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hundred and seventy-three feet was was placed in an elongated perforated

reached, when some twenty thousand pounds having been spent on the experiment, the towns-people's patience became exhausted. Despite the advice of the savants who visited the town with the British Association in 1846, to " go on," Sir Roderick Murchison being among those who inspected the works and a carefully kept diagram of the geological formation passed through, and who, speaking on the spot, said, from his special experience of Hampshire, "that there was a subterranean river flowing beneath them, there could be no sort of doubt," in 1851 the well was closed.

The town not being content with its water-supply, which practically comes from the Itchen River, after passing Winchester and several villages on its course to the Southampton Water, and the question coming before the corporation again coincident with the recent visit of the British Association, advantage was taken of its presence once more to ventilate the subject. As the result, the corporation have resolved to spend a sum of one thousand pounds or more experimentally in continuing the boring, it being believed that it will be necessary to go no deeper than from two hundred and twenty to three hundred and twenty feet more in order to reach the lower greensand; the upper greensand, the geologists aver, being only from twenty to fifty feet below the boring, and the upper greensand and the gault but from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet each in thickness.

tubular case, attached to about fourteen
pounds of metal, with a conical termina-
tion downwards. This being attached to
one of Sir William Thomson's patent sea-
sounding registers, carrying three hun-
dred fathoms of steel wire and registers,
was placed in the mouth of the bore-
shaft; and for upwards of fourteen min-
utes, with but several slight obstructions
in the upper chalk, passed steadily down
to twelve hundred and ten feet, where, the
chalk ooze being met with, it was thought
advisable to take the thermometrical ob-
servations. The temperature of the air
being forty-nine degrees Fahrenheit, and
of the surface-water in the well fifty-five
degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature at
the bottom, after thirty-five minutes' stay,
when the hauling-up began, was registered
as seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit, or
twenty-three degrees above that of the
outer air. The eventual result, with the
interesting facts dependent on it, cannot
now be long delayed, though the
tractor for continuing the work, having
cleared the bore apparently to its bottom,
has come upon an obstruction which, for
the moment, he seems unable to pene..
trate, and special professional advice is
being sought in the matter.

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From The Spectator.

A SUMMER DAY'S JOURNEY. A FEW days ago, a party of English The preliminary preparations for con- folks, three of whom were ladies, went (by tinuing the experiments have proved more Visp and St. Nicklaus) from Geneva to favorable than even the most sanguine Zermatt, with the intention, after making had hoped. When the well was opened, a short sojourn there, of returning by the everything was found as it was left thirty-road they had come. They had no idea one years ago, the difference being that of doing anothing more adventurous in the water had risen somewhat higher, and had reached the staging where the boring. tools were fixed, forty feet from the surface. At the request of the underground temperature committee of the British Association, two local gentlemen, on the well being opened, descended to this stage, and, to their great delight, found the bore practically unchoked to within a hundred feet of the bottom, which in their opinion consists of a deposit of ooze. The association had forwarded for the experiment a Negretti and Zambra's mining thermometer, inclosed in a copper case, and specially tested and corrected. To protect this instrument, and also as a sinking-weight to carry it through any possible obstructions in the bore-shaft, it

the way of climbing than going up the Gorner Grat, a feat that men sometimes perform on mule-back, and women in a chaise à porteur. But it is hardly possible to do so much, to behold, near at hand, the "dark, frowning beauties" of the Matterhorn, the glittering peaks of the Dent Blanche, the Cima di Jazi, Castor and Pollux, and the Dufourspitze; the imposing masses of the Monte Rosa, the Breithorn, the Rothhorn, the Weissthor, and the Matterjoch, without wanting to go further and see more; and it did not require much solicitation on the part of a guide, who bore the picturesque and peculiarly Swiss name of Aufdenblattern, to persuade the men of the party to attempt the ascent of the Breithorn. Then some

body suggested that we might cross over | mules. As we went on, the sky, which at the Théodule Pass, into the Val Tour- two o-clock was clear and lighted up by a nanche, and return to Geneva by Aosta brilliant moon, became overcast, the and the Great St. Bernard. The guidebooks said that the journey presented no serious difficulty, and that it was often undertaken by ladies, who generally rode to the foot of the great Théodule glacier, whence the walk to the inn at Le Breuil is under five hours. This proposition finding general acceptance, it was resolved accordingly; but Aufdenblattern being of opinion that the ascent of the Breithorn and the Matterjoch (Théodule) on consecutive days might be too much, we arranged to substitute for the former excursion a visit to the Schwarz-See and the Hörnli. "If we felt equal to it," said the guide, 66 we could ascend the Breithorn from the Matterjoch, and still reach Le Breuil the same evening." Going down the Riffelberg, we met à German student and an American tourist (whose acquaintance we had made at the Mont Cervin Hôtel), accompanied by a guide, and equipped for an Alpine excursion. They were on their way to the Riffel Hôtel, where they were to stay the night, and start the following morning for the Breithorn. They expected to be back at Zermatt the next afternoon.

