ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume II, Issue 94, 24 June 1846, Page 3

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

Hampers of mutton are sent regularly from Windsor to the King of Prussia at Berlin, where it is considered the greatest delicacy at the royal table ; as it well may be, seeing that Prussia mutton is scarcely eatable. The King of Prussia has just bought the wine vase and the cup witb which Luther used to administer the sacrament. They are of silvsr, gilded in the inside. The cup resembles an ordinary goblet, but is more oval than round. The vase has the form of a jug, and is of admirable workmanship ; it is covered with subjects representing the passion of our Saviour.

The magnificent bridge, built by the city of Manheim, over the Necker, has just been consecrated to the public service, by a novel ceremony of inauguration, which deserves recording. A procession of eighty waggons was driven across, laden with provisions, firewood, and turf, which were afterwards distributed gtatuitously amongst the poor. The 24th Regiment, uuder LieutenantColonel Townsend, on Tuesday, received the route for Cotk, to embark for foreign service, Australia, it is understood, and the first division of two companies will march from Limerick on Friday. — Glasgow Paver, Dec. 24. The Frankfort Journal has an extract of a letter from Rio, giving some curious details of the diamond mines recently discovered in Brazil. " Hats full of the stones have been picked up and brought away. Two-thirds of them are of a yellowish tinge, and do not possess the usual hardness of the diamond, but many of them are very fine. The house of Bomfin & Reshesler, the largest diamond merchants at Rio Janeiro, at first threw doubts on the reality of this discovery of the mine, but notwithstanding this, every one who has diamonds on hand is endeavouring to sell them i at the best price they can obtain, fearing a great reduction in value. The same authority states that the differences between Russia and Rome have been settled. Russia will not seek to coerce catholics to conform to the Greek church, while Rome enga.es to watch the catholics shall not take part in political movements against the state. This settlement is attributed to the conciliatory interference of Austria. A Vienna letter of the 29th Nov. mentions a report that the Duke de Bourdeaux is in treaty for the purchase of the state domain of Weiner Neastadt, for which the Baron de Lina lately offered 1,800,000 florins (nearly four millions of francs.) A Berlin letier of the 27th Nov. states that by a Royal Ordonnauce, lately published, ihe decree of Napoleon, which obliged all Jews' | not having an hereditary family name, to adopt one, and which decree is still in force in the Rhenish provinces, where the French laws have been preserved, is now extended to aU the rest of the kingdom of Prussia. A delay of six months is given to those Jews who have not a family name to choose one, and which is to be submitted to the Minister of the Interior for his approval. A correspondent of the Chronicle, in a letter, dated Damascus, Nov. 10, gives an account of some atrocious cruelties practised by the Turks in Syria. Men and women have been hung up by their hair, and left in that position till they would confess where arms were hid. Men have been beaten to death — have actually been carried from under the beating rod to the burying ground ! The Turks suspecting that arms might be hid in jars of oil and butter, instead of their searching for them, they would break them, and so the articles were lost. When the people have no barley to give the soldiers' horses, they are made to give raisins. The Turks have boxes of iron, under the lids of which they place the women's breasts, and cut them. Most of those Christians who are either unwilling to see those acts, or who can safely get away, have left their villages, and gone to Bushary, a Christian part of Lebanon, where the people refuse giving up their arras. Most of the Druses have gone to Hbawran with their leading men.

A Man beheaded on a Railway. — An accident occurred on the Newcastle and Carlisle railway, on the 6ih December last, by which a man named Nicholson had his head severed from his body, and was otherwise dreadfully mutilated. It appears the deceased was a dyer at Carlisle, and had been at the works, which are about two miles from the city, the proceeding evening at a merry making, and was walking home along the railway in the morning, when, it is supposed, he had either fallen or lain down, and gone to sleep across the lail.s The six o'clock coal train from Malton coming up, passed over his legs and neck, cutting his head complete'y off. The a tention of the engine driver was attracted by the hat of the deceased being thrown violently forward in the patb of the engine, and, on stopping the train, the nature of the accident was discovered. The morning was very dark, and the accident arose entirely from the imprudence of the deceased, who was' partly intoxicated when he set out tOs return home, and had taken the rail road as the nearest route. Letters from the borders of the Red Sea give some interesting details of what is passing iv Arabia. It appears that the Hedjaz, an important province of Arabia, which had fallen into a state of anarchy since Mehemet AH bad been deprived of the command of it, had been restored to tranquillity in consequence of the nomination of Cheriflf Pasha, by the advice of Meheraet Ali, who promised the Porte, if necessary, to give a further proof of his devotedness to the Sultan, by assisting Cheriff Pasha with a body of troops. The last accounts from the Hedjaz state that all danger of a general insurrection had subsided iv consequence of the intervention of Mehemet Ali.

