The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-24 00:00:00

THE SUN LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, SEPTE 1B E R 24, 1861.

KOSSITTEL—A letter from Genoa, written in an
Austrian spirit, says that Kossuth's recent visit to that
city was to endeavour to bring about a reconciliation be-
tween his party and several prominent members of the Hun-
garian emigration who have entirely detached themselves
from him. The attempt, it is added, proved unsuccessful ;
Klapka was very cool towards him, and other well-known
refugees would have nothing to say to him. Turr alone,
the writer maliciously adds, "in his capacity of a new mem-
ber of the Bonaparte family," seemed indisposed completely
to turn his back upon the great Hungarian agitator. The
letter also speaks of the great activity displayed in naval
constructions at Genoa as well as at Leghorn and Spezia,
and says that the naval officers boast that by the spring
the Italian navy will be more than double the strength of
the Austrian.

BLONDIN AT S OUTHAMPTON.—BIon din performed
at Southampton, yesterday, in Bannister-park, before
10,000 persons. Excursion trains laden with passengers ran
on all the South-Western lines during the day, Just before
the performance, one of the poles, 100 feet high, on which
the rope was stretched, broke, and the cord had to be fas-
tened to one of the loftiest trees in the park. Blondin was
received with the greatest enthusiasm. Such a crowd as
went to witness him has not been seen in Southampton for
many a day. The nobility and gentry from all parts of the
surrounding neighbourhood came to witness the exhibition.
THE PRUSSIAN ARMY.—A letter from Magde-
burg of the 18th says :—" A disgraceful scene occurred here
yesterday evening in the Friedrichstadt faubourg. Two
officers who commanded the reserve of the 38th Regiment
passed through Magdeburg after midnight, and knocked at
the door of an auberge, the Rainbow, for which Lieutenant
Sobbe had a billeting ticket. The waiter of the hotel, who
was asleep, was not roused until the officers had knocked
for some time, and hesitated opening the door, not knowing
who was there. When he did open it Lieut. Sobbe ran
him through with a sword. The officers then took to flight,
thinking they had not been seen, but the noise aroused a
neighbour, who opened his window. One of the officers
immediately struck at him with a sword, but the man
escaped the blow, which broke the window. Other people
ran up, and the officers would have fared badly if the patrols
had not protected them. Before morning the waiter of the
hotel died from his wound.
EXPORTATION OF CORN TO FRANCE.—Our people
have but a faint idea of the demands made upon English
corn markets by French merchants. The following facts
connected with the corn market and port of Ipswich will
tend to illustrate the extent of trade done. The shipments
of one firm have already reached 30,000 qrs., and they are
engaged to ship 20,000 qrs. more to the same destination.
The quantity of flour they have shipped and are engaged to
ship is about 10,000 sacks, and the amount of money drawn
from France during the eight or nine weeks they have been
engaged in these operations already exceeds £lOO,OOO, and
will fall, when all is shipped by the merchants of the port,
but little short of double that sum, which, drawn from,the
other side of the Channel and distributed over the country
districts, must be as refreshing to the farmers as rain is to
thirsty ground.
AN IMPUDENT THEFT.—On the day of her
Majesty's embarkation at Ross Quay a gentleman of this
town, whosename it is unnecessary to mention, was relieved
of his watch—a twenty plunder—in a very ingenious man-
ner. Anxious to have a good view of her Majesty, and at
the same time remembering the golden lesson, that—
He who a watch would wear, two things must do—
Pocket his watch, and watch his pocket, too—
very wisely, as he deemed, placed his hand on the valuable
horologue in such a way that, while in that position, no-
thing but force could abstract it from his waistcoat. One
of the " swell mob," however, perceiving the too demon-
strative care taken of the watch, procured a small bramble,
and tickling the verdant one under the ear, who, fancying
at the moment that a "Killarney mosquito" had perched
on his neck, incontinently raised his hand to brush the in-
truder off, when, "hey, presto 1" the watch disappeared
Cork Constitution.
THE kIPING CROW OR MAGPIE OF NEW
SOUTH WALES.—it is not uncommon for eggs of the same
species of birds to vary so much both inform or colour as to
cause doubts as to their being really produced by the same
species. Dr. G. Bennett, in a communication to the Zoo-
logical Society, states that this is very much the case in the
eggs of the piping crow. "On Aug. 25, 1860," says Mr.
E Ramsey, who forwarded specimens to Dr. Bennett, " the
first magpie's eggs were taken this season. I have six
varieties of the eggs of this bird, and so much do they differ
from each ether that, had I not taken them from the nest,
I could not have believed them to be the eggs of the same
bird. All the young birds I have taken from the nest have
had the breast of a dull brown colour ; and a young bird
brought home from the nest in 1859 is now (1860) changing
the plumage of the breast to black." The eggs of the red-
tailed tropic bird also vary very much in appearance.
The Wanderer, referring to the accounts from
Montenegro, expresses strong doubts of Omar Pasha's soon
achieving decisive advantages in that quarter, and draws
a disheartening picture of the obstacles he has to contend
with. From Servia we hear of military organisation
on a very co,nsiderable scale. According to the Frank-
fort Journal, the army is to consist of 45,800 infan-
try, 2,400 horse, 1,200 artillerymen, 980 sappers, and six
batteries. It is to be divided into five commands, or
corps. Every Servian, from 20 to 50 years of age, is
liable to military service. By this plan it is hoped to form
a landwehr, or reserve of 50,000 drilled soldiers, available
at any moment. It is a question with some whether Aus
tria and the Porte will not protest against this augments-
Cori of the Servian military force. The new law of t oca-

