body. Sir Donald was at once taken to St. George's Hospital, where he received surgical attendance; but the unfortunate gentleman was so severely injured that no-hopes of recovery were entertained from the first. Although unconscious when admitted, Sir Donald became perfectly sensible before his death, which took place at about ten o'clock.

30. SEVERE GALES AND SHIPWRECKS.-In the early part of the week severe gales of equinoctial severity visited the western and northern coasts, and many reports of shipwrecks and other disasters reach us. Following the usual course of gales from the Atlantic Ocean, the present one struck the British Islands at the south of Ireland and at Land's End-one part of the storm sweeping over the greater part of Ireland and the midland and northern counties of England, while the centre of the other part of the storm passed over the Channel in s.w., w., and N.w. direction.

Off Looe, on the Cornish coast, a wreck with loss of life is chronicled of the "Albion" schooner. The master and mate contrived to get ashore after she struck, but the rest of the hands were drowned. The crew of the ship "La Fleur," on nearing land, took to their boat, and attempted to land on Looe Bar; they had got to the breakers, when the boat upset, and they were all drowned. It is supposed that the crew numbered about fifteen.

At Portland, a schooner was lost, with all hands, on the Chesil beach. Only about five minutes elapsed from the time of the schooner striking and of her breaking to pieces, so there was no time to use the rocket apparatus. It was a piteous sight, indeed, to see the crew of the ill-fated vessel appealing for help to the spectators on shore; but who, although within speaking distance, were utterly unable to render the slightest aid. She proved to be the "Jane Catherine," William Jones, master, of Port Madoc.

At Plymouth, ten men of H.M.S. "Himalaya" took a shore-boat to return to their ship, when their craft upset, and eight of them, besides the waterman and his son, were drowned. The gates of Mr. Bank's dock were washed down by the sea, and several minor casualties are reported. During the gale the brigantine "Laurel " parted from her anchors and drove on shore under Mount Batten. The" Prince Consort" lifeboat, of the National Institution, succeeded in saving the master and his wife, and his crew of seven men.

A very heavy storm raged in Mount's Bay, Penzance, during which a barque, name unknown, was driven ashore. The boats, to which the crew betook themselves, were capsized before the lifeboats could reach them. The next day eight bodies (three mulattoes and five whites, the latter evidently foreigners) were washed ashore at Lamorna, about five miles from Penzance. All were young men and entirely destitute of clothing. The barque "Lochlevin's Flower," of Sunderland, also ran into the bay; the master and seven men tried to land in the boat, which was capsized, and all were lost. It was feared the "Trois Amis " had foundered.

The barque "Canada Bell," of Whitby, struck on Whitburn rocks. The lifeboat went out, in spite of a fearful sea, and brought the first time two women, two children, and four of the crew. A second effort was then made, and the remainder of the crew were saved, making in all fifteen persons.

Three hundred sail rode safely at anchor in Falmouth harbour during the terrible storm. Several vessels have since arrived in a damaged condition.

The Holyhead boat did not arrive in Kingstown until ten minutes past nine on Sunday morning. She experienced the full brunt of the storm. Seamen who were on board say they never had such weather on the passage over the Channel. The Clyde Shipping Company's steamer" Kinsale," having broken her main shaft in the Irish Channel, was driven on shore near Waterford, and all hands except the mate and two others, were drowned. This wreck is remarkable for the heroism of a girl named Dunphy, who saved these three lives by catching the drowning men by the hair of the head, and pulling them on shore. The Waterford schooner "Pearl of Days" is reported as having foundered with all hands. The steamer Olwega" put in at Waterford disabled, her machinery having broken down during the gale.

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The schooner "Maria," of Aberystwith, which was at anchor in St. Tadwell's Roads, North Wales, parted her chains, and went ashore under Castellmarch. The lifeboat "Mabel Louisa," stationed at Abersoch, fortunately saved the shipwrecked crew. The Italian barque "Ginlietta," from Barletta to Gloucester, with a cargo of grain, was driven ashore near Pendine Point, in Carmarthen Bay. The crew were clinging to the rigging from eight p.m. on Saturday night until six a.m. next day, when the tide left her. Of the crew twelve men were saved and one was drowned.

