THE LATE CHARLES BROUGHTON,ESQ.

Evening Post, Issue 262, 9 December 1865, Page 2

THE LATE CHARLES BROUGHTON ,ESQ.

A suggestion has been made by the Brigadier-General commanding the districr, that something should be done by the troops employed in the Taranaki campaign, to show their appreciation of the service* of the late Mr. Broughton, more especially considering that he met his death while engaged in a special mission at Kakaramea. The General proposes that a sum of money, sufficient to place a tablet d¥ ornamental wimlow, to the memory of deceased, in the Episcopal church at Wanganui, should be raised, and for this purpose he requests those officers who approve of his suggestion, to open subscription lists for their respective corps. No doubt the military will -ake up the matter warmly, and we are sure many of Mr. Broughton's townsmen will feel a melancholy pleasure in joining them in thus testyfying their respect for a gentleman whose untimely fate has evoked such general sorrow. — Wanganui Chronicle. Nativb Contingent. — We understand that a proposition is on foot to give a dinner or feast to the officers and men' of the Native Contingent on the occasion of the. Moutoa monument, the erection of which is just now being proceeded with. The time for this demonstration cannot yet be fixed with precision perhaps in a fortnight, or it may be a month hence— as it will depend upon the movements of his Honor the Superintendent, whose presence, it appears, is considered indispensable on

the occasion. But even if the later date is the one fixed upon, there is not more than enough of time to make such arrangements aa will result in a success, which such a demonstration ought to be. A committee should be formed at once, and the affair gone into heartily. — Ibid. Not half a mile from the centre of Greymouth, and within what must ultimately be the prescribed boundaries of the Municipality, is the burial place of the Maori tribe of this district, and in itself may be looked upon as both curious and interesting. Ascending about twenty feet the almost impenetrable range which overhangs the muddy track that winds along the edge of the Grey, there is a cave, down deep in the side of the cliff, and here for years past has been the last resting place of a race fast declining upon the West Coast ; and here, perhaps, lie the bones of many a chieftain who, like his brothers in the Northern Lsland,has fearlessly struggled for his country's rights. Their coffins are piled one upon another, and from the .mouth of the cave they can be plainly seen; but should curiosity lead the visitor further, he can descend with a little difficulty, by a rude ladder, and inspect the curious home of the dead. — Grey River Argus. "On September 4th, at Sloperton-cot-tage, died Mrs. Moore, widow of the late Thomas Moore, Esq.," author of 'Lallan Rookh,' aged 68." This is an announcement that one pf the last roses of a glorious summer has at length disappeared. Pew are now left of the brilliant company who adorned the early part of the 19th century, and whose names are famous in our literature. Among these names none is or will be held in more kindly remembrance than that of the lady to whom the poet Moore gave his heart. Moore not only loved her — he was proud of her, and it is delightful to see in his letters and in his diaries with what eagerness be sounded her praises. He writes to his mother in 1813 : — " You cannot imagine what a sensation Bessy excited at a ball the other night. She was very prettily dressed, and certainly looked very beautiful. I uever saw so much admiration excited. It strikes everybody almost that sees her how like the form and expression of her face are to Catalani's!" And so through all his letters and journals, he is never tired o l ' referring to her — quoting what she said, telling what she did, describing how she looked, and recording how she was admired. He married her in 1811, and her history is summed up in this one phrase — that she was the delig ht of his life. In reference to the extraordinary incident of breaking Trent-et-un Bank, on the 12th inst., at Baden-Baden, a correspondent of Galignani says: — "This was one of the most singular occurrences on record at the play-room here. The fortunate winner <s a Maltese, a man of excedingly large fortune, who, while his piles of napoleons were at stake on the table, preserved the greatest coolness throughout. Not a muscle of his face Wdi seen to move when the awful words ' L i banque a sante,' were pronounced by one of the mitidgera. The whole event lasted a quarter of an hour, from three-quarters pa-st nine to ten p.m. On entering the room the player put a pile of. napoleons on the red, and won eight times running. He then put another lot on the couleur, and won lourteen times running, which brought on he catastrophe, and finished the night's play. During the game his stakes were twice in jeopardy, the bank having made thirty-one apres, but each time he wont At one deal the red, on which he was then laying, got the bad number of nine, and every one thought he must lose when the bank got forty ; At another deal the latter had two, and the bystanders then gave up the player as lost, but on turning the cards the red had one ! When the announcement was m.ide that the bank was broken, loud cht-ers arose from every side, and the uproar wa* tremendous, the winner being the only man present unmoved. On the following day the lucky millionare distributed numerous presents to the atu >u»t oi' several thousand franca, in celebration ot his vioto-v, which for the thousandth tim • confirms the old adage, that ' wlhtp there is much there will ba m'>re,' or tw the French have it, L'eau va toujours a In riviere."