British and Foreign News.

Colonist, Issue 73, 2 July 1858, Page 3

British and Foreign News.

FRANCE

{Home News, Apiillß.) ORSINI'S SECOND LETTER TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON, AND HIS WILL. The official gazette of Piedmont has published a letter addressed by Orsini, after sentence of death had been passed upon him, to the Emperor Napoleon. Though iV is difficult to understand how the document should be thus published, and though some do not hesitate to ascribe the authorship of it to Napoleon himself, it has been generally received as an authentic production. TO HIS MAJESTY NAPOLEON 111., EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH. . Sire, —Your imperial majesty having permitted that my letter written to you on the 11th of February should be produced for public comment, whilst it is a clear pro >f of your generosity, shews me also that the prayers which I have offered on behalf of my country find a response in your own heart; and ±o me, however near I be to death, it is certainly no small consolation to see how your imperial majesty is moved by genuine Italian feelings. In a few hours I shall cease to be; and so, before drawing my last viral breath, I wish it to be known, and I declare it with the frankness and courage which up to this day I have never belied, that assassination, in whatever g:irbit may be disguised, does not enter amongst my principles, although by a fatal error of mind -I have allowed inysejf to be led on to' o^ '■ 'ganise,-t»e attempt on the 14th of January. No; political assassination was not my system, and I combatfed it at the risk of--my own life, both in my writings and by my public acts, wheu a governmental mission placed me in a situation to do so. .

And my compatriots—far from putting faith in the system of assassination—let them reject it altogether and hold it aloof j and let them know, even by the voice of a dying patriot, that their redemption must be w6n by their own self-denial,: by constant unity in their efforts and sacrifices, and by the exercise of true virtue—gifts which are now budding in the young and active portion of my fellow countrymen, and gifts which alone will be able to make Italy free, independent, and worthy of that glory with which our ancestors have made her illustrious.

I die, but whilst I do so with calmness and dignity, I wish that my memory may not be left stained with any crime.

As for the victims of the 14th of January I offer my ownjblood as an atonement, and-1 beg the Italians, ( when some day they.are made independent, to give a worthy compensation to all those who have suffered any injury from it.

Let your imperial majesty permit me, in the last place, to beg you to spare the life, not of myself, but of the two accomplices who were condemned to death with me. '

I am, with the profouudest respect for your imperial majesty,

(Signed) Felice. Oksini. Prison of La Roquette, March 11.

Paris of La Roquette, or Depot dcs Condamnes, Paris, March 10, 1858.

Near the end of my days, I write down with my own band the following- arrangements, which I wish to be exactly carried put, and to have-the effect of an act of my own free aud independent wiil.

1. I will that M. Enrico Cernuschi, of Milan, Italy, residing, at Paris, should withdraw my moriey^which,.was seized from" me at the moment of my arrest, and which is deposited with M. the Procureur-General of the Seine, first deducting from them the costs of the trial which belong to me. ■ .

2. I iwill that the remainder of the money, after deducting the above .costs, should be disposed of by him as follows: —

- a He will buy a gold watch and a gld chain to be given as a souvenir to M. Jules Favre, the advocate who defended me. The. whole to be of the value of 800 francs at least. On the watch he will have the following words engraved:-—". Felice Orsini to M. Jules Favre, souvenir.' 1

b. I will that my corpse be placed in an ordinary wooden coffin and sent to London, England, because it is my wish to be buried in the cemetery where the remains of the Italian patriot Ugo Foscolo are to. be found, and to be laid by his side. M. Cernuschi will defray the necessary expenses with the money above re-, ferred to. . .

c. After all these expenses are paid I will that the remainder of the money be sent to my uncle, Orso Orsini, or to my brother, Leonida Orsini, both residing together at Imola, Kpman States, Italy, who must dispose of it only for the benefit of my two little girl 3, Ernestiua and Ida Orsini, residing at Nice, Sardinian States, Italy.

3. I authorise J. D. P. Hodge, of Glastonbury, near Bath, Somersetshire, in England, to take home with him my eldest daughter Ernestina Orsini, born at Maritime Nice, Sardinian States, Italy, on the 9th of April, 1852, and residing in the same town.

4. I authorise Mr. Peter Stuart, of Liverpool, England, to fake home with him my second daughter Ida Orsini, born at Maritime Nice, on the 12th of-March, 1853, and residing in the same town.

