Miscellaneous.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XI, Issue 687, 8 June 1859, Page 4

Miscellaneous.

The Duke of Wellington and the Painter. > —The following amusing anecdote is now for the first .time recorded of the great "P.M." and our -countryman Sir William Allan:—Sir William Allan having finished "The Battle of Waterloo," -called for the money, per appointment,-at Apsley House. He was ushered into the study, where the Duke proceeded at once to the business in hand,' the simple process of payment,—a process, how-; ever, much more compound than the painter had anticipated. Taking up a roll of notes, the Duke unrolled and began to put them down in his:. deliberate and emphatic manner, calling out the -amount as he did so, " one hundred pounds," " two ■^hundred pounds." This was slow work; and Al- < lan was overpowered with the idea that the mightiest • man on earth, whose minutes had outweighed cart- - loads of Koh -i-noors in value, should be thus occupied.^ He blurted out in his Scotch confused manner that he was really very sorry his Grace should take all this trouble—a cheque would, do. The ' Duke went on, " five hundred pounds," ''six | ! hundred pounds." Allan, thinking he hadn't been ■ raised his voice louder and louder at each hundred, exclaiming, a cheque would do, a cheque • would do ;—-" Eleven hundred pounds "—" A cheque will do !"—" Twelve hundred pounds"—A -cheque, your Grace, really a cheque, will do!" Grace,—" JSfo, a cheque won't do; do you suppose I am going to let my bankers know I have been ; such a fool as to pay £1,200 for a picture ? Why, they'd think me mad—Sir William Allan, I wish you good morning." Exit Allan, unconscious whether it was head or heels foremost, and conscious only that he had the money.— Glasgoio Paper. s A Rustic's Opinion of the Comet.—A rustic gravely told us a few evenings since that the comet was a burning hayrick falling from the moon, and he estimated the length of its tail at "ten yards, or rather better." Of course he regarded us ■as a madman when we ventured to remark that its actual length was something like 15,000,000. miles. He know'd better than that"! 'Twas a vleeing, hayrick and nothing moore. He'd, advise his master to insure ez barn directly, vor if the comet should vail in theck parish t'd be the ruination to every varmer who.had a mock o' hay in his barton. — JPulman's Weekly Neivs. . ' The baptism of the infant son of Prince Frederick William took place at Berlin on the sth of March. The name of the young prince is Frederick William Victor Albert. Aletter from the Prussian capital ' gives us a few particulars. ■" The Prince Regent •held the infant prince at the baptismal font; and the young mother, the Princess Frederick William,; .was a witness of the ceremony from an apartment the doors of which.open into the chapel. When the •baptism was over, the Grand Mistress of the Household, Countess Perponcher, took the child' to its another, and all the company followed to present their congratulations to her royal highness. The streets were dressed with flags and garlands, and at night the entire city was illuminated. Sonieof the streets presented a magnificent appearance. Among the public edifices remarkable for the splendour of Ih illuminations was the Hotel de Ville, which . was lighted up by more than 50,000 jets of gas. At all the theatres a. gala representation was given.";

Amenities ov the Canadian Climate. — One morning a little fellow about 8 years old,"a son of Mr. Gillau, Bookseller, while playing with some other boys in North street, approached a lamppost, and carelessly applied his tongue to its gray-frosted surface, when in an instant,to the boy's own horror and the utter astonishment of his playmates, ho was held fast by his tongue to the post, suffering very severe pain, and wholly unable to help or extricate himself; of course the boy could not speak, and could only manifest his feeling's by signs with his hands. Various applications of warm tea, steam, &c, were made by some neighbours, who heard the unusual noise made'by the other "boys, and came to learn what was the matter, but of no avail; such was the action of the cold iron that the hold was even getting tighter. After about 10 minutes had elapsed, the boy's father, heard of the affair, and hastening to his relief, he took a knife and was •obliged to cut the tongue loose, leaving its skin still fast to the post and causing the blood to flow very profusely. Immediately en his release the poor little fellow became insensible and was taken home. — Canadian Paper: Mr. Tennyson's new poem of " King Arthur" is said to abound, in lines and passages of uncommon beauty. It will shortly be published by the executors of the late Edward Moxon.

We understand that'a special commissioner, Mr. E. C. Merewether, has just arrived by the mail steamer from New South Wales, being,fully empowered, in connection with the board of council appointed in London (comprising "the followinggentlemen, viz., Messrs. Edward Hamilton, Donald Larnach, George A. Lloyd, and Robert Towns),- 'to confer with the home Government, and make the necessary contracts for,a monthly mail service via Panama and New Zealand. Towards this service the Legislative Council at Sydney have voted an annual subsidy of £50,000, The Fact of the New South Wales government having delegated a special commissioner to this country is sufficient proof of their earnest desire to carry out the object speedily. — Home News.

