forrigu ault

Plum—Little news of moment has arrived from France, but the journals supply some items of interest The Emperor has had inter- views with several "eminent financiers" to consult with them in what way the prevailing stagnation in trade can be made to give place to activity. The Koniteur has taken the trouble to state that all statements in foreign journals respecting a modification of the French Ministry are unfounded. The Emperor has also inspected a beautiful 9-pounder gun sent "from Queen Victoria to Napoleon III."

Marshal Baraguay 'd'Hilliers has assumed command at Tours. He was received with the military state and ceremonial that becomes a military regime. He thus defined his " mission " in an order of the day addressed to the troops. "Soldiers—The Emperor has appointed me to the supreme command of the Western divisions. My mission is to watch over your instruction, your wellbeing, and to maintain in this district that peace and tranquillity which were so happily strengthened by our last victories in the Crimea and the Baltic. You made no default in the face of the enemy, and I rely upon you to reduce the anarchists if they should ever dare to rise against the Emperor's government, or the hereditary right of the Imperial Prince. We can only have one thought, one cry, Vivo la France !" Tin l'Em-

pereur r BARAGUAY

The Paris correspondent of the Daily News makes a statement re- specting the finances of the Empire, which comes under the head of "im- portant, if true." "I have learned from a source upon which I can rely that there is a woful discrepancy between the figures of the last budget, as presented to the Corps Legisktif, and the facts as they have turned out. You may see, by referring to the files of your journal, that M. Magne.brought forward a budget with a surplus of forty millions; the Government prints chanted in chorus prosperity songs, and proclaimed that the mra of deficits' was closed. It now, however' millions. that instead of a surplus of forty, there is a deficit of one hundred one. There has been a 'scene' between the Emperor and M. Magne. The latter says simply that he was ordered to make out a budget, showing a surplus, and he did so accordingly, and that although he could group figures he cannot control realities."

Apropos of the statements in the Moniteur respecting the non-inquisi- torial character of the French police, the Vienna correspondent of the f/Vnies tells a good story, and vouches for it. He says-

" A gentleman who is now in this city wrote to his son in Paris, and up- braided him for his idleness and negligence' in not giving him detailed accounts of the sayings and doings of the inhabitants of the French metro- polis. The sense of the reply was, that as the son knew how dear he was to his father, he would not run the risk of getting into a French prison, which he should be pretty sure to do if he were to give the true and particular ac- count required of him. 'The world,' says the light-hearted youth, 'has hitherto given me credit for being a tolerably sharp fellow, and I will prove that it has done me no more than justice by refraining from giving the in- formation required. Besides, I wish my letters to reach you regularly which would hardly be the case if they contained unfavourable political views.' " A deputation from Macon, appointed to arrange the affairs of M. de Lamartine, composed of the Abbe Naulin, M. Lacroix, President of the Civil Tribunal of Macon, and M. Chamborne have waited on General Espinasse to request permission to open a subscription in favour of their illustrious townsman. The General has replied to them in writing, that he had been permitted by the Emperor not only to authorize the subscription but to place his Majesty's name at the head of the list. "The Prince," writes General Espinasse, "who has struggled for ten years against the excesses of demagogues, does not and never will forget the services rendered by M. de Lamartine to the sacred cause of order in 1848, and all the misery and disgrace France was spared by his gene- rous energy."

$19 i Uhl it t.—The dispute between the French and Swiss Govern- ments respecting the recognition by the latter of the newly-appointed French Consuls has not yet terminated. At present the Swiss hold out. The latest report from Berne is that the French Government has declared that, if Switzerland should refuse to acknowledge the new Consuls, France would reserve to itself the right of withdrawing the exequatur from the Swiss Consuls at present residing in France. a - .11111 U.—The Spanish Government, following the example of France, has established a department of" Public Safety." There is to be a Di- rector-General of public order and safety, having a special force at his command. It is to be "purely paternal and preventive." "Legal op- Position" is to be respected, but confined within its natural circle.

Sliiit—According to the Prussian constitution, citizens are allowed to exercise political rights without regard to their religious be- lief. But of late years, by an illiberal interpretation of the constitu- tion, the Jews have been excluded from a variety of civil and political functions.

