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“The next day the weather moderated somewhat, but it was still blowing a. gale. and the 23rd the wind had increased. 0n the night of the 23rd there was for the first time a lull in the tempest, and the wind vhanged and ceased its violence, although, of course, the seas continued to run high. But it literally the calm before the storm, for on the morning of the next (la: , miter only four hours of intermission, the storm broke again and we were soon visited by a second hurricane. 'l‘he barometer went down to 28.30, and there was a dangerous cross sea. The mizzentrisdil was carried away, the boom and gaii‘ snapped like pipe- stems, a third lifeboat was crushed and the temporary bridge which had been erected to repair the breach caused by the first hurriâ€" czm'e washed overnoard. ,fl‘Just at this critical juncture the nui- c’inery gave way. “‘0 broke the after coupling bolts on the main shaft and the en- gines came to a stop. This was a very seri- ous mishap, for the ship became perfectly helpless, and rolled about in the trough of the sea in a. way that was alarming, not only to the passengers, bLt to old sailors as well. We were in positive danger, as every sailor will appreciate when it is remember- ed that the wind was blowing a hurricane and the sea was lashed with such fury as it has seldom been my lot to witness. It took twelve hours to make the repairs to the broken belts, and during all that time our ship lay to, helplessly rolling in the trough of the sea. But she stood the test well. She is a tine ship, and only her great strength and sertgoing qll‘llltlL‘S kept her from going down. "l have made six voyages, but never such :1. one as this,” said a. cabin passenger. “I never want to go through such an experience again. “'e were obliged to remain below the whole trip. It would have been as much as a. landsnian's life was worth to have ven- tured on «leek ; he would surely have been swept overboard err-rushed by the weight of qhe gigantic waves, that pounded down' on the decks with a noise like the (liseherge of artillery. During the first hurricane the passengers were terror stricken. Home fell on their knees and began to pray : others muttered prayers am] wrung their hands as they moved with feverish haste to and fro in the saloon. clinging to every support to keep their feet; while a. few others acted like wild people. The greater part, notwith- itzmding their fear, were quiet and ' luluul. “The next day the wind and 51:1 moderat- (.d a, little and we started again with just steam enough on to keep the ship on her Kmrse, to repair the machinery onue more. We had better weather from this time on, but we 1m at only half speed. 0111' seamen were washed about the decks and bruished. Many were injured, but only two seriously. One had a leg broken and another his rib fractured. ,It was a terrible voyage. There were forty-one cabin passengers and 2N4 in the steerage. They behaved thenmelvm as well as could have been expected unrler the circumstances " u on the (leek made It noise-like thunder. The topsoil was carried away, the steerage companionwny doors were stove in and the second cabin skylight s uttered. The air was full of eleetricity and the storm was accom- pu. iotl by thunder and lightning. A SUGCEH'SIUN 0F ML‘RHN‘ANES. “By the 21st the storm lnul increased in furry to a hurricane. and the Ship labored heavily but answered the helm and \ 'us kept out of the trough of the sea. The port side uf the bridge was swept away, two lifebouts crushed to kindling wood and several spars lost. The seas at this time were something tremendous, hut everythinLr was hattenetl down and we shipped no water. The pus- sengers behaved pretty well, and those who were afraid were subdued znnl did not show it muol). “This passage hasheen one of the most tempestuous I ever experienced, said one of her oliicers. “We have been twenty-two days, twenty-one hours and five minutes crossing the Atlantic, :1 longer time than I ever expected to spend in (L steamer hetween Antwerp and New York. \Ve ought to have been in a week ago last Thursday. \Ve east off from the Rliynland deck, Antwerp, at seven o’clock on the morning, of Novem- her 12 and proceeded on our voyage. We had fresh westerly winds, with light fog, at first. Soon after we passed Bishop Rock Lighthouse, with a fresh