The floods inland have been very heavy. Tens of thousands of acres of land in Somerset, along the valleys Parrett, Yeo, and Tone, are flooded. The bank of the Parrett, which recently gave way at Aller Moor, and thus relieved Langport from the flood, has been repaired, and the town is again deluged. The lower parts of scores of houses are under water, and the inmates have to take refuge in the upper rooms. Miles of roadway are covered with water, and drivers have to guide their horses between the willow trees which line the track. In some cases the water reaches to the horses' backs. The waters, of course, are "out" at Oxfordthe towing-path by the side of the river being quite submerged. The Leam, in Warwickshire, which has been steadily rising for several days past, has overflowed its banks, and submerged the adjacent fields for miles. The waterfalls at Warwick Castle, Guy's Cliffe, and Leamington are altogether inadequate to pass the water away. The Avon is flooded all through the country. Several fatal accidents are reported.

- RAILWAY ACCIDENTS.-At an inquest held at Appleton Roebuck, near York, on the body of James Judge, a farm-servant, who had

been killed, along with two horses, on the North Eastern Railway, the evidence disclosed the fact that an express train had a very narrow escape from being thrown off the line. The train was proceeding from York to Normanton, and just before it came up to the place where the accident occurred, Judge was driving two horses attached to a waggon across the railway, where there is a private road used by the occupier of the adjoining farm. The horses were struck by the engine, one of them and the driver being carried alone for some distance; eventually the engine passed over the horse, and the train retained its position on the line. The death of Judge was instantaneous; both the horses were also killed. The coroner said that this was a matter seriously affecting the safety of the public, it being clear that the express train had had a narrow escape of being thrown off the line, and felt it his duty to direct farther inquiry.

The train which leaves Burton shortly after eight o'clock, and arrives in Leicester at 9.20, was approaching Bardon Hill Station, on November 26, when an empty waggon train, belonging to a stone quarry close by, was being shunted, and, before the driver could get the waggons into the siding, the passenger train dashed into the middle of the empty waggons as they stood across the up and down lines, cutting the waggon train almost in two. Several of the pas

sengers were severely shaken.

On November 23, the 1.30 p.m. express from Beverley to York ran into a goods and passenger train just outside the Beverley Station, causing a considerable amount of damage and serious injury to the driver of the express. The express left the station and was nearing the junction when the composite train was seen approaching the points from the opposite direction. The driver of the express evidently imagined that the goods train would get clear of the line before he got up, and continued his pace. He, however, misjudged the distance, and went into the middle of the goods train, shattering three laden waggons and his own engine. The poor fellow paid for his miscalculation, for he was subsequently found to be seriously injured by the shock. The line was covered with rubbish, and the permanent way was blocked for some hours. The guard of the express was also injured, and several of the passengers were more or less shaken.

An accident occurred on the Midland Railway, near Barrow, on November 23, by which two men lost their lives, and a third experienced a narrow escape. Three navvies employed on the line were proceeding to their work, and in stepping aside to allow a coal waggon to pass, they unfortunately stepped right in front of an express train, which came up at that moment unobserved. One succeeded in escaping uninjured, but his two companions were knocked down and mangled so fearfully that death was almost instantaneous. At Ratho Junction, on November 23, a goods train was being shunted to the main-line when another goods train, from Glasgow, came forward and ran into it. A number of waggons were thrown

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off the rails, and the line was blocked up for about three hours. The accident is said to have been caused through one of the signallights having gone out.