"In fact, Jews in Prussia are excluded from sitting as magistrates or holding administrative functions. Seats as Deputies in the Chamber and municipal functions are alone open to the Jews, for this reason, that the Government does not make these appointments. On the other hand, the Jews are prohibited from attending as members the provincial and district assemblies, institutions which existed before 1848, and which, according to the Government, come under old existing laws, which enact that all members of such assemblies shall belong to some recognized Christian church. Two Jews, owners of large property giving titles, and, on the ground of not belonging to a Christian church, excluded from the assem-

blies of their own respective districts, had delegated to represent them Christian landowners themselves members of those assemblies. Such cus- tom is not forbidden by law, but has hitherto been allowed. The present Government wishes to prohibit it. The petitioners ask the Chamber to be reinstated in their rights, according to the terms of the 12th Article of the Constitution, or at lent to be allowed to be represented at the district as- semblies by some other member." The question led to a spirited debate in the Chamber:of Deputies on the 27th March ; but it ended in a " count-out."

S 111.—The trial at Salerno still continues to drag its slow length along, and to show the shameful inhumanity and injustice of the Nea- politan authorities. Many prisoners are unable from sheer exhaustion to appear in court, and those who appear are sadly emaciated from the effects of bad lodging and starvation. Mr. Hodge, it appears, is to be tried before he is liberated. Signor Brofferio has been retained to defend him. At present he is comfortably lodged and well cared for. The Government of Lombardy is trying the temper of its Italian sub- jects It has prohibited " the Milan Spring meeting " at the eleventh hour, thereby putting the patrons of horse-racing and the professional " turffies" of Lombardy to great inconvenience. The reason given is, that in consequence of the reduction of the army, sufficient troops cannot be spared to keep order at the Milan Newmarket. There is, however, a more serious grievance—the conscription. " Making every allowance for the increase of population in the last forty years, no conscription of Napoleon ever equalled this one, except perhaps that of 1814, when he was reduced to extremity by the loss( s of the two previous years, and laid hands upon all the men he could find. It is the largest conscription ever known in Lombardy. It is certain, however, that in exchange for the recruits thus taken a number of soldiers who have not served any very long time are allowed to return home on unlimited leave. The object of this exchange is doubtless to get all the young men of the country on the strength of the amity. It may be styled, in some sort, an anti-revoltitionary measure. The men released are liable to be called upon at any time to serve again. The exemptions from the conscription are few, except for physical defects. Only sons, and sons who are the sole support of their families, are the first to be spared ; after them come married men. The conscription is divided into five classes ; at twenty a young man is liable, and after twenty-five he is exempted. At twenty-three if he has not been taken, he is allowed to marry ; but the priest is bound to warn him, in the presence of witnesses, that he is still liable to be summoned to the ranks. Novices and seminarists are also exempt, but if they do not become monks or priests they are subject to be called upon and taken as soldiers. There are some smaller classes of the exempt; such as the first-prize winners in painting and sculpture, but the whole' put together constitute but a small minority of the youth of the country. It is said to be a not unfrequent practice with the author- ities to pass over young men of the first class, (twenty years of age,) when they do not appear robust or fully developed, and to take them the following year, so that the service may have the advantage of twelve months' growth and increase of strength. The complaints one hears of the severity of the conscription are endless, and not the least is that of the high rate fixed by Government for the purchase of exemption, which constitutes an enormous tax upon families of moderate means who have several sons, and which sums of money, people here are well convinced, do not in the least diminish the amount of compulsory servitude." Orsini is naturally regarded as a hero in Lombardo-Venetia. At Padua the students went in a body to hear a mass. As soon as it was over they struck up the De Profundis. "It was well understood by everybody that this was for Orsini." An exactly similar demonstration was made at Pavia.

IR1155i B.—The Emperor Alexander's scheme for the emancipation of the serfs makes progress although secretly opposed by many landowners. Among other signs of movement is the establishment of a Journal of Landed Proprietors at St. Petersburg, for the express purpose of pro- moting the scheme. Committees are forming to carry it out. The com- mittee for the government of Nijni-Novgorod, charged to investigate and prepare plans for the emancipation of the serfs, held its first sitting on the 3d instant, that being the anniversary of Alexander II's accession to the throne. General Mouravief, the military Governor of the pro- vince made the following speech in opening the proceedings- " pro- vince, concert with the marshal of the nobles of this go-

vernment, the committee summoned by the confidence of the Sovereign to discuss the measures requisite for improving the condition of the peasants serfs dwelling on the lands of the nobles proceeds now to open its sittings. For this purpose has been selected, not the day previously fixed upon, but the anniversary of that monarch's ascension, whose reign is the dawn of our country's regeneration and renovation. Could we choose a more fortunate day for the commencement of these debates by an assembly in whom rests the hope of the Sovereign and the country, the hope of twenty-five millions of individuals, to whom it is now intended to restore those rights of civil existence and that dignity of men, of which they bad been deprived.