breeze. The next mowing the wind increased, the sky was black and threatening and strong gules from the westward and heavy seas followed. The wind steadily increased in \‘iolenee, and on the 15th it was blowing a terrible gale The seas were tremendous, the waves dashing over the ship as high as the crossjaek. “'e shipped sea after sea, and the whole length of the deekJore and att,wus underwater. The force and weight 01 the seas were almost irres‘ istible, and each succeeding wave that broke Tao Tempest-Tossed. Smamers Arrive in Port. Two more of the large fleet. of European passenger steamers, new overdue at this port, arrived safely yesterday. They were the lied Star line steamer \Vueslmnl, from Mitwerp. and the ational liner Italy, from X‘J‘Iverpool. The former battled with the wages for nearly twenty-three days before rewfihing port, and the hitter had a long and lerrible passage of nineteen days. There are still nine or ten steamers due here,whieh have. rudelihtedly been detained by the 3 mm dreadful storms which the \Vaesland and the Italy eneountered. The list is quite a lentor one, and includes the l’arthia, which left. Liverpool November 2!. the State of Nebraska, from (z‘lasgmr, on the same date, the Amsterdam, from iotterdam, on the zune (lay, the Labrador, from Hume, on the 19th and the Netlierlantl, from Antmzz'p, on the 151th, also the Neelxer, from Bremen, and Celtic, from Liverpool, both on the 22nd, and the Bath Iity, from Bristol, which, however, has been spoken by the Marathon nd reported as disabled. The others may .u‘rivc at any moment and will doubtlcs, make port in safety. Thc‘ \‘vacsland was warped into her douk at nine o‘clock yesterday morning. She bore the scars of battle upon her, and it was evi- dent at a casual glance that the good ship had survived a terrible storm. The bridge was broken, small boats scratched and rub~ ‘ned, brass mils and stanchions twisted and :L general appearance of having undergone the hardes of hard usage. LABDRING THROU SH STORMS. A PASSENGER .\‘ EVI‘EHI A tree that was eight hundred feet in length, ninetyâ€"six in circumferemze at the base, and sound to the very heart was full- ed in (thfurniz: recently. I’ivc mun wmu twenty days, doing the Work. After it had been omnplotud \‘vrcd by anger holes, it A great elm tree down near London, earth at the mots, originle place uttm- t out ufll A black walnut grow Lhnt was planted by :1 Wisconsin farmer about twenty yvzu's ago, on some waste land was recently sold for ’7,000. . The trues are now from sixteen to twenty inches through. still 111119351, an: head to cart A cypz'ess‘s tree felled by N. B. Jordan of High Hill Creek. 5. C., measmed twenty- 1i\-'e led: in (2inannsfm'eunse at the luxtt lt took twu axumen five hours to at}! it down. Nun" Stockton. (HAL, is .1 tree thus .0 feet high, :unl two in Victoria, Anstl'aJu, are estimated to he 43": and 450 {m t high. A great uhn true thatth been blown down near London, with :1 large hull of earth at the mots, settled hack into its originle plauouttm- the branches hml hwn it is well known, and English physicians have laid great stress upon this pomt, that the abuse of coffee and tea often brings on gastrulgia, dyspepsia, andy at the same time, more or less disturbance of the apparatus of innervation. It is, therefore, necessary pre~ cisely to distinguish the local anzmnia pro- duced by eotlee on the stomach from the more general action exercised by it over the central nervous system, and which has con- ferred on it the merited qualification of an intellectual drink. In opposition to eofl'ev, sugar is, accordqur to M. Leven, an eminent- ly digestive substance: and he does not fail to order it in certain cases of dyspepsia. He has made the following experiments: He gave to a dog 80 grammes of sugar at the same time as 200 g imrnes of meat; six hours afterward there was nothing found in the stomach but 20 grammes of undigested meat. The abdominal mucous membrance was red and turgcsemit, the liver was wholly eon» gostcd. H M. Levon «,lx'aws this practical lesson from his experiments: that the infusion of cnfl'ee should be sufficiently sweetened t0 stimu- late the Nunetoi‘y function, and thus assist digestion. The latest» experimelits of M. Levon were as follows: He gave to a (log a meal of 200 ummes of meat; he then administered an in~ usion of :ltigrannnes 0i coil'ee in 150 grammes of water; the animal was then killed, and. at the end of three hours, t 10 stomach still contained 145 grammes of meat, while in the absence of coffee it only contained about 100 grammes. The abdominal mucous mem» brane was pale as well on the external sur- face as in the interior; and the vessels were strongly contracted. it follows then, that eofi'ee, producing anmmia of the stomach, reâ€" tarrls digestion; and, the anusmia repeating itself, emls by bringing on habitual increas- ed congestion of the stomach, which, ae- eoriling to M. Leren, is synonymous wit dyspepsia. U, . “W mum.“ W..- sion; like the vaso-constnctox' agents, it (lilâ€" ated the pupil. (Ilufi'eine has even been used in certain cases to replace (ligx'taline, of which it has, tn :L great extent, the properties, though in IL snmllcr degree. M. Leven has communicated to the Paris Society of Biology some experiments which he has made on this subject on dogs, with the assistance of .‘.l. Semerie. The action of coffee on the stomach has been much discuss- ed and variously interpreted. The majority of writers admit that coffee stimulates the cir- culation and provokes hyperavmin. of the gastric mucous membrane, but they have not addueml experimental proof of the fact. "‘1. .. r, . ' ' ' L ,, In”... W vub mm. The cont-ary opinion is supported by a certain number of observers, to whom M. Levon has given in his adhesion. Hr: recalls to mind the experiments which he made some years since on cafi'eine absorbed by frogs, guinea pigs, and rabbits. It retarded the action of the heart, which, at the sanxotixne, became strong; it increased the arterial ten- Action of Coffee and VSquar on the “\Ve hawn’t heard the worst of this hnr» rime yet. It is an ominous thing that “'0 never sighted 1L sailing Vessel during the whole of our long Voyage. 1 am afraid there were many such craft that came to grief. “"8 passed the Egypt and the Alaska. on the 20th and 221111, but no sailing 'essels “ “(Mi-passengers behaved thz-msleves well. and they gave us a rousing cheer as they left the ship this afternoon. And they had reason to," said the sailor, with enthusiasm, modestly attributing all the passengers’ coni- pliments to the ship. “They had reason to, for shu is a noble ship and did nohly. It was a terrible test to put her to, and yet she never started a bolt. "I never had so rough?» time on {he At- lantic. We left Liverpool‘on the 16th of Noaeinber and were eight days overdue. We mid a succession of gales all the way over until the 1le of Deeenihei'.. In fact, I might say, it was one continuous gale of \"l ‘3'ing severity all the time. The two hurl nes that the \Vaesland encounteer we passed through on the same date: 'l‘li lirst one, on the 215m, lasted eight hours 11ml was of terrihle severity, thehnroiue ‘ fell to 28:10, which is very low. The mi (33 run moun- tains high znnl were hlum into spray so thick that you could not we the width of the ship. \Ve lost tuo l5 cheats and had the bridge mils on the port side torn away. “hen the hurricane passed it continued to hlow (l. gale for two days and then another hurricane, more violent uml longer continâ€" uml than the first, struvk us. It lasted twelve hours. He weathered it, however, as we had the first, w‘tlmut serious mishap, and thenceforwarrl llflll more moderate weather, \Vhen we got: this side of the flanks we. hurl the first lei-up of the storm. The steamer Italy reached her Ruck, at the foot of Houston street. late in the afternoon. Her chief oflice)‘ said last evening in narrat- ing the story of the Voyage - ‘ SOME MONSTERS OF THE FOREST. “hen the ( ines were disabled and we lay rolling and pitching in the. trough of a: ter- rible sea. with the wind blowing a hurri- cane, our position mm :L dreadml one. I (10111 helium any of 11:5 ever expected to reach port. The stowage prssengers were panic str' 11 and the officers had to threat» on to mm mm thc 1mm \ iulunt.” UNKHUVU h 1} li IT}. LY. and required biocke, tn Ming i‘m proud 0 bath > 91:1 it planted y yvul's ‘vcuntly 1\()\\" Stom- Hung“ '"bl A. vxb nu, There was a stir below and the sound of many footsteps coming up the stair‘ 'l‘hey [mused at the door. Robinet opened t. 