16 AUGUST 1856, Page 3

rouinrial.

The Scientific Congress at Cheltenham came to an end on Wednesday. Besides the reading of papers in the sections of the British Association, there have been two lectures delivered,—one by Colonel Rawlinson, on cuneiform discovery, the other by Mr. Grove, " on correlation of Physi- cal Science." On Saturday morning the rain fell heavily, but it did not deter a strong body of excursionists from visiting Cirencester. On Mon- day, the General Committee met to elect a new President, and determine the place of meeting for next year. There were invitations from Dublin, Manchester, and Leeds ; but it was decided that Dublin had the strongest claims on the society, and Dublin it was agreed should be the trysting- place next year. Dr. Lloyd was elected President. On Tuesday Dr. Daubeny gave a dinner to the Association, at the Old Wells. Among the foreigners present, we observe the names of Dr. Brennecke, from Prussian Posen ; Lieutenant Oussow, from Russia ; Dr. Hornbeck, a Dane ; Dr. Daii, of Norway ; and Professor Rogers, of the United States. The " Army ' found a representative in Colonel Rawlinson the "Navy" in Captain Robertson, who had served with Nelson. The Earl of Ellenborough proposed "The President, and prosperity to the Associa- tion" ; commenting on the daring with which Dr. Daubeny, Sir Rode- rick Murchison, and others, had persevered, and had overcome thediffi- culties that beset the early path of the Association. Professor' Reci6ifeli' proposed " The Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese." The Reverend Mr. Close acknowledged the compliment ; saying, he believed in the truths of science as firmly as he did in the revelations of Holy Writ ; and he would recommend its pursuit as one of the most interest- ing which the human mind could be called upon to contemplate. Sir Roderick Murchison proposed "The Science of Foreign Countries." Remarking on the presence of two distinguished Russians, he expressed a hope that nothing would again occur to disturb the relations of amity which had existed between the two nations for so many centuries. The Association was also honoured with the presence of a distinguished Prussian, Dr. Brennecke, of Dr. Diiii of Norway, a gentleman celebrated for his researches in physical science, and of Professor Rogers of the United States--of whom he would say that his comprehension is as broad as the great continent of which he is a citizen. [It is remarked that our special ally, France, did not send one savant to the meeting.] The papers read in the sections furnish some matter of general in- terest. We select a few specimens. In the section of Chemistry, Mr. Horsley read a series of papers on new methods of detecting strychnia and bruscia ; the circumstances at- 'NI tending Palmer's trial having led him to make a set of experiments. " He first tried the effects of a precipitant, formed of one part of bichromate. of potash dissolved in fourteen parts of water, to which was afterwards added two parts, in bulk, of strong sulphuric acid. This being tried upon a solution of strychnia, the bulk was entirely precipitated in the form of a beautiful gold.en-coloured and insoluble chromate. The experiment, as performed by Mr. Horsley, was very interesting, and scarcely a trace of bit- terness was left in the filtered liquid. He claimed to have originated this discovery of the use of a chromic and an acid liquor ; but the point to which he called attention was the essential difference in the mode of application ; and he maintained that it was as much out of the power of any human be- ing to define the limit of sensibility which he had attained as it would be to count the sands or to measure the drops in the ocean. Taking thirty drops of a solution of strychnia, containing fully a grain, he diluted it with four drachms of water ; he then added six drops of a solution of bichromate of potash, when crystals immediately formed, and the decomposition was complete. Splitting up the half-grain of strychnine into millions of atoms of minute crystals, he observed that each of these atoms, if they could be separated, would as effectually demonstrate the chemical characteristics of strychnia as though he had operated with a pound-weight of the poison. He then proceeded to show the chemical reaction with those crystals. Pouring one drop of liquid containing the chromate of strychnia into an evaporating-dish, and shaking it together, ho added a drop or two of strong sulphuric acid, and showed the effect as previously noted. He next showed the discoloration produced in chromate of strychnia and chromate of bruscia by sulphuric acid ; the former being changed to a deep purple, and then to a violet red. It had been asserted since the trial of Palmer, that the non-detection of strychnia in the body of John Parsons Cook was owing to the antimony taken by the deceased having somewhat interfered with the tests. Such a supposition was, in his opinion, absurd. Nothing, he considered, could more incontestably dis- prove the fallacy than either of the two new tests which he had just ex- hibited. These lie regarded as double tests, because they had, first, the at- tainment of a peculiar crystalline compound of strychnia, which was after- wards made to develop the characteristic effects by which strychnine is re- cognized. Mr. Horsley next related a series of experiments which' he had made on animals with strychnine ; and discussed the probable reasons for its non-detection in certain cases, although (as he had already shown) a method of detecting infinitesimal quantities of strychnine by tests existed The first experiment he made was with three rats. At seven o'clock p. m. (assisted by Dr. Wright) he gave each rat a quarter of a grain of pow- dered strychnine, and two hours afterwards a quarter, and half a grain more to one of the three. Next morning, at four o'clock, they were all alive, and had eaten food (bread and milk) in the course of the night ; but at seven o'clock, a few minutes afterwards, they were all dead. The longest liver was the animal which had taken only a quarter of a grain. In about three hours afterwards he applied the usual test, but could not detect the least indication of strychnia in the precipitate. There was, moreover, a total absence of any bitter taste in all the liquors. Ho tried every part of the bodies of the rats with the like result. What then became of the strychnia ? Had it been decomposed in the organism, and its nature as ;Baron Liebig intimated ? As to the non-detection of strychnia, he thought it not improbable that the poison might have been imbibed with the alba, men or other solid matter, and so abstracted from the fluid, forming by co- agulation a more or less insoluble albuminate. This idea had occurred to him from noticing the coagulation of the glairy white of egg with strych- nine, and the fact of his not recovering the full quantity of the alkaloid whenever he had introduced it. At any rate it nferited considera- tion. In his second experiment he administered three-quarters of a grain of strychnine to a rat ; but the animal evinced little of the effects of poison, and it was purposely killed after five days. The third ex- periment .was with two grains of strychnine, administered as a pill, wrapped up in blotting-paper, to a dog—a full-sized terrier. It was ap- parently quite well for five hours, when the operator went to bed; but it was found dead next morning, but lying apparently in the most natural position for a dog asleep. When taken up, blood flowed freely from its mouth. On opening the animal, he found the right ventricle of the heart empty of blood, whilst the left was full, some of the blood being liquid and the rest clotted. The stomach was carefully secured, and both its orifices were detached. On making an incision, he was surprised at not seeing the paper in which he had wrapped the pill, naturally expecting it would have been reduced to a pulp by the fluids of the stomach. He therefore sought for it ; and found it in the gullet of the animal, in precisely the same con- dition as when introduced, and containing nearly the whole of the strych- Dine. Ile had not disturbed the pill, and he now produced it as he had found i. This experiment was important, as showing the small quantity of strychnine necessary to destroy life ; and, had he not in this case found the paper which enveloped the pill, it might possibly have led to a fallacy, as he must otherwise have used an acid which would have dissolved the strych- nine; and the inference would have been that it was obtained from the con- tents of the stomach, whereas it had never been diffused. In this case, also, none of the absorbed strychnine was detectable in the blood or any part of the animal, although the greatest care was observed in making the experiments."'

