have come from Bristol. Latterly, however, he had fallen into illhealth, and had been obliged, on medical advice, to relinquish his employment, and with it the house he occupied under his masters. Whether or not that had preyed upon his mind may now never be known. A letter in the father's own hand led to the discovery of the tragedy. It was addressed to the police authorities in Smithfield, where there is a district police-station, and was to the effect that if they went to the house, No. 15, Hosier-lane, this morning, they would find something to interest them. That letter, which had been posted the previous day, was delivered about eight or half-past eight o'clock this morning, and on their going to the house indicated, which they did immediately afterwards, they did indeed find something which interested them painfully. They found the front door locked on the inside, but obtained admission through a window at the back. It was a house of two floors, a first and second, immediately over some workshops, and the deceased man, Duggen, and his family, had occupied it, using the first floor as a sitting-room and kitchen, and the upper floor, consisting of two apartments, as bedrooms. On a bed in the front room lay the dead bodies of the mother and of three of the youngest children, one on each side of her, and the other across the foot of the bed. The dead bodies of the daughters, Emma and Jessie, were stretched upon another bed in the same room, and that of the eldest boy, Walter James, upon an adjoining crib, while the body of the father lay alone in the back room. A bottle about three or four inches long, labelled "Hydrocyanic acid," and "Poison," the last-mentioned word being in conspicuous letters, was found in one of the bedrooms, and another, precisely the same in size, appearance, and label, in a room below. Neither bottle bore the name of the seller. A family Bible, containing the names and dates of birth of the father and mother and of the several children, written on a fly-leaf, and with the marriage certificate of the heads of the little household attached, was likewise found in one of the rooms on the second floor, and by it the police were able to ascertain the names and ages of the family. The whole of the dead bodies (eight in number) were in their night-dresses, and lay in an orderly manner, mostly on their backs, and just as if they had resigned themselves to sleep for the night. The features of all of them were placid and composed, and there were no evidences of any struggle. The lips of most of them were compressed, and on those of one or two there was a slight appearance of a bluish fluid, or discoloration.

The inquest on the bodies was held, on the 30th, by Mr. Payne. From the fact that Duggen alone, of all the deceased persons, was found with his mouth and eyes open, a medical witness inferred that he had taken the poison when awake, while the others had had it administered to them in their sleep. The same witness was, however, of opinion that the woman must have consented to what had been done, as she had evidently not been dead, by some two or three hours, so long as the children. The jury found "That Walter

James and Emma Duggen murdered their six children, and afterwards destroyed their own lives, whilst in an unsound state of mind."

30. EXPLOSION OF NITRO-GLYCERINE.-A frightful accident occurred six miles from Carnarvon. Four tons of nitro-glycerine formed part of a cargo from Hamburg to Carnarvon, consigned to Messrs. de Winton and Co., for Messrs. Webb and Cragg, Glynrhonwy Slate Quarry, Llanberis, sole agents in Carnarvonshire for nitro-glycerine, used instead of ordinary powder for blasting rocks. The ship was moored in the river Menai, and a portion of the explosive oil having been placed in the Llanddwyn magazine, the rest was brought in lighters and placed on the quay in Carnarvon. About one o'clock, noon, the hour appointed to cart that portion to the quarries, some of the vehicles did not arrive, and, after a delay of some hours, the two carters who were killed undertook to remove a portion of the nitro-glycerine. These carts left about four in the afternoon, for Glynrhonwy Quarry, one of the numerous quarries lately opened on the south aspect of the Vale of Llanberis, and at the foot of Snowdon. A portion of the nitroglycerine was to be removed the following day to the Dinorwic Quarry. The other three carts were left for the night in a closed coach-house, near Bodenalgate, within a mile of Carnarvon, it being too late to remove the oil to the Penrhyn Slate Quarries. The two carts which caused the accident, were, it appeared, in company, and were noticed within a few yards of each other just before the explosion. The exact spot where the accident occurred was where the diversion of a new road lately made by the Llanberis and Carnarvon Railway joined the old road, about 400 yards beyond the centre of Cwm-y-glo village, five miles and a half from Carnarvon, and 300 yards from Pont Rhyddallt, the bridge that spans the narrow water uniting the upper and lower lakes of Llanberis. At the time the accident occurred, the quarrymen were returning along the road from their occupations to Cwm-y-glo village, when, suddenly, without any warning, the quarrymen in front of the carts, and those behind, heard one long, continuous explosion, of terrific noise. This spot being surrounded by high mountains on three sides, the echo of the first explosion reverberated several timesas some of those that witnessed the accident reported-and one mountain seemed to throw the noise with quick succession from one side of the valley to the other, over the lakes. The two lakes, especially the lower, were at once greatly agitated. Clouds of dust, stones, portions of the carts, and the walls around for two roods, were either thrown to a great height, or cast longitudinally, either into the morass on one side, or upon the rocks adjacent.