'l‘hey \H'l‘e bringing in his fittlierâ€"dwu/K He had killed hinlselt'thut Rohinet might be freefrom the Conscription. He had fallen :1, sacrifice 10in] insane idea of duty. Let him not- he j'zdged too harshly. He meant well, but his brain was feeble; he died that his son might live. God is more in: *eifult-hon nun ! Thus the widow kept her son, but the memory of the father was" held in deep and tender regret throughout life by the mother and son. â€" ~--¢o¢<-O>>O¢>â€"â€"- A): cider-down quilt in green satin has been manufactured in Cork to the order of a London lady for presentation to Mr. Par- nell. The monogram of Mr. Parnell is work- ed in the centre in gold lace. Possibly the donor is the same lady who decorated the ugitator‘s ciligy at Mme 'l‘u ’ ud‘s. “ A11, thy poor father,” the mother mur- mured, “ I know he is weeping in secret. He was ever slow to Show his grief. His heart is broken like mine, Oh ! that 1 haul thy father here .' \Ve would mourn together.” iohinet entered quietly and stood pale and rigid behind them, with big eyesand quiver- in: nostrils. The mother turned and looked at him, then fell back in a swoon. Her son raised her and laid her on a sofa, where she recovered slowly. Marian clungr to his arms weeping bitterly. None asked for the words they could not bear to hear. The youth, almost stunned \\ Eth despair at his fate, returned to tell his mother and Mar» ian. They awaited his arrival kneeling before the image of the Virgin and praying with agonizing fei'vency. n.. The mother will weep over her son,” said Marian’s father, who stood by ; “ but an old man, like an old dog, goes alone to grieve. He, thy poor old father, idolizes thee, boy: and, ah ! Robinet, there is another, a, poor young girl, whose bitter-est tears will he semet ones.” He wrung his son’s hand. and shakinghis hezul at the few brave, consoling words Rob- net’s trembling lips uttered, he stopped them short by kissing him tenderly. Then he went out with a gesture forbidding any to follow him. “ Oh, my boy,” he exclaimed, “ I cannot let thee go! 1 cannot ,see thee driven to slaughter 1 Thy mother’s heart will be desti~ tutc. I cannot, God forgive me, I cannot.” 0n the next day the drawing was to take place. Fathex' and son went together to the place of decision. The son, with pallid cheek and dilating eyes, drew his lot, while the father stood by, his usual jovial manner having given place to the trembling of agon- izing apprehensions. I! was flzkfutal numb/172’ \Vith a. groan of despair the 01:! man fell up- on his son’s neck. Marian wiped her eyes and smiled blush- ineg. Cheerfulness was restored and the happy family gave themselves up to present enjoyment, while the secret thought that perhaps it was for the last time made them more tender to each other. cake ?” “ Yes, my boy,” said the father. “ Let us not hon-ow trouble. It would kill me to see tlleeamougthe dissolute soltliel‘y driv- en to slaughter ! 1 will not, no, I cannot think of it. Yes, cut thy cake. but do not harm those pretty buds. Marian placed them there as a token of how she will sur~ round thy life with pleasures. Eh, Marian 2’ Each bud for a kiss or kind word, eh ‘5” “Ah ! ah E” cried the wife, “stop that ohlmau’s tongue. Put thy hand on his mouth, L'fzu'izuz. I cannot hear to hear him talk so.” “ To-night let us be happy,” cried Robin- et. “1 am not yet; a conscript,mu11 believe Ishall escape to-morrow: so ‘begone dull care.’ Father, shail 1 cut my birthday "ALA a” “ I do not mean that I would not have my child Marian for my daughter,” 5110 re» plied; “ no I no I Bless her heart, she need not blush so. And she gives me no cause of fear. I even think my son Robinet happy to be her husband. But the conscription, father! Our boy is of age.” The Old man‘s happy face grew pale and uneasy. ” \\'ife;” he said, " our boy is af- fectionate to us, true to Marian, and loving to God. If heaven is but just he will not draw the fatal lot. Heaven blesses the “ \Vhom God Ioveth He chastenoth,” said the mother, with a sigh, and Marian’s cheek grew whiter: v “Come, do not darken a sunny day by clouds of fear,” said the young man. “ To- night I am free. 'J‘o-night I can be the hap- piest fclhw alive. Even if to-morrow I draw the wrong number, and must go to right, I may return to you covered with hon- ors. \Vill you not be glad and proud then?” “ My sovn ! my son ! I have know many a brave boy join those ranks dreaming as thou now doest; but few came back to their mo- thers. 