the winning of the Derby was the "blue-ribbon" of the turf. In August, 1848, he retired to Welbeck Abbey for relaxation; he, however, attended Doncaster races four times in one week, at which a horse of his own breeding won the St. Leger stakes, to his great gratification. On September 21st, he left Welbeck on foot, soon after four o'clock in the afternoon, to visit Earl Manvers, at Thoresby-park, and sent his servants. to meet him with a carriage at an appointed place. He appeared not; the servants became alarmed; search was made for him; but it was not till eleven at night that he was found quite dead, lying on a footpath in a meadow about a mile from the house: his death having been caused by spasms of the heart. In Cavendish-square has been set up a colossal bronze statue of this remarkable man: the pedestal simply bears his name and date of his death.

LORD BROUGHAM'S SEPOY PROPHECY.

A singular anticipation of the possible entire revolt of the Indian native army occurs in Hansard's report of Mr. Brougham's celebrated speech on Law Reform, delivered in the House of Commons, 7th February, 1828. He had denounced the delays and costliness of Indian appeals decided in London by the Privy Council, and contrasted the evil with the then improved Law Courts of Ceylon, stating that one good effect had resulted in that colony, as the Ceylon population, previously rebellious, in 1816, aided the mother country in putting down and crushing a military mutiny. "So will it be," said Brougham, "in the Peninsula, if you give your subjects a share in administering your laws, and an interest and a pride in supporting you. Should the day ever come when disaffection may appeal to 70,000,000 against a few thousand strangers, who have planted themselves upon the ruins of their ancient dynasties, you will find how much safer it is to have won their hearts, and universally cemented their attachment by a common interest in your system, than to rely upon 150,000 Sepoy swords, of excellent temper, but in doubtful hands :"-and so it proved.

THE INDIAN MUTINY.

The following extract from an interesting letter, addressed to the Rev. Secretary of the London Missionary Society, from

the Rev. A. F. Lacroix, one of the Society's missionaries in India, is striking: the letter is dated Calcutta, June 3, 1857 :

"We are passing through a most critical period, such as I have never seen during my thirty-six years' residence in India, and which, I believe, has not been witnessed before. It is strange that it should happen just a century after the taking of Bengal by the British, under Lord Clive; the battle of Plassy, which decided the fate of the country, having been fought on the 23rd of June, 1757. There has been for many years a Brahminical prediction, current among the natives, and which I have often heard referred to, viz. that the British rule in India would last just one hundred years; and I should not be surprised that this pseudo-prophecy may have had some influence in inducing the Sepoys to revolt at the present time."

In the Record, of Wednesday, Sept. 23, 1857, is a letter bearing the signature of "E. A. W., of Haselbury, Bryan, Dorset," in which the writer states that, "for upwards of fifty years, the Mohammedans have been looking forward to the year 1857 as the year in which they were to regain their dominion in the ancient Mogul empire," and cites a passage from the Journals and Letters of the Rev. Henry Martyn (2 vols.), edited by S. Wilberforce, to prove this assertion. It occurs vol. ii. p. 2, Jan. 8, 1807 :—

"Pundit was telling me to-day that there was a prophecy in their books that the English should remain one hundred years in India, and that forty years were now elapsed of that period. (This is a mistake; it should have been said fifty years, since 1757, the year of the battle of Plassy.) That there should be a great change, and they should be driven out by a king's son who should be born. Telling this to Moonshee, he said that about the same time the Mussulmans expected some great events, and the spread of Islamism over the earth."

Mrs. Torrens, the widow of General Torrens, residing at Southsea, near Portsmouth, about a year previous to the Indian mutiny, dreamed that she saw her daughter, Mrs. Hayes, and that daughter's husband, Captain Hayes, attacked by Sepoys; and a frightful murderous struggle ensued, in which Captain Hayes was killed. She wrote instantly to entreat that her daughter and the children would presently come home; and in consequence of her extreme importunity,

her grandchildren arrived by the following ship. This was before an idea was entertained of the mutiny. Mrs. Hayes remained with her husband, and suffered the whole horrors of the siege of Lucknow, where Captain Hayes fell by the hands of the Sepoys-who first put out his eyes, and then killed him. (See Predictions Realized in Modern Times.)

THE NATIONAL ANTHEM.

