her Majesty's ships in harbour at the same moment dipping the British ensign at their peaks to "half mast," and displaying the American ensign flying dipped to abreast their foretopmast crosstrees, the United States' corvette" Plymouth" also lowering her ensign from her peak. The guns of the "Duke of Wellington" took up the firing at minute intervals, and amid their sombre booming, with the wind, now increased to a fresh gale," soughing" through the" Monarch's" rigging, and the rain falling heavily, the train rolled slowly in and drew up on the edge of the jetty. What now remained to be done was the work of but a few minutes. The black cloth-covered case containing the coffin, having been removed from the railway car, was borne to the ship, followed by the relatives and friends of the deceased who had accompanied it from London-the Hon. Mr. Motley, United States' Minister in this country; Mr. Peabody Russell; Sir Curtis Lampson and Mr. Charles Reed, M.P., executors of the will of the deceased; Mr. J. S. Morgan, and Mr. Somerby. Behind the immediate mourners came Admirals Sir James Hope and A. C. Key, Captain Hancock, and a number of American and English officers. The coffin, on reaching the deck of the "Monarch," was received by the chaplain of the ship, and a few moments afterwards was reverently deposited on the bier in the pavilion on the quarter-deck, in official charge of Captain Commerell. Then followed a very brief interval, during which a few words were exchanged between the American Minister, Mr. Peabody Russell, with their friends, and Captain Commerell, and then all not belonging to the ship returned to the shore. The warps holding the ship to the jetty were let go, steam was given to the engines, and as the screw began to revolve the great ship moved away from the jetty, and under slow speed proceeded out of the harbour to Spithead.

After the "Monarch " had been brought to an anchor at Spithead, the coffin was removed from the pavilion on the upper deck and placed in the mortuary chapel below, where it was to remain during the voyage, the chapel being closed and placed under the charge of marine sentries.

Cabin accommodation was provided on board the "Monarch " for Mr. Peabody Russell, who took passage in the ship to Portland.

Shortly afterwards, the "Monarch," accompanied by the United States' screw corvette "Plymouth," Captain Macomb, left Spithead for Portland.

13. EXECUTION OF FREDERICK HINSON.-Frederick Hinson, convicted at the last Sessions of the Central Criminal Court of the murder of Maria Death, with whom he, a married man, had cohabited for some years at Wood Green, near Colney Hatch, and who also was indicted for the murder of William Douglas Boyd, was duly executed within the precincts of the gaol at Newgate.

Hinson had committed the double crime under the belief that his paramour Death had been unfaithful to him with Boyd.

18. GREAT FLOODS.-The heavy rains which had been falling for some days previous, caused great floods in many parts of England.

In the midland counties they were very destructive, and in the Vale of Trent thousands of acres were submerged. On the nights of this and the following day the river rose rapidly at Nottingham, and on the 20th, reached within about a foot and a half of the water-mark of the great flood of 1856 (the highest on record). A portion of the Midland line of railway near the Nottingham station was flooded. Operations at the new Trent-bridge, in course of erection, were entirely suspended; but no material damage was done, with the exception of some timber being washed away. Many owners of stock were engaged during the greater part of the night of the 19th in removing their cattle from the vicinity of the water. A pony was drowned in the meadows. The Loughborough turnpike road for a considerable distance was submerged, and navigation in the Trent and canal was stopped, the towing-path being impassable for horses. The cellars of the houses and factories situated in the meadows were flooded, and the gardens were covered with

water.

At Derby the flood was the greatest known since the memorable one of the 1st of April, 1842. On the 17th the Derwent began rapidly to rise, and this afternoon it overflowed its banks at Little Chester, Derby, doing an immense amount of damage, and causing great consternation among the inhabitants of that populous neighbourhood. During the whole of this evening the water continued to rise, and the next morning it was from four to five feet deep in the houses at City-road and the neighbourhood. Boats were introduced into the streets, and the imprisoned families, who had taken refuge in the upper stories, were supplied with provisions, &c. Paul's Church was completely "blocked up" with water, and no service was held on Sunday. Nottingham-road was as bad, if not worse, than Little Chester, and great damage was inflicted at the corn warehouses in the neighbourhood. At the public-houses known as the Punch Bowl, the Jolly Toper, and the Seven Stars, the water was above the shutters on the ground floor. The Birmingham branch of the Midland line was also flooded.

