dust that he fell down in a state of stupor. However, he, along with his brother, roused himself, and by a happy circumstance they were saved. The elder, John, had his can of tea with him, and he had the presence of mind to dash their faces continually with this, which kept them fresh. By this means they retained consciousness and strength enough to find their way out of the heading to the bottom of the shaft. As they came along they stumbled over their fallen and helpless comrades, and although. they repeatedly called to them, in no solitary instance did they obtain an answer. The force of the blast reached even to the bottom of the shaft, for there two workmen were blown violently into the sump, and sustained severe injury. This circumstance, connected with the fact that the fire did not reach John Hall, at the end of the east level, which does not run more than about 400 yards from the shaft, would tend to show that the focus of the explosion could not have been more than a couple of hundred yards from the bottom of the shaft. The excitement in Merthyr when the news came up was intense, and people ran down to the pit in large numbers; but it was a remarkable feature of the multitude of men, women, and children assembled at the mouth, that there was no manifestation of that vehement grief which so frequently characterizes such scenes. The crowd was quiet and orderly, and the quiet was broken only now and then by the sob of a woman or a child. On the roadway in front of the shaft a space was cleared, and a lot of straw spread out, upon which the poor fellows were laid as they were brought up, and the system of Dr. Marshall Hall for the restoration of asphyxiated persons was practised upon them by Dr. Thomas, chief of the medical staff at Cyfarthfa, Drs. Wills, Dyke, Probert, and Miles. At the same time powerful restoratives were applied, but all to no purpose-the fatal choke damp, as the colliers call it, had done its work only too well, and the lifeless bodies were then removed one after another and placed upon trucks, upon which they were afterwards conveyed by the engine to Cyfarthfa, where their friends, who were most demonstrative in their grief here, awaited them. When the intelligence was communicated to Mr. R. J. Crawshay, of Cyfarthfa Castle, the resident proprietor of the works, he, accompanied by Mr. Jones, the manager, and many of the agents, repaired promptly to the spot and rendered such aid as they could. Mr. Moody, the viewer of the pits; Mr. Kirkhouse, mine agent; Mr. Carnew, the viewer of Plymouth Collieries, and the relays of workmen, exerted themselves heroically for the recovery of the bodies, and by eleven o'clock, three hours after the sad occurrence, the whole of the men had been brought up. The total number of cases which terminated fatally was thirty-four. 28. CELEBRATION OF THE EIGHT HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDATION OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY.-The earliest foundation of Westminster Abbey is enveloped in obscurity, but it is attributed by the early chroniclers to the British King Lucius, A.D. 184, or to King Sebert, A.D. 616, its site being then called "Thorney Island." It was in a decayed and almost expiring condition when King Edward the Confessor, in fulfilment of a vow he had made during his exile from the kingdom, erected a church and abbey, in a style hitherto unparalleled in English architecture, at Westminster, dedicated to God and St. Peter. He lived just long enough to see his intention fulfilled. On the Festival of the Holy Innocents, Dec. 28, 1065, the new abbey was dedicated, and the King, who died eight days afterwards, was buried, by his own desire, in front of the high altar in the abbey, of which he had just witnessed the completion. The abbey as it now exists, was for the most part rebuilt by Henry II. (A.D. 1220 to 1269), out of regard to the memory of the Confessor; but it covers the same ground, and there are vestiges of the original building to be seen. The remains of the founder were removed from before the high altar to the present shrine in 1269 by Henry III. The 28th being the Feast of the Holy Innocents, and just 800 years since the dedication of the abbey by Edward the Confessor, it was determined by the Dean and Chapter to commemorate the event by special services and the celebration of the Holy Communion. A very large congregation assembled to assist at the commemoration, and every available seat was occupied. The numerous choir of the abbey was assisted by the members of the Special Sunday evening choir, and the magnificent organ was played most admirably by Mr. Turle, the eminent organist and composer. The choir numbered about sixty men and twenty-four boys. The whole of the music was selected from composers who either in the past or present were connected with the abbey-namely, Thomas Tallis, who died in 1585, organist to Henry VIII.; Henry Purcell, organist of Westminster Abbey, who died in 1695, and was buried in the north aisle; William Croft, organist