5. I recommend with all my heart, to my intimate friends J. D. P. Hodge, of Glastonbury, and Peter Stuart, of Liverpool, my two little girls above named, that the education which they shall'receive may be entirely conformable to the principles of honesty/ of true virtue,: wisdom, and the true love of their country. 6. I will that ail ihy property in clothing, books, &c, remaining with M. de Lasalle, Director of La Roquette, be sent to Miss Eliza Clieney, of London, residing in London, England, No. 2, Grafton street, Aland-road, Kentish New town, N.W., London. Miss Eliza Cheney will dispose of them according to her own free and independent will, as well as of the other articles already left to her before my arrest and during my imprisonment. All that I have done for her is but a. very humble and very small token of remembrance of the^extreme kindness and derotedness which she has shewn me on all occasions. I recommend to my friends in England this honest and virtuous lady. -

7. I will, in the last place, that M. Enrioo Cernuachi, above-named, should be the executor of the arrangements herein announced, at Paris; and that with regard to those which are to be executed in England, he should have the cooperation of M. Vincenzo Caldezi, of Faenza, Roman States, Italy, and residing in London. * The'whole written with my own hand. Felice Orsini..

-.The British Government has sent ten pounds to be distributed among the four Tyrolese who rescued a young Englishman from a perilous situation iv September last*

A fearful tragedy has just been enacted at Islington. George Osborne, described as " a fine, athletic man, aged 32, with the character of being sober and well-conducted," had conceived, not without strong grounds, a suspicion of hia wife's fidelity. He had lived with her for 13 years, and seems to have convinced himself with difficulty and by a slow process that slie had really been unfaithful to him. He came into the kitchen one eveuing where he found his wife sitting at tea with the sister of the supposed adulterer. He touched the latter on the back and said to her, " Now then get up, this is the last cup of tea you will ever' diink here." ■■< She said to him, "Toil don't mean that, George;" but he instantly replied, '•• Yea, I do;" and seizing a chopper; or billhook which stood by the fireplace, he told the puest to get out of the room at once, or he " would serve her the same." He ultimately ejected her with some force, and at onue returning, struck his wife a blow on the head with the sharp end of the weapon. It is assumed that she put "up both hands to protect her head, and that the second blow injured them in the manner mentioned hereafter. Believing that he had killed his wife, the unfortunate man took from the table the knife with which his wife had previously been cutting bread ami butter, and with one cut iuflicted such a desperate wound in his throat that death niust have been instantaneous. The womau who had been turned out of the room* spread an alarm, and several persons rushed iuto the' apartment, while others went for the police 'and--nfedlcal aid. Dr. Richardson, residing in the Caledo-nian-road, was the first to arrive. On the floor near the fireplace lay the woman, in a large puol of blood, and across her body was extended that of her husband, the blood pouring profusely from the frightful gash in his throat. Upon the man being lifted up, it was found I that he was quite dead, the cut having severed | all the vital arteries. The woman; though insensible, was found to be alive; the wounds, however, were of such a fearful nature that the brain literally protruded through the skull, while her right hand was cleft in two lougitudinally between her second and third fingers down to the wrist, and the second finger on her left hand chopped in two. The wound on her head was four inches in length, extending from immediately below the ciown to the nape of the neck. This wound was. inflicted by the first blow of the chopper, while the injuries to the hands were inflicted by the second blow. Dr. Richardson adopted measures for replacing the brain in its proper position and sewing up the wounds.to prevent its reprotrusion. From the severity of the injuries, however, not the slightest hopes are entertained of her recovery. Two Greeks, convicted of the" murder of a fellow Greek, were hanged at Swansea on the 20th of March., An application was made to the sheriff by a resident in Swansea, who tendered his services in the capacity of executioner, offering to despatch the two men " cleverly and well" at a reduced charge upon the tariff of Calcraft. Calcraft, however, was engaged. " The new Home Secretary, Mr. Walpole,'' says an Edinburgh paper, " has signalised his entrance on the duties of his office by calling our sheriff, Mr. Hallard, to account for one of his many extraordinary judgments in the police couft. It appears that he imprisoned a highly respectable servant girl.for 30 days because she picked up a shilling from the floor of a shop on which it had been dropped, as she supposed,.by herself, but according to other evidence by a different person. The highest testimony was borne to>. her character by her employers and other respectable witnesses, but the inexorable sheriff sentenced her to 30 clays' imprisonment for this mistake, or crime, by whichever name it may be called." •On the morning of April 6, the ancient mansion of the Earl of Moray, called Donibristlehouse, situate on the shore of the Firth of Forth, opposite Edinburgh, and between Inverkeitbing and Aberdour, Fifeshire, took fire from some accidental or unexplained cause, and in a few hours was reduced to; ruins. The house and furniture Were insured for, about ,£IB,OOO. Donibristle-house will be missed as having long been a picturesque and prominent object in the scenery of the Firth of Forth, and was very distinctly seen from Edinburgh, about 10 miles distant. A strange series of thefts has been committed in an American brig. A mau'named Crowen shipped as steward on board the Helen Jane,, of Boston. On the first day out, he was missing, and it was supposed that he had. fallen overboard ; but, when the vessel arrived at Truxillo, he made his appearance in the forcastle, and confessed that he had secreted himself in the hold, under the influence of delirium tremeos, and for 22 days bad feasted on champagne, raisins, ham, &c. Eight baskets of .the wine, and six boxes of the fruit, besides other things, had thus disappeared, entailing a loss of about 250 dollars. He will be sent home for trial. A legal question of a delicate nature is now. exciting extraordinary interest in Westphalia, viz., whether a husband has a right to opeii his wife's letters. The question arose out of a suit for divorce, instituted by the husband, in which he. obtained a decree; but the conclusive piece of evidence was a letter from the Lothario, addressed to the wife, and the contents of which would never have been known had not the husband been so ungallant as to break the seal. The divorced, wife at- once prosecuted him for opening the letter, and the tribunal of Unne has decided that he was wrong and has sentenced him to a fine of 10 thalers. An appeal is; pending, the result of whioh is anxiously watched by the public. ~ tJ v An American paper gives the case of one who preferred suicide to debt. " Robert Trought committed suicide at Alexandria, Va., recently, and left a letter, addressed to his landlady, containing these directions and explanations:— • Make me a common box, put me in a cart, and- deposit my remains in the Nortehrn Bury-ing-ground; but let not my friends know anything about me. I have loaned money here; I have divided with those who were in Deed; but now, when it would be of service, I cannot get it. Sooner than I will involve m) self I choose death. I know I have friends in Alexandria that would not let me waut for a dollar, but I cannot see when I. shall be able to pay it.'" At Westbrook, in the parish of Much-Wen-lock, in Shropshire, there resided an old woman who had long enjoyed the reputation of supernatural power. She was supposed to possess " the evil eye," to exert iufluence over people's fortunes, to affect as she pleased their sheep or pigs, and to be endowed generally with the attributes of a witch: Shewas not, however, a specimen of the oppressed or helpless class of, witches, but was rather in a position tb tyran-' nise over the population around her. Though stricken in years-—for she was between 60 and 70—she was exceedingly muscular and powerful ; jthe. exercise of her profession had brought her in a little money ■, she had got a cottage and bit of ground of her own upon a common near