A third of the circumference of a wheel was thrown fifty yards high, and fell near a cottager's garden, on the sides of a rocky hill, 300 yards off. Portions of flesh and bones (either human or those of the horses) were collected indiscriminately from a radius of fifty yards, and placed in cloths. A foot, a chin covered with beard, and

a man's heart, were found together about eight yards from the spot. The Cwm-y-glo Railway Station (the nearest building to the scene of the accident), an inn, lately finished, close by, and several (fortunately) unfinished houses a little further off, as well as a chapel, presented a desolate sight. The roofs nearest the accident were perforated by falling stones, and window-frames were blown in and destroyed. The massive doors of the goods department of the railway station were shattered, and windows all round within a radius of two miles presented marks of the explosion. Scores of men were thrown down. Those killed were David Roberts, thirty-five, a native of Denbigh, married, carter; Evan Jones, twenty-two, Tryddyn Llywdyn, Carnarvon, unmarried, carter; Robert Roberts, twenty-six, quarryman (who had only returned from America a few weeks before); a quarryman who was supposed to be passing at the time, and another, resident at Cwm-y-glo. About twelve persons were seriously hurt, and as many slightly injured.

The greatest distress existed. And such was the terrible power of the oil, that the spot where each cart was supposed to have been at the time of the accident, was marked by two deep, perfectly circular holes, of the same size, each measuring 7 feet 6 inches in diameter, and 7 feet deep, and a horse-length apart. The stones appeared to have been subjected to a terrible rotatory motion, and the holes were in the shape of an inverted cone. The shock was experienced, more or less, for many miles around.

The coroner's inquest was held the following night, and passed off very smoothly. The jury were from the neighbourhood, being quarrymen, and gave a verdict of "Accidental death.”

JULY.

2. OPENING OF A NEW ROMAN CATHOLIC PRO-CATHEDRAL AT KENSINGTON.-Archbishop Manning, assisted by several of his suffragan bishops, formally opened the new church of "Our Lady of Victories," in Newland-terrace, Kensington, which is intended henceforth to serve as the "pro-cathedral," or temporary cathedral, of the archdiocese, in the place of St. Mary's, Moorfields. The service was "Pontifical High Mass;" it was sung by Dr. Morris, Bishop of Troy (in partibus), and among the clergy, who were present to the number of nearly 100, there were Bishops Clifford (Clifton), Ullathorne (Birmingham), Cornthwaite (Beverley), and several members of the Dominicans, Passionists, Franciscans, and other religious orders, in their strange but not unpicturesque habits. A cross was carried by Sir George Bowyer before the Archbishop, who preached the sermon with his mitre on his head and his pastoral staff in his hand, taking his text from 2 Cor. ii. 14—16. He explained the reasons which had led the Roman Church to move

westward "the seat of jurisdiction," from Moorfields to Kensington, and added that such transfer was but a type of the condition of the true Church, which was ever in progress, never stationary, in this world, and especially in this country. The service was brought to a close by the archiepiscopal blessing, pronounced by Dr. Manning, all the congregation devoutly kneeling.

5. MEETING OF THE NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION AT WIMBLEDON. The tenth annual meeting of the National Rifle Association commenced auspiciously, and the process of settling down, which on all previous occasions has occupied the best part of the first two days, in this instance seemed to accomplish itself all at once, and the shooting proceeded as steadily as if it were the fourth or fifth, instead of the first day of the gathering.

