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JOHN STUART MILL.

But, as in Goethe's case, it was advance from one stage of imitation to another, without any real insight into the true springs of human greatness. Suffering for the sake of others, sympathy with man as man, the sacrifice even of culture for the sake of active benevolence, "the heart at leisure for itself to soothe and sympathise "-these were ideals which were foolishness to Goethe, as the preaching of the cross is to the Greek, who is the type of mere intellect, as the Jew is the type of ceremonial religion without the power. It was the same with Mr. Mill. He contracted a sort of intellectual respect for spiritual philosophy as interpreted by Coleridge and his school, but that which underlay this philosophy and gave it a meaning it otherwise could not possess of itself, this was to the last unintelligible to Mr. Mill. The new direction of culture in the channel of the affections may be said to have spoiled Mr. Mill's old utilitarianism without leading him to the true foundation of love at its Divine source. His philosophy was Epicurean to the last, spoiled by the cross currents of Platonism, which destroyed its original simplicity without leading him to anything

better.

ever came near it.

he deified her memory when she died, as Dante did a mere artist's | passing the love of women while she lived, and that that of Beatrice, and Petrarch that of Laura, is a cold and commonplace account of the matter. that in his case, as in that of Comte, Atheism passed into idolatry. The affections usurped the place of the It seems religious instincts. There is something inexpressibly sad in the picture as drawn by himself of the bereaved and desolate old man haunting the last home of his wife near Avignon, bending over the ashes of the dead, and seeking to warm himself by the pale cold memory of a Charlemagne that his wife possessed an emerald which had the magic property of fascinating who"shade." There is a legend of the old Kaiser would never allow the coffin out of When his wife died the emerald was placed in her mouth and buried with her, when his sight, and was inconsolable until one of his courtiers discovered the secret of the spell, and secretly removing the emerald, the emperor's affections were transferred from the dead to the living. Mr. Mill's passionate reverence of his wife's, memory and genius, which was in his own words a "reCharlemagne. In other ages it would have been ligion," seems as unreasonable as this fascination of secret power of a spell. To us the explanation is accounted for by the occult virtue of a gem or the hope. He loved and lost, as all must do; but rot more simple-that he sorrowed but as one without knowing that love has one place and worship another in natures like ours, he confounded the two-he deified the human because the divine humanised and made near in the person of the God-man was to him a mere superstition. There is something tragic in this consummation of the highest culture in Iago, "Oh! the pity of it-the pity of it." a hopeless and consuming sorrow. We may say, like life is a lesson and a warning. A nature acute and narrow, but with a chord of tenderness in it almost womanly, was stirred at last on the ideal side of love. Had he but known that love is the outer court of which worship is the inner sanctuary, he might have risen from the created to the uncreated. But here his early theories stood in his way and barred any further advance. psychology which denied the existence of any spiritual He was pledged to a place for the doctrine of final causes. instincts in man, and to a philosophy which gave no fatal flaw in all his thinking-the strange defect in his early training which no amount of after-culture This was the could overcome. By a mere tour de force he could throw himself into the region of the imagination and understand poetry, as a mathematician might the laws of rhythm, without feeling its subtle essence. But this was all that his education could do for him. At this point he stood still, never to advance further. The sense of dependence on an unseen Father and Friend-that duty to God which is the fear of the Lord at first, and which is afterwards perfected into love-this was to him an unknown region, and the result is seen in his own confessions. He has himself written the heaviest censure of his own system. We need no other witness than his own to condemn his theory of life. Tried by the tests which he has himself set up, it is miserably wanting; it fails to entire future a dark and distressing enigma. satisfy our aspirations at present, while it leaves the

