LONDON.

Globe, Volume I, Issue 95, 19 September 1874, Page 3

LONDON.

(From a correspondent of the " Press") July 28th, 1874. We are having a summer of exceptional heat and drought, and there is a general inclination in the public mind to associate the high readings of the thermometer with the comet, which has been paying us a visit of some duration. Science may smile ; but perspiring humanity in general, as it clamors for iced drinks and gasps for air, will have it that the comet is at che bottom of it all. The fierce and unusual heat has ripened the crops prematurely, and the cutting of wheat became necessary before the grain was fully developed. The grass is scorched up, and the live stock languish for food and water. We have had occasional thunder showers, but the earth is parched to such a depth that nothing under a few days'steady downpour—such as so often graces our outdoor amusements —will suffice to quench its thirst, and iriake it brihgiforth its'fruits in due season. The annual gathering of the Volunteers at Wimbledon has been brought to a close with the customary review and presentation of prizes. As a fortnight's picnic it has been tolerably, successful—though not up to its predecessors—and I daresay the Volunteers are physically all;the better for their healthy out-door life. It was with another object, however, that the gathering was established —that of schooling, as far as was practicable, the Volunteers in that discipline without : which their services, if unhappily ever required, would be worse than useless ; and thiß object the camp of Wimbledon, as now managed, does not attain. Since the esfcabr Jishment of these camps fifteen years ago we have, doubtless, become better shots. The first winner of the Queen's Prize carried off'the trophy with a score which would not now qualify him to shoot amongst the "Queen's sixty" in the final stage of the contest. But straight shooting is nothing compared to strict discipline, and while the Volunteers have become proficients in the former, they seem to have learned little or nothing of the latter. Privates go about the camp without saluting their .officers, in the face of strict and oft repeated order that they are to do so ; talking in the ranks often drowns the words of command ; or if the word of command is heard, they forget that " Their's not to reason why; their's !not to make reply ;" but generally do both wiih considerable volubility. If there is no discipline on the parade ground assuredly will there be none in the field before an enemy, and want of discipline converts a body of men—no matter how many " dead shots " or how much individual pluck and intelligence there may be in the ranks—into a useless and, to their friends, obstructive rabble. There is a luxury too, in the camp which is ridiculously out of place and saps the very foundation of military discipline. Fragrant plants are bedded round the tents in gorgeous parterres ; the pop of the champagne cork mingles with the report of the rifle, and tents are luxuriously . furnished. After firing a certain number of rounds during the day, entertaining their " sweethearts and wives" sumptuously at luncheon, drinking iced champagnje cup ad ilib, and carousing in the evening, these dilettanti campaigners fancy they are

roughing it, and that they deserve well of their country for all their hardships borne so nobly and unmurmuringly. The great event of the meeting is the shooting for the Queen's prize, and this was won by a Durham man, Private Atkinson, after an exciting tie with a Scot, Sergeant Rae. It consists of a cup and £250 in money, and was shot for with a Henry-Martini rifle. This weapon has been strongly condemned during the meeting for its v'nl"rt recoil. As it is the newly adopted arm of our infantry the late discovery of this blemish is serious.

This year it has been deemed expedient to modify the original plan of the annual manoeuvres of our army. Instead of concentrating at the same time all the forces to be exercised, as has been done for the three previous years, a series of camps for instruction, numbering about twenty thousand each, are formed at Aldershot and its vicinity. The Crown Prince of Germany, who, with the Crown Princess, is making a long stay in this country, was present with the Prince of Wales at one of the sham fights, and it is said that his Imperial Highness, who, it appears, has a way of speaking out his mind, was not impressed by the skill and military knowledge of our commanders. On the occasion a trooper of a cavalry regiment, who had lost all control over his horse, brought himself into prominent notice by cannoning against the Prince of Wales' steed, and bowling over horse and rider like a couple of ninepins. His Royal Highness, however, has acquired the art of falling in the hunting field, and was at once in his saddle again as if nothing had occurred. The reward obtained by the trooper for his distinguished conduct in the field has not been promulgated. It has probably taken the shape of relegation to the riding school for the remainder of his service.

