days, and which caused a heavy swell at high water on Wednesday midday, so that the ferry-boats to Egremont and New Brighton could not land the passengers, and for some time had to cease running. At midnight the waves washed over George's Pier, and about twelve feet of the shore ends of the landing-stage bridges were awash for half an hour. The sea drove up the Dee with so much force that the boundary-wall of the Chester and Holyhead Railway between Mostyn and Tan-y-lan Point, where the line is on land won from the sea, was washed away, and the sleepers on the eastern line of rails nearest the water were so much undermined that traffic became dangerous. The Irish limited mail on the night of the 18th was brought to a standstill in this vicinity, and had to proceed very slowly, being thus considerably delayed in arrival in London. This morning the traffic had to be conducted in the most cautious manner along the down line of rails, a pilot engine escorting all trains between Mostyn and Prestatyn stations. Other parts of the railway along the Welsh coast, although more open to the sea at some points, received no damage, the style of construction being calculated to withstand dangers of the kind, which were quite unexpected at the point where the waves washing over and through gullies in the marsh-land broke down the boundary-wall.

21. RAILWAY ACCIDENTS.-Railway accidents are now becoming of such frequent occurrence that unless a number of people are killed or seriously injured no notice is taken of them. Several have occurred during the past week, the principal of which we give.

What might have resulted in the most deplorable accident of our day took place at Westbourne Park station, on the Great Western Railway. A number of eminent singers and the principal members of the orchestra who had been performing at the Worcester Musical Festival were on their way to London. The express train from North Wales, which they joined at Worcester, had arrived within a few hundred yards of the Westbourne Park station when a luggage train, which was on its way to a siding, was by some miscalculation driven obliquely into the centre of the passenger train. The first carriage with which the engine of the luggage train came in contact was a van containing luggage and a large number of valuable musical instruments. This was smashed and overturned, dragging over with it one or two of the carriages that followed. A number of the passengers suffered from contusions and shakings; and one lady, who was with difficulty helped out through the window of one of the overturned compartments, was stated to be seriously hurt. In the carriage immediately preceding the overturned van, and in other parts of the train, were Mdme. Lemmens Sherrington, Miss Fairman, Mr. Santley, Mr. Vernon Rigby, Mr. E. Lloyd, Mr. Lewis Thomas, and all the principal members of the orchestra. Many valuable instruments belonging to the last-named gentlemen were either irreparably destroyed, or sustained serious damage.

Greenhill Junction, on the Caledonian Railway, was the scene of a fatal accident on September 16. A goods train was proceeding northwards from Glasgow, but had stopped at Greenhill for the purpose of shunting into a siding, to enable a passenger train from Glasgow to pass. While this was being done, the signal was turned on so that the passenger train might be brought to a standstill before passing the post. Whether the engine-driver or the fireman observed the signal it is impossible to say, as both of them were killed, but the guard immediately applied the break. The train, however, was going at great speed, and dashed into the rear of the goods train with much violence. The crash took place just at the station, where a bridge crosses the line. A number of the waggons were dashed in pieces, blocking up both lines. One or two were thrown upon the platform, and turned upside down. A truck filled with cattle was turned over on the embankment, and the cattle were thrown out. They suffered very little injury, one or two being slightly lamed; but the whole were able to graze quietly in an adjoining field. At the bridge the line was completely covered, and the collision was so great that the engine of the passenger train was turned across both lines of rails, and fell over on its side immediately under the bridge. The tender became separated from the engine, and also fell over on its side. The engine-driver was instantaneously killed. The fireman was thrown out, and the tender, in turning over, came down upon his legs. He lived for about twenty minutes, and appeared to be in great agony. The passenger train only consisted of three or four carriages. It is marvellous how the passengers escaped.

On Sunday morning a collision occurred between the Midland mail from the South and a Leeds goods train, near Copmanthorpe station, about four miles to the south of York. The passenger train, which consisted of fourteen carriages, left Normanton station half an hour late.

