The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-10-16 00:00:00

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY MEETING,

On Thursday at Bristol, in pursuance of the Resolution
come to at the half-yearly meeting, held the 15th August, to
the effect that the report of the directors should be printed
and circulated and its adoption deferred till the second week
in October, the adjourned meeting was held. The large
room was crowded before one o'clock, and amongst the com-
pany were Mr. L. Heyworth, Mr. Hoyes, Mr. Crossthwaite,
Mr. Swift, and other gentlemen, who represented the north-
ern shareholders.

The chair was taken by W. U. Sims, Esq., who after some
introductory remarks, observed that a glance at the report
would show that the Directors, if any faults or defects were
proved to exist in the present mode of laying the rails, were
willinL• to con§aerand L. •• _ -
r

realised- every hope which had been formed. The receipts
for the last 18 weeks amounted to £29,694 ss. Ild., yielding
an average income of £1,694 16s. per week. At their last
meeting the average was £1,596 per week. The receipts for
the month of June were £6,459 165.; for July, £6,913 25.5 d;
for August, £7,154105, Ild.; and forSeptember,£7,ss9 19s Id.
(Applause.) A full account of the expenditure had
been taken for the same period, and it was found that
£10,925 I2s. Id. covered all the expenditure, with the excep-
tion of that which had been required for the repacking of that
portion of the permanent way which bad been found to re-
quire it. Instead of an expenditure of £3OO per day, and
an income of £2OO, as had been stated, the proportion of an
expense was smaller than ou other lines. With respect to
the cost of laying the rails on timber, the directors had been
anxious to obtain the most certain information, and they
found that with a heavier rail of 60ibs. to the yard, and a
larger scantling of timber, without piles, the cost would not
exceed £7,000 per mile. The opening of the line to RUE-
combe and from thence to Reading, the directors felt to be
most important, and the fact of its nut yet having taken
place must be ascribed in some measure to the position in
which the directors had been placed by the unmerited dis-
trust exhibited towards them, and the unusual and long delay
in confirming their report. Mr. Wood had not vet submitted
his report on the line to Maidenhead; but was about to un-
dertake a course of inquiry and experiments before doing so.
At present his experiments had not been sufficiently exten-
sive to justify him in forming that sound and practical con-
clusion at which he was desirous of arriving. The Chair-
man proceeded to mention a conference which the directors
had had with the engineer of the Bolton and Bury Railway,
Mr. Hawkshaw, who recommended a total change of plan,
beginning de neve, taking up the rails and laying them down
at the 4 feet 11 inch guage. He (the chairman) thought
they were bound to wait for the report of Mr. Wood, for
which they had themselves called, before listening to such a
suggestion.
A discussion here took place respecting the reading of Mr.
Hawkshaw's report, Mr. Smith, Mr. Crossthwaite, and Mr.
Noyes wishing to have it laid before the meeting, which was.
opposed by Mr. Mortimer, Dr. Carpenter, Mr. Gibbs, and
Mr. Fribb, who maintained that the report of Mr. Wood
ought to be submitted to the meeting with. that of Mr. Hawk-
shaw. In the course of this discussion the Chairman stated
that Mr. Wood's report would be ready in about six weeks
from the present time.

