The Sun.
London, England, 1857-03-20 00:00:00

HORSES AND BUYS IN PIRGINIA.

A boy, wino is grey-beaded and a grandfather,
brings my steed to the door; two more boys hold
on to the bridle while the nag switches off the flies
with his tail; and three more boys assist in swi'ch-
jog them off, with feria branches. While engaged in
this toil, one of them—al hough it is only seven
o'clock, a. m.—falls asleep against the side of the
horse, suorti g, with his great bullet head shining
in the sun like a perspiring black pudding, till some
one arouses him by sticking grass into his no,e.
The horse is a fine animal. Nearly all Virginia
horses are, albeit bred too fine for English tastes,
and now getting poor by too much interbreed-
ing ; but'tho equipments.! They don't believe in the
saving " that there is nothing like leather" in
Virginia. It is evident that they think string a
great deal like leather. There is more rope used
in my accutrements than if I had been Mazoppa,
and was to be bound on. The buckle is broken
off the belly-band, and that is tied with
string ; the check-strap is another piece
of. string ; so also is the left-band bridle.
There is Lo stirrup on one side, and more
string is used to hitch up the other. But the roads
are very bad at that time of the year, they say ;
so I would have to walk my horse anyhow—so it
makes no difference. The court-house is three miles
distant. A boy is given to me to show me the road
through tto scrub and take care of my charger ; and I
start, all the darkies on the farm following me
to the gate. The road at first runs through a small
forest of stunted shrubs, and then debouches into a
rolling country of bare bleak hills, with a sort red
clayey soil. It is supposed to be ene'o3ed on each
side with what is called a worm or V fence,
which has a battered, haggard, and dissipated look.
Half the rails are down, some with one end stick-
ing in the fence, the other upright-, prodding
the air; others lying about loose, giving a most
dilapidated air to a landscape not of itself attractive.
Presently we come to a spot where the late rains
have rsoistened the clay into an oozy ointment,
which the rays of the sun have encrusted with
a hard, piecrusty looking cover. After I
bad passed this spot a few rods, my antiquated
boy of course lagging far behind me, I hear "Mas-
sa! Massa !" I turn in my saddle. " Yah ! yah !
lis um keep right on. 3/1,13's um," and my youth
drops, as if struck with epilepsy, plump into the mid-
dle of the red pasty slush. Alarmed, fearing a sun
stroke, I ride hastily back. What a picture I
He has chosen this spot of soft mud for his
noonday nap, and there he lies, sound asleep
in a moment—a huge piece of jet set in come-
liau—the red glaring sun streaming down on him,
and a myriad ocarnall yellow butterflies and blue-
bottles settled on his body. I shout and cracks my
whip in vain. He is probably away off in the
'midst of a corn-husking or a break-down, and
why should I disturb him 7—Dickens's "Household
Words."

ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S HOSPITAL—The students of this
the largest medical charity in the metropolis invited
Mr. Holden, one of the trackers of the school attached
to the hospital, to an elegant entertainment at An-
derton's Hotel yesterday evening ; Mr. Callendar,
F.R C.S., in the chair. After the usual loyal toasts the
chairman, in a neat and appropriate speech, deservedly
eulegisto of Mr. Heiden, presented that gentleman, on
the part of the students, with a hsndsotne silver dinner
service, and an address in the foil iwieg terms :—"To
Lowther Holden, F.H.C.S. Sir,—We, the undersigned
students of St. Bartholomew's.Hospitsl, apprecia.ing
the able and willing assistance you have rendered
us as a teacher, and the kindness; and cheerfulness
with which you have aided our studies as a friend,
beg yoer acceptance of this memorial, together with
the accompanying teseinionial. NVe desire also to
express our deep sense of the obligation we are under
for the many valuable anatomical Freparatiens
and diagram; you have contributed to the mu-euin
and dissecting rooms, and the able lit .rery productions
by means of which you have so simpl fled our prole-
sional s'udies." The service of plate has engraved on it
the crest of the recipient, and the eimph inscription,—
" To Luther Holden, from the student's of St. Bartho-
lomew's Hospital, 1857." Among the teachers present
were Dr'. Baty, Kirkee, and Paget.
It is understood that the tidal trains between
London and Paris, by way of Fo'kestone and Bou-
logne, will be recommenced, at the latest, on ;the
15th of next month, and possibly on the Ist. It is
difficult to understand the grounds on which the
Soup-Eastern and French Northern Companies
allow an interruption of these trains to take place.
The result is that during the winter months the
constantly increasing traffic hetwe a London and
Boulogne is naturally attracted to another route.
The number of boats between London-bridge and
Boulogne has been increased from three to four a week,
and will be further extended to six a week each way
next month. The goods traffic is largely augmenting,
and indicates a considerable extension in the interna-
tional trade.