A letter from one of the officers of the Belooch "Rifle Brigade says that, on hearing of the illness of General Jacob, Mr. Frcre said, "if anything happens to fchatlinan not one in ten thousand can ever replace hi«i," and that on hearing of his death Mr. Erere ordered a day of mourning .throughout Scinde. G-eneial Jacob died of " complete exhaustion." caused by over work. He was ouly forty five years old. At his death ho was surrounded by his officers European and Native, and hoary old Native officers were seen crying like children. He was buried without any pomp, in accordance with his wish. The whole population flocked out to see the procession. The " din and noise made by women tearing their hair and men crying was indisI cribable." Jacob's heir is the gallant Major MereI wether.-

The phrase "complete reconstruction" of the Navy, which was applied by Mr. Disraeli to Sir John Pakington's naval measures, is not borne out by the Navy estimates. The grand total of the naval vote is £9,813,181; a net increase of £961,810, upon that of last year. This additional sum will be expended on stores, wages, and steam machinery. Upon ships to be built by contract £250,000 are to be spent. The force afloat is to bo augmented by 308 men; the Navy proper absorbing 40,000 officers, seamen, and boys; the coast guard, afloat and ashore, 7,400. The marines are not to be increased. These are hardly the,-figures we should have seen had that : achievement been required which -Mr. Disraeli indicated—the complete reconstruction of the Navy. ' ■: ' ■•■■■■ ;':

A deputation from the Anti-taxes upon Know- j ledge Association waited upon Lord Derby yesterday to urge the repeal of the paper duty.: The Premier said he had never concealed his opinion of this: onerous tax. All he could say was that the."state; of-.the .-public finances at the present time is the ohly thing that-stands in the way of relieving the country from a tax which he admitted to. be an objectionable one. He was not however in a position to say what the Chancellor bf the Exchequer; might be able to do. But he would be much surprised, and he might add gratified, to find that he ■■ would be enabled-to remove any of the burdens from the country this year;'in fact, he should be glad to find that there was no necessity for him to impose new ones. , ' . ■ . , One of. the most distinguished leaders of .the Free-trade party is reported to have received, just before Sir Kobert Peel's change of action, a severe remonstrance from a friend, lor showing signs of surrender, in expressing a desponding doubt of success. A case very similar is now reported to vis by a correspondent. Avowals have been heard that 'that there is no expectation of carrying Mi*. Blight's bill this session; and these avowals are ascribed to the usual authority in such cases—" the. last man we should have supposed capable of such a thing." We are bound to say that this last man is not-Mr. Bright himself.

The recent order announcing that letters not prepaid would not be forwarded, has been rescinded in deference to public opinion, or rather to the opinion of certain public men. For our own part we have great doubts whether public opinion does not rather go with the order. Correspondents of our own hold it as the abolition of a nuisance. There may, indeed, be suggestions to. the actual suppression of letters, since even one in a hundred

may have a value. But why not put a restriction upon abuses of the Post Office ? Let the recipient of the letter, if he chooses to complain, return it through the Post Office; and empower that department to impose a fine—say ss. Moi'e than thirty-seven acres will be occupied by the Zoological Gardens of Acclimation in the Bqis de Boulogne, purchased for forty years. The capi-'; tal is a million francs, (£40,000) .to be raised in ' 5000 shares, of 250 francs each; personal right of entry or twenty tickets will be allotted to each shareholder; and a property of five shares entitles ■ the owner to an admission on the "reserved" days. The ' Corriere Mercantile' speaks of an engraver, Filippo Levy, who, with Chiossoni and other artists, is at Florence, occupied in tke work of reforming the art of engraving, with a view of re-' storing it to its ■primitive simplicity and chaste-" ness. Levy has already published an album, containing twelve prints, each representing an angel, by beato Angelico da Fiesole. These prints „are: considered gems. Chiossoni, it should be stated, has acquired great fame for his engraving of the " Paradise" of the. beato Angelico da Fiesole. 'At Lancaster Assizes, William Sanderson, Thomas Holuen, and John Parker, were indicted for. the wilful murder of James Eatough, when acting as gamekeeper on the property of Mr. Whalley, on the night of the 13tli December last. An approver named Eeilley described; the proceedings of the party of poachers, consisting-of five, including himself, and the affray -with the gamekeepers, during which Eatougli, who was an old man, was frequently struck. The evidence of the approver was confirmed by that of the gamekeepers. The deceased lived twelve days after he was wounded. : Mr. Justice Willes, in his charge to the jury,, observed that if they thought, the keepers, by their, conduct and excess of violence, in attempting to arrevSt the man, had provoked .the blows in hot-blond which; led to the death of the deceased, then the offence was only I manslaughter. The jury, after an hour's delibera- ! tion,took that merciful view of the offence, and found ! Sauuderson and Holden guilty of manslaughter only and acquitted Parker. Saundcrson, who is an old poacher, was sentenced to tea years, and Holdcn.to five yeai's'penal servitude. ;,' ': , ; ; The. Continental journals state that.the negotiations for a. commercial treaty between Russia and Austria have been hitherto unsuccessful. It is reported that wliile Austria is willing to make every concession, Russia refuses to lower the duty on some of the most important articles. ' . .'.,■■.

