time that by the time the engineer was able to
hold up the engine was but a few feet off from the
chasm.

The train was large, and was filled with person
who had been to the great Union meeting at Mans-
field. What a narrow escape they all made from a
horrible death ?

COUNT BISMARCK'S THANKS FOR AMERICAN SYM-

PATIIY.

The following is Count Bismarck's letter to

Minister Wright, acknowledging the receipt of some
twenty-five tons of ice, contributed by the Ame-
ricans at Hamburgb, for the Prussian hospitals at a
time when it could not be obtained in Germany :
" Dear Sir,—From the inclosed letters- you have
been good enough to communicate to me, I see the
contributors to that munificent donation of which
has been sent successively from Hamburgh for our
hospitals include a considerable number of your
countrymen. The War Office has already conveyed
to the Committee the thanks of his Majesty's Go-
vernment for the patriotic feeling which prompted
the gift, and for the inestimable benefit conferred
upon our wounded soldiers. It becomes now my
pleasantduty to add the expression of my sentiments
of deep gratification of the active sympathy evinced
by citizens of the United States with our struggle,
which, undertaken for the defence of our homes,
will, under God's blessing, secure the condition to
Germany of national life, and to Europe of lasting
peace.

" Believe me, dear sir, yours very sincerely,
" BISMARCK.
" lion. W. A. Wright, Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States."

The extensively advertised gift concert, claiming
to he in the interest of the Soldiers' and Sailors'
Orphans' Home, came off on Thursday night, Oct.
11th, at New York. The theatre was crowded with
policy holders, who were put off with a few songs,
and an announcement that the drawings were post-
poned till the following Monday. Considerable dis-
satisfaction was manifested, and at one time there
were strong indications of a row. It is said that
a large number of tickets are still unsold, and that
consequently few prizes will be drawn.
Hon. D. W. Middleton, clerk of the United States
Supreme Court, gives notice that at the ensuing De-
cember term the general causes brought into this
Court by writs of error or appeal, from the Circuit
and District Courts, for the several districts within
the States declared to be in rebellion by the pro-
clamation of the President of the United States,
dated August 16th, 1861, will be called and disposed
of under the rules, and in regular order, as they may
stand upon the docket.

The thousands of New Yorkers who intend to
Paris in May next and the succeeding m
share in the glories of art and society at the Great
Exposition, Exposition, will naturally have an interest in know-
ing that their favourite pictorial will be represented
there, the proprietor, Mr. Frank Leslie, having just
received from President Johnson an appointment
as Commissioner to that Exposition, as a recogni-
tion of the newspaper element in America and of
Mr. Leslie's long labours in the cause of pictorial art.
It need scarcely be said (especially as Mr. Leslie is
by no means saying it) that, while it is hoped
the appointment will be held a satisfactory one
by all classes, the readers of Frank. Leslie's will be
among those most peculiarly the gainers, in the
wealth of discriminating illustration of the most
notable people and objects there, which the pre-
sence of the proprietor will insure being forwarded
to the pet publication he leaves behind him.
Advises from Japan, of September 4th, report the
arrival at Yokahama of General Van Valkenberg,
United. States Minister to Japan, and Anson Bur-
lingame, Minister to China. Both Ministers were
on a visit to Yedtlo. Mr. Burlingame was expected
soon to leave for China.

Converaions of the Seven-thirty notes falling due
August, 1867, into Five-twenty bonds, continue to
be made at the Treasury Department, at the rate
of something less than $4,000,000 per week. There
are now outstanding about $270,000,000 of this
issue of Seven-thirties. These notes, owing to the
immense clerical labour involved in their examina-
tion, can be redeemed by the department at the rate
of $5,000,000 per week-, if presented as rapidly as
they could be disposed of. Parties holding Seven-
thirty notes of the above issue will, therefore, do
well to forward them to the Treasury for conver-
sion into Five-twenties as soon as possible, as