"Gentlemen, imbue yourselves with the spirit of your mission. He who holds in his hand the hearts of kings has called you to accomplish a mighty work, to give freedom to those who do not possess it. And if such be your mission, think on the greatness of the part that Providence has assigned you here below. Be not unworthy of it ; do not prefer your own material in- terests to the welfare of these millions of human beings whom their lot has made dependent upon you. Moral interests take precedence of material ones, and you ought to prove it by your acts. I said moral interests : yes, gentle- men, the solution of the question now occupying us will assuredly raise us to a higher degree of moral civilization ; it will enhance the lustre and exalt the moral dignity of the class called to fulfil this work with a self-denial based on the consciousness of human rights. "Amongst the people whose material existence we have to secure, there is many an individual who, content with his present position, desires no other. Glory and honour to the owners of such individuals ! But their happiness is merely fortuitous. Now, gentlemen, you are called to substi- tute certainty for chance and to remove from the administration which re-

lates to an entire class oipersons everything of an arbitrary character. But success will not be obtained in this so long as we continue to see in man a mere productive power similar to that of animals in general ; we shall only obtain success by resuscitating, or rather by restoring, the human dignity which had been stifled, and by invoking the assistance of free labour. It will be only then that an intelligent and equitable appeal, unaccompanied by any arbitrary requirement, will reawaken the living strength of the na- tion, and will infuse life into all that now appears to us to be dead.

"Do not separate, then, from your material calculations the respect due to the rights of man ; render to man that which belongs to man, and you will justify the confidence of the Sovereign and the hope of the nation. I. may say more—you will deserve the admiration of the whole world," whose

eyes are fixed upon you at this moment. Your work will .win for you the blessings of the Omnipotent and those of collective humanity, whilst his- tory will rank you among the promoters of justice, among those who love their neighbours, and will name you as the founders of your country's pros- perity." The Government is carrying several measures to obviate difficulties as they arise. The emancipation of serfs attached to the person IS the most embarrassing question. The Emperor has prohibited the serf-owners from converting peasants into domestic serfs, in order that the numbers of the latter may not increase.

Slit ill—The telegraphic communications from Bombay come down to the 9th March. Some progress had been made in the war in Oude. Being assured that the columns advancing through Central India under Sir Hugh Rose and General Whitlock were well on their march towards the Jumna, having heard that Brigadier Chamberlain had entered Rohil- eund, and having organized a moveable column in the Doab and este- .blished posts on the right bank of the Ganges, Sir Colin Campbell moved • up his whole force of men, "50,000," and guns, 160, from Cawnpore to Lucknow, and reached Alumbagh himself on the 2d March. Before his arrival Sir James Outram had been twice attacked by the rebels. On the 21st February the rebels came on in great force ; one column moved against his centre, and one overlapped each flank. But he "cut off both their flanks, took two guns, and forced them to retreat. His loss altogether trifling, namely, 21 wounded. A second attack of the same kind was made on the 25th, when they were repulsed with loss of three guns."

As soon as he arrived at Alumbagh, Sir Colin Campbell occupied the Dilkoosha Park, and on the 6th sent Sir James Outram to cross the Goomtee with 6000 men and 30 guns. At the same time Brigadier Franks joined the Commander-in-chief with 4000 men. He had marched from the direction of Juanpore. Two bodies of insurgents were in his way. One consisted of 21,000 men and 21 guns ; the second of 8000 men and 8 guns. Brigadier Franks prevented them from effecting a junction, outmanceuvered the largest body, and attacking them in flank forced them to fly and leave eight guns in his hands. The second corps attacked him in position, and met with defeat, and lost all its guns. The reports respecting the position of Jung Bahadoor are contradic- tory; but the most authentic statement is, that he was early in March still on the left bank of the Gogra. The rebels had strongly fortified their position at Luclmow. The British batteries, under the direction of Sir Archdale Wilson of Delhi, would, it was expected, open fire on the 11th March. General Roberts was on the march to attack Kota]i in Rajpootana. Operations against the Bheels in Candeish are in active progress. The insurgent Bessayees have taken refuge in the Canara districts of the Madras Presidency. A movement was made against them by a force tinder Colonel M'Clean on the 343. of March, but they evacuated a strong position which they had chosen, and are now with their followers dis- persed through the Canara jungles. Punjaub, Scinde, and Nizam's coun- try all quiet. Sir John Lawrence and General Van Cortlandt reached Delhi on the 24th February.

