the Medical Sisterhood, and, if conducted on liberal principles and with a view to general benefit and not inordinate individual enrichment, there can be little doubt that the united efforts of such a society would be a basis of respectable competency to all. The details must be left to the consideration of committees, and other concentrations of wisdom and judgment, but of all paths of public life this seems one of the most promising to educated and enlightened women.

Believe me, yours faithfully,
S. E. MILES.

XXII.-PASSING EVENTS.

GRATIFYING as the Queen's progress through Prussia must have proved to her, the shouts of the people everywhere welcoming her as "Freedom's Queen," the cordial greetings and hearty enthusiasm which met her on her journey north through her own dominions, must have touched a deeper chord. Half a million of her liege subjects are, at a rough calculation, stated to have been present in the streets of Leeds upon her arrival, and the cheers of the assembled thousands mingled with the salvos of the Artillery, as the train, punctual to the moment, glided into the station. From the station her Majesty proceeded at once to Woodsley House, the residence of the Mayor, everywhere meeting with the same ovation, the air ringing with cheers such as only British hearts and British lungs can send forth. Here an immense concourse of people had assembled, and though barriers of massive timbers had been erected, the surging pressure of the people bore down all before it. The barriers went to pieces, and the crowd, whose impetuous loyalty four inch plank had failed to keep within bounds, suddenly constituted itself a living rampart. Not a foot stepped beyond the prescribed line, and perfect order prevailed.

The scene on the moor next morning, as the Queen proceeded to the Town Hall, presented the touching and novel feature of nearly 30,000 children pealing forth the National Anthem, "the long soft notes resounding far and near. Well might the Queen lift her hand as a signal to stop and listen to this vast organ of human voices, the soft treble of the children being taken up by the sonorous bass of the populace outside. Well might she express to Sir Peter Fairbairn, as she took her leave, "her deep gratification at the reception and welcome which had been given her by her loyal subjects in Leeds."

From Leeds the Queen proceeded to Edinburgh and Balmoral, where the royal family are now sojourning.

The will of the Duchess of Orleans is among the notable facts of the month. No one can read it without being struck with the lofty spirit of devotion which breathes throughout; devotion to her children, her country, and her God. The noble mind of this noble woman sheds a lustre on the document which lifts it from the dry archives of Doctor's Commons to the historical records of the troublous times in which she lived and suffered. Dignified and solemn is her protest against the French Imperial rule, grand her faith in the return of France to constitutional government.

"I recommend my sons never to forget that the fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom, that it is a guide and beacon in posterity, and a stay amidst misfortune; to remain ever faithful to the precepts of their childhood, and continue steadfast likewise in their political faith. May they observe it both by their constancy in adversity and exile, and by their firmness and devoted patriotism when the course of events shall restore them to their country. May France, restored to her dignity and liberty, may con

stitutional France reckon upon them to defend her honor, her grandeur, and her interests, and may she find once more in them the wisdom of their grandfather and the chivalrous qualities of their father. They should ever bear in mind the political principles which have made the glory of their house, which their grandfather faithfully observed upon the throne, and which their father, as his will and testament bears witness, had ardently adopted. His last directions have been the guiding rule of their education. To the Count de Paris I bequeath all his father's manuscripts, papers, letters, small note-books, as well as his father's letters addressed to myself. I know that he will always look upon these papers as a precious treasure, and I believe that he will one day be enabled to use them with discrimination, so as to make known the character of him whom France has mourned without even being aware of all his merit.

* *

Whatever the place of exile where my days may close, and whatever the tomb I may happen to find, I request my sons, and, in their default, my heirs, to have my remains conveyed to France whenever our family may return to it, there to deposit them in the mortuary chapel of Dreux, beside the tomb of my husband. I here close my last will with an assurance of pardon to all such as may have offended or afflicted me, and with an entreaty to all those I may in my turn have offended or pained, not to retain the memory thereof. My last words are for my beloved sons,-a prayer and a blessing. "HELENE, Duchess d'Orleans.

"Eisenach, Jan. 1, 1855."

Loyal, loving, and brave, these are well fitted to be the last words of one who shewed singular presence of mind and fortitude in a day of dismay and terror, and unexampled resignation and patience in long years of exile and

reverse.

