... FLEASANT WORDS never come .mis. To the poor they give cheer to the sorrowful, comfort to the happy, greater happiness. Perhaps we are always care- ful to speak kindly to the poor, the sick, the aged; but are we always as ready to give a pleasant word to the rich, the gay, the apparently happy? Do we not sometimes forget that there are diseases of the soul; that there is a hunger other than ...

... STATE OF ZJLULAND. A correspondent in Northern Zululand, under date Dccembc-r 29, sends the Durban representative of the Times disquieting accounts of the state of things there. The general opinion in the country is that the people are sleeping (.n a volcano. There is jnifgovernraent everywhere, from the chiefs. to the smallest captains. Thne is no hand to restrain them I ;and there is no ...

... A curious case of stolen treasure has been heard at Kilmainham Court-home, Dublin, Robert M'Hugh, aged only 19, who had been in the employment of a Mrs. Kelly,a publican,wa3 put forward to receive sen- tence for stealing money, the propeity of his em- ployer. He had surrendered plunder to tha amount of 2386 since his conviction. Suspicion as to his honesty being raised, two half-crowns, marked ...

... Mr. Mark Whitehead, a jeweller and watchmaker of Chichester, on Friday surrendered to his recog- nizances at Clerkenwell police-court charged with receiving a quantity of stolen jewellery, the pro-perty of Mr. William Windhurst, wholesale jeweller, of Clerkenwell, and Benjamin Frost, 18, errand boy, George Frederick Stokes, 18, labourer, and Harvey Dickson, 19, a milkman, were charged with ...

... Mr. M. A. Bass, M.P., addressing his constituents at Harbourne on Wednesday, predicted that, mon- strous as it might seem,there would next session be an alliance between the followers of Mr. Parnell and the Tories. It would be one, he said, that would run the Government very hard indeed,and he therefore warned his constituency to be ready for another election, whether it came this year, or ...

... SCANDAL AT LEAMINGTON. Some years ago there was an improper acquaint- a.nce between a surgeon of Leamington named James Russell Jeaffreson, who is now married, and Mary Charters, of the same place, and recently the latter has caused Mr. Jeaffreton some little annoyance. A few days ago she went to his stables, struck him in the face with her umbrella, and threatened to do for him, creating a ...

... Chelsea believes that the Government is going to introduce a Licensing Reform Bill this year. In anticipation of that event, Sir Charles Dilke's borough is going to hold a conference and a great demonstration, at which resolutions will be proposed in favour of an improvement in the present licensing system, and for giving to each district that power of dealing with the liquor traffic which is ...

... BITS FROM BOOKS. I ROSA BONHEUB. Having attained her 17th year, Rosa Bonheur com- menced the study of animal forms. Her first effort was a goat executed from nature. Delighted with the new path in art opened to her, she sought subjects on all sides and made frequent excursions into the country on foot, her colours in her hand, or laden with several pounds' weight of modelling clay. Unable to ...

... A large meeting, including a number of peers I Imd members of the Howe ot Commons, has been held at the Mansion House, under the presidency of the Lord Mayor, to promote the fund in aid of the Defence of Property in Ireland. The meet inff was first addressed by the Earl of Courtown, who explained the objects o £ the association and its mode of working, in order to remove the misconcep- tions ...

... At a meeting in Durham Castle, the Bishop of Durhn m stated that the managers of the Newcastle Bishopric Endowment Fund had inforired the Ecclesiastical Commissioners that the minimum sum required for the endowment of the bishopric was now in hand. It is now finally arranged that the Marquis of Lorne, Governor General of Canada, shall return to the Dominion from Liverpool, on the 11th inst., ...

... PROPOSED ABANDONMENT OF BASUTOLAND. We (Dafly learn from the Cape Colony that the colonists, rather than consent to resume the Basuto war, wiil insist upon the abandonment of Basutoland, and leave the Imperial Government either to do the same, or to take the Basutos under their management. If both Governments agree to leave the country it is believed that its absorption by the Boers of the ...

... Mr. Edward Little,one of the leading agriculture, in the west of England, died after a short illness at his residence,Lanchill, near Chippenham, on Wed- nesday. The deceased gentleman, who was Go years of age, was well known as a judge at all of the principal cattle shows in the country. He was also secretary of the Chippenham Agricultural Association, and agent for several large estates in ...