Lieutenent A. Baillie, of the East India Engineers in quarters at Chatham Jwas.arrested last week on charge of robbing a brother officer. Robberies have gone on for some time and suspected servants have been dismissed.' Baillic's servant gave information which led to a vigilant Avatcli on his master's conduct. The alleged robbery was instantly discovered. . Baillie escaped from prison. on Saturday.

Geqrge Binning, a Sunderland miner, aged 19, has shot Margaret Hodgson, a girl of 18, whom he was courting. The young woman rejected his suit, she wbuld have nothing to do with him. The boy exclaiming that.no bbc else should, drew a pistol, shot her in 'the head, and ran away. She is in a danger-ous-state.:-'' ■:•:■■■ ■''" ;-; •■'■ ' '■' '/ :/: '■■ ' : . ' : .'■'

.While the Bute Docks at Cardiff were full of sailors and others engaged on business on I.6th Feb., the boiler,of an engine blew up..;, .Six persons were killed, and several wounded. ; ; It is stated that the man at the engine put; his hand on the safety valve in order that he might, hear the <a.ptain's instruc-

tions; ' " '. ; ,'•.;'.,.'."';.' ...;'..' \ , .-■ '..:. •-. ' ' Mr. Mitchell, who has advanced the attractions of bur own Zoological Gardens under his care, so officially, is preparing a collection of birds and beasts for the French Emperor, in the Bois de Boulogne. 7 - It is affirmed"that the Emperor of Russia has granted a concession; for the' establishment of a Telegraph, Communication overland with s America, through his Arctic .dominions, and >will: advisedly supplement the concessionaire with , money and means. . V •■.' " ;. ■■ ...... - .:■■■•■ ..;;V : ■ -,-; . ,■,;..-

At Howrali, the: terminus of the East Indian RailVay, a new hospital is'being ejected, at which the Indian .Government will, provide, a sub-assistant surgeon and the medicines free of charge. Lord Macaulay's article in the last volume of the 'Encyclopaedia Britannica' has riot been thrown away. Not only do all the back numbers seem to have been sold,; but: Messrs.' Black have found it necessary to advertise avedssvie.—Critic : Another "mess," we- understand,; has been g«t into regarding the proceedings of Mr. Gladstone in lonia. Mr. Gladstone^:appointment as Lord, High Commissioner, haying c.eased with the of Sir Henry Storks as his successor, he has since been acting as. vice-Commissioner under a commission from the said Sir Henry Storks. TKe question has arisen whether; as holding from the Crown, Sir Henry Storks could make any such appointment' but what must be held as also derived from the Crown—in which case, besides other doubts and difficulties;;Mr. Gladstone's seat for Oxford -University :is vacant again. Sir H, Cairns, the English Solicitor-General has, we believe, given a decided opinion that such is the effect of the procedure. Mr. .Gladstone will thus havebeen twice in and twice out, of Parliament, and have held ! and resigned three, if hot four different offices; allAvithin thespaceof aiewdays.— Scotsman. Colonel Cypriani, an aide-de-camp of Colonel Couza, who lately arrived in Paris, has left for London, "in order," says 'Galignani;'' "to point out to the English Government the situation of the DanuMan Principalities." >;■ ' I Landor. condenses Thackeray's lectures on: the Four Georges into a thimble as follows-:— . George the Primus-vile was reckoned, .;.' Viler still was George the Second.;.-,; '■"• And what mortal ever;heard ( , ..: ~'y- ; Any good of George the Third .1 ( . .'.:'.; :; When from the earth' the Fourth descended,