In the Geological section, Mr. Vivian of Torquay read a paper on the- earliest traces of human remains found in Kent's Cavern. deposited, when a streak containing burnt wood and the bones of the wild boar and badger were deposited ; and again the cave was unoccupied either by men or animals, the remaining portion of the stalagmite being, both above and below, pure and unstained by soil or any foreign matter. Above the floor traces were found of early Cellic, British, and Roman remains, together with those of more modern date. Amongst the inscriptions, was one of interest as connected with the landing of William III. on the oppo- site side of the bay—" W. Hodges, of Ireland, 1688." In the discussion which followed, and in which Sir II. Rawlinson the Secretary of the Ethnological Society, and others, took part, the position of

the flints beneath the stalagmite seemed to be admitted, although ecntrary to the generally received opinions of ancient geologists ; thus carrying back the first occupation of Devon to a very high antiquity, but not such as to be at variance with Scriptural chronology, the deposition of stalagmite being shown to have been much more rapid at those periods when the cavern was not inhabited, by the greater discharge of carbonic acid gas. Without attempting to affix with any certainty more than a relative date to these several periods, or forcing a Scriptural interpretation upon natural phe- nomena, which, as Bacon remarked, " too often produces merely a false religion and a fantastic philosophy," Mr. Vivian suggested that there was reason for believing that the introduction of the mud was occasioned, not by the comparatively tranquil Mosaic deluge, but by the greater convulsion alluded to in the first chapter of Genesis, which destroyed the pre- existing races of animals, (most of those in this cavern being of extinct species,) and prepared the earth for man and his contemporaries.

In the section of Geography, Sir Roderick Murchison read extracts from letters written by Dr. Livingston, the African traveller, who has recently passed from St. Paul de Loando to the Western coast, conducted by the faithful natives whom he had converted to Christianity.

The third and last letter, which was written when the author's perils and labours had terminated, gave a general view of the ethnology and ha- bits of the various tribes of Africans. Among these Dr. Livingston lived, and became familiar with their language. He assigns a manifest superiority to the inhabitants of the hilly countries, and particularly to the Caffis-Zu- lah race. Ito also states that the Bible has been nearly all translated into Secherana, or the dialect of the Bechunas, the most regularly developed of the Negro languages. "Of its capabilities," he adds, "you may judge when I mention that the Pentateuch is fully expressed in considerably fewer words than in the Greek Septuagint, and in a very greatly less number than in our verbose English version." After a sketch of time itoology and botany of those regions, and an account of the prevalent diseases of the natives, Dr. Livingston having given the history of the successive ac- counts narrated by the Portuguese of their efibits to penetrate into the in- terior, modestly expresses his belief that he is the first European who has travelled across South Africa in the same latitudes. He then speaks of his intention to revisit Great Britain, but with the firm resolve to return to South Africa and prosecute his sacred mission, and concludes in these words —" I feel thankful to God, who has preserved my life while so mans- who could have done more good have been cut off. But I am not so much elated as might have been expected, for the end of the geographical feat is but the beginning of the missionary enterprise. Geographers labouring to make men better acquainted with one another, soldiers fighting against oppression, and sailors rescuing captives in deadly climes, are all, as well as mis- sionaries, aiding in hastening on a glorious consummation of God's dealings with man. In the hope that I may yet be permitted to do some good to this poor long trodden-down Africa, the gentlemen over whom you have the honour to preside will I doubt not, cordially join."