St.

At Manchester the Irwell rose above danger point, and the water entered the cellars of the houses over a very wide area, from Lower Broughton-road to Strangeways, including the following streets :Sussex-street, Elton-street, Sandon-street, the Adelphi, Silk-street, and several of the smaller streets running out of these. In Bury New-road, at the end of Broughton-lane, the water was 2 ft. deep in some of the cellars. The flood had the appearance of being the highest since November, 1866.

In consequence of the swollen state of the Mersey a number of houses in Warrington and Latchford were flooded. The fields adjoining the river were also under water to a considerable depth.

In Shropshire and North Wales the rains also produced floods almost unprecedented in the present century. In Shrewsbury, where the rivers Severn and Rea join, the water continued to rise through the whole of this and the following day, inundating the

suburbs at each entrance to the town. On the afternoon of the 19th it rose so high as to submerge a vast number of houses in the low-lying districts up to the second stories. In the course of the afternoon and evening there came down a tremendous rush of water, causing the greatest alarm to residents in localities which had never before been disturbed. The worshippers in the Abbey Church, which stands at some considerable distance from the river, had but just time, to escape from evening service without having to pass through water, and on the 20th the flood had so much increased that the whole floor of the building was covered with water, in some parts to the depth of from 9 to 12 inches. Many families were driven to their uppermost rooms, to which food was conveyed from boats and rafts, on forks or by other means. Some families were rescued from their dwellings by means of ladders, and at every entrance to the town where the roads were submerged to a considerable depth, boats, cabs, waggons, and rafts were in constant requisition to convey parties from the country and outskirts to the centre of the town. An immense amount of damage was done to stock and property. Buildings were washed away, sheep were seen floating down the streams, and an immense quantity of timber was carried from timber-yards adjacent to the river. All round the town the meadows presented an almost boundless expanse of water, and at Melverley, a low-lying district behind the Briedden hills, between Shrewsbury and Welshpool, the cottagers were entirely driven from their homes, and the land for miles presented a frightful waste of waters, with only the tops of trees here and there breaking the view. There was no actual loss of life, but there were some narrow escapes.

22. MURDER AND SUICIDE AT EWELL.-Considerable excitement was created in the usually quiet village of Ewell, near Epsom, about half-past three a.m. by a loud explosion, at first supposed to proceed from the powder-mills close to the village. It appeared, however, that about the time mentioned a person named Spooner was preparing to come up to London with a load of flour, and his housekeeper was getting breakfast for him. She went out of the house to get some coals, and saw a man waiting outside. She returned to the house screaming, and Spooner closed in a struggle with the man who had followed her. In the struggle the stranger, whose name was Huggett, threw a bag of some explosive substance on the fire, and the house was blown pretty well to pieces, the wall dividing one house from the other being blown down. A man employed as a porter at the South-Western station at Ewell, who had recently come to the station, had some of his ribs broken and sustained other serious injuries. Spooner was seriously hurt, and after lingering a few days died of the injuries he had received. The author of the mischief afterwards committed suicide by stabbing

himself.

The inquest on the body of Huggett was held before Mr. W. Carter, coroner for East Surrey, at the Hop Pole Tavern, opposite

the house where the explosion occurred, and the following evidence was given :

