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Lyttelton Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1376, 23 March 1865, Page 3

A Fkmai-k B^igaxd.—A Turin letter states that among the Neapolitan provinces whkh have to contend with the dreadful scourge of brigandage there is that of Cattanzaro, which possesses the advantage of having a band which is led by Maria Otiviero, an exceedingly handsome woman, not yet 30 yttw of age. Barbarity is her chief characteristic, and the sight of blood renders her as excited as a wild beast. She was the wife of the famous brigand Monaco, of the Albanian village of Spezzano, who wa» killed in an encounter with the Italian troops near Rossano. In thi« very encounter Maria was also womded, but she continued to discharge her musket, kneeling on the dead body of her husband, with a firmness and a courage which even commanded the admiration of ! her opponents. Having at last been struck in the right leg, she fell into the hands of the troops, was ! brought before a court-martial at Cattanzaro, and was condemned to be shot. The sentence waa, however, commuted to 30 years of penal servitude. While she was expiating her crimes in the prison of Cattanzaro the gaoler fell desperately in love with her. The cunning woman pretended to feel an equal affection for hiui, and one day she told him that while die was with her husband she had concealed in a -certain place near Rossano a large sum of money, which had been paid for the ransom of a rich farmer. The gaoler went quickly to the spot and found the money. This fact had naturally the effect of making his love for Maria still more ardent, so that she had no difficulty in convincing him that tender affections are better manifested in freedom thau within the four walls of a dungeon. Before, however, making their escape Maria succeeded iu sending word to her brothers, who are brigands, that on a certain evening she would be at an appointed spot not far from Cattanzaro, attired in man's clothes, together with her deliverer. Maria was punctual at the rendezvous, and her brothers also. The unfaithful turnkey was killed out of hand, and the money he had found replaced m Marians pocket. Once free, this woman organized a band of brigands, and began her operations in that tract of mountains which lie between the river Crati and Cattanzaro. The barbarities since perpetrated by Maria are almost incredible. The village* of Spinelli, Cotzene, and Belvedere have been literally sacked by the band she commands. The dread which the name of Maria OHviero inspires araoeg the rural population of Cattanzaro is so great that the Italian Government has been obliged to send two battalions of the line to pursue the cruel fury. While the baud led by this woman is desolating the country of Cattanzaro we hew from Kionero that the bersaglieri have succeeded at last in capturing the famous brigand Sacchitiello, together with the two still mow famous mistresses of the brigands Crocco and Schiatone. The strangest thing about the capture of Sacchitiello and of the two women is that they were taken in the house of the captain of the National Guard of the village, where they had been concealed since the month of July. This fact shows how difficult it is to get rid of the Neapolitan brigands, since in certain eases the commanders of the National Guard give them safe shelter in their very houses.—Times, Dec. 9. I M»*- Partington on Diskasks.—" Diseases is i very various," said Mrs, Partington, as she returned from a street-door conversation with Dr. Bolus. "The doctor tells me that poor old Mrs Hate has got two buckles on her lungs I It is dreadful to think of, I declare! The diseases is so various. One day, we hear of people's dying of hermitage of the I lungs—another, of brown creatures. Here, they tell us of the elementary canal being out of order; there, about the tenor of the throat; here, we hear of the neurology in the head, and there of the ernargo; on one side of us, we hear of men being killed by getting a pound of beef in their sarcofagus, and there another kills himself by discovering his jocular vein. Things i change so, that I declare that I don't know how to t subscribe for any disease now-a-dajs. New names and nostrils take the place of the old I "—New York Paper.

What Drkaks Mran.—To dream of a millstone round your neck it a sign of what you may expect if you get an extravagant wife. To see apples in a dream betokens a wedding, because where you find applet* you may reasonably expect to find pears. To dream that you are lame is a token that you will get into a hobble, When a young lady dreams of a coffin, it betokens that she should instantly discontinue lacing her stays tightly, and always go warmly and thickly olad in wet weather. If you dream of a clock, it is a token that you will gain credit—that is, tick. To dream of fire is a sign that if you are wise you will see that the lights in your home are out before you go to bed. To dream that your nose it red at the tip, is an intimation that you had better leave off brandy and water. To dream of bare-footed, denotes a journey that you will make bootless.

Thskr was a deacon of a church of the name of Day, by trade a cooper. One Sabbath morning he heard a number of toy* who of his house, and he went out to check the Sabbath profanation. Assuming a grave countenance, be •aid to them,« Boys, do you * h *' this T " " Yea, sir," replied one o* the boys; u Deacon Day, the cooper."