Apropos of some remarks on the Arctic explorations by Dr. Rae, Sir Roderick Murchison referred with much feeling to the failure of the ex- peditions sent to search for Sir John Franklin, his dear friend.

Sir Roderick was President of the Royal Geographical Society when Sir Tolm Franklin undertook his last and fatal enterprise ; and he held the opinion— an opinion shared by the President of the Royal Society, by Lord Ellesmere, and by many other learned and distinguished persons—that it was the bounden duty of this country not to leave unsearched the small area in which the Erebus and Terror must still be frozen up. It was well known that in those frigid regions everything was preserved for many years without the symp- toms of decay ; and as the Esquimaux, even if so minded, had not the means of breaking up the heavy timber and iron work of the vessels, they must still be lying within a radius of some 200 or 300 miles. If a diligent search were made in that locality, he had no doubt but that the long boats might be recovered, and with them, in all probability, the records of the expedi- tion. He was sure the public would be interested to hear that the Commit- tee of the section of Geography and Ethnology had passed a resolution that day, to present a memorial to the First Lord of the Treasury, in common with other learned societies, praying that the Government would sanction another expedition to make a renewed search for the remains of Sir John Franklin and his gallant band. (Applause.) At the meeting of the Mathematical section, on Saturday, Mr. Symons read a paper "on Lunar Motion," recapitulating the doc- trine which he lately started, but in a corrected form. He admitted that the astronomers accurately describe the motion of the moon ; but he argued, that in using an arbitrary and twisted form of the word " rota- tion," they prevent their language from being intelligible to the people, and impede the development of a technicology precise and available for legal as well as scientific purposes. He believed that the old astronomers really mistook the moon's movement, and that the modern astronomers had inadvertently copied these descriptions, knowing better. The attend- ance was numerous ; and it is said that Mr. Symons, who was frequently interrupted by a few gentlemen on the platform, itad the astronomers against him and the audience with him..

The Duke of Cambridge, in his capacity as General Commanding-in- chief, reviewed, on Wednesday, the whole of the Horse and Foot Artil- lery which have recently returned from the Crimea and are now at Woolwich. After the review, the Duke dined with General Williams, at the mess of the Royal Artillery. Among the guests, were Sir john Burgoyne, Sir Robert Gardiner, Sir Hew Ross, Dr. Andrew Smith, and Commodore Shepherd.

One of the fruits of the late political amnesty has ripened at Newport this week. Mr. John Frost has returned to that town, and seems de- termined to extinguish the sympathy, which his letter in exile, yearning for leave to end his days in his native land, had so generally excited in his favour. Mr. Frost entered Newport on Monday, from Bristol, by boat ; and was received by a mob, whom he permitted to drag him in a carriage, dressed with evergreens, through the main thorough- fares of the town. Then he addressed them from the window of a tem- perance hotel, to the following effect— "He denounced the Government in the usual language of the Chartiats ; spoke of h sufferings during his penal servitude ; and °declared his belief that the working classes would never get their grievances redressed till they

and

got the Charter. He had returned to his native country after ' d ; a foourtein

years' banishment, unimpaired in bodily health and vigour of e

he was determined to devote whatever talents he had for the f te

people." The reporter of this incident is at pains to inform us that "thin more respectable portion of the inhabitants took no part in the proceedirtgs."

Sir Archibald Alison has been lecturing at the Seaham MechaniesLIA- stitution, on the lessons taught by the late war, the providential dis- coveries of gold in California and Australia, the disastrous policy of striking for higher wages, and other popular topics. The late war has

it is imperative to keep up our national armaments on an adequate scale ; the gold-discoveries have prevented the continuation and augmentation of "those distresses under which the country so painfully laboured during the quarter of a century before 1850 " ; and so on.

The promoters of the Exhibition of Art Treasures at Manchester in 1857, celebrated, on Wednesday, the " raising of the first pillar" of the palace at Old Trafford, with a cold repast and many speeches, overflow- ing with loyal gratitude to the Queen and Prince Albert for their pa- tronage.

A new bridge over the Medway at Rochester was commenced in 1850 by Sir William Cubitt and Messrs. Fox and Henderson. The site se- lected was a short distance below the old stone bridge erected in 1392. The new one is of iron. It was formally opened to the public on Wed- nesday, by the Earl of Romney, the chief bridge warden, and celebrated by a banquet at the Corn Exchange.

The Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury, sitting at Bath, and consti- tuted to try the charges of preaching erroneous doctrine, brought by the Reverend Mr. Ditcher against the Archdeacon of Taunton, sat on Tu.3, to declare the conclusions at which the Archbishop had arrived. Mr. Denison, accompanied by Mr. Henley M.P., and a multitude of clergymen, were pre- sent. Dr. Lushington pronounced the decision. He first explained how this proceeding came to originate with the Archbishop. The original commis- sion was issued by his Grace because he was advised that it was imperative on him to do so. The statute of the 3d and 4th Victoria enacts, that when a clerk in holy orders is charged with an offence, it shall be lawful for the Bishop, either of his own mere motion, or on application from the party complaining, to institute proceedings. 'Lord Stowelt whose doctrine was confirmed by Sir John Nicol, laid it down, that "it is not in the power of the Bishop, by any intervention on his part, to refuse the process of the Court to any one who is desirous of availing himself of itin a proper case." If the Archbishop or Bishop had discretionary power to order proceedings to be begun or not, then in every case it would rest entirely upon the authority of a single bishop to permit or prevent a prosecution ; the consequence of which would be, that the uniformity which now happily, prevails among the clergy of this country might be destroyed and put an end to." The investi- gation was instituted under the provisions of the statute of Elizabeth, chap. 12. The question was not, as in the Gorham case, as to what might be deemed admissible doctrine, but it was whether the doctrine set forth by Archdeacon Denison was or was not directly contrary and repug- nant to any of the Articles of the Church. The Thirty-nine Articles, esta- blished by the authority of Parliament, "must be taken to be the true ex- pression of Scripture on every subject to which they advert. I state this in order that it may be made known to all why and wherefore the Venerable Archdeacon was not permitted to go into an examination of the Scriptures with a view to justify his doctrines. The reason was this. There could not be a more inconvenient proceeding, or one more opposed to the law, than that, when the Legislature of the country has authoritatively pronounced in the given form of the Thirty-nine Articles what are the doctrines of the Church of England, an individual sermon should be compared, not with that standard which is the only standard of the Church, but with a number of disputed texts of Scripture. What might be the possible consequence of the adoption of such a course ? One or more judges might be found who would conceive that certain doctrines were conformable with Scripture ; but should they hold that those doctrines (conformable in their opinion with Scripture) were not equally conformable with the Thirty-nine Articles, in what position would they then be placed ? That anomaly is excluded by the law applicable to this ease. It is excluded from all our courts of judi- cature."

Having set forth these grounds, Dr. Lushington stated the conclusions of the Court ; of which the following is a specimen. " Whereas it is pleaded in the said 9th article filed in this proceeding, that the said Archdeacon, in a sermon preached by him in the Cathedral Church of Wells on or about Sunday the 7th of August 1854, did advisedly maintain and affirm doctrines directly contrary and repugnant to the 25th, 28th, 29th, and 35th of the Articles of Rehgion referred to in the statute a the 13th of Elizabeth, chap. 12, or some or one of them, and, among other things, did therein ad- visedly maintain and affirm, That the body and blood of Christ, being really present after an immaterial and spiritual manner in the consecrated bread and wine, are therein and thereby given to all, and are received by all who come to the Lord's supper' • and that to all who come to the Lord's table, to those who eat and drink worthily, and to those who eat and drink unworthily, the body and blood of Christ are given : and that by all who come to the Lord's table, by those who eat and drink worthily, and by those who eat and drink unworthily, the body and blood of Christ are received' : His Grace, with the assistance and unanimous concurrence of his assessors, has de- termined that the doctrines in the said passages are directly contrary and re- pugnant to the 28th and 29th of the said Articles of Religion mentioned in the aforesaid statute of Queen Elizabeth, and that the construction put upon the said Articles of Religion by the Venerable the Archdeacon of Taunton— to wit, that the body and blood of Christ become so joined to and become so present in the consecrated elements by the act of consecration, that the un- worthy receivers receive in the elements the body and blood of Christ is not the true or an admissible construction of the said Articles of Religion— that such doctrine is directly contrary and repugnant to the 28th and 29th Articles : and that the true and legal exposition of the said Articles is, that the body and blood of Christ are taken and received by the worthy receivers only, who in taking and receiving the same by faith do spiritually eat the flesh of Christ and drink his blood ; while the wicked and unworthy, by eating the bread and drinking the wine without faith, do not in anywise eat, take, or receive the body and blood of Christ, being devoid of faith, whereby only the bo1ly and blood of Christ can be eaten, taken, and re- ceived.