We' have been having a modern Icarus amongst as. AM. de Groof, known, on the lucus a non lucendo principle, as the " Flying Man," essayed, by means of an apparatus of his own contrivance, to fly down from a balloon in mid-air. The performance was advertised to take place at the Cremorne Gardens on the evening of the 9th instant, and of course crowds flocked to see that, apparently, most fetching of all spectacles —a fellow creature perilling his neck. At an early hour of the evening the balloon, with De Groof suspended in his machine, ascended ; the crowd cheered, the bands played, and the " flying man" merrily kicked his legs about in time to the music. In a short time he lay a smashed corpse on the pavement of an adjacent street. His apparatus, an unscientific contrivance with wings worked by cords, seems to have had no sustaining power whatever, and when loosed from the balloon he came down like lead. The coroner's jury returned a verdict of what was practically death by misadventure, and expressed their opinion that the increasing frequency of exhibitions which may probably result in death demand the attention of the Legislature. It is high time- that the law should deprive the public of the means of gratifying its morbid cravings for these dangerous exhibitions. Danger alone is the ghastly attraction. When Blondin performed on a rope from which a fall must have dashed him in pieces, a mighty crowd- in its hundreds of thousands went to gaze ; but when he went hrough exactly the same feats on a low rope with a net beneath, the spectators dwindled down to a few hundreds.

Very different is it when a man perils his life in developing an invention which may benefit mankind. So little progress has been made in the science of ballooning for many years that even the slightest step gained in the right direction should be hailed with satisfaction and interest; and such a step resulted from an experimental ascent of a balloon three days ago. The experiment was made at Woolwich, under the auspices of the War Office, and the object was to test a steering and height-regulating apparatus, the invention of a Mr C. A. Bowdler. The apparatus consisted of two tin or zinc fans —precisely like the screw of a ship—three feet in diameter, which were fixed to the car and turned, one horizontally, the other vertically, at the rate of twelve or fourteen revolutions a second, by means of some simple machinery worked by a single-handed winch within the car. The horizontal fan was intended to act as the steering power, and the vertical one was designed for raising or depressing the balloon without aDy expenditure of gas or ballast. The result of the experiment was, as regarded the first object, a failure, no control whatever over the direction of the balloon's course being obtained ; but the action of the vertical fan waß tolerably successful in raising or depressing the balloon at the aeronaut's will. The steering apparatus, however, developed an unexpected quality—that of causing the balloon to revolve to the right or left, according to the way the fan was worked. Mr Bowdler, I believe, means to try again. The serenity which has characterised the course of Parliament during this session has suddenly been ruffled, and we have been having some sharp fighting in the House of Commons. Of course we can never vie with the French Senate, in the spirited manner of conducting debates ; but there have been occasional interchanges of civilities which would hardly have disgraced that very peppery and combustible Assembly. The angry roar of battle brought Mr Gladstone forth from his retirement, and, buckling on his armour, he plunged into the fray with all his wonted fire. The great bone of contention was the Endowed Schools Acts Amendment Bill ; but as the obnoxious clauses are beyond my comprehension it is useless my trying to tell you what they aimed at. Even the Prime Minister, the head of the Government which introduced the measure, at last candidly confessed that " after many perplexed moments," he could not arrive at their meaning; and their ota-

scurity he attributed to " the language which of late years has stolen into our legislation," and which was unintelligible to any but " experts and adepts." It was a strange confession for the right honorable gentleman to make, and after it there was of course nothing to be done but for bin party to throw the disputed clauses overboard. Roughly, they sought to place exclusively under the control of members of the Church of England, the ancient educational foundations of the country, which the Endowed Schools' Act of 18(59 had virtually affirmed to be the common property of all, irrespective of denomination or sect. Honorable members waxed exceeding hot in this debate, notwithstanding that one ton of ice is nightly used to keep them cool.