The morning express train from London for Scotland, on September 13, met with an accident when about five miles south of Berwick, near Windmill-hill station. The axle of one of the wheels of the tender broke, and the tender, with three carriages, were thrown off the rails. Happily, none of the passengers were injured, but the line was not cleared till four o'clock next morning.

The boiler of a locomotive exploded in Bray station, county Wicklow, on September 16. The stoker, Patrick Smith, and the driver, Patrick Doolan, were killed. The former was blown against a wall, and the latter upon the roof of the station. The railway station is a complete wreck, the roof being partly destroyed and all the windows and frames smashed. Heavy pieces of the

boiler were hurled a considerable distance from the scene of the explosion.

23. DEATH OF THE QUEEN'S SISTER.-Her Majesty received by telegraph the melancholy intelligence of the death of her beloved

sister, the Dowager Princess of Hohenlohe Langenburg, who expired at Baden-Baden at 2 a.m. to-day :

The Princess's declining health of late had to a certain extent prepared the Queen for this event; but the rapid termination of the illness was unexpected, and has been a painful shock to her Majesty, who has lost a most affectionate sister, to whom the Queen has always been warmly attached, and which attachment has always been warmly returned. The Princess was a most amiable, high-minded, and kind lady, universally beloved by all who knew her, and by whom, from the highest to the lowest, she will be deeply mourned.

The Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Arthur at once proceeded to Baden-Baden, where the Princess was buried on the 4th October. The gathering was confined to her own family and those belonging to them, with the sole exception of the Empress of Germany, who was warmly attached to her. The Princess Alice and her husband were present with the Duke and Prince Arthur.

24. THE JAPANESE AMBASSADORS AT THE MANSION HOUSE.The Lord Mayor, Sir Sills John Gibbons, entertained the principal members of the Japanese Embassy now in London at dinner at the Mansion House. The Ambassador Extraordinary occupied a seat at dinner immediately on the right of the Lord Mayor, and the rest of the Japanese guests, eight or ten in number, on his Excellency's right, each according to his rank. On the removal of the cloth, the Lord Mayor and the Lady Mayoress drank to the guests in a loving cup, according to custom. The Ambassador, through an interpreter, expressed his high sense of the complimentary and flattering address of his lordship, and of the good will which he had evinced towards his country; adding that those expressions of amity would be the most welcome tokens he could take home to his Sovereign. His country would be much gratified by their splendid reception in the City of London.

25. GREAT FLOODS IN SCOTLAND.-The extremely cold, stormy weather in Aberdeenshire and the northern counties culminated, early this morning, in a heavy rainfall, which continued throughout the entire day. Rain fell in torrents, and a strong breeze blew from the north. The streets of Aberdeen were almost deserted, and by evening they were much flooded. The Dee is very much flooded, covering tracts of arable land along its banks. All along the Don the beautiful haughs of Colquhonny, Towie, and Alford have been a good deal encroached on by the river; and some of the grain crops, where cut, swept away. About Inverurie and Kintore, where the course of the Don is nearly level, much of the corn-land is submerged. All over the Buchan district every trifling rivulet became a roaring torrent, and the Ugie especially was much flooded. In the Huntly district the Bogle rose with extraordinary rapidity, and swept furiously over much of the fine arable land along its banks, bearing away some of the grain crops, and destroying more of what is left. The Deveron was not contained within its

ordinary high-water mark, and, like many other rivers, has done considerable damage to valuable crops along its course of thirty or forty miles. In Dee village, and elsewhere in the neighbourhood, the houses were flooded to a greater or less extent. The flood was higher in Aberdeen than it was on the memorable 16th of October, 1869, and far greater than was experienced for many years prior to that date or since. By nightfall the Don had inundated hundreds of acres in the Kintore and Inverurie districts. About Keith and Grange the Isla overflowed its banks, but not to such an extent as some of the Aberdeenshire streams. The rain did not begin quite so early north of Keith, and in Aberdeenshire it poured nearly twenty hours without intermission. All over the northern counties the crops are in a deplorable condition, almost beyond a parallel.