Dr. Lushington intimated, that the Archbishop desired him further to state, that "he will allow time to the Venerable Archdeacon to revoke his error until Wednesday the 1st of October next ; when, if no such revocation as is required by the statute of Elizabeth aforesaid shall be made and de- livered by that time into the Registry of Bath and Wells, he will, in obedience to the said statute, pronounce sentence in this Court ; which will be ad- journed to Tuesday the 21st day of October next, and be held in this place at half-past one o'clock." Dr. Phillimore, counsel for the Archdeacon,

asked w ether or not he was to understand that the sentence of the Court had bee given in this ease ? Dr. Lushington—" No sentence has yet been given, and no decree will be made before the 21st of October." Dr. Philli- more—" Then it is not competent now to enter an appeal against the judg- ment of this Court ?" Dr. Lushington—" Certainly not. A judgment may be given hereafter, and a sentence subsequently pronounced ; but at present there is no decree—nothing, in fact, but an intimation of the con- clusions to which the Archbishop has come."

The Court was then adjourned to the 21st of October.

Last Saturday was signalized by two executions : William Dove was banged at York, for the murder of his wife ; and Elizabeth Martha Brown was hanged at Dorchester, for the murder of her husband. Dove died with considerable firmness, and great professions of religion and penitence. A number of his letters have found their way into the news- papers, addressed to Mr. Wright, "the prison philanthropist" - in which such passages as this occur—" I am saved through fire and by death% ordinary means God had used, but they failed. He has therefore used extraordinary means ; and blessed be His holy name. I believe it is in answer to the prayers of my dear mother, and that I shall have reason to bless and praise Him through all eternity, that he checked me in my mad career, and adopted this plan to save me." The number of persons who assembled to witness the execution is esti- mated from 10,000 to 15,000. Dove's chief anxiety at the last moment was that the High Sheriff should not allow a cast of his head to be taken !

Dove's confession or rather confessions, for there are two, are extraordinary documents. It seems that as long ago as the middle of June an intercepted letter brought to the knowledge of Mr. Barrett Dove's solicitor, that his client was in communication with the wizard Harrison. Mr. Barrett im- mediately told Dove that he must know the whole truth of his intercourse with Harrison; and accordingly, on the 21st June, Dove gave a detailed account of his connexion with that person.

In September 1854, William Dove conversed with John Hardcastle, farm- labourer, about " ' wise men' being able to find out thieves." Hardcastle said they could ; and gave two instances showing the power of Harrison, of the South Market, Leeds, a wise man. Hardcastle had heard that bailiffs were about to enter his house; he applied to Harrison, and Harrison " caused the horse which was being driven by the bailiffs to take fright" ; they were thrown out and hurt, and confined to their bed so long that Hard- castle was able to remove his goods. The other story was that two guns were stolen : Harrison caused one of the thieves to pass by Hardcastle the next evening and shoot a rabbit; which led to his ap.prehension. About the time that this conversation was held, Dove was desirous of retaking the farm he held ; and Hardcastle, with whom he talked on the subject, said that Harrison could so work on King, the steward, as to induce him to let Dove have the farm swain. The next time Dove went from his farm at Whitewell to Leeds, he called on Harrison, went with him to the Red Lion, in Meadow Lane, and talked about the farm. "I gave him the date of my birth to work on my nativity. We sat drinking together, and I paid for a good deal of it." Ten days afterwards, Harrison went over to Whitewell to bewitch the farm; and this is how Dove tells us lie did it. " When we got into the granary, he pulled out a mahogany. box, with a large mariner's compass in it, to see what were the cardinal points in which my house stood ; after doing this, he brought out of his pocket five little pieces of copper of the shape of halfpennies ; on each of these he marked a kind of hieroglyphical form. I then asked him what those were for? He said, ' Your house and farm are be- witched ; I'll show you what they are for.' I then turned round and gave him a few potatoes (three) of a large kind of sets ; they were called flukes. We then went down-stairs ; and as we were going down, Harrison slipped one of the copper pieces in between the steps leading out of the gang- way into the fold-yard. When we got down the stairs, Harrison asked me if there was any way into that yard except by the large fold-gates. told him there was a road through the cowhouse. We then went through the cowhouse, and through a door opening into a shed ; and while in that shed, he Harrison turned and looked round, and then threw one of the copper pieces on to the wall-plate between the cottage and the shed, and then said, • That's all right.' We then went round the end of the waggon-shed to the gate where I first met him, through that gate, across the road to a gate opposite ; at which place he produced another of the copper pieces, and be there placed that copper piece between the gate-post and the soil. We then returned to the first gate ; where he produced another, which be placed between the gate-post nearest to the orchard and the soil there. When he had done that, he commenced to pray, at the same time leaning his head upon his arm, which was then upon the gate-post. Ile prayed aloud, so that I could hear him. I do not remember the words, but it was a prayer in which he referred to the seven wise men, and of which he was one, and it was to free me and the farm from witchcraft. His prayer occupied about five minutes. When lie had concluded, he said, `There, you are all right now ; no one can pass this gate to do you harm.' I then asked him where was the other coin. He said it was in his pocket; but that it must be planted in the house. We then went into the house; and I then introduced him to my wife, as a dental surgeon, and as having known him some time. I then asked him to stop to dinner ; and he staid. Before dinner, I and Mrs. Dove showed him round the house; and as we came down-stairs Harri- son told me that he had planted the other copper piece. My wife was then in the bedroom. I drew some beer ; and whilst we were sitting in the common sitting- room, my wife passed through that room into the kitchen ; and Harrison then said to me there,' No person will ever molest you ' ; and at the same time asked for pen and paper. I got them for him, and he wrote some hieroglyphical signs, and gave to me, saying, If you want to retake the farm, and you put that paper in your pocket, you may then go to klr. King, and he will let you it ; only, you must let me know beforehand when you are going.' " - It was here that Harrison first saw Mrs. Dove ; she seemed unwell, and the wise man told her " if she would only use herbs she would soon get well." Dove gave the wise man a half-crown, and afterwards a ludf-sovereign for this performance. At the next interview he had with Harrison, he told him that he and Mrs. Dove were unhappy together ; and shortly afterwards he repeated the remark. Harrison replied, No wonder : Mrs. Dove is always vilifying and backbiting you to her friends, and she is two-faced.' I then asked him if anything could be done so that we might live happily together, for I had married her for love and nothing else. He immediately said, That can be done; but it will take some time to work it round.' I asked him to do it ; and he.promised, saying, I might go home and be con- tent, for he would cause her to meet use with a smile."

