MISCELLANEOUS.

Napoleon LTI. as a Schoolboy.— A certificate of studies has been communicated to us, which was delivered at the expiration of the half-year 1821-2 to the future Emperor, Napoleon 111. , who was at that time in the fifth class of the College of Saint Anne, at' Augsburg. The document is as follows :—": — " No. 24 Prince ■Charles Louis Napoleon, ton of the Duke -de Saint Leu, of Rome, born at Paris, •belonging to the Catholic religion, aged 14 years and 5 months, gifted with many good qualities, in the development of which he has labored with much zeal, , so thalt he has made good advancement in the German language, in Latin, and in •arithmetic, and pretty good in Greek and in history ; in general, therefore, considerable progress. His quiet manner towards his fellow-pupils is deserving of praise, as are also the respect and gratefulness with which he has accepted even disagreeable tasks. He has the twentyfourth place ; the difficulties of the German lan'j^uage, of which he is not yet master, have prevented him from obtaining a higher rank. Besides, he is publicly commended, and he can pass into a superior class." — Journal de.Franhfort.

Anti-Falls of Niagara. — " Which is the strongest throne on the globe today V inquired the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher lately in New York. " Why, the English unquestionably ; partly because a noble, virtuous, and illustrious woman sits upon it. She dignifies womanhood and motherhood, and she is fit to sit in empire. That is one reason why the English throne is' the strongest. But that is not the only reason. It is the strongest also because it is so manylegged. It stands on 30,000,000 of people. It represents the interest of the masses of its subjects. Another reason why England is the strongest nation is because it is the most Christian nation, because it has the most moral power. It has more than we have. We like to talk of ourselves on the 4th of July ; we love to fan ourselves with eulogies ; but we are not to be compared to-day with Old England. 1 know her surly faults ; I know her stubborn conceit ; I know how many things are mischievous among her poor common people, among her operatives of the factory, and among her serfs of the mine ; but, taking her up one side and down the other, there is not another nation that represents so much Christianity as Old England. If you do not like to hear it, I like to say it ! And the strongest Power on the globe to-day is that kingdom. It is the strongest kingdom, and the one that is the least liable to be shaken down. England ! she has been destroyed every ten or fifteen years from the time of the Armada to the present day in the prophecies of men. Every few years she has been about to be overthrown by sea; she has been ploughed up by land ; she has been about to be stripped of her resouroes in India and other parts of the globe. Nations have formed alliances against her ; the armies and fleets of the civilised world have gone about her ; her interests political and pecuniary, have been repeatedly and violently assailed ; and yet she has stood as she now stands, mistress of the seas, and the strongest power on earth, because she has represented the moral elements." — Court Journal.

The Pp.eservation of Health —The current notion is founded upon the old saws which we have discussed, that if a lad drinks ale before he is ten years of age and wine ere he attains twenty, he will, perforce, become a drunkard ere he arrives at three-score. The idea is not even founded in fact ; it is true that some who are drunkards have begun to be so early in life, but it is certainly no*: a fact that those who do take beer or wine medicinally in youth get a liking for it in old age. As a general rule, children dislike fermented liquors ; but when they are growing fast, are delicate in constitution, and have poor appetites, they do relish it, as a horse revels in a feed of carrots, or a teetotaller in a savoury pudding. We have elsewhere stated that beer is to a certain extent equivalent to beef, and that the boy who cannot eat mutton will often dine upon a glass of ale. It is important that this fact should be fully known. There are many board-ing-sohools in which the food set before the boys is coarse in quality, and so badly dressed that it produces loathing. The idea that all lads have a ravenous appetite, and can put up with the same food as would suit a yard-dog, is pre-eminently fa,lse, and yet it obtains so generally that there are few pedagogues who do not act upon it. If, under such circumstances, the youth is obliged to drink water as his sole beverage, he will starve ; if, on the contrary, parental care allows him a daily modicum of beer, he will contrive to get along with the better food -which the breakfast and tea supply. I *m acquainted with one family whose