Mr. T. Raikes, in his Journals, published in 1856, notes: "Our National Anthem of 'God save the King,' composed in the time of George I., has always been considered of English origin; but, on reading the amusing Memoirs of Madame de Créquy, it appears to have been almost a literal translation of the cantique which was always sung by the Demoiselles de St. Cyr when Louis XIV. entered the chapel of that establishment to hear the morning prayer. The words were by M. de Brinon, and the music by the famous Sully. It appears to have been translated and adapted to the House of Hanover by Handel, the German composer :

THE THROW FOR LIFE OR DEATH.

In the Familie Magazijn for 1859, (quoted in Notes and Queries), we find the following strange story :

"As King William III. of England, the Stadtholder of the Netherlands, was besieging Namur, in 1695, sundry soldiers from his army, through the want which reigned in the camp, went maraudering, though such a transgression of the martial law had been forbidden on pain of death. Most of these marauders were caught by the country people, and killed; only two of them reached the camp unscathed; but they were sentenced to death. They were both brave soldiers, and the general-in-chief wanted to save one of them, and thus commuted the judgment in so far, that they should have

to throw at dice for their life, as was the custom in former times in such cases.

"On the morning appointed for the execution, both the marauders were led to a drum, in order thereupon to cast the decisive throw; while, at a few paces further, the fatal pole already stood erect. Full of painful expectation, a group of officers, the regimental chaplain, and the executioner, surrounded the poor fellows. With a trembling hand, one of the condemned took up the dice: he threw-two sixes ! In the next moment, he saw that his fellow had also throwntwo sixes!

"The commanding officers were not a little stricken at this strange occurrence: but their orders were precise, and so they commanded both the men to throw again. This was done : the dice were cast, and in the throw of both there turned up -two fives! The spectators now loudly called out that both should be pardoned; and the officers, to ask for new directions, momentarily put off the execution. They applied to the court martial, which they found assembled; and, after a long discussion, the disheartening reply was that the delinquents should decide their lot with new dice. Once more both of them cast, and, lo-each threw two fours!

"This is the finger of God!' said all present.

"The officers again submitted the strange case to the court martial. This time, even the members of the court shuddered; and they resolved to leave the decision to the generalin-chief, who was momentarily expected.

"The Prince of Vaudemont came. He caused the two Englishmen to appear before him: they related to him the trying circumstances of their desertion. The Prince listened attentively, and relieved the poor culprits with the welcome 'Pardon,' adding, 'it is impossible in such an uncommon case not to obey the voice of Divine Providence.'”

THE SUPERIOR MAN.

Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, in his Caxtonia, gives this clever portrait of the safe or superior man, winning success by his silence :

"A certain nobleman, some years ago, was conspicuous for his success in the world. He had been employed in the highest situations at home and abroad, without one discover

able reason for his selection, and without justifying the selection by one proof of administrative ability. Yet at each appointment the public said, 'A great gain to the government! Superior man!' And when from each office he passed away, or rather passed imperceptibly onward towards office still more exalted, the public said, 'A great loss to the government! Superior man !' He was the most silent person I ever met. But when the first reasoners of the age would argue some knotty point in his presence, he would, from time to time, slightly elevate his eyebrows, gently shake his head, or, by a dexterous smile of significant complacency, impress on you the notion how easily he could set those babblers right, if he would but condescend to give voice to the wisdom within him.

"I was very young when I first met this superior man; and chancing the next day to call on the late Lord Durham, I said, in the presumption of early years, I passed six mortal hours last evening in company with Lord don't think there is much in him.'

I

"Good heavens!' cried Lord Durham, 'how did you find that out? Is it possible that he could have-talked ?'”

THE SEA-SICK MINISTER.

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The Earl of Aberdeen, as Minister, had to attend Queen Victoria in her cruisings, very much against his will, or at least against his stomach. He was one of the gravest and most laconic men in the world. The Queen, one day, undertook to reconcile him to his fate. "I believe, my lord," said she, graciously, "you are not often sea-sick." Always, madam," was the grave reply. "But," still more graciously, "not very sea-sick." With profounder gravity, "VERY, madam!" Lord Aberdeen, more than once, declared that if Her Majesty persisted in her cruisings, he should have to resign.

THE MASONIC GRIP.

Sir A. Alison, at a Masonic festival at Glasgow, related the following anecdote of what is familiarly termed as above :— "In the Crimean war, during the assault on the Redan, an English officer led a small party of soldiers up to one of the guns placed in a recess of the Redan, and most of the