dressed in a complete suit of white, and, meeting with a grim major, who has an old daughter and a young wife, falls in love with the wife, and, mistaking her for the daughter, demands her hand from her husband. The method by which he has introduced himself to the fomily is of the oddest. The Major, to check his wife's fancy for her pet dogs, causes them to be secretly drowned in the neighbouring lake, and the last victim," York," is saved by the gallant Hector, who first comes on leading the rescued creature by a string. When the Major has given his consent, and Hector discovers his mistake, his despair at the notion of marrying the dreadful daughter is so violent, that everybody thinks he has the hydrophobia, and he becomes an object of universal terror, till at last he is released from his distress by a convenient captain, who takes his bride off his hands, and he is allowed to retain "York" as a reward for his gallantry. The dialogue of this piece is of the drollest kind, and strongly seasoned with those jokes for which the theatre of its production is celebrated, while the vis comica is increased tenfold by the inimitable humour of M. Ravel, whose face, as he utters some of the pleasantries, or expresses some of the embarrassments, is in itself a signal for a roar.

Various Things from Various Sources.

SUBURBAN RESIDENCES.-The government of Lord Derby, whatever may have been their shortcomings in other respects, evidently paid great attention to public improvements, and in no instance more so than in their encouragement of the magnificent scheme for building a National Gallery at Kensington, which, when finished, will be a fitting depository for the people's treasures now hidden in the unsightly and inconvenient building in Trafalgar Square; a home for the discoveries in art and science, where the great inventions of the age will be exhibited for the instruction and improvement of mankind; and finally a noble pile which will remain a monument to coming ages of the taste and public spirit of the times in which we live. The secondary effect of this great undertaking is already beginning to manifest itself in the improvements which are taking place in the vicinity of the chosen spot. That large tract of land extending from Belgravia to the town of Kensington, which for so long a period remained almost valueless, has now become the most aristocratic part of town; and, judging from present appearances, the erection of ele-. gant residences, and the anticipation of the great attraction before named, will become the principal resort of the fashionable world. Of this distinction the locality itself is well deserving, for it possesses advantages unknown to any other, being close to the parks and Kensington Gardens, with their delightful promenades, and yet within an easy distance of town, the Houses of Parliament, and public offices; added to which, the salubrity of the place is unquestioned; sheltered,

yet open, and with a dry, gravelly soil; the home of the arts and sciences; the nearest handmaid of the greatest city in the world; it recommends itself alike to all-the invalid, the member of Parliament, the banker, the merchant, and the man of science; all will make it their place of residence, and thus form within this until now neg lected region, a circle of genius, wealth, fashion, and elegance, quite unparalleled.

MANBY'S PATENT CLEANSING CRYSTAL, 230, STRAND. No family should be without this important article in household affairs: it effects a saving beyond all calculation in the laundry alone; where it is in use the wear and tear is estimated at less than half.

BRIDGE'S BRONCHIO-THORACIC LOZENGES.-Messrs. Bridge and Co., the eminent chemists, 270, Regent Street, have been very successful in introducing to the public the Bronchio-Throracic Lozenge for coughs and all kinds of influenza, and in many instances have been known to alleviate incipient consumption: for public speakers they are invaluable.

PATENT NOISELESS BRASS CORNICE POLES.-We have recently inspected an entirely new cornice pole, the invention of Mr. Martin Billing of Birmingham, manufacturer. The new cornice pole is at once conspicuous for its improvement over the old ones, which were simply made of a brass tube. The new is composed of two metals, first of zinc, then of brass, the combination having the effect of completely deadening all jingling and noise caused by drawing the rings across them, so important in a drawing-room of that of an invalid. The rings themselves are similarly treated, and the invention is equally applicable to picture rods, window laths, brackets, &c., &c. It has also this advantage, that the article can never split, a fault very common under the old style of manufacture; and that it is susceptible of a richer polish, and a much more richer appearance. In the course of a short time they will be universally adopted: we understand they are to be procured of all the London and provincial upholsterers.

