DOINGS AT HOME.

Evening Star, Issue 3059, 7 December 1872, Page 2

DOINGS AT HOME.

{Collated from English paper*.) London, October 4. Politics have been almost a dead letter, and it is only within the last few days that some of our busier men have begun to wake up, and commence that system of speechmaking and explanation which is the r6le of the modern M. P. Mr Lowe has been setting the example by a good honest stump expedition through Scotland, and it must be owned that Mr Lowe on the stump and Mr Lowe at his post of office are two very different people. When on duty, he is saturnine, sarcastic, and suspicious; when starring, he is glib, gracious, and genial, and really disburdens himself of bis confidences in a very pleasant and readable manner. Considering, too, how much the revenue has improved under his care, it is no wonder that at Glasgow he could afford to be light-hearted, especially when he informed bis hearers that, con*ule Planeo, there were seven or eight millions more to the good than there were last year. Sir Charles Dilke’s speech (for be, tno, has been on the stump) was a great contrast—for it was a miserably illogical tissue of abuse, directed this time against the Lords, for he dare not say a word against Royalty for fear of being hissed by even the Radicals: ■ • >•’ The Geneva question is at last settled. We have to find three millions, and hknd them over' to America with the pleasantest face that l we can; 1 The reajly curious- part of of it is' that Sir Alex. Cockhnrn, who hai gone deeply into the matter, proves safisfafetorily that the points which were gxveh in our favour really appear to be the most damning, while on the other hand, in the other cases given us, there were many saving clauses, which should either have released u«, or at all events mitigated damages. However, it doesn’t matter, we are very well off just now for cash, and we have given America the inestimable consolation that we have the worst of it; so the money will be well spent. , The I nternational Congress at Hague turned out a dead failure, principally for the reason that everybody suspected everybody else

wanting to rule the roost; and, as everybody had determined to secure that office for himself, it was no wonder that the delegates quarrelled. The meetings at th® Hall of Science in London seem to be equally lacking in interest and dignity, and very probably the International will squabble itself to death. How the Emperors who met at Berlin must have grinned with delight on hearing the accounts from Hague; for it was partly to debate on this ugly-looking democratic monster that they held their meeting. Loid Hatherlcy, our Lord Chancellor, has really and definitely resigned his high office, owing to his failing eyesight—and he leaves it with dignity. His successor is Sir lioimdell Palmer, of whom it may be said at the present time, no lawyer stands higher in public estimation. He will be called by the title of Lord Selborne, of Selborne, that pretty Hampshire valley made classic by Gilbert White, the naturalist. It is with regret that we have lost Justice Willes, and, what is worse, by his own hand, he having shot himself the day before yesterday. It was a plain case of overwork and heart dis ease, and should be a warning to our lawyers and writers not to burn the candle at both ends. He was an excellent judge, and was particularly noted for his knowledge on abstruse points and old black-letter law'. The other deaths of the mouth include the Princess of Hohenlbhe, half-sister to the Queen, who was I believe, very fond of her, and who is sadly distressed at her loss. Lord Hastings, who died rather suddenly abroad, had only succeeded to the title for a year or so. and has not lived long to enjoy the family honours. Sir J. Maxwell Graves was a sturdy Gloucestershire baronet. Mr Win, Brough was the secretary of the London Institution, and well known iu literary and scientific circles, his brother being Lionel Brough, the actor. Prince Galitzin, though no Englishman, was yet pretty well known to English musicians, and as a composer,. Again, an early death, that of Mr Hollowed Carew, who may well point a moral as an example of wasted fortune and opportunities. When iu the army he came in for a large income, and im-

mediately went on the turf and lived a riotous life The end was that he died in poverty at Boulogne, and would have starved for want of a meal had not John Davis, the betting man, kindly sent him LlO0 —more than any of his old friends and chums would have done.

