a considerable crowd. Driving along by the Palace wall, the royal carriage entered the north gate, and, crossing the courtyard, passed through the garden-gate to the entrance of the palace at which her Majesty usually alights. The carriage having halted, and before anybody had begun to descend, a lad suddenly rushed to its left-hand side, and, bending forward excitedly, held out a pistol in his right hand and a paper in his left. Having remained for an instant in that posture, he suddenly, and with a gesticulation of disappointment, as though he had recognized his mistake, rushed round by the back of the carriage to the other side, and threw himself into a similar attitude there, holding the pistol and the paper at the full stretch of his arms towards the Queen, who was then seated to his right. She was quite calm and unmoved.

The lad was immediately disarmed of the pistol, which proved to be unloaded. It is an old-fashioned weapon, with a flint and steel lock, which was broken, and in the barrel a piece of greasy red rag was found. He had also a knife in his possession and the paper to which reference has been made, which on examination was found to be a petition, written on parchment, for the release of the Fenian prisoners. He was taken forthwith to the King-street Police-station, Westminster, where he gave the name of Arthur O'Connor, and stated his age to be seventeen, adding that he was a clerk to Messrs. Livett and Franks, oil and colour manufacturers, 72, Blackmanstreet, Borough, and that he resided with his father and mother at 4, Church-row, Houndsditch. He is in appearance rather tall for his age, and slender. He wore a black felt hat, and was ordinarily well-dressed in other respects for a person in his condition of life, He had managed to scale some iron railings, about ten feet high, at the point where the garden-wall abuts at a corner upon the palace on its northern side, and had passed through the garden-gate into the courtyard unperceived, and therefore unchallenged.

He stated after his apprehension that he bought the pistol at a shop in the Borough, and that he is a grandson of the late Mr. Feargus O'Connor.

O'Connor was brought up the next day before Sir Thomas Henry, at Bow-street, and was committed for trial.

The following is a copy of the document found upon the prisoner :

"I, Victoria Queen, by the grace of God, do make the following declaration :-Whereas there are at the present moment confined in various prisons throughout the United Kingdom a number of men, Irish by birth, who are known and celebrated as the Fenian prisoners;' and whereas the said prisoners have been in prison and kept in durance by order of my Government, and with my sanction, for the crime of high treason, the said Fenians having rebelled and conspired against my Crown, endeavouring by various unlawful means to weaken and destroy my power and authority over the Irish nation. And whereas it is a well-known fact that the sympathizers of the Fenian prisoners and the nation have at various

times humbly petitioned for their pardon and release-notwithstanding which they are still deprived of liberty. Now I, the said Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, Ireland, and the colonies, do hereby, with the consent of my Parliament, grant a free pardon to each and every one of the said men known and celebrated as the Fenian prisoners who are now suffering imprisonment for the crime. of treason against my Crown. And I, the said Queen of Great Britain, Ireland, and the colonies, do solemnly pledge my royal word, and swear to keep and see carried out the following five clauses-Clause 1. That all the men known and celebrated as the said Fenian prisoners shall be restored to liberty without any delay whatever. Clause 2. That all the said Fenians shall be allowed free and entire liberty for the remainder of their lives. Clause 3. That for the remainder of their lives the said Fenians shall be as free from the police supervision and restraint with the rest of my subjects. Clause 4. That the said Fenians shall be allowed to return to their native country, or any other country, town, or place which they may choose to visit, without any interference whatever from my Government. Clause 5. That notwithstanding the fact of my agreeing to the above conditions only through fear of my life, I will not attempt to depart from any of them on that account, nor upon any other reason, cause, or pretext whatever will I depart, or attempt to depart, from any of them; neither will I listen to any advice which my Ministers may wish to give towards causing me to depart from my word, or towards the violation of anything above stated, but shall adhere strictly to everything. So help me God. "Signed this 27th day of February, in the Year of Grace 1872.

