lordship then sentenced Benson to be kept in penal servitude for fifteen years; William Kurr, Frederick Kurr, and Charles Bale each to undergo ten years' penal servitude; and Edwin Murray to eighteen months' hard labour.

COMMEMORATION OF ST. GEORGE.-A service of a somewhat novel character, which was held at St. George's Church, Campden Hill, was attended by the Princess Louise and the Marquis of Lorne, as well as an immense general congregation admitted by

ticket.

It was a service in commemoration of the patron saint of England, and the church was profusely decorated with national flags. The choir was strengthened by a number of amateurs, and there were several members of the Crystal Palace and Philharmonic bands. Shortened evensong was sung by the Rev. S. Flood Jones, precentor of Westminster Abbey, being preceded by a processional. After the third collect, in place of the anthem, Mendelssohn's "Fest-Gesang," which was composed to celebrate the invention of printing, was very well sung. Mr. Prendergast, a barrister, conducted. The Dean of Westminster preached.

EARTHQUAKE.-A telegram reports that at four o'clock this afternoon a sharp shock of earthquake was felt in Oban. The motion was undulatory, accompanied by a rumbling noise and terminating in a sort of jerk. The motion did not last above six seconds. Furniture and articles of household use were jerked upwards, and pieces of crockery were thrown from the shelves. A slighter shock was felt in the island of Kerrera last week, and a short time ago a shock was felt in Tobermory, island of Mull.

25. BISHOP OF TRURO.-On the Feast of St. Mark, the consecration of Dr. Benson as Bishop of Truro took place in St. Paul's Cathedral. There was a very large congregation, including Lady Rolle, by whose liberality the new bishopric was finally established. The Primate officiated, assisted by the Bishops of London, Winchester, Llandaff, Lincoln, Hereford, Exeter, Ely, Nottingham, and Dover.

28. LONDON ATHLETIC CLUB.-This morning some five or six thousand persons assembled at the opening of the new grounds of the London Athletic Club, at Stamford Bridge, in the Fulham Road. The extent of the enclosure is eight acres and a half, and although the arrangements are far from being completed, it affords a course for pedestrian exercises of considerably over a quarter of a mile, possessing on either side a straight course of over 250 yards, which is said to be the longest piece of straight pedestrian course possessed by any enclosed grounds in the kingdom. There is a grand stand for the accommodation of the visitors capable of seating something like 1,000 persons, with refreshment bar and rooms in the rear, whilst the lower portion contains rooms for the use of the members of the club. On the previous evening a four-mile race was run by J. Gibb, S.L.H., the champion at that distance, and W. Slade, the mile champion. Gibb led till just before the

completion of the second mile, when Slade, who was a dozen yards behind, retired, as his leg had given way. Gibb finished the distance alone. The following are the times of each mile:-One mile, 4 min. 39 sec.; two miles, 9 min. 52 sec.; three miles, 15 min. 14 sec.; four miles, 20 min. 38 sec.

THE SALE OF MR. ALBERT GRANT'S PICTURES, at the rooms of Messrs. Christie, Manson, and Woods, took place on Friday and Saturday last week. The proceeds of the two days' sales were 106,2021. The greater portion of the best-known pictures sold for considerably less than the prices which had been paid for them at former sales. Sir Edwin Landseer's "Otter Hunt," for which, it was rumoured, Mr. Grant paid 10,000l., was sold for 5,650 guineas. Mr. Frith's "Before Dinner at Boswell's Lodgings in Bond Street, 1796," which was sold at the Manley Hall sale for 4,5677. 108., on Saturday fetched only 3,2021. 108. One of the few pictures which sold at an increased price was Müller's "Interior of the Temple of Osiris at Philæ." Mr. Grant in 1872 bought this picture for 1,800 guineas, and it sold on Saturday for 2,300 guineas.