0h, Robinet ! thou art my only son; if thou art killed I shall be childless.” “ Ah '. wife,” said the father, forcing back his tears, “ couldst than not be almost hap- pv to beg widow 2’ The conscription spares the only son of a widow. If thy useless 01d husband were gone thou cculdst keep thy brave young son.” “ .3011,” said the mother, “for twenty-one years, this night, hast thou been the delight of my heart. Thou has glaxldcned my eyes every day thou hast lived. Ah I that thou wel't but a few years younger, that 1 might: he sure of thee longer.” “ \Vifc, dost tHou not see that Marian takes thy word as a reproach to her 1’” said the father. “ Thou wouldst have thy son all to thyself, thou gayest.” It was evening, and the family had Li‘ibcll‘r bled at supper. They were celebrating a fife, and their best gilt chine. shone ou the table; a little bouquet of fresh flowers stood by each glass, and an iced cake, surrounded by a wreath of 1 oschmls, graced the centre of the tzilvle. Around this social board sat the jolly uil'eetionate old father, the deli- cate, loving mother, their brave, handsome son, and one other, not yet belonging to the failiily, but soon to he called daughter by the parents and wife by the son. She was a gentle, lovely young girl, looking with (if- fectionate respect 0n the old folks, and with mud, modest eyes on her lover. good.” 'l‘rnuelnted from lhs l'l’cnk‘ll. Up four flights of stairs in a‘ house at Far- 5 was a suite of apartments consisting of three rooms which were inhabited by a. lam- lly named ROIIIIlillC. There were only peakâ€" ed roofs and chimneys and the blue sky to look out upon; but the rooms were so plea- sant, neat and sunny that the ‘c was small temptation to turn the (3' .~ away h‘om them. A Story of,the Conscription. 'Irmple 15m. It is curious to not; 0 how men who have been noted for their polish and culture writers or conversatiomilists have in their leisure moments found a strange pleasure in assoriuting with their inferiors. Prior, one of the most elegant of our minor poets, the companion of princes and diploinatists, eon- stantly pumed \vhole evenings in chatting with at common soldier and his slattern wife in a low public house in Long Acre. Thomas \Varton the historian of English poetry, and a singularly refined scholar, was often to he found in sordid taverns jok- ing and being joked. Person and Elnisley had similar propensities. So also had Tur- ner, the painter. Maehiuvelli zl-nd Burke delighted to forget politi':s by sharing the labors of their farm servants ; and even the stately Boliughrokc, as we learn from one of Pope’s most delightlul letters, was not above shouldering uprong. Byron’s prin- cipal amusement during his residence at Venice was shooting; with a pistol at a coin in :1 elei't stick, and that pursuit he practised We reached 'l‘elnmntupmx, and from there went to Acapulco. At last we sighted land, and my wife cried like aehild. Uur thirst was getting almost intolerable. You can" have some idea how we suffered when I tell you that one day we succeeded in capturing a turtle, and as we hauled it into the boat the men actually tore it to pieces to suck its blood. not before, however, asking my wife whet-her she would have some, but she was too sick at the stomach to attempt that. \Vhen she told the men she could not suck blood, even to quench thirst; the men tore it to pieces, each taking a. portion and sucking the drip- ping blood from it, as though to wait a. moment longer would be sudden death. No one can imagine the intensity of the suf- fering of thirst in an open boat in :1 tropical sea. ' ’ Burning of a Vessel in Mid-Ocean At Sea 11: an Open Beat for Twenty-three days. The Pacific mail steamer South Carolina 3 arrived at San Francisco iron. l’anama. lbringing with her survivors from several ‘ vessels wrecked in the recent gales on the Mexican coast. She also brought Capt. Currie, his wife and two children, and four seamen from the British bark Lara, of Hali- fax, which was burned in mid-ocean. They were twenty-three days in an open boat be- fore reaching Acapulco. The story told by Capt. Currie of the sullerings of the party is one of the most thrilling in the tragedies of shipwreck. His story is substantially as follows 2 The bark Lara sailed from l‘lulling- land with a cargo of gas coal. The first intimation we had of the danger to which we were exposed was seeing smoke issuing through the ventilator