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The Puritan of 1863.

It was in the early part of October,—-
that the Rev. Mr. Allan started to walk to
Farmer Owen's over the hills. He had to
cross two low spurs of the Green Moun-
tains, and as he climbed to the top of the
second the rich valley of the Otter Creek
lay spread out before him. At any other
time he would have stopped to admire its
gentle undulations; its great flower gardens
of forest trees, rich in every color and hue;
its silver threads winding their way to the
waters of the Champlain, and the glorious
autumn light which lay like a golden man-
tle over them all. But this afternoon he
seemed oppressed by the beauty which
surrounded him. He looked upon it with
eyes misty from tears. There was a dull,
heavy weight upon his heart—a weight
which even the long, fervent prayers that
he had uttered so unceasingly since noon
had failed to move. Between him and
that landscape, we might almost say, be-
tween him and the mercy seat, there moved
a slight, tall boy, with a laughing blue eye,
clustering brown hair, and lips always
ready with a merry pleasant word. To-
day, there was Benny, nutting under the
bare, brawny arms of the butternut tree;
throwing his line into the little brooks,
that came babbling down from the steep
mountain side; driving his cows along the
narrow foot-path ; standing with Blossom
under the bright maple, and shouting with
pride and joy as she wreathed her pretty
face in the gay leaves.

"Oh, Bennie! Bennie!" Mr. Allan hard-
ly knew he was calling the name, until it
came back to him with such an empty,
mocking sound, from the heartless echo:
"almost"—-Mr. Allan thought, startling
himself by the seeming impiety of the
words-—"almost as if there were no great,
kind Father over us all."

As he came near Farmer Owen's house,
he saw his oxen yoked to the plough. He
knew they had been there since the tele-
graph came. Mr. Owen had read it in the
field, gone to the house and forgotten
them, and no one had dared to put them
up. He was a man fully capable of taking
care of his own affairs under any circum-
stances, never having been known before
to forget.

Mr. Allan beckoned to an Irishman who
was passing, and asked him to take care
of them. The man came with an awed
look upon his face, as if even there he
stood in the presence of a great sorrow,
and without the least noise obeyed.

Mr. Allan walked on slowly toward the
house. He had known Mr. Owen for many
years, and he knew him well. Indeed
there was a peculiar bond of sympathy
between the two men. In all his large
parish, there was not one upon whom the
minister relied as he did upon this strong,
sturdy farmer. Many and many an hour
he had walked by his side when he was
upturning the brown earth, and had dis-
coursed with him on topics which would
have sounded harsh and repulsive to com-
mon ears, but which were fraught with
deep and vital interest to them. Mr. Owen
was a direct descendant of the Puritans,
and every drop of blood in his veins was
tinged with a strong and true a "blue,"
as if he himself had landed in the May-
flower. He took naturally to the sterner
doctrines of religion, while Mr. Allan,
versed in all the modern lore, questioned
and doubted. The key-stone of Mr. Owen's
theology was the sovereignty of God;—-
"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do
"rights" This was the man upon whom
God had now laid his hand so heavily;
and Mr. Allan felt that if the trial brought
no rumour, no rebellion against that
mighty Sovereign, the stern old faith were
indeed a rich one in which to live and die.
He knew that one element in this was
Puritan. Some of the Roundheads allied
up the ranks of the Northern army. They
marched to battle to strains of the old
tune that had lingered in the nursery and
the sanctuary from the day that Cromwell
and his soldiers chanted them on Marston
Moor. All throes the sails of Time came
trampling to the music mailed men, bearing
on their shoulders the two words, Liberty
and Equality. They trembled on Mr.
Owen's lip with his parting blessing to
his boy. Would he remember them, and
would they comfort and give him strength
sow.

Where there is affliction in a house, the
minister is at home. Mr. Allan entered
without knocking, and made his way to
the large, old-fashioned kitchen in which
he was sure of finding the family.

There, by a table, with his arms folded
and laid heavily upon it, sat Mr. Owen.
His wife was in a small rocking-chair by
the fire, and Blossom, a young girl, sat
between them.

Mr. Owen rose to welcome him; so did
Blossom; but the wife did not notice him,
she sat still, rocking herself to and fro,
looking at the blazing wood.

Mr. Allan put a hand in the breast-pocket
that was rolled out forward and his face
was pale as the other of Mr. Owen's great heaving
breast. "My friend," he said, "how is it
with the decrees of God?"

"Just and true are all thy ways, thou
King of Saints," faltered out the man.

There was something strange in his
voice,-—a thin, womanly sound, so unlike
the deep, stentorian tones in which he had
always spoken before. Mr. Allan, when
he heard it, almost fell as if it had been
a limb a blow.

"Thank God! He has not, then, forsaken
you, and from the depths of this deep
trouble you can still say, 'The Maker of
all death well.'"

"Yes, yes,"—and for an instant there
glimmered from his dull eye a spark of the
old controversial fire-—"you don't suppose
I have held on to that anchor when the
skies were clouded, and the little waves
were tossed on my poor heart, betimes of it
now-—now, when the great waves and bil-
lows are going over me, do you? I've
planted it here, and I don't yield; no, no;
now! What I am, but the strain is terrible,
God send it may carry me into port, oh,
Mr. Allan, say it will. It has seemed to
me to-day so dark, so wonderful, so inscru-
table, that he—my Bennie! Mr. Allan,
there is a good, wise purpose behind it all.
Can you see it?"

"To bring you nearer the kingdom," muttered
the minister.

"Oh, don't tell me that; I can't bear it.
God is too wise;, He knows a hundred such
souls as mine are not worth one of my
Bennie's. I can suffer it I am too great a
sinner for God's grace to save, but Bennie!
Bennie!! I have sat here all day, since
the news came, wondering, wondering; he
was so good a son,"—and Mr.Owen's voice
grew almost inarticulate in its emotion,—
"such a dear, precious, noble boy! I
though, when I gave him to his country,
that not a father in all this board land
made so precious a gift,—no not one. God
forgive me if my grief is a sin. Mr. Allan,
the dear boy only slept a minute, just one
little minute, at his post; I know that was
all, for Bennie never does over a duty.
How prompt and reliable he was!" and
Mr. Owen's eye wandered out over the
brown fields, with such a perplexed, won-
dering look. "I know he only fell off one
little second; he was so young and not
strong, that boy of mine! Why, he was as
tall as I, and only eigtheen! and now they
shoot him becuase he was found asleep
when doing sentinel duty." Mr. Owen
repeated these words very slowly, as if en-
deavouring to find out their true meaning
"Twenty-four hours, the telegraph said,—
only twenty-four hours. WHERE is Bennie
now?"

"We will hope, with his Heavenly Fa-
ther," said Mr. Allan, soothingly.

"Yes, yes, let us hope; Good is very mer-
ciful, and Bennie was so good—I do not
mean holy," he said, correcting himself
sharply; "there is none holy—no, not one,
—but Jesus died for sinners. Mr. Allan,
tell me that. Oh, Bennie, Bennie!"

The mother raised herself as she heard
his name called, and, turning, said, with a
smile: Don't call so loud, father. Bennie
is not far off; he will come soon."

"God laid his hand on them both, you
see," saif Mr. Own, pointing to her, with-
out making any direct reply. "She has
not been justly herself since. It is a mer-
ciful thing she is sort of stunned, it seems
to me; she makes no wail. Poor mother!
if my heart was not borken it would almost
kill me to see her so. Bennie was her idol.
I told her often, God had said, 'Thou shalt
have no gods before me.'"

Mr. Allan looked in astonishment at the
bowed man as he came now and stood be-
fore him. These few hours had done the
work of years. The sinewy frame was
tottering, the eyes were dimmed, and the
sudden sorrow had written itself in deep
wrinkles all over his manly face. He re-
cognised the power of the great, kind
heart, simple and almost childlike in its
innocent, clinging affection; how could
this be reconciled with the stern, strong
bead—the head that to common observers
outlined the character of the man? "God
have many on you; He is tryng you in a
furnace seven times heated," he exclaimed,
almost involentarily.

"'I should be ashamed, father!" he said,
'when I am a man, to think I never used
this great right arm,'—and he held it out
so proudly before me,—'for my country,
when it needed it. Palsy it, rather, than
keep it at the plough.

'Go, Bennie, then go, my boy,' I said,
'and God keep you.' God has kept him,
I think, Mr. Allan!' and the farmer repeat-
ed these last words slowly, as if, in spite
of his head, his heart doubted them.

'Like the apple of his eye, Mr. Owen,
doubt it not!'

