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New Zealand Tablet, Volume XI, Issue 30, 23 November 1883, Page 25

English Sabbatarianism has received several serious shocks lately. In the eyes of the strict Sabbatarians, to appear happy on Sunday is an offence against Heaven. In the eyes of the law, it is an equally serious offence to visit a public museum or picture gallery, but it is no offence to spend the day in public houses. Yet, see how the upper classes of society manage to ignore Sabbatarian ideas respeot ibly, and to evade the law. The Zcological Gardens and other places are open to them on Sundays. They have as pleasant dinner parties as on other days, and it has oozed out that Sunday evening concerts are not by any means uncommon. Indeed, a Sunday theatrical performance at one of the aristocratic clubs has been publically noticed. Worse still, the Metropolitan Board of Works has, after much ado, waived any further objection to the sale of programmes and letting of chairs in the parks during band performances on Sundays. If all this is allowed to continue, we shall be having the working- classes asking the very troublesome question, What harm would it be if they were allowed to walk through a picture gallery or museum on Sunday? — London Universe. The game of audacity played by the Orleanist Princes, in pretending to have been received and recognised by the Count de Chambord, has failed. The Prince de-Paris is an adroit politician, but he does not bold the cards. If the Austrian Emperor showed him any marks of regard, it was, perhaps, on account of his German mother, Louise, of Meckiembourg-Schwerin, — who brought up the Prince de Paris a Lutheran. In 1858 he presided, at the laying of the cornerstone of a monuKient to tbe memory of Luther, at Wittetnburg. If he will go, now again, to the transpiring glorification of Luther, perhaps Bismarck may help him to the title [of Philippe Egalite I. or 11. of the FrcncJi.-~Rem York Freeman. The first piece in a veay neat volume of " Irish readings " which has reached our hands is from the pen of the Most Rev. Lord Plunket. To most of our older readers whose memory extends back for some years, the name of the author may be suggestive of controversial topics. But there is nothing of a controversial nature in the "reading " we now refer to, which comes to us not from the Lord Plunket of Partry fame, who has long since been gathered ta his fathers, but from his nephew, who is now the Protestant Bishop of Meath. The spirit of this composition is, in fact, the very opposite to that of quarrel or contention. What Lord Plunket gives us in this instance is a fine swinging Irish poem, every sentiment of which might have been uttered by Thomas Davis. The design of the poem is to rebuke the miserable tribe of flunkeys, who, though born and bred in Ireland, affect to despise everything Irish, and strive to puss themselves off as English in all but the accident of birth, which they desire should be regarded as their misfortune and not their fault. We have, unhappily, far too many of such mean-souled creatures amongst us ; they are not all of one religious creed ; Protestants, no doubt, form tbe numerical majority, but the Catholic slaves are the most odious of tlie lot. Upon all of them Lord Plunket 's patriotic '• Rebuke "' should fall with great force. — Nation. ' At Banagher Fair there were only 1,500 cattle offered for sale, and of these only 450 were sold. Last year over 3,000 were offered for sale, and over 2,000 sold,-— Nation^