The Queen is skill up in the North, and has been paying a visit very far north indeed, to the Duke of Sutherland, at Dunrobin, in Sutherlandshire, where Mr Stanley had the honor of being invited to see Her Majesty. Prince Arthur has been to Leeds to open the new park at Roundhay, and the Prince of Wales and the Duke are chasing roebuck in the Braemar forest as usual. The Social Science Congress bad a pleasant meeting at Plymouth, although it was not the success that it usually is. The arrangements wvre very bad, and in the middle of the meeting, just as people were beginning to find where all the sections dwelt, the scene was shifted to Dtrenport, a couple of miles off. so that confusion was worse confounded. Then again, the subjects of the social science are worn rather threadbare. Every year you have the same readers, tho same bores, the same speeches, and the same waste of time ; so that what might be very useful under proper condensation, does more harm than good. The best speeches were those of Dr Acland on the public health, a*d Sir John Coleridge on law reform. The laborers’ question was ratherprominent.andGinx soraewhatshocked hisjaudience by defending his agitation, and reminding them that there was once a bigger agitator than he, viz., Jesus Christ! The Church C ngress meets at Leeds, and under tho existing muddle of things ecclesiastical, is expected to be very brisk. Mr Capel Molyncux, a celebrated London 4iyjpe,Tjas just left the Church, pu account of the Bennett judgment, and probably he will take some others with him and found a Christian brotherhood all separate, Canterbury Cathedral has been nearly burnt down, and escaped by a miracle. As usual, the plumbers were at the bottom of the mischief, and the roof took tire in the middle of service, to the great alarm of the choristers and others. However, Canterbury worked with a will, and the fire was got under after damage to about L4OO0 —a mere bagatelle to the fearful loss that might have been incurred. The water arrangements were most complete, except one tap, upon which the waole of the supply depended, and this the dean and chapter were going to put right some day—so like a dean and chapter. There are but few personalities of recent date. Dr Bowers is giving up the deanery of Manchester, and Dr Hannah is said to be his successor. Dr Vaughan (nob the master of the Temple) has been appointed R. C. Bishop of Salford; and Sir Sydney Waterlow is to bo the new lord mayor, and air his grandeur at the Mansion-house, Although this is not exactly the season for the lawcourts, there have been one or two interesting trials. Mr Clappison, the secretary of the London and Countyßank, has been sentenced toS'years, for embezzlement, withtheproceeds of which he migrated to u»va Scotia, where |}e w/as caught; If; was the old story, speculation ‘tpid subsequeht los-.es. Dr Vance, a well-known mcdicaf man at Tottenham, was liad up for tampering with a voting paper, and, fo his great surprise, 'bund out that the offence was very serious, for which ho’ was sent to Jlford Gaol, ' His case, however, was taken at once to Judge’s Chambers ; and as ft was proved that he acted perfectly bona jidp, he was at onqe released on bail. But t|ie most ingenious fraud that I have heard pi for some time was that of VVm. Phillips, Whp wanted to marry a’ young girl, he jcpresenting himself to have been married, but divorced. The father was willing to allow his daughter to marry him, on condition that he satisfactorily proved his divorce. Whereupon, Mr Phillips, being a compositor, , actually printed a slip of newspaper with an account of his case. Still the parent was obstinate, whereupon he produced a certifi- ;

cate, though slightly informal, from the registrar of the court. Such ingenuity was worthy of a better ending. Mr Chaffers, that very disreputable lawyer who attacked Lady Twiss, is beginning again with an action for libel ; but a brother lawyer, Mr Grayson, whose services it was necessary to procure in taking out the writ, hurriedly came forward and repudiated Chaffers with the most undeniable disgust, For years past, the police have made descents on certain shops which purveyed indecent literature, and last month captured the owner of such a one in Kxcter-street, Strand, it is rather suggestive that, in answer to a letter which proposed that the correspondence found in this shop should ho published, so as to show the world how these things were worked, the secretary of the society which deals with this kind of vice writes to say that, w’ere this done, a large number of rather well-known people would he com-

promised. The harvest is supposed to he well nigh in, .and we have cause to be very uneasy for the coming winter. The corn, although not so bad in yield as was feared, is yet sufficiently light to nrake it certain that we shall require very large importations from abroad. Fruit has been an utter failure, and, alas ! id have the potatoes. The disease has depopulated'whole counties of potatoes, and tte shall' Very soon be reduced to looking out for substitutes. Dr Hooker tells us that the disease does not affect the potato starch, and if we grate the potato it will be all right. Foot-apd-mouth and'lung diseases arc increasing, and cattle plague is dancing attendance bn us, 1 and keeping us in a perpetual state of alarm. The Privy Council arc acting with great firmness as to importation of meat from abroad, but that means a diminution of nearly half of our meat supplies. Coals are still at famine prices, though as iron has had a severe fall, coals must soon follow. Belgium is now supplying us in England, and we hear of vast stores from Ireland lying dormant there, so that perhaps wo may in the long run benefit by the sharp Itfwu of 1 this year. The Staffordshire o wjuto

in the Black Country are going to drain thousands of acres which are at present useless, so that once the colliers have recovered their beads, and settled down to steady work, the kingdom afc large wi : l be bettor off. The strikes still continue—the builders, the bakers, the fiiewood choppers, the tin-plate workers, and hosts of smaller trades, are employing their time simply doing nothing hut living on ill r ir neighbors. The only novels of recent growth have been Mrs Olipbant’s “ At his Gates,” a carefully written and interesting story ; and Miss