Dr. CA.UPENTER, after eulogising the conduct of the Di-
rectors, and stating that he regarded this as one of the most
important lines in the kingdom, not only as respected the
communication between Bristol and London, but as, in con-
nection with steam vessels, forming the most direct, rapid,
and certain communication with the United States, concluded
with moving the adoption of the report of the Directors,
which had stood over from the last meeting.
11. CASTLE, Esq., seconded the motion, and in doing so,
contended that the travelling on the Great Western Railway
was easier than on the Lonfon and Birmingham or the Grand
Junction line. The former, which was so. much cried up by
the northern gentlemen, was so rough, he was informed by a
friend, that a person could hardly keep his seat on it. With
regard to the outlay exceeding the estimate, experience had
shown that no great undertaking had ever yet been completed
within the original estimate ;—why, therefore, should such
complaints be made in the present instance.
LAWRENCE HEYWORTH, Esq., contended that the letter
of Mr. Wood, and the report of Mr. Hawkshaw, ought to
have been read to the meeting. He was bound to say, that
he knew so much of those reports as to be able to aver that
if one of them had been read, the meeting would not have
hesitated in agreeing to an adjournment to take them into
consideration. Mr. Heywood proceeded to analyse the two
reports of Mr. Brunel; his report of the expenditure, and
his report in which he declares and defends his own particu-
lar views. With regard to the first report, he would call the
attention of the meeting to the expenses of the engineering
and surveying department. It might then have been ex-
pected that at least they would not have been burdened with
a greater expense than on other lines; but what was the fact ?
In the London and Birmingham line, the charge for engin-
eering and surveying was £Bl,OOO, on the Grand Junction,
£24,000, while on the Great 'Western, which had not ex-
pended more than half its capital, and not completed more
than one-fifth part of the works, the charge was £61,000,
which being multiplied by 2, as it ought to be, would give
£322,000 against £Bl,OOO for the Birmingham, and £24,000
for the Grand Junction.—(Hear, hear.) The next item he
would take was the office expenses. In the London and
Birmingham they amounted to £34.000, in the Grand Junc-
tion to £76,000, in the Great Western, up to June last, to
1.:19,(XX), which was equal to £38,000. He called on the
shareholders_to look on these things, and to consider if such
was the expenditure in these items, which must come under
the eve of each Director, what an enormous outlay there
must have been in the greater works. Mr. Heyworth next
alluded to the cost of kyanizing the timber, to the expense
which had been incurred in fixing the gradients and other
items; and said that it was not sufficient for au engineer to
be able to boast that he had completed the best railway, but
that he ought also to have scene regard for the persons who
had entrusted him with their money to carry on the work. He
moved an amendment, that the present meeting be further
adjourned till the special meeting for taking the reports of
Mr. Wood and Mr. Hawkshma, into consideration should
have been held, and that such reports be printed and cir-
culated amongst the shareholders ten days before the special
meeting is held.
A SHAREHOLDER seconded the motion, and in reference
to the increased expenditure observed that the original esti-
mate, which was two millions and a half, was now raised to
£.-1,568,000—mi advance of nearly 100 per cent.

Mr. HOYES enter into various calculations with respect to
kvanizing the timber, in which he contendedthat Mr. Brunel
had misled the shareholders in his estimate of the compara-
tive expense of laying the rails, &e. He was perfectly satis-
fied with the Directors, but he was not satisfied with their
engineer. It was impossible to place confidence in the engi-
neer, after the experience of the last three years. •
Mr. BRUNEI. said he did not feel surprised the gentleman
who had last spoken did not feel confidence in him, for no
professional man could exrect confidence if au impression
were taken up on incorrect calculations, and on deductions
founded on those calculations. (Mr. B. then followed in
detail Mr. Hoyes's figures, and was repeatedly cheered by
the meeting in his explanation.), .

Mr. BABBAGE entered into a long• account of his observa-
tions and experience on different railways. In the course of
a tour which he had recently made be was every where met
with some remarks on the shaking and vibration of the Great
Western line: he had made up his mind to judge for himself,
in order to disabuse the public mind : he had conversed with
scientific men concerned with twelve railways • he had tra-
velled on seven ; and the result of his experience was, that in
those seven, the Great Western stood as No. 2, for comfort
and ease in travelling.
After a good deal of discussion, in the course of which Mr.
Ileyworth withdrew his motion, it was finally agreed that
after Mr. Wood presented his report, a special meeting should
he called which was fixed to take place in London on Decem-
ber 20. Thanks were voted to the chairman, and the meet-
ing separated.

ALARMING DISTURBANCE AMONGST THE
WORKMEN ON THE NORTH MIDLAND
RAILWAY, NEAR ROTHERHAM.

(From the Doncaster Gazette.)