God be praised the Georges ended! . "'". „ ' "It is rumoured," says the f Critic,' "that inconsequence of a disagreement r -between Mr,! Charles , Dickens and:, Messrs. Bradbury and Evans a great change will be made with regard to ' Household Words.' This publication, as'is generally known, Was. founded; at the suggestion of. Mr. .Wills, its; present editor, and was intended as a sort of rival to ' Chambers's Journal.' Mr. Dickens became a shareholder, arid his name was constantly .announced as its ' conductor,' although hisi contributions.jfcoits ! pages have been few and Unfrequent. Acting under an impression that it is his name that offers the; sole attraction to the public, Mr^ Dickens has determined, it is said, to withdraw from 'Household Words,' and found another periodical upon a similar plan, and matters have proceeded so far that an office for the new journal is either taken or in progress of being. taken in Wellington street. Messrs. Bradbury and Evans, on their part, have resolved to continue ' Household Words,' and it is whispered that they hajpe endeavoured to prevail upon;,Mr. Thackeray to become its conductor. Whether they have'succeeded in pursuading the great Titniarsh to accede to their prayer we are unable to say; but it is ceitain that they will have-at their disposal -the whole of the 'Punch' staff; and it is confidently stated that they will invite the return "to ' Household ; Words' of Mr. George Augustus Sala, whose witty and suggestive, pictures of life and manners formed the chiefest attraction rof that publication: a few ;years ago, and the outpourings from whose pen were so frequently attributed to Mr. .Charles Dickens. It' this be true, we do not anticipate that this admirable periodical will be much damaged by the change, and it is certain that the public will not lose by a competition for excellence between two such antagonists." ■■■' •""•■'• •

' Household Words* is to cease at the end of May, and Mr. Charles Dickens announces a new serial, to be called "All the Year Round," to appear at the end of April, opening with a new tale. The motto of the new serial is taken from " Othello"—f The story of my life from year to year." It is not likely that this work will ever attain the popularity of 'Household Words.' V. :v

The post office order, just cancelled, was turned to good account by " practical dodger," who makes his dodge public in the columns of the 'Times.' He signed the letter with the name of the person'for whom it was intended, and addressing it to himself, put it in the post in an unstamped envelope. It was duly delivered, free of cost, to the person-for whom it was intended.

Geographical knowledge is evidently in some request among the officials of •' Her Majesty's Court i for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes," for we find that a notice is served upon one Philip Quarles, of Melbourne, " South Australia!" We do not think ■; that any subsequent proceedings, based upon the validity «f this notice, will havemuch force.—Aus-. tralian Gazette. ■' ■ '■:'■'■ ' A letter from Berlin in the 'Nord s dated the 25th January says—" Early this morning Prince Frederick William assembled the servants of his household, and. showed them his infant son, whom lie held in his arms. I have seen workmen and poor women, hurrying from the most distant quarters of the city,' andeven' the peasants from the neighbouring Vil-; lages, to learn how the princess is.progressing. The bulletins signed by the doctors, Schbenlein, Wegner, and Martin, are'read and copied with ineredibie eagerness. In fact the Berlinese, so cold by nature, are giving way to the most ardent enthusiasm." ' : We have the account of a successful revolution for the overthrow of '' Faustin the First, Emperor of Hayti." It. will be remembered that Soulouque was originally elected President of. Hayti, but that setting aside his oaths to maintain the Eepublic, he overturned the government and proclaimed himself "Emperor." He and his wife were, crowned.with ■great"pomp ; and;, he created an order of nobility,; which has been ridiculed for its titles of Lemonade and Marmalade, and other dignities of the JamPot; i as if the mew Emperor designed an ultra-Quixotic burlesque-on "the sweets- of office." For several years ScHilouque succeeded in maintaining himself,: with an occasional outbreak which he has put down at the cost of many lives.;, But all the time it was evident that a large portion of the people were,opposed to the .Empire. ,-,■ On the 22nd of December, Geffrard, formerly Governor-of Jaeruel—an estimable [ person, viewed with natural; jealousy by Soulouque —managed to escape from' Port au Prince,: where he had been under surveillance for .some time,—took boat witli but two followers—landed at G'onaines. where he. was received with open arms by the people ; ; and at the latest dates he was master of the northern part of the island, with every prospect of entirely overthrowing the " empire," In fact, from the most reliable sources, we have little doubt that the Republic has by this time been reestablished. Hayti should be the school of the Negro in self-go-vernment and civilization, and if the Auti-slavery party, whether of England or America, had devoted to the instruction of Hayti all the labour and (other people's) money that they have devoted to preventing the orderly and natural solution of the Black problem, they might by this time have done some substantial good.