The report that the ex-King of Delhi had been convicted and sentenced to transportation for life was erroneous. His trial is not yet completed. The House at Cawnpore.—" As there was nothing left of the house but a heap of broken bricks and plaster and some few stumps of brick pillars, we walked a few paces farther to the well in rear of the house, into which the bodies of the slaughtered women and children were thrown by the murderers. It is now bricked over, and there only remains a small circular ridge of brick marking the wall of the well, which was not more than nine or ten feet across. Beneath rest the mangled remains of our poor countrywomen and their little ones, and standing there we could well realize the strength of that indignation which steels the hearts of our soldiers against the enemy. Within a few feet of the well,' surrounded by a small wooden paling, there stands a stone cross on a fiat slab, on two courses of masonry, the inscription on which tells its story- " ' In memory of the women and children of her Majesty's Thirty-second Regi- ment, who were slaughtered near this spot, on the 16th of July. A.D. 1857. This memorial was erected by twenty men of the same regiment, who were passing through Cawnpore, 21st November 1857.'

This inscription is engraved on the upright part of the slab, which is in the form of a Maltese cross, within a circle of stone. In the quadrants of this circle are inscribed, in red letters and in the old English character, I believe in the Resurrection of the Dead.' The conception and execution of this memorial were most creditable. In the ranks of a marching regiment were found twenty men,' who, with good feeling and excellent taste, have, impromptu, raised a memorial of the Cawnpore massacre, the sight of which must touch one more deeply than any elaborate and costly effort."—Times "Special" Avrespondent.

Sir Colin Campbell.—" Certainly the Commander-in-chief does not set an example to his officers by any extravagance in baggage. He lives in a small subaltern's tent, and his chief of the staff is equally moderate. I be- lieve his Excellency's personnel is contained in a couple of small portman- teaus, and during this short campaign he has slept on the ground among his men on more than one occasion without cover of any sort. He is apparently in excellent health, although his labours are arduous and incessant, as he and his chief of the Staff manage all the details connected with the disposi- tion of his force, and to a great extent dispense with the usual services of Adjutant-General and Quartermaster-General."—/dem.

C#& .—The despatches that should have come by the Ave have now arrived. They bring down our information from Canton to the 23d Fe- bruary. That city was perfectly tranquil. A mixed police force had been organized. The arms of the Tartar troops had been seized. An inspection of the prisons had taken place, and some of the horrors perpetrated had been brought to light. The great buildings in the pos- session of the Allies were in course of purification to be used as barracks. The main streets had been named after European fashion. Sites for the factories had been marked out. Trade had been resumed. A squadron of gun-boats and junks had been organized to sweep the river and its creeks of pirates, and to protect the outgoing tea-ships. Trade in Canton was brisk, and the troops were able to buy anything they wanted. Even small tracts intended to initiate the Cantonese into the myeteries of Eng- lish had begun to be published. The Times correspondent gives a sketch of the programme adopted by the Commissioners of the fear Powers in China.

"I have great reason to believe that the overtures made by Lord Elgin and Baron rros were at once frankly and cordially accepted by the repre- sentatives both of America and Russia, and that every act yet done by the belligerent Allies is now adopted and approved by the two hitherto neutral

Powers. • I believe it has been agreed between the four Powers that they shall proceed in the first instance to Shanghai, and there, if possible' make

one general treaty. If the Court of Pekin should remain unimpresaed by the union of the four first-class Powers of the world, reinforcements are coming out, Russia will not be long represented by a single ship ; America is sending ;• France has vessels on their way ; and England, if she is to keep the lead which she has so worthily assumed and hitherto so wisely main- tained, will also strengthen her force. It is, however, to be hoped that no further act of conquest will • be required. Each of the four Powers has as I understand, sent to Pekin a general statement of grievances and de- mands. Mr. Oliphant, Lord Elgin's private secretary, and le Viscomte de Coutades, Baron Gras's private secretary, left Hongkong yesterday in the Formosa for Shanghai ; whether the Russian and American despatches went by the same steamer I have not heard ; but that they are gone, or are he_ mediately about to go, is undoubted. I think it will be found that the four Powers, in these communications, invite the Emperor to send to Shanghai a minister of high rank, properly accredited, to treat for a new treaty upon the basis of free transit throughout China under proper proteetion from Chinese authority, permanent diplomatic relations at 'Pekin, unrestricted commerce, and indemnity for losses and expenses incurred. Lord Elgin and Baron Gros will go North in about three weeks from February The Count Putiatin goes almost immediately, for his little steamer wig have a long struggle against the monsoon. Mr. Reed goes to Manilla, to pass the interval between the present date and the time when he must pro- ceed to the rendezvous at Shanghai."