30. THE TOUR OF THE AMERICAN FLAG.-Arriving at Guildhall, in the City of London, Colour-Sergeant Bates, of the United States Army, bearing the American flag, completed a pilgrimage extending over 330 miles, which he had voluntarily undertaken, in pursuance of a bet, to prove an assertion of his, that he would carry the ensign of his country from the northernmost point of England to the metropolis without insult, affront, or contumely of any kind. The wager, which appears to have been made in his own country, and somewhat hastily, was 1000 to his 100 dollars, and he landed at Glasgow about the beginning of last month to undertake the enterprize.

On November 6, about one o'clock in the day, he started from Gretna-green, on foot, on his long journey of more than 300 miles, bearing the star spangled banner, unfurled, across his shoulder, and travelled on an average from thirteen to fourteen miles a day. His first halting-place was Carlisle, and there, as at every other town at which he stayed for a night, he is said to have been well and kindly received. At one stage of the journey, it is said, he was presented with a Union-Jack, which he received with right good-will, and intends to carry to his country, in the spirit in which it was given, as a memorial of the enterprize and a fresh proof in its way of the amity subsisting between the two great kindred nations. In all the large towns especially, such as Manchester, Birmingham, Oxford, and Leamington, through which he passed, he is said to have been received with marked cordiality, and to have been escorted for miles on his way by admiring and sympathizing crowds.

The last stage of his journey was from Shepherd's Bush to the Guildhall. He started in a carriage shortly after eleven o'clock, displaying the Stars and Stripes and the Union-Jack. He was much cheered on the way, though the rain which fell later in the day tended much to damp the prevailing enthusiasm. In Bondstreet, nevertheless, the crowd became so demonstrative that they took the horses from the carriage and dragged it through the thoroughfare along Piccadilly and the rest of the journey.

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The American papers do not take a very flattering view of this feat, one of the best of them describing its hero as an American ass called Bates," and his assertion of the safety of his flag from insult in England as "a fact the truth of which needed no proof, and which proved nothing if it was true."

DECEMBER.

6. RAILWAY ACCIDENTS.-Three serious railway accidents are reported as having occurred on December 6. The express train from London to Leeds, leaving Derby at 1.10, had just left Ambergate, and was passing a place known as Bull Bridge, when one of the wheels of a horse-box broke, which caused two of the passengercarriages to leave the metals. The shock for the minute was so alarming that one of the passengers, in fright, jumped out of the carriage and was killed on the spot. The train was stopped as speedily as possible, but the greatest excitement ensued among the passengers, who, although somewhat shaken, were not apparently further injured. A portion of the train was made up after a short delay, and proceeded on its journey.

The second accident happened on the London and North Western Railway. The connecting-rod of the engine of a goods train (which was on its way to Carlisle) broke, and was forced through the firebox and boiler, causing the boiler to burst. The driver and fireman were severely injured-the latter seriously. A bridge near was destroyed by the explosion.

The third was a collision which took place near Sheffield, between two goods trains, by which great damage was done to the rolling stock and permanent way. One of the men was injured, and the traffic was stopped for some hours.

We record all these accidents not from any special feature distinguishing any one of them, but to mark the dangerous increase in this description of casualty at the present time. The average of railway accidents has recently been estimated at four per week.

7. IN 1869 great fear was expressed that the choice of Dr. Hayman as head-master of Rugby School, by a Board of Trustees whose term of office was shortly to expire, was a mistake which would bear evil fruit. Even the old Board of Trustees had some reason to think so, for before they went out of office they refused, after a full hearing, to remove Mr. Scott, one of the under-masters, against whom Dr. Hayman had made bitter complaints. But the new Board of Trustees, which contains at least six of the members of the old Board, some of them strong Conservatives, must have had still further reason to regret the choice made, as they have just passed a resolution, in relation to this serious quarrel, to the following effect:-"The Governing Body, upon a review of all that has taken place between Dr. Hayman and Mr. Scott, desire_to express their conviction that the course taken throughout by Dr. Hayman in dealing with Mr. Scott has not been marked by that spirit of justice which the circumstances of the case required. They regret extremely that charges against Mr. Scott, which have been