Mrs. Elizabeth Richardson, the wife of James Richardson, a carman, said she lived as housekeeper in West Street, Ewell, with Mrs. Spooner, who had been ill since July of the present year. On the morning of the 22nd, witness got up about twenty minutes to four o'clock and lighted the fire, Mr. and Mrs. Spooner were then in bed. The other occupants of the house were William Smith, George Mason, and Mr. Spooner's two children. On going outside the house to a shed for the purpose of getting fuel witness saw a man sitting on the coals with a bag between his knees. She recognized him as Thomas Huggett, a sack and bag maker, who worked at Mr. Lee's factory at Rotherhithe. She had known him twelve years; and while she was looking at him he passed his hand over his chest three times. As he had threatened to take her life on several occasions she became alarmed, and at once ran into the house screaming. At the top of the staircase she saw Mr. Spooner, and she then ran into her bedroom. In about two minutes afterwards she heard the explosion, and was so much alarmed that she did not leave her room until every one in the house had gone away. When she got down stairs she saw Huggett, whose face was blackened by the explosion. Huggett had threatened to kill her because she refused to live with him, which she had previously done, as man and wife, for some months. She left him because her husband persuaded her to do so, and she went back to her home. Huggett last saw her in August. He did not speak to her, but he tore the clothes off her back. He said he would kill her by cutting her throat or shooting her. If it should be shown that he blew up the house with gunpowder, she would believe that he did so for the purpose of killing her. She found some grains of powder after the explosion. She never went through any form of marriage with Huggett. The reason why she left her husband was because he was unkind to her, and Huggett persuaded her to leave him.

James Hill, a shoemaker, said that on the morning in question he heard a noise of scuffling between men on the floor of the house where the explosion occurred in West-street. This witness lived next door. He ran out of his house, and then found that part of the wall of the next house had been blown down. He saw the deceased lying on the floor, and spoke to him, but the deceased did not reply. The brick and wood partition between witness's house and Mr. Spooner's was blown down. The witness was so much alarmed that he could not recollect much.

Edwin Grantham, carpenter, living in West-street, said he heard the explosion while he was in the house adjoining Spooner's. He went into Hill's house, and on the floor in the parlour he saw the deceased. Near the left side of the man was an open clasp-knife. On the left side of the breast, near his heart, was a wound, from which a large quantity of blood flowed. There was a slight cut across his throat. He was carried to the Hop Pole, and was there

asked where he obtained the powder from. He replied, "I stole it. I had about 1lb. of it in my pocket." Upon being asked why he did it, he replied, "Jealousy; I want to see her now." His request was not granted. He was then asked what he had in the little bottle that was found upon him, and he replied, "rum." The pocketknife was stained with blood.

Dr. Barnes said he had made a post mortem examination of the body of deceased, and found the pericardium had been entered by a sharp instrument, which had also cut completely through the substance of the heart to the depth of from 2 to 24 inches. The wound was quite sufficient to cause death, and looking at the nature of it, he should think it was inflicted after the explosion. The wound was the exact counterpart of the blade of the knife which was found near the deceased.

Other witnesses spoke to Huggett's mind having been affected as regards the woman Richardson with whom he had lived.

The Coroner, after hearing this evidence, put it to the jury whether there was any doubt in their minds as to the wound being inflicted by the deceased's own hands.

The Foreman, acting as the spokesman of the jury, said they were quite satisfied that deceased had taken his own life after the explosion.

The evidence of a man in the employ of Messrs. Sharpe, powder manufacturers at Ewell, was then taken. He stated that the quantity stolen was about 25lbs., and the deceased must have broken into the outside house of the mills to get it. No one worked at the mills at night, and no watch was kept, but all the doors were securely locked. The outside house referred to, where the powder was stolen, adjoined a public way.

The Coroner then summed up, and the jury returned a verdict that the deceased stabbed himself while in a state of insanity, and died from the injuries.

24. ROYAL CHRISTENING.-The infant Princess, fifth child of their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, was christened at Marlborough House.

The ceremony was performed by the Right Rev. the Bishop of London, assisted by the Very Rev. the Dean of Westminster and the Rev. the Sub-Dean of the Chapels Royal.

The infant Princess received the names of Maud Charlotte Mary Victoria.

The sponsors were:-His Majesty the King of Sweden, represented by his Excellency the Swedish and Norwegian Minister (Baron Hochschild); her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess Cesarevna, represented by the Baroness de Brunnow; her Royal Highness the Crown Princess of Denmark, represented by Madame de Bülow; his Royal Highness Prince Leopold, represented by his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge; her Highness the Duchess of Nassau, represented by her Royal Highness the Princess of Teck; his Serene Highness the Landgrave Frederick William of Hesse,