the town, and there,, by the aid of her, substan* tial property, her imputed power, and a most violent and outrageous tongue, she lived iv something more than mere security. Her re* putation, even apurt from htr alleged dealings with the Devil, .was by no means good. She had lived, it is not stated as a lawful wife, with & man named Evans, who died in 1856. After his decease, she attracted to her cottage a certain William Davies, who, though not much more than half her age, being only 85, seems-' to have been fascinated into the capacity of .her save and paramour. More than once this re-1, lationship was broken by a sudden effort on the part of the man, but as often "was be " drawn back" by the woman's influence, and up to the 12th of September last he continued an inmate of her cottage on the common, digging her bit of land, fetching and carrying according to her -directions, and indulged, it is said, with the prospect of some day or other becoming her husband. On the day in question - she sent him into Wenlock to make some purr chases, but the seductions of the town induced him to loiter there longer than he should have done, and to spend upon liquor some of the money with which he had been intrusted for marketing. As he returned, he was met upon the road by the impatient and angry woman, who snatched the basket from his hand, and cursed him in fierce and angry terms. He proceeded, however, to the cottage with her, went in and partook of some tea with her.; but the quarrel was not past, and at length, aftgr "nwie violence and abuse, she appears to have ordered him out of the house. He is said to have asked for some article of apparel which he considered his own, and, upon being refused, to have gone upstairs to fetch it. She followed him, a scuffle then ensued, and when, aftti* an alarm given by a little boy who witnessed this part of the tiansiiction, the neighbors ventured into the house, they found the witch lying1 dead on the floor of the bedroom, with some stabs in the ncck,"oue of which had cut the carotid artery in two. For this violence Davies just been' t.ied at the Shrewsbury assizes. The evidence produced on the trial left it beyond ail douht that he was tb> perpetrat-r; and as the jury declined to yield to the arguments put before them for reducing the crime to manslaughter, he has been sentenced to death. , The most .terrible fire that has occurred in the metropolis for many years took place on the morning of Sunday, the SStli o£ March. The scene of the calamity was Gilbert-street, Bloomslury, a narrow thoroughfare which runs out of Museum-street into Bury street. The houses in Great Kussell-street, opposite the British Museum, flanked the ill-fated house on the northern extremity. A policeman first made the discovery, and without a'moment's delay sounded an alarm. By knocking violently at the street door, and afterwards springing his rattle, he succeeded in making some of the inmates aware of their impending danger, but not untijitlie fire had gained possession"of the whole oj the lower part of the In-use, and rushing up.» the" siaircase had cut off all means of egress by the regular way. The terrified occupants made an attempt to descend by the stairs, but the moment they reached the landing they were met by such volumes of sparks and hot smoke that they-were obliged to return to their noms. There were no windows behind, and no trap-doors on. the roof. Two policemen,., at the risk of their Jives, succeeded in rescuinga Mr. Eastwood, his wife, and three children from a window on the second floor.1 There' were 15 other-; inmates, including; a Mr. Smith, his wife, and seven children, whom no<.oiie,couidreach.A\fire-eßcap"eV wMcblnight have done good service, o'nly^mauaged, when'it was too late, to approach the scene of desolation by a long detour, one end of the street being blocked up with timber shoring. Meanwhile1 one of the inmates, a young man, had thrown himself from a window, jto die almost on the spot. The other 3 remained, as it were, hermetically sealed in the blazing furnace, and seem only to have escaped the last tortures of burning by the collapse of the flooring and walls. This final catastrophe happened soon after the numerous fire-engines, which had now arrived, had begun to be concentrated on the building^ It is almost impossible to describe the~>tjiiill of horror which ran through the crowd at the moraeut of the fall. For a time a.IK exertions seemed to be paralysed, and it was only after the lapse of some minutes that the engines were again brought into play to extinguish the flames* left unsmothered by the fall of the brickwork; As soon as this object was accomplished, the police, firemen, and spectators set to work to extricate the bodies that lay beneath. About 4. o'clock the first body was taken out. Within three hours after 13. other bodies were found* thus making 15 deaths in a.l— the dwellers in the house being then all acc-junted for. The scene was a sickening one. The bodies, as they were found, were placed in shells and conl veyed to St.' Giles's Workhouse. On the 30th of March the coroner and his jury commenced their inquest. The evidence taken did not throw any light on the cause of the fire ; but it went to shew that the house itself was in such a dangerous and rickety state that it should not have been allowed to stand. -'■ , A Montiose paper relates a romance in real life:—" In the year 1844, a native of Arbroath took a passage on board a steamer at Liverpool to proceed to Scotland. Soon after the steamer left the dock gates, a young lady accidentally fell overboard, and was rescued from a'watery grave by our Scotch friend, who, jumping overboard with a life-preserver, brought her safely on board the sfeamer...^During tha passage she was asked what recompenses, she intended making her preserver, when 6^e modestly replied that all she could do was to bestow him her hand, but, much to her grief, she was informed that he was a married man. After a lapse of about 14 years, 10 of Which she bad been living with a brother in New York, Miss — felt inclined to return to Scotland, and, on her arrival, immediately set to work to find out her kind benefactor, which she succeeded in doing; and, finding him to be a widower, at once offered him her liaiid and heart, which was accepted;" An influential deputation waited upon Lord Derby to make statements to him relative to the evils of the paper duty, with a view to induce him to obtain its repeal. His lordship, after having: listened to- the deputation, madethe announcement that he 'was personally favorable to the object sought for, and that if the Exchequer was in such a state as to justify a reduction of taxation "he should approve of a proposition to take off the duty on paper. The Porte ha 3 rejected the demand made.by the French ambassador, M. Thouvenel, for the authorisation of the cutting of the canal through the Isthmus of Suez. The paternal government of Austria does not permit its subjects to peril their lives or limbs; with impunity ; at Vienna the ice cf the Danube is getting rotten ; any one who attempts to cross over is liable to be punished under paragraph 338 of the Criminal Code. " .