"She hath not shrunk from evils of this life,
But hath gone calmly forth into the strife,
And all its sins and sorrows hath withstood
With lofty strength of patient womanhood."

On the 26th of August, Worthing was the scene of a tragedy by which thirteen lives were sacrificed, about which we have a word or two to say. A pleasure boat, with between twenty and thirty souls on board, chiefly women and children, was gliding quietly along, the children playing on the lower deck, the females sitting round, one of whom had just sung a song, while one was about to commence another, when in an instant, without the least indication or a moment's suspicion, the boat was capsized. Two men, careful and skilful boatmen, formed the crew. Of these, one, who was an excellent swimmer, either entangled or caught hold of by the other drowning persons, sunk to rise no more. Of the other, we have this record.

"Tester it appears was on the windward side, and when the boat went over, one of his legs was caught by the ropes running from the bulwarks to the mast, where he became fixed; one of his feet gained a hold on the mast, and the ropes on either side of one of his legs had the effect of supporting him there; and it is to this circumstance, humanly speaking, the deliverance of those saved is attributable. In this painful and perilous situation this youth of nineteen, for nearly a quarter of an hour, stood with a little girl of Mr. Smith's under his arm, a little boy of Mr. Torr's clinging on his shoulder by his guernsey, shrieking to a distant boat's crew "Sailor, come here, sailor, come here." Three female servants were clinging to him in front, and the coachman's wife with her infant in her arms, hanging on him behind, all uttering piercing and agonising shrieks. He entreated the woman with her infant to relinquish her grasp, for it was pressing his guernsey on his neck almost to strangulation. She would not, and the poor fellow's strength had all but failed, his consciousness was leaving him; at this moment the Fairy pleasure boat, which the Mary Eliza had just before passed, had lowered her sails, and having witnessed the capsizing of the boat, rowed hard

and rescued eight persons, Tester and those elinging to him. Other boats afterwards picked up eleven of the sufferers."

Self-evident as it is that any knowledge, however superficial, of swimming or floating on the part of the adults thus suddenly immersed, would, under Providence, have been the means of preserving their own lives, and those of the helpless children confided to their care, we hold it our especial duty to point out the necessity there is for parents, and all in authority, to promote by every means in their power the acquirement of the art of swimming, since none can tell how soon, or in what form of blessing and salvation, the exercise of it may result. Dancing schools abound-time and money are found for the support of them. Swimming schools for women are as yet scarce, but they are to be found; and if the public create the demand, the supply will speedily follow. One, as our readers are aware, has been opened at the Marylebone Baths: why should not mistresses and maids at appointed seasons avail themselves of it? Health, enjoyment, and the preservation of human life, are surely motives as potential as ease of carriage and grace of deportment, and, in these days of travel by sea and by land, he or she who cannot help himself or herself in the water, provokes the perils of the proverb which the Italian applies to riding on horseback, "the grave stands yearning for you."

The intelligence of the treaty with China which reached England through St. Petersburgh, and provoked no little discussion at the close of last month, is fully corroborated. That great and hitherto unknown Empire is at last thrown open to the "outer barbarians." Christianity is to be tolerated throughout the Empire, and persons teaching or professing that religion, whether Protestants or Roman Catholics, are to be entitled to the protection of the Chinese authorities. Diplomatic agents may reside permanently at Pekin. British traders to be protected against excessive transit duties. Tariff to be revised. Several new ports opened to our trade, and the free navigation of the Yang Teze declared. British subjects may travel for pleasure or trade to all parts of the Empire, when provided with passports from British authorities. The Governments to act in concert for the suppression of piracy. Indemnity for losses by British subjects at Canton to be paid.

Donati's comet, visible for some time past with the aid of a telescope, has, during the month, revealed itself to the naked eye. Professor Hind anticipates that it will be visible with telescopes in full sunshine during the month of October. The same authority gives the present distance of the comet from the earth at upwards of 120,000,000 miles, the diameter rather over 3,000 miles, and, taking the apparent length of the tail at five degrees, its true length would appear to be about 15,000,000 miles. It is not likely to revisit us for a few hundred years.