Between eleven and twelve o'clock on the forenoon of
Wednesday last, the peaceable inhabitants of Rotherham
were suddenly alarmed by the report that a serious distur-
bance had taken place between two parties of men who were
working on the North Midland Railway, and that a large
party were assembled on Masbro' Common, preparing for a
desperate attack upon the town. In the course of a few
minutes every shop in the High-street was closed, and, with
the exception of perhaps one or two in some of the back
streets, not a single shop was left without the shutters being
put up and the door as securely fastened. The town at this
time presented a very singular appearance, all the shops
heirsg closed, and groups of people standing at every corner
of the streets, of course magnifying the rumours into events
of the most dire description. The following, as far as we
can learn, are the facts of the case:—On the line of the
railway in the neighbourhood from Darfield to Swinton, a
number of Irishmen are employed, against whom a jealousy
had arisen on the part of the Englishmen, on account of the
former working for a less rate of wages. On Wednesday
morning a dispute having arisen between one of each party,
the Englishmen made common cause with their countrymen,
and suddenly commenced an attack in a body at Darfield,
by driving every Irishman away whOm they found at work
on the line. This they dit.from that place to Swinton, at
the same time pulling dotter. and destroying the mud hovels
which the poor fellows had erected for the temporary resi-
dence of themselves and their families. This course was
proceeded in until they came near Rotherham; when the-
Irish beginning to gather courage as their forces increased,
made their way over a number of fields, and broke down all
the fences, with the materials of which they armed them-
selves in the best way they could, several of them being
already possessed of spades and other weapons. They theft
made a spew of resistance, and stood their ground, deter-
mined not to be driven away any further. Fortunately, at
this time, Mr. Stephensou, the contractor, with some of the
directors, who happeued that morning to be engaged in
taking a survey of some parts of the line, came between the
parties. Mr. Stephenson placed hithself before the Irish-
men, and promised to protect them if they would put them-
selves under his care, and otherwise there is little doubt
but a great number of lives would have been lost. The
poor fellows at once agreed to follow him, and Mr. Stephen.
son then led them peaceably into Rotherham, where he placed
them in the yard of the Rotherham Station in Westgate.
Here he supplied them with a quantity of ale, and exhorted
them to be peaceable, and they should be protected. Here
the men, to the number of nearly 300, remained, apparently
peaceably disposed, but loudly complaining of the injury
which had been done by their enemies, and stating that two
or three of their party had been killed already, and that they
were obliged to act in self-defence. They were here visited
by Henry Walker, Esq., of Clifton, who had been called
from the Bible Society, where he had been presiding; and
also by Thomas Walker. Esq., of Raventield. These two
gentlemen (magistrates of the West Riding) addressed them,
and begged them to be quiet, assuring them that, in case of
riot, they would assuredly find the law too strong for them.
The magistrates then proceeded on horseback to speak to the
other party, whom they found assembled in groups on differ-
ent parts of the line, to the number of about six hundred.
They evinced a worse feeling than did the Irishmen, to whom
they openly manifested a very bad spirit. In the meantime
the Rotherham troop of Yeomanry Cavalry had assembled
on horseback in front of the Court-house, where they re-
mained in readiness until the return of the magistrates, when
they were dismissed. A detachment of about forty of the
artillery arrived from Sheffield, with a field-piece, a little be-
fore four o'clock, but returned without entering the town.
A number of special constables were sworn in during the
day, a party of whom, accompanied by some of the railway
agents, under the superintendence of Mr. Bland, proceeded
to Wath : the remainder were placed under the command of
Womack, the police officer, and paraded the streets during
the night. The Irishmen remained at their quarters at the
railway station, and were properly provided for through the
kindness of Mr. Stephenson. No further disturbance, how-
ever, of any moment took place ; and the town, after a scene
of great commotion during the day, assumed its customary
appearance, with the exception of being disturbed by the
drunken brawls of some straggling parties of the railway men.
It is but justice to add, that every precaution was taken by
the inhabitants of the town, as well as by the authorities,
throughout the whole proceedings.

FURTHER PARTICULARS.
( From the Leeds Intelligences.)