On the 3rd of April a violent thunder•torm passed from the west over Hazelyheath, near Bramshill. At the same time a carter, "with four horses, was leaving a field, when a flash of lightning struck the poor fellow and all the horses to the ground. Three of the horses got up, but one of them and the carter were killed on the spot. The man's hat was literally in shreds; the lightning had struck him on the left side of the head near the ear, burning the hair and skin under the chin, also severely scorching the breast, abdomen, loins, and the inside of his right thigh and leg ; his flannel shirt was also much burnt. A painful death has occurred in the establishment of Lord Dufferin, at Highgate. One of the servants, a lad of 17, was eating oysters, when one stuck in his throat. The youth ran about in the greatest agony, and at length fell. A surgeon arrived, but all aid was unavailing. On a post-mortem examination the oyster was discovered in the air-tubes, completely checking respiration. The jury returned a verdict of " Accidentally suffocated." A most determined suicide was effected a few days ago by a respectably-attired female in the ornamental water of St. James's-park. The unfortunate woman was seen sitting in a quiet mood on one of the public seats near the water's edge at the end of the park adjoining the Horse Guards, when suddenly she rushed from her position, and before any person could prevent her, precipitated herself into the water. Several persons hastened to her assistance, but, on being got out of the water, she was in a state of perfect insensibility. She was removed to Westminster Hospital, where she expired shortly afterwards.~The steward of a ship, on whose mind the circumstance of his having lost his situation had been preying, also resolved-: to put a termination to his troubles. But he was less successful. After he had effected with a razor a most frightful wound in his throat, he was taken to the Great Northern Hospital, King's Cross, where he was promptly attended to, and forced to recover. "Thomas Plant, a private of the 18th Hussars, was fined," says the 3fanchester Guardian, "by the Saddleworth magistrates, 405., or, in default of payment, one month's imprisonment, for leaping from a railway train, while at full speed between the Diggle and Saddleworth stations on the London and North-Western line. The man was drunk, and was attempting to go into another compartment of the carriage, having got through the, top of the door, which was locked, for that purpose. Singularly enough, he was not hurt, and he made his way to the Navigation Inn, where, he was taken into custody, and from thence brought before the bench." Mr. Pratt, a young solicitor at Berwick, and clerk to the county court of the town, lodged a bullet in his brain, a few days ago, by firing a pistol into his ear. He was found lying insensible on the floor of his bedroom; he lingered for a few hours. It is stated that he had got into debt, and that importunities of numerous creditors had made him half insane. The other day, in the neighborhood of Stroud, in Gloucestershire, a very respect-ably-dressed man called „• on thewtfeofa wealthy cheesemonger in the neighborhood, a leading man among the Quakers, particularly wanting to see him. His wife being uncertain when her husband would return, asked the stranger to.take some refreshment, and it being late in the evening, and the husband not returning, even proferred a spare bed, which was readily accepted. There were three female servants in the house, one of whom had a misgiving ' about this mysterious stranger, not liking his looks; she managed to secret herself, after all had gone to bed, in a side parlor. In the middle of the night the stranger came downstairs, put on his bootSj which he had taken off in the hall, leaving a carpet-bag on the hall chair, opened the door, and gave a loud whistle. The girl, with great presence of mind, immediately bolted the door, and, seeing every fastening safe, proceeded to examine the contents of the carpet-bag, which was found to contain a revolver, pistol, daggers, and every appliance used by experienced burglars. Of course the respectable stranger did not make his reappearance. A provincial paper gives an account of the suicide of a commercial man, who was proceeding from Leeds to Derby in a thirdclass carriage, in which were two other male passengers:—"The train left Claycross station and entered the tunnel, which is about'a mile and a quarter in length. When it had proceeded about 200 yards one of the three passengers let down the window, opened the door, and jumped out instantaneously on the left-hand or up line of rails. On the arrival of the train.at Stretto.n (the next station) several passengers communicated to the station-master and guards what had occurred, and the head guard got upon the engine of a goods train which was just entering the tunnel at the south end. The head was severed from the body close to the shoulders, and lay on the ' fore feet' of the down line of rails, as also did the arms, while the trunk and legs remained on the ' six feet.' On a further search being made deceased's hat was found, a quarter of a mile off, at the north end of the tunnel. It would seem that deceased had not received any injury from the leap, for footmarks were traced a quarter of a mile from where he fell; and that, on hearing the approach of the 6.20 train from Derby, he had laid his head1 across the down line. Deceased appeared to be between 50 and 60 years of age." A most shocking tragedy has been enacted at Lerwick, by a Mr. Williamson, a respectable merchant, who has killed his wife and tnree children, and then committed suicide. He appears to have risen in the night, and having armed himself with a cleaver, made his first victim his wife. He apparently struck her a fearful blow with the cleaver on the/head, and with a razor inflicted a frighful cut upon her