Communications by the trans-Atlantic Telegraph are for the present suspended, and all efforts to discover the cause have hitherto proved ineffectual. We find in the Daily News, of September 17th, that "nearly half a million has been already expended by the Atlantic Telegraph Company in the manufacture and laying of the present cable, for which the English and American governments guarantee twenty-eight thousand pounds a year for a certain period, contingent upon success. But should the present cable prove a failure, both the capital and the government subsidies are lost, and the shareholders are expected to subscribe another half million for another wire, on the self-same basis as before, and with the same chance of losing all before them. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that the difficulties of raising the capital for a new cable are looked upon as almost insurmountable."

THE National Association for the Promotion of Social Science has once more summoned the best and brightest intellects of the kingdom to consider some of the questions relating to the social and domestic welfare of our people.

At the time of the first meeting of this Association, in the autumn of last year, it was asked by many cavillers "what is the use of all this discussion ?" Those who attended that gathering learnt for themselves in what consisted its value-how encouraging, how inspiring it was to meet so many devoted workers; what new facts were elicited by so many seekers after truth. For those who did not attend, the volume of Transactions published by the Association furnished a lasting record of what was effected. To say nothing of the addresses from the heads of sections, which had been published at the time in the newspapers, there were innumerable papers, furnished by highly intelligent men, and by some few women; men and women who had each and all been working diligently and with all attention to detail in their own separate departments of legal, sanitary, educational, reformatory, or economical action, and who then gave the results of their experience to the world, compressing into a few pages the intellectual essence of months and years of practical labor. Those who imagined that the effect of such a meeting consisted only in a froth of words and compliments all round, could neither have heard nor read of that which was actually said and done.

And now we have once more the newspaper reports of another session of a week's duration, and when the details come to be published we shall probably find them more weighty and fuller of living interest than last year. For the papers read then were the fruits of effort which had preceded the establishment of the Association; those now read will have described the result of a more systematic exertion, whereby the labors of many have been brought to bear on particularly obscure and difficult questions.

In examining the copious reports of the Times-reports naturally dwelling more on the brilliant addresses by famous men than on the useful and interesting papers sent by the general members-we have come to the conclusion that extracts from the more striking passages, forming, as it were, a short summary of the plan laid down

for each section, might not be uninteresting to the readers of our Journal. In particular we have carefully noted any passage in which reference was made to the condition or duties of, women in regard to society at large. The labors of the Association have been materially assisted by many ladies who have contributed papers on the condition of different portions of the poorer classes; and what the best men begin to expect from our sex, was wisely and beautifully expressed by Lord John Russell in his opening address. Speaking of education, both normal and reformatory, he proceeds to add:

"These instances lead me to the other remark I have to make. Every one must have observed the new influence which is not being asserted or sought, but is falling to the lot of women in swaying the destinies of the world. It is not a share in directing the patronage of ministers, or guiding the councils of kings, as in former times, but a portion in the formation and the moulding of public opinion. For a great part of our periodical literature, for much of that world of fiction in which many live and nearly all take delight, we are indebted to the ethereal fancy, the delicate perception, and the grace of expression possessed by woman. It seems to me, and I am confirmed in this opinion by the bright examples of heroic benevolence we have seen of late years, that if the young generation are to be an improvement upon their fathers, if sin is to have less dominion and religion more power, if vice is to be abashed and virtue to be honored, it is to woman that we must look for such a regeneration."

The Association opened its proceedings at half-past seven on the evening of Monday, the 11th of October, by a long inaugural address delivered by Lord John Russell, in which was sketched with a masterly hand, the general field of labor on which they were about to enter. The object of the Association originally stated to be "to form a point of union among social reformers, so as to afford those engaged in all the various efforts now happily begun for the improvement of the people an opportunity of considering social economics as a whole," comprised five special departments of human exertion. 1. Jurisprudence and Amendment of the Law.

2. Education.

3. Punishment and Reformation.

4. Public Health.

5. Social Economy.

Of Law, after speaking of the great simplifications carried out in France and America, Lord John Russell observed

"If we now proceed to consider what has been done in this country we shall find that from the days of Lord Chancellor Bacon to those of Lord Chancellor Chelmsford the revision and consolidation of the law has been a consummation devoutly to be wished. Is it not time that we should set about the task in earnest ? I will venture to say, that if four or five persons of competent qualifica