THE COUNTY OF PERTH HERALD, STRATFORD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 1864 5 British North America. From the Edinburgh Review. Nor can it be fairly said that its manage- ment of the immense responsibilities entrusted to it contrast less favorably with its success as a@ commercial speculation. South of the inter- national Boundary Line, the soil was. deluged with streams of Indian blood ; but north of that line the Company had succeeded in establishing the most peaceful and friendly relations between themselves and the aborigines of the whole of their wide-spread territories. While to the In- dian a "' Long Knife,' or United States citizen, continues to the present moment to be the most abhorred of God's creatures, the hardy North Briton of the Company's service was sure of a welcome in every wigwam from Labrador to Vancouver Island, from the Sioux of the Border, to the Esquimaux of the Coppermine. The peculiar traffic of the Company enable it to offer to the savage the only employment which was consistent with his dignity; and although it undoubtedly drove a very hard bargain with him, yet the arrival of a ' brigade' of its traders in an Indian village was invariably the occasion of public rejoicing. The aborigines of half a continent came to look to the Company for (loth- ing, the instruments of the chase, and, not un- frequently, for food; and for these they gave in exchange (a fact we blieve unprecedented in history) their voluntary and unintermittent ser- vice. If it was desirable that England should hold so large a portion of the American continent : if it was desirable that she should have some ostensible use to which she could turn it: if it was desirable that this unhoped-for progress of the savage in habits of continued industry should not be suffered to fall into disuse,--then, cer- tainly, there seemed no event, near at hand, sufficiently important to interrupt the Company's tenure. Yet the ink was scarcely dry on the Parlia- mentary grant which gave to the Company its latest addition of territory on the Pacific, when an event did happen which changed the whole aspect of that ocean and its vast shores, We allude, of course, to the great gold discoveries which began in 1849. Since that year, the Cal- ifornia miner has been gradually creeping up through the intervening Territories of Oregon and Washington. In 1857, the Governor of Vancouver Island reported the existence of gold in British soil on the opposite mainland ; and, in the following year, the river Fraser was found to be richly auriferous throughout hundreds of mules of its course. The Company had been wholly unsuccessful in colonising the island; and,*as their eleven years' tenure was now on the eve of expiring, the Crown resumed possession of it. In the same year, the twenty-one year's exclusive License to Trade over the Indian countries also expired. The License was not renewed ; and that portion of the soil to the west of the Rocky Mountains was erected into the Colony ef British Columbia. We thus see that there remained to the Company only their origi- nal Charter of Rupert's Land,--presumed to ex- tend, as we have already stated, over 'all lands watered by Hudson's Bay streams.' The forts of the Company, however, were left undisturb- ed throughout their late vast realms; and their business continued to be prosecuted with una- bated vigor. In July of last year, occurred the latest act of this curious drama--wholly unex- pected, we believe, béyond the council-chamber of the Company. The shareholders of the Hud- son's Bay Company had hitherto been few in number--men of large substance--connected more or less, like Lord Selkirk and the late Mr. Ellice, with British North America, | The pro- fits of the Company were nominally about £50,- 000 pound a year, raised, it is said, by bonuses to about £80,000. An offer was made to the shareholders to dispose of their interest for £1,500,000,-- three times the nominal value of their stock--to one of the modern financial Com- panies. By this Company the shares were re- sold in the market, so that a new proprietary became identified with the right and interest of the Old Company. The first object of the new direction has been to prosecute the old staple trade in furs with unabated vigor. Besides this staple commodity, however,--the Company stands pledged to other and more public lines of policy. 