hatch. Knowintr that there was nothing there that could be on fire except coal, I at once gave orders to bore two holes in the starboard bow, and let in four feet of water. After a time the smoke ceased, and I began to think that the danger had been overcome and the lire out. I then gave orders to plug the holes up and pump the ship dry. That was about 8 o’clock in the' evening. Shortly after pumping out, one of the men saw smoke coming out again. It increased so rapidly that with in an hour it was worse than it had been before. Anticipating the great danger we were all exposed to, I gave or- ders to batten down the fore and aft hatch- es and possibly smother the fire it seemed impossible to put out with water. For three days we watched every aperture. After three days, observing that the volume of smoke was increasing. I determined to abandon the vessel. I ordered the boats launched and had them packed with pro- visions and water. There were three boats in all. In the first one were my wife, my two children, and the second officer, five seamen, and myself. In the second boat were the first officer, cook and four men, and the third boat the boatswain and three seamen. \Ve were twenty souls in all on board. This was on Sunday evening, three days after we had first seen the smoke. \Ve stayed by the ship until the smell of gas from the burning coal was getting so bad that it was impossible to stand it longer. \Ve got into the boats about 10 o’clock that night. The weather was clear and the sea quiet. The three boats kept together that night and the next day, but the following night a heavy storm came up with thunder and lightning and heavy rains. During the night we parted company, for when the morning broke we could not see anything of the other two boats. For two days we were alone. Then we sighted the other boats, and remained with them three days, when we again parted company and never saw them more. For twentyâ€"three days we tossed about on the Pacific over one thou- sand miles from land. I had given orders to the other boats to steer their course for Acapulco. They were supplied with pro- vision and water all they could carry, and with compasses. As the days wore by and no land appeared we all became more or less despondeut. I could not give way, as I felt Imust cheer my wife, children and men. The latter held out bravely, but the burn- ing sun, thirst, and fear were too much for my poor wife. She fell sick, and day by day became more exhausted. \Ve all did our best to cheer her up. She struggled bravely for the sake of the little children. It was pain- ‘ ful to hear their wails and cries for water. The eldest one, although only 7, was old enough to realize to some extent the situa- tion, but a little fellow, only two years old, was too young to comprehend it, and he would cry : “ Mother, mother, give me some water.” His mother would moisten her handkerchief and put it to the little fellow’s lips. As it touched them he would clutch it with all the desperation of dying thirst; but it is hard to tell how they suffered night after night during these long twenty-three days and nights. They would, as l have told you, fall to sleep on their mother’s knee with the words “ Water; water,” expiring on their lips. That was the hardest thing to bear 1 have ever yet experienced. After a time our tongues and lips began to swell. \Ve men did not mind it so much, but it added to the suffering of wife and children. Although many days have elapsed since we landed in Acapulco, we have not yet been able, neither wife nor children, to wear boots. How the Great Amuse Themselves‘ FIRE AT SEA. Among the remarkable novelties oil-chant discovery is the hoot-blacking plant, a um tivc of New South \Valcs. The leaves of this shrub contain a tough mlhstancc gifted with all the properties znnl attributes of the finest boot polish. Squeeze them gently and they will'yichl some thick, dusky drops of sticky fluid. which must then be sprawl over the surface of the boot. This done, a polish of dazzling hrilliuncy may be l’u'ought out lly afev: light touches 01' the finii‘hing~ brush. THE theatre lately burned down at Stock- holm is asserted, though only 'npenud in '1872, to have been the oldest in Europe. it was there that (IlllSt'lLVUS III, was aSSiLs'Sllh ated by Count Ankarsti'om at a masked hull. His fellow conspirators raised a cry