- REVIVAL OF ART ETCHING.-An etching-which has attracted much notice in the art world, and which involves the successful application of printing from the plate to a new and very fine description of vellum paper, peculiarly well suited to the display of qualities which the old school of etchers aimed principally at attaining-is in course of publication by Mr. Thomas Maclean, of the Haymarket. The artist (Mr. J. Lumsden Propert) has depicted with seamanlike fidelity, as also with great artistic skill, the doomed hulk of the old man-of-war "Neptune," off Charlton, on the Thames. In his pursuit of a revived art, such as we must consider etching in this country to be, Mr. Propert has abjured those mechanical aids, together with the frequent resort to the tools which belong rather to the engraver, too commonly adopted by French as well as English etchers of the modern school. The work is of somewhat unusual dimensions for an etching, its length being 22 inches and its height 15 inches. There is consequently a great deal of execution; and that which is bestowed on the sky is remarkable for its tone and finish, the labour being totally free from any sign of those adventitious aids to which allusion has been made. The old battle-ship is drawn with so due a sense of proportion that the full idea of her grandeur is conveyed. The emblematic figure-head, towering loftily against the sky, assists the effect in a manner both pictorial and real.

SHAKSPEARE FESTIVAL AND MEMORIAL.-The annual Shakspeare Festival of the Urban Club was held this evening, Dr. Westland Marston in the chair. Mr. Fawcett and Dr. Schliemann were among the speakers.

The first stone of the Shakspeare Memorial Building at Stratford-on-Avon was laid also to-day, with full Masonic ceremonial, by Lord Leigh, Lord Lieutenant and Provincal Grand Master of

Warwickshire, in conjunction with the Deputy Provincial Grand Master. The memorial embraces a theatre, a library, and a picture-gallery. About 500 Freemasons took part in the cere

mony.

CURIOUS LETTER BY WASHINGTON.--In a collection of autographs recently sold by Messrs. Bangs & Co., of New York, was a very curious letter written by Washington at the age of 26, when he was serving as an officer in the army of George II. It is addressed to Mrs. Sarah Fairfax (née Cary), whom Washington had proposed to marry, but had been rejected for his friend George William Fairfax. Washington writes from the "Camp at Fort Cumberland, Sept. 12, 1758," and expresses himself very much in love with somebody, but whether it be Mrs. Fairfax or another lady one cannot quite make out. The grammar is distressingly weak, being helped out by many dashes:-

DEAR MADAM--(the document, which is a lengthy one, commences),-Yesterday I was honoured with your short but very agreeable favour of the 1st instant. How joyfully I catch at the happy occasion of a renewing a correspondence which I feared was disrelished on your part I leave to time-that never-failing expositor of all things-and to a monitor equally faithful in my own breast to testify. In silence I now express my joy. Silence, which in some cases-I wish the present-speaks more intelligently than the sweetest eloquence. . . . You have drawn me, dear madam, or rather I have drawn myself, into an honest confession of a simple Fact-misconstrue not my meaning-doubt it not, nor expose it. The world has no business to know the object of my Love— declared in this manner to-you-when I want to conceal it.

Washington concludes his letter thus:

Be assured that I am, Dr madam, with the most unfeigned regard, yr most obedient and most oblig'd H'ble serv't, G. WASHINGTON. N.B.-Many accidents happening (to use a vulgar saying) between the cup and the lip, I choose to make the exchange of carpets myself, since I find you will not do me the honour to accept mine.

Within four months of penning this epistle, Washington was married (Jan. 6, 1759) to Mrs. Martha Custis, a youug widow, with two children, large landed estates, and 45,000l. in money.

-THE TITLE OF JUDGES.-Yesterday the new Act to amend the Judicature Acts was issued. Mr. Fry, Q.C., has, as it has been announced, been appointed. His position is now defined, as also the title of the judges of the Supreme Court. All the provisions in the Judicature Acts of 1873 and 1875 relate to the new judge. He is to be attached to the Chancery Division, with the power of transfer, as mentioned in the Act of 1873. As to the title of judges, the ordinary judges of the Court of Appeal other than the president" shall be styled Lords Justices of Appeal," and the judges of the High Court of Justice other than the president "shall be styled Justices of the High Court." A puisne judge

"means a judge of the High Court other than the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice of England, the Master of the Rolls, the Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and the Lord Chief Baron." Section 34 of the Act of 1875 is to be continued until Jan. 1, 1879. In consequence of the discussion as to the title of the judges, it is stated to be expedient that a uniform style should be provided for the ordinary judges, those of the Court of Appeal, and of the High Court of Justice.