THURSDAY, HALF-PAST THREE O'CLOCK.—The dis-
turbance has again broken out more fearfully. The English
are determined not to allow the Irish to work. A large num-
ber of the former congregated this afternoon in front of the
residence of Mr. Stephenson, and manifested a determination
to pull the house down. In consequence of this display of
feeling, and for the purpose of maintaining the public tran-
quillity, detachment of the artillery has arrived from Shef-
field; and with the assistance of the special constables, have
succeeded in apprehending a number of the ringleaders.
The riot act was then read by Henry Walker, Esq., of Clif-

ton. The shops are all closed, and there is atotal suspension
of business. Whilst the Sheffield and Rotherham troops of
yeomany were on their way to join the regiment at Doncas-
ter, on permanent duty, an express overtook them at Cools-
borough, and they immediately returned. • The express pro-
ceeded to Doncaster with communications to Lord Wharn-
cliffe upon the subject ; and Captain Glanville, the adjutant
of the regiment, immediately proceeded to Rotherham, to
render bis assistance. The town is in the greatest state of ex-
citement awl alarm. The troops are now parading the streets
in all directions; and every exertion has been made to pre-
serve the peace during the night.
Six o'CLocx.—Through the exertions which have been
used by the authorities, assisted by the military, peace has
hitherto been preserved. The Sheffield troops of Yeomanry
-t-rouP rem+ poviott-it

mains, and is acting in concert with the artillery and the
pol:ce force. All is quiet at this moment; but the excite-
ment and alarm which prevailed during the day has not
wholly subsided.

The Shetueld troops reached Doncaster at eight o'clock on
Thursday.

In reference to this unfortunate affray, we have received
the following communication from the North Midland Rail-
way-office :

On Wednesday last, in consequence of a dispute of a trival
nature, a great number of the English and Irish labourers
employed on the North Midland Railway, between Darfield
and Masbro', met at the latter place, armed for a desperate
conflict, but through the persuasion and active interference
of the Deputy Chairman and the Directors, (who were on
the ground,) aided by Mr. Stephenson, the contractor, and the
ag,ents on the line, the parties, amounting altogether to about
700, separated without coming into actual collision, although
within 200 yards of each other. The English party were
induced to follow the Directors along the line nearly two
miles, where they were again addressed by the Deputy Chair-
man, and promised to return to their own quarters and re-
sume work peaceably on the following day.
The Irish followed Mr. Stephenson to Rotherham, where
we leain that proper pi oteetion was afforded them.
The Directors who had previously been in communication
with the Rev. Henry Bowen Cooke, a magistrate resident at
Darfield, waited upon him on Wednesday evening, when
arrangements were made which it is hoped will prevent the
repetition of these outrages.
We are sorry to state, however, that hostilities were
threatened on the following day at Masbro', but through the
active exertions of Earl Fitzwilliam, the Messrs. Walker,
and other magistrates in the neighbourhood, measures have
been taken to preserve the peace.

VANAMBURGH, THE LION TAMER.