"Witnessed by

"Whereas, a person named Arthur O'Connor, residing at 4, Church-row, Houndsditch, in the City of London, having committed an outrage against my royal person, has surrendered himself into my hands, he, the said Arthur O'Connor, being perfectly willing to suffer for such offence-Now I, the said Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, do solemnly pledge my royal word to the effect that if the said Arthur O'Connor be found guilty of death by my judges, after a just and fair trial, he the said Arthur O'Connor shall not be strangled like a common felon, but shall receive that death which is due to him as a Christian, a Republican, and as one who has never harmed a human being-that is to say, he shall be shot, and after death his body shall be delivered to his friends to be buried wheresoever they may choose.

"Signed this Twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of grace One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.

"Witnessed by

"By me

66 R. J."

The Queen, who had contemplated instituting a medal as a reward for long or faithful service among her Majesty's domestic servants, inaugurated the institution by conferring on Mr. John Brown, the Queen's personal attendant, a medal in gold, with an

annuity of 257. attached to it, as a mark of her appreciation of his presence of mind and of his devotion on the occasion of the attack made upon her Majesty.

MARCH.

13. THE TWISS LIBEL CASE.-On this day an extraordinary case, which had been the town-talk for a fortnight, was brought to an extraordinary conclusion.

At the end of last month, at the Southwark Police-court, Mr. Alexander Chaffers, an elderly man, who described himself as a solicitor, residing in York-road, Lambeth, was charged with maliciously publishing a libel upon Sir Travers Twiss, her Majesty's Advocate-General, and Lady Twiss, with intent to extort money. Mr. Poland, in a lengthy opening, occupying nearly two hours, said the charges against the defendant were of a very serious nature, inasmuch as the libels were obnoxious, false, and malicious, and published with intent to extort money from Sir Travers and Lady Twiss, who, he thought, would not seek redress in a court of justice. Sir Travers Twiss married Lady Twiss at the British Legation at Dresden, in the presence of her family and numerous witnesses, on the 29th of August, 1862. Previous to that the lady had known the defendant in business transactions, and when Sir Travers and his lady returned to London in 1863 they met defendant in the Botanical Gardens, when he congratulated her ladyship on her marriage. After that began the defendant's persecutions. He wrote to Lady Twiss in 1864 for money, demanding 1507. Sir Travers' solicitor paid him 507., and he gave an acknowledgment in full of all demands. He sent other letters, and brought sham actions against Lady Twiss for alleged slanders. In 1863 Lady Twiss was presented at St. James's by Lady Rutherford Alcock, and in 1869 was again at her Majesty's Drawing Room. On the 29th of April of that year the defendant wrote to the Lord Chamberlain, complaining of Lady Twiss, stating that she had misconducted herself in London previous to her marriage with Sir Travers Twiss. The Lord Chamberlain made inquiries, as he was bound to do under the circumstances, the result of which was satisfactory to himself and Sir Travers and Lady Twiss. On the 4th April, last year, the defendant, determined to carry on his malicious persecutions, made a statutory declaration at Bow-street Police-court to the effect that Lady Twiss had led an immoral life under the name of Marie Gelas.

Every one of his allegations were specifically and distinctly contradicted by Lady Twiss, who was before the magistrate on March 2. She denied that she was Marie Gelas. She stated that

she was the daughter of Major-General Van Lynseele, of the Polish army; that she was educated at Brussels, and subsequently at Cracow. At the latter place Marie Gelas was her governess. Marie Gelas came to London in 1859, and Lady Twiss lodged with that person at No. 11, South-street, Brompton, paying her 307. a month. While at this house she was taken ill, and Marie Gelas sent for the defendant to make her will; for this Marie Gelas paid him. She was married with her father's consent to Dr. Twiss at Dresden, in August, 1862, and Dr. Twiss received 50007. English money as her marriage-portion. She met the defendant some years afterwards, in 1863, in the Botanical Gardens at the Regent's Park, when he congratulated her on her marriage. In 1864 she received a letter from the defendant, stating that he had paid 67. out of pocket in connexion with the making of her will, and that 407. was due to him. This letter was not answered, and he subsequently demanded 1507. Lady Twiss consulted her husband about these letters, and by her husband's desire went to the defendant's office.