Blossom had sat near them listening,
with blanched cheek. She had not shed a
tear to-day, and the terror in her face had
been so very still no one had noticed it.
She had occupied herself mechanically in
the household cares, which her mother's
condition devolved entirely upon her. Now
she answered a gentle tap at the kitchen
door, opening it to receive from a neigh-
bor's hand a letter. 'It is from HIM,'
was all she said.

Twas like a message from the dead. Mr.
Owen could not break the seal for his
trembling fingers, and held it toward Mr.
Allan, with the helplessness of a child.

The minister opened it, and, obedient to
a motion from the father, read as follows :

'DEAR FATHER :—-When this reaches
you I shall be in eternity. At first, it
seemed awful to me ; but I have thought
about it so much now that it has no terror.
They say they will not bind me, nor blind
me, but that I may meet my death like a
man. I thought, father, it might have
been on the battle-field, for my country,
and that, when I fell, it would be fighting
gloriously ; but to be shot down like a dog
for nearly betraying it, to die for neglect
of duty!—-Oh, father, I wonder the very
thought does not kill me. But I shall not
disgrace you. I am going to write you
all about it, and, when I am gone, you may
tell my comrades. I can't now.

'You know, I promised Jemmy Carr's
mother, I would look after her boy, and
when he fell sick, I did all I could for
him. He was not strong, when he was
ordered back into the ranks, and the day
before that night, I carried all his luggage,
beside my own, on our march. Toward
night we went in on double quick, and
though the luggage began to feel very
heavy, everybody else was tired too, and
as for Jemmy, if I had not lent him an
arm, now and then, he would have dropped
by the way. I was all tired out when we
came into camp, and then it was Jemmy's
turn to be sentry, and I would take his
place, but I was too tired, father. I could
not have kept awake, if I had a gun at my
head, but I did not know it until—-well,
until it was too late.'

'God be thanked," interrupted Mr. Owen
reverently, "I knew Bennie was not the
boy to sleep carelessly at his post.'

They tell me to-day that I have a short
reprieve, given to me by circumstances,
'time to write to you,' our good Colonel
says. Forgive him, father, he only does
his duty ; he would gladly save me, if he
could, and don't lay my death up against
Jemmy. The poor boy is broken hearted,
and does nothing but beg and entreat
them to let him die in my stead.

'I can't bear to think of mother and
Blossom. Comfort them, father! Tell
them I die as a brave boy should, and that
when the war is over, they will not be
ashamed of me as they must be now. God
help me, it is very hard to bear. Goodbye,
father, God seems near and dear to me, not
at all, as if he wished me to perish forever,
but as if he felt sorry for his poor, sinful,
broken hearted child, and would take him
to be with him and my Saviour, in a better
—better life.'

A great sob burst from Mr. Owen's heart.
'Amen!' he said solemnly. 'Amen!'

'To-night in the early twilight I shall
see the cows all coming home from pasture.
Daisy, and Brindle and Bet ; old Billy too,
will neigh to me from his stall, and prec-
ious little Blossom stand on the back stoop
waiting for me—-but I shall never-—never
come. God bless you all! forgive your
poor Bennie.'

Late that night the door of the "back
stoop" opened softly and a little figure
glided out, and down the footpath that led
to the road by the mill. She seemed rather
flying, than walking, turning her head
neither to the right nor the left ; starting
not, as the full moon stretched queer, fan-
tastic shapes all around her, looking only
now and then, to Heaven, and folding her
hands, as if in prayer.

Two hours later, the same young girl
stood at the Mill Depot, watching the
coming of the night train, and the conduc-
tor, as he reached down to lift her in, won-
dered at the sweet, tear-stained face that
was upturned toward the dim lantern he
held in his hand.

A few questions and ready answers told
him all, and no father could have cared
more tenderly for his only child, than he,
for our little Blossom.

She was on her way to Washington, to
ask President Lincoln for her brother's life.
She had stolen away, leaving only a note
to tell her father where, and why, she had
gone. She had brought Bennie's letter
with her; no good kind heart like the Pre-
sident's, could refuse to be melted by it.

The next morning they reached New
York, and the conductor found suitable
company for Blossom, and hurried her on
to Washington. Every minute now, might
be a year in her brother's life.

And so in an incredibly short time, Blos-
som reached the Capital and was hurried
at once to the White House.

The President had but just seated him-
self to his morning's task, of overlooking
and signing important papers, when, with-
out one word of announcement, the door
softly opened, and Blossom, with eyes down-
cast and folded hands, stood before him.

"Well, my child," he said in his pleasant,
cheery tones, "what do you want so bright
and early in the morning?"

"Bennie's life, please, sir," faltered out
Blossom.

"Bennie? Who is Bennie?"

"My brother, sir. They are going to
shoot him for sleeping at his post."

"Oh yes," and Mr. Lincoln ran his eye
over the papers before him. "I remember.
It was a fatal sleep. You see, child, it was
at a time of special danger. Thousands
of lives might have been lost for his culpa-
ble negligence."

"So my father said," said Blossom grave-
ly, "but poor Bennie was so tired, sir, and
Jemmy so weak. He did the work of two,
sir, and it was Jemmy's night, not his, but
Jemmy was too tired, and Bennie never
thought about himself, that he was too
tired."

"What is this you say, child? come
here, I don't understand," and the kind
man caught eagerly, as ever, at what seem-
ed to be a justification of an offence.

Blossom went to him; he put his hands
tenderly on her shoulder and turned up
the pale, anxious face toward his. How
tall he seemed, and he was President of
the United States, too! A dim thought of
this kind, passed for a moment through
Blossom's mind, but she told her story
now simply and straightforward, and hand-
ed Mr. Lincoln, Bennie's letter to read.

He read it carefully, then taking up his
pen wrote a few hasty lines, and rang his
bell.

Blossom heard this order given: "SEND
THIS DISPATCH AT ONCE."

The President then turned to the girl
and said: 'Go home, my child, and tell
that father of yours, who could approve
his country's sentence, even when it took
the life of a child like that, that Abraham
Lincoln thinks the life far too precious to
be lost. Go back, or—wait until tomor-
row; Bennie will need change after he has
so bravely faced death, he shall go with
you."

"God bless you, sir," said Blossom; and
who shall doubt that God heard and regis-
tered the request.

Two days after this interview the young
soldier came to the White House with his
little sister. He was called into the Pre-
sident's private room, and a strap fastened
"upon the shoulder," Mr. Lincoln said,
"that could carry a sick comrade's baggage
and die for the good act so uncomplain-
ingly." Then Bennie and Blossom took
their way to their Green Mountain home,
and a crowd gathered at the Mill Depot to
welcome them back, and farmer Owen's
tall head lowered above them all, and as
his hand grasped that of his boy, Mr. Allan
heard him say fervently, as the holiest
blessing he could pronounce upon his child:
"Just and true are all thy ways, thou King
of Saints."

That night, Daisy and Brindle and Bet
came lowing home from pasture, for they
hear a wellknown voice calling them at
the gate; and Bennie as he pats his old
pets and looks lovingly in their great
brown eyes, catches through the still even-
ing air his Puritan father's voice as he re-
peats to his happy mother these jubilant
words: "Fear not, for I am with thee; I
will bring thy seed from the East, and
gather thee from the West; I will say to
the North give, and to the South, keep not
back; bring my sons from far, and my
daughters from the ends of the earth, every
one that is called by my name, for I have
created him for my glory; I have formed
him, yea, I have made him."-—NEW YORK
OBSERVER.

Russia.

