Obituary.

a month since at Scarborough , where he had gone for tbe benefit of his health . His complaint ( diabetes ) being aggravated by an attack of paralysis , he was ordered back to Birmingham , where he was attended by the first medical men ; but he gradually sank , and his spirit departed to that Grand Lodge , eternal in the heavens , on Thursday last . Sir John was a liberal supporter of the charitable institutions

of the town of Birmingham , and his contributions to tbe various societies connected with the Wcsleyan Church were dispensed with a liberal hand . As a business man he was very punctual , ancl his loss will be regretted by an immense number of persons . The body of the deceased will be interred in the burial ground attached to the romantic village church of Edgbaston this day ( Saturday ) . The faneral cortege will leave Sir John's residence Wydrrington at an early hour .

Public Amusements.

PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS .

ST . JAMES'S HALL . THE " WORLD OP MAGIC . " Bro . Anderson—whose reputation as the " Great Wizard of the North , " was firmly established when the young men of tlie present generation had hardly learned the art of walking in tlie world of which they had become the infantine inhabitants—reappeared on Monday last in the metropolis , after an absence of

seven years . During this interval , the Professor has visited Australia , California , and America ; and , indeed , there can be few parts of the earth worthy of being placarded where his enormous " posters of the sea and land" have not announced his arrival , ancl scarcely a populated island in the wide ocean of the Pacific where he has not , according to the assurance conveyed in his programme , astonished the natives by tiie display of his dexterity . The St . James ' s Hall is now the scene of his

exploits , and , vast as are its proportions , it fails to accommodate the enormous assemblage who nightly throng every portion of the building , in order to discover the new wonders he had brought back with him from tlie new world . The spacious hall has been elegantly fitted up for the occasion , and the raised stage , or , as it is designated by the philologer to the establishment , the " Psychomantheum" is elaborately decorated in a costly manner , and , with its back-ground of star-spangled crimson drapery , presents an exceedingly showy appearance . The Professor , who seems to have employed some branch of the conjuror's craft in effacing all traces of the influence of time and

travel on the human frame , was warmly welcomed on his appearance , and a few minutes sufficed to prove that lie had lost nothing of his old skill in baffling the eye by the quietness of his hand . Of course the Professor brings geese , ancl rabbits , and birdcages , and boxes , out of an ordinary-sized scrap-book ; but he adds to his former exploits by extracting therefrom his daughter , who spiritedly sings a Scotch song immediately she is introduced as a living quotation from its pages . The "

inexhaustible bottle" plays its part in the programme , under somewhat varied conditions ; and the rapping-table and bell are again made the medium of references to " spiritualism , " which the Professor denounces in most unmeasured terms . The only confederates employed are obviously chemistry , pneumatics , and electricity ; ancl , with these under his subjection , the performer accomplishes some effective feats , intelligible enough to the scientific experimentalist , but sufficiently startling to the

uninitiated spectator . , In compliance with a request from the illutionist , four gentlemen advanced from the body of the hall to co-operate in a portion of thc evening's entertainments ; and , by thus shrewdly making the audience contribute to their own amusement , the exhibitor obtained a satisfactory guarantee of their acquiring an additional share of interest in all his undertakings . The " World of Magic" bids fair to become an important addition to the recreations of the metropolis , aud no expense seems to have been spared in giving Bro . Anderson's new speculation every chance of success with a wonder-seeking public .

Ar01802

WE should see to it that we are continually climbing iu this life . There is no going down . It is climbing or falling . Every upward step makes another needful ; and so we must go on until we reach the summit of the aspirations of time .

The Week.

THE WEEK .

THE COURT . —The Queen ancl Royal Family still continue at Balmoral . The Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Cobourg and Gotha are on a visit to her Majesty . The Duke frequently amuses himself deer-stalking and in the other Highland sports . The Prince and Princess of Wales on Saturday afternoon embarked on board the Osborne for Copenhagen , on a visit to the King of

Denmark . Telegrams from Fridenshorg inform us that their Royal Highnesses arrived there at half-past four o ' clock on Tuesday afternoon . The Crzaewitch arrived in the town a short time before them . The reception their Royal Highnesses have up to the present time met with has been all that could be desired .

GENERAL HOUE NEWS . —The Registrar General's weekly return shows a small increase in the rate of mortality , and a large increase over the average of the last ten years , even corrected for the advance in population . Nearly four-sevenths of those who died were under 20 years of age . The births , however , continue by a large per-centage to exceed the deaths . The

inquest on the fireman who was killed by the explosion of the locomotive on the North-London line on the 10 th ult . was resumed on Thursday week . Tho only witness examined was Captain Tyler , the Government inspector , who read an elaborate and minute report of the explosion and its cause , which he had made to the Board of Trade . The substance of his report was

that the copper stays supporting thc fire-box had become weakened by long use and had ultimately given way . He stated that as these stays were covered , the gradual decay could only have been detected by taking the engine to pieces , or by subjecting it more frequently than appeared to have been done to hydraulic pressure . He added that the engineer on this line tested his engines mere frequently than engineers were

in the habit of doing , but still , as this case showed , not frequently enough . The jury returned a verdict of death by misadventure , with an expression of opinion that the engine ought to have been more frequently tested than it was , considering its age . The inquest on the woman Birch , who was found dead in her bedroom on Saturday night

week , was held a few days since . The evidence went to show that the deceased was a woman of intemperate habits , and that she and her husband lived a miserable life . Marks of violence were on her person , but not sufficient to cause death . A postmortem examination showed the rupture of an artery produced by violence ; but the doctor thought it might have resulted

from a fall as easily as from a blow , ancl the position of the body rather suggested the idea of an accidental fall . The husband is iu custody on the charge of murder ; but the jury at

the inquest returned a verdict of manslaughter . Lord Palmerston on Saturday assisted at the inauguration of a statue erected in Hereford in memory of the late Sir George Cornwall Lewis—a statesman who was highly respected even by those who most widely differed from him . An unusual throng assembled in the quiet cathedral town , which was decorated in the

ordinary way . There was a procession , an address to the Premier , a reply in suitable language , ancl then the statue was uncovered , bands playing music and guns firing a salute . After a speech from tho Reverend Archer Ciive , Lord Palmarston pronounced a heartfelt eulogium upon his late and lamented colleague ; and when the

ceremony was concluded , the Premier lunched with the bishop , soon afterwards returning to town . On his departure he received a hearty farewell from those assembled at the station . One of the magistrates at the Westminster Court has hit upon a punishment which may have some effect in restraining paupers