of Westminster Abbey, who died in 1727, and was also buried in the north aisle; George Frederick Handel, who died in 1759, and was buried in the south transept; Benjamin Cooke, organist of Westminster Abbey, who died in 1793, and was buried in the west cloisters; J. L. Brownsmith, John Foster, and Montem Smith, vicars choral; and James Turle, organist, all of Westminster Abbey. The words of the hymn for the introit, commencing "Hark, the sound of holy voices," were written by Dr. Wordsworth, Canon and Archdeacon of Westminster, and the tune for it, entitled "All Saints," was composed by Mrs. Frere, niece of the late Rev. Temple Frere, Canon of Westminster. The sermon was preached by the Dean (Dr. Stanley), from John x. 21, 22, "And it was at Jerusalem, the Feast of the Dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the Temple, in Solomon's porch." The Dean, in the course of his sermon, gave a graphic description of the history of the abbey, which was originally built in Anglo-Saxon times, although as it now appeared it was doubtless the work of the reign of Henry III. To Edward the Confessor the abbey was principally indebted for its celebrity and splendour; but in the reign of Henry III. the greater part of the present edifice was rebuilt in the lofty and elegant style by which it is chiefly characterized. In 1540 the abbey church was, by letters patent of Henry VIII., constituted a cathedral, and thus Westminster was first raised to the dignity of a city. The dean made eloquent reference to the many distinguished menpoets, orators, statesmen, warriors-whose remains were lying around, and at the close of his sermon a collection was made on behalf of Westminster Hospital. THE ORDER OF ST. PATRICK.-The Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, Grand Master of the Most Illustrious Order of St. Patrick, invested the Earl of Charlemont as a Knight Companion. The ceremony, which took place in St. Patrick's Hall, was carried out in strict accordance with the ancient regulations of the Order, and was of a very impressive character. OBITUARY OF EMINENT PERSONS DECEASED IN 1865. PROFESSOR AYTOUN. WILLIAM EDMONDSTOUNE AYTOUN, D.C.L., Professor of Rhetoric and Belles Lettres in the University of Edinburgh, the son of Mr. Roger Aytoun, of an old Fifeshire family, was born at Edinburgh in 1813, and was educated at the Academy and University there, where he was distinguished among his class-fellows by the elegance and excellence of his English and Latin compositions. In 1840 Mr. Aytoun, whose studies had taken the direction of the law, was admitted as an advocate. At the bar he did not make any marked figure, though he had some little reputation in criminal business. His geniality and ready wit, however, made him a favourite among his fellows of the robe. In 1845 he was appointed to the Chair of Literature and Belles Lettres in the University of Edinburgh; and in 1852 the Government further advanced him by making him Sheriff of Orkney and Shetland. Shortly after his appointment to his Chair, he married the youngest daughter of Professor Wilson. The frequency of his contributions to "Blackwood's Magazine," and their generally brilliant and always genial character, for some years rendered Aytoun's the best known name, after Wilson's, in connexion with the Conservative monthly. From Oxford University he received, a year or two later, the degree of D.C.L. The true history of Professor Aytoun, however, is the record of his literary labours. These, for well-nigh thirty years, were constant, if not arduous. In his earlier career-of the same school of politics with his father-he worked hard, but in vain, to secure the return of his cousin, the Radical James Aytoun, for Edinburgh in 1834, when Mr. Jeffrey was raised to the bench. He held a prominent place among the contributors to "Tait's Magazine;" Theodore Martin, his partner in more than one subsequent literary undertaking, being at this time also on the staff of "Tait." Between 1834 and 1839, however, his political convictions underwent a change; and in 1839 he formed his connexion with "Blackwood's Magazine." Between 1840-when he published a "Life and Times of Richard I.," and 1818, he remained anonymous; but during this period appeared in the pages of " Blackwood many of the poems and jeux d'esprit by which he has become most favourably known. Some of the best of the "Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers "--which were only published in a collected form, with the author's name, in 1848, were the fruits of Mr. Aytoun's pen before his name became known to the public. This was Mr. Aytoun's most ambitious and has been his most successful work; it has run through seventeen editions, and from its subject and spirit it bids fair to hold a good place in popular favour. Many of the best of the "Bon Gautier" ballads, too, we owe to Mr. Aytoun's fancy and humour. 