In this Mr. Mill presents a remarkable parallel to another phllosopher of the same school, whose name has become even more notorious. Auguste Comte, eminent mathematician, polytechnic professor, statistician-general of the tables of human progress, had alighted on a generalisation which was a kind of short cut to universal knowledge, and especially to the philosophy of history. All science has to pass through three stages; it emerges from the magical or supernatural stage, passes into the metaphysical stage of hypothesis, and ends in the final stage of positivism, where we tabulate facts and dismiss final causes as a mere guess in the dark of the childish intellect. Happy consummation, if human nature would only consent to accept it! Unfortunately, however, for the professor's peace of mind, the instincts of human nature are not to be eradicated in this way. Love and worship are instincts which no positive theory can make away with, and in his old days the professor fell in love, and so found out that his draft of the sciences was defective. What was to be done. As Mohammed had new revelations whenever it was convenient to enlarge his harem, or even to admit a slave to the full rights of a wife-in the same way M. Auguste Comte modified his new culte. Positivism developed into the worship of humanity, the humanity was personified in a strange parody of the Romish cultus of the Virgin and Child. This was too much for English Positivists, and especially for Mr. Mill. He broke off from M. Comte, denounced his new religion of humanity as the vagaries of a mind bordering on insanity, and held fast to the ld position that the last word of science is a complete nescience of any principle behind the sequence of natural physical laws. Mr. Mill was, we admit, more consistent in repudiating these later phases of Positivism, but his own practice belied his theory. In his own case he fell into an inconsistency not unlike that of Auguste Comte which he so loudly protested against. There are ineradicable instincts in man, which, if denied their proper nutriment, will make the meat they feed It is a law of our nature that if we do not love what upon.' we worship we shall worship what we love. love for his wife and regard for her memory became His to him a kind of religion. To say that it was a love

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His

only true education of man, Mr. Mill's life may be
In these days, when secularism is proclaimed as the
said to be a warning from one who has himself

passed beyond the reach of our criticism. It is a voice from beyond the tomb proclaiming to us, like that of another "preacher," that culture without godliness also is vanity. A less vigorous thinker, a less consistent logician, might not have pushed his conclusions to the same length, but then we should have lacked that confirmation of our faith as to the "whole duty of man." To fear God and to keep His commandments, that is wisdom and that is understanding. This simple lesson, which a child in a village school knows, was hidden from one of the wise and prudent ones: why and for what reason is a solemn mystery which we dare not enter upon. We here only note the fact, and leave the lesson for those who are wise to learn it. No other hand than Mr. Mill's could have traced this with the same distinctness. An ordinary biographer would have written the record of his intellectual triumphs, but Mr. Mill himself goes further than this, and shows us the secret despair of a heart feeding on its own bitter regrets. When Henry Martyn, as senior wrangler, awoke to find fame an empty shadow, he was led on to know God, and to find in Him his portion for ever. But Mr. Mill unhappily was never led on to make the same discovery. If we would sum up the experience of his life, it would be in these well-known lines of the poet

"They who mourn the most

Must mourn the deepest o'er the fatal truth, The tree of knowledge is not that of life."

MATTHEW MORRISON:

AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

CHAPTER V.- MR. KEMP THE LAWYER AND HIS SISTER.

IT T was a great change to me, living in town. No doubt I was at first much attracted by the novelty of everything around me; but this gradually wore off, and I began secretly to pine for the repose and freedom of my old home. The city air wanted elasticity, and depressed my spirits. Oh, how my imagination dwelt on the green pastures and crystal waters of my native place, and often did I long for the wings of a bird that I might flee thither and be at rest. It seemed to me a haven of peace and serenity, and those that abode there were to me the blessed and excellent of the earth.

Cousin Braidfute had got us a reasonably good house, though it was a confined and dingy place compared with the manse. Our relative was undoubtedly a sagacious and practical man, but he interfered too much in our concerns, and scarcely allowed us a voice in them. We soon grew to feel as if his shadow was always hovering over the house, and the fear of offending him made my mother timid and nervous. Besides, he was deficient in hospitality, considering that we were strangers in the town. We speedily got a good lodger for our best parlour and the adjoining bedroom. He was sent to us by Mr. Kemp, the writer to the Signet, to whom we got a letter of introduction from Mr. Tait. A small college bursary in the gift of the Senatus had become vacant through the death of the holder; and Mr. Tait thought that Mr. Kemp, from his influential position, might be able to procure it for me.