throat. He went through the same horrifying process in the case of his daughter, who was still lying asleep. He next rushed upstairs to the apartment occupied by three other children. The elder boy was seized, numerous and serious cuts were inflicted upon his head, either with the hatchet head of the cleaver or with the razor blade, and with the latter instrument a fearful wound was made upon his throat; but before the consummation of his intended fate he managed to release himself from his father's hands, arid made his escape downstairs. Upon the youngest of the three—the sleeping infant—the,same elaborate attack was made as in the case of the first two and stronger victims. With its head smashed, and almost severed as it was from the body, its death must have been instantaneous. The terminating scene q[ thcsickening tragedy was carried out in the other room on the same floor on which these transactions took place. To this room the second son made his escape in his night-dress. He could scarcely, however, have done more than reach the apartment when his father, following in hot pursuit, overtook him, and, seizing him as he vainly attempted to elude his hold by leaping into an unoccupied bed, dragged him out by his superior strength. One or more stunning bloijys upon the skull soon served to make Kirn yield, arid by a deep razor cut in" the throat he was in the next instant deprived of life as speedily as the innocents who had preceded him. Dropping the mutilated corpse at his feet, the infatuatedman next addressed himself to the deliberate destruction of his own life. Throwing himself,on his back on the middle of the floor of the same room in which he stood, he placed his neck against the leg of the table, thus preventing any chance of the wound being partial, and drawing towards him a chair which stood in the apartment, he passed his arm round one of its lower supports, thereby insuring equal steadiness of the hand as of the neck. By this finesse of arrangement he was enabled to carry out his horrible design with fatal precision. With such strength did he, thus assisted, inflict a wound upon his throat that the neck was laid open from ear to ear, and the blade of the razor penetrated to the very bone. He must have died in an instant —a ghastly spectacle, with his hands and garments imbrued in his own and his victims' blood, and tresses of his murdered wife's hair still clinging to his fingers, and the instruments of death by. his side. Of the five victims of his demoniacal fury, the only survivor—-his eldest boy—has been carefully tended since his escape, and, by the aid of the surgeon, his dangerous wounds are slowly healing. He is not yet, however, altogether but of danger, and it is doubtful if he will ever sufficiently recover his natural strength. It is stated that Mr. Williamson always shewed a warm affection for his family, and that his affairs do not shew any embarrassment. The cause of his sudden madness remains, therefore, unexplained. - In America spiritualism, embracing spirit rappings, table turning, &c, claims 2,000,000 votaries, 5000 media, and 100,000 witnesses ready to testify to the actual exhibition of the recorded phenomena. One of the melancholy results has been the extraordinary increase in the number of admissions to asylums in that country since the breaking out of this mania, one-half of which are said, to be traceable directly to its effect A new building, to be called the " London Crystal Palace," is now in course of construction. It will be situated on a plot of ground which is bounded by a portion of Oxford and Regent streets, close to the Regent-circus. The principal entrance will be from Oxford-street, and a second one in John-street; and the ground to be covered by the new building is about half an acre in extent. The palace is to be j constructed after a design prepared by Mr. Owen Jones, and resembles, in its general outline and its decorations, the St. James's Music-hall; cast-iron columns carry a light gallery and support a series of semi-circular arches, which intersect each other diagonally. The transept will be 60 feet in width and the nave 33 feet, and the height of the roof at the centre of the arches about 35 feet. The ground floor will be divided into small shops, tastefully fitted up, after the plan of those in the Palais Royal at Paris, and may be sedurely closed at night; and counters for the display of small machinery in motion, and articles of taste and luxury, will be provided in the body of the hall. The whole of the open area of the building, with the galleries, together about 20,000 feet, will be let at moderate rentals to exhibitors. The attractions of a' conservatory, acquarium, aviary, photography, and a well-conducted refreshment department will be added. ''■',! The-removal of Temple Bar, the work of ' Sir Christopher Wren, is in contemplation, and as far; for many reasons it would be a pity to destroy it, a suggestion has been made to place it at the entrance to one of the parks. A deputation from the inhabitants of Regent-street waited on the vestry of St. James's, Westminster, recently, to. protest i against the proposed partial paving of that j street with granite. The original scheme was to lay down granite throughout the whole line of the street, but that plan having been strongly opposed by the shopkeepers it was abandoned, and a modified course was suggested for paving 12 feet only on each side of the street. The deputation declared that -world be worse than the original proposition, as it would make the centre of the street, which would remain macadamized, a mere slough, it being evident that no carriages would go on the granite pavement. ' The elegant suspension bridge connecting Chelsea and Battersea, completed under the direction of Mr. Page, hasjust been opened to the public. As far as Chelsea was concerned, the inauguration of the bridge was practically the opening of Battersea-park, and it seemed as if the population of the northern- shore had taken the first opportu-