The chief competitions of the first day were for the Prince of Wales's prize and the first stage of the Alexandra. Corporal Peake, 6th Lancashire, the volunteer who scored highest last year for the Queen's prize, but was disqualified, proved the winner of the Prince of Wales's Cup, with 45 points, while the 207. prize for the best score in the first stage of the Alexandra fell to the lot of Quartermaster-Serjeant Nicholl, 10th Staffordshire, who made 19 points with his five shots at 500 yards. A serious matter came before the council on the 7th in connexion with Corporal Peake, who was practising in his tent the loading and discharge of one of the new breach-loaders with what he believed to be a "dummy" cartridge. Unfortunately, a "live," or real central-fire, cartridge slipped into the barrel instead. "Bang" went the rifle, the bullet passed through several tents, and out through the external wooden hoarding of the enclosure in the direction of Putney. No one received any injury, but Corporal Peake was debarred by the rules of the Association from further competition this year.

On the 8th the Lords and Commons' match was shot for in the presence of a large and fashionable gathering, and the Commons won by 38 points. The conditions were seven shots each, at 200 and 500 yards.

The shooting for the International Enfield Trophy, value 10007., was the principal feature in the proceedings of the 10th, and attracted a large number of visitors. Captain Field was the captain of the English twenty, the Master of Lovat of the Scottish twenty, and Sergeant Knox of the Irish. The conditions were twenty men

a side, seven shots each, at 200, 500, and 600 yards. After the 200 yards was concluded, England began to lead, and kept well ahead till the close of the contest, when the numbers were found to be-England, 1112; Scotland, 1092; Ireland, 1038. This made four matches won by the English out of the six which have taken place. The shooting was good throughout, and the winning score was higher by 26 than has ever been made before in this contest; Ireland's score of 1038 was 58 more than the twenty made last year. Sergeant Kirk made the highest score in the English team, and also in the match, and took the challenge cup and two money prizes of 107. each.

On the 13th the great event of the meeting was decided, Corporal (formerly private) Cameron, of the 6th Inverness corps, who won the Queen's prize in 1866, was again declared the winner of the blue ribbon of the camp, having scored 71 points, the highest number yet made for the prize. Cameron was the champion shot of Scotland. At the 1000 yards his first shot was a centre, then came a bull's-eye, next a centre, an outer, a bull's-eye, and a centre, placing him one above the highest at the range. He then fired his last shot, making a bull's-eye, thus scoring 24, 24, 23, or a total of 71. As soon as this last shot was signalled, a loud cheer rose from the bystanders, for it was well known that he was the winner, but they waited till one or two others had fired to give him the usual ovation. But, as soon as the last shot had been fired, the crowd broke in, Cameron was seized, hoisted up, and carried in triumph in the rear of a band playing "See the Conquering Hero Comes," to the council tent, and thence to the camp of the London Scottish, where he was cheered vociferously. The Ashburton Challenge Shield was another competition shot off. It was competed for by eleven competitors from each public school at 200 and 500 yards, five shots at each range. Last year Eton took it; this year it fell to Harrow. The points were Harrow, 268; Rugby, 240; Eton, 238; Marlborough, 230; Cheltenham, 228; Rossall, 225; Derby, 213; Winchester, 158. The Spencer Cup, seven shots at 500 yards, which is competed for by the best shots of each of the public schools' team, was won by Ensign Sim, of Cheltenham College, who scored two outers, and afterwards five bull's-eyes in succession, making a score of 24 out of a possible 28. The other events concluded were the Rifle Oaks, first prize, Sergeant Ferguson, 1st Inverness; AnyRifle Wimbledon Cup, value 1007., also taken by Sergeant Ferguson; the "Tomahawk" prize and gold watch, value 50%., won by Private Adams, 1st Newcastle; the Albert prize, first stage, first prize, Sergeant Snelus, 2nd Glamorgan.

The Elcho Challenge Shield was shot for on the 14th, at ranges of 800, 900, and 1000 yards. This year the shield fell to Scotland, the representatives of that kingdom having scored 1149 points, as against 1090 made on behalf of Ireland, and 1081 by the marksmen of England. The best individual score in the match was that of Mr. Malcolm, M.P., who made 151. The International Trophy,