A correspondent, writing from St. Peters-
burg on the 17th inst., furnishes the de-
tails following relative to the late attempt
on the Emperor's life :—-

“The Emperor is extremely regular in
his habits. At half-past eight every morn-
ing he may be seen to leave the palace on
foot, followed by several of his dogs, for
he is known to be a keen sportsman. His
early walk seldom exceeds twenty minutes
or half an hour, and on returning to the
palace he remains indoors and attends to
business till half-past two, at which time
he takes a drive and alights at the Summer
Garden, which is on the Great Quay, with-
in ten minutes' walk of the palace; he
takes a stroll in the garden, and afterwards
continues his drive. On these occasions
he is frequently accompanied either by the
Empress or by his daughter, the Grand
Duchess Marie Alexandrovna, but on the
16th he was alone. In the garden, how-
ever, he met the Duke of Leuchtenburg
with his sister, the Princess Marie de Bade.
After walking, all three together, for some
time, they separated at about four o'clock,
and the Emperor went towards his CALE-
CHE, from which the police-officer in at-
tendance took his Majesty's cloak, and was
just helping him on with it, when a man
rushed forward from the crowd which sur-
rounded the carriage, and, drawing a long
double-barrelled pistol from under his
cloak, presented it point blank to the Em-
peror and fired at him from behind. For-
tunately, a peasant, by name Ossip Ivanoff,
who was in the crowd, saw the intention
of the assassin, and, giving him a violent
blow below the elbow, forced his arm in
an upward direction just as the pistol went
off, and the ball went over the Emperor's
head. This peasant, who is now an histo-
rical personage, came to the capital some
years ago to learn a trade, and was appren-
ticed to a hatter, and after serving his time
he became a journey-man in the same esta-
blishment where he had learned his busi-
ness. Till yesterday he was supporting a
young wife and child with the produce of
his honest labour, but he has now become
the founder of a noble family, and the
name of Kommissaroff will be transmitted
to posterity side by side with the proudest
names of Russia. It happens that the 4-16th
of April is St. Joseph's-day, the patron
saint of Kommissaroff (by which name he
is ennobled), who consequently asked his
employer for a holiday, and in the after-
noon left home with the intention of per-
forming his devotions at the little chapel
attached to the house of Peter the Great
near the fortress; but on reaching the Neva
he found the ice so unsafe that the passage
was prohibited, and he was obliged to
abandon his design; so walking slowly
along the Great Quay he came to the Sum-
mer Garden, at the gate of which the Im-
perial CALCHE was waiting, and as usual
a small crowd of people was standing near
the vehicle to see the Emperor as he left
the garden. Kommissaroff, who but a
short time ago was a serf, thought it would
be a pleasant thing to see the Liberator
on his name-day, so he secured a good
place in front of the crowd, and determined
to wait patiently till the Emperor appeared.
There was a shabby-looking fellow just
behind him, who constantly tried to push
forward, and evidently wished to get a
front place, but Kommissaroff resolutely
held his own and kept the intruder back.
But just as the Emperor came out of the
garden this man took advantage of the
movement caused by the presence of his
Majesty, and rushed forward for the pur-
pose of committing the crime which Kom-
missaroff so fortunately prevented. As
soon as the miscreant had discharged his
weapon he attempted to escape, but he was
immediately seized by the people, who
were so enraged that they seemed deter-
mined to execute summary justice upon
him on the spot. When the Emperor
heard the report of the pistol and the ex-
clamation of the policeman, his first idea
was that some one had committed suicide,
but when he turned round and saw what
was going on he understood the great dan-
ger he had escaped. His first care was to
pacify the crowd, and to order the police
to take charge of the man, who, nothing
daunted, boldly accused the Emperor of
having deceived the people, and then turn-
ing to the crowd he called them his broth-
ers, reproached them for ill-treating him,
and told them that it was for them he had
incurred so great a risk. He was imme-
diately taken off to the central office, and
the Emperor drove to the Cathedral of Our
Lady of Cazan to return thanks for the
Divine protection which had been vouch-
safed to him. The news spread with won-
derful rapidity. On his return to the pa-
lace the Emperor found an immense crowd
waiting for his arrival, who received him
with the most joyful acclamations. The
Council of the Empire, then sitting in the
palace, came at once to offer their congra-
tulations. In a short time all the high
dignitaries, both civil and military, and
every one having the right to enter the
palace, crowded to manifest their joy at
his Majesty's escape. On returning thanks
for their expressions of devotion to his
person, his Majesty said he had no fear of
assassination, for he felt sure that the Al-
mighty would protect his life as long as he
could be useful to his country. After din-
ner there was a TE DEUM in the palace
church, at which all the Imperial family
were present, as well as those persons more
immediately attached to the person of the
Emperor. On leaving the chapel the Em-
peror expressed a wish to see Kommissar-
off, who was immediately presented, and,
after cordially embracing him, his Majesty
told him that he should henceforth take
rank amongst his nobility. The hall in
which this took place was crowded with
the first nobles of the land, who by their
acclamations expressed their approbation
of the favour which the Emperor had con-
ferred on the man who had been the means
of saving his life. As Kommissaroff is on-
ly 25 years of age, he may perhaps acquire
sufficient polish to enable him worthily to
wear his new dignity. At eight o'clock in
the evening the bells of all the churches
summoned the people to prayers; the whole
town was illuminated, and the National
Anthem was sung at all the theatres. At
the Russian Theatre the enthusiasm was
so great, and the anthem was repeated so
often, that it was nearly nine o'clock be-
fore the curtain rose for the regular per-
formance, which should have begun at
seven. This morning, at eleven o'clock,
thanksgivings were offered up in all the
public schools, and deputations have been
received at the palace all day long. At
four o'clock this afternoon there was a TE
DEUM near the gate of the Summer Gar-
den, on the spot where the attempt was
made yesterday. The police are quite
at fault; they do not seem to know what
to make of their prisoner, but they have
sent his photograph all over the empire,
so they will probably soon find out who he
is. From his manner of expressing him-
self he has evidently received some educa-
tion, though he is dressed like one of the
lower orders. He merely says that he is
a Russian, from one of the southern pro-
vinces, that he was educated at a public
school, and that he has no fixed place of
residence. He is most likely one of those
half-educated men of whom there are so
many in Russia, who possess the crude
notions on social liberty and political
equality, who attack everything that is
established, and everything that is sacred,
without having the slightest idea of what
they would give us instead of what they
wish to destroy. These men are called
Nihilists, because they believe in nothing,
and though it is the fashion to treat them
with contempt there is no doubt that they

Bangkok Recorder.

The European War.

Having been favored by a friend
with the loan of two late numbers of
The Home News up to May 3rd and
May 10th, brought from Singapore by
the Schr. Erin on the 24th inst., we
have copied largely from them in this
day's issue, as the European news they
bring is to us intensely interesting.
The latest number is filled with the
subject of the impending war be-
tween Prussia and Austria. Our rea-
ders we think will feel forced to the
painful conclusion that Europe is now
very likely shaken from centre to cir-
cumference by the collision of the ar-
mies of Prussia, France, and Italy on
the one hand; and the armies of Aus-
tria, several of the smaller German
states, and Russia on the other; and
that consequently thousands on thous-
ands of precious lives have ere this
been sacrificed on battle fields. We see
but one hope that those tremen-
dous billows have been lulled down
without much loss of life, and that is,
that the autograph letter of the Em-
peror of Russia to the king of Prussia
giving him to understand that if the
war shall indeed begin, he shall feel
compelled to send his armies in de-
fense of several of the German states,
to which he sustains a family relationship
by some of their chief princes. It may
be that Prussia and her allies will be
startled by this warning, coming as it
does from so powerful a monarch, and
will prefer, in view of it, to make some
retrograde movement. This warning,
it will be observed, is not merely in
words but with the fact that 'Russia
is arming on a vast scale' to make
herself ready to carry out her settled
purpose, and we may rest assured that
she has come down into central Europe
with a mighty hand, if the war has
broken out, and that ere this tremendous
fighting has taken place. We cannot
see that Prussia has any adequate cause
for making war against Austria, and
we think that the trio of power which
she has managed to array against her
antagonist so far from adding to her
glory in the end, will bring upon her
lasting shame and disgrace. She has
long been lusting for power and con-
quest. She would bring all Germany
under her sway in a mighty monarchy.
She may be swallowed up in one grand
German Republic. We think the signs
of the times are pointing to such an
event. May God speed the day when
it shall be fully accomplished. We
cannot help remembering that this
year 1866, is the year long looked
forward to by the church of Christ as
the one in which "the time and times
and dividing of time" of the prophet
Daniel, and the one thousand two
hundred and sixty prophetic years of
John the apostle are to expire, when
spiritual Babylon is to fall "and be-
come the habitation of devils." Who
can tell but that this war will be over-
ruled by the "King of kings" to fulfill
this sublime prophecy.

Petchaburee No. 3.

We propose in this article to con-
duct our readers to the top of mount
P'ra Nakawn Kirree on whose summit
is situated one of the most beautiful
country palaces of His Majesty the king
of Siam. This palace is one of the
greatest objects of attraction in the vici-
nity of Petchaburee. You may see it
on a clear day without a glass, even
from the mouth of Maaklawng river, a
distance of twenty miles. From that
point of observation it looks like a
dozen or more very small cottages as
white as snow banks, with dark sur-
roundings, caused by the dense foliage
on the mount, and the lofty mountain
ranges in its rear, stretching far away
to the west and to the north. No
lover of nature having been shut up in
Bangkok for many months, where no-
thing like a mountain or a hill is to be
seen, can be ushered suddenly into
sight of that distant mountain scenery,
as he will be on a clear morning when
sailing out from Maaklawng river,
without feeling awakened into new
life. This vivification is one of the
great benefits of an occasional tour
to P'etchaburee, and the interest in-
creases continually as you sail across
the arm of the gulf on a pleasant day
towards that city.

