On this page

• Text (1)

  Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

  • 

    Untitled Article

• Transcript

  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

    Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

    Untitled Article

    nnafces as those of the Corurie district , by Mr . Drnmmond •• ¦ ' all phenomena of deposition and abrasion ; the effect of agricultural operations on the soil and surface ; the result of special inquiries on building stones , or resea rches for economical substances . He referred to the share that women had taken in geological pursuits , to Lady Murchison , Lady Lyell , the Marchioness of Hastings , Miss Benett , Mrs . Cobbold , and Mary Anning . About forty members were elected . . Aidermen the Court of

    Court op . — Tuesday Aldermen sat for the despatch of publie business . The court proceeded to the adjourned consideration of the petition of Mr- John Elder Duffield , complaining of defects in tie list of electors of the ward of Aldersgatestreet and against the return of Deputy Larkin as a common councilman . Mr . Piper , the ward clerk , underwent a long examination as to the matter of the petition , and Mr . De Jersey replied on behalf of Mr . Larkin . The court came to the unanimous conclusion that the

    petition should be dismissed . ; Chloboform . —Doctor Simpson , with his two as-Bistants , sat down late one night , after an arduous day ' s toil ; an < l , when most physicians as ' well as patients were wrapped in sleep , began to inhale various substances -which had been collected * A small bottle of chloroform had been raked up out of some obscure corner , and was to take its turn with the rest . Each experimenter having provided himself with a tumbler or flnger-glass , a portion of each selected fluid was poured into the bottom of it , and the glass was placed over warm water to favour the evolution of vapour . Holding the mouth and nostrils over the vessels , these votaries of science courageously explored this terra incognita by each

    inhaling one vapour after another . At last charged his tumbler from the small bottle of chloroform , when immediately , says Professor Miller , an unwonted hilarity seized the party ; they became bright-eyed and very happy , and conversed with such intelligence as more than " usually charmed other listeners who were not taking part in the proceedings . But suddenly there was a talk of sounds being heard like those of a cotton-mill , louder and louder ; a moment more then all was quiet , and then- 'ea crash . On awaking , Dr . Simpson ' s first perception was mental . " This is far stronger and better than ether , " lie said to himself . His second was to note that he was prostrate on the floor , and that his friends were confused and alarmed . Hearing a noise , he turned round and saw his assistant , Doctor Duncanj beneath a chair ; his jaw dropped , hits eyes staring , and his head in

    half bent under him ; quite unconscious , and snoring a determined and alarming manner . More noise still , and muck motion . And then his eyes overtook Doctor Keith ' s feet and legs , making valorous efforts to overturn the table , or more probably to annihilate everything tliat was upon it . All speedily regained their senses , and , from that day—or , rather from the middle of that night—dates the discovery of the marvellous properties of chloroform . A patient was found in the Royal Infirmary who submitted to its influence during operation , and who awoke up afterwards , quite unconscious of what had happened , with a merry eye and placid countenance . Henceforward , ether was all but abandoned ; and chloroform is now used , more or less , in every public hospital both in Great Britain and on the Continent . —Household Woi'ds .

    Convocation . —The Convocation of the prelates and clergy of the province of Canterbury took place at Westminster on Wednesday , w ' hon there wlfts a considerable gathering of members of both Houses . The Bishop of London , in the absence , of his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury , presided in , the Upper House . Mr . Henry Hoare , the banker , was in attendance to present a petition , through the Bishop of Oxford , praying for the renewal of the active duties of Convocation and the admission of the laity to a part , in the business , but it was postponed till Friday , The Lower House was pro-Bided over by Dr . Elliot , Donn of Bristol . A warm discussion , ensued on the reading of the report of the committee on the Matrimonial and Divorce Act , during

    which the Prolocutor expressed his opinion that the advice of the clergy in Convocation ought to be taken by the Legislature before changes wore made affecting the ritual of the Church . The Lower House assembled on Thursday , the Dean of Bristol presiding . After a lengthened discussion on the standing orders the report on homo and foreign missions was takon into consideration . A strong desire was expressed that more encouragement should bo hold out to the clergy for undertaking missionary work for short poriads . ' A motion was carried by a largo majqrity for taking stops to settle the difficulties arising in churches in missionary stations . Some other business having boon transacted , the house adjourned .