Chinese Prisons.—" A Chinese gaol is a group of small yards enclosed by no general outer wail (except in one instance.) Around this yard are dens like the dens in which we confine wild beasts. The bars are not of iron, but of double rows of very thick bamboo, so close together that the interior is too dark to be readily seen into from without. The ordinary prisoners are allowed to remain in the. yard during the day.. Their ankles are fettered together by heavy rings of iron and a short chain, and they generally also wear similar fetters on their wrists. The low-roofed dens are so easily climbed that when the prisoners are let out into the yard the gaolers must trust to their fetters alone for security. The .places all stank like the mon- key-house of a menagerie. We were examining one of the yards of the se- cond prison, and Lord Elgin, who is seldom absent when any work is doing, was one of the spectators. As it was broad daylight the dens were supposed to be empty. Some one thought he heard a low moan in one of them, and advanced to the bars to listen. He recoiled as if a blast from a furnace had rushed out upon him. Never were human senses assailed by a more hor- rible stream of pestilence. The gaolers were ordered to open that place, and refusing, as a Chinaman always at first refuses, were given over to the rough handling of the soldiers, who were told to make them. No sooner were hands laid upon the gaolers than the stifled moan became a wail, and the wail became a concourse of low weakly muttered groans. So soon as the double doors could be opened, several of us went into the place. The thick stench could only be endured for a moment, but the spectacle was not one to look long at. A. corpse lay at the bottom of the den, the breasts, the only fleshy parts, gnawed and eaten away by rata. Around it and upon it was a festering mass of humanity still alive. The Mandarin gaoler, who seemed to wonder what all the excitement was about, was compelled to have the poor creatures drawn forth, and no man who saw that sight will ever forget it. They were skeletons, not men. You could only believe that there was blood in their bodies by seeing it clotted upon their undressed wounds. As they were borne out one after the other, and laid upon the pavement of the yard, each seemed more horrible than the last. They were too far gone to shriek, although the agony must have been great, the heavy irons pressing upon the raw, lank shins as the goalers lugged them not too tenderly along. They had been beaten into this state, perhaps long ago, by the heavy- bamboo, and had been thrown into this den to rot. Their crime was that they had attempted to escape. Hideous and loathsome, however, as was the sight of their foul wounds, their filthy rags, and their emaciated bodies it was not so distressing as the indescribable expression of their eyes ; 'the horror of that look of fierce agony fixed us like a fascination. As the dislocated wretches writhed upon the ground, tears rolled down the cheeks of the soldiers of the escort, who stood in rank near them. A gi- gantic French sergeant, who had the little Mandarin in custody, gestku- lated with his bayonet so fiercely that we were afraid he would kill him. We did not then know that the single word which the poor creatures were trying to utter was hunger,' or that that dreadful starting of the eyeball was the look of famine. Some of them had been without food for four days. Water they had, for there is a well in the yard, and their fellow prisoners had supplied them but cries for food were answered only by the bamboo. Alas ! it was not till the next morning that we found this out ; for although we took some away, we left others there that night. Since the commence- ment of this year fifteen men have died in that cell. This was the worst of the dens we opened, but there were many others which fell but few degrees below it in their horrors. There was not one of the 6000 prisoners we Saw whose appearance before any assemblage of Englishmen would not have aroused cries of indignation. Quelle societe,' exclaimed Captain Marti- neau, as in the first yard we visited he saw a little boy confined here because he was the son of a rebel, Quelle societi pour im enfant de quatorze ens!' Alas ! we saw many, many such cases in our after experience. In one of the dens of the Poon-y ,u the door of which was open, some one pointed atten- tion to a very child-Lrather an intelligent-looking child—who was squat upon a board and laughing at the novel scene taking place before him. We beckoned to him, but he did not come. We went up to him, and found he could not move. His little legs were ironed together ; they had been so for several months, and were now paralyzed and useless. This child of tfei years of age had been placed here, charged with stealing from other chil- dren. We took him away. [With much difficulty it was discovered that four Englishmen and two Frenchmen, prisoners of war, had been confined and murdered in these prisons.] "Only two of these prisoners had excited much sympathy among the Chinese. One of them was a sailor, who spoke the language, adapted himself to