On Tuesday, March 6, Lady Twiss entered the court shortly before one, and took her seat near the chief clerk. On being sworn, the defendant, who, as a solicitor, conducted his own case, asked for all witnesses to be out of court. He then proceeded to crossexamine Lady Twiss in support of the statements contained in his declaration, and continued to do so for a considerable time in a most painful and extraordinary manner.

In re-examination by Mr. Poland, Lady Twiss said, "There was never any misconduct or familiarity between me and the defendant. All the questions he has put to me are a tissue of falsehoods."

M. Felix Jastreuski was then called on Lady Twiss's behalf, and stated that he formerly carried on the business of a pianoforte manufacturer in Brussels, and that he and his wife, having no children of their own, adopted the infant daughter of his cousin, M. Van Lynseele. The little girl, who was always treated as his own child, was the present Lady Twiss. Her father left 100,000 francs with witness for her use. The witness narrated the steps he took to educate Miss Van Lynseele. His wife engaged Madame Gelas as governess. Every inquiry was made about her before she was engaged, and the witness believed she was a widow. Asked to describe her, he said she was a little dark woman, with a turned-up nose. It was impossible to mistake her for Miss Van Lynseele. In 1859 Miss Van Lynseele went to England, accompanied by an English maid named Louisa. She made a short stay then, but subsequently returned to England, and the witness paid Madame Gelas, with whom she lodged, 30l. a month. The witness and his wife in 1860 came over to England with Miss Van Lynseele, and stayed at the house of Madame Gelas. "While there," he said, "we visited Dr. Travers Twiss, Miss Anderson, and Dr. Twiss's mother."

Other witnesses were called, who flatly contradicted Chaffers' story, and as he declined to cross-examine them, there was a general

belief that his abominable charges were entirely fictitious. But to-day (the 13th), at the time the case was to come before Mr. Benson, Mr. Poland, after some delay, entered the court and said, "Since I was here yesterday Lady Twiss has determined not to appear again in court" (sensation), "and she has, I am informed, left London. I am therefore regretfully compelled to abandon this prosecution, as it would be useless to proceed without her evidence."

The public curiosity was not destined to be satisfied by further definite revelations. But Sir Travers and Lady Twiss did not reappear in London, and shortly after this date the former resigned all his appointments, holding, amongst others, that of AdvocateGeneral.

Mr. Benson animadverted severely on the conduct of Chaffers, who was further charged with a similar attempt to extort money from one Henry Williams, by accusing him of bigamy. But this charge too was abandoned.

22. THE ABERDEEN ROMANCE.-The House of Lords sat this morning as a Committee for Privileges, Lord Redesdale in the chair, to decide on this claim. The fifth Earl of Aberdeen had issue three sons-first, George, born in December, 1841, whose death, without issue, was now in question; James Henry, born in October, 1845, who died in consequence of an unhappy accident at Cambridge in 1868; and John Campbell, the petitioner in the present case, born in August, 1847.

George was a young man of remarkable but of a singular and romantic turn of mind, desirous of seeing the world. Under these circumstances, in spite of his rank and station, he went abroad in the year 1866, sailing from Liverpool about the end of January in that year, and he never afterwards returned to this country. He went to New Brunswick, and then to the United States. It was in May, 1866, while staying at Boston, that he last used his real name, with the exception of one occasion in February, 1867, when he drew two cheques for 1007. each, at New York, upon his banker in Scotland. After the latter date he never drew upon his funds in Great Britain, preferring to live on his own wages on a perfect equality with those with whom he was associated in his seafaring life, for which he qualified himself by passing the regular examinations in the United States. He took regular service in small ships belonging to American owners, first as mate, and then as captain. He passed as G. H. Osborne, a name which he appears to have assumed as early as the 22nd of May, 1866, and by which he was known to all persons with whom he came in contact. He kept up a correspondence with his mother, who was residing in this country from the time of his departure until 1869, since when all communication with him had ceased. The correspondence not being continued, the family became alarmed, and his mother requested a Mr. Alexander, who had been chaplain and tutor in the family since the year 1861, to go to America, to follow up his traces, if it were possible to do so. It was