It is understood; that, certain Chambers of Com-; merce have resolved upon sending competent agents j to India; to examine and report upon various mat-i lers relative to the growth Of cotton; They/ are: to'ascertain what commercial difficulties have to be • removed, or facilities to be discovered; and to act i for their principals aa circumstances may require. ; Stratford-upon-Avon :is being provided; \vith a connecting loop of railway. A pilgrim age to the great poet's birthplace will be more than ever in-, cumbent on Englishmen. ■':■''• .' ;. .. It has been notified that the amount of" < stock . created in lieu of the £.7,600,000 of Exchequer bills : recently cancelled on account of the savings-tanks, is £8,469,209. This operation has been effected in • the ordinary manner, under the old Savings-banks ; Act, which gives power to the Government to fund bills held by the Coiumissibners without the cognizance of Parliament. The Exchequer-bills cancelled in the present instance Were all created beforelßsl,; on the authority granted during the Crimean war, and were issued direct to the sayings-banks; Wnen the conversion takes place of such bills into stock, the calculations are made at the average prices of the period. Operations of the'kind have-been known ever since the establishment of savingSrbanks, but they are highly objectionable dn principle; and in the report of the select committee;of savings-banks, issued in July last, they were clearly described and discountenanced. — Times City Article. ■.. ■.. .■ A letter from St. Petersburg of the 11th January in the Brussels 'In dependance,'' states that." the Grand Duchess Helena, widow, of the Grand Duke Michael, brother of the late Emperor Nicholas, has given freedom1 to the serfs upon her estates from the 13th of February, upon the most liberal -conditions. Besides their enclosure, including house, kitchen, garden, poultry-yard, and shed, each will; receive four acres of arable land for which he can pay an annual sum, truly insignificant, about half-a-rouble or so. They will, moreover,: receive wages from twenty-five to forty Tqubles a year fo* their labour upon the Grand Duchess's estate's." " After' an unprecedented „wet. season, on the evening of the 2nd, ahout eight o'clock; 6he'.bf those reservoirs,-becoming overcharged, suddenly burst and precipitated itself into the one beneath, which also giving way,, the contents of both 'bounded into a third, and, with a roar which shook the country for miles round, an avalanche of water,, rocks, and earth xolled down the mountain7 side, furrowing a deep watercourse in its way, and instantly obliterating the" canal ;underr a mountain of thousands of

tons of rocks and stones. The vast body of: water, separating into two great tide waves, rolled, away to the east and west, breaking up lock-gates like tinder; and, tunnelling vast chasms through the banks, the waters found vent over the open country, the one by the town of Lochgilphead into Loch 3?yne, the other over the Crinan mosses into the western sea, both strewing the face; of the country with mud, stones, peat, fragments of corn-sacks, uprooted bushes, and broken timber, in a most wonderful manner.- Even the loch for inariy miles out;to,sea is quite turbid, and> its; surface speckled over with floating debris. „i . ■■■/) .; ; ■.;.

"Though the loss of property is at present incalculable, yet, most miraculously, there has not been a single life lost^ though the alarm of the people of Lochgilphead-may be conceived when they heard the distant bellowing of the torrent and rolling and grating of rocks, and then saw through the darkness of the night theinoving flood all around them.

" About half a mile of canal is -buried under a chaotic heap of Cyclopiari stones, like a rugged sea ■ beach. In this part of (-Hen Crinan Nature Has completely resumed her sway; towpath arid high road, and1 all appearance of the hand of man, have totally disappeared. For two • miles the canal; is destroyed, the banks being cut up by chasms like railway cuttings; but the remainingrportions, : about four miles at.either end, are intact, though probably injured by the quantity of mud injected into them. The pressure upon, their banks must have been greati as; the waters swelled over their edges for their whole length, and Ardrispaig was probably only, saved by the immediate opening of the sluices and giving vent to the water; which must, had the bank given way, have swept the] village into the sea."-. ; ;t■■' ;i -■' ■ ■'. '.;•'■ ■ ■■"--. :^'.' -.;--"':v •■•^.■■'.■'■-

' An American agent is ;now -in treaty- with Mr. Dickens for a tour of. readings through the.Stat§s. It is said that, an offer of a guarantee for :£30,000 has been offered. This arrangement, if : carried out, will not interfere with the starting of the new periodical referred to in our last.—CWfte.. '.:/,'... .-.: j