Ltimancs.—The Lord Chancellor has caused a circular to be addressed
to the keepers of the various Lunatic Asylums in the kingdom. They are required to furnish returns of the numbers of persofis admitted into their establishments within the last ten years; of the numbers of those who have been dismissed cured ; of the " curable," and " incurable ;" and of the numbers of "paupers" who have been accommodated in these institutions.
' The Duke of Wellington, who was long deemed a poor roan, is said to have thriven so much of late as to have been enabled last week to deposit 120,000/. with the Bank of England, in addition to a purchase lately of 170,0001. of Stock. The secret of this prosperity is said to be, that his Grace's public employments allow him no leisure to spend his income.
. Mr. Richard Lander, who accompanied Captain Clapperton in his unfortunate expedition, has sailed for Africa, to attempt, in his own person, the discovery of the source of the Niger. He is accompanied by his younger brother. His own age is twenty-five, that of his brother twenty-two.
The removal of the Post Office Establishment from Lombard Street to St. Martin's-le-Grand has increased the distance from Chelmsford to upwards of thirty miles, by about a furlong: the consequence is an increase of one penny postage upon all letters passing between this town and the metropolis, which will here- after be charged 71. This circumstance will probably not affect any other place in the country.—Chelmsford Chronicle.
A LARGE SwaDtow.—On Friday last, a boy named Duke, bobbing for eels, at Holme near Brigg, drew out one weighing about four pounds. He sold it to a Mr. Johnson for one shilling. Upon its being opened, a whelp of a day or two old was found, which had been drowned the day before in the river. We need not add the eel was not cooked.—Newark Times. [From the remark of the editor, it would appear that the boys at Holme, near Brigg, now and then draw out cooked eels. There is something of this kind occasionally practised at Bat- tersea, but it goes by another name than "bobbing." CURIOUS, IF TRUE. SINGULAR PRESERVATION.—A short time since, a horse be- longing to Mr. Jacob Argotsinger of this town, stepped on some boards which lay over the mouth of an old well, about twenty feet depth—they broke with the weight, and the horse fell through with his hinder parts foremost. He was soon after discovered standing on his hind legs upon the bottom of the well, his fore ones extended towards the top, while with his eyes he seemed to supplicate fos help. This it was impossible to render the poor animal for some time, but at length, by the use of tackles and ropes, he was drawn from his perilous situation, and singular as it nsay seem, he had received little or no injury.—Johnstown (Ame- rica) Herald.
ImeoeTANT.—Yesterday morning, between eleven and twelve o'clock, the at- tention of the workmen employed on the roof of Messrs. Hare's new banki4 establishment, in Fleet Street, was engaged—by a numerous flight of shy-larhs winging their way from the Surrey side of the river in the direction of Harop- -I-Aforninu tlerald. AN ALARMING Case.—An idle upholsterer was brought to the Guildhall the other day. He had quitted his trado to join the Church Missionary Society ; hut carrying into his new profession somee hat more of the flesh than his spiritual di- rectors were disposed to tolerate, he was discharged. and turned thief, in revenge of the world's neglect and theirs. This extraordinary case seems to have affected the sitting magistrate very deeply. Sir Peter Laurie—" Really, it is lamentable to see what an increasing aversion there is now amongst young men of your class to holiest and beneficial labour. I do not know what will be the result of the pro- gress of this state of things." It cannot fail to be truly melancholy; if the uphol- sterers go on as they have done, the whole town will be hanging in tatters ins year or two ! A GAY Rommity.—A woman belonging to the lower class of life was lately searched and robbed by two Andalusians. The plan they adopted was to tickle her in such a manner that she had not power to call out for help, and such was their audacity that the occurrence took place on the Prado in open day, in the midst of the crowd. It is said that this mode of robbery is by no means uncom- mon in Andalusia, where, if we believe the poets and romance-writers, every thing is conducted with gaiety.-21Iessager dos Chambres.