'Telegraphic and postal communica- tion with the Atlantic and Pacific settlements, --the opening of suitable districts for settlement throughout the Chartered Territory,--and a more general developement of the mineral and and other resources of these hitherto unknown regions, are all put forward; and, indeed, the appearance of Sir Edmund Head as Chairmen of the New Company affords no small guarantee that they are put forward with an honest inten- tion of realizing them. Whatever strictures may fairly have been addressed to the jealous and exclusive policy of the Company as it ex- isted before the recent change, they are not, we trust, applicable to the new administration-- who announce their intention of acting on a very different system. Moreover it has been very recently stated. by Mr. Fortescue in the Hovse of Commons, that negotiations are opened for the transfer or surrender to the Crown of the territorial rights of the Company over the regions lying between Lake Superior and the Colony of British Columbia. It is probable that ere long the direet authority of the British Government will be exercised over districts to which the influx of gold-diggers and emigrants is now giving a new character and increased importance. We shall now proceed briefly to survey these several districts of British North America, which are subject in some measure to the changing and eventful influences of the times; and we be- gin with Vancouver Island. This 'England of the Pacific '--as this island, from its analogous position, has been called--presents an aspect by no means inviting (and ce.tainly not maintain- ing the analogy), as it is approached from the sea. Instead of the white cliffs of Albion, dark, gloomy rocks rise perpendicularly out of the tide and scowl over waters generally sparkling un- der a warm sun and blue skies. Behind this natural sea-wall, rise immediately a succession of round-topped hills, retiring inland, and cloth- ed with the ever monotonous fir-tree of the coast, adhering to a poor and very scanty soil. The scene is backed by a still higher range of absolutely bare rocky mountain, running, like a backbone, through the entire centre of the island, and culminating in a jagged, uneven sierra of pointed tops. Examined more minu- tely, however, Vancouver Island is not without its portions of more level, well-clothed, quiet English scenery, even occasionally opening into broad undulating downs. Muci, indeed, of the bare, unfertile character of the central highlands (where the mountain loch, and the burn brawl- ing by its fern-clad banks, not unfrequently re- minds the traveller of scenery more near the Tweed) is often continued down to the coast, and we fear that a great part--perhaps even the greater part--of the island is whoily irreclaim- able. But where alluvial deposits have accumu- lated--as on the banks of streams, valleys, and the more open tracts--pastoral and agricultural Country, of a rich, deep, vegetable mould, is found. On these portions, the various crops of southern England thrive luxuriantly. Wheat reaches as high as forty-four bushels to the acre, and potatoes, turnips, and all the productions of the English kitchen-garden, have taken favour- ably to the soil; but oats and more northern grain-crops have not hitherto been cultivated with alike success. It is thought, however, that an earlier planting may bring even these within therange of Vancorver Island produc- tions. The climate is alf that the English far- mer can reasonably desire. So much mystery has hitherto shrouded the vast territories of the Hudson's Bay Company, and over so great a por- tion a rigorous winter is known, with certainty, to maintain asway interrupted but by a short and angry burst of sunshine, that few perhaps of our readers are prepared to hear of temperate seasons and long and genial summersin those regions. But, whatever may be the results of our inquiry on the mainland, Vancouy*r Island possesses a climate which will contrast favor- ably with that of England. This, indeed, to the native of Southern Europe may seem but a poor recommendation ; yet it is to be borne in mind that the English emigrant--and more es- pecially the English farmer--is best fitted for a latitude closely approaching his own. On Vancouver Island he finds his English climate repeated under 'a favorable season.' Nearly coinciding with the south of England--indeed possessing a degree or two more of southern la- titude--much of the character of Devon and its neighboring counties is found sustained through- out the entire Island. A short Spring ushers in a long and very beautiful Summer, generally lasting uninterrupted to the end of September. During these delightful months, there is a bright sun and skies genezally free from clouds; rain seldom falls, and the heat is maintained in moderation by gentle land and sea breezes. In- deed the farmer generally counts on sowing, tending, cutting, and housing his crops under unbroken fine weather. Autumn brings with it a season of cold, damp, northerly winds, often accompanied by a genuine English fog. But the Winter, though not without days of continued rain, has its periods of fine c!ear weather, and the thermometer is seldom seen below freezing point. Indeed farming stock of all descriptions is generally left unhoused during the entire season. Up tothe present time, European life in the Island has been found remarkably healthy, and persons debilitated by a residenc on the Chinese station haye experienced rapid improvement there--a consideration of some im- portance, and to which we shall presently recur ; for, as the period of acclimatisation.to Kuropeans on the Chinese 'coast and seaboard appears to be much more protracted, and indeed uncertain, than in other semi-tropical. climates, and as our affairs there and in Japan may rend r necessary the presence of considerable land