father, a clergyman, and very sensible in most respects, entertained the belief that the greatest bane to the children was indulgence in food and drink. Many a time at his table have I pitied the poor lads who were obliged to be contented with less than half the s apply which .was given to me — for as a guest I was treated well. That family I have watched with the greatest interest to find whether the result would show that the parent's idea was correct. One died in childhood of pure exhaustion ; another, whose talents were undoubted, took an aegrotat degree at Cambridge ; another, whose genius will shortly be recognised by the world, is and has been a frequent sufferer from myalgia ; and the daughters are by no means strong. At the same time, I knew another family who were allowed to follow the dictates of nature, to eat as much as they required, and to drink as much as they wished, provided they never outstripped the bounds of propriety, which on one or two occasions some of them unquestionably did. These are as healthy a lot in adult age as can be required ; they have not any propensity to exceed either in food or drink, and whilst their friends are suffering from the false philosophy of their father, they are chuckling over the advantages which accrue to children whose parents adhere to the dictates of common sense rather than the caprices of soi-disant philosophers who mistake their own assumptions for undisputed facts.— Medical Mirror.

A Bishop on the Cost of Bishops' Palaces. — Dr. Claughton, Bishop of Rochester, reconstructed Wembourne Church, near Wolverhampton, on the 28th, and in an address at the luncheon afterwards, said : — There has been an attempt lately to cast what I consider a very undeserved odium upon bishops by members of the House of Commons asking for the returns of what has been laid out upon bishop's residences. (Hear, hear.) I saw the other day a great many thousand pounds mentioned as having been laid out upon. the residence of the Bishop of Rochester. Now, how does the case really stand ? They sold the old residence of the Bishop of Rochester 'for —(A clergyman: "Half the value.") — for half its value ! Why, they could have sold it for four times as much if they could have waited. They sold it, and they bought another, with a good part of the money. Well, then, I think it is a great shame to say that we have been laying out all the money that ought to have been spent upon hardworking enrates upon bishop's residences. They did no such thing. They were ignorant of the transactions; and if they had waited till now they might have supplied four bishops' residences out of the same sale, without in the least infringing upon the hard-working curate — (applause), whom I am the first man, and not the last, to consider. (Renewed applause.) Well, but I had a residence besides that, given to the Bishop of Rochester by some great layman of former days, some 200 years ago, which would have served me very well to have done my duty under the shade of the cathedral, there to take a part, such as a bishop likes to take, in the heart— for a cathedral is the heart of his diocese. — (Applause.) Well, what did they do with that ? One morning the good people of Rochester rose from their | beds and found that the bishop's residence had been sold for LIOOO, whilst any of them would have been glad to have given L2OOO or L3OOO for it that day. And so they did away with my chance of living close under the cathedral, a duty — my duty — of every bishop ; and I believe all the bishops in the Church of England at Home, and all the colonial bishops, wish to do their duty. — (Applause.)

Type Writing- Machine. — A machiny by which it is assumed that a man mac print his thoughts twice as fast as he can write them, and with the advantage of the legibility, compactness, and neatness of print, has lately been exhibited before the London Society of Arts, by the inventor, Mr Pratt, of Alabama. He draw 3up his alphabet in a solid square battalion, say seventy characters in seven rows, the whole in a solid electrotype plate aboiit five-eighths inch square or more, according to the' size of type desired. He prints a letter by the blow of a minute hammer, of uniform size with all the type bodies, striking the face of the letter, the paper interposed, and a carbonised sheet also between that and the type. Each letter, as wanted, is moved into position before the hammer by compound levers actuated by keys like those of a piano. The same touch of the key re-ad-justs the paper to the new impression (with or without a space before it, according to the force used), re-adjusts the typo plate so as to present the desired type to the hammer, and gives the printing blow. Simple , arrangements also retract the page at once laterally and vertically to begin a new line. The type plate and paper are placed vertically, the latter with its face to . the , operator, , so that the work done is before bis'

