... L I - ., AGRICULTURE IN APRIL.-The last week of April was not of a genial character. Sunshine was not wholly wanting, neither was the rain heavy enough to cause serious floods. At the same time the aggregate rainfall of the week was large, and it was accom- panied by a disagreeable lowering of the temperature, which stood at 53° at midday, and fell to 28' or 29° on the grass at night. On the ...

... *o Gs I 5Af bC2M .. JV THE WEATHER.-SnoW has fallen heavily in Bedfordshire, and in Somersetshire the floods extend over thousands of acres. Great alarm is expressed lest the sodden land should breed sheep fluke. Stock are being finally withdrawn from the fields, and the autumn sowings progress but slowly. SHows. -A cattle, poultry, and root show opens at Shipston, in Oxfordshire, on Monday ...

... F at- . * -E. POLITICAL SPEECI[ES have this week been so numerous and lengthy as to defy all attempts at condensation in the space at our disposal. The most prominent orators on the Government side have been Sir William Harcourt, Sir Henry James, Mr. Childers, and Mr. Mundella; whilst for the Opposition the Earl of Lytton, Sir R. Cross, Mr. Gibson, Sir H. D. Wolff, and Lord R. Churchill have ...

... IT will surprise most people to learn from the report published by Herr Fuchs that during the year i88i no fewer than 244 earthquakes were kenown to have occurred. Forty-one of these happened in summer, fifty-six ill spiing, sixty-one in autumn, and eighty-six in wintcr. Ihe great number observed during this latter period is accounted for by the fact that the earth disturhanccs at Agram, ...

... J:: ? 14 ONE. C POLITICAL AFFAIRS, other than those appertaining to Ireland, have been completely laid aside during the week, in consequence of the intense dismay and excitement respecting the terrible outrage in Dublin, an account of which we have given in our Illustration columns. On Wednesday it was announced in Parliament that Mr. Gladstone had received a flood of telegrams and ...

... I ? IRELAND.-The resignation of Earl Cowper and 'Mr. Forster, and the accompanying announcements of a change of policy in regard to the Government of Ireland, have been the main topics of tle week, and the general opinion seems to be that the move is a da(ing one, which call only be justified by success. At the time we write Mr. Forster's promised explanation had not been given, but the nature ...

... z ? I Q , Vi, -, M. RrNAN IS WRITING A NEw BooKt- The History of Israel before the Birth of Christ. THE SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM KEPT ITS TWENTY-FIFTH BIRTHDAY last week, having been opened on June 22, 1857. During this quarter of a century the MNuseumil has been visited by 21,077,654 persons, of whom 6,401,499 came after 6 i'.se. MR. LONGFELLOW'S HOME is to be preserved intact for posterity ...

... tIwW> THE GOVERNMENT AND THE LORDS.-The peers who on Friday week supported Lord Donoughmore's motion for a Select Committee to inquire into the working of the Land Act had probably no conception of the storm which they were about to arouse. Doubtless they thought that if the Government did not accept their resolution they would not absolutely oppose it, that the Committee would sit, and would ...

... TIHE POND WE EAMPTIED EIr, sir, but you should see 'eml sometimes ; girt brave fellows that come up after the bread like dogs. Big as dogs too. Now big as dogs is about as vague as the witness's evidence, About as large as a bit of chalk ; but I knew for a fact that there were very large carp in the potsd, and it was impossible to help feeling a little interest in the proceedings when ...

... BJORNSTJEkNE RJORNTSON (Aprojos of His Fipfieh/ Birthiday) THis celebrated Norwegian poet was born December 8th, 1832, in the secluded district of Doverijeld, in the village of Quikne, of which his father was the pastor. The wildly-sublime Alpine scenery amidst which he grew up stamped itself fron his infancy deeply into his soul. The child's heart was mixed with, and baptised in, this scenery ...

... A VISIT To MEXICO-I. THE CATHEDRAL OF 111EXIC0 Is situated on the P/aza Mayor, or principal square, of the City, and comprehends in the same structure the chief parish church of the town, which is, nevertheless, distinct in the interior. The Cathedral occupies the exact position where formerly stood the Aztec Teocalli, or Temple, which was dedicated to the Mexican god, Huitzelopostli. The ...

... THE derivation of the word Maundy has been the subject of much dispute among philologists, who range themselves into two opposite camps: the one roundly asserting that the day is so-called in consequence of an associated act of charity-the distribution of food in maunds, or baskets ; the other as positively maintaining that the word is a corruption of the Latin mandaetum, the day having ...