and sea forces, the selection of a suitable Sanatorium in the North Pacific becomes of considerable moment. ' Actual observation thus goes far to show,' writes Dr. Rattray, to whose careful records of the climate on the Island and its neighboring mainland we are indebted, ' that the climate is superior to that of England both in physical character and salubrity, and experience proves that it isequally well adapted for agricultural and pastoral farming.' Victoria, its chief,and indeed its only town, is picturesquely situated on some unqulating ground to the south of the Island. Its harbour of the same name, though chosen by the late governor of the Island and its neighboring sister colony, a gentleman long and intimately ac- quainted with Hudson's Bay Company's territor- ies, is stated not to have been a happy selection. Its entrance is narrow, 'shoaly, and intricate ; and its internal accommodation confined ; nor can ships be safely trusted to drop anchor out- side. There isa very much larger, and, it is agreed among all seafaring men, a much safer harbour, about three miles from it, called Esqui- malt. Esquimalt Harbour could easily accom- modate fifteen or twenty ships of the line, and almost any number of ocean-going steamers, and 'in point of shelter,' writes the surveyor-general of the colony, - holding ground, facility of in- gress and egress, dock sites' and wharfages, it is without a rival.' Most of the buildings, how- ever, in Victoria are still of a tempo- rary nature; and as the hopes of its colonists have now been realized in their Island becoming the chief Naval Station and Sanatorium for the Pacific and Chinese fleets, it is to be hoped that the great advantages of Esquimalt Harbor will again be brought under consideration. A naval hospital was built there so early as 1853, to accommodate the Petropau- lovski squadron during the Russian war, and was subsequently used--when the Anglo-Ame- rica Boundary Commission and the later San Juan dispute brought our ships into those waters --with marked effect onthe health of the crews There is now a road from the head of this har- bor to Victoria; and ships of any considerable burden prefer to unload there. 'I cannot ima- gine,' says Commander Mayne, 'any sensible master of an ocean ship attempting to wriggle his vessel into Victoria with the large and safer harbor of Esquimalt handy.' In natural harbors, inlets, and dock-sites the whole coast--and, indeed, much of the interior of the island--abounds. The strong currents which disport themselves throughout the Gulf of Georgia, and, more generally, around the island itself, have eaten several gaps into. the line of sea-cliffs of which we have already made mention. Indeed there can scarcely be a doubt but that Vancouver Island itself is a huge frag- ment detached from the mainland. In nume- rous instances these inlets--or, ' canals,' as they have come to be called--penetrate almost to the centre of the Island, and many of them, from opposite sides of the coast, approach to within a few miles of each other. Thus, Esquimalt Har- bor itself is but seven miles distant from the Canal de Haro; and many similar instances occur, They are all deep and free from obstruc- tion, and, in a more extended state of agricul- ture and commerce, their natural facilities would be highly important. These harbours and inlets --in common with the neighboring seas and gulfs--absolutely swarm with herrings, salmon, mackerel, and cod. A fine description of stur- geon is also found. But the fish of these coasts are an element of so much importance that we must again recur to the subject when we reach the mainland. The most important production, however, of Vancouver Island at the present time is coal._-- A fair average coal has been discovered at Na- naimo Harbor, opposite to the mainland, and on two adjacent islets, known as Newcastle Island and Douglas Island. Here two seams, of from six to eight feet in thickness, have been worked at art average depth of fifty feet from the surface. Vessels drawing sixteen feet of water can ap- proach within a few yards of the pit's mouth ; while the harbor itself is excellently sheltered, and can safely be entered by ships of considera- ble burden. It is little if at_all inferior to the coarser description of North England coal, and has already entered into extensive use by the river and coasting steamers of the mainland, het Hudson's Bay Company, and the British and United States men-of-war from time to time visiting the coast. The want of a suitable coal- ing station on the northern portion of the Paci- fic has for some time been severely felt. Indeed, throughout the whole of that vast ocean--both on its waters and along its new and rapidly in- creasing settlement--a great and still growing demand for coal has arisen. River steamers now ply on all the great streams from the Colorado to the Fraser ; while the various cities and towns springing into existence along their banks are becoming large consumers. The re- cent introduction, too, of steam-machinery into gold-mining has much increased the demand. The single port of San Francisco alone