28. SHIPWRECK AND LOSS OF SEVENTEEN LIVES. Another lamentable shipwreck has occurred near Liverpool, attended by the loss of all on board the unfortunate ship. It appears that about five o'clock this afternoon the distress flag was observed to be hoisted at Rock Lighthouse at the entrance to the Mersey, and it was soon made known that a large ship was in a dangerous position in the neighbourhood of Formby, as was indicated from the flags flying from the Crosby and Formby lightships. The New Brighton and Liverpool lifeboats were at once got ready, and proceeded in search of the distressed vessel. They were unable to find her, and returned to port. The next morning, however, all doubts as to the name of the vessel and the fate of the crew were cleared up, as at about eight o'clock the body of Captain Brewer, of the "Nazarene," was washed on to the Formby beach. The illfated vessel left the Mersey on September 22 for Havana, and must, therefore, have encountered the full force of the late severe weather which prevailed in the Channel and off the Irish coast. The general opinion is that the "Nazarene" was putting back for repairs when the disaster occurred, having become disabled, as the vessel, when first sighted, was evidently to a certain degree unmanageable. When the vessel left the Mersey she had on board a crew of seventeen men. The sands from Formby to Birkdale were strewed with broken timber, barrels, &c.

29. GERMAN DUEL IN LONDON.-Two German gentlemen, said to be well-known in the City, recently quarrelled about a lady, and, it is alleged, their feelings towards each other were so bitter that they could not be appeased without resort to a hostile meeting. Seconds and a medical man were accordingly engaged, and the duel was arranged to take place in Finsbury-park. The combat was not, however, permitted to take place there, and the belligerents were compelled to proceed some distance farther. It is asserted that they then fought with dagger-knives, having blades seven inches in length; that the distance they stood apart was only at arm's length, and the position toe to toe. The eyes of each combatant were protected by a vizard, and two of the fingers and the thumb were protected by the guard of the knives. Hostilities

commenced about seven o'clock, and in the first few passes the slighter antagonist wounded his adversary twice in the right arm. The wounds, however, were not of a character-in the opinion of the bystanders-to cause an end of the duel to be declared. The contest proceeded, and the thrusts and parries followed each other in fierce succession. The combatant who had gained the earlier success seemed to have lost nerve, for, after twenty minutes' severe fighting, he lost his guard, and received an ugly gash from the corner of the mouth to the end of the ear. The physician and seconds here interposed, and hostilities were suspended. dangerously wounded man was conveyed in his carriage to the German Hospital.

The

OCTOBER.

1. ROBBERY AT EARL RUSSELL'S.-To-night a robbery of a very daring kind was committed at the residence of Lord Russell, Pembroke-lodge, Richmond-park. It appears that about ten o'clock the housemaid had occasion to go to the countess's bedroom, when she found the door fastened. The bedroom had been entered by one or more thieves, and then a large quantity of valuable jewellery had been stolen. All the wardrobes had been ransacked, and the jewel-cases were found broken open and scattered about the room, their valuable contents gone. A ladder had been placed near the entrance-hall, and the window of Earl Russell's dressing-room having been reached, it was the work of a moment to effect an entrance. In order to prevent surprise, a wedge-shaped piece of wood had been placed under the door, and a gimlet bored through the wood into the floor to make it more secure. For some time past workmen have been engaged in the house. The stolen property consists of splendid bracelets, brooches, rings, &c., set with diamonds, pearls, and other precious stones, at their lowest value worth 7007.

DISESTABLISHMENT CONFERENCE AT BIRMINGHAM. The Conference convened by the Liberation Society and the Central Nonconformist Committee met in the Exchange Assembly Room, Birmingham, to consider the question of the disestablishment of the English Church. The chair was taken by Mr. W. Middlemore, of Birmingham. Mr. Miall and Mr. Illingworth were the