Borneo. — The recent affrays of tlie British with the pirates of Borneo have naturally directed attention to the general 'character and* resources of that island — the largest in the Indian Archipelago, and the largest on the g'obe, if we except the continent of Australia. The capital lies on the north-west coast of the , i.-land, on the banks of the river, about ten n.iles from the sea. The mouth of the river is narrow, with a bar in front of it, on which there are scarcely 17 feet of water at high tides. Farther up, the liver has a considerable depth, -and here the shipping lies, particularly Chinese junks, which are moored head and stern. The Town, whioh is on low ground, contains a considerable number of houses, built on posts, four or five feet high, which, at the rise of the tide, allow the water to pass freely under them. The streets are formed by canals, either natural or artificial, which facilitate communication, and they are always covered with boats, which are managed by women with great dexterity. Borneo is a place of considerable traiie. Its commerce was principally limited to its intercourse with China, the Phillippines, and Sooloo Islands, the countries on the peninsula of Malacca not being muck frequented by the Borneo navigators. But, since the foundation ot Singapore, the Bugis merchants of Bcrneo often visit that port. The exports are rice, black pepper, camphor, cinnamon, bees-wax, sea slugs, turtle-shell, pearls, and mother-o'-pearl, with tea, wrought and raw silk, and nankeen, the three last articles being imported from China. — Borneo is rarely visited by European vessels, but many come from Amoy and Ningpo. The Chinese j find it advantageous to build their junks here ; for, though the island has no teak, it produces other kinds of good ship-timber, among which is the camphor tree.

Modern Enterprise. — As a striking contrast to the dull and sleepy spirit of the olden time, our attention has been called, among others, to the achievement of the Morning Chronicle on the occasion of the late an-ti-corn law dinner to Mr. Villieis, at Birmingham. The reporters for that paper started from town at about half-past two p. m., reached Birmingham at half-past five, left the -dinner table shortly after ten, and arrived at the office of the Morning Chronicle by two in the morning, having completed their tasks. A.t six o'clock the Chronicle was published with a very full report of the proceedings, and by eleven o'clock the people of Birmingham were gratified with verbatim copies of speeches delivered in their own hall but little more than twelve hours before. — Worcester Chronicle.

Inter-Colonial Steam Navigation. — The Oriental Steam Navigation Company have made a proposition to the Home Government, which had been favourably received, to establish, for a certain indemnity, a steam communication with Mauritius from Aden, to commence with a small screw steamer. The object of this proposition seems to have been to frustrate the intentions of another company, lately formed, called the East Indian and Colonial Screw-propeller Navigation Company via the Cape of Good Hope. This Company bad succeeded in filling up more than 16,000 shares out of 20,000, and bad also made proposals to Government to convey a monthly nail between England and Mauritius, and from thence to India and the Australian colonies by branch vessels, making Mauritius the centre. The efforts of the Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which wishes to monopolise the eastern world, and which has established a solid footing ou this side of the globe, and possesses great interest and influence with the Government at home, were successful in '* nipping in the bud" the new company ; for, as soon as it entered the lists agsinst its threatened adversary, the parties who had taken shares refused to advance any instalments, and it consequently fell to the ground. It was believed that the project orfly required the sanction of the Home Government to be carried out with promptitude and vigour. It was calculated that, making allowances for accidental or necessary stoppages, 40 days would form the maximum passage. — Hobart To*vn Courier's Summary of Mauritius Intelliaence.