When you come to the royal landing
just below the country palaces of the
Siamese princes and lords, mentioned
in our last, from which there is a
charming road running west straight
to the palace-mount you cannot, if
there be any vivacity left in you, resist
the desire of having a brisk walk and
frolic at once to its foot, which is less
than a mile distant. The street is
elevated above the common level of
the paddy fields on either side two or
three feet, and kept from washing off
by a brick wall on each side, whose
top is even with the surface of the
road, and being neatly finished with
stucco, forms a very agreeable foot-
path on both sides. One side of the
street is at present occupied with a
rail-track with one lumber car to run
on it. This has been used a good
deal for wheeling sand and brick from
the river to the foot of the mount.
The car is always propelled by putting
human shoulders to the wheels. But
as one might imagine it to be one of
the first ever made by G. Stephenson
and consequently quite unwieldy, and
as the track was laid with flat bars of
iron spiked on wooden sills full of ups
and downs and snake heads, the poor
Laos who were assessed to run the car,
found it but a little better than a light
ox cart drawn by hand on the smooth
earth road. Indeed, they finally, as
we were informed, came to prefer the
latter mode; and many a time have
we seen them thus engaged working
hard, as did the Israelites in Egypt, at
their daily tasks. The reason why oxen
or buffaloes were not employed to draw
the cars seems to be, that they could
not be spared from working the paddy
fields, and therefore human muscle
and sinew must take their places.

Close by the side of the left hand
wall, a little below its top, you will
notice an iron conduit of European
manufacture extending from the river
to the foot of the mount, for the purpose
of conveying thither the pure water
of the river for the pleasure of His
Majesty and royal retinue when re-
creating on the mount. On the same
side you will observe a row of the
very graceful flowering tree with
slender limbs much like the weeping
willow. They are now from 10 to 15
feet high, and when as large as they us-
ually grow, will form a splendid range
not excelled by the best cultivated
elms which Europe or America can
produce. It was the original design
to have a row of these trees on each
side of the street, and they were ac-
cordingly planted; but from some cause
or other most of the trees on the
right hand have failed, and those which
have survived are so scattered as not
to show to advantage. We are glad
however, to learn that the king intends
to have the deficiencies in the row
made good. Two complete rows from
30 to 50 feet high in full scarlet bloom
would form a most enchanting arbor
to perpetuate the memory of His Ma-
jesty to many generations.

The paddy fields on both sides of
this street are not particularly interest-
ing at this season of the year. Some
of them are carpeted with small grass
and young rice plants that have sprung
up spontaneously, and others are being
ploughed for a new rice crop. But
if you pass that way in the lat-
ter part of October, you will see every
field waving with growing rice in var-
ious stages of progress, some of a live-
ly pea-green a foot above the water,
some of a deep green a foot taller, and
some turning yellow for the sickle.
Here and there, scattered irregularly
about the fields, are palmyra trees
which afford a pleasing break to the
monotony of level paddy plantations.
These trees are of various heights, from
15 to 80 feet.

Arriving at the foot of the mount
you will find a grateful resting place
on a royal seat of artificial marble un-
der the shade of a venerable tamarind
tree having for its neighbors other
grand forest trees among which are
several specimens of thrifty teak.
Turning to the right nearly due north
is a good carriage road two miles in
extent leading to a small mount called
Kow Looang, remarkable for its spa-
cious caverns lighted by natural sky-
lights from 90 to 100 feet above their
floors. A little short of midway on
that road, you will notice a little pile
of limestone rocks 50 or 60 feet high,
shot up by some volcanic explosion
innumerable ages since, and which
Buddhism has latterly crowned with a
white pagoda and furnished its base
with a few temple buildings. Turn-
ing to the left you will observe anoth-
er street more rural and romantic, pass-
ing to the south close by the base of
the palace-mount which crosses an-
other of the king's high ways some 200
rods distant and passes on and joins
another leading from the city to
mount two miles at the west. Just
in front of where you are sitting you
may observe the terminus of the iron
conduit where the king takes shower
baths and douches, spouting from the
mouth of a fabulous serpent. And al-
most perpendicularly to this, some 30
feet above, is a very tasty sala
in which His Majesty sits as a specta-
tor of cattle racing and other sports
on a beautiful lawn at the base of the
mount.

The attractions upward are so pow-
erful that you can rest but a moment
where you are. The road is steep up
the mount but nothing like as it was
8 years ago, when there was no way
to an old pagoda on its summit, but
a single foot track by which we staved
through dense jungle, clambering over
precipitous rocks with the greatest
effort to get above the dead level of
the country as far as possible, that we
might have a good observation of the
promised land. We felt ourselves
richly rewarded then for all our trou-
ble. But now how much more is one
well paid for springing up the royal
road, neatly paved with brick and
guarded by a white stucco wall on the
lower side and most charmingly deck-
ed with God's own living bouquets. The
direction of the road is exceedingly
zigzag for the purpose of relieving
somewhat the steep acclivity. And
while the engineering exhibited in
laying it out, shows clearly that it was
far from being the most enlightened,
it nevertheless evinces that the Sia-
mese are an ingenious race, and cap-
able of being made, by no great
amount of teaching, a people of large
capabilities in the arts and sciences.
The road can be ascended on horse-
back or in light carriages drawn by
horses but not without great labor.

As you ascend the mount you are
more and more charmed by all that
your eyes see near by and afar off,
and you are continually regaled with
the sweetest fragrance of flowers which
grow on herbs and shrubs and trees
all along the rugged way. The olian-
der flourishes there, and is always in
blossom. A native tree called lan
tom, leafless in the dry season, and yet
even then full of the sweetest and
most charming white and yellow flow-
ers, shed their fresh blossoms daily
along the way and among the cragged
rocks by which all the breezes of the
mountain are made delightfully spicy
and balmy. Mounting up this enchan-
ting way, while under such influences
you cannot but feel that your physi-
cal system is being already envigora-
ted by the freshness of the air you
breathe and the glorious change of
scenery you enjoy.

As for ourselves we never take that
walk without feeling not only a rush
of blood to the head, but also a gush
of admiration which ever will have an
outlet by exclamations of wonder and
delight.

But we must not stop here only
half way up the mount to describe
what is best seen from the summit.
You look up and see the royal palace
on one of its peaks and close by it a
beautiful white observatory towering
some 20 or 30 feet above it. You are
filled with ardor to reach the very
best possible position in that observa-
tory for seeing all that can be seen of
the exquisitely exciting landscape in
every direction from that stand point.
You will run panting up to the base
of the palace, and then up three long
flight of stone steps which ascend out
side of the palace from one story to
another until you come to the royal au-
dience hall, a building entirely dis-
tinct from all others. It may be 80
by 40 feet in size, a brick building of
one story, quite tastefully plastered
with stucco outside, and finished in
European style. At the east and
farther end of this building stands
the observatory entirely distinct from
it, and in the most commanding posi-
tion possible. Out of breath almost
as you are, you will hasten to it not-
withstanding, and ascend the spiral
stairway within it, pulling yourself up
as it were, by the iron railing. What
shall we say of your emotions when
you come out into full view of all the
wonderfully unique and delightful
scenery on the mountain, on the vast
plains below in all directions for scores
of miles, the dark mountain ranges far
away at the south and the west and
the north, and the Gulf of Siam at
the east? We can only say that if
you are made of matter and spirit in
proportions like ourselves, and have
been taught by divine grace to see
and feel that all the works of nature
are but the work of your God and
Redeemer, and that God has indeed
"made all things beautiful in his
time" you will be enraptured with
the view, and your heart will swell
with confidence in the divine promises
that all you see, naturally so delight-
ful, is erelong to be made far more so,
when it shall all be inhabited by the
saints of the most High God to whom
it has long since been deeded in the
court of Heaven. We do not recol-
lect to have been in any other place in
all our travels where exclamations of
inexpressible pleasure crowd so thick
and so strong to the vocal organs as
in this.

But having now fulfilled what we
set out to do, and brought our readers
to the top of a new Pregah, we will
leave them to their own delightful
contemplations until our next issue.

Wats.