eyes as in writing. The keys actuate two double acting levers, one 'of which raises or lowers the type plate, while the other moves it laterally. Each key is so applied to the levers as to adjust theplate at once sideways and vertically to the position for bringing a particular character inio play. Or, a better way, one key will do duty for the vertical movement of each entire horizontal row, another key for the lateral movement of each vertical column ; and thus by pressing two keys for each character, seventeen keys will be sufficient to operate the whole font of seventycharacters abovesupposed. The case of the instrument is small and compact, the parts are mostly of wood, and it could be manufactured and sold on a large scale for about 15 dollars, with a handsome . profit. The subject of type writing is one of the interesting aspects of the near future. Its manifest feasibility and advantage indicate that the laborious and' unsatisfactory performance of the pen must sooner or later become obsolete for general purposes. " Printed copy" will become the rule, not the exception, for compositors, even on original papers like the Scientific American. Legal copying and the writing and delivery of sermons and lectures, not to speak of letters and editorials, will undergo a revolution as remarkable as that effected in books by the invention of printing, ard the weary process of learning penmanship in schools will be reduced to the acqttirement of the art of writing one's own signature and playing on the literary piano above described, or rather on its improved successors. — Scientific American.

Utilisation of the Electric Light. — The brilliant light afforded by electricity naturally suggested, at a very early period, its application to the purposes of illumination. But every project for the purpose, was practically impossible, until very great progress had been made in the modes of producing and manipulating that obtained by means of the pile, or the magnet. Galvanic electricity, which in its application preceded that derived from magnetism, appears not unlikely to maintain its ground as a convenient and economic source of light, notwithstanding the numerous and important discoveries that have been made in this department of science. This might fairly be expected : since, at least in those contrivances in which heat and light are the results of the transformation of motion — previously obtained directly from combustion — the effect must be more costly and complicated than when obtained directly from combustion, as is the case with galvanic electricity. The effect produced by the latter is now so economic and what is still more important, so reliable, that it is being introduced with excellent effect in France, as a means of diffusing to great distances a light so intense, that when it is used, collision at night is impossible. Also, during the intense frosts in January, the skaters in the Bois de Boulogne were enabled, by means of fifteen electric lights, suitably disposed, to enjoy their pastime by nighr, with at lea3t as much convenience and security as by day.> Each of %he fifteen lights was produced by the elecric current obtaiued from a Bunsen battery containing forty elements, and placed in a small closed pit, from whi.;h the vapors were conveyed away, so as to be the cause of no inconvenience to those in the vicinity. The carbon points lasted for several hours, aiforcling a light practically uniform ; and when they were nearly worn out, a fresh lamp moving on rails provided for the purpose, was slid into the place of that which was exhausted. In taking its position, it lit of itself ; and the displacement of its predecessor caused the worn out points to be ext nguished, the change taking place so quietly, ''that no interruption of the light was perceptible. A single additional lamp is sufficient to change the fifteen at the proper times, the points being so arranged, as to become exhausted in succession.

The Leichaudt Expedition. — Tie following telegram holds out a hope that Leichardt may yet be alive. It is dated Bowen (Queensland) October 3 : — "News has been received from Burketown. Among other items, one gives hope of the existence of Leichardt, or one of his party. Captain Cadcll, whilst exploring Roper, close to Leichardt's position, heard of a solitary white man living with the blacks, who had a very white beard down to his waist. He was out turtling when the Eagle was there, so Captain Cadull could not get to him ; but he is endeavoring to get on his track. The Eagle left;Sweer's Island on September 1, for Adam Bay, expecting to be two months longer upon the coast. ".Commenting upon the telegram, the Umpire, of the sth instant, says: — "As to the solitary white man living in these wilds^ we are very far from jumping to the conclusion that it is Leichardt or any one of his companions. It is now twenty years since his party left the settled districts of the Colony; and although instances are known of Europeans, living |