of fire. with a. View to his escape in the confusion. But the authorities locked the doors, and everyone had to Sign before quittng the house. Ankarsti'oni signed and left. upâ€" pai‘ently with a‘ light heart. A knife of pe- culiar make, indentilied (LS his by :1. outlet", led to his guilt beng discovered. THERE are in Persia about 40,000 Jews, and the Jutle Pres»! says they have a had time of it, being subjected to all sorts of vexations restrictions. In the town of Hamidan are the traditional tombs of I‘Istlwl' and Mordecai. ON the last monthly seltling [lay the French Government placed $630, 000, 000 at the disposal of the Bank of France, to enable it to meet all demands without raising its rate of discount. A Cat King 01' the Rats. The London Nul'x gives this: A mt. all black except its perfectly white mil. nus presented to the town of Agnonv, Italy. many years ago. They put it in a theatre to clear it of rats. They soon found that the cat was fratermzing with the [‘0‘ dents, and had become their King. and shared its food with them. The euhtndian of the theatre often observed the rats pa] t1- eipating in the food of the cat, “‘lllUll when they fought among themselves for some dainty morsel, restored order l)_f a, eufi' of its claw. Time passed on : the cat hen-mm old 'and toothless, no weapons remained to him but Very long claws, which. however. were proportionately weak. Of late years the theatre has been always closed. and the rats had increased enormously. Lth \‘l'UI‘lx’ a revolution took place among them. and when poor Cotla-Zliiunea tried, as usual to restore order, the rats turned upon him in n fury and hit him to death. At dawn the next day (Soda- hianca was found dead in the middle of the stage, like some tragic hero. The youth of Agnone made a solemn funeml, eurryin Coda-bian through the streets on :1 hier, covered with blaek velvet, and leading in string, the numerous progeny of the cult-- brated eat, all black with white tails, like himself, and of the same gentle and intelli~ gant dispOsition. Coda-bismen at the time of his death. weighed ten killogrunnnes. and the number of his children was one hun- dred. A speech was made in the tms n hall of Agnone, and it was decided to take re- venge on the rats by scattering poison :il oVer the theatre. u” a Tunnelling the Pyrenees. To the various subalpine and suhnm tunnels now in course of eonstruetion. planned on paper, is to be added another enterprise of the Q‘l'CQtl 't importaxm; to France and Spain. This 15 no other than a scheme for. piercing a tunnel under the Pyrenees at.a point as nearly as possibl eequi- distant from the Atlantic and the Medina» ranean. The great natural barrier between the two countries has, up to the present, only being surmounted by the iron road at the two extremities of the range near Hay- onue and l’erpignan. Both these routes necessitate a. long detour for traffic between the South of France and the north ot‘Hpain, even the carriage roads over the mountains being all but inaccessible during,r the winter months. The advantage of a direet railroad midway through thcl’yrenecs would therefore be unquestionable, as, in addition to develop ing intercourse between neighboring prov inces at present separated by an unbroken wall, the monotonousjourney between l’aris and Madrid would be shortened by about 100 kilometres. The initiation of this useful undertaking is due the Spanish Government, which has introduced a. bill into the Cortes authorizing the construction of the tunnel. and of a railroad leading from Madrid directly to its entrance. The ({overmnout of King Alfonso offers to provide half the funds for the tunnel on condition that France undertakes an equal share in the ex- pense. .lf voted by the Cortes the scheme will at once he submitted to the French Government, on whose part it will doubt- less meet with a favorable reception. The enterprise displayed by Spain in putting forward this great undertaking, together with several important improvenumts at home, such as the new railway direct from Madrid to the Portuguese frontier, would seem to indicate that she is aroming from a long period of lethargy to take her plum among progressive nations. if the new tunnel between France and Spain be carried into execution we shall at least witness the realisation of the famous mat of Louis X i\'., “ ll u’y a plus de Pyrenees."