It

as a great undertaking for my mother to call upon a stranger and a lawyer, but the chance of the bursary, small as it was, was not to be lost; and the

very day that we received the letter, without consulting Cousin Braidfute, who otherwise would have had his finger in the pie, she and I set off to call upon Mr. Kemp in George's Square. We found it one of the largest houses in the square. It looked so grand and imposing that we feared Mr. Kemp might be a proud man, and not very accessible to strangers in our now reduced circumstances. So we took a turn round by the garden railing in the centre to gain courage before ringing the door-bell. But the longer we delayed the more nervous we grew; besides, as I suggested, some other person might have heard of the bursary, and be on his way to speak to Mr. Kemp about it, and by dilly-dallying I might lose it. This supposition quickened our movements, and in another minute we had rung the bell.

The servant who appeared said that her master was at present engaged, but showed us into the dining-room to wait for him. It was a large, handsome, well-furnished apartment, and the portrait of a gentleman above the mantelpiece catching my eye as I entered, lightened my spirits, for I thought that it probably was a likeness of Mr. Kemp, and the face, though pernickity, was a very benevolent one. "I wish it was over, Matthew, my dear," said my poor mother.

"I think," said I, to encourage her, "that that picture must be a likeness of Mr. Kemp, mother, and though the face is rather singular, it has a kind look."

'Do you think so, my dear?" said she, gazing wistfully up at it, and then I saw that her eyes were full of tears. She looked at it for a few moments only, then turned to the window, and sat as if examining the square through the low blinds, but utterly unconscious, I was sure, of what she saw. I knew she was thinking of former days, when no such cares as this devolved upon her; and that she was feeling how helpless and desolate a woman is who is a widow, and especially a widow with straitened

means.

He

We had to wait a considerable time; but at last there was the sound of voices in the lobby, followed by the shutting of the house door. Then the door of the dining-room was suddenly burst open-that is the only word that describes the action-and a little gentleman in a state of apparent hurry and excitement ran rather than walked into the room. was without doubt the original of the portrait that I had been contemplating. He was small in stature, and extremely thin and meagre, and every line of his face and motion of his body showed activity and energy. His eyes were very black and keen, and as he entered they examined us with a rapid and penetrating glance. I had never seen a Frenchman then, or I should have taken him for one. He was dressed with great neatness, and he wore powder in his hair, though it had then fallen into disuse.

His entrance was so startling and so unlike that of a grave business man, that my mother and I in our surprise almost jumped from our seats. He politely motioned us to resume them, and sitting down himself by the table, began to drum restlessly with his fingers upon it.

"Good morning, madam; what is your business with me?" he inquired, in tones as abrupt and rapid as his movements.

My mother's presence of mind had entirely deserted her, and instead of presenting our letter of

introduction to Mr. Kemp, in her agitation she dropped it on the carpet. He instantly picked it up, and seeing it was directed to himself, broke the seal, and began to read after glancing at the signature. While reading, he more that once raised his eyes and looked at us over the letter, and I felt that I had never before encountered such a searching glance. On finishing, he folded it up lengthways, made some jotting with his pencil on the back of it, and then put it into his pocket. He then spoke both gently and compassionately to my poor mother, who looked very sad and feeble in her deep widow's weeds.

"I have met with your late husband, madam," he said.

"Indeed, sir," said my mother, evidently relieved.

"A worthy man, madam; a good scholar and a worthy man. This is your son, madam?"

"My younger son, Matthew, sir."

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You have come to reside in town, madam, I perceive. What is your direction?”

My mother gave it to him, and we were glad to see him take out the letter again and note it downit looked business-like. Having restored the letter to his pocket, he started up, hurried to the fireplace, and rung the bell.

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Let Miss Kemp know that I wish to see her here," he said, when the servant answered it.

I had been wondering whether he was a married man, but now supposed that a sister kept his house. He stood fidgeting on the hearthrug, twisting his fingers and puckering his face in an extraordinary fashion till the lady made her appearance.