receives as much as 14,000 tons per month, and British Columbia gives promise of becoming an equally large consumer. Nor has the demand on the high seas received a less proportionate increase. it is but a very few years since an ocean-going steamer on the waters of the Pacific was a most rare sight. A few sailing craft lazily prosecut- ed the Polynesian trade, and occasionally a Chinese or Australasian clipper ran home by *the Horn,' in preference to the Cape of Good Hope route. In all other respects the waters of the Pacific were as silent as the shores they washed. Various circumstances--as, the in- creased Chinese trade, the opening of Japan, but far more than all, the great Gold Discover- ies--have produced a rapid and important change. Now, lines of ocean-steamers, of a very large and superior description, ply between Panama and California, between Panama and Vancouver and British Columbia. The great Australasian and New Zealand merchant fleets invariably select the Pacific for the homeward passage ; steam communication with these flour- ishing settlements and Panama, to meet the West Indian mail boats, will probably not be much longer delayed ; and the larger number of nations now trading throughout Pacific waters require the constant attendance and protection of their respective navies. To all these, coal is a matter of absolute necessity, and it has hither- to been supplied from England and the Atlantic States of the American Union by> the tedious Cape Horn route at £3, £4, and even £5 per ton. Nanaimo coal can be raised to the pit's mouth at 10s. per ton, and it has already ex- tended its sale as far south as San Francisco Indeed, the present prices along the mainland would seem to warrant the hope of very fair profits in working those coal fields ; while their existence at Vancouver Island adds considera- bly to the importance of that.Colony. For the high price of ll. per acre, affixed to the lands of the island, it would be unreas- onable to lay the blame on the Hudson's Bay Company ; it was a condition of the agreement imposed upon them, we believe, by Lord Grey. One pound per acre was the ruling price throughout the various Australian and New Zealand colonies, then coming into notoriety-- the ' sufficient price' of the Wakefield theory--a price that has still been curiously, and perhaps injuriously, maintained throughout almost the whole of those settlements. It was only when, as in the case of Vancouver Island, it was brought into competition with the prices ruling on the American continent, that the contrast became too marked to escape the notice of the English emigrant. On the resumption of the is- land by the Crown, the price of land was at once reduced, and the terms of payment made singularly 'easy.' The present fixed price is one doliar per acre,--or less by a quarter of a doll#r than that in the neighboring territory of Oregon ; and the payments are one-fourth, or one and a penny, at the end of the fiscal year of occupaney, one-fourth at the end of the second year, and the remainder at the end of three years. These terms apply only to surveyed lands. Throughout all districts as yet unsurveyed, the settler may occupy his farm (on lodging a suf- ficient description of its boundaries at the Go- vernment Survey Office) without payment until it has been brought within the Government map --his occupancy constituting in the meantime an inchoate title. While, then, the agricultural and pastoral re- sources of Vancouver [sland, though far from contemptible, would scarcely seem to place it on a level with other Pacific settlements--as Cali- fornia, Queensland, New Zealand--it is not un- likely that its English climate, its various unoc- cupied openings for trade in its coal, fisheries, and timber, and the high-priced gold-mining markets on the adjacent mainland, may bring to it a slow, but steady, accession of immigrants, more accustomed to watch and profit by such openings than to follow in the better-worn tracks. To the Crown, however, its possession has now become of grealy increasing impor- tance. Its situation at the head of the Pacific, its coal-fields, and its harbour of Esquimalt-- 'he finest and most commodious, with the single exception of San Francisco, along the whole 'Pacific coast of America, are not without their obvious advantages ; moreover, a glance at the map will show that without Vancouver all ap- proach to the British portion of the American coast would be impossible, and thatthe power which holds British Columbia must regard pos- session of the island as a matter of absolute ne- cessity. This, however, isa subject ofso much moment that it may be well to refer somewhat more fully to it in examining the San Juan question. As we approach the mainland, the coast scenery of the island is repeated on ascale, more gigantic indeed, but yet more sombre. More dark and lofty rocks now rise out of flood. The zad-looking and ever-monotonus pines of the coast spring from every fissure and crevice-- leaving bare only the smooth unbroken knobs of trap, where they can obtain no hold. The in- lets, or ' canals,' so remarkable a feature of