The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-10-19
FOREIGN ITEMS.

NONllNOEp SAfllNlI1 Ok cAlLE-DOUtt
October 1.-THE Pope, in his address to the
italian pilgrims at st. Peters yesterday, stated
that the deplorable state of affairs placed before
him the alternative of enduring continual cap
tivity made harder daily, or of going into exile.
lie therefore asked Catholics to watch and pray.
He concluded by saying that he was no longer
secure In his palace-that he was outraged in
person and dignity in thousand ways.
London. October IA special from Rome
to the Times says it is impossible to describe the
enthusiastic cheers after the Pope gave his
benediction on the pilgrims. The Pope looked
thin and anxious. A gang of roul his pelted the
pilgrims leaving the Church st. Vetale, shout.
ing, " Down with the Vatican"
One of the most disastrous storms.
In many years, swept over Great Britain last
week, commencing in Ireland on Friday, the
18th inst, and in England at night The dam
age to property all over the country is enor-
nous. Many lives were lost by the blowing
down OF houses and chimneys. At least twenty
persons were killed in London and large mum.
Der were wounded. Reports from the country
mention innumerable disasters, especial Y on the
coasts. Telegraphic communication everywhere
was interrupted.
During the past year the progress o.
discovery at Pompeil has been rapid. Several
very important houses have been opened for the
first time since their memorable closing up in
the early years of imperial Rome. One of them
Is built and furnished on AN entirely orignai
plan. Some of the statues found are of bronze.
and are said to be of exquisite workmanship
Furniture discovered is also of high excellence.
The King of Sweden last spring or
dered collections to be taken up in the Father
land to aid feeble Swedish Lutheran church
in Philadelphia in paying debt of $4,000.
The result is the handsome little sum of 4 $40.
1t is reported that Count Herbert
Bismarck, the son of the great German states
man will be appointed German Minister to the
United States as soon as the present ambassador
retires.
1t seems that Parneii, the Irish
agtator, has added one more to the manifold
duties which burden his anxious mind He has
announced 1t as his mission to extinguish tn,
Presbyterians of the north of Ireland. So writes
the well-lnformed correspondent of the New
York Tribune. 1t is a large contract which he
has on hand, and his first effort has been de-
cidedly unsuccessful, for after a hot contest Mr.
Dickson, Presb terrain, has been returned to
Parliament from county Tyrone, ireland. and
Mr.. ParnelIs untiring efforts to prevent it have
been ruthless. He deserves this def, at and we
hope that he will have more of them.
,-PALEsrINE.- The question of thu
colonization of Palestine is being spiritedly dis
cussed by the Hebrew press abroad. Tn,
Jerusalem Habdzaieh invites the Europeai
Jews to settle in Palestine AID found agricul
tural colonies. The Hdmdgid strongly favolS
the emigration of Russian Jews to Pales;i1.e
The Teri, on the other hand condemns the pro
lect as originated by Christian missio aries il
England.
Lady Florence Dixie, who went to
the Transvaal as correspondent of the London
Morning, Post, camped out with her husband
and cooked her own rations. During this
period Boer, who made large boasts about
his skill with rife, was ,hallenged by her to
trial of skill. The Boer shot with a Martini
Henry rifle, Lady Florence with a Winchester
at bottles placed at distance of 200 yards
To the delight of all the onlookers. Lady
Florence hit the bottles one after the other. as
II they We're elephants, and the Boer went away
si!gnally defeated and with the conviction that
II all Englishmen can't shoot, some English
women can.
The ex-Empress Eugene is said to
have never recovered from tie loss OF her son.
She lives quietly and almost alone, taking no
interest in external events or persons. She
passes most OF her time in darkened room and
OF French politics she never speaks. Her in.
come is $250,0oo year.
Major General Sir Henry Hayelock
Allan, son of the heroic" Havelock, the hero
OF the Sepoy instruction, and ror many years
member of Parliament for Sunderland, is re-
ported to be insane from the effects of a sun
stroke suffered some years ago.
Recent cable dispatches state that
the Dahomans have successfully raid d certain
neighboring towns, and secured large number
OF prisoners for sacrifice at the annual custom"
Wholesale murder is one of he chief features of
this religious ceremony, the skulls of the victims
being afterwards used to decorate the roval
palace. As many as two thousand human vic
TINS have been sacrificed at one grand custom"
and the present monarch is said to have slain
1000 at the death of his father The method
OF slaughter is first to gag and bind the prisoners
hand and foot, and place them upon huge
wooden trays. They are then borne the
brink Of precipice, and thrown over its edge.
Such as escape being dashed to pieces are beaten
to death with clubs by the populace. The cere-
mony is in the nature of propitiatory sacrifice
to the spirits of the Kings ancestors. The
prisoners generally taken by Amazons, or
fen ale soldiery, who number 5000, or one-half
the regular army, and who are said to be much
more effective soldiers than the males Strange
to say, apart from their pagan practices, the
Dahomans are described as very intelligent
singularly honest. and far advanced in agricul
ture. The interference Of civilized nations
with their barbarous rites has thus far been pre-.
vented by the deadly nature of he climate, and
the comparatively inaccessible nature of the
country.-Interior.
The advice of the Emperor William
to his nephew, the Gar, to force the fighting