Dove's horse threw him one day at Leeds ; his arm was dislocated ; Har- rison proposed to set it, "but I preferred having our own surgeon." Some wheat was sold ; the purchasers did not pay; and the wine man undertook to " lay a spell upon them, which would cause them to pay the money " ; but they never did.'! In October 1854, Dove's father - was very poorly in- deed," and Dove asked Harrison " if he would get better. IUr.rriaon said 'No.' I then said to him, Do you know when he'll die ? ' Harrison an- swered, Between November and February.' " Subsequently, as "poor father " did not get better, the son asked Harrison to say particularly when the father would die. "Yes, he will not live to the 25th December" was the answer. Mr. Dove senior died on the 24th December.

Meanwhile, with the wise man's paper in his pocket, Dove had gone to King the steward ; but in spite of thepapu, King refused the farm. Harri- son, on being told, said—"' Never mind, work your land as usual ; he will let you the farm yet. He has a spell upon him. He is an Irishman, and will take a Rood deal of working upon ; but rather than you should miss the farm, it will be death to him.' At this interview I rather doubted Harri- son's power; but any father's death happening before the 25th of December,

I was impressed with a strong belief that Harrison was p natural power."

In August 1855, Dove is again consulting Harrison to brie tween him and his wife. Harrison now said, " You never happiness until she is out of the way "; and to prove how he knew tie, .e produced Dove's " nativity," and "read from a book my &satiny."

" He said, that between the age of twenty-seven and thirty-two everything ukald go against me, I should have nothing but misfortunes ; that at thirty-two the sun and moon would come in conjunction, (I think conjunction was the word he used,) and that then everything would be in my favour ; that at thirty-two years of age I should lose my wife ; that at thirty-two I should marry again ; that at thirty-two I should have a child ; and that at thirty-two I should have an addition to my for- tune ; and that for my sake be did not care how soon it was here, for until then I should never be a happy man ; that after I was thirty-two everything would go on well for a few years. Ile made other remarks as to different periods of my life, to this effect—that at one period I should have another addition to my fortune ; at another, that 1 must be careful what I was about to avoid a lawsuit ; at another, I must neither travel by land nor by water, for if I did an accident would occur ; but he ultimately said I should die respected by everybody around me. At this interview I asked him what description of woman I should marry for my se- cond wife ? He referred again to the same paper and to his book, and then said, ' The person that you ought to marry will have auburn hair, light complexion, and a good fortune' ; and he added, ' If you had married a person of this description at first, you would have done well.' He then closed the book, and we then left and went to the New Cross Inn. We had a glass or two of ale each there, and then parted."

Then there is described a contest between Harrison and Mrs. Dove for a walking-stick of Dove's, to which Harrison had taken a fancy. Mrs. Dove finally got the stick from Harrison, to whom it had been given ; but its re- turn to the house was accompanied by " great noises."

"I saw Harrison again in November about say wife's temper. He said, Never mind, all will soon be right ; she'll die before March or before the end of February '—I am not certain which he said : but when ho told me

that my wife would die so soon, I said to him that he had before told me that she would die at thirty-two ' ; and he then answered, Before thirty-two ; but I did not say how much before.' " A little later, he had a conversation with Harrison about poisons that can-

not be detected, and Harrison refused to get strychnine. Again Dove speaks of his wife's temper. Harrison says, " She won't live long : she'll never

