The San Francisco Mail.

Bruce Herald, Volume X, Issue 959, 20 November 1877, Page 7

The San Francisco Mail.

London, September 20 THE FOREIGN OFFICE. The Foreign Office must expect some father sharp criticism until it explaiuo a. matter which certainly needs explanation. In the lash published batch of despatches on the .war, Mr.Laysrd charges ths Greek Consnl General at Constantinople with releasing some notorious Greek criminals and sending them to the frontier where they have been committing acta of violence and aggression on the Turks. This charge has been most, unhesitatingly denied by the Consul General, but while Mr Layard's accusation is given in the Blue Book, the denial is not. Is Mr Layard responsible tor this? Most persons think him sufficiently Turcophile for that. ; NATIONAL OPED A HOUSE. ;. There is hope for the National Opera House yet. They; talk of offering hundred pouxd debentures to the public; such a scheme should auswer. The immense convenience of Having an opera housa close to the Metropolitan District Railway is evident. For a shilling return ticket you could; cover the whole cost of the journey to and fro, and a passage would lead from the 'station to the theatre, whereas now one has to add to the expense^of admission, the unavoidable brougham. There are lots of big caravanserais dotted over London already, but the operas are for the most part like Arab tents, here to- day and gone to-morrow. IRVING IN HOPE. Here is a little bit of scandal : A married music master flirted with one of his pupila, of course he was found out, and Paterfamilias said in his wrath, "You a married man too! Had you b&en a bachebr your intentions might have been honourable " " They are honourable^" rejoined the professor ;'''% live in hopes." "Of what ?" * Nut of being a bachelor, but of being a widower." HITTING THE MARK. Mr Robert Buchanan (if he is the author of the article in; the s Contemporary Reviewon ''The Newest Thing in Journalism") exactly hit the mirk when he pointed out how fond the London gossiping papers are. of introducing the Prince of Wales. Last week one of them -administered a tremendous rebuke to his Royal Highness, and declared that Albert Edward was becoming a replica of "George P." This wtek aabther of them falls foul of the first for falling foul ot the Prince, sarcastically remarking that the Prince is always ';gp.«d "copy." Evideiitly the second journalist believes what he says, for he has spun no fewer than seven C'.himns otit of the heir to the throne. Future historians . will be somewhat, puzzled it they slmuld chance to light upon the two articles. They will find according to one Queen Victoria's eldest son was the embodiment of everything a Prince should not be. They will find that according to the other a more gracious Prince, a more loving husband and father, a more genial guest and popular hoat, a more cultivated, clever, versatile, many-sided, accomplished gentleman, never set foot on an earth which, is hardly worthy to be trodden by him He is all faults according to the one, he is faultless according to the other; On one point both journalists are agreed, he is very <l good copy." A BAD HARVEST. There are terrible ta!es of the harvest in Yorkshire, It is the woret which has been known for years: You may see farm after farm where the crops will not pay the rent. Some of the farmers, utterly aghaat and in despair, are giving up their JH din S s ' What corn there is can hardly be sold, so poqr is it, arid 283 a quarter ia now asked for pro? duce which in better times fetched 02* ot 633; The French and American -harvests are poorv\ Russia U 3$ war and our own, crops are a failure. If we gpfc a very col* winter tho monthly returns of ■■• pattperUiawill hardly continue their decline. Surely this is not jtip*B for tjie .propagation of strikes. - CONJURING EXTRAORDINARY. : A couple of very Clever conjurors -gave a semi-private performance jn the Opera Theatre' at the Crystal Palace lately. Jf ; .:-i» true ' thaV Messrs Fuller and Phillips imi.tatecT the best tricks of Messrs Masketyno and Cooke. But this need lidt detract from theii' ..success. Imitation is the sincerest flattery, and the-roere fact that others attempt to follow in their footsteps, /and that ,tHe .conjurers and wizards have taken ,so long in discovering th.eteseprer,wilj be sufficiently consolation to the c'evei* entertaineps fc£ the Egyptian Hall. As to the Crystal Palace performance, it will suffice to say that a sort of Turkish fighrfli entitled, for the moment, ." Hankeyi the ainiirablp Crichton," was placed on a table, which in its, turn rested on. a bro-i4 glass cylinder, a pedestal, and four glaßß salt-cellars. Grichr ton was screwed do^n on table, and the trick*, began. The-ngure picked out a marked' card from a paclc, bowed, fanneA himseif, wagged his head, spelt and wrote certain numbers on copper, ftiid; finally he ; suffered himself to ba piercud wj)]) a sword aqd impaled on a stake, just to show tfaajk ilvere . waa 119 material life ;in\ ; him.: The' . modus ' operandi, tl ,eojurs,o f pply those in the secret can giiess ja*. But the; iieick; i 4 exceeding-y'plever ose, and oughi to make its mark, = ■,:,.. ■-■ - : ........... „v,^ .v ■r{^'-; r :--:-