nity to precipitate itself en masse on that new possession. It was a glorious spring day, and from an early hour the approaches to the bridge were thronged. Though the park is still in an unfinished state, the pleasing transformations that have been effected would surprise any one who should now visit Battersea-fields after an absence of five or six years. The flat, cheerless, solitary expanse is now broken and varied with banks, and shrubberies and ornamental water. .

The Western-End of the London Railway is now complete. The inhabitants of Belgravia, Westminster, Kensington, and the adjacent localities will thereby be enabled, from the " Riverside Terminus," at the foot of Chelsea new Suspensionbridge, to reach Brighton in one hour and a quarter, and Dover and Portsmouth in two hours and a half.

The King and Queen of Prussia have just sent 1000 florins to the subscriptions for erecting a monument to Luther, at Worms. The other members of the royal family have also contributed considerable sums for the same purpose. A Cincinnati paper states that an Irish fight took place at the Catholic graveyard' at Lick Run, near Cincinnati, on the 14th of March, over the dead body of W-i'F-' Tierney. One party wanted the corpi put 'into",a vault, and the other insisted tliat it should be placed in the grave which was half-filled with water. In the melee the coffin was tumbled about, broken, and covered with mud. The ladies, including the widow of the deceased, took refuge in the carriages. A curious circumstance is related in' a Lyons journal:—An old gentleman of some property in that city, M. Martin by name, was wounded in the side by a musket ball; at the battle of Jena, and be had to be car* s vied off the field. He was cured in about two months, but the ball could riot be extrac--ted. It, however, caused him no serious inconvenience, though at times he felt it move. A few days ago a large boil arose on the side, and he at last applied to it a poultice. On removing the poultice a day or two since the ball, to his astonishment, fell out,. after having been iuJus body for 52 years! -\. v . A Utah correspondent writes to" a New York paper that the Mormon "Bishop Johnson, of Springfield, has seven wives, four of whom are sisters and his own nieces."