the island, now becomes much longer, and burrow like fords into the mainland. As we advance more to the north along the coast, all these features rise rapidly in grandeur ; and at Deso- lation Sound, the strait, dwindled to a mere narrow channel between Vancouver Island and British Columbia, lies, for some 200 miles, be- tween scenery of a most wild and romantic character. Black rocks spring up into every variety of fantastic shape ; the dark green pines rest on white and towering backgrounds of eternal snow, and the thunder of a hundred tor- rents, leaping from cliff and summit, communi- cate an air of awful sublimity to the whole scene. Here the canals become much more fre- quent, and, though extremely narrow, encour- aged Vancouver, the navigator, whose name is still retained by the neighboring island, with the hope--incredible as it may seem to us now-- that they would be found to penetrate across the whole continent, to Hudson's Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. It is curious to follow the persistence with which he tried inlet after inlet in the expectation of discovering the long sought passage which was to unite the two great oceans --pushing his ship between overhanging rocks, and often advancing fifty and even eighty miles into the country, not without considerable dan- ger to himself and his vessel. These inlets are generally found to terminate in open and not unfertile valleys, through which one or more streams of inconsiderable magnitude find their way. 7: the traveller, however, crosses from Vic- toria to the mouth of the Fraser, on which New Westminister, the capital of British Columbia, stands, these scenes of northern desolation are altogether wbsent : and, on a clear day, as he treads his way through the intervening Haro Archipelago of islets--now smiling platforms of green sward gay with wild flowers, now mere pine-covered specks on the gulf--the whole landscape, though not without the grandeur in separable from sueh vast masses of wood, rock, and snow-capped range as the peculiar configur- ation of the mainland brings into view, is lit up with a far warmer colouring. From such a point of observation, too, Victoria certainly wears its most pleasant aspect. The town itself is seen from the most favorable point, and the gardens and fields now brought into enltivation around it very considerably enhance its attrac- tions. Before, however, we set foot on the main- land, it becomes.our duty to direct attention to a subject of the most pressing and urgent im- portance. (To be Continued.) The Nile. It is a most singular fact, that a river, distin- guished by so many phenomena and associated with so many historic traditions, should, for thousands of years, have so wrapped its sources in mystery, as to have defied the speculations of the philosopher, and baffled the curiosity of the traveller. The Father of History and the oldest of poets--Herodotus and Homer--refer to the mystery connected with these sources, Under Alexander and Cesar, the whole power of Greece and Rome were applied to its solution. Mela placed these sources somewhere in the an- tipodes; Pliny fixed them in Mauritius; but Homer, before them, had brought the mystic waters from the bosom of Elysium. Modern ex- plorations have added but little in the way of solving the problem. Nor can we rely with too much confidence on the reported results of the two travellers we have mentioned. Equally exact haye been the published accounts previ- ously given to the world by former explorers. The precise locality of these mysterious sources has been given more than once, with a minute- ness of detail that carried with it something of the conviction of truth. This locality, however, seems to shift and recede with the footsteps of each new explo-er. "Tis the refracted light spanning the morning mist, and flinging an arc of rich colors over the pathway of the traveller. Every step promises to bring him within touching distance of its base; but it flies at his approach, and at last vanishes away. The ancients sym- bolized the Nile in a statute of black marble, which was crowned with thorns, and rested on asphinx. The black color of the statute de- noted the supposed Ethiopian origin of the river; while the other emblems indicated the enigma involved in its source, and the difficulties to be encountered in trying tosolveit. More than two hundred years ago the Jesuit mission- aries had accomplished much in the way ot sol- ving the problem. Father Paez, in 1618, and Father Lobo, in 1625, laid the foundation upon which some recent explorations have rested. The former; when accompanying the Emperor of Ethiopia through the kingdom of Gojam, des- cried two small springs gushing from the moun- tain side. This he followed day after day, with a toil that was unceasing and an interest that never flagged. Reasoning from the observations he had made, he concluded that these springs were the fountain-heads of the mysterious river The truth, however, was not demonstrative. Father Lobo followed in the same career of ex- pleration. His published works have supplied the material for many important