THE ETRUSOANS.—The Etruscans were a people
foreign in Italy, called by the Romans Etrusci, or
Tusci ; by the Greeks, Tyrrheni, or Tyrseni ; and by
themselves, Rasena. The country between the Tibur
and the Mara Inferum, or Tyrrhenian Sea,
and bounded on the north and north-west by
the Apennines and the river Macra, was their
seat. Their early history has given rise to much dis-
cussion in modern times, and it is now admitted on all
sides that the people known to the Romans as Etrus-
cans, were not the original inhabitants of the coun-
try, but a mixed race. The most ancient inhabi-
tants appear to have been Ligurians on the north,
and Siculians on the south, be:h of whom were
sublequently expelled by the Umbrians. From this
point two opinions have prevailed. The first (that of
Herodotus) ascribes them to a colony of Lydians
under Tyrsenue, son of the King of Lydia, from whom
they took their name, and iu thi4 opinion Cicero,
Strabo, Paterculus, Seneca, Piny, Plutarch, and Ser-
vius follow ; the second is, that a Pelasgic race, called
Tyrrheni, subdued the Umbrians, and settled in the
country, who were afterwarda in their turn con-
quered by a powerful lthmtian race, called Rasena,
who descended from the Alps and the valley of the
Po. Hence it was from the union of the Tyrrheni-Pelas-
glans and the Rasena that the Etruscan nation was
formed. Dion of Halicarnassus considers them abori-
gines, but admits that a tribe of Pelasgi passed from
Tnessaly into the heart of Italy prior to the
Trojan war, who assisted the aborigines in
their war with the Siculi, whom they forced
to fly to Sicily, the seat of the ancient Sicani. Gibbon
agrees with Dion. Gerius derives the Etruscan element
from Egypt or Phoenicia, which he considers the ori-
ginal seats of the Pelasgi ; thence driven out into Achais,
Thrace, Arcadia, &c. ; and from thence- paisii:g into
Italy. Mazzocbi follows the Oriental theory.
brings them from Canaan, and Guarnaeci deriwa them
from the Fast after the Flood or Babel, asserting that
;,he Uenbri and aborigines were the same people ; thai,
they spread over Italy, and some tribes of them, called
Pelasgi, thence emigrated to Greece, &c. "Being en-
tirely ignorant of their language, it is impossible to ar-
rive at a definite knowledge of their origin.—T 7
Builder.

SCENE AT TEE LUNDHILL COLLIERY

MEETING OF ENGINEERS.

One of the most painful scene connected with
this melancholy accident occurred at the offices of
the Lundhill Company on Wednesday evening last.
It havit,g been made known that the euctbine7rs
would meet on that day, and that in all probability
orde s would be given for immediately commencing
opera' ions for drawing off the wat..T, a ;Treat num-
ber of the widows and female relatives of' the pi!lor
men now ly;ng in the pit surrounded the offices in
a h;gh state of excitement.
At 7 o'clock the engineers—Messrs. Nicholas
Wood and Elliott (of Newcastle)' Holt (of Wake-
field), and Wo Aliouse (of Derby)—met at the
offices. The report of Messrs. Webster, Maddison,
Coe, and Pease, as to the state of the pit since the
meeting on Saturdly, was given in. After consult-
ing together for about an hour and a half, the deci-
sion of the committee was made known to the pro-
prietors. In consequence, however, of the great
anxiety evinced by the assemblage outside, Mr.
Wood undeit•ok the task of making known to them
the conclu-ion they had arrived at.
Mr. WOOD commenced by staling that he had a
very painful duty to perform in announcing to them
the decision arrived at by himself and the other gen-

tletnen who had undertaken the duty of opening the
pit and recovering the bodies of the unfortunate men.
They greatly feared that if the pit were prematurely

opened, they might have to close it again. It hat
been shown that the temperature of the water in
the pit was not uniform, it being 61 deg. at the
bottom, and 66 at the top, clearly showing that the
burning matter still remained in the pit. They
might rest assured that not a minute's time
should be lost in getting the bodies out, as
soon as ever the pit was in a state t) warrant them
drawing the water out. All of them, including the
owners, were desirous of doing everything they
could to facilitate that operation. The engineers
bad fixed upon a height which the water should
rise before it should be drawn our, and such height,
they were of* opinion, would be attained on Mon-
day next, on which day the committee would again
meet, when, as everything was ready, he believed
that they would cummence the task of drawing out
the water and reaching the bodies. Every one
must deeply sympathise with them in their anxiety
to recover the bodies of those be!ongiug to them.
In conclusion, he hoped that the Almighty would
support them in their great affliction.
The announcement that the opening of the pit
was put off to Monday next was received by loud
lamentations, the women and children appearing
almost overpowered with emotion. The scene was
altogether of the most harrowing description—the
agonising cries of the poor women being painful in
the extreme. The sad and dejected faces of the
assemblage, as seen 'mid the gloom of the night,
the only lights being those from the lamps of the
few carriages and cabs around, formed a melancholy
picture, the recollection of which will not easily be
effaced from the minds of those who witnessed it.
Mr. MORTON, the Government inspector, said
that he quits agreed with the decision the com-
mittee had corns to, for should ti:e pit be opened
and any of the burning matter remain unquenched,
the accumulated gas coming in contact wit.i it might
cause such an explosion as would not only greatly
endanger the lives of those gallant men who had
undertaken the onerous tack of se3rching for the
bo lies, but probably be the means of closing the
pit. The maximum height which the engineers
were of opinion should bs reached, before there was
a certainty of the fire being put out, was 60 feet up
the s'iale As the water had already reached 47
fee', that height would doubtless be attained by
Monday. The proceedings did not terminate until
after nine o'clock.

At the meting of the Barnsley guardians on
Tuesday, most of the widows of till men killed by
the explosion at Luudhill Colliery appeared to
claim relief, it being uuderstool that the amount•
received throughout the country should not alto-
gether exonerate the ratepayers from supporting
►hose whom they were legally called upon to main-
tain. A resolution was proposed, havilig for
object the exeugion of widows without children,
who were in receipt of pay from the commit..ce of
subscribe:B to the g ,neral fund, from receiving pa-
roehi•tl suppo:t. The discussion, which was of a
very strong character, and carried on with close]
doors, resultol in the defeat of the motion, relief
ltavig been ordered to be given to the widows for
another month, when the subject will be again
brought forward. A similar proposal for exone-
rating ratepayers from supporting those who w(re
relieved out of the subscriptions, was mooted at
the pubic meeting, aid was alt but unanimously
condemned.— Manchester Guardian.