MISCELLANEA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume II, Issue 75, 12 June 1852, Page 6

MISCELLANEA.

The Exhibition Building.—There are at present (January), only four policemen on duty in the entire building. No idea can yet be formed of the time when the building will be so far cleared out as to admit the public, but it cannot take place, at all events, for some time. Certain days will be set apart for visitors preferring to pay for the comfort of a more exclusive visit. On entering the visitor is now at once, and for the first time, impressed with the vastness of the structure ; the immense expanse of the noble nave, now nearly cleared of its varied and thickly-studded contents, and its swarming crowds ; the interminable sweep of the aisles, which can be seen at a glance from one end of the building to the other ; the long lines of delicate looking taper columns, and the airy lightness that pervades the whole, impress one with feelings of admiration at the grandeur and simplicity of the design, the harmony and perfection of the arrangement, and the wondrous skill and ingenuity displayed in the execution. The building is now to be seen in an aspect which it never presented in any stage of its erection. While progressing towards completion it was in the possession of two antagonistic powers, the workmen and the exhibitors ; and the retreat of one was the signal for the invasion of the other; and thus, bit by bit, the building

was finished, the hoardings and counters run up, and the goods displayed, so that no opportunity was afforded of forming an accurate idea of the beauty of the crystal shrine, which inclosed so many and such varied treasures. The first impression the building conveys to even those who have paced up and down its aisles and galleries for months is a feeling of novelty that is absolutely startling. The contrast between what it was last summer and what it is now is so striking that the mind is unprepared for the marvellous change, and experiences all the pleasure of a fresh excitement, while the effect of the whole is most favourably heightened by the delicate azure tint of the framec work. The Devon-port Independent says, the venerable dame who walked from Cornwall to London to see the Crystal Palace has returned from the metropolis. Her fortune has evidently improved, as she came to Exeter by train on Tuesday. After being hospitably entertained at the New London Inn, she was favoured on Tuesday with a gratuitous inside place by the Times coach to Truro. The French Government have presented a chest of Sevres porcelain to Earl Granville, Pre- . sident of the Royal Commission, and a tea service to Mr. Dilke, member of the Executive Committee, as a testimonial of the sense it entertains of the part they took in the Great Exhibition. The interment of the late Mr. Turner, R.A., took place on the 30th December, in St. Paul's Cathedral. The full choir of the cathedral, and the choir of the Society of Musicians, assisted at the service. According to the present regulations of the Royal Academy, fourteen months must elapse before the vacancy caused by Mr. Turner's decease can be filled up. The election taking place once a year, and then not till after it has been declared three months ; so that two deserving artists will be, during that time, prevented from assuming the respective appendages of R.A., and A.R.A. to which they ought •&6 once to have been admitted. Great Running Match.—Twkntt Miles under jOne Hour Fifty-eight Minutes, Thirty Seconds.—This unprecedented effort came off on the 16th December, at Copenha-gen-grounds ; more than 2000 spectators were present. Manks made his start at apparently a very easy pace to himself, going over the first mile in five minutes, 56 seconds, and completing his ten miles in 56 minutes 56 seconds. At the commencement of the 20th or last mile Manks had just six minutes and three seconds to go over it to win the match, or to perform 20 miles in less time than Maxfield did the same ■distance on the Staines turpike road in 1844. This Manks succeeded in accomplishing, havinojust 42 seconds to spare. At the finish Manks ran or rather fell into the arms of his backer, evidently considerably exhausted from his doinothis great and never equalled feat. Betting before starting was 6 to 4 on Old Father Time"; considerable sums were taken at oddsA correspondent of the New York Commercial Advertiser writes, that a temple for Pagan worship had been opened at San Francisco by the Chinese. This is the first idol temple, we believe, that has been erected in that country. Execution.—Yesterday morning (Tuesday, April 27ih,) William Bowden, formerly a prisoner of the Crown in Van Diemen's Land, who was convicted at the March Criminal Session of our Supreme Court of the wilful murder of John Dixon, underwent the last awful penalty of the J law at the gaol, in Queen-street. The wretched man had maintained almost to the end a dogged and apparently unfeeling obstinacy, and during ' the livgyht before his execution refused to receive the spiritual counsel which the Rev. Mr. Churton anxiously -and indefatigably waited to afford ; but yesterday morning, we are informed, he m^clje some observations expressive of contrition, and referred especially to the 51st Psalm, as suited to his circumstances and feelings. The genuineness of professions of repentance made only in the immediate prospect of death is always open to doubt; still there is something gratifying in the fact that the criminal did not actually die with the tokens of a hardened spirit which he had previously manifested. The justice of the fatal sentence was universally admitted; for, however some may maintain a theoretical opposition to all capital punishments, we have not heard an individual express any other opinion than that whatever should be the extreme penalty of the law ought to be inflicted in this , case.— New Zealander.

