Miscellaneous.

- It is stated that the Queen has purchased a large piece of ground in the Hensel Green Cemetery, in order to construct "for the Royal Family an elegant mausoleum, to which will be removed the remains of the Princess Sophia, now deposited in the Cemetery catacombs." The site, chosen by Prince Albert, is a conspicuous situation opposite the monument of the late 'Duke of Sussex. Dr. Layard, the explorer of the ruins of .Islineveli, has been appointed a paid Attache to the British- Embassy at the Sublime Porte. It is stated by the Literary Gazette that " it is her Majesty herself (doubtless through the interest her Royal Consort takes in every concern of literature, science, and the arts) to whom Dr. Layard is indebted for his late promotion." The Trustees of the British Museum have voted Dr. Layard the 811111 of 3,0001., divided into two equal moieties, to be appropriated by him to ex.. cavations on and about the site of Nineveh in this and the ensuing year. "The grant proposed was double this amount, but it was cut down by Government."

Our literary tenders have noticed with regret the sudden death of Mr. Rodd the foreign bookseller, at his house in Great Newport Street, on the 23d of last month. He left home in the morning In good health and spi- rits, to transact business with the librarians of the British Museum. At the Museum he was seized with paralysis, losing the power of speech and mo- tion; was conveyed home, but shortly became insensible; and died the same evening, without having once rallied. Mr. Rodd's extraordinary bibliopolic knowledge, his strictly honourable character in business, and his private generosity and amiability, will be long remembered 'by a large circle of acquaintance. " The Bodleian Library," says the Oxford Herald, "as well as the British Museum, owes to Mr. Road's exertions the recent acquisition of many treasures; and the noble library lately formed at Queen's College, by the munificence of the late Dr. Mason, is mainly in- debted to his knowledge and personal superintendence for one of the most select collections of printed books ever brought together. In this University he was received rather as a personal friend than as a man bf business." The late Mr. Greville was in constant communication with Mr. Roth], and Mr. Douce bequeathed him a legacy in token of his regard.

The Directors of the Eastern Counties Railway have published a coun- ter-statement, intended to qualify the one by the Committee of Investiga- tion. They have no wish to extenuate their conduct where they are blameable as a body, "while they regret they did not earlier oppose the influence which led to erroneous measures." But "whenever Mr. Hudson was thwarted he threatened to leave the direction" audit was thought the proprietors would not be agreeable to this; so his wishes were carried out by the Board. They dissect the financial statement of the Committee, and come to a final conclusion that a dividend of 4s. per share could and should have been declared.

A Trinidad paper states that vessels have brought word to St. Thomas of a general slave-insurrection in the Brazilian empire.

James Burnett, a farm-labourer of mature years, has been tried at Aberdeen for the murder of his wife. He had formed a connexion with a young women, a fellow servant, and wished her to fly the country with him • she refused, but agreed to marry him after his wife's death. The woman was king, and Burnett said if she did not recover 600D, "she would not lie long." He obtained arsenic, and, substituting A portion of it for a powder that he should have administered to his wife, thus destroyed her. Ten days after the bans of marriage between him and the servant were proclaimed; suspicion arose;_ the corpse of the wife was dis- interred, and arsenic was detected in the stomach. The man was convicted, and sentenced to be hanged; protesting innocence.

Thomas Sutton' a young man, was charged at Lambeth Police-office, on Mon- day, with robbing his employer of three sovereigns. The youth had a strong de- sire to see Rush hanged; he was intrusted with three pounds to pay an account; he went to Norwich, saw the execution, spent the money, and then came back to London, where he resigned himself to the police. His master left the 'matter quite in the Magistrate's hands, Sutton having previously been of good charac- ter. The culprit was sent to prison for two months only.

A schoolboy has drowned another at Ashton-under-Lyne, by pushing him into a canal, after a cap which the first had thrown into the water. The subscription for the families of the sufferers by the disastrous explosion at Darley Main Colliery now amounts to more than 2,0001. In a steam meal-mill at Inverness, two children entered unobserved, and got into an upper room. An upright shaft revolved in this room, within sixteen inches of a pillar supporting the next floor. The children appear to have amused themselves by running round with the shaft as it revolved, until their clothes got twisted about it ; then they were whirled round and round, and their heads and arms were dashed against the pillar. It was some time before any one noticed the disaster, and the shocking result may be anticipated. One child died in a few minutes after it was rescued; the other survived a little longer.

During a thunderstorm in the Ellon district, in Scotland, on the 26th April, a herd-boy was struck dead by the lightning; and a young woman who stood about fourteen yards from him was seriously hurt. A boy at Eyam having in search of crow-nests ascended a tree growing. on a rocky precipice, slipped from a bough, fell on the top of the rock, and rebounded into a chasm below—a fall altogether of nearly hfty yards. He lay for hours insensible, and was carried home in that state: but, though greatly bruised, none of his bones were broken, and he is recovering.

On the morning of the 24th March, at an early hour, a small vessel belonging to Boston, being off Robin Hood's Bay, near Scarborough, was struck by an elec- tric fire-ball or meteor, which descended not more than a yard from the place where the crew were standing; and so sudden was the conflagration, that the par men had only sufficient time to get into their boats and leave the unfortunate vessel: the ship's papers, and other articles of value, the men's clothes, and every- thing in short but life, was lost. Another Boston vessel, being near at the time, took the men on board, and landed them at Scarboreugh.—Yorkshire Gazette.

The loss of lambs throughout New Romney Marsh during the; snow-storm of Thursday sennight is roughly calculated at about 5,000.-1)over Tekgrapk.

Results of the Registrar-General's return of mortality in the Metropolis for the week ending on Saturday last—

Number of Silting Deaths. Average.

Zymotic Diseases 221 .... 193 Dropsy, Cancer, and other diseases of uncertain or yariable seat 43 .,.. 43 Tubercular Diseases 197 .... 200 Diseases of the Brain, Spinal Marrow, Nerves, and Senses. 127 .... 123 Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels 42 .... 34

Diseases of the Lungs, and of the other Organs of Respiration... 194 .... 132

Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs of Digestion 63 ...• el

Diseases of the Kidneys, Sr 8 .... 11

Childbirth, disease* of the Uterus, Sc.

Rheumatism, diseases of the Bones, Joints, Sc Diseases of the Skin, Cellular Tissue, Sc

Malformations 1 .... 3

Premature Birth 18 .... 21 Atrophy 29 .... 17

Age 44 .... 30

Sudden 14 .... it

Violence, Privation, Cold, and Intemperance 23 .... 33

— — Total (Including unspecified causes) 1033 983

The temperature of the thermometer ranged from 77.9° in the sun to 29.00 in the shade; the mean temperature by day being colder than the average mean temperature by 3.7°. The direction of the wind for the week was variable. 4 .... a