... On Dec. 18th, Dr. Wood, the North Yorkshire coroner, opened an inquiry into the extraordinary cases of suspected poisoning at Hamer, near Rose- dale, a lonely place on the North Yorkshire moors, to reach which a gang of men had to be employed cutting a road through the snow for the coroner to get up. Evidence was then given that two fine young men, each 6 feet in height and 21 years old, named ...

... A NEW EARTH. BLACK, empty, bare, across that Eastern sky, High on the barren hill, three crosses stand, And slowly-crimsoning sunset stains the land For very shame that such a man could die. Hear'st thou again th' exceeding bitter cry, Father, take home my soul!' That little band Of weary watchers strives to understand, But cannot yet. See how the shadows lie The very earth seems clasped by ...

... RECENT items of news from India, Afghanis- tan, and Persia are not so cheering as we could wish. Christmas in Calcutta and Cabul will be kept in anticipation of peace on earth, I rather than in the enjoyment of it. From Calcutta came lately the account of an attempt to assassinate Lord LYTTOW. He telegraphs, As I entered Calcutta this evening a drunken East Indian fir6d two shots at my ...

... The Royal Humane Society's medal was last week given to Frederick Boyer, a blind man, for saving the life of Thomas J. M'Cullen. On September 1 last they were walking on the light- house pier, Belfast, M'Cullen also being blind, when they both fell off the pier in fifteen feet of water, MCullen. who could not swim, sinking and rising repeatedly. Boyer, attracted by the other's struggles in the ...

... of J6 ^S^e^0e Bough, Christmas Number One f C^m la' e^ited by Miss Braddon.) °ur n*Sbt, as Fanny and I were going mS' W-e saw ^e passage leading to the Whitest -f°om illuminated by the brightest and fast Moonlight. Fanny stopped and held *8 if the 0100,1! s^e said, with as much emphasis How nre Uever ^ad been such a thing before; JW t1 let us go into the room. town tlf11 i ^ress out of her ...

... At the Liverpool Borough Sessions, last week, before the Recorder, Thomas Weston, surgeon, of Manchester, who was recently convicted of stealing a watch, a gold ring, and other articles, the property of Selina Paling, was brought up to receive sentence. Prisoner had eloped with Palmer's daughter. The Recorder said he could not imagine anything more disgraceful than the prisoner's conduct had ...

... With powder on her face and bullet-buttons on her gown the girl of the period is a dangerous charac- ter. ...

... The ordinary meeting of this Board was held on Saturday at the Union Workhouse, when there were present :-Mr. P. Woodruff (in the chair), Mr. C. Lyne (in the vice-chair); Revs. D. Roberts, J. Griffiths, E. Jenkins, F. B. Leonard, and J. Davies Messrs. J. W. Bebell, R. Stratton, W. Jones (Cefnllogell), S. Scard, E. Cross, J. H. Hillier, E. C. Dutfield, E. Thomas, M. M. Cope, E. Morgan, Rees ...

... NEWPORT POLICE INTELLIGENCE. COUNTY POLICE.—SATURDAY. [Magistrates: T. GRATREX, Esq., (in the chair); F' J. HALL, Esq., and T. CORDES, Esq., M.P. ASSAULT.—Ellen Everson, was summoned for assaulting William Mayberry, at Machen, by throw- ing stones at him.Ordered to pay the costs. DRUNK.—David Prothero, summoned for being drunk and disorderly at Pontymister, was fined 5s or 14 days. -John ...

... MR. GLADSTONE AND HIS CRITICS. Mr. Gladstone has written the following letter to a gentleman in Edinburgh who called his attention to criticisms by Mr. Balfour, M.P., upon his statements in reference to the Conservative Government's finance of the Abyssinian war. Mr. Balfour's statements were made in an address which he recently delivered to a meeting of the Edinburgh Conservative Association: ...

... A LUCKY SOU'-WESTER. [-BY KEEDY KINGSTON, in 11 Diprose's Annual.] Many years ago there stood a little cottage close by where the North Foreland Lighthouse now rears its lofty head. The modest building was a very unpretentious one; and as it was painted an i tense white, it served as a good landmark by day to th;se who go down to the sea in ships; directly daylight began to leave the sky a ...

... PONTYPOOL. CONTEMPT OF COURT.—la the Probate Division of the High Court of Justice, the Right Hon. the Presi- dent (Sir James Hannen) sat specially on Saturday to hear an application in reference to Joseph Evans, of Griffithstown, near Pontypool. There is a matter before the Court, entitled Williams v. Evans, which has reference to the will of the late Mr. Walter Evans, of Cwmnant Farm, ...