Mr. Trevjethan's Murder.—ln the news from New South Wales given in our last number, we mentioned the murder of Mr. Trevethan. The Empire has the following additional particulars:—" We believe the following to be an authentic account of the melancholy death of Mr Trevethan :-—A few days previous to the murder, the blacks bailed up the head station, robbed the mens' huts, and destroyed much they could not carry away, and were only prevented from obtaining possession of the store by the number of men shearing at the station. Had the men exercised a little courage they might have kept the blacks away, but they no sooner saw the way clear than they left in a body, leaving poor Trevethan to fight his own battle. The blacks then left, taking with them some rams and wethers from the head station. They visited the station again in a day or two, when a little black boy assisting a Chinaman in driving some sheep up a ridge at the back of the kitchen, observed a number of blacks lyingflat on the ground. The black boy then gave the alarm, running towards the huts, calling the Chinaman to follow him, who, probably not understanding the boy, remained behind, when he was tomahawked. Mr. Trevethan, with, the assistance of the white men on the station, who had heard the alarm and made for the hut, succeeded in driving the blacks back to the top of the ridge, when they turned rouned and threw spears without doing any damage. Mr. Trevethan, anxious for the safety of his nephew, who had been cut off from the hut during the attack, \ and hoping the blacks would disperse by fair I means, gave them tobacco, &c. ; upon which some came forward with their spears, and the men handed them tobacco. Some of the blacks were dissatisfied, stating that it was not enough, when Mr. Trevethan took out more and offered it to one of them, who let it fall to the ground, saying it was pipes they wanted. Mr. Trevethan then stooped to pick up the tobacco, and when rising he received three spears, two in the breast and one through the cheeks ; he staggered back to the hut, and fell, saying, " I'm dead," and spoke no more. The blacks then moved off, taking with them 1700 sheep. Mr. Trevethan's nephew concealed himself in the bed of the river during the affray." Earthquake in the East.—The Impartial de Smyrne, in its correspondence from Salonica, has melancholy accounts of an earthquake at Berat. We learn that a part of the fortress had been thrown down, and 400 soldiers buried in the ruins. Some days after the catastrophe, and after great exertions, their lifeless bodies were withdrawn from the ruins, and their numbers ascertained. About 300 houses, two mosques, and a church suffered considerably, and many are no longer habitable. The Governor of Yanina sent tents and assistance to the remainder of the soldiers in garrison there. Among Christians and Mussulmen 800 persons are missing, but it is as yet unknown how many among those have been lost, or how many have sought safety in flight. Near to Berat the top of a mountain was detached from its base, and thrown to a considerable distance. In the centre a crater had been formed, from which dense columns of black smoke, stones, and lava are emitted. Fetid sulphurous exhalations escape and corrupt the air. The villages and environs of Berat have suffered very considerable damage. Carrying away a House.—A writer in the Neio York Liteiary World has some rather extraordinary accounts of the doings of the river captains in the United States. On one occasion we are told that a passenger, having lost his pocket-book in a notorious gambling-house at Natches, the captain went to the landlord and demanded the article. " I'll give you," said the captain, " until I get my boat ready to go, to hand over the money, and then, if it don't come, the house shall," True to his word, just before the boat started, on shore he went again, accompanied by a gang of deck hands, bearing the largest cable the steamer possessed. This was passed around the house and in and out of some of the windows, and when all was ready the captain again demanded the book No answer but curses being returned, he jumped on board the boat, sung out to the pilot to " go ahead," and to the engineer to " work her slow," and off the boat moved very moderately. The rope began to tighten, and the house to creak. Two minutes more would have done the business for building and people, when the latter signified their surrender, and pitched the pocket book and money out of the window.