In a previous article, I promised to
say something of the Siamese Wats
as religious, and literary institutions.
There has however been so much said
of them already, in the Bangkok Cal-
endars, and elsewhere, that it leaves
but little unsaid; still I suppose there
is no one who has never visited a
country where the Buddhist religion
prevails, who has ever obtained from
reading any thing like an intelligent
idea of a Buddhist temple. The in-
mates of these cloisters in Siam con-
sist chiefly of three classes, viz., the
priests, the nains or novices, and pu-
pils or look sit. There are occasional-
ly seen, too, a number of superannuated
females, with shaved heads and dress-
ed in white. These are however prin-
cipally objects of charity. The offi-
cers of the Royal Wats are generally
a chief officer called Samret Chow,
who has under him several others, as
a Palat, Samook, a Beideeka and the
Nai Mooat. The Samret Chow is ap-
pointed by the crown, and receives
twelve ticals per month from the roy-
al treasury, and ten Salungs addi-
tional for necessary expenses. The
others receive only about six ticals
per annum. The common wats have
seldom more than one chief officer,
who is called the Sóm p'an. I know
of no limit placed to the number of
priests, and novices in any particular
temple, but suppose it depends, on
the ability, and piety of the neighbor-
hood, in which the wat is situated.
The novices also wear a yellow cloth,
and range in age from seven to twen-
ty years. After the age of twenty a
novice can be inducted into the priest-
hood. This ceremony however is fully
described in the Bangkok Calendar
of 1863, and need not be repeated at
present. Persons however frequently
enter the priesthood, from the com-
mon walks of life, without passing
through the novitiate. The ceremony
in this case is shaving the head, eye-
brow, and beard, and bathing. The
candidate is asked some questions in
Bali, which he seldom understands viz.
"Are the authorities aware of this step, ?
or, are you entering the priesthood to
get clear of some government work?
Are your parents fully aware of it,
and have you their consent? Have
you a wife, and children, and have
you their consent? Having answered
the questions satisfactorily, a proces-
sion is formed and he is taken to the
wat, where he is invested with the
yellow robes and the full orders of the
priesthood. The shortest time any
one can remain in the priesthood is
three months, and no one can hold an
important office under government,
who has not spent at least that time
in the holy orders. Prayers are had
in concert every evening at the wats.
Many of the princes and nobles who
are engaged in government business,
and have little time to attend to reli-
gious matters, but wish occasionally to
have the benefit of a sermon, are ac-
customed to send for some priests to
come to their houses to preach. This
generally takes place at night.

The wats are also the only institu-
tions of learning of the country. They
are the common schools, and colleges
combined. There the male portion of
the country are taught their A. B. C.
and there they take their diplomas.
A father who has an acquaintance, or
friend, who is a priest in a wat,
can commit the education of his sons
to his care. Besides learning their
books, the boys are also a kind of ser-
vants of their teacher, paddling his
boat when he goes out. They are ei-
ther supported by their parents, or eat
the surplus rice of the priests. The
principle thing taught the common
pupils is to read, and write the Siam-

language. This is oftentimes
however merely a mechanical affair.
Whilst we scarcely find a Siamese who
cannot read his own language, still we
find very many who do not read un-
derstandingly. These read fluently,
but know but little of what they are
reading. Most of them, too, write a
good hand, which they acquire by
practice in copying their native books.
Of science, of course, they are taught
nothing. They have the primary
rules of arithmetic, which they per-
form mentally. They seldom use fig-
ures in calculating, and when they do,
they rub them out as soon as they are
through with them, so that it is after
all a mental operation. When through
none of the figures remain, except
the result, and should that not be cor-
rect, the whole operation, has to be
gone over again. They are also some-
times taught to use the Chinese a ba-
cus in calculating. The schools there-
fore are generally schools of indolence.
The boys have generally some favor-
ite cocks, which they train to fight,
and also practice some of the minor
games of chance. There is nothing of
that educating the mind, that draw-
ing it out, and training it to think,
which we find in European schools,
and especially in the public schools,
in some of the northern states in the
United States of America. The priests
and nains[..] spend much time upon
Bali, and many of the wats have a
special Bali teacher, called a Barien.
The Bali, however, whilst it benefits the
mind in some respects, is of no use in
bringing out its thinking powers. It
is too much like the former custom in
European and American colleges, of
drilling young men continually upon
the “longs,” and “shorts,” whilst the
thinking powers were left to lie whol-
ly dormant. This practice, in many
of the American colleges, has chang-
ed. Whilst all proper attention is paid
to the languages, greater importance,
is laid upon those branches, which
tend to draw out the mind, and throw
it occasionally upon its own resources.
The idea that education is a cram-
ming process, has wholly exploded.

It is a remarkable fact, that scholar-
ship is declining here. It is now ex-
ceedingly difficult, to find a teacher,
who can be relied upon in his own
language. This is probably owing to
the fact, that the influx of foreigners,
has thrown open more opportunities
for making money than formerly ex-
isted, so that young men do not re-
main sufficiently long in the priest-
hood, to become proficient in the lan-
guage. I had occasion not long since
to translate a document coming from
one of the ministers of government. It
was evidently dictated by him, and
written by one of his scribes. Very
many words were not correctly spell-
ed, so that even with a good teacher,
it was difficult sometimes to find out
what was intended to be conveyed.
The hiring of European teachers, to
teach the English language, by the
King, and others is certainly an im-
portant step, but if ever they are to
get anything like a general knowledge
of the sciences, it must be acquired
through the medium of their own
language.

Our Paper.

Is this foreign community dead and
buried that it has not a scrip of local
news or item on any subject to fur-
nish for the only local Newspaper they
have? Most certainly the stillness of
the grave reigns here in regard to this
matter. Has it come to this, that our
city readers have no desire to have
the Recorder live. We must frankly
say that we are much of the time
tempted to think so. We know well
that this silence does not happen from
want of talent to write. What, such
a large community of missionaries and
such an array of consuls and consular
assistants, and so many well educated
merchants and master mariners and
others with little or no talent with the
pen! Why, the thought is preposter-
ous. We frankly confess that we
alone have neither time nor ability to
gather sufficient matter of local bearing
for the weekly sustentation of our
paper. We have no money by which
we can employ a reporter who could
make himself in a good degree omni-
present for observation, and could fill
columns of the paper with interesting
items. To supply this lack we need
volunteer agencies from many quarters
of this metropolis and the country
whither Europeans and Americans
have gone to reside or travel. Such
agencies would give a wholesome
variety of matter, and with such food,
we feel confident, that we could make
our paper grow and thrive. But with-
out them it must remain lean and
dwarfish. We would hereby beg
therefore that our local readers will
wake up and exert themselves in
picking up items of news for us as a
gratuitous aid to our work, that it
may not famish and die for the want
of such support. Would it not be a
great shame to this community to suf-
fer the only local paper they have to
die and that from sheer starvation ! In
such a city as this of 400,000 souls,
there must be a world of news. Let
us all unite and see if we cannot draw
out much of it weekly.

LOCAL.

In this city, on the morning of the
27th inst. of Typhoid fever, Mrs.
Kobke, wife of Capt. F. I. L Kobke,
aged 27 years.

Deceased was a native of Denmark,
had been married only a few months,
and was but two or three weeks since
in blooming health.

A Card.

Mr. Editor-—Having been bereaved
of my dear wife by death, on the morn-
ing of Wednesday last, and having
buried her on the same evening, I de-
sire hereby to tender my best thanks to
her friends in Bangkok, for their kind
attentions during her short sojourn,
and illness among them, and for their
attendance on her funeral thereby
showing their best respects to her
mortal remains.

We learn with much pain that one
of the men charged with stealing 53
catties from the royal Treasury by
burglary a few weeks since, died soon
after under the most horrible castiga-
tion, inflicted with the view to force
him to confess that he was guilty of
the crime; and that he persisted in as-
serting his innocence to his last breath.

This is one of the many horrors of
heathenism and of a heathen govern-
ment. It is high time for the Siamese
government to put away forever such
horrid injustice and barbarity. She
may depend upon it, that if long con-
tinued despite all the light which now
shines upon her from Christian lands,
she will soon be crushed by the right-
eous judgments of Jehovah.

Our mutual friend His Royal High-
ness Krom Hlaang Wongsa tirst, we
learn, will not this year make a dinner
party for the Foreign residents of
Bangkok in celebration of his birth-
day on the 9th proximo as has been his
custom for many years. And the rea-
son is because he sustains now no offi-
cial relations to them, having been ob-
liged to retire from those relations by
ill health. We would anticipate His
Highness' next birth-day and wish him
a happy new year of his life and many
more in succession.