An American critic < suggests the use of steam in "propelling" church organs, because " steam never winks at some one across the room just before the piece is started; never titers and laughs at each turn of the music; never blushes nor sticks up its fan before its face, nor hangs its head; never whispers during the sermpn, never turns over the leaves of the notebook to find the tune during prayer, nor gazes over the congregation to see who is kneeling; never writes notes and passes them while the minister is preaching." For these reasons, says the writer, "ifour singing is to be done by proxy, let us employ steam." ■ A bill is, by order of the Emperor of Jhe French, to be presented to the legislative body for granting pensions to the families of the persons killed in the last attempt on his majesty's life, and to the persons who are injured. A curious duel has just taken place near the town of Jiander, in Denmark. The combatants were two journeymen tailors, who, after quarrelling over their cups, determined to settle the dispute in a gentlemanlike manner. As no pistols were at hand, they procured two muskets, which were loaded, and the distance was fixed at 60 paces. The persons present considered the aggrieved party should fire first, and his opponent fell to the ground. The former thinking he had killed his man, threw away his musket, and took to his heels, when the latter, who had merely fallen from fright at the report, jumped up, and ran after him, calling on him to stop, as he had a right to have his shot. Both were shortly after arrested, and the muskets confiscated. ■

There is something to record of photography which can hardly be described as otherwise than wonderful. It is a discovery made by that skilful pioneer pf photography art, Niepce de St. Victor, some four or five months ago, arid now that there is no room to doubt, we give an outline of it. .Marvellous as it may appear, light can actually be bottled up for use. Take an engraving which has been kept for some days ; in the dark;, expose it to full sunshine—that is, insolate it—for 15 minutes; lay it on sensitive paper in a darl? place, and at the end of. 24 hours it will have left an impression of itself on the sensitive paper; the; whites coming out as blacks. If insolated for a longer time, say an hour, till thoroughly saturated with sunlight, the image will appear much more distinct,; Thus" there seems to be no limit to the reproduction of engravings. Take" a tin tube lined with white, let the sun shine into it for an hour, place it erect on sensitive paper, arid it will give the impression of a ring pr re— produce theimagepf a small engraving and; of a variety of objects at pleasure—feathers, figured glass, porcelain, for example. Take moreover, a sheet of paper, which has been N thoroughly exposed to the sun,' seal it up hermetically in a dark tube, and the paper will retain the light so effectually, that after two weeks, perhaps longer, it may be used for taking photographs. / The eminently rural county of Huntingdonshire bids fair to become known for its minerals, ironstone having been discovered on the estate of the Marquisof Huntly, at Ortori, near Peterborough. The ore was found near the surface and in such quantities that about 40 tons were easily gathered. The bulk was sent for smelting to, Wellihgborough, which is readily reached by the North-Western Railway, and the result has proved most favourable as respects both quality and yield. Mining operations "are expected shortly to be commenced,, negotiations with that view being .on foot, as Lord Huntly himself declines to prosecute the work.

Mr. Grove suggests an important application of photography to astromony, derived from the fact that, by means of the electric lamp, photographs of the moon may be made to give an image six feet in diameter, with details and lights remarkably distinct. Observers, even'with the best instruments, are always baffled in making out the minute features of a distinct object for want of sufficient light. Mr. grove's suggestion is, that if a photograph of the object were taken, and illuminated indefinitively by adventitious' light, the image might then be examined microscopically. "In other words, is the photographic eye more sensitive than the living eye, or can a photographic recipient be found which will resist impressions which the living eye does not detect, but which, by increased light or by developing* agents, may be rendered visible to the living eye?''

" Government," says the Athenaeum, " has at last consented tq sanction a new degree—Doctorship of Science. This is truly wise and gracious. London University will very soon be able to grant the new scientific degree; and we presume that Oxford and Cambridge—especially Cambridge—will in due time follow the good example." Formerly it was usuaTto send a present from the Queen to any poor man's wife who had three children at a birth. The wife of a railway porter at Canterbury, named Legg, a short time since had three children, and the Rev. Mr. Hollands, vicar, of St. Dunstan's, ee^t a statement of the fact, to the proper .quarter. Last week she received, through Cotenel Phipps, £6 from the Queen.

