... p ?? JNOTKS b, i A / CHRISTMAS.-The good old-fashioned weather has been with us, to the delight of the young, of the active, of the well-to-do, but to the very meagre satisfaction of the poor, the old, and of all slow- moving folk. Coals neither in town nor country have been spe- cially dear, and bread likewise is at a moderate price, meat, game, cheese, and other needs and luxuries of the ...

... ?? 1401'!E .~ PoLiTICAL AFFAIRS.-On Saturday Mr. E. Tillett, son of the late M.P. for Norwich, was examined before the Norwich Com- missioners. Ie acknowvledged that every one in ten of those who voted for his father in 1875 was paid. There had also been an excessive employment on the Conservative side, 700 messengers having been engaged by them in one ward alone. IHe believed that a ...

... 0..* fthip Eli.~~EI . FRANCE.--No political event of first-rate importance having taken place for some time past (a circumstance on which French- men may be congratulated, since prosperity and abundant annals seldom go together), the journalists are making all they can out of second-rate incidents. Were it not for the number of people who in these days gain their livelihood by the shedding of ...

... ?? - I -F 1 C, FRANCE.-The Admiral who ventured to flout Marshal MacMahon soon ceased to he an object of much attention. For a day or two he gave occasion to all sorts of rumours ; it was even whispered that a coeup d'dt might be expected. After his dismissal the public almost immediately stopped thinking about him, although the prompt action of the Government in the matter considerably raised ...

... ?? I^ X , , . . . , . r i . I i , . ?? _ ?? ?? . ?? . . . . . . _ .>i _ l IcoU _ _ Wi4 THE ZULU CAMPAIGN.--The bulk of the Zulu nation, who, as usually happens with the rank and file of nations, have had to bear the brunt of the war, have probably been for some time past desirous of peace. But it does not follow that the King and his principal advisers were equally willing to end the contest ...

... ?? . I-- - 'Y - 1; THE EASTERN QUESTiON--The Austrians are making vigorous preparations to put down the Bosnian insurrection. A large number of fresh troops have been mobilised, thus raising the strength of the army of occupation to 120,000 or 130,000 men, with 400 cannon, and Marshal Philippovich as Commander-in-Chief. These reinforcements are seriously needed, and until their arrival the ...

... MA UND Y THURSDA Y is always the Thursday before Easter. Its name has occasioned some trouble to antiquaries. One writer concludes Alaunfdy to be corrupted from the mandate of Christ to His disciples tobreak bread in remembrance of Himr; or from His other mandate, ?? had washed theirfeet, to love one another. With better reason it is conceived by others to be derived from the Saxon word ...

... E O M E ?? MINISTERS AT THE MANSION HOUSE.-In spite of the worry- ing Session they have gone through, Ministers seemed in wonderfully buoyant spirits ?? Housebanquet on Wednesday evening Lord Beaconsfield made merry over the Opposition prophets of evil. The so-called impracticable Treaty of Berlin, he said, had been carried into full effect. The objects of the Afghan War, namely, the ...

... MR. W. BRUNTON, an artist well-known for his book illustrations, is dead. Two CURIOUS PERSIAN LEOPARDS have been added to the Zoological Gardens, remarkable for their long hairy coats, bushy tails, and pale body colour. TIlE FOURTEENTH ANNUAL EXHIBITION of Cabinet Pictures by artists of the British and Foreign schools will open at Thomas M'Lean's gallery on Monday next, April ist. THE PARIS ...

... WEATlER CHA RT FOR THE WEEK SEPTEMBER 11 TO SEPTEMBER 17 (INCLUSIVE). EXPLANATION.-The thick line shows the variations in the height of the Barometer during the past week ending Wednesday midnight. The fine line shows the shade temperature for the same interval, and gives the maximum and minimum readings for each day, with the (approximate) time at which they occurred. The information is ...

... TirF joyous beauty of early June, like the rich glow on the face of a happy girl of seventeen, filled the meadows, the hedgerows, and coppices, with a sheeny brightness, and called forth the loud carols of all the fowls of the air, singing the praises of their lord, the Sun. Hidden in the ash underwood, the blackbird uttered his full, deep notes-liquid music- luxurious gurgling notes which ...

... ?? T THE MAY MEETINGS.--Through want of space we can merely enumerate the religious and philanthropic bodies which have held their annual meetings during the week. They are the- British and Foreign Sohool Society, Christian Vernacular Society of Education for India, Colonial and Continental Church Society, Congregational Union and Home Missionary Societies, London City Mission, Religious Tract ...