The annexation of the Fiji Islands has not yet been discussed in the House of Commons, but the Government have promised to give a day for the question before Parliament rises next month. The annexation would, no doubt, be welcomed by the Australian colonies in general, and as a coaling station between them and America the Islands would be of vast importance. The Secretary of State for the Colonies has received offers of the most cordial co-operation from New Zealand and New South Wales, which will, in all probability, be accepted. The cession of the Fiji Islands to Great Britain would give her a central point from which to strike a deathblow at the slave trade which nourishes in those seas, and on this ground alone it would be satisfactory. The Government are strongly inclined t > accept the cession, but will be guided by the report of Sir Hercules Robinson, the Governor of New South Wales, who has been despatched to spy out the land. It is not unlikely that the Islands will be annexed to some of the Australian colonies, a precedent for this being furnished by South Australia, which has a dependency at the extreme north. Parliament has voted an annual sum of £15,000 to Prince Leopold, her Majesty's youngest son. Cricket is in full swing all over the country. The Gentlemen have beaten the Players the best out of three games. The great cricketing carnival of the year, the Canterbury week, begins early next month. The match at Lord's between Eton and Harrow was attended by greater crowds than ever, notwithstanding that the price of admission to Lord's was raised to half a crown. Upwards of £ISOO was taken at the gates. No doubt the Marylebone Club, which pockets the entrance fees, will do everything to keep the match at Lord's ; but there is a disposition to hold it in future in the playing fields of Eton or Harrow. Fifty of these matches have now taken place. Of these, Eton, claims 24, Harrow 22, and 4 were unfinished. A party of American gentlemen, noted for their ability at the game of base ball, which is to America what cricket is to us, have arrived in this country, and intend to introduce their game amongst us. They are announced to play at Liverpool and Manchester. It is hardly likely that base ball will prove a formidable rival to cricket in the hearts of our countrymen.

Never has there been such a splendid and lavish mayoralty as the present one. It eclipses everything in its line that has ever gone before. Not a single opportunity, from a cricket match to an emperor's visit, has been lost for a banquet at the Mansion House; and now our worthy Lord Mayor, looking about for something new to entertain, has hit upon the bright idea of enacting the part of Maecenas, and has given a magnificent banquet to three hundred representatives of the literature and art of the world. Of course, no government could withstand this in a Lord Mayor, and her Majesty has been pleased to confer a baronetcy upon his lordship. The sad struggle of the agricultural laborers draws to a close, and the farmers are masters of the field. The Union to which the laborers have so staunchly adhered, has expressed its inability to support them any longer, and offers them emigration or nothing. Large numbers are going to Canada, and those who remain at home must accept the farmers' terms or starve. Easier terms of emigration are being arranged by the laborers' representatives with the Agent-General of Canadian emigration. I must give you a dash of romance in real life. Amongst the marriage announcements in the English papers you will receive by this mail, your eye may possibly be caught by a curious one under the following heading : " Smith —Esmeralda." The former name may not be altogether unfamiliar to your readers ; the latter is not so often met out of the pages of a novel. The announcement, after giving the place and date of the happy ceremony, runs thus romantically :—" Hubert Smith, Esq., author of ' Tent Life with English Gipsies in Norway,' to Esmeralda, the heroine of his book." Hereby hangs a tale. Mr Hubert Smith is the lord of many broad acres in this country, and on a wild portion of his estate a tribe of gipsies encamped some time ago. He does not appear to have given his visitors that reception generally accorded to their class by gentlemen of property ; but, on the contrary, encouraged them, and eventually took a party of them, with some tents and a couple of donkeys, for a trip in Norway. Among the party was a beauteous gipsy maiden, the daughter of the head of the tribe, who figures very often in the pages of the book describing the trip. This is the charming Esmeralda of the above announcement.

The Goodwood meeting commenced yesterday. The Duke of Richmond will not as usual entertain, owing to a family bereavement ; but he has placed his house at the disposal of the Prince of Wales, who will doubtless keep things going in his usual lively fashion. A fair meeting is anticipated . The report of the French Commission on the proposed submarine tunnel between France and England is favorable to the project ; but I think that .even British enterprise is hardly ripe enough for the undertaking. The Empress of Austria is expected at the Isle of Wight to-morrow or the next day. I hear bad accounts of the mail service to New Zealand via San Francisco. It is to be hoped this will reach you in due time.