We were much interested a few
days since in hearing a definition of
the word patience. An English resi-
dent asked his little daughter of less
than three years to tell him the meaning
of patience. She promptly replied,
“to wait a little bit." What old and
learned divine could have given a
better definition?

His Excellency CHOW PHYA KALA-
HOME the Prime Minister, left in the
“Volant" early on the morning of the
27th inst. for a trip to Pänatsänanikone
the province at the mouth of Banpa-
kong river. He was accompanied by
a large part of his family and English
secretary. It is understood that His
Excellency will visit Anghin before his
return with the view to forward the new
Sanatarium he is erecting there. H.
E. will return in time to receive his
mail by the next Chow Phya.

CHOW PHYA SOORIWONGS WRIYA-
WAT the only son of H. E. CHOW PHYA
KALAHOME left this morning on a trip
to Bangplassoi.

KOON YING—-the head wife of H.
E. CHOW PHYA KALAHOME returned
from the old city a few days since and
brought good news of the progress of
rice planting in that province. The
paddy fields were generally suffici-
ently watered for the work, and in some
localities there was too much water.

The King of Siam on reading from
some European paper, that the Pope
had lately suffered the loss of some
precious jewels, in consequence of a
thief having got possession of His Ho-
liness' keys, exclaimed, What a man!
professing to keep the keys of heaven
and cannot even keep his own keys!

We are informed that His Majesty
the king has appropriated the sum of
one hundred catties for the improve-
ment of the new road on the eastern
side of the river.

The funeral ceremonies for H. Roy-
al Highness Prince Charo'ne-Roong-
Rasi are now coming off, and the cre-
mation will take place to-morrow.

We are credibly informed that His
Majesty the king refused to comply
with the request of the English court
at Maulmain for an authentication of
the seal of P'râya P'oo-t’ara-p'ie the
Prime Minister for Northern Siam.
Report says, that His Majesty felt per-
plexed at the anomoly of the case and
had it under discussion many days by
the government, and finally came to
the decision that the government had
no precedent for complying with it, and
then sent the messengers back to Maul-
main.

The Home News

The news from the Continent this
morning increases the chances of war. It
is difficult, indeed, to comprehend by
what ingenuity, or through what influ-
ence, hostilities can now be averted.
Prussia has again displayed her determi-
nation not to give way to the suggestions
of reason, and has again shown that the
only effect upon her of the wise modera-
tion of others is to intensify her own in-
tolerance. In answer to the last Austrian
note she has repeated her former threats,
persisting in the assertion that the pre-
parations in Venetia, apparently aimed at
Italy, are really directed against her, and
insisting unconditionally upon their aban-
donment. The course she has adopted
towards Saxony is exactly that which we
have ventured elsewhere to anticipate.
She menaces Saxony with immediate
measures in the last report, if she does
not disarm, and Saxony justifies her
armaments on the ground that she is lia-
ble to be called upon by the Federal
Diet to provide a contingent. Thus with-
in Germany all is confusion and violence,
nor does a gleam of likelihood of a peace-
ful settlement appear anywhere.

Outside Germany the symptoms of a
coming war are no less ominous. Italy
is openly arming. She is strengthening
her resources by all availed means, and
does not pretend to disguise her object.
Nobody believes that she would adopt
so hazardous a course unless she were
powerfully supported, and the story of
a secret alliance with Prussia gains
ground every day. But Italy would not
move without the sanction of France,
and it is becoming more and more clear
that France, Italy, and Prussia are likely
to act in concert should a war break out.
It is stated that there are four regiments
of infantry ECHELONNED between Mar-
seilles and Nice. What are they doing
there? And in the event of hostilities,
what is the nature of the arrangement
Prussia has entered into with France?

General Summary.

That war is impending—that it cannot
be averted—-is the universal conviction
throughout Europe. The Earl of Claren-
don says that there are one million of men
arming on the Continent; and the Em-
peror Napoleon has spoken a few words
at Auxerre which are considered in France
conclusive of immediate war. When the
Emperor, chafed by the speech of M.
Thiers, declares publicly that he holds in
detestation those “treaties of 1815, which
it is now desired to make the basis of our
foreign policy,” the people know what to
look for. The panic produced by these
words in Paris is said to be unprecedent-
ed. It cannot be exaggerated. It amount-
ed to dismay, not unmixed with indigna-
tion. This is exactly the atmosphere in
which the Emperor luxuriates, as petrels
may be supposed to delight in a storm.
It is said that the ministers have not been
consulted on this occasion, and there is
some talk of their resignation. But what-
ever the Emperor has resolved upon is
not likely to be affected by the opinions
of his ministers. He has raised a tempest;
but nobody can doubt that he had first
fully prepared for the consequences.

All uncertainty as to the probable dis-
tribution of the Powers in the coming
struggle seems to be over. The arma-
ments in Italy never could have gone on
without the sanction and connivance of
France; and France would never have
connived at such a proceeding without a
guarantee of advantages for herself of
some kind. It is now asserted that the
project of the Italian government for a
reduction of expenditure, some two or
three months ago, was disapproved of by
France, who desired that, whatever was
reduced, the army should not be diminish-
ed. The result is now at hand. France,
Italy, and Prussia have entered into an
understanding, perhaps something more;
and from the moment when the first blow
is struck, they will be found banded to-
gether. Italy is bristling with arms. The
volunteers are coming forward to the aid
of government; and the utmost enthu-
siasm prevails. Garibaldi and Prim are
to hold commands, and the scale upon
which the military dispositions are being
laid down indicates operations of no or-
dinary magnitude.

It is a strange state of things that this
war should be undertaken entirely against
the will of the peoples who are to furnish
the material for it. The Prussians are
utterly opposed to it. They recognize
alike its criminality and its wantonness;
and have protested against it at public
meetings, in petitions to the sovereign,
and through the voice of the legislature,
but in vain. Austria, Saxony, and Bavaria
are forced into it. Prussia has refused
the constitutional arbitrament urged upon
her by Austria, and, under the shallow
pretence that Austria assumed an attitude
of menace towards her, she persists in
fighting, notwithstanding that her op-
ponent continues to disclaim all aggres-
sive intentions. The result, whatever it
may be, must be, more or less, disastrous
to Germany. Her solidity as a federation
will, probably, be broken up, and Austria
will in all likelihood lose her ascendancy.
What share France will have in the spoils,
remains to be seen; but if the treaties of
1815 are to be treated as waste paper, an
extensive disturbance of existing settle-
ments may be anticipated.

In the midst of the breathless suspense
of these affairs, an attempt has been made
to assassinate Count Bismarck, who with
great promptitude seized his assailant, a
young political fanatic, said to be a step-
son of the distinguished exile, Karl Blind.
This mad enthusiast has since expiated
his guilt by committing suicide in prison.
There never was a more illogical proceed-
ing than that of assassinating an obnoxious
minister. The only effect it has is to in-
vest the intended victim with an interest
which he could never otherwise acquire,
and to secure him a place in history to
which he could not otherwise have be-
come entitled. In consequence of this
foolish and dastardly attack, Bismarck
has suddenly become the hero of the hour.
He is waited upon by sympathizing crowds,
and receives public ovations from a people
who detest him.

Prince Frederick Charles will take the
chief command of the Prussian army.

The Russian ambassador at Berlin has
presented to the King of Prussia an
autograph letter of the Emperor of Russia,
in which reference is made to the family
relations existing between the emperor
and the various German princely families,
whose existence he would be forced to
defend should it be threatened.

All hopes of the preservation of peace
are abandoned, and war is now believed
to be unavoidable. Great uneasiness has
been created in Vienna by the speech of
the Emperor Napoleon to the Mayor of
Auxerre. The goods traffic on the North-
ern Railway will shortly be stopped. In
the event of war the Archduke Carl Lud-
wig will go to the Tyrol, where he will
superintend the formation of rifle corps.
All the passes of the Tyrol are now de-
fended by artillery.

The Berlin 'Provinzial Correspondenz'
of yesterday, in announcing the mobilisa-
tion of all the Prussian army corps, says:

The nation may be assured that the
Prussian government is still willing to
maintain peace, if that can be done with
honour and with a due regard to Prussian
interests. The government, however,
owes it to the country not to allow it in
any way to be doubted that, if it must
be, Prussia is determined to come for-
ward sword in hand, and in the most for-
cible and decided manner, to maintain
those interests.