tion divides the taxpayers into six classes, and includes
churches and convents, as well as charitable institutions,
both public and private. The Prince of Servia is expected
to make his entry into Belgrade on the 27th inst.
TRAVELLING IN INDIA. —W e (Oudh Gazette) have
heard of a most extraordinary occurrence which has just
happened to an officer travelling with his wife from Meerut
to Mussoorie. On the way he was seized with cholera, and
at some place beyond Roorkee, reeling himself getting worse,
he took a rather liberal dose of brandy and laudanum, which
threw him into a state of total insensibility. The doolee-
bearers, discovering this, set down the doolee, and delibe-,
rately stripped him of everything he had—his ring, his
watch, his clothes, his boxes, his bedding—leaving him
literally naked. His wife, who had remained back to bring
up the baggage, coming up a short time afterwards, was, as
may be well imagined, rather astonished to find him in the
state she did, still insensible. She, however, did her best to
sloths him with a portion of her own garments, and brought

him in safe to Mussoorie. When he recovered he remem-

bered nothing of NS liat had happened, save that he had been
dreaming of something very awful occurring. The case is
before the magistrate, but little hope seems to be entertained

of the discovery of the robbers.

GERMAN HONESTT.—Germans are rather apt to
boast of honesty and fair. dealing as national eharacter4-
tics, and they may be justified in so doing, and in setting

do \ln as exceptions that prove the rule the examples of a
contrary nature which occasionally are heard of. Rather
a strong instance of this kind is cited to-day by a Vienna

journal. An English family of five persons occupied, for
three days, several rooms in a large hotel at Salzburg.
When about to depart they were presented with a bill of
1,100 florins, or about £7B. This trifling was demurred to ;

the chief of the party addressed himself to the authorities,

and, leclarin4 that he objected to pay on account of the
impudence of; the charge, not of the largeness of the

sum, proposed that the bill should ',l.be' taxed, and

that the sum deducted from it should go to the charities of

the town. Thereupon he handed over to the magistrate
the 1,100 florins, and left the place. The consequence of
this very judicious mode of proceeding was that the bill
was forthwith reduced by 500 florins, which were handed

over to the fund for the poor. The name of the hotel is not
given, but the paper which tells the story advises German
travellers to follow the Englishman's example. It may be
doubted whether German travellers are often exposed to
such extortions, and, considering the wonderful examples
of justices' justice that have lately been occasionally wit-
nessed, it may be held still more doubtful whether the
Salzburg Boniface would have had to submit to so heavy a
reduction had not his victim put the town charities in the
position of the plaintiff in the suit.

BOHEMIAN SUPERSTITIONS. —On this Curious
subject we find a highly amusing article by Baron Ernouf,
in the Revue Contemporaine. According to the Bohemian
creed, the festivals of the Virgin Mary used to be held
stured even by animals ; and birds, for instance, took pecu-
liar care not to work at their nests on those days. The
cuckoo, having infringed that custom, was cursed, and
obliged to wander perpetually without ever having a nest
of its own. The following Pagan custom has survived in

Bohemia in some localities of of the circle of Bud,wCis:—
When a marriage takes place during carnival time, a cock

is sacrificed with great ceremony. The victim is seleoted

and fattened with the utmost care at least a fortnight be-

forehand. On the day prescribed for the sacrifice the cock is

subjected to a regular criminal trial ; they dress it up in a
pair of trousers, a grey mantle, and a red cap ; two of the
persons present are the prosecutors; a third, with a big
book in his hand, plays the part of a judge, and pronounces
sentence on the culprit, amid the applause of the bystanders.
The cock is then carried in great pomp, preceded by music,
to the public square, where a platform has been "erected,
with his executioner by his side, dressed in red, with a cut-
lass in his hand. Before the execution, all the bystanders
solemnly ask the cock's pardon ; then the executioner per-
forms his office; the dead body of the victim is carried
home processionally, its head is given to the accusers, and
the rest is roasted and eaten. Another singular custom is
observed in the village of Ghebsek, where, on Shrove
Tuesday, the young girls of the place get up before day-
break, go and sit, distaff in hand, upon a dog-kennel, and
there spin for a few nriuutes, thinking thereby to secure to
themselves a good year's work. In order to render thi
ceremony fully effiacious, it is absolutely • requisite that it
should be performed in that peculiar costume under which
painters represent Mother Eve ; night, however, fortu-
nately casts a discreet veil over the scene.
SALES OF BLOOD STOCK, &C., AT DONCASTER.'"'"
During the past week illessrs. Tattersall and Mr. Robert
Johnson, of York, have sold blood stock to the value of
nearly £16,000, and, from this large sum, our readers may
form some estimate of the large number of first-class ani-
mals that came under the hammer in the Doncaster Sep-
tember race-week,