2 JANUARY 1864

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INDEX.-1864.

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TOPICS OF THE DAY. Adopted Children .. •• •• Africa, Earl Russell upon .. — South, Rival Bishops in .• .• African Story, a Little .. • • Alabama, Destruction of the.....

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NEWS OF TIIE WEEK,

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T HE Schleswig-Holstein affair has probably advanced two steps, and has certainly advanced one towards its expected result—a European explosion. On the 30th December the Duke of...

On Wednesday, the remains of Mr. Thackeray were laid in

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his own grave in Kensal Green, in the presence of a crowd of literary and personal friends who had assembled to do honour to his memory. By a wise breach of a senseless and...

" There has been no more fighting on the Indian

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frontier," is the substance of a telegram of 14th December. In other words, the Eusofzye Field Force, a little army of 5,000 men, had re- mained from 20th November to 12th...

Lord Robert Cecil has addressed a letter to the Times

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correcting some apparent inaccuracies in its special information from Ham- burg. It is obvious from the tone he adopts that the section of the Tories which he represents—Tories...

It is reported that, in consequence of this resolution of

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the smaller German Powers, the two great Goyerngtents have proposed that the Diet should occupy . Schleswig, provided.penmark refuses to withdraw the Constitution, a measure...

_ Our Revenue returns form a subject of rather unreasoning

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joy to some of our contemporaries. They never give us directly the only thing ,worth asking about, namely, whether the income is exceeding 'or falling short of the Chancellor's...

The American news is not of mucli importance, but it

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is, on the whole, unfavourable to the Federtils. Somebody is mismanaging affairs in East Tennessee, Longsti.eet has been piristred too carelessly, and on the 16th December .he...

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The debate in the French Legislative Body on the new

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loan ended on December 24th in partial victory for the Govern- ment. M. Fould had asked for power to fund 12,000,0001. of the floating debt, and wished to issue 12,000,0001....

On Thursday, the London Press offered its annual sacrifice to

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custom. Each paper omitted its articles to make room for a dreary history of the year, too lengthy for human perusal, too brief to be of the slightest use for future reference....

The French Government has decided that general officers, how- ever

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employed, must quit the service at the age of seventy. A similar rule, to be broken only by a formal resolution of both Houses, is urgently required in Great Britain, but will...

A curious correspondence has passed between the Duke of Augustenburg,

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the pretender to the ducal throne of Schleswig- Holstein, and the Emperor Napoleon, wherein the latter contrives with some skill to reflect on the obstinacy of England for...

The Pope has fraternized with Mr. Jefferson Davis. Whether or

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not he has formally recognized him, it does not appear, but in answering Mr. Davis's letter, he has at least given him his fa title of " Illustrious and Honourable President."...

Two telegrams of exactly opposite tendency have been received this

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week from Japan. According to one (French), the Prince of Satsuma has persuaded the Tycoon to agree to the expulsion of the foreigners ; according to the other, the Prince has...

The Times publishes an interesting summary on the results of

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fish culture in France. It is there, like everything else, superin- tended by the State, which keeps up at Huningue, on the Swiss frontier, an enormous fish-hatching factory....

The Greek Government intends to reduce its army, now 10,000

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strong, to 5,000 men.

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The American Monitors do not seem to have justified Mr.

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Ericsson's predictions. They were to have swept all foreign navies out of the Gulf of Mexico, but the official reports show that as yet the active force of rifled shot has been...

The Prussian Press takes a melancholy review of its relations

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with the Government during the past year. The Volks Zeitung has been eleven times proceeded against by the police, the National Zeitung, seven times ; the Tribune and the...

Slugs are said to have invaded Australia in hosts, and

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a pro- fessed eyewitness says he saw them moving in millions in a com- pact body, stripping the country as they go, and marching about a mile and a half a day, clearing a...

Late last week Sir George Grey, at the suggestion of

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the Judge who tried him, ordered an inquiry into the present state of Mr. G. V. Townley's mind. The Judge expressed himself, it is said, per- fectly satisfied with the verdict,...

On the 4th January next the Hampshire magistrates are to

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take into consideration at Winchester Lord Carnarvon's able report on the requisite improvements in the discipline of the county prison. It will, in some degree, be a critical...

Home securities have ruled heavy, at drooping prices. Greek and

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Mexican securities have further declined in value ; but Spanish have changed hands at enhanced quotations. In the Railway Share Market there has been a fair amount of activity,...

The demand for accommodation has continued active at the Bank

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of England, large amounts have been obtained till the 7th inst. at 7 per cent., and, in the open market, the lowest rate for the best commercial paper is 61 per cent.