A serenade has taken place before the
residence of Count Bismarck, in celebra-
tion of his recent escape from the hands
of the assassin. About 2000 persons
were present, to whom Count Bismarck,
in expressing his thanks, said, "We are
all ready to die for King and Fatherland,
let it be on the pavement of the street or
on the battlefield. Our common feeling
finds its best expression in the cry of
'Long live the King!'"

His Highness the 'Tunnongong of Jo-
hore' (the first Malay prince to visit Eu-
rope) and suite have arrived in London.

Telegraphic Summary.

The Franchise Bill has been carried in
the House of Commons by a majority of
5. Ministers have not accepted this re-
sult as a defeat, and have announced
their intention of proceeding with the
Redistribution of Seats Bill, and the bills
for Scotland and Ireland, on the 7th of
May.

The American minister at Vienna has
been instructed by his government to de-
mand his passports should Austrian troops
be embarked for Mexico, in which event
the Austrian minister at Washington will
receive his credentials.

Another steamer had arrived at New
York with cholera on board.

It is reported from Mexico that the
French had suffered defeat with great
loss.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has
brought in a bill for the redistribution of
seats in England, by which small bor-
oughs are to be enlarged by being group-
ed with others, new constituencies to be
created, and additions to be made to the
county and borough representation.

The Lord-Advocate has brought in a
Franchise Bill for Scotland, reducing the
borough franchise to £7, and the county
to £14 occupation, and property with re-
sidence to £5.

Mr. Chichester Fortescue has brought
in a Reform Bill for Ireland, reducing
the borough franchise to £6, and creat-
ing a lodging and savings-bank franchise.
Three new seats are to be created, and
the boundaries of several small boroughs
to be enlarged.

The news from Germany and Italy is
more warlike. Prussia, Austria, and Italy
are bringing up their armies to a war
standard, and Austrian troops are con-
centrating on the Bohemian and Silesian
frontiers. The country round Mantua
has been inundated by Austrian engi-
neers, and Peschiera and Legnano have
been strengthened. Prince Frederick
Charles is to take the chief command of
the Prussian army.

The Emperor Napoleon in a speech at
Auxerre has expressed detestation of the
treaties of 1815. This has produced a
feeling of dismay in France.

Volunteering is going forward with
great enthusiasm in Italy. The Nation-
al Guard have offered their services.
General Prim is to have a command in
the army. General Garibaldi has been
called by royal decree to a command of
twenty battalions.

Some of the small German States have
declared their intention to join Austria
in the event of war.

The Emperor of Russia has intimated
to Prussia that, if war breaks out, he will
be obliged, by family relations, to sup-
port several of the German provinces.

An attempt has been made to assas-
sinate Count Bismarck, by a stepson of
Karl Blind. The would-be assassin has
since committed suicide.

The Fenians, who had collected along
the New Brunswick frontier, with a view
to the invasion of that province, have
entirely dispersed. The Fenian move-
ment in America is considered to have
completely collapsed.

A great fire has occurred in Glasgow,
resulting in an immense destruction of
property.

A speech delivered on the present war
crisis by M. Thiers in the Corps Legis-
latif has produced a great impression
both in the Chamber and on the public.

It is reported that Russia is arming on
a vast scale.

The Danubian Principalities.

Anarchy in Roumania is said to be
daily assuming a more alarming character.

The government hesitates before the
coming storm, and seems to be doubtful
of its strength, and a variety of factions
have been formed for its overthrow. Of
these the most formidable is that of M.
Cæsar Boliak, a former supporter of the
ex-Minister Cogolnitohano, who advocates
a policy of 'union and a native prince'.
This party has now its recognized organ
in the press, the 'Trompeta Carpatilor,
in which a series of articles has lately
been published on the present policy of
the government, which are chiefly re-
markable for the extreme violence of
their language. Faithful to their princi-
ples, M. Boliak and the whole of his party
voted against the election of Prince Char-
les of Hohenzollern, notwithstanding
which the Government telegrams asserted
that the whole country was unanimous in
his favour.

America.

It was said that the House Judiciary
Committee had summoned a great num-
ber of witnesses to prove the complicity
of Mr. Jefferson Davis in the assassination
plot ; but, though cross-examination was
limited, nothing had been produced to
substantiate the charge. President John-
son had granted Mrs. Jefferson Davis
permission to visit her husband. A
Washington correspondent writes :—-

The office of the Attorney-General
is now entirely occupied with arrange-
ments for the trial of Jefferson Davis.
He will probably be tried in Tenessee, as
the President seems to prefer that State
to Virginia for the purpose ; but this
point has not been decide, and will de-
pend on whether it can be shown that
Mr. Davis was at Muffreesborough during
the battle of Stone River. W. M. Evarts,
of New York, has been retained by the
government to assist the Attorney-Gen-
eral in the trial, and it is said that
ex-Governor Clifford, of Massachusetts,
will also be intrusted with a part of the
business. Charles O'Connor and J. T.
Brady, of New York, Judge Read, of
Philadelphia, and a lawyer of Mississippi,
are to conduct the defence. Mr. Davis
will be arraigned before a circuit court
of the United States on a charge of high
treason. Mr. Davis has been gloomy of
late, and seems to anticipate the extreme
penalty of the law. Mr. Sumner, Mr.
Wendell Phillips, and Mr. Horace Greeley
are strongly opposing any such step as
his execution.

The Senate had passed a bill admitting
Colorado as a State into the Union. An
amendment proposed by Mr. Sumner ex-
tending the suffrage to Colorado, without
distinction of colour, was rejected by 27
against 7 votes.

Spain was semi-officially reported to
have requested the mediation, and agreed
to submit to the arbitration of the United
States in the complication with Chili.

Heavy crevasses in the levees on the
Mississippi river threaten the country
around New Orleans with inundation.

Seventy-five additional cases of cholera
had occurred on board the Virginia since
her arrival in quarantine, at New York.
Twelve deaths took place on April 24.
The disease was assuming a milder form
and was decreasing. Dr. Slayter, the
Halifax physician who attended the pas-
sengers on the England, had died of cholera
at Halifax, where three other cases were
reported.

The Fenian excitement was said to be
rapidly abating. Federal troops guard the
bridge between Calais and St. Stephens.
General Doyle had established his head-
quarters at the latter place. Coran Kil-
lian's movements were not known, but it
was reported that he was endeavouring
to organize a fishing company for the
purpose of bringing about, without a
breach of the neutrality laws, a collision
between the English and American on the
fishing grounds, in hopes of thereby
causing a rupture between the two gov-
ernments.

It was reported that the Roberts faction
will now make a desperate effort to secure
the support of the disaffected O'Mahonry-
Fenians by an immediate military demon-
stration against some point of the Cana-
dian frontier. Unreliable reports were in
circulation that the Fenians were gather-
ing at Ogdensburg, on the St. Lawrence.
A party of the Fenians from Eastport,
on the way from Portland to Boston,
mutinied against their officers. The
ringleaders were put on shore, and the
boat proceeded.

Memoranda.

An American paper, the 'Telegrapher,'
states that it is intended to apply electri-
city to Alden's type-setting machine, so
as to enable a person in Washington to
set type by telegraph in the offices of large
daily newspapers in New York.

The Civil Rights Bill is the sixth in-
stance of the passage of a measure by
Congress over a Presidential veto; one
was under the administration of Mr. Tyler,
and four under that of Mr. Pierce.

Petroleum has been discovered in large
quantities in the island of Cuba. The oil
is the same as that of Pennsylvania.

The United States consul at Aspinwall
notifies his government that the rinder-
pest has broken out along the Panama
railroad, and that hundreds of cattle are
dying daily.

Letters received in America from Port
au Prince mention a case of "Obeahism,"
where a party of several persons was dis-
covered feasting on cooked infants.

The Mormons have resolved to aban-
don the plan of emigration, and to fight
for predominance. An affray has occur-
red in which eight "Gentiles" were kill-
ed. Placards have been posted every-
where about Utah warning enemies of
Mormonism to depart.

The 'Voix' of Luxembourg gives the
following extraordinary account of ef-
fects produced by lightning during a
storm which broke over the village of
Bure a few days back:—"The electric
fluid struck a cottage, carried away the
roof, entirely destroyed the chimney, re-
duced the windows into fragments, and
broke into pieces the door and all the
furniture. Three children, who were
sleeping in an upper room, were projected
out of the house, they do not know how,
but escaped unhurt, while the bed on
which they were lying was completed
shattered. The mother and father were
in bed with two other children, one an
infant; the last-named was cast against a
wall and somewhat injured, and the moth-
er, who had got up, was struck dead in
the room while lighting a candle. The
husband and the other child only felt a
violent shock. The lightning then es-
caped through a wall and killed a cow in
an adjoining building."