get better, as I told you before, she will die in February." She died on the let of March. While the inquest was proceeding, Dove went to Harrison and said, " How will the case go ? Shall I be imprisoned ? ' He replied, It will be a very difficult case ; but I can work you out.' I then said to him, You only say you can : now tell sue, will you ? ' Harrison replied, Set yourself altogether at rest ; I " Such is the substance of the first communication made by Dove to Mr. Barrett. On Thursday, two days before the execution, Dove sent for Barrett, and dictated a full confession of the murder, while a great thunder-storm was breaking over York Castle. That confession states; that the first strychnine he obtained was solely for the killing of eats : " I never thought of poisoning my wife." "I did not, when I got the second strychnine, think of poisoning my wife " : but he had told her that Harrison had predicted her death ; and he expresses an opinion that his wife feared " the wise man." Dove then describes how he put a very small quantity of the strychnine into some jelly, and how he touched the wet end of a cork 'from one of the medicine-bottles with the strychnine, put the cork in again, and shook the bottle ; how, when his wife complained of the bitter taste of the jelly, he tasted, but did not swallow any of it; and how he threw away the remainder of the strychnine. "I cannot tell you the feelings of lay mind when I put the strychnine into the jelly and into the mixture. I can- not describe them. I did not think at the moment when I put it in as to its effects or consequences." On the 24th February, he stole perhaps ten grains of strychnine from Mr. Morley's surgery. He gave his wife her draught, ancrthen broke the bottle, "fearing Mr. Morley might taste it." The next medicine given was bitter medicare; and he put from half a grain to a grain on the cork, and shook up the mixture ; and so on from day to day with one exception. He gives this account of his proceedings on the 1st of March.

" I was drinking at Sutcliffe's public-house on that Saturday, and I was more or less affected by liquor all the afternoon and evening. About three o'clock in the

afternoon, I went into the stable and took about a grain and a half of strychnine out of the paper, and put it in another paper, which I placed in my waistcoat-pocket. I put that strychnine into the wine-glass which contained a little water—I believe the water which was left in the glass by Mrs. Whitham after giving my wife the third dose in the afternoon ; but I have no recollection as to the time when I put the strychnine into the glass. I gave the mixture in the evening, in the presence of

Mrs. Whitham aqd Mrs. Wood, as stated by them in their evidence. I poured the

mixture into that wine-glass which contained the water and strychnine. I did not put the strychnine into the wine-glass in the presence of Mrs. Whitham and Mrs. Wood, or either of them. I know that I put the strychnine in before, but I cannot remember how long before giving the medicine. I did not, when I gave the medi- cine on the occasions mentioned, think of the consequences of giving it ; but when I saw my wife suffering from the attack on the Saturday night, it flashed across my mind that I had given her the strychnine, and that she would die from its effects.

" I was muddled before this, and didn't know what I was doing. When the thoughts of her death crossed my mind, I immediately regretted what I had done ; and I believe if Mr. Morley had come in at that moment, I should have told him what I had given her, so that be might have used means to restore her. I cannot disguise the anguish I felt when I returned from Mr. Morley's and found my wife dead " I continued to believe in Harrison's power for some weeks after I was committed to prison. I believed that be had the power to save me, until June or July. On

the day when I wrote the letter commencing • Dear Devil,' I wad in a low,despond- ing, and queer state. I can't describe my feelings. I during that day thought of committing suicide. The instrument which was found upon me on the search

made that day would have been probably used for that purpose. In the evening of that d my I wrote that letter, but I cannot tell you my feelings at that time. I did feel certain that the Devil would come to are that night according to my re- quest. I wrote that letter, but never intended it to be seen by any person. When they commenced to search me for the instrument, I tried to conceal the letter ; but the Deputy-Governor accidentally saw it, and took it away."

In a letter to Mr. Barrett, written the day before the execution, Dove makes this emphatic statement—" I would wish to remark, that I committed the crime through the instigation of that bad man Henry Harrison, of the South Market, Leeds. Had it not been for bins, I never should have been in these circumstances."

Mrs. Brown, immediately after the killing of her husband, told her neigh- bours that he had been kicked to death by a horse. She was forty, and John Brown was only twenty years of age. She was jealous of the young man. Just before she died, she made the following confession-

" My husband, John Anthony Brown, deceased, came home on Sunday morning the 0th of July, at two o'clock, in liquor, and was sick. He had no hat on. I asked him what lie had done with his hat. He abused me, and said, • What is it to you, damn you ?' Ile then asked for some cold tea. I said that I had none, but would make some warm. He replied, Drink that yourself, and be damned.' I then said, • What makes you so cross? Have you been at Mary Davis's?' lie then kicked out the bottom of the chair upon which I had been sitting. We con- tinued quarrelling until three o'clock ; when he struck me a severe blowon the side of my head, which confused me so much that I was obliged to sit down. Slipper was on the table, and he said, Eat it yourself, and be damned.' At the same time. he reached down from the mantelpiece a heavy horse-whip with a plaid end, and struck me across the shoulders with it three times. Each time I screamed out. I said, ' If you strike me again, I will cry ' Murder.' Ile retorted—' If you do, I will knock your brains out through the window.' He also added—' I hope I shall find you dead in the morning.' He then kicked me on the left side, which caused

me much pain ; he inn.sedi-tuly stooped down to untie his boots. I was much enraged, and in an ungovernable passion, on being so abused and struck, I directly seized a hatchet which was lying close to where I sat, and which I had been using to break coal with to keep up the fire and keep his supper warm, and with it (the hatchet) I struck him several violent blows on the head. I could not say how many. Ile fell at the first blow on his head, with his face towards the fire-place. Ile never spoke or moved afterwards. As soon as I had done it I wished I had not, and would have given the world not to have done it. I had never struck him before, after all his ill-treatment ; but, when he hit me so hard at this time, I was almost out of my

senses and hardly knew what I was doing. ELIZABETH MARTHA BROWN."