She was the exact counterpart of himself. Indeed, so like were they, that people not intimately acquainted with them naturally supposed them to be twins, which they were not. Like him, she had a kind of birdlike quickness in all her movements, and such uprightness of carriage, especially of the head and neck, that at this first interview with her I thought she was probably suffering from a stiffness in the muscles of the latter. She was dressed with great, though somewhat old-fashioned, precision, and wore very brief petticoats, thus exhibiting a pair of the trimmest feet and ankles I have ever seen. Notwithstanding these peculiarities, her appearance was decidedly prepossessing, and she had a very lively, pleasant countenance, less indicative of acuteness of intellect than her brother's, but expressive both of singleness of mind and goodness of heart. She came hurrying into the room, apologising as she did so in a chatty, sociable kind of way for keeping us waiting, though that did not exceed a few

her at present-business must be attended to, madam, you are aware;" and, paying no attention to my mother's earnest endeavours to express her gratitude, he darted up to her, adding, "Your husband was a worthy man, madam; his piety and learning would have obtained him a prominent position in the church but for his own modesty, and I shall do all I can to serve his son." (How proud I was to hear my father thus spoken of!) "And Miss Kemp, allow me to recommend a glass of wine for Mrs. Morrison after-after her exertions."

He then shook hands with her, patted me on the shoulder in passing, and in another moment was out of the room.

My mother did not look quite at her case at first; but Miss Kemp was so chatty and cordial as she trotted between the cupboard and table with the wine and cake, which she would not permit either of us to decline, that the little embarrassment soon wore off; and by the time my mother had taken her glass of wine-of which she seemed much the better-the pair were conversing like old friends. And before our visit was over she had told Miss Kemp all our little history. My poor mother could not speak of recent events without breaking down into weeping; and our kind hostess drew out her pocket-handkerchief and cried for sympathy.

It was a considerable time before she would permit us to leave her. We said nothing to each other till we had walked some way from the door, and then the impulse came at once upon both of us to laugh at the start we got when Mr. Kemp suddenly burst into the room. But altogether, we thought we had made friends for ourselves.

"And I am sure we need them, Matthew, my dear," said my mother, sighing deeply.

"You will never need friends, mother," said I, "as long as your sons are to the fore;" at which words my mother put her arm within mine and looked lovingly into my face.

"God has been very good to us," she said, gratefully, "and I somehow think, Matthew, my dear, that you will get the bursary."

And I did get the bursary. Miss Kemp herself brought us the first news of it, and Archie was fortunately at home when she called.

Sonnets of the Sacred Year.

BY THE REV. S. J. STONE, M.A.

SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. "So run, that ye may obtain."-1 Cor. ix. 24.

minutes, and she had to be called, she explained, ACROSS the world the ghostly struggle lies;

from the upper floor of the house.

"This is Mrs. Morrison, Miss Kemp," said her brother, as soon as she gave him the opportunity to speak, "and this is her son, Mr. Matthew."

Miss Kemp shook hands with us in a kindly way, and then sat down beside my mother.

"Mrs. Morrison has just come to reside in Edin burgh, Miss Kemp," continued the formal but polite little gentleman; "she is quite a stranger here, therefore I doubt not that you will easily discover some way in which you can be of service to her." "Certainly, brother, certainly," said his sister, smiling affectionately on him as she sat bolt upright

in her chair.

"And Miss Kemp, you will have the goodness to explain to Mrs. Morrison the necessity for my leaving

Life, Death, the only limits of that plain
At whose extreme the bright immortal Gain
Is seen in ONE, the Giver and the Prize.
"Long is the course! how shall I agonise
Through days and years, nor ever make in vain
All by one step: how run that I obtain ?"
So in a weak despair my spirit cries.

I know not, O my soul, save that I know
Emmanuel once the heat and burden boro

Of all that way: thy Master went before:
His own tired feet have gone where thine must go.
On, then, in hopo; so run! thy Judge is He
Whose love to thine is calling, "Follow Me."

Varieties.

DISCHARGED PRISONERS' AID SOCIETY.-The Marquis of Westminster makes, through the press, the following appeal in behalf of this useful and meritorious society :-"Founded in 1857, it has since that period assisted 7,906 men and women on their discharge from convict prisons. Since the last meeting of the committee, on the 27th of July, it has undertaken 138 fresh cases, which have been dealt with in the following manner-Of the 136 men it has aided, two are at present awaiting emigration (to join friends abroad), 21 have obtained berths on board ship, one is awaiting a berth, 32 have been assisted in the country, 54 are at work in the metropolitan district, 13 are at present unemployed (having been very recently discharged from prison), three have been lost sight of, one has enlisted in the army, one is an invalid, one is living on his own private property, four have been assisted to emigrate, and three have just been discharged from prison. The two women have been assisted to emigrate to join friends in America. In addition to this work the Society has a Refuge for Women on leaving convict prisons, at which there are at present 33 inmates, and from which 10 have been placed out in the last three months. The expenses attendant on the establishment of this Refuge at Russell House, Streatham, have been very heavy, a large laundry having been built and furnished with the necessary appliances. Though the committee intend using every effort to make this Refuge nearly or entirely self-supporting, it has proved at present so costly as to exhaust the funds of the Society, and donations and subscriptions are very urgently needed to enable the work here to be carried on with its full efficiency."

NATIONAL DEBT.-The present National Debt is less than one year's aggregate income of the whole people of the nation. It is computed not to be 8 per cent. of the aggregate value of the real and personal property in these isles. Taking the population at 32 millions at this date, the present debt is equal to £24 10s. per head. Fifteen years back the amount, owing mainly to the smaller population, was £30 per head. The present interest of the National Debt is equal to about 178. per head, or less than one-half of what it was in the year 1815, at the close of the great French War. So that, by an automatic or self-acting process, we are progressively reducing the

burden of our debt.

BREWERS' MEASURE.-While small tradespeople and street hawkers are strictly watched in the matter of weights and measures, a strange laxity is allowed in larger concerns, as, for instance, in the casks of brewers. A few of the great firms may give full measure, but in the nine-gallon casks of ordinary use it is not expected that 36 quarts are always to be found. The "Times" says, that, "In enumerating and describing the new instruments acquired by his department in the course of the past year, the warden of the standards states that he has obtained from Berlin a specimen of the cubic apparatus for verifying casks, adopted by the German Standards Commission. Although some objections were raised to the proposed verification and stamping of casks in Germany when the project of law for the regulation of weights and measures was before the Committee of the Federal Parliament, yet the proposition was eventually adopted at the express desire of the German winegrowers. The warden suggests it as a subject worth consideration whether a similar regulation should not be adopted in this country, more particularly in respect of ale and beer casks. For a long period such a regulation was in force here, and was exercised by the Coopers' Company of London. An Act of

1531, 23 Henry VIII, c. 4, directed that casks were to be made by artificers of the craft of coopers only. The barrel of beer was to contain 36 gallons, and of ale 32 gallons; the kilderkin was to contain half and the firkin a quarter of those quantities, They were to be of just and good measure, or else above and not under; and every artificer was to put his proper mark upon was to make any other vessel

jelly. Sir George Balfour, and other officers, having referred to this, Mr. N. W. Burton, a retired civilian, confirmed the statement thus: "I well remember, more than fifty years ago, when I was a Judge of the Supreme Court at the Cape of Good Hope, that diet being supplied to the prisoners in the country gaols, to a class of persons Hottentots, Caffres, and Bushmenwhose fare, when at large, had been mostly animal food; but who, upon the congee diet, were well supported, and actually increased in fatness, upon this their sole diet. There is another general officer, at this time in England, who can confirm this statement-General Sir John Bell, G. c. B."

he was not, as his most enthusiastic admirer, if in the slightest CANDLISH AS A PREACHER.-As a preacher and theologian degree qualified to judge, will admit, the source of a new influence, the proclaimer of any original idea. He was content with the pulpit method of the Puritans, adopting their formal divisions, and contining himself to his text. That he was in some sense a great preacher may be regarded as proved, first, by adored, occupant of the pulpit of one of the largest and most his being for forty years the popular, we had almost said the refined congregations in Edinburgh; and secondly, by the testilittérateurs, who, while students, heard him with enthralled mony of multitudes of men, now clergymen, lawyers, doctors, admiration. could hardly say wherein it consisted. Doubtless it lay, to But though we have personally felt the spell, we some extent, in the perfect unity which, formally divided as they were, always characterised the discourses of Candlish. From the first sentence to the last there was a continuity which satisfied and fascinated the mind. There was always in the sermon a leading idea, and as he proceeded in its development the vehemence of the preacher increased, and the emotional climax was also the logical climax, so that the reasoning faculty blended its suffrage with the homage of the heart. The language, besides, was always forcible and expressive, and coming from the preacher's own lips, enveloped in the glow of his ardour, it did not seem stiff.-Spectator.

ASHANTEE WAR.-Next to the climate, our native allies have as yet been amongst the most troublesome elements in the Ashantee war. advantage of an officer on the Gold Coast whose services in disIn the campaign of 1863, England had the ciplining and leading the friendly native tribes mainly led to the speedy conclusion of the war, and to the peace which lasted till last year. The Hon. Captain Frederick Wood was the Receiver-General of the Gold Coast country. Just before the war, in the early spring of 1863, he was about to leave for England on sick leave. He fell a victim to the exposure and fatigue of the campaign. Of him the "Times" thus wrote in announcing his lamented death:-"This gallant officer, it will no doubt be remembered, commanded our allies, consisting of various friendly tribes, numbering about 17,000. He did what it was supposed no other man in the colony could have done. Without the aid of one other white man, he commanded that large body of natives, kept order and discipline among them, and was universally respected and obeyed by the kings and chiefs in the camp. Let us hope that there are men of the stamp of Captain Frederick Wood to the front in this new Ashantee war, that we may the sooner reach a desirable peace.

PUMPING MACHINERY.-Some gigantic pumping machinery is now in the course of construction at Messrs. Gwynne's factory at Hammersmith. The pumps, which deliver their water by centrifugal force, are intended for the reclamation of the Ferrara Marshes in Northern Italy. These marshes are about 200 square miles in extent, situated between the outlets of the River Po and the Volano, at Codegoro. This great work has been taken in hand by an Anglo-Italian company, the amount to be expended being £500,000. The pumps stand from the ground about fourteen feet high, of a volute form, something like a nautilus shell. The discharge or outlet of these pumps, which are eight in number, is 54in. in diameter, and capable of minute, the aggregate discharge from the eight being 456,000, being nearly half a million gallons per minute. This gives 656,640,000 gallons per day of 24 hours, amounting to more than six times the whole of the water supplied by the London waterworks. Each pair of pumps is driven by a pair of compound engines entirely independent of the others, and carried by a bed-plate weighing about 25 tons. The pump shafts are of Bessemer forged steel, and connected to the crank-shaft by

every one of them. No cooper number of barrels, unless he discharging to a mean height of 7ft. 3in. 57,000 gallons per

for beer or ale of a greater or marked upon them the true and certain number of gallons they contained, to the end that every person might know the contents thereof. No other casks than were so marked were allowed to be used by beer and ale brewers under penalties."

RICE AS NUTRITIOUS DIET.-In the public correspondence caused by the threatened famine in Bengal, several old Indians wrote high praises of the nutritious power of rice, and especially of congee, or rice boiled to consistency of gruel or thin

turned bolts. The pump discs are 5ft. in diameter, and work inside the volute at a speed of about 130 revolutions per minute to obtain the necessary centrifugal force to discharge the water. The steam cylinders for each pair of pumps are 27in. and 46 diameter respectively, the stroke being 2ft. 3in. The steam, after having been used in the small cylinder, is admitted into the large one, and expanded to a very low pressure; by this means a great economy in fuel is obtained, which is very necessary in a country where coal is dear. The steam on leav ing the large, or low-pressure cylinder, is conducted into a pair of surface condensers, placed on the discharge pipes of the pumps. The condensers are cylindrical tubes with tube plates at each end, and traversed by over 300 brass tubes, 3in. diameter,

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A A, PUMP SECTIONS; B, PUMP DELIVERY; C, DISC; D, DISC SPINDLE; E E, STUFFING FOR SPINDLE.

The arrows show the direction of the water.

through which the water from the pumps passes, thus giving the cooling surface for condensing the steam. An air-pump is placed between the condensers for pumping the vapour and condensed water from the condensers. At the discharge end of each pump is an enormous sluice valve, which can be easily opened or closed by one man, a small hydraulic cylinder being placed on each valve for that purpose. The steam for working these engines is obtained from 10 boilers (2 being spare); each boiler is 7ft. diameter by 19ft long; they are constructed with 2 flues or furnaces which unite into a combustion chamber, the end of which terminates into 108 tubes, 3in. diameter by 4ft. long. Good engineering skill must have been exercised in constructing such machinery-the largest yet constructed for the purpose.

EDINBURGH ACADEMY JUBILEE YEAR.-Much was heard lately about the Jubilee Commemoration of the Oxford Union. Let us give a short paragraph to a northern institution dating from the same time, which has done the State some service. The Edinburgh Academy was opened as a classical school on the 1st October, 1824. The High School had long been inadequate to meet the requirements of this field of education, especially since the great extension of the city and its population in the New Town. At that time, in all the great schools, the classics

were taught to the exclusion of everything else, and the Academy was the first to join other branches of culture, with a success which encouraged similar innovation at Eton, Rugby, and other public schools. A truly liberal yet conservative plan of education might well be expected from a board of directors among whom were Sir Walter Scott, Leonard Horner, Henry Cockburn, and James Moncrieff. The rector of the school was the Rev. John Williams, of Balliol, afterwards better known as Archdeacon Williams (of Cardigan). The rector in his annual reports, after the early years, used to give lists of academical honours, and other public distinctions gained by academy pupils. The list is now a long and imposing one, and includes men of high mark in science and learning, in arts and arms, and in all professions and callings. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Mr. Justice Blackburn, Mr. Grant Duff, M.P., Lord Elcho, the late Frederick Robertson, of Brighton, are among the names that occur at the moment as well known in England. In Scotland, at the Bar and in the Universities, some of the most distinguished men are old Academy boys. Aytoun, of the "Lays," was one of our early poet-laureates. There are now thousands of pupils of the Academy, many of them scattered in all parts of the world, to whom this brief note may give pleasure in recalling old times and associations. It would be well to have some memorial volume before the early traditions of the school are lost.

FOX AND GEESE.-Our frontispiece is copied from the painting by Breton Rivière, a master in delineation of animal character, by permission of the owner, Robert Upperton, Esq., Brighton.

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EUCALYPTUS GLOBULUS.-M. Gimbert, who has been long engaged in collecting evidence concerning the Australian tree Eucalyptus globulus," the growth of which is surprisingly rapid, attaining besides gigantic dimensions, has addressed an interesting communication to the Academy of Sciences. This plant, it now appears, possesses an extraordinary power of destroying miasmatic influence in fever-stricken districts. It has the singular property of absorbing ten times its weight of water from the soil, and of emitting antiseptic camphorous effluvia. When sown in marshy ground it will dry it up in a very short time. The English were the first to try it at the Cape, and within two or three years they completely changed the climatic condition of the unhealthy parts of the colony. A few years later its plantation was undertaken on a large scale in various parts of Algeria. At Pardock, twenty miles from Algiers, a farm situated on the banks of the Hamyze was noted for its extremely pestilential air. In the spring of 1867, about 1,300 of the eucalyptus were planted there. In July of the same year-the time when the fever season used to set innot a single case occurred, yet the trees were not more than nine feet high. Since then complete immunity from fever has been maintained. In the neighbourhood of Constantine the farm of Ben Machydlin was equally in had repute. It was covered with marshes both in winter and summer. In five years the whole ground was dried up by 14,000 of these trees, and farmers and children enjoy excellent health. At the factory of the Gue de Constantine, in three years a plantation of eucalyptus has transformed twelve acres of marshy soil into a magnificent park, whence fever has completely disappeared. In the island from all the unhealthy districts where the tree has been introof Cuba this and all other paludal diseases are fast disappearing duced. We have no information as to whether this beneficent tree will grow in other than hot climates. We hope that experiments will be made to determine this; in the Italian marshes, for instance. It would be a good thing to introduce it on the West Coast of Africa.—Homeward Mail.

LAWRENCE SCHOLARSHIP.-On the retirement of Lord

Lawrence from the chairmanship of the London School Board, a complimentary farewell dinner was given by his colleagues. In the name of the whole Board Mr. Charles Reed, M. P., paid a cordial tribute of respect to their noble leader. It has certainly been a crowning honour in his life, that after retiring from his viceregal office, Lord Lawrence should have devoted himself to the laborious and comparatively humble duties of the School Board. Nothing could have impelled him to this duty but the truest patriotism. Having maintained in India the claims of Christianity as the truest defence of the nation, it was only natural that under his presidency the use of the Bible should be found in every school established by the London Board. A more permanent commemoration of the chairmanship of Lord Lawrence will be the foundation of one or more scholar. ships in connection with the London schools,

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