Braddou’s “ To the Bitter End.” which came out in “ Temple bar” as a serial, Mr Henry Kingsley’s “Valentino” is not equal to hi j other works, but is careless and full of improbabilities. “ Marjory” by Miss Deane is a very charming and prettily told tale, which will bear more than once reading. For other books, though perhaps a little ponderous, is Evans’s “Stone Age of Great Britain.” a splendid and exhaustive treatise on those pro-historic times, which any readerof science should get. “ The Autobiography of a Cornish Rector,” and Cobbotfc’s “ Memorials of Old Twickenham.” are both pleasant books for those who like gossip and old-world

scene-!. “ The Dangerous Classes r.f New \'ork,” by Mr Brae -, describes a very unpleasant set of inhabitants, which seem to be more numerous and mischievous in New York than they are in London. “IJrecoconiutn,” by Mr Wright, is a most valuable and interesting description of the old Homan city of Wroxs ter, in Shropshire, and in addition to this, he goes so deeply into the circumstances of the Homan occupation of Britain, that this book is an .antiquarian handbook to that era. *• The Battle of the Ganges,” by Mr Fairlie. refers to a different age altogether, and is a resume of the present condition of the railway system, advocating that peculiarly narrow gauge of line which suits the Fairlie engine. The Poet Laureate is announced as bringing out anew Aitinman idyl, called “Garette.” Lord Lyfcton is writing the novel of “ Kovelin Chillingley. ” Mr Cordy Jeaffrcaon has a book nearly ready on “Brides and Bridals;” Mr New, the missionary helper in the Livingstone Expedition, one on Africa; as has also Mr Stanley, which Mr Sampson Low has advertised in large letters as “ How I Found Livingstone.” It will, no doubt, keep the little quarrel alive between Livingstone, the Geographical Society, Mr Dawson, and everybody else. The latter officer, by the way, has answered the society’s charges by attacking the society, accusing it of all sorts of misdemeanours, and there seems every probability of the disturbance lasting for some time. Stanley has made a good thing of it, for he has accepted an offer to lecture in America, with the handsome retaining fee of LlO 000 ; and the Pall Mall Gazette proposes to send him out to look for the lost ten tribes; so that he may be considered to have his hands full. It is becoming quite a fashionable thing to go and lecture in America, Mr Tyndall has betaken himself there, as has also Miss Faithfull, to whom a farewell soiree was given before her departure, and who will doubtless always command an audience in the States,

One of the bishops (Peterborough) was lecturing the other day on “The Spirit of the Times,” and insisting on taking nothing for granted but what was actually proved. As an instance of this, it has lately transpired that the story of William Tell is all a fiction, that there was never a 'fell, nor a Gessier, nor even an apple. It is a terrible thing to think of, and wo shall shortly have the identity of Robinson Crusoe disputed. As a pendant to this, 1 may mention that in the late fire at Canterbury Cathedral a sword of the Black Prince nearly came to grief; but it has since turned out that the Black Prince must have been rather rich in fhes -■ articles, as several letters have appeared, each elaimingthe ownership of thegonuine BlackPrince’s sword. If all the antiquities in England were overhauled, what a precious lot of forgeries would be disclosed. Greenwich Hospital is really about to be turned to some good account, in the shape of a Naval University, for which it is well fitted. The naval museum and school at present attached to South Kensington will, it is understood, be transferred to Greenwich. South Kensington has got hold of the School of Mines and the College of Chemistry, both of which will give up their independent condition, although happily the mus- um in Jermyn street will still be kept there. 'I he Old Charter-house School hj >s left London altogether, and taken up its abode on the Seven Hills, near Godalminsr, since which time the boys have very much increased in numbers.

There is but little doing in the theatrical world. Co vent-garden has xMr Boiurcanlt’s splendid show of ‘‘Basil and Bijou,’" which, as a medium for dross and a large amount of legs, is well worth seeing, but which, as a dialogue or plot, is a failure. Mr Halliday’s “Lady of the Lake,” at Drnry-lane, is also ■well mounted, and thcsc<;iier} r unexceptional, apait from which the play would not have much interest. The greatest success that has been is that of Mr Willis fn Ip* Charles 11. at the Lyceum, the Merry Monarch being acted by Mr Irving, who dresses and speaks him to the life. The Prince of Wales has got Lord Lyfcton’s “ Money,” with which ’he season ended last year—and it seems to fill the house just as well as ever it did. At the Albert Hall, there was an operate concert last'week, in which poor Madame Tifjm’s voice nearly came to grief. It has boon in a very ticklish state for some months, dur two best singers now are Madame Sinico and Madame Trebelli. The latter with Mr Lancia, made splendid running at the Norwich Festival, and indeed rather re-

deemed it from mediocrity in the vocal line.

Sir Jules Benedict was conductor, agd gave some povclties of Ips own, which further stamp him g,s an original musician. A new churoh choral society for Lon (lon is being established, with Sir Frederick Gore Ouscly at its head, to form a sort of bond between London churches, and to assist in the matter

of choirs and organs. A national opera is also being talked about, hut whether it will

got beyond that stage- is another thing, for it has been tried more than once, and always with tho same untimely end. The Inter-

national Exhibition is drawing to a close, the time having been prolonged to the 19th of this month.