TEA COLOURING.-The objectionable practice of colouring tea perpetrated by the Chinese, with the concurrence of our merchants in China, is now claiming greatly increased attention. At the Session held in 1852 of the British Asssociation for the Advancement of Science, the subject was ably introduced to the notice of the Assembly, by Dr. Royle. Since then it has been taken up by the Editor of the Times, in reviewing a work on Tea. The following is an abridgment of an article extending to the length of several columns.

TEA GATHERING IN CHINA.

In the year 1848 "the Hon. Court of Directors of the East India Company" desired much to improve the cultivation of tea on the Himalaya Mountains. Government tea plantations already existed there: the plants, originally imported into India from the southern parts of China, were inferior, and, in order to get at the finer varieties, it was essential to explore the north. No foreigner could penetrate in

to the best tea districts and be safe. In their difficulty, the Hon. Court of Directors had recourse to Mr. Fortune. That gentleman had visited China in 1843, being botanical collector to the Horticultural Society of London, and curator of the garden of the Society of Apothecaries, and had passed three years in the country, forming botanical collections and gaining a knowledge of the exclusive people. He could speak the Chinese language sufficiently well to be understood, and his experience had taught him to believe the Chinese inhabitants of the north, and especially of the interior, civil, harmless, and obliging. In 1848 Mr. Fortune accepted the proffered mission of the East India Company, set out for the interesting region, and resolved to make his way to the best tea districts of the country, unaccompanied by any European, and himself disguised-for safety's sake -as a native of China. In September, 1851, the adventurous traveller returned to England, having forwarded to the Himalaya mountains 20,000 plants from the best black and green countries of central China, and having himself conveyed from China to India six first-rate manufacturers, two headmen, and a large supply of implements "from the celebrated Hwuy-chow districts." In 1852 Mr. Murray published the tea gatherer's adventures.

It is a singular fact that a Chinese never drinks cold water, thinks it destructive to health, and hates it. Uncoloured tea is his beverage from morning till night-the essence of the herb drawn out in pure water, and swallowed without milk and sugar. If he travels, he stops in his chair to take his cup, not "his glass." If he pays a visit he is offered tea; if he receives a visitor he proffers it. Before dinner he takes his tea as the French take oysters-as a zest. After dinner he sips his tea as a Scotchman takes his whiskey-as a digester. This is done not only without injuring their stomachs, but with positive advantage to their bodily health and general comfort.

Yet we Englishmen swallow tea, go to bed, turn and toss, keep awake, get up, complain of unstrung nerves and weak digestion, and visit the doctor, who shakes his head and solemnly says " Tea!" This is what he says; but what he means, if he has given attention to the subject, is "Metallic Paint." "Foreigners," say the Chinese, "like to have their tea uniform and pretty," so they poison the leaves for the advantage of the English and American merchants. The Chinese would not think of drinking dyed teas such as we daily imbibe; but the more gypsum and blue he can communicate to the plant the higher becomes its value in the eyes of the English merchant, and the dyeing process accordingly goes on in China to an extent actually alarming. In every hundred pounds of coloured green tea consumed in England more than half a pound of colouring powder made from blue and gypsum is contained. The fact is not now made known to the British public for the first time: we therefore hope that this lucrative dyeing trade will decrease in the Celestial Empire. The Chinese may easily regard us with pity and surprise, as the coats of our stomachs may well rebel against the intrusion of so much mineral trash. Our

venerable ancestors the ancient Britons painted themselves and lived on acorns, and we, who live luxuriously, smile at their lamentable ignorance. In one respect, however, the Britons had the advantage of us. They painted their stomachs blue, and used the colour only on the outside, not in.

Mr. Fortune furnishes an instructive account of the growth and manufacture of tea, which will be read with interest by the general reader, as well as by the merchant and the man of science.

Black and Green teas are both made from the same variety of plants; the difference in the appearance of these teas, when the green is not artificially coloured, depending entirely on curing.