The Fiest English Railway. — To the success of the " Stockton and Darlington Railway," may be traced the rise of all the others. To the originator of this line is due the honour of being the founder of the railway system — a system most truly described as " the well-spring of intellectual, moral, and political benefits, beyond all measurement and all price ; creating such a revolution in our internal trade and resources as no thinking man can coutemplate without being lost in womler." His fame was hardly earned and will last long. To be a leader in the career of peaceful improvement showed him worthy of the society to which he belongs ; to be a leader in successful commercial enterprise is no slight thing when British merchants are the competitors, vixere fortes ante Agamcmnona. When success was improved, when the opening was made, and, by the light

of his experience, a vista was illuminated, whose long perspective pointed distinctly to wealth and eminence, crowds of bold speculators were ready to tread the path. But great as their merit was, he was the leader ; and we hope that the time may never come when the millions at home and abroad who enjoy the advantages of railways, shall have forgotten that they owe them all to Mr. Edward Pearse, of Darlington. It would be i ! le to relate the endless opposition he received, the hostility of antagonists, the cold support of friends, the vexatious obstacles, the absurd objections, the doubts of some, the prejudice of others, the ignorance of all. These matters are now being forgotten. Confident in his judgment, ready in resource, undismayed by difficulty, with indomitable energy and perseverance, he gradually surmounted everything : and it remains a striking instance of foresight that, without any experience, and with " all the world before him wheie to choose," he selected what, to the ordinary observer, is an unpromising district, and made the first and most successful railway. Perhaps even more remarkable was the singular sagacity shown in the choice of an engineer. At this day the name of George Stephenson, the celebrated railway engineer, and of his no less eminent son Robert, are known far and wide. But it may not be so well known that Mr. Gecrge Stephenson is a man of humble or" gin, and, at the time when the Stockton and Darlington railway was projected, unknown, untried, and inexperienced. It was Mr. Pearse's discerning eye which detected the sterling metal beneath the rough exterior, the true genius which only waited a fair opportunity and fitting occasion to reveal its gigantic power. He was drawn by Mr. Pearse, like a precious ore literally from the mine, to construct the first railway ; and well has he justified the choice. One success followed another in triumphant succession, until he can boast (and it is a boast of which any man might be proud) that he is the consulting engineer of, or has actually laid down, every raihvav between London and Edinburgh. — Frazefs Magazine.

Channel Islands. — The French are about to construct three forts upon the Island of Chausey, between Jersey and France, and also to replace their three revenue cutters by a steamer. We have this from a most undoubted authority — an officer on the spot ; and he most strongly counsels our substituting a steamer for the present cutters, which we must do, to be upon equal terms with them, as well as in common fairness to our own fishermen : and the encouraging of the fishermen in these waters is of the highest importance. It appears the authorities are placing all the fortifications in Jersey in a proper state, and certainly not before it was required. — Hampshire Telegraph. Mount Vesuvius has for some time been sending for large volumes of smoke, accompanied occasionally by flames, and red-hot ashes, threatening an eruption. It appears, however, by a letter from Naples, that this does not deter foreigners from ascending the mountain even to the verge of the crater. Among them has been Prince Albert of Prussia, who was struck by one of the burning cinders, and had part of his coat burnt, but happily, sustained no other barm. An accident occurred a short time since on the St. Bernard, by which the lives of one of the monks, and three domestics attached to the hospital, were sacrificed. The latter were inhabitants of theValais; and the former was M. Cart, canon of Sallanches, in Faucigny. The accident arose from an enormous avalanche from Mont Mori, to the east of the hospital. It was in contemplation to trace out the road along the Combe, on the side of the valley, and Canon Cart, who was known to be bold, robust, and the most intrepid among the brethren- in braving storms, went to direct the operation, as several travellers were expected on that day ; he and his three companions were thus cut off, while in the performance of an act of hospitality and charity.