their habits, and told them stories. He was cheerful, or pre- tended to be cheerful, at first ; but in a short time he grew sick and cried and spoke of his Mends far away. Even the Chinese were sorry when his time came, and when the gaolers poisoned him. There was another, an old white-bearded man, who was there some months. He spoke only a few words of Chinese but the Chinese veneration for age come to his aid, and they pitied him Lao. Some of us thought that this must have been poor Cooper, the owner of the docks at Wharapoa, who, probably mistaken for Cooper the engineer officer, was kidnapped from his chop-boat, lying within a hundred yards of the Sybille. His wife and daughter were on board with him. A sampan came alongside with a letter. While he leant forward to take it he was drawn into the sanpan and he was away up a creek before the alarm could be given and a boat lowered from the man-of- war. The others, we were told, were not favourites. They could uot speak, they held themselves aloof. If two of them happened to be in prison at the same time they conversed together. If there was only one, he either fought with the gaolers or sat alone covering his face with his hands." —limes Special Correspondent. Bengal Sepoys in Canton.—"The 70tliBepoy Regiment has arrived. They are doubtless very fine high-caste gentlemen. It is said that they have existed for sixteen days upon bran and water, because they had scruples of conscience about cooking at sea. Two hundred Coolies were assigned to sweep out their quarters ; because, as General Stranbenzee remarks, these men do nothing of that sort, but only do soldiers' work. I believe I am not more cruel than my neighbours, but I should certainly like to see all this non- sense flogged out of these scoundrels. In these latter days, when it has been possible to substitute other punishments, there has been too much flogging In this army for slight offences, and I would willingly spare some of our drummers and boatswahuf -mates for service in the Sepoy quarters. They landed, I must admit, in very soltlierlike order, and by the aid of our Cool- ies and their own camp-followers, they were lodged or tented in a marvel- lously short time. The next day they addicted themselves to looting, and three of them were shot by the French police. The evidence upon the court of inquiry which followed was very contradictory ; but that they were loot- ing and that they resisted the police were two uncontested facts. Perhaps the French were hasty; but a Sepoy in his undress is undressed in the literal sense of the term, and it is not quite to be wondered at that the Frenchmen had recourse to their arms to rid themselves of the blows and brickbats of a crowd of half-naked black ruffians. No two human creatures can be more different than a Sepoy dressed in his red coat and faultlessly clean belt, and the same animal stalking about on his long, lank shanks with a white girdle round his loins. It is ominous of subsequent events that on the third day after the arrival of this 70th Regiment they were erecting two funeral pyres before the eyes of the wondering Chinamen just outside the North-east gate, and burning two of their comrades. Cremation is a cleanly mode of sepul- ture; but it would be well to preserve entire the classical custom, and to perform the rite with sweetly-scented woods. I am. afraid that General Straubenzee, whose popularity has been waning since the capture of the city,—such is the fate of sudden favourites,—will not recover his ground by bringing his old Indian prejudices into China. He has most unfortunately commenced his treatment of the Sepoys by an act which both English and French regard as an insult. When an Englishman or a Frenchman is caught plundering he is tried by the three Commissioners. The first four fiepoys who were caught looting were withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the Commissioners, and handed back to their own Colonel."—Idena.

A Feast-day.—" The 14th of February is arrived, and it is the day of the Chinese new year. Lanterns are hung out before every door, business is closed, and the dark-haired race are employing all their energies in ex- ploding crackers and eating pork. There 18 nothing picturesque or pleasant in this feast of lanterns. Your Chinaman is a monotonous animal even in his saturnalia. The women crowd the temples,. or light up with small red candles the domestic joss-houses. The men pull each other's tails, and play half-drunken practical jokes in the same', temples, or strew the street in front of their doors with crackers and set them on fire, keeping up a constant detonation all over the city. Moreover, there are feasts at the eating-houses, and sing-song girls, with painted faces, sing turn-turn songs, and make turn-tuna music. If you want any work done you are told, 'In two three day can do.' If you want to buy anything, the shopkeeper tells you to come again two three day, for that he too muchee drunkee that samshu.' Yet there is very little or no riotous drunkenness. They act like stupid old children, without the innocence, the grace, or the natural freedom of childhood."—Idefn.