'Firmilian, a Spasmodic Tragedy," which he published in 1854, under the pseudonym of "T. Percy Jones," was another of Mr. Aytoun's works. "Bothwell, a Poem," the plot of which was taken from the tangled history of Mary Queen of Scots, was published in 1856, and passed through three editions; but though the author spent considerable pains on it both before and after it saw the light, it was not throughout of the same merit as the "Lays." In 1858 Mr. Aytoun edited a collection of the "Ballads of Scotland;" and in the same year appeared the graceful and classical translations of the "Poems and Ballads of Goethe," executed in common by Mr. Aytoun and Theodore Martin. In 1861 was republished from "Blackwood" the novel of "Norman Sinclair," which was the least successful of the literary efforts of Mr. Aytoun. Since then, excepting a "nuptial ode" on the occasion of the marriage of the Prince of Wales, he published nothing with his name; but his contributions to "Blackwood "-principally in the way of criticism and of political discussion-continued, as during his whole connexion with the magazine, to be frequent. Up to within a very short period of his death he remained in harness; although illness prevented him labouring with all the zest and promptitude of his better days. Mr. Aytoun was twice married: first to Miss Wilson, who died in 1861, and secondly to Miss Kinnear, who survived him. He had long been in indifferent health, and had more than once sought relief at the German baths, but in vain. His death took place on the 4th of August, in the 53rd year of his age. LEOPOLD I. KING OF THE BELGIANS. His Majesty Leopold George Christian Frederick, King of the Belgians, uncle to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, died at his palace of Laeken, near Brussels, on the 9th of December, within a few days of completing his 75th year. The deceased king, who in early life was known as Prince Leopold of SaxeCoburg-Saalfeld, was born on the 16th of December, 1790, the eighth of a family of nine children, of whom two died in infancy, so that he was the youngest survivor. Among his elder brothers and sisters were, Prince Ernest, of Saxe-Coburg, the father of our Prince Albert; Prince Ferdinand, grandfather of the present King of Portugal; and the Princess Victoria, afterwards Duchess of Kent, and mother of our Queen. The kingdom which the wisdom and prudence of Ernest the Pious had made a power in Germany had not only become insignificant by repeated divisions, but that portion of it which remained in the Coburg-Saalfeld branch of the family had also suffered severely from the injudicious administra tion of Leopold's grandfather, Duke Ernest Frederic, during whose reign a considerable debt had been accumulated, to add to other misfortunes. Leopold's father, Duke Francis, did not much improve the state of affairs, and before his death war had come to aggravate domestic miseries. We get our first glimpse of the future monarch while his country was suffering the most terrible of calamities, and he himself one of the bitterest of domestic bereavements. When, in 1806, the French army crossed the Rhine and entered the territory of Saxe-Coburg, Leopold was watching alone by his dying father's side, his two elder brothers being then engaged-the one in the Austrian, the other in the Prussian army. Saalfeld was attacked, taken, and pillaged in October, and two months afterwards the unfortunate Duke Francis died, having lived only to see the fatal battle of Jena place Germany at the mercy of the Conqueror. Leopold obstinately adhered to the old system of dividing his forces, and covering an immense tract of country with his communications. He utterly failed; the name of Coburg lapsed into obscurity, and no one anticipated that it would again become more powerful than ever, and would be associated in jest or in earnest with the salvation of Europe. And yet, in our own days we have seen King Leopold repeatedly acting as the arbiter of European destinies, so that M. de Lagueronnière has not scrupled to call him le Juge de Paix de l'Europe. He displayed in a very marked manner the judicial character; and his grave, serious, reserved temperament, his reflective and balanced intellect-above all, his devotion to Liberal ideas, and to the cause of human progress, are hereditary gifts which may be said to belong less to himself than to his family. He was not the man to make events; he was the man to whom events offer, and to whom they are not offered in vain. Duke Francis's eldest son was recognized as his heir by the Treaty of Posen, but his dominions were seized by Napoleon. Prince Leopold was thus driven from his native land, and entered the service of Russia, where he soon attained the rank of General in the army, a favour which doubtless he owed to the marriage of his third sister, Julienne, with the Grand Duke Constantine. The Peace of Tilsit in 1807 effected a favourable change in the fortunes of the Saxe-Coburg family, for by the arrangements concluded between France and Russia, Duke Ernest was restored to his hereditary possessions. Prince Leopold then paid a short visit to his native place, and in 1808, during the |