(As several inaccurate accounts have obtained publicity re-
_ lative to Mr. Vanamburgh and his method of obtaining •
the mastery over the wild beasts under his charge, with
the discipline he adopts for their management, he has fa-
voured us with the following details as a means of setting
at rest the strange speculations afloat on the subject.—
Atlas.
Isaac A. Vanamburgh was born in the year 1811, at Fish-
kill, in Duchess County, on the banks of the Hudson River,
in the state of New York. His parents were farmers, and
he himself was put into a grocery establishment in the city of
New York, at an early age, as cleek.. In this situation he
remained until he was about twenty years of age, and at this
thatelpieseieetrotiesetienietershilepreten t- avec-Mimes—sal
commenced. Being in the neighbouring state of New Jer-
sey, where an exhibition of animals was taking place, the
operations were suspended on account of the absence of the
keeper, who alone of the troupe was accustomed to enter the
cage of the lion. The company being dissatisfied, and the
people connected with the menagerie not knowing what to
do in the emergency, Vanamburgh volunteered fur whatever
the keeper had beets accustomed to perform, although he had
first to be instructed what that was. Previous to this he
knew nothing of the habits of wild animals, and had never
even touched one. "The lion, who was alone," says Mr.
Vanamburgh, "seemed to look upon me as a stranger, but I
handled him with confidence, and he soon got accustomed to
me. I entered the cage without the slightest trepidation;
and during the whole of my subsequent career I am satisfied
that the beasts, however savage they may be, had an instinc-
tire sense that my temper was uglier than theirs, and that it
was in my power to devour them if I pleased." His success
in his first experiment attracted his attention to a pursuit
with which he had become acquainted by chance, and, on
further knowledge of the parties, he gave up his previous
business, and connected himself with the lion and his owner.
The winter he Milled an engagement at the Bowery Thea-
tre, in New York, in a piece entitled the Lion Downed; or,
the Bandit of Benares, in which he had a combat with the
beast on the stage. This was the first instance of a lion ap-
pearing on the boards of an American Theatre. Mr. Van-
amburgh then went to the Zoological Institute in New York,
one of the largest establishments of the kind known, as it
employs from 60 to 100 Hottentots and native hunters at the
Cape of Good Hope, for the purpose of going into the inte-
rior of South Africa, under the command of a Scotchman
named Clay ton, to catch wild beasts. This association de-
spatched a vessel •,from New York or Boston every y ear,
which was chartered expressly for the purpose of bringing; to
those cities the beasts that had been captured, in which un-
dertaking it expended upwards of £2'J,OOO. Mr. Vanam-
burgh entered into an engagement with the proprietors to
tame the animals as they wese landed, and render them fit
fog the exhibitions of which they were to form k part. He
tried numerous experiments as to their tractability and do-
cility, travelling with them in summer through the principal
cities from New York to Washington, and attracting hun-
dreds of thousands of visitors to the Institute during the
winter, by the novelty and boldness of his extraordinary
attempts to subdue the temper and natural propensities of
his ferocious pupils. In this singular species of apprentice-
ship which Buffon and Cuvier would have delighted to ob-
serve, Mr. Vanamburgh had almost every variety of the
large and savage race of brutes under his hands; he declares
that the only inapt scholars he founlcluweri,rebethine
gl"c'eonniapse' compelled to
he could not succeed in teaching n
rest satisfied with subjugating them to his control, and awing
their restlessness into comparative submission. Of these he
had four in the same cage, (two of the spotted and two of
the striped kind,) with a lion and lioness, tigers, leopards,
and bears, among whom he moved about with an entire ab-
sence of apprehension Indeed, from the first time he en-
tered the lion's cage in New Jersey to the present time, he
avers never to have lost his presence of mind, but went up
to them when strangers and in their wildest state, confidently
and without hesitation. This is his only secret—a determin-
ed heart, a confirmed will, and a strong arm; and he has,
never known' an instance in which they were not "cowed.'
Some would show fight, at first, and this has occurred with
the lioness and the leopard; "in such cases," adds Mr. Van-
amburgh, "I use the stick, and they soon become submissive.
I could hold any of these beasts at arm's length for some
time—long enough to permit assistance to be rendered me;
but in a protracted struggle I must succumb, as they would
master me with their claws and teeth."
A singalar proof of his confidence in his powers of con-
troul over the brute creation, and of the almost presumptuous
hardihood of the experiments he exhibited, is afforded by de-
Mils of some of the feats which were so attractive in New
York. He would bathe his arms, face, neck, and head, with
the fresh blood of a bullock; and before entering into the
cages,-caused the bucket in which the gore was contained to
be given to the animals, which they would instantly lick with
avidity. lie then entered with the blood dropping from his
limbs, and would draw his arms through their 'teeth, thrust
his head into their mouths, and roll among them, without
their attempting any thing beyond the mere licking of the
parts where the blood had been smeared.
On another occasion he introduced a child about seven
years old, and a lamb, into a cage of lions, tigers, and other
powerful brutes, and the rehearsal of this exhibiton was at-
tended by a remarkable incident.. He leaned upon one knee,
and placed the child in such a position that one of its feet
should rest upon his knee, and the other upon the lion's head.
" I then took the lamb up to hand to the child," he goes on,
"and as 1 war' lifting it, the tigiess sneaked behind me, and
snatched it out of my band betwen its teeth. I was fearful
the child might be frightened, an expected myself that there
would be a tight; so I removed it out of the den as quickly
as possible, all the time laying on the tigress's head and body
with a whip to prevent tier having time to lacerate the lamb.