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The closing prices of the leading Foreign Securities yesterday and

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on Thursday week were as follows :— Greek .. .. .. Do. Coupons .. .. •• • • Thurs., Dee. 24. 28 12 Friday, Jan. 1 24 11 ?dexioan •• .. .. • • Spanish Passive • . .. .....

The theatres, the Lyceum excepted, are all, as usual at

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Christ- was, in the full swing of that compound of beautiful scenery and silly writing which it is the custom to call a " pantomime." Except a water scene at the Princess's,...

The exchange at Bombay comes 11 per cent. less unfavourable

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for this country.

On the 24th ult. Consols closed at 911 for money,

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and 911 1 for the present account. Yesterday's latest quotations were :- For money, 91 to 911; for the present account, 911 1 ; and for February, 911 1.

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TOPICS OF THE D

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THE EQUIPOISE OF ENGLAND AND FRANCE IN 1863. which seemed to her opportune. Such a neutralization of power so visible and affecting so many questions, has hardly occurred in...

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If. TRIERS OPENING THE TRENCHES.

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Yet, it must be admitted that M. Thiers showed no small skill in his mode of attack. He chose a financial subject round which the confusing mist of "Napoleonic ideas" could not...

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THE WORK OF THE NEXT COLONIAL MINISTER.

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TiE Duke of Newcastle is ill, and rumours that he will esign before the meeting of Parliament are multiplying fast. Mindful of the cool way in which the demi-official press...

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AN ELECTION AT CHRISTMAS. Fortunately, however, on this occasion the

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warmest advo- cates for making Christmas-tide a period of peace and good- will may be at ease. If we must have an election and a con- tested election in Buckinghamshire, it is...

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FEDERAL GAINS IN 1863.

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THE third year of the Secession War has turned wholly to the advantage of the Federals. Although they have endured two great defeats—Chancellorsville and the first battle of...

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THACKERAY'S PLACE IN ENGLISH LITERATURE.

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W E are told in the life of Miss Bronte, that her first words after standing for some time before Lawrence's likeness of Thackeray were, " And there came up a lion out of...

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THE " CLUB " VIEW OF WOMEN.

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A NOVEL has just appeared which, otherwise without much merit, is valuable as expressing exactly the club idea of women. The heroes are all of the men-of-the-world class, as...

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THE MO N TAGUS—(SECOND PERIOD).

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rpwo branches of the Montages, each of remarkable promise, We turn to the second existing branch. Sidney, " of Barnwell," the sixth brother of the first and worst Earl of...

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New York, December 19th, 1863. No important military or political

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event has claimed public atten- tion here during the past week. Congress has confined itself to preparation for the despa.ch of public business, a very useful, but very...

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BOOKS.

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MRS. RAMSAY'S DANTE.* AMONG the numerous versions of Dante which have lately been commenced, this is, we believe, the fourth since Carey's, in which the whole of the Divina...

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ROYAL FAMILY ALLIANCES.

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M ONSEEUR, mon frere," and "Madame, ma scour," were the superscriptions of thirty-nine letters which the Emperor Napoleon despatched some seven weeks ago to all t. e crowned...

SUPPLEMENT

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TO t he *pram/Jr FOB THE No. 1853.] WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, JANUARY 2, 1864. [Gratis.

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BOOKS.

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CAPTAIN SPEKE'S AFRICAN JOURNEY.* IT is not easy to say why, when any small portion of the world has for a long series of centuries shown so little activity of mind and even of...

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MR. DOYLE'S CARTOONS.*

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IF Air. Doyle is not unsurpassed as an historian, he is as a car- toonist of the fleeting moment quite unapproached, and, perhaps, unapproachable. Not every trained artist is...

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CHARLES THE BOLD.*

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EXHAUSTIVE histories, narratives extending over two or three thousand pages, are coming once more into fashion. A genera- tion impatient for brevity in all other matters has...

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IRON AND IRON-WORKERS.* •

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THE somewhat unambitious title of Mr. Smiles's new work does scant justice to its multifarious and highly interesting contents. The book is a history of iron and the progress of...

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THE HISTORY OF THE VIOLIN.*

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History of the Violin. By William Sandys, F.S.A., and Simon Andrew Forster. London: John Russell Smith, 1864. mately interwoven with the loftiest triumphs of music, and one...

The Wars of Wapsburg. By the author of " The

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Heir of Redclyffe." (Groombridge and Sons.)—The veriest trifle from the pen of Miss Yonge is sure to have unity of conception and spirit. If wasps could be defended, it would be...

The New Zealand Handbook • Ninth edition. (Willis Gaun and

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Co.)—A candid little book—praise which is not slight, considering the character of many of these emigrants' manuals. The intending emigrant is told fairly what he will find—a...

The British Abnanac for 1863. (Knight and Co.)—Published for the

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Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, this almanac contains everything which an almanac was ever expected to contain. Bound up with it may be had the "Companion to the...