A letter from Berlin says:-—" The Thiergarten is daily filled with promenaders, attracted not only by the fine weather, but by the hope of seeing her Royal Highness Princess Frederick William on horseback. The princess rides a beautiful black horse, and rides at a sharp pace round the grounds. She is usually accompanied by a riding-master and one of the ladies of the court. The ease and elegance with which her royal highness manages her horse and her graceful seat are the admiration of all beholders. The princess is a great favorite, and shows much interest in everything connected with art and science. She devotes a portion of the day to the study of history, mathematics, and painting, but pays equal attention to; things of ordinary daily intercourse." Mr. Theed has just,finished his statue in marble of Edmund Burke, for the new Palace, Westminster. This statue will complete the series for St. Stephens-hall. The authority for the face is the portrait executed by Sir Joshua Reynolds, but for the figure the sculptor has been left to his own imagination. He has presented the orator as a stalwart man, apparently engaged in the earnest and deliberate utterance of some well-digested argument. x A number of historical bas reliefs for the decoration of one of the royal chapels is likewise in process of completion by Mr. Theed. The subject now in hand is the meeting of Henry VIII. and Francis I, on the field of the Cloth of Gold, and admits of the introduction of a host of animated figures, which have been executed with., a great deal of care, and are grouped with a happy avoidance of monotony. The only portraits are the two kings, who are, of course, represented at a youthful time of; life, the other personages being, :at present, ideal types of the period, though one of them may perhaps be altered into a^semblance of Cardinal:Wolsey. ' The next work in the series will, it is said, represent a meeting between the same King of England and the Emperor Charles V., and will thus tell a tale contrasting oddly enough with the juvenile frankness and cordiality exhibited in the Field of the Cloth of Gold: '

Mr. Louis Goldburgh, a' Jewish rabbi, has met a premature death, at Nottingham. He was engaged, according to a custom among the Jews; in fastening the Ten Commandments, in a tin case, on a chamber door at the top of the stairs. , In doing so he stepped backwards, and fell to the bottom of the stairs. After lingering until midnight, he died of the injuries he, had received.

' A sugar baker, engaged in a manufactory, at Whitechapel, while in the act of stepping across a plank,, by some means fell backwards into a large copper of boiling-hot liquid sugar. , His screams brought several men to his assistance, when he was with difficulty extricated from his dreadful position. He was immediately wrapped in a blanket and conveyed to the accident ward' of the London Hospital. No hopes are entertained of his surviving.

On the sth April, during a' sharp northeasterly squall which swept up the Thames with considerable violence, the moorings of the -Leviathan were subjected to a most severe strain—a strain under which some of those on the port bow at last gave way, and for a time exposed the vessel to a certain amount of peril. One of the mooring chains on the port bow parted about 20 feet below the hause-hole, and threw such an unfair weight upon the others that a second stem-chain broke, and allowed the vessel's bows to swing in towards the Deptford shore. Mr. Prouse, the chief officer, who as charge of the vessel, immediately took every precaution to secure her safety, and his skill and tact enabled him at once to repair the mishap. j ' The new5 Opera-house, Co vent Garden, ! now in act of being builtV is to be opened next May with a" grand opera. It is scarcely more than a few weeks since the I labourers were at work clearing away the i ruins of the old building/ and now the,new one is fast approaching completion. This is the third time that- the finest theatre in, England lias been builtupon thei same spot; j The present; biiilding is. externally one huge ; structure, nearly 100 feet high'by 122 feet broad, and no less than 240 feet long, about one -fifth larger than the late. theatre, ancl about the same size as the celebrated La Scala of Milan, hitherto the largest* in the world;

"Madame Orsinr," says the Court Journal, " has left IJaris ;to return to the Italian village, where, she has long been established as schoolmistress. Friends of Italian liberty helped to administer all the comfort that, lay in their power by subscribing handsomely to the widow and fatherless, and a sum of 2500 francs was placed in Madame Orsirii's hands at the moment of departure, to which the principal the subscribers are English." , We learn that sacrifice which the unfortunate Orsini has made of himself for'the redemption of his TQOuntry has raised in his favour amongst the; youth of Italy, and the republican party in general, an intense excitement. A handsome monument will be raised to his memory; a medal will also be struck in his honour, and his two children will be fully provided for. It was reported at Turin that the Empress of the French had offered to take them under her especial protection, but that the uncle of Orsini,'who enjoys both wealth and position in the Roman States, had treated the proposal with 'indignation. In consequence of sympathy exhibited by a large body of the students of Padua for Orsini, and their recent demonstration in in attempting the performance of a funeral mass for him at the Cathedral, an order emanating from Vienna has been received, directing the dispersion;*-'of-'the'students to their homes, and the suppression of the University. - . ...

A bill was to be brought into Parliament to disfranchise half the electors of the town of Gal way for corruption.