    Sen 8 i » m 5 Fashions . — "Nix , " writing to Punch , ob-Borvoa : —»' Tho 8 o who nro old onough to vocoHoot ^ ho Wmo tyhon young ladies wore ( thoughtless , foollah , bewitching , lovely , and helpless , ' less than forty yonrs » go , c « n remember what thoir irrosistibdity was . Kvory young man in those days was in lovo , or liable at any moment to ' fall in lovo . You could juot go about without being smitten -with a ' pretty face , or figure , or foot , presented under conditions of dross expressly calculated tOBinito . Now , there Is no fear of that . The female neftd and heart'have got cooler , lighter , and harder

    than they used to be . To these changes of nature , costume and manners correspond , and produce a corresponding effect on the beholder—a healthy , cooling induration . Formerly the dress was subordinate to the person ; now the person is subservient to the dress—a mere framework for the support of the martial red petticoat , and the rest of it . No fellow can become enamoured of a quantity of clothes , which fix his gaze , and avert from the object inside of them his unpleasant attention . " He remarks that the ladies having , by their modern habiliments , e ffectually disguised any beauties their figures possess , if they would only take to wearing masks , their costume would be perfect . has arrived

    A Lion Hunt at Sea . —The Himalaya from Gibraltar and Tangier , from which latter place she brings the presents of horses and wild animals sent from the Emperor of Morocco to her Majesty , consisting of one lion , one leopard , six ostriches , one gazelle , six horses , two mares , and an animal called by the Moorish attendants " irwy , " but which in appearance much resembles the mountain sheep of California , known by the trapper name of "bighorn . " The horses and animals have come to England in charge of four Moors , who form no slight attraction , dressed in their Moorish costume . The somewhat unusual spectacle of a " lion hunt " took place on board on the 2 nd instant . One of the Moors was engaged in feeding the lion through a door which opened for that purpose in / a part of his cage or

    den , ! when , with a sudden spring , the animal dashed through the opening on to the steamer ' s main deck , which , as may be imagined , was soon " cleared . " The hatchways were at once closed , and measures ; promptly taken by Commander Seccombe to secure the animal as speedily as possible . For this purpose the commander , with the senior lieutenant , boatswain , sergeant of marines , and two men , descended to the main deck , taking with them the end of a stout line ; this was riven through a ringbolt in the deck , and a running noose formed with the end . After some considerable manoeuvring the noose was thrown over the lion ' s head , the word given to the hands on deck , who ran away with : the other end of the line , and the lion was pinned down to the ringbolt in the deck . His legs were immediately secured , and he was dragged back to his den in safety .

    Sir George C . Lewis on Public Affairs . —On Thursday , at a gFand entertainment given by the Fishmongers' " Company , Sir G- C . Lewis returned thanks for the members of " the late Administration . He said he quite agreed with their hospitable chairman , that it was measures and not men that the country wanted , and he was willing that the late Government should be regarded and judged in that light . When they took office they found the country deeply involved in a most arduous and desperate contest with the empire of Russia , and they were enabled , before yielding up the reins of government , to bring that struggle to a glorious-conclusion , and to obtain a firm peace , which he hoped had tranquillised the affairs of Europe . The measures also

    which that Government had conducted to a successful termination were calculated equally to promote the internal , foreign , and colonial interests of the empire . An allusion had been made to the Liberal principles which had guided the late Administration , but those principles , he was glad to say , had spread wider and wider since then throughout the country , even to the extent of affecting the present members of her Majesty ' s ' Government . At the present moment a great measure of Parliamentary Reform was promised by the Conservatives , and the party of resistance was suddenly about to become the party of movement ; the old Tory garrison was about to offer terms of capitulation to the force of public opinion at last . It would remain with the

    Parliament to say whether those terms would bo accepted . Ho was sure there were some present round him who could remember tho great Reform struggle of 1881 , and the almost unrelenting animosity and bitterness with which that contest was carried on . At the present day they saw that party which in X 831 had so strenuously opposed Reform now loud with tho cry that it hud not gone far enough , and coming forward with strong pro - mises timt they would bring in anothor and a better bill of their own . Ho certainly trusted that ; , thoy would bo successful , and that the present Government would , as they ought , legislate } n such a satisfactory manner as would givo to tho country in 1869 tho liberal energy and vigour which had resulted from tho Reform Bill of

    1881 . Common Council . —At a Court held on Thursday , at which tho Lord Mayor prosified , an address to her Majosty , congratulating her on tho birth of a prince , son of tho Prince and Princess Frodorick William of Prussia , was unanimously carried , as well as a simitar one to the Prince Consort . Tho lato town clork handed in his resignation , and Mr . Frederick Woodthorpo was elected in hia jilaco . Both gentlemen addressed tho court . Tub Qukun and this Canadians . —At a supper given at Toronto , tho IJon , Mr . Garter , tho Premier , was present and said , "Gentlemen , at the Inst audience with which our beloved QUoon honoured mo , her Majesty addressed tho following words to mo ; ' Mr . Carter , I understand that you aro about leaving this country for Canada ; do not fail to communicate to my loyal subjects in that province , that I tako tho deepest interest in Canada , and that no ono moro than I do desires to see its people

    prosperous and happy . ' " This announcement produced an explosion of loyalty , the guests sprang to their feet , and made the vrolkin ring with their cheers . Parchment orPApebV—The question so summarily decided by Mr . BarOn Bramwell has been settled in a contrary sense in the Supreme Court of New Brunswick . Therules of court require both in . England" and New Brunswick that the record and judgment roll should be engrossed on parchment . A disappointed defendant moved to set aside the proceeding on the ground that on that occasion pulp parchment , which he called paper , had been used . It was shown that the article . in question was made of the skins of animals , and possessed the characteristics of parchment . The judges ruled that to all intents and purposes it was parchment .