observations since. He, too, thought that he had unravelled the mystery. His descriptions of what he sup- posed to be the scurce of the Nile, are copiously made use of by the traveller--Bruce. Not- withstanding these exertions, so full of hopeful anticipations, and of many others since made with equal zeal and ability, the mystery of the sources of the Nile remains unsolved. The mighty river still pours its waters into the sea, unmindful of the men who seek to tear away the mystery of its source ; and scoffing the pyramids which human pride, thousands of years ago, erected within sight of its banks. Commingled with its currents, it has brought the soil of a far-off kingdom to form new lands, that have grown into an empire, and been peopled by a race who have given to Greece and Rome the models of pagan science, philosophy, and civil- ization. This wonderful river flows one thousand two hundred miles before it enters the sea, without receiving a single tributary; and yet at its mouth it would seem to have the same volume of water that it presents at the cataract, a thousand miles off. This fact, in view of the drain on its supplies by evaporation, by canals for irrigation, and by absorption in a sandy soil, forced Humboldt to remark that " it was the only instance of the kind in the hydrographic history of the world." Speaking of the influence of the Nile upon Egypt, a modern writer observes that " the Nile is all and all to the Egyptian ; if it withheld its waters for a week, his country would become a | desert ; it waters and manures his fields, it sup- plies his harvest and then carries"off their pro-| duce to the sea; he drinks it, he fishes in it, he| travels on it: it is his slave, and used to be his| God." | Among the ancient rites observed in the wor- ship of the Nile, was the sacrifice annuaily, in June, of ayoung girl. Splendidly arrayed the unfortunate victim was cast into the rushig waters and drowned. This sacrifice was sup- posed to be necessary in order to propitiate the deity who presided over the annual inundation. When Egypt was captured by the followers of Mahomet, Amru, the Mohamedan governor, re- solved to abolish the detestable custom, and published an edict to thateffect. Itso happened that in the next year the river failed to rise at the usual time. The people became alarmed ; and, attributing the failure to the act of the go- vernor, prepared to quit the country. Amru wrote to the Caliph of Mahomet,soliciting advice. The Caliph forthwith issued " a proclamation," calling the river to its duty. The "proclama- tion" was solemnly read, and then cast upon the water. Strange to say, the same night the inundation commenced, and the people were satisfied ! Napoleonic Ideas. COMMUNICATED BY PROF. VON. HOXER. Napoleon the III. has rendered to the Church an immense service by establishing the Imperial Throne of Mexico, and as Henry IV. at one time avjured his Protestant faith with the words 'Paris is worth a Mass'--so in Rome, it is said now, ' Mexico is worth, indeed, that we should bring some sacrifice to the Emperor in his Tall- eries..--The Roman Catholic Church, in co: s d- eration of the importance of the new Mexican Empire has taken care that she be represer.ted by a gentleman both able and energetic. The office of a Nuncio or Ambassador, has been con- ferred by Pius IX. upoa Monseigneur de Merode, who at the same time will be elevated to the rank of a Cardinal, and by removing this Minis- ter from Rome, the Pope has rendered a great service to the Emperor of France, because of his hostilities towards the policy of Napoleon ITI Rome, however, has made a greater concessio! to the Emperor, which consists in appointing the lain of the Pope, a Cardinal. Napoleon the I., as is well known in his last Will, has advised his family to take care to have their members divided in the most important countries of pe old and new world, but above all-he enjoined it. their duty, that one of the family should conse- crate himself to the service of God by receiving Holy Orders in the Roman Catholic Church, and, if possible, take his residence at Rome. In pursuance of this request, Lucian Bonaparte has been living at Rome for a number of years enjoy- ing the name of a great apostolic scholar. Pius: 1X., thus far, has not distinguished this member of the House of Bonaparte, and whatever effer @ were made to induce the Pope to bestow» the, Cardinal's hat upon him proved in vain; but now, finally, Pius [X., has concluded to concur with the wishes of the Tulleries, and in the next consistorium, Prince Lucian will be nomi-+ nated Cardinal, and by this nomination made an elective member for the election of the Pope's successor. It will be remembered that Napoleon 1. had appointed the famous Cardinal Fesh. for the Chair of St. Peter. Napoleon IIT. only fo'= lows in the tracks of family tradition when ke aims at the same position for Lucian, The mem- bers of the sacred College of Cardinals, will hardly be surprised when supported by French bayonets, should Prince Lucian be elected Pope of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church. Pius IX., having