The process of manufacture is briefly thus:-Leaves from which green tea is to be made, being gathered, are brought from the plantations, and spread thinly out on small bamboo trays, in order to get rid of their moisture. In two hours the leaves are dry: they are then thrown into roasting pans, and rapidly moved about and shaken up. Affected by the heat, they make a crackling noise, become moist and flaccid, and yield a considerable portion of vapour. In this state they remain five minutes, when they are drawn quickly out and placed upon the rolling-table. Men take their stations at the rolling-table and divide the leaves among them. Each takes as many as he can press with his hand, and makes them up in the form of a ball. The ball is rolled upon the table, and greatly compressed to force out the last remaining moisture, and to give the leaves the necessary twist. The leaves are then shaken out upon flat trays, and are carried once more to the roasting pan, where they are kept in rapid motion by the hands of the workmen. In an hour and a half the leaves are well dried, and the colour is fixed, being a dark olive, as up to this time no artificial colour is used. So ends process No. 1.

Process No. 2 consists in winnowing and passing the tea through sieves of various sizes, in order to get rid of impurities, and to divide tea into the well known kinds of Twankay, Hyson, Hyson Skin, Young Hyson, and Gunpowder. During this process, the tea is refined in iron pans, and coloured with finely powdered Prussian Blue and Gypsum.

BLACK TEA. The method of manufacture is different. The distinction in flavour arises from the black being much more roasted or baked than the green, by long exposure to the fire in the iron pans; some kinds are coloured and made more evenly black with a dark metallic substance called Plumbago.

The knowing Chinese shrinks from the plumbago, blue, and gypsum, drinks his uncoloured tea, enjoys and thrives upon it.

Mr. Fortune, who visited our Government tea plantations on the Himalayas, sees no reason why India should not produce tea in sufficient abundance to enable the native to purchase it upon his own hills at the rate of 4d. a pound. The climate and soil of the Himalayas are in all respects adapted to the cultivation of the plant.

THE BEST OF A BAD BARGAIN.-Some of the few friends of the Derby ministry are still heard to insist on the excellence of the late government, of which it is said we shall only thoroughly feel the loss, when it has been some time excluded from power. Without wishing to make unpleasant comparisons between the present and the late administrations we should be disposed to admit without hesitation that the Derbyite government is "out-and-out" the best ministry.— Punch.

-Ibid.

SINCERE ATTACHMENT.

"Hast thou ever yet loved, Henrietta?" I sighed.

"I should rather imagine I had!" she replied;

"Oh, did not my glances my feelings betray

When you helped me the third time to pudding to-day?"

THE NATIVITY OF THE NEW MINISTRY.-Previous to casting the nativity of the ministry, we ought perhaps to have ascertained the exact moment of its coming into existence; but we could not make the inquiry as to when it was born, lest we should put it in the power of any one to say that we had asked for a birth from the government. The precise period at which the new Cabinet was born, may, however, be fixed at that particular moment when the late administration could be borne no longer. The appearance of the political skies may be described as favourable, and the fact of Taurus and Leo being in the ascending degree, shows that John Bull and the British Lion are gradually on the rise together. The great luminaries are in close conjunction, and are no longer in opposition, but have crossed over by a right line to Pallas, where the signs are favourable. The rapid passage of Mercury to and fro denotes much negotiation; and the writhing of Scorpio beyond the parallel shows unparalleled rage and disappointment among the stars that have lately fallen. In considering whether the native will be long-lived, we see no reason for apprehension; for though Mars has a threatening aspect, should the position of Libra continue favourable, and a good balance be kept in hand, Mars may be either avoided or met without danger. The native will be subjected to some violent attacks, but internal disagreement is most to be feared; and Pisces, or the little fishes, may occasion some difficulty by their power of attraction, which may lead some of the lesser luminaries out of the sphere, and into irregular latitudes. As courtship and marriage are important points in every nativity, we may predict that the native will court popularity by honourable means, but will not be wedded to it, unless the alliance promises to be happy and respectable. The native will not fix its affection upon any object that does not stand high, is not upright, and has not a complexion so fair as to carry a good recommendation on the face of it. On looking further we see some indications about the Quartile, which may refer to the quart bottle as a measure to be taken in hand by the native, and the position of Sagittarius leads us to expect that the general aim of the native will be worthy of approbation. -Ibid.