A "mule rinderpest" prevails in Up-
per Louisiana and Mississippi. The buf-
falo gnats are killing off mules and horses.
On one plantation [?] on another 25, and
on others 20, were carried off in a single
night.

The 'New York Express' says:—"A
wedding recently took place in this city
which offered convincing proof that all
the money had not been spent yet. The
bride was dressed in white satin, of
course, and point-lace veil. On her veil
her father pinned ten 1000 dollar green-
backs, and she was presented on her
wedding-day with 62 shares of Pacific
Mail stock. This is considered something
'sensible' by several lately married men,
who are reveling in an unlimited quan-
tity of napkin-rings, fish-knives, and salt-
cellars."

M. Bismarck's name is likely to take
its place in the slang French vocabulary.
It appears that when a person is suspect-
ed of foul play at cards or billiards he
is said to "bismarquer," as equivalent to
"tricher," and the insinuation is resented
as an insult. So much for fame.

The Empress of the French completed
her 40th year on the 5th of May.

have considerable influence over the rising
generation. The assassin is probably a
man of weak intellect, whose brain has
been turned by the shallow doctrines of
this sect, and indeed the manner in which
his criminal attempt was made is the best
proof of his folly."—LON. & C. EXPRESS.

Russia

There is no end to the manifestations
of loyalty which the recent attempt upon
the Czar's life has called forth. Nor are
these demonstrations confined to the Rus-
sians. All the foreigners in St. Petersburg
have sent in addresses, prayers of thank-
giving have been offered up in the foreign
churches, and appropriate sermons have
been preached by all the Protestant cler-
gymen. At Moscow, the enthusiasm seems
to be greater even than in St. Petersburg.
The little churches of the ancient capital
could not accommodate a tenth part of
the people who crowded to the altars, so
a Te Deum was celebrated in the Krem-
lin in the open air. The merchants treated
the people, and threw silver amongst the
crowd. The Russian 'Gazette of St. Pe-
tersburg,' says that the marshals and de-
puties of the St. Petersburg nobles had
resolved unanimously to present Ossip
Ivanovitch Komissaroff, the peasant who
foiled the assassin's aim, with a holy
image, and to open for him a subscrip-
tion, to which all the nobility of the dis-
trict are invited to subscribe. The per-
manent deputations of the nobles waited
upon him to obtain his consent to be en-
rolled in the book of nobles. Komissaroff
gratefully accepted the offer, and in do-
ing so gave the following account of
what took place:—

"I do not know myself what strange
feeling possessed me when I saw that
man pressing through the crowd. I was
watching him, but when the emperor
came up he went out of my mind. All
at once I saw him draw a pistol and aim
at the emperor. I bethought myself that
if I rushed upon him he would kill some
one else, or, perhaps, myself, and with-
out more ado I struck up his arm. The
pistol went off, and after that I do not
recollect anything. I was as it were in
the midst of a fog, and when I came to
myself I saw a general, who embraced
me. I was taken to the palace, but I was
stunned, and it was an hour and a half
before I could speak."

Apartments have been hired for him in
the Bouatze house. His family name will
be changed into that of Komissaroff Kos-
tromskoi, in memory of the province
which has twice furnished saviours to the
imperial house in a moment of danger.
He was obliged to show himself on the
stage of the Russian Theatre, and to re-
late what happened. He was invited to
a grand banquet at the English Club, a
society which, notwithstanding its name,
is purely Russian. It is said that
600,000fr. have been subscribed for him
in St. Petersburg alone, and that a pro-
prietor of Kostroma has offered him a
considerable quantity of land for the
purpose of enabling him to support his
new dignity. The emperor himself, says
a correspondent of the 'Nord,' asked
General Todleben as a personal favour
to direct the education of Komissaroff.
The Emperor of Austria has presented,
in commemoration of the event, a com-
mander's cross of the Order of Frances
Joseph to Komissaroff.

The St. Petersburg journals say that
the investigation into the attempt on the
Czar's life has shown that it was not the
act of a wild and single enthusiast, but
the result of a conspiracy, which includes
numerous accomplices belonging to dif-
ferent classes; consequently many arrests
have been made. In St. Petersburg, 20
students have been seized, 60 Poles, and
four high officials; and in Moscow 30
students have been lodged in gaol.

The 'Avenir National' says that Rus-
sia is arming on a vast scale, and will have
a formidable army ready in a few days.

The 'Journal de St. Petersburg' of
May 8 publishes an article strongly sup-
porting the project of a Congress to set-
tle the pending European difficulties.
The article points out that neither Prussia,
Austria, nor Italy will commence hostili-
ties, and that a direct understanding is
unattainable between these Powers. Un-
der these circumstances a Congress would
be both 'possible and desirable.'—Home
News.

Prussia.

In Berlin an attempt upon the life of
Count von Bismarck was made at 5 o'clock
on the evening of May 7, as the count
was returning on foot along the Unter-
den Linden, after having had an audience
of the king. Upon reaching the Schadon
Strasse he was fired at from behind, by
a man who discharged at him two barrels
of a revolver. Both shots, however, mis-
sed the count, who immediately turned
and seized the man. In the struggle
which ensued between them the assassin
fired three more shots from his revolver.
Count Bismarck remained unhurt, with
the exception of a slight contusion. His
clothes were also burned by the nearness
of the last three discharges. The per-
petrator of the attempted assassination
was immediately arrested by the police,
and conveyed to prison, where, while
unobserved, he stabbed himself in the
throat nine times with a pocket-knife
having several blades. The physicians
declared the wounds not dangerous, as
no important artery had been severed,
and he was put in a strait waistcoat but
he died next morning. The intended
assassin was the son of Mrs. Karl Blind,
wife of the political refugee in London,
by a former husband, but has borne his
stepfather's name. It appears that he
was about 22 years of age, and was of a
very determined and moody character,
but none of his family had reason to sus-
pect that he harboured such a design as
that which he attempted to carry out.
He had been studying political economy
at Hobenheim, in Wurtemburg, and it is
thought that the course of political events
in Germany, combined with his studies,
has had the effect of unsettling his brain.
It is stated that the young man bore an excel-
lent character at the various schools and
colleges in which he has studied in Ger-
many, and that this character was also
maintained throughout a residence of
some duration in England. Whilst in
England he was a member of a volunteer
corps, and gained a prize at Wimbledon
by his good shooting.

Rome.

The correspondent of the 'Debats' in
Rome says that all parties there are in
favour of war-—the Clerical, because they
hope to regain what they have lost; the
Liberal party, because they expect free-
dom, and because they think they cannot
be worse off than they are at present.

France.

The emperor's speech at Auxerre and
the impending war are the principal sub-
jects discussed in the Paris papers. The
'Constitutionnel' of yesterday contained
an article, in which it denies that the
speech is an encouragement to the ambi-
tion of Prussia. The writer says :—

The object of France is neither to
serve the ambition of Prussia nor Italy,
but to assure her own dignity and secur-
ity. The programme of France is known
and has just been repeated. It lies whol-
ly in these words—reform of the treaties
of 1815. Any enterprise not directed
towards this end will find her not indif-
ferent, but attentive, vigilant, and reso-
lute. The speech at Auxerre is not,
therefore, a compromise with the various
interests which are now agitating Ger-
many, but is a last appeal to the wisdom of
the signers of the treaties of 1815 on be-
half of the peace and security of Europe.
It is for them to consider if it would be
expedient to leave to the chances of war,
always uncertain and formidable, that
general reform which France wished to
see carried out in peace and by means of
a friendly understanding.

M. Emile de Girardin, in his journal
'La Liberte.' devotes to the speech only
these two lines :—

This speech requires no comment. In
France and Europe it will sound like a
cannon shot.

Senator Gueronniere's paper, 'La
France,' says :—

We are profoundly devoted to the
cause of peace; but, under existing cir-
cumstances, our first duty is to tell the
truth to our readers, and we are con-
strained to say that, after the emperor's
speech, we no longer believe in peace.

NOTICE.
WE, the Undersigned, herewith no-
tify all Ship Masters and owners
interested, that we will henceforth, on-
ly acknowledge those Pilots, who hold
their Licenses in accordance with the
Port Regulations from the Harbor
Master, and countersigned by us.
A. MARKWALD & Co.
Agents for the Hamburg and Bre-
men Underwriters.
Bangkok, 21st January 14th 1865. (tf)