thus secured the tabernacle of the Church, flatters himself that he can lay down his head in peace, and transfer the Papal Tiara unharmed to his successor, Papacy is safe when ha member of the Napoleonic family is adorned with the Tiara, But, if the College of the Car- dinals should resist the wishes of Pius IX.; and of Louis Napoleon--then they will be eae 4 with invasion from Victor Emanuel, which wou endanger the temporal power of the Pope. In- deed, wonderful things are transpiring: An Archduke of the Imperial House of Austria is, raised to the dignity of Emperor, and Maximilian I. Emperor of Mexico, becomes a mediator be- tween the Pope and the Emperor of France. From the date of Maximilian I.'s coronation history will have to record not only the re-estab- lishment of Imperialism in the new world, but, also, most likely the Bonapartizing of Papacy, i. e., that a member of th: Bonaparte family will occupy the Papal Throne in the person of Lucian Bonaparte.--Ingersoll Inquirer. se The President tells a Story to a colored Barber. | 7 Old Abe jokes and laughs as hearty as ever At his reception one evening last week in the White House, the negroes were as thick as black- berries in Jersey. Among them was a colored barber named Burke; he was an applicant for an office in the New York Custom House. The President requested him to call and take break- fast with him the next morning. Burke did so. After the meal, when they were alone, the presi- dent slapped him upon his knee in a friendly manner, and said, ' Burke, you want an office. I can't give you one, but I will tell you what I willdo, I will 'ell youastory. Once upon a time King Solomon, or his papa, King Dayid, or }some other old buster of a king in eastern climes, kept an astrologer named Smith. The astrolo- ger used to tell the King when it was going to rain and when it was not, and for this he got the tallest kind of pay and good keeping. One day the King was going to hunt Buffaloes on the Eastern prairies, and says he to Smith, + What kind of a day will it be? Willit be safe for my complexion to go out?' 'Heaven preserve your Majesty,' said Smith; itgwill be a splendid day. It will not rain for a day or a mcnth to come.' So the King went on his road to the Buffalo pas- tures. On his way he met a country fellow rid- ing on a donkey, who said to the King, ' Turn about, your Majesty, if you don't want to get wet, for it's going to rain like pitchforks." 'I know better,' replied the King; '1 keep a private astrologer, and he says it wontrain. The King kept on, but presently it began to rain a young deluge. 'This is really delightful,' said the King, as he hurried back to town to his palace, wet through to the skin, and looking more like a half drewned rat than a decent. King. 'Smith, what do you mean?' said the King to the eehanene 'The stars and things said it would nt rain,' said poor Smith. ' Vacate,' said the Kihg, and he sent for the man whd't the ass. ' What is your name'? he'asked! 'a how did you know it was going'to feetiny logy name is'Jolingonj 'aid' Pkiew if ivas goin' to rain because my donkey lowe?s hig eang Whew it is gding/td-rain? So the King ordered his Billy Seward 'Secrethty! té make: out "the! papers' Ap- pointing the jackass to the vacated office ; and Burke, even since that day, all the donkeys of a country have eq chal is to get office, and I am bothered to A th about: tl T dont want you to be regarde ff fy coakeyr ope so f wont appoint you!"--Muanhaitan: * erhol eLA+bA EO A YY Curiosities Of AF euxnow CaatHav. The Echo de¥ Oise states, states that when, the , legal authorities last week Paddeha ae alte Which were affixed at the Chateau of Soupiseau! mear Compiegne, on the death of Bacon de. Hore tier, they found that the drawers and. cupboand Sim certain rooms had not been opened for years, and that some of them were filled with linen half de- cayed and everything thickly covered with dust. There have been found in some drawers in the midst of papers and objects of no value, and in the pockets of the clothes of the baron, a sum of 100,000f. in gold and bank-notes, a cheque for 50,000f. on the Bank of Erance payable to bearer and dated more than five years back, and also tifty-e.gat bank shares, representing at the pre- sent pricea value of 191,4000f. These are in the Chateau rooms into which the servants have never entered. At a second door of a dressing-room which opened on a secret stair. case was fixed an old flintlocked pistol loaded but all covered with rust, and wires were at, tached to the trigger so as to discharge the pisto if any attempt had been made to open the door It was in one of these rooms that a quantity o' objects of art and curiosity, consisting princi- pally of ancient and modern arts, were found. In a drawer of a secretary was found a will in which the deceased bequeathed all his property to his father, but as the latter has been dead for several years the document is invalid. i=] It is said that India rubber types are now used. we should think they mightbe serviceable for printing war news. Prince Abbe Louis Lucian Bonaparte; Chamber-~ a AT TET ES NLT