RICHARD COBDEN.-Mrs. Cobden has left a collection of valuable documents which deal with several interesting episodes in the public career of her distinguished husband. Several years ago Mrs. Cobden had under consideration the expediency of publishing these documents, but as some of them related to transactions so recent as hardly to have passed into the domain of history, she decided to postpone the undertaking till a more distant period. Our readers will be able to form some idea of the valuable nature of these materials when we state that they include a diary of events connected with the negotiations of the French Commercial Treaty, written in Paris at the time when Mr. Cobden, as the chief English Commissioner, was in constant communication with the Emperor Napoleon, M. Rouher, Michel Chevalier, and other notabilities. We also hear that Mr. Cobden left a diary of his last visit to the United States, which took place about two years before the outbreak of the American civil war. As his tour embraced a visit to Washington and the South, at a period when the agitation on the slavery question was already threatening to culminate in a crisis, the narrative of so keen an observer can hardly fail to shed light upon an interesting page of contemporary history.

FIRST PRINTED BOOK.-The first book ever produced in England was printed by William Caxton in the Almonry at Westminster in the year 1477, and was entitled the "Dictes and Sayinges of the Philosophers." A copy of the original is extremely rare and valuable, fetching when sold many hundreds of pounds. It is a small folio volume, very beautifully printed on ash-gray paper, with red initial letters, and is remarkable for its evenness of colour and distinctness of type. There is a fine copy of the "Dictes" in the British Museum, and Mr. Elliot Stock is, it is said, engaged in producing a fac simile of it by the permission of the trustees of that institution.

MAY.

2. THE TWO THOUSAND GUINEAS was decided at Newmarket. There were eleven runners, and the first favourite was Morior a

colt belonging to the Duke of Westminster. The winner was the second favourite, the Count de Lagrange's Chamant, a son of Mortemer and Araucaria, which, ridden by James Coater, won easily, the American colt, Brown Prince, belonging to Mr. Sanford, and ridden by Custance, being second, and Lord Falmouth's Silvio, ridden by F. Archer, being third. The favourite came in ninth.

THE LAND OF MIDIAN.-A correspondent of the Times, writing from Alexandria, informs the public that Captain Burton, the African traveller, has made a "find" of unusual interest. At the request of the Khedive he has visited the "land of Midian," the desolate region on the eastern side of the Gulf of Akabah, the easternmost of the two long and narrow estuaries in which the Red Sea ends. Accompanied by Mr. George Marie, a French engineer, Captain Burton landed in Midian on April 2, and in an exploration of some weeks explored a region full of ruined towns, built of solid masonry, with made roads, aqueducts five miles long, artificial lakes, and massive fortresses, all marking a wealthy and powerful people. Their wealth was based on mining operations, and Captain Burton reports the existence of gold, silver, tin, antimony, and turquoise mines. The auriferous region is extensive; indeed, the discoverer believes he has opened up a California, and the Khedive proposes to have the country worked by European capitalists. It will be remembered that in the Bible, Midian is always described as a land full of metals, especially gold, silver, and lead. It is more than probable that Solomon's Ophir was situated there, as the small ships in which he imported gold, ivory, and peacocks were launched at the head of the Red Sea. Midian is part of the Egyptian Viceroyalty.

THE MAY MEETINGS of religious and benevolent societies are now in force. At Willis's Rooms the Archbishop of Canterbury presided at the annual meeting of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, which employs 533 missionaries, besides 800 catechists, and has an income of 137,000l. Several colonial bishops described the operations of the society in their dioceses and in India. His Excellency Sir Thomas Wade, K.C.B., examined minutely the results of the work in China, and paid a high compliment to the Jesuits for the schools they had established. For success in the Chinese empire, men of intelligence and superior education were required. Illustrated papers, in his opinion, would be found the best means of paving the way to extend Christianity, as the Chinese were a curious people, and might be gradually led from such papers to the enlightenment characterising the nineteenth century in Europe.

--MANUFACTURE OF TORPEDOES.-The Royal Arsenal at Woolwich, in which ten thousand hands are employed by her Majesty's Government to fabricate the artillery and ammunition for land and sea service, has lately been producing different kinds of torbedoes. The merits of the Whitehead torpedo were made, the