The Week.

a solicitor iii a carnage on the North Kent Railway . It seems that the complainant was formerly a member of Mr . Smith ' s congregation , but differences had sprung up between them , and for the last three years their acquaintance had been broken off . On tbe evening of the 22 nd November , Mr . Smith and tbe complainant got into the same carriage at Charing-cross , and it was proved to the ^ satisfaction of the magistrate that the

rev . gentleman behaved himself in a manner unbecoming any clergyman , and assaulted his former parishioner . On the part of Mr . Smith , tbe assault was denied . A strange case has been before the Clorkenwell magistrate . A man named Davids , a Roman Catholic , formerly a butler , but lately cadging about the streets , was charged with stