faith, especially in the religious and philanthropic world-took farewell of his friends on his approaching return to Canada.

Mr. Henson visited England in the spring of 1851, and stayed here, with the intermission of a flying visit back to Canada, to close the eyes of his dying wife, Charlotte, the Chloe of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," until the winter of the same year. At the time of his former visit the tale, if written, was not as yet published even in America, and still less the "Key" to that work, which distinctly points to this coloured clergyman's autobiography as having first suggested to the authoress the idea of her hero.

A statement was given of the results of the efforts made during the six or eight months of Mr. Henson's present stay here to relieve him of pecuniary liabilities incurred in his zeal for public ends, and to render comfortable the few remaining days of this nonagenarian patriarch, Mr. Henson having been born in 1789, as well as to make some provision for his family. The announcement that 1,300l. had been raised for that purpose was received with cheers.

Mr. Henson then presented himself, and was received with loud and long expressions of applause, which were repeated frequently in the course of his narrative of his life as a slave and of his escape in 1830. Mr. Henson finished by singing the Slaves' Parting Hymn, composed by himself, and sung by many thousands of the blacks when torn from their family ties.

Mr. Church mentioned that the present was the third visit of the Rev. Josiah Henson to England, the object of which had, indeed, been very successful. He returned to his country with 600l. at his command to comfort him in old age.

FEBRUARY.

1. THE CHINESE MINISTERS IN LONDON.-The presence in London of the Chinese Ministers is another of the indications which, of late years, China has given of her having at last awakened to a sense of her position amongst nations. Kuo-Ta-jên is accompanied by Lady Kuo, who may be said to be the first lady of position who has ever ventured beyond the shores of the Central Kingdom. During her voyage to England, in conformity with Chinese ideas of propriety, she remained during the whole time in the strictest seclusion, never once having even taken a seat on the deck. Of course, she interchanged visits with some of the foreign ladies on board, but always in their private state-rooms. Since coming to London she has persevered in the same custom, visiting and receiving persons only of her own sex.

2. ASSAULT ON A SERVANT OF THE CHINESE EMBASSY.-At the

Marlborough Street Police-court, John Donovan was charged, before Mr. Knox, with being drunk and assaulting Mr. Chang Amaon, servant to one of the Attachés of the Chinese Embassy. The complainant (who was sworn according to the custom in China, namely, by kneeling and breaking a saucer and repeating the following words, spoken by Dr. Macartney, English Secretary to the Chinese Legation: "You shall tell the truth, the whole truth; the saucer is cracked, and if you do not tell the truth, your soul will be cracked like the saucer") deposed that he was walking along Oxford Street yesterday afternoon with a friend, when the prisoner struck him a heavy blow on the back of his head, and his cap fell off. Mr. Yang Hsi corroborated Mr. Amaon. The prisoner said he was under the influence of drink, and did it more out of play than anything. He knew he had no business to do as he had done. Mr. Knox said he regretted the occurrence, not for the sake of the prisoner, but for the sake of the country. The Chinese Ambassador had just landed in this country with his servants, and about the first day of his doing so, one of his servants was made the victim of the abominable conduct of the prisoner. His sentence on the prisoner would show that the magistrates were determined to protect strangers in London. The prisoner would be committed for two months with hard labour.

4. THE HON. A. C. HOBART.-The following is the true story of Capt. the Hon. A. C. Hobart, better known as Hobart Pasha, an eminent historical figure. In 1868 the Turkish Government requested the British Government to send them a naval officer of rank to organise their navy; and the Foreign Office granting the permission, the Admiralty was asked to find an admiral willing to go. There was little difficulty in finding one, the promised salary being something like 7,000l. per annum, and there was any amount of scrambling for the prize. Their lordships took such a long time considering the claims of the numerous applicants, that the Turks became tired of waiting, and they accepted the services of Capt. Hobart. The authorities at Whitehall selected Admiral Sir William Wiseman, Bart., K.C.B., who conducted the naval operations in the last New Zealand War, and informed the Turks of their choice. The latter declined the offer "with thanks," being already suited. Their lordships, in great anger at losing such a piece of patronage, ordered Captain Hobart home, and declared they would erase his name from the Navy List if he did not obey them. Naturally enough that gallant officer did not see why he should give precedence to Sir William Wiseman, and he refused point-blank to return to England. His name was therefore struck out of the Navy List. Three years ago the injustice was recognised, and Capt. Hobart's name was replaced on the Retired List.

DISCOVERY OF COINS.-A numismatic discovery almost unparalleled in extent has been made near Verona. Two large amphoræ have been found, containing no less than two quintals, or

500 English pounds weight, of coins of the Emperor Gallienus and his successors within the hundred years following his reign. The number of coins is estimated at between 50,000 and 55,000. Of those of the Emperor Probus there are more than 4,000. The majority are of bronze, but there are some of silver and others of bronze silvered (subærata). They are all in the finest state of preservation, and, with the exception of those of Gallienus, which are a little worn, they are so fresh from the mint as to make it evident that they were never put into circulation.

A SPIDER DRESS.-The Empress of Brazil has presented the Queen of England with a dress, the equal of which has never been seen. It is woven of spiders' webs, and is, as may be imagined, a work of art as regards quality and beauty. The handsomest silk dress cannot compare with it, but it can only be admired, hardly imitated. There have already been many attempts to make use of the threads spun by spiders, but up to the present the experiments have not been satisfactory enough to encourage any further efforts in this direction. In the year 1710 it was discovered that to make a piece of silk it would require the webs of 700,000 spiders. The Spaniards had already tried to use the spider's threads, and made gloves, stockings, and other articles of the sort; but even these were so troublesome and yielded so little profit that, in spite of the fabulous prices paid, they were obliged to abandon the trade. In certain parts of South America garments made of these threads are worn, but the spiders in these lands are unusually large. It is likely that the above-mentioned dress was made of the threads of the smaller species of American spider.

3. DEATH OF SPENCER PERCEVAL'S DAUGHTER.-Only here and there can one be found who remembers the sensation caused by the assassination of the Prime Minister of England within the precincts of Westminster-now sixty-five years ago. Yet, within ten miles of the scene of the tragedy, a daughter of that once famous statesman, the Right Hon. Spencer Perceval, has only just quietly passed over to the majority. Political leaders in those days made rapid advancement, and though only returned to Parliament in 1797, the second son of the Earl of Egmont became successively Solicitor-General, Attorney-General, and Chancellor of the Exchequer, and, as early as 1809, his career was crowned by his being chosen First Lord of the Treasury. It was while holding this office that Bellingham shot him in the lobby of the House of Commons. Miss Perceval, who has just died at Ealing, was in her eighty-second year, and survived her father sixty-five years.

BEETHOVEN'S PIANOFORTE.-Mr. Watson Smith writes from Zurich, Switzerland: "It may interest those who are lovers of classical music, and occasionally visit this country, to learn that the enterprising music firm of Gebrüder Hug, of this town, have become possessed of the pianoforte of Ludwig von Beethoven. It is the instrument he used in Vienna, and according to the nameplate on the front, the maker's name is Conrad Graf, of Vienna.

By the kindness of Messrs. Hug I have just made an examination of the piano, and also of the papers, which bear witness to the genuineness of the relic. The instrument is an old-fashioned grand, but is tetra-chord throughout the treble, and the bass is tri-chord. The three deepest bass notes (tri-chord) are thinly wrapped with copper wire. The piano has three pedals. The instrument has been very much played upon, bearing the marks of excessive wear and tear. The keys, especially in the central portion of the keyboard, are quite hollowed by excessive use. According to the documents, Beethoven had an English grand piano; but owing to the peculiar nature of his deafness, and the fact that the tones of this instrument blended somewhat together and intermingled, he failed to distinguish them, and therefore Herr Conrad Graf, of Vienna, specially constructed this tetra-chord grand for him.”

CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE.-This obelisk of ancient Egypt, which has been left lying so long half-buried in the sand at Alexandria, is now about to be made an ornament to the City of London. Its removal has been considered a matter of such great expense that the British Government has not felt justified in undertaking it, and, had it not been for the private generosity of Dr. Erasmus Wilson, and the ingenuity of the engineer, it would most likely have remained to form the foundations of the new houses leading to the Alexandria Railway Station. The cost of placing the French obelisk in the Place de la Concorde was 80,000l., and though this included many little items of polishing and patching, the great bulk of the money was expended in the removal. The estimate in、 the present case is scarcely one-eighth of that amount. The obelisk was given by Mehemet Ali, Pasha of Egypt, grandfather of the present Khedive, to the British Government about sixty years ago.

13. TELEGRAPHY EXTRAORDINARY.-The Boston Daily Globe has published the following special despatch, which it received from Salem, eighteen miles distant, by telephone ;

Salem, Feb. 12, 10.55 P.M. Professor A. Graham Bell, the inventor of that wonderful instrument the telephone, which has caused so much interest in the scientific world, and which is now becoming so popularly known, lectured on his invention at Lyceum Hall this evening. The lecture was one of a course of the Essex Institute, and about 500 persons were present. Professor Bell briefly explained the construction of the instrument, and then sketched his studies of the system of transmitting sounds. He explained that it was his first attempt before an audience to try these different experiments. An intermittent current was first sent from Boston by Mr. Thomas A. Watson, Prof. Bell's associate. This caused a noise very similar to a horn from the telephone. The Morse telegraph alphabet was then sent by musical sounds, and could be heard throughout the hall. The audience burst into loud applause at this experiment. A telephonic organ was then put into operation in Boston.

"Should Auld Acquaintance be Forgot" and "Yankee Doodle" were readily heard through the hall and heartily recognised. At this point, Professor Bell then explained how he learnt to transmit the tones of the human voice, and paid a grateful tribute to Mr. Watson. Professor Bell asked Mr. Watson for a song, and " Auld Lang Syne" came from the mouthpiece of the instrument almost before his words were ended. Mr. Watson was then asked to make a speech to the audience. He expressed himself as having more confidence eighteen miles away than if he were present. His speech was as follows:-"Ladies and Gentlemen,-It gives me great pleasure to be able to address you this evening, although I am in Boston and you in Salem." This could be heard 35 feet distant that is, all over the hall, and brought down the house with applause. A system of questioning was then carried on, and Mr. Watson was asked if he heard the applause. The answer was, "I was not listening; try again." The applause was given, and its receipt at once acknowledged in Boston. Coughing and singing were then heard, and a variety of questions were then asked from the Salem end of the Boston and Maine Railroad. It was asked if trains were running; and the answer was clear and distinct that they were not at 5.30 o'clock. "Does it rain?" "It does not in Boston," was Mr. Watson's answer through the telephone. One of the assistants in Boston then said that "Hold the Fort " would be sung in Boston, and the tune which followed was readily recognised. Professor Bell closed his lecture by briefly stating the practical uses to which he was confident the telephone could be applied. Hearty applause was afforded the lecturer as he finished, and people flocked about the stage in large numbers more closely to examine the wonderful instrument that had placed them in audible communication with people nearly twenty miles away.

14. PRINCE OF WALES'S INDIAN COLLECTION.-A museum of hunting trophies, almost as interesting as the collection of living animals, brought from India by the Prince of Wales, was inspected to-day by a few visitors to the Zoological Society's Gardens, previous to the opening of the exhibition to the public. Among those who took the opportunity of viewing the noteworthy specimens were the wife of the Chinese Ambassador and several ladies and gentlemen of the suite. As a matter of course, the ladies, having resolved upon making a complete tour of the gardens, were accommodated with wheeled chairs; but the chief of these illustrious strangers made a prolonged promenade of the most attractive departments, and, before leaving, declared, through an interpreter, that she had not walked so much during one day for the past fourteen years. The collection of prepared specimens and trophies occupies a room adjoining the reptile house, and has been arranged by Mr. Clarence Bartlett, who was engaged as naturalist to the Prince's expedition. The collection, diminished as it is by the removal of many tiger-skins and other memorials, presented by the Prince of Wales to his friends, is a remarkably fine one, comprising examples of species unknown to Europe.