An amusing incident occurred at the Liverpool Assizes. Mr. Justice Willes observed a Quaker sitting in the court with his hat on. The Judge courteously requested him to follow the example of everybody else, and un- cover. The Friend declined : he objected to remove his hat in any pre- sence and complained that he had been roughly handled in court because he had kept on his hat. The Judge said—" I am very sorry to hear that. I have near relatives of my own who are of your persuasion, but I never knew any one of them object to remove his hat when reasonably requested to -do so. Your persisting to wear your hat is a mark of disrespect ; and if you choose to persist in wearing it, I must request you to retire from the court." The Quaker gentleman here, amid a somewhat general titter, turned round and walked out of the Grand Jury box, and the court, with his hat well on his head, and with the stiffnecked bolt upright gait of a man who has sue- -masfully performed a disagreeable but great moral duty. Presently a trial for burglary commenced. The prosecutor was a Quaker, named Wright; he appeared with his head uncovered. In summing up, the Judge con- trasted Mr. Wright's behaviour regarding the hat with that of the other Quaker. Mr. Wright here stood up, and protested to the Jury that he had no intention to show any disrespect to the Court in what he had done. Mr. Justice Willed looked at the witness with a puzzled and surprised air, and said—" What ! are you the gentleman who just now left the court with his hat on ?" The witness admitted that he was, amid much amusement, and sat down with his hat off.

When shall we know the full extent of the Sadleir transactions ? On Friday last week a new discovery was made at Newcastle. At the annual meeting of the Newcastle Commercial Bank, it transpired that last year the business of the bank was sold to Messrs. R. H. Kennedy, James Sadleir, and J. F. Law ; they formed themselves into a London "board" ; Messrs. W. Walker and C. Garbutt were the Newcastle Directors. After a time the _Newcastle Directors discovered that 51,0001. of the assets of the bank which had been transmitted to London had been applied to meet the liabilities of the Tipperary Bank ! They immediately resolved to close the connexion and wind up the business. A suit was commenced against the London Directors to recover 16,0001. The only party from whom anything is ex- pected is Mr. Kennedy ; but be repudiates his liability ; at the same time he is willing to meet the shareholders "in a fair and liberal spirit, in order to avoid litigation and expense." [Reporters were excluded from the meet- ing: Mr. Kennedy's solicitor impugns the correctness of the current ac- counts of it.] Mr. Robert Stavert, head of a mercantile firm at Manchester, lost his life on Monday, by adventuring too far out to sea while bathing at Scar- borough. Mr. Stavert was a good swimmer, and he had been warned not to venture too far out, on account of the dangerous current. Seeing him struggling with a large wave, Canon Trevor, a tall powerful man, who was on the beach when an alarm was raised, immediately stripped, dashed into the sea through a heavy surf, and tried to reach the drowning man ; but he failed in this, and narrowly escaped himself from the under-current. Even the men who recovered the body by means of a boat had a perilous task.

A woman has been rescued from suicide at Shakspere's Cliff. A Coast Guard man saw her asleep on a narrow ledge of rock some distance down the cliff; he got assistance and ropes ; two men were lowered down the face of the cliff, and the woman was got safely to the surface. She resisted the snen, saying, that site wanted to fall on the beach, but not by her own act ; so she had gone to sleep praying she might fall during her slumbers : it was wonderful that she had not. It was ascertained that she had swallowed laudanum. She has been restored to her parents.

On the 6th, Mr. J. W. Winslow, of Trinity College, Dublin, who had hired a bathing-machine at Dover, was found drowned. The disaster was not discovered till the machine was hauled up, when it was seen to be tenantless. A correspondent of the Times, "No Swimmer," suggests that Mr. Winslow perished from the treacherous nature of the shore at Dover : it is so steep that when persons emerge from a machine they may find them- selves in nearly six feet of water, as "No Swimmer " did one day. He re- marks that some precautions ought to be adopted for the prevention of acci- slents to bathers.

Eleven colliers have perished by an explosion of fire-damp, at Ramrod Hall Colliery, near Oldbury. This appears to have arisen from wilful dis- regard of a warning. Nine miners were in the pit ; they noticed indica- tions of danger; and they shouted to a party about to descend the shaft, to bring safety-lamps, not candles ; but seven men got into the basket carry- ing an unprotected candle ! When near the bottom of the pit, the inflam- mable gas ignited, and the seven miners were hurled up the shaft into the air, and fell to the earth mutilated corpses ; while four of the poor fellows below were killed, and the rest hurt.