LORD BYRON'S OPINION OF MATRIMONY.—Dallas called before I was up, SO we did not meet. Lewis too, who seems out of humour with every thing. What can be the matter ? he is not married—has he lost his own mistress, or any other person's wife ? Hodgson, too came. He is going to be married, and he is the kind of inan who will be the happier. He has talent, cheerfulness, everything that can make him a pleasing companion ; and his intended is handsome and young, and all that. But 1 never see any one much improved by matrimony. All my coupled contemporaries are bald and discontented. W. and S. have both lost their hair and good humour ; and the last of the two had a good deal to lose. Bnt it don't much signify what falls of a man's temples in that state.—Moore's Byron. Mees.—The following appears in a weekly contemporary, the World. " A correspondent from Hampshire, who has written to us on the subject of tithes, states that he is acquainted with two poor men, who, in order to maintain their families without their being degraded by receiving parochial relief, have taken pieces of land for which they pay 30s. each per annum to their landlord. The tithe paid to the clergyman by one is 15s. per annum ; by the other 12s. Thus the Church claims not a tenth, but in one case, half the rental." [It is un- fair in a respectable journal to state such a case as the above, without adding the circumstances which are necessary to explain it. It is evident from the account/ itself that there is some mistake. Tithe is in no case a tenth of the rental, nOt1 has it any connection with rental. A man who rents land at 30s. may be rated, and properly so, at 15s: or even 30s. The tithe system is bad enough, but assu- redly in the collection of tithes the Church of England is neither rigid nor ex- tortionate.] SYMPATHY OF THE Moe.—A man named Birdsall was to have been hanged lately in Ohio. When brought to the gallows, his punishment was commuted (with his consent) to confinement for life. This disappointed the crowd very much, and one ultra-charitable person roared out. "The d—d old fellow ! he ought to be kicked off the scaffold l" These were of the " go it, little one," school, bepraised lately by the City.correspondent of the Herald. Dr. Moore tells a similar story of a Spanish mob. A recrearsIelveswhis was going to be burned for lapsing into heresy, displayed so much fear, that it was doubted whether he would not allow himself to be reconverted, and so escape. The crowd pressed round the trembling wretch, clapping him on the shoulder, and bawling out " Sta. ferme, Moise." Their praiseworthy efforte were successful: Moses stood firm, and the mob had their show.
CONCLUSIVE ARGUMENT.—A proprietor of the New Fours particularly invi tes the consideration of the learned editor of the Herald to his reasons for not de- manding gold in payment of his 5 per cent, stock in 1822,—" First, Because the Bank were not then compelled (they were only permitted until after April 1823) to pay in gold coin ; ergo, I could not have demanded it." " I have fourteen good reasons against gaming," says a gentleman in Joe Miller; " the first is, I have no money to stake."
CHEMICAL ACTION.--••The attention of some individuals was drawn to the bone. house adjoining the yard of the parish-church in Blackburn, yesterday wallies, in consequence of a dense smoke which was issuing from it, when it was actually discovered to be on fire ! The only way in which it can be accounted for is hr supposing it to have originated from some chemical action in the decomposition of the bones.—Blackburn Gazette. [Something of the same kind was observed in time Thames, between Blackfriars and Waterloo Bridge, on Tuesday afternoon. The smoke was very dense,- and considerable heat was perceived, although no flames were seen. It is supposed that the river caught fire from some unknown chemical action in the decomposition of the ice.] GOOD News FOR THE Docroes.—The Brussels papers that arrived yesterday morning announce the sailing of a vessel laden with dead bodies t0 for the resur- rection-men on the banks of the Thames."
ASTOUNDING ATROCITY I—Some fishermen fell a fighting with the people in Galway the other l,day. They were chased out of the town by the town boys, and all but one .escaped. "The inhuman treatment" quoth the Connaught Journal, "received by this unfortunate man, when in the power of his merciles pursuers, defies description, and can with difficulty be conceived even by three who are familiar with the sanguinary characteristics of the lower classes ht district, when labouring under the influence of passion or intoxication. Mu it to say that, after various brutal but abortive efforts to deprive the poor wretch of life, a systenuitic attempt was made to hurl his mutilated and almost inanintare body over the bridge into the sea ; and that atrocious extremity would to a cer- tainty have been accomplished, were it not for the threhts and adjurations of a respectable inhabitant, whoi residing in the neighbourhood, had been attractc.,1 to his window, by the adjacent tumult." The English Opposition journals quote the above inter alia in proof of the disordered state of Ireland. Now what to our readers think was the upshot of this descripthin.defying, conception-puzzling beating, mutilating, drowning affair, which actually drew an Irish gentleman lo his window? Here it is, from the same journal :—" We regret to say, that none of the offenders have yet been discovered, although the life of the unfortunate victim of their barbarity is, as we have been informed, actually despaired of." Of all getters up of a good thing commend us to an Irish editor. AMERICAN THEATRICALS.—In representing the " Battle of New Oilcans," 3 melodraine, the rifleman who shoots General .Palienharn gets upon the cotton bags, and makes a considerable preliminary flourish, calling °puma byestander to see how he will hit the white plume. One evening, by mischance, the rifle flashed in the pan, and he was obliged to a,slin gentleman on the other side, is11,° must have been one of the enemy, of cootie to accommodate him with a' fron priming." The situation of General .Pfkenham, for a few minutes, icmay be . more easily imagined than described?:
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