All this time the weather, if not brilliant, was passable, but Thursday, July 19th, began gloomily, and ended with rain. At the Schwarz-See a few flakes of snow fell; the Matterhorn was barely visible, and the Hörnli so shrouded in mist, that we did not think it worth while to go to the top. In the evening we held a consultation with the guides as to the feasibility of our projected journey. Both thought the morrow would be fine; the barometer, though low, was steady, and it was finally decided that if it did not rain, we should rise at two, and start at three. Everything was ordered accordingly, and, the skies being propitious, the night-porter roused us a few minutes before two. Half an hour later, we were breakfasting by candle-light, and at three sharp all was ready for a start. Our party consisted of three ladies on mules, three men on foot, two guides, and a porter. In ordinary circumstances, one guide would have been enough; but as one or two of the ladies might possibly require help in crossing the glaciers, Aufdenblattern had suggested that it would be well to take a second guide, and the sequel proved the wisdom of the precaution.

We walked fast, occasionally taking a near cut, and always keeping up with the

moon disappeared, and the sun remained invisible. Only once was his position marked in the eastern horizon, by a purple haze; then all was gloomy again, dark clouds stretched from peak to peak without a single break, and the Matterhorn, Rothhorn, Breithorn, and Lyskamm were hidden in a sombre haze. Shortly after crossing the brawling Furggenbach, we entered a wild and wind-swept ravine, and from the mist that rolled down its sides there came a few flakes of snow, an ominous bode of which, however, the guides made light; they still thought that the day, if not brilliant, would be sufficiently fine to admit of the Matterjoch being crossed in comfort. After riding and walking some three hours, we reached a point-about thirty minutes from the foot of the great Théodule glacier-where, as the snow lay rather deep in the hollows, it became necessary to dismiss the mules. They had scarcely gone when it began to snow in real earnest, and we found it desirable to take refuge under an overhanging rock, and there discuss what was best to be done, whether we should advance or retreat. Aufdenblattern thought we had better retreat. If the party were composed exclusively of guides and experienced mountaineers, he said, he would advise going on; seeing, however, that we had ladies with us, the more prudent course was to return to Zermatt. So we left the shelter of the friendly rock and set our faces towards the valley; but we had not gone far when the wind fell somewhat, the snow abated, and the signs became so much more favorable that the two guides, after a long discussion, came to the conclusion that we might safely resume our journey. The Théodule hut was only two-and-ahalf hours distant, it would surely be fine for that time, and once there, we should have food, fire, and shelter. On this we retraced our steps a second time, and were soon climbing a steep snow-slope; and after toiling up a boulder-strewn moraine, we reached the foot of the gla cier. Then the weather became bad again, and the further we went the worse it grew. But we were now four hours from Zermatt, only two from the hut, and it was easier to go on than to go back; and we went on, -on through the blinding snow, which the fierce foehn drove right in our faces, down our necks, and up our coat-sleeves. Every hundred yards

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or so we turned to draw breath and rest a few minutes on our alpenstocks. Six of the party were roped together, one of the guides leading; the other guide brought up the rear with a lady who required all his help. The view before and behind did not extend more than fifty yards; nothing could be seen but snow, and as the mist settled down more and more, the guides seemed to grow uncertain as to their whereabouts. They stopped, looked anxiously round, and tried the echo. It was an anxious moment; for to more than one of the party a few hours' exposure to that biting blast and blinding snow might have been fatal. But a few minutes later an upright stick which served as a guide-post was perceived, then the dark rocks of the Little Matterhorn loomed dimly through snow and cloud, and Aufdenblattern cheered us with the hope that in half an hour more we should reach the hut. But the pull up to the hut was the hardest of all. The path was steep, the snow lay in wreaths, at every step we sank up to the knees, the wind felt like a wall, and if the hut had been an hour further off, some of us might never have reached it at all. At the door we met the German student and the American traveller. They had utterly failed in their attempt to ascend the Breithorn, been nearly lost in a snowstorm, and, unable to get down to Zermatt, had passed the night in the hut. They had seen us coming, and were now

hurrying away in order to take advantage of the track we had made, before it became obliterated by the snow. The hut, in reality a small auberge, is about sixteen feet by ten; at either end of it there is a small bedroom, each containing three beds; and after thawing our beards, which were frozen solid, and getting some thing to eat, most of us went to bed, while our clothes were dried.