    The Emperor Promoted . — -A letter from Florence says that the Jesuits spit all their venom against France and Sardinia , and heap epithets of abuse on the French , an d Sardinian sovereigns . They have formally deposed Lord Palmerston from the post of Antichrist , which he has held since 1847 , and installed the Emperor Napoleon III . in his stead . . Woman's Sphere . —• Woman has found her true " sphere" at last . It is about twenty-seven feet round , made of hoops .-r— Gateshead Observer . Another Victim .- —We read in Galignani cf

    Wednesnesday : —" Another fatal accident , caused by the overamplitude of ladies' dresses , took place tbree days ago at Montpellier . A young lady , about twenty-three years of age , and belonging to one of the wealthiest families in the town , was standing near the fireplace , when her dress caught fire . At first she used every effort to extinguish the flames herself , but finding that she could not do so , she ran out of the house , and , crossing the street , went in a blaze into the porter ' s lodge of a house opposite . There the flames were extinguished , but the unfortunate lady was so dreadfully burnt that she died on the following day . "

    Micro-photography . —I was recently Handed two small pieces of glass , [ in the centre of one of which , by dint of close and painful examination , I discovered a speck of about oneTsixteenth of an inch in diameter ^ which bore somewhat the resemblance of a portrait of a head ; in the other was also a speck about one-eighth of an inch in diameter , but which I could not recognise as any particular object . By holding the first piece of glass up to the light , and looking through a powerful magnifier , I discovered a perfect portrait , and in the other a group of five portraits , equally perfect . To what use might not this mode of photographing be put ! In war the most elaborate instructions might be carried in a button or the head of a pencil-ease , and the General or Secretary of War needs but a magnifying glass to save the use of spies , and men from hanging ; the whole archives of a nation might be packed away in . a snuffbox . —Photographic Nezcs .

    " The Poor Man ' s Church . "—The Rer . W . B . Wroth , of St .: Philip ' s , Clerkenwell , has determined upon giving up the pew-rents , from which his income was derived , and trusting for the future entirely to a free church and the offertory . The rev . gentleman , in his address on the subject , says : — " It has been a continual cause of grief to me that so few of the working classes are ever to be found within the houses of God in London , and the other large cities and towns of our land . I have heard many reasons assigned for their absence . But the reason working men themselves ( surely the best judges on this point ) have not uufrequently given me is of this nature , ' We don ' t like to go where we don ' t appear to be wanted—where we liaye to sit in seats marked " free seats , " " for the poor , " and where we are made to feel our poverty more keenly by invidious distinctions . ' This is what working men say ; and 1 must confess there is a great deal of truth in tho

    complaint . " Bvbaech and its Monkeys . —The most numerous and nourishing , as they certainly were the only gay and active , population of the city were apes and monkeys . They live in high esteem among tho citizens , and treat pariahs and Europeans with profound and contemptuous indifference , till they become aware of tbo general propensity of the latter to shy bricks at them . It is curious to watch an old patriarchal baboon when ho learns , for the first time in his life , that ho is exposed to personal outrage j projectile No . 1 , whic h goes near him , he affects to believe tho result of soin ^ o oxtrnordinary accident , and continues his examination of his person , or that of a friend ' s , with as much dignity as the avocation second briok

    will permit him to exhibit . At tho , or paving-stono , howovor , his faith In tho doctrine of probability is shaken ; ho rouaos himself up , stands up , ana makoa a menacing fuco at tho aggressor ) but as the plan of attack develop * itsolf , and brick No . 8 flies past , followed by 4 ami b , with a chatter of rage he bounds up a tamarind troo , whakos tho branches , puts on tho most hidoouH grimaces , and roally behaves very ; much as a noble savage would do in tho same trying position . Thoy nro now busy eating tamarinds . The roads arc full of them . Tboy are on tho tops of , walls « nu houses ,, and in tho grovos , and round the convoy , and by tho tanks , always in tho best places , never ehaggy or ragged , and universally respected , by their falUw-lnliabltantfl . —~ Mr . Hut sell in the Times .

    Untitled Article

    Ho . 404 , ^ EPitxjARy 12 , 1859 . ] ____^ jC E LEADER . 201

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 12, 1859, page 201, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2281/page/9/