Tied up. — This morning, April 1, at half-past eleven precisely, the unfortunate young man, Mr. Edward Pinkney, underwent the extreme penalty of infatuation, by expiating his attachment to Mary Ann Gale, in front of the altar railings of St. Mary's Church, Islington. It will be in the recollection of all those friends of the parties who were at the Jones' party at Brixton two years ago, that Mr. Pinkney was there, and there first introduced to Mary Ann, to whom he instantly began to direct particular attentions — dancing with her no less than six sets that evening, and handing her things at supper in the most devoted manner. From that period commenced the intimacy between them, which terminated in this morning's catastrophe. Poor Pinkney had barely attained his twentyeighth year ; but there is no reason to believe that, but for reasons of a pecuniary nature, his single life would have earlier come to an untimely end. A change for the better, however, having occurred in his circumstances, the young lady's friends were in-

duced to sanction his addresses,- and thus to ' become accessories to the course for which he has just suffered. The unhappy man passed the last night of his bachelor existence in his solitary chamber. From half-past eight to ten he was busily engaged in writing letters. Shortly after ten o'clock his younger brother Henry knocked at the door, when the doomed youth told him in a firm voice to come in. On being asked when he meant to go to bed, he replied " Not yet." The question was then put to him how he thought he should sleep, to which his answer was " I don't know." He then expressed a desire for a cigar and a glass of grog, which were sup r plied him. His brother, who sat down and partook of the like, refreshment, now demanded if he would want anything more that night. He said " Nothing," in a firm voice. His affectionate brother then rose to take leave, when the devoted one considerately advised him to take care of himself. Precisely at a quarter of a minute to seven the next morning, the victim of Cupid, having been called according to his desire, rose and promptly dressed himself. He had the selfcontrol to shave himself without the slightest injury ; for not even a scratch appeared upon his chin after the operation. It would seem that he had devoted a longer tim? to his toilet than usual. The wretched individual was attired in a light blue dress coat, with frosted buttons, and white waistcoat and nankeen trowsers, with patent leather boots. He wore round his neck a variegated satin scarf, which partially concealed the corazza of his bosom. In front of the scarf was inserted a breast-pin of very conspicuous dimensions. Having descended the staircase with a quick step, he entered the apartment where his brother and a lew friends were awaiting him. He shook hands cordially with all present ; and on being asked how he had slept, answered ' very well ;' and to the farther demands as to his state of mind, he said * he felt happy. 1 One of the party having hereupon suggested that it would be as well to take something before the melancholy ceremony was gone through, he exclaimed, with some emphasis, * Decidedly.' Breakfast was accordingly served; when he ate the whole of a French roll, a large round of toast, tvvo sausages, and three new laid eggs, which he washed down with two great breakfast cups of tea. In reply to an exprtssiou of astonishment on the part o! a person present, as to his appetite, he declared he never felt it heartier in his life. Having enquired_ the time, and ascertained that it was ten minutes to eleven, he remarked that 'It would soon be over.' His brother then enquired if he could do anything for him, when he said he should like a glass of ale. Having drunk this he appeared sat : sfied. The latal moment now approaching, he devoted the remaining brief portion of his time to distributing among his friends those little articles v. hich he would soon no longer want. To one he gave his cigar case, to another his tobacco stopper, and he charged Ins brother Henry with his latch key, with instructions to deliver it, after all was over, with due solemnity, to his landlady. The clock at length struck eleven ; and at the same moment he was informed that a cab was at the door. He merely said 'I am ready,' and allowed himself to "be conducted to the vehicle into which he got with his brother — his friends following in two others. Arrived at the tragical spot, a short but anxious de'ay of several seconds took place ; after which they were joined by the lady and her friends. Little was said on either side; but Miss Gale, with customary decorum, shed tears. Piukney endeavoured to preserve a composure ; but a slight twitching of his mouth and eyebrows proclaimed his inward agitation. The illstarred bachelor having submitted quietly to have a large white bow pinned to his buttonhole, now walked, side by side with Miss Gale, with a firm step to the altar. He surveyed the in posing preparation with calmness; and gazed, unmoved, on the clergyman, who assisted by the clerk, was waiting behind the railings. All requisite preliminaries having now been settled, and the presciibed melancholy formalities gone through, the usual question was then put, ' Wilt thou have this woman for thy wife?' To which the rash youth replied, in a distinct voice, ' I will.' He then put the fatal ring upon Miss Gale's finger ; the hymeneal noose was adjusted ; and the poor fellow was launched into matrimony. — Punch.