One of my attendants passed a crowbar to me, with which I
knocked the tigress down more than half a dozen times, until
at last she fell senseless, and dropped the lamb uninjured from -
her jaws. The lioness then seized the little thing, but I•
adopted the same process towards her, and succeeded in
• getting it out of the cage unharmed. Determined not to be
foiled in what I had undertaken, after the lapse of a few mi-
nutes, I took the boy and lamb again into the cage, and went
through the performances according to my intention, which
I have repeated a oat many hundred times in New York,
and other nieces, without any of the animals ever venturing,
again to seize my fellow exhibitor. I was desirous of re-
newing the spectacle
,here, (in England, at Astley's,) but
have been disappointed, on the geound that it would be un-
pleasant to the feelings of the visitors. Such an impression,
I am bound to respect; but, for toy own part, I have not the
slightest objection or apprehension as to the harmlesness of
the exploit."
Mr. Vanamburgh was also accustomed to enter the dens
enveloped in stage fire, with squibs and other pyrotechnics
exploding around hint ; at first the beasts were greatly tend-
fed, and crouched into corners, covering their eyes with their
paws; they quickly, however, became habituated to it, and
now regard it with great philosophy and composure.
"The animals I have now with me," resumed our inter-
locutor, "cause into my hands direct from Africa; I tented
them, and brought them to their present docile state. It never
made any difference to me whether they were hungry or not
—whether they were good-tempered or angry—tlut I went
amidst them trusting in courage, strength, and stick. When
I first put soy present stock in the same cage, consisting of
lions, lionesses, tigers, and leopards, ten in a 11,.! stationed
myself in the den with the lion, to receive them, one by one.
I had the tiger brought to the door in a box, which I opened,
and dragged him in. When the lion saw him he was agi-
tated, and lashed his sides with his tail; the tiger made a
spring at Min, but was shaken tiff by the lion, and they had a
smart. fight together, rolling. over one another, biting, and
roaring, while I was employed in beating them both with a
heavy hickory club over face, legs, and back. After some
time I managed to separate them, and drove them into op-
posite corners, where they crouched, glaring at one another,
and uttering a short, sharp, and angry growl. I next brought
in the leopards, when a general row commenced againt and
wishing to have it over as soon as possible, and that ones:liras'e
should do for the whole, I had in the other animals—elions.
lionesses, and all. There was a brief skirmish between the
lions, but that soon merged into the common conflict, and I
employed myself in distributing my blows mete; theta all
without distinction, till I succeeded in pacifying Them. I
was with them for almost every minute during six weeks,
frequently eating my meals in their cage, and.sleeping in a
small closet only separated from them byiron bars, which
allowed of my reaching and touching them through. They
fought dreadfully at intervals, but did not injure one another
seriously : at the expiration of six weeks l'entriPletelv suc-
ceeded in bringing them into subjection by beating, and they
have never renewed their quarrel since."
Mr. Vanamburgh has never tried any experimiets re-
specting the relative strength of the animals, their weight, or
the proportion of their power with that of.a horse, bullock, or
ether beast of burden. He has nut taken ally note of the
quantity of flesh they would consume if they had an ad libiiuiii
supply, but promises to ascertain these carte, and furnish us
with the result of his observations. The animals castle over
to England in the packet-ship President, from New York,
anti a thousand dollars (£2OO sterling) were paid for their
freight. Thirty sheep and twelve bullocks were laid in as
sea stock for thesis, and this was considered as rather shot t
allowance, as they eat nothing whatever but raw and-fresh
meat, rejecting any thing salt, tainted, cooked, or stale. It
is a rule of their domestic economy never to teed them but
once in the twenty-four hours, and their supper is always
after their performance. Mr. Vanamburgh has nosy per-
formed thirty-five nights at Astley's, and will appear at
Drury-lane Theatre on the 20th instant. Froth thence he
goes to Paris, having ratified an engagement at the theatre
of the Porte St. Martin. He then returns to Eugland, makes.
a tour of the counties, Scotland, Ireland,
&e., and visits Ger-
many and other continental countries previous to his return
.
to the United States.
On Thursday last, the dth instant, a circumstance occurred
on the stage at Astley's, which is worthy of being recorded.
The performances for Mr. Ducrow's benefit, on Monday next,
was being rehearsed, in the course of which Mr. Vanain-_
burgh is to be introduced, holding Ins largest lion bva chain,
and standing on a platform, which is borne on men's shoulder?.
" I caused the platform," says Mr. Vanamburgh, " to be
placed on a level with the door of the cage, taro %Ninth I en-
tered to bring hina-nut: He made his exit very quicklyeand
seemed glad to stretch his- limbs, but showed a great anxiety
to get at the horses. The procession proceeded, and lasted
upwards of a quarter of an hour. When it was over the plat-
form was brought to the door of the cage, and before the lion
was put in again, I played with him for a little while. I then
unchained him, and wanted him to go ;he jumped down.
I leaped upon his back, and in this manner he attempted to
get to the rear of the stage, in the direction of the stables.
Some heavy flats and scenery were in his front; between the
edges of these he contrived to oet his nose, and having worked
them aside, he bolted through, carrying me with. him. By
this time I got a rope, which I passed round his neck, and by
kicking and pulling I managed to get him back to the cage,
into which 1 drove him. The stage was soon emptied when
he leaped clown."
Many incorrect and extravagant narratives having been
published respecting Mr. Vanamburgh and his wild beasts,
we have requested him to confirm the authenticity of the fre-
goino details by his signature, so that the readers of the Atlas
may be convinced that our statements on the subject are from
the very best authority. ISAAC A. VANAMBUIWiI.