with the blacks for a much longer period,. . it is scarcely within tae limits of proba^ bility at leal 1 , that the individual now spoken of can be* Leiehardt himself. That it may be a younger member of his party is by no means improbable ; and whether or not ; we hold to the opinion that if the explorer were beaten back by drought as Gregory was, or by inundations as JVl'Kinlay was, or through a'iy other cause, nothing would, be more reasonable than he should turn north upon, his former tracks, for the purpose either of resting and refreshing his party in a fine country, or making for Port Essington, in hopes that search might be made for him there as it was before. Upon i these points, we shall have to wait for further intelligence." On the same subject, we quote the following extract front a letter, signed "An Old^Squatter," in the Mornhu/ Herald :—": — " Having noticed ' the telegram from Bowen, having reference to a white man's being in existence in the far north, who is supposed to be one of Leichardt's party, I desire to let you know some facts in connection with the lamented, doctor's final departure from Darling Downs in the end of 1847 (I think lam correct in the year.) I was at the time resident on the Canning Downsstation, adjoining that of flosenthal, where Leichardt was also staring with hisfriend and countryman, Mr Frederic Bracker. Tim gentleman is n<-.w residing on his squattage, Warroo, in Queensland. The evening before the Doctor started he paid us a visit to bid tis good-bye, and whilst there a Scotchman named William Stewart, who was occupied asa bullock watchman in travelling with teams, expressed a determination to go with. Leichardt. His antecedents argued strongly in favor of his application, and the Doctor decided upon taking him. The last word 3 fctjwart said to me were, ' Never give me up, sir, for if the whole party were overcome, I can. always work my way amongst the blacks ; if accident or illness do not carry me off, I'll see Swan River. ' Stewart had formerly been a convict at the Moreton Bay station, and having made his escape he wandered for certainly twelve — I believe seventeen — years amongst the then perfectly wild blacks in the, Richmond and Clarence districts He could climb trees, secure game by use of spears or boomerangs, and was perfectly independent as to a provision of food. He had a peifect knowledge of the native roots, yams, &c. He was a thick-set man, light complexion, and apparently of iron constitution. I shall not be in the least astonished to find, should the report prove true as to the existence of a white man (one of Leichhardt's party) in the locality described, that it is William Stewart Stewart told me also that he would always work his 1 way to the coast in the event of the party being lost, and he to survive them." Curious Restitution: op Stolen Money. — A special meeting of the Westmoreland Gardeners' Lodge, No. 142 (Kendal), was held on the night of the loth, and was summoned for rather a novel purpose. It apnears that some 33 years ago, when the lodge did not muster so numerously and was not so rich as at present, one of its members was entrusted with a sum of money, more than L3O sterling, for the purpnse of purchasing regalia. The man was young and poor, the temptation was strong, so, as a matter of consequence, neither man nor money was again heard of uvtil lately. One day last week, j a person of respectable exterior and geni tlemanly deportment waited on the sec- ! retary and asked him to summon a snecial general meeting of the lodge. This was done, curiosity was excited, and a numerously attended gathering was the rpsult. It then transpired that the person of respectable exterior and gentlemanly deportment was the missing "gardener" of 33 years ago, who had come all the way from America to repay in person, -with ample interest, the money which he had appropriated in his poorer days. The dtinouemrM was- Tin expected, as may be supposed, the explanation satisfactory. The wanderer was received with joy, his sin was forgiven and forgotten, and much was made of him. It is not necessary to mention his name, but it may be statpd that the Kend ilian is in a lucrative business in some part of America, and would long ago have refunded the money, upon which he had binlt his prosperity, had he been able to do so in person. The Times has reason to believe that the first report of the ritual commission, which the Archbishop of Canterbury announced would shortly be issued, and which deals with the question of ecclesiastical vestments, will be decidedly adverse to the practices which have been lately brought into vogue by a section of the clergy. The majority of the commissioners j condemn these innovations as illegal or inexpedient, and advise that they should be prohibited. j The sum expended on the Suez Canal ' works last year was about 1*2,520,000.