Until four o'clock in the afternoon the storm continued with undiminished violence, and there seemed every probability of our having to pass the night in the auberge; but at length the snow ceased, the wind went down, the sun came out, and the guides urged us to profit by the lucid interval to get down to Le Breuil The crossing of the Lower Théodule glacier was not unpleasant, for though the snow lay deep, the descent was easy and the view superb. But we had not left the glacier-foot many minutes when the heavens were again darkened, mists clothed the mountain-tops and rose up from the ravines, the rain came down in torrents, and we reached the Hôtel du Mont Cervin, at Le Breuil, wet to the skin, yet safe and sound. In the salon of the little inn, we found, sitting before a blazing fire, three Englishmen, who had been beaten in an attempt to reach Zermatt by the Cime Blanche, and so ended our summer day's journey.

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JACK KETCH'S KITCHEN, NEWGATE. In its two large caldrons the hangman boiled, in a compound of tar, pitch, and oil, the limbs of those who were executed and quartered for treason, before fixing them upon the spikes at London Bridge and the city gates. The "kitchen" was situated between the female debtors' ward above and a wretched cell, Tangier," beneath. In a lower depth_still, underground and unlighted, was the Stone Hold. "Built and paved with stone, without beds or any other sort of protection from the cold, this dreadful hole, accounted the most dark and dismal in the prison, was made the receptacle of such miserable wretches as could not pay the customary fees." The Lower Ward adjoined the Stone Hold, "though in what degree of latitude it was situated," says Ned Ward, with a happy neglect of geometrical precision, "I cannot positively demonstrate, unless it lay ninety degrees beyond the north pole; for instead of being dark there but half the year, it is dark all the year round." The main building, facing the Old Bailey, included the master's side, the common side,

but

and the Press Yard. The last-named division -which must not be confounded with the press-room- -was situated behind Phoenix Court. It was devoted to State offenders, and to criminals who could be mulcted for their accommodation. So lucrative proved the profits derived from this source that Pitt, the governor, who was tried for high treason, acquitted, on the charge of aiding Forster's escape after the "15," had paid £5,000 for the privilege of farming the Press Yard. One of the Jacobites who was incarcerated at that period avers that a greater sum was charged for one room there than would have paid the rent of the best house in St. James's Square or Piccadilly for several years. Some dark and ill-ventilated wards below the ground-level composed the common side-the ordinary quarters for both malefactors and poor debtors Two rooms, the Waterman's Hall and My Lady's Hold, were allotted to the female prisoners. From the former, being near the postern in the gate, they were permitted to beg, like the male felons, and in the same manner, of the passers-by.

London Society.

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| Out and beyond the steady light is shining,
Bright beyond man's divinest of divining,
Which from the steady heart no mist can veil,
Where all his mists of thought must melt and
fail,

And, as e'en now the clouds roll off the shore,
Obscure the homes of promise nevermore.
HERMAN MERIVALE
Spectator.

Portlemouth, August 18th.

A DRIVE.

THROUGH the thick air the tall majestic trees Loomed like gaunt ghosts; the leafless hedges showed

A faint dim line; there was no breath of breeze,

No fleck of sunshine on the long straight
road;

While with a steady, muffled, rhythmic beat,
Fell the dull echo of the horses' feet.

And all the while through the long leagues. I

know

One whom I love seemed sitting at my side ; I thought I heard his voice in accents low,

I thought he watched my lips as I replied; Nor feared nor marvelled as we swept along, His hand claspt mine; Love lapped us, calm and strong.

Till with a start and clash of wheels we stopped,

The red light glimmered from the open door;
Over my Paradise the dark veil dropped,

And all the world was as it was before,
Ere through the hush of the November weather,
We two had that sweet mystic drive together.
All The Year Round.

THE WOOD-NYMPH.

THE lime-trees shed their blossoms, and the scent

Filled the light air that dallied round the grove;

The honeysuckle tendrils deftly wove
A net to catch them sweets on sweets intent.
The thyme, scarce crushed (for she a-tiptoe
went),

Breathed a faint tribute of its dying love,
Clinging about her footsteps as they move,
And all the wood in smiling homage bent.
Fair as young birds in early spring, one hand
Led in rose-fetters a new-captured fawn,
The other held a palm leaf, from the stream
That trickled through the thicket,-like the
wand

Of some enchantress, gracious as the Dawn
She passed, this Oread of a poet's dream.
LORD ROSSLYN.

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