* In the New York dialect the word muss is nearly equiva.
lent to the English row:

Puss IN Tuount.R.—A ludicrous scene occurred in the en-
closure appropriated to the monkeys in the fardin des Plantes.
By some chance or other, an unfortunate cat had found its
way in among the nimble inhabitants of this vast cage, who
immediately made common cause, and assailed the intruder.
Puss showed fight, and, for a time, by the aid of her formid-
able talons, kept her enemies at bay; but at length the big
ape came foremost in the fight, and seizing the cat by the
neck, forced it down with its nose neon the planks, and very
scientifically began with great deliberation -to bite off its
claws, and as he finished each claw, he put the disarmed
paw to his nose to ascertain that all was smooth. This pro-
cess was continued till the screams of poor puss and the shouts
of the spectators attracted the notice of the keepers, who
came and put an end to the emerations.—French paper.
AN EXCURSIVE SPEAKER.--At a dinner which followed
the laying of the foundation-stone of the Peterhead Aca-
demy, a Mr. King, bookseller, in proposing the toast of the
press, delivered a speech which is thus described iu the
Aberdeen Constitutional:—" After a flowery speech, in the
course of which he touched upon the press in genera!, and
the newspaper press iu particular, and on antiquity, Greece,
Rome, courage, patriotism, generosity, noble daring, legisla-
tion, philosophy, genius, poetry, sculpture, oratory, slave,
manacle, scourge, principles of liberty, the AmpUlis, Ho-
mer, the Grecian Demosthenes and the Roman' Cicero, reli-
gious knowledge and the sages of Greece, blasphemy, and
the light of the sixteenth century. 'knowledge is power, the
liberty of the subject, the management of Government, strong
right hands, flashes of electricity, and a number of other
articles too tedious to mention, concluded by proposing " the
Liberty of the Press." (Drank with great cheering. - Air—
" Bid me Discourse,")