MISCELLANEOUS.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XVII, Issue 1439, 27 September 1861, Page 4

MISCELLANEOUS.

Description or the Tuapeka Gold pxllds, by a Digger. — Around mo aie grouped the eveilastmg hills ill daik and frowning magnificence, and at my feet. meanders the little uvulet from which the place tikes its name, which yesteiday was as clear as ciystal, but today flowd a turbid and unseemly stieam The hills, which aie about 1200 feet high, reach the plain m well lounded and lapidly descending spurs, broken heie and thoie by a protiuding mass of quarts, 01 the haul am'senated outline o£ a piojecling lodge of slate. The valley of the Tuapeka is one of these clefts in the mountain lange, extending some mile and-a half fiom the spot where it opens out into the plain ; and this stream let rises fioin a series of ravines which conveige at its upper end ; here is a kind of basin or alluvially filled up lake, which at present is being taken up by the newly swarming diggers, and which, if systematically woiked by Calitorman pumps, and the ordmaiy appliances, will be nclily leinunerativo ; alieatly i judicious perseveiance has been lepaul by a plentiful supply of nuggetty gold, but the sinking is compaiatively deepsome 10 or 18 feet — and in consequence, at this season of the year, veiy wet Ozone and Am CuRUFNis —We (Southern Cross) extract the following highly interesting paiagraph fiom the meteorological leport, published by the authoiities at Hobait Town It suggests important scientific consideiations — " As the quantity of o/,one increases with the degree of elevation, to a ceitain extent, and the quantity of oxidablo mittei is gicatesfc in thf lowest stiat'im of an, and moie ospoeially when that an is stagnant and becalmed, it might fiom these cucuni stances be mfened, fiom the low situation of Hobait Town, that it was deficient of that potent atinosphcm punficr. This is, howevei, fai from being the case , for there is not only sufficient o/ono to destiov .ill mmmatic emanations fiom putnfying animal or vegetable substances, but when these aie decomposed and lcndeicd inert there is sufficient left to give a highei legistoi than any of the adjoining colonies, oi any othei icgistet I hive yet seen, when made undei the same cucumstances North and noith-west currents of wind aie the lowest stratum of an in motion. Ozone when undei the influence of these winds is usually minimum South and south-east aie the higher an in motion , cone is then at its maximum. Tn Dr Hall's Health Hepoits (which are based upon tho monthly tables), these two cm rents aio shown to bo as diffeient m a medical as they are in a meteorological sense " Execution op Cathlrini, Howard — Since that time, on the afternoon, of the 10th, the Queen, aftei some lesistance, and with some difficulty, was taken clown the liver to the Tower, pieceded by a baige eon tainmg the Lord Pi ivy Saal, several members of the council, and a numbei of seivants The Queen followed m a close barge with thiee oi foul men, and as many women. The Duke of Suffolk came behind as. a rear guard, m a Luge boat ciowded with hisietinue When they reached the Tower stans the loids disembaikcd iiist, and afterwards the Queen, in a diess of black velvet. The same forms of lespect were shown to her as when she was on the thiono Two days aftei, being Sunday, the 12th, in the evening, she was instiucted to disbmden her conscience , she was to die the following day. She desiied that the block on which she was to be beheaded might be bioughfc to her, that she iniQht leaui how she was to place heiself This was done, and she made the experiment At seven o'clock the next morning, all the King's council, ex-cept the Duke of Suffolk, who was indisposed, and the Duke of Noifolk, piesented themselves at the Tower, with amunbei of louls and gentlemen, among the lest being the Eail of Suney, the Duke of Noi folk's son, and the Queen's cousin The Queen hei self was shoitly aftei beheaded, in the same place wheie Anne Bolevne suffeied. A cloth was tin own over the body, which was taken nway by some ladies, and Lady Tlochfou was bi ought out, who seemed to be in a kind of frenzy till she died Neithei one noi the othei said much, except to confess their misdeeds, and to pi ay foi the King's welfaie The Pilgrim, edited by J. A Ftoude A Br,o\v to PmrsrLY Triumph — Tt appe-us that when tho wnes flashed the news that Italy had lost hei gicatest statesman on the morning of that day, at Floience, the heads of the 51 and ducal and clencal paities resolved publicly and solemnly to show foith then delight In the execution of a common pin pose, ex mimsteis and old com t chambeilams, zeveiend canons and discauled police agents, Austuan spies and Jesu ltical intuguus, mot in the saciisty of the eathediil on tho aftei noon, and, pieceded by then sei\.xnts in state livcues, and wealing on their bi casts the >-tais and ciosscs of tlio Ansti ian and Loiiamo illicit,, followed, holding lighted toi dies in then hands, the pi ocession of the Octave of the Coi^vs Domini about to describe the usual cncuit in the cathcdial squaio The people were indignant, and in the squat c they dashed m amongst the tuumphal pi occasion, and sent the mem beis scampering in all diiuctions. More than one of the Austrian and clerical paitv apneais to have been soundly kicked and cuffed befoie he could lejram his carnage The Aichbishop of Floience succeeded wiHi difficulty in getting into Ins carnage undei the piotection of the gendarmes, and dro\e off amidst the shouts ot "Away with you 1 away with you l No .11 chbishops 1" The mfeuoi clingy, who had taken iefucre 111 the cathedial, stood a chance of being loughly handled; but a voice fiom amidst the ciowd exclaimed that the mob would lespect the chuich which the priests dishonouied ; and to the=c woids the temfied fugitives appeal to have owed theii safety Pnnee Cor->im took lefuge in tho Naldmi palace, of winch eveiy pane of gl i"s, fiom the top to the bottom, was at once smashed Tun Fkevch in Sento v& —Advices, haws been icceived from Senegal to the Kith ult , giving .111 account of three successful expeditions into the mteiioi dining the two pi ecL'dmg months. The first expedition consisting of 1,360 men, under tho command of Colonel Faidhcibe, the goveinoi, opeiatcd 111 the Cayoi distuct After seveial encounteis witli difluent tnlie>, especially the Ticdos, the object of the expedition, which was the security of the fiontiei in that diiection, was fully attained The French had 20 men killed or wounded The loss of the natives was heavy, and included the two principal chiefs The second expedition, into the Upper Casamance, was commanded by M Pmet Lapiade, and consisted of 700 men After seveial engagements, in which the Flench had five killed and 12 wounded, the chiefs of Kaiantabn, Dilmiki, Sandimeii, and Bombadieu solicited and obtained peace on condition of lecogni/ing the Fiench soveicigntv ovei theii countiy, paying an indemnity for all the pillage committed since 1856, with a war contubution of 5,000f ; also, sending four hostages, sons of tho pnncipal chiefs, as a guarantee foi the execution of the tieaty After chastising the tubes of the Uppei Casamance, the same column pioceeded to the temtoues of the Kings of Sine and Saloum, who had infringed the tieaties of 1859. Everything was settled theie without fighting, for the kings at once accepted the conditions offered, which weie a ficsh lecognition of the tieaty of the year 1859, the cession of land for electing forts, and a wai contribution of 500 oxen The whole country is now subjected to the extent of 100 squat e leagues Since the cessation of hostilities thcttade with theintenoi lias been icopciied. Tlnee posts with telegraphic communications have been estab lished in tho Cayoi distuct, and the rich salt spimgs of Gandiole have bemi ceded to the Fiench foi an indemnity The whole countiy is now quiet, and seems likely to lemain so The gum tiade has been veiy active, and the expoits of that aiticlc foi the tlnec months ending Apnl Ist show an mcieasc of 163,918 kilogi amines over those of the same period last yeai — Times Thd Nouwkgi vn Pn \s mt — Job was a man of eon siderable talent in his wav, and above all, was a most ingenious workman. The hut in which we weio living, as alio the boat-house, and evciy aiticle of finnitme, was of his own handiwoik , in fact, he made almost evfeiything he lequned. His nfles were of his own manufactuie , but he still letamed the old fhnt-and-steel locks, holding the poicussion system in gieat contempt , and even if a rifle weie given to him he would immediately alter tliP locks to the old plan Five consecutive yeais, both wiutei and sutnmci, he had once passed in this little hut, and, indeed, it seemed to be a pet residence of Ins His constant chcacl was lest the flooi or walls should be soiled 01 injmed 111 any way ; and when he was piesent, we weie always seiupulously caie'ful not to place the cooking- utensils on the fiom An anecdote, lefeiiing to this peculmity, was told to me by the othei peasants. A fnend of his, who was once staying with him in his hut, happening, while occupied in cooking, to take the pot off the file, placed it ujion the floor, and a black maik was left wheie it stood The old hunter was much displeased ; but, without saying a woid, he lepahed to the boat-house, and, fetching a plane, sh ived off the blackened pat t of the wood When anything was soiled, 111 piefeience to washing or scrubbing, Job invariably had lecouise to his plane. Notwithstanding all hia whims, he was a chaiming old man— so thoioughly stiaitfoiwatd and honest Though the Norwegians have leally a gieat esteem for their own piopcity, they nevei show it to stiaiiQois ; on the contiaiy, thoy always depieciate what is their own Old Job one day, lefening to me, 10maiked — "What do you think Em/chlman's friends would say if they knew that lie was hvins* in siicb a cabin ' When he gets home, I have no doubt ho will tell them what a detestable iittlo hovol mine is " This I Rtoutly denied, tolling him that I should say, on tho contiary, what a neat little home it had been my food foi tune to meet with, and liow I had enjoyed my sojourn there. The old man's countenance lighted up as I praised his hut, and he smiled 111 acknowledgment of the compliment.

The Siamese Ambassadors are chaiged to AiMvet U) the Emperor Napoleon a letter from tho Kirefc Kj//t/ ( commonly called the Great King, written on a Hh< < I i,f gold, as required by Siamese etiquette when a coininu nication of this nature is addressed to a Hoviifigu of >enor power They also bring with them prt* nt t ot great value for their Majesties, tho most curious of which aie the insignia and royal garments of Sum in the three positions attnbuted to royalty , on the throne, on the palanquin, and on horseback, likewise a loyal crown set with precious stones, a collar m mbies, and a loyal girdle made of gold set with diamonds. Mir,ANrsiAN Mission — On Whit-Sunday evening, May 19t,h, the nave of Westminster Abbey was densely crowded in consequence of an announcement which had been made that the seimon would be pleached by tho Bishop of Oxfoid. At half-past 6 o'clock the western doois were thiown open, and at a quaiter befoie 7 the building had become so thronged that it was found ncce'-saiy to close them again, and many hundreds of pei^onsweic disappointed m their hope to obtain admission. The Bishop pieached fiom the words of St Paul to the ISphesians " Grieve not the Holy Spirit, whoieby ye are sealed to the day of redemption " Aftei an exposition of the great Whitsuntide message which the Chinch enforced at this season of the year, his loidslnp in ule an appeal to the con.; jgation on behalf of the funds of the Society for the J'lopagation of the Gospel in Foieign Paits, directing paiticulai attention to the attempts ]ust made to extend the preaching of the Gospel among the l-Jandeis of the Pacific by planting a body of missionanes theie under the lecently eonseciated Bishop Patteson His, loidship's earnest appeal was lesponded to by a liberal collection Loud PalmlIiSTON — Among the freshest amvals of spang is that maivellous young old mm, Loid P ilmer<ston He coined up jubilant as the eaihest laik, and crisp and new as the bnghtest spring flowei. No fio->t of ago seems to have chilled the life that glows in the legion of his heait A sunshine bleaks out though hi-, funowed featuies and lights, up that conntenance of threescore and sixteen years with tho lights of foi ty yeais, as if m the depths of his soul weie an unwasted youth which finds openings thiough his eyes and expression in his speech Loie Palmerston lives in everybody's mommy as a young man He seems to have found the philosophers stone, or to have bathed m the fountain of peipetual youth With him it is always spung. Ho is a living eveigreen. Were he to cease to appeal in the house, or his speeches no more to be seen in our paihamentary lepoits, it would feel as if London had lost its spung, and parliament its best bit of sunshine The evei-ienewed spng m tho button hole of his coat is type of the piemier His heart keeps gieen notwithstanding many a trouble. Peeling as much as other men, he retains the happy powei of'thio.ving off his mind the nony, while he keeps in hand the umL of each day Peihaps, too, nndei that meuy mood, and fai back of the witty leinaik, and deep down m the lecesseo of his natuie, may lie, neithei dned up in suin'mei'sheat, noi frozen over in wintei's cold, full spungs that freshen his life and yield him m his quiet homa sustaining diaiights When it shall cease to be spimg with him, we tiust ho will lay his head on his pillow and find his last sleep to be eveilastingiefreshment. London Renew LorrEHir^, and Lucia Numbers — A passion for lucky numbeis was anew souioc of excitement, cunning women weie lesorted to, who pietended tofoietell what numbeis would carry aw a} the chief piizes, and suicide was common, when the dupes of such prophecies weie unable to piocuie then favounte tickets. Villanous professois of diahleue abounded, who (so they said) could settle what would piove fortunate numbers by Satanic aid Disgusting and licentious tucks weio lesoited to in oidei to cuny favoui with the devilish agents, w Inle the be&otted Lehevei -, in such absurdities peulled both body and soul to giatify their unappeasable appetite foi gambling When thesmallei lotteiics weie piohibited, a yet moie destiuctive evil suddenly became univeisal , insuiaiicc houses weie opened by hundreds — if jou weie too pool to buy a ticket, by paying a tufle to leceive a ceitain amount, should any paifcicuhr numbei be diawn a [Hue, you got a glimpse at leibt of the gold-fields, and though destined to be mined m the attempt, it was pleasant to think how rich you might possibly become Against this mama there was no legislating, for it woiked in seciet, and baffled all inteifeience Shopmen lobbed then masteis, wives then liusb inds, meie chikhen their paicnts, all for the delight of liisiumg lotteiy tickets "My whole house," wioto a gentleman of lank "was infected with the lotteiy mania, fiom the liead of it down to my kitchenmaid and postboy, who h no both paw ned sonic of their l.x^s that they might put themselves m foitune's waj " Adam iriiutli had declaied that fairness m a lotteiy was impossible, giving abundant leasons foi his opinion, but he midc no conveits , and the wietch m fetteii at a cnnimal bai would whispei to a comiadotom\esthis list few shillings at an lnsmance ofhee Many penons of high i ink, membeis ot Paihament, judges and bishop-,, lelaxecl fiom the seventy of then duties to speculate on the £20,000 piuc The cleig}, who had caught the miection, defended the appe il to chance fiom Scuptuie, uigmg that "b> lot it was detei mined which of tho goats should be offered to Aaion , by lot the land of Canaan was divided , by lot Saul was inaikod out foi the kingdom , by lot Jonah was found to be the cause of the tempest , by lot the Apostles filled up tho v acaut place of Judas " — City Press. An Ewmvg with Klvts — Di G Walkei has lately dehveied a lectuie undei the foiegomg title, at tho School of Aits The audience was somewhat limited Aftei a few piefatoiy lemaiks upon the eaily life and ehaiacter of Keats, the leetiuer proceeded to comment upon some of his lyric fragments, at inteivals giving, in excellent style, leadings fiom them, as well as fiom tho moio finisbpd urodur-tion- " Endyinion." Two yeais later than the publication of this (m 1S20) Keits wiote Ins list pftoit — "Lamia" He died at Home, and his death has bppn attainted, although enoncously, to the atticks of the Quai lcily Renew, a mattei lefcncd to by B^iou in his " Don Juan " His fatal malady was consumption Some of the finest passages fiom "Limia" weie iccited by the lecturei, wlio subsequently passed on to deal with and cite from " Isabella, ' tho " Eve of St Agnes," and " Hyperion." Manly and spiuted, yet ICeats was highly sensitive, sometimes to a degiee appioachmg insanity His gieat fault was that he was the piotcgC of Radicals — among w horn he had as fuends Leigh Hunt and Shelley He is always known as the '" young poet '" Maturity would speedily have enabled him to achieve an lmmoitahty which few have attained The tiue souow of Ins sinking life was this — a feai that he should die befoie his immoiUality was accomplished Playing for lehef fiom i soirow none could assuage, he said, " Let my epita L ibe writ in watei," and again, towaids his end, " I feel the daisies giowing o\ci me" A length he piajed foi death, and Ins feelings at the last moment may bo gathcuHl fiom two stanzas m his Ode to a Nightingale He died in the aims of his fuead, Mr. Severn, then a using young artist Those who have not lead the poems of Ke.ats— said the lectuiei m conclusion — hiiMJ a wondious feast m stoic, a rich tieasmy of the beautiful and grand in imagination to avail themselves of His was a tine genius, nch, ongnial, and \aiious— and his pioductions (as wis said by a fuend) would be the sine companions m the iield and giove of those who love to escape out of the stnfo of common-places into the haven of solitude and imagination. A Swindler or the Olden Time — Chailcs Piics was a sin^ul.aily athoit swindler, and his fiauds on the Bank excited univeisal astonishment He was a skilful engiavei, made his own mk, and fabucated Ins own papei Ho woiked his notes in a pi ivate press, and imitated the signatmes of the cashiers so as to deceive the paities themselves. In 17S0, a note was offeied at the countei, so adinnably imitated that it was instantly paid, and not found to be foiged until it leached tho mspectoi. Simihai notes weie passed daily, laige lewaids for the discovciy of the offender were offeied m vain An adveitisement appealed n the Daily Adiertn>er foi a mail set van t, a journeyman musical mstiumeiit makei answeied it , a coachman came to him, and said the adveitisei was waiting in a, coach to see him Being admitted to the co.ach, he found a foieignlodkmt; man, appai entry about seventy, swathed m flannel, as if siifteimg fiom gout His face was wholly concealed. Applicant was engaged, and oideredto call on Mi Blank, 29, Titchfield-stiect, Oxford stieet He was then told that his chief business would be to pui chase lotteiy tickets foi Blank's waul He then gave him a -CIO and a £30 note, and sent him to puichase tickets at difiVient offices The youth complying, was met by Ins cmployei, and sent to \ anous othei places on the same eiiand Tho second time he leceived £400 in bank notes Blank was always close by to take the tickets lie was constantly dodged by a female. At length, a clue being piocmed, the seivant was apprehended and thiown into pusou. The dnectors soon found that " Old Patch" vmis to quick for them. Biank had left Titchfield stieet He was called "Psitch" fiom his mode of disguising his face In 1785, Decembei 7th, £10 was paid m, for which a ticket was given to leceivo a note oi equal value Braille cairied it away, added an 0 to tho ongmal sum, bi ought it immediately to the cnshiei, and was paid £100. Neaily £1000 was obtained by similai fiauds The detection of Pi ice was at hand, yet he had been able to dcstioy his tools Being in custody, and feeling escape impossible, ho comnnted suicide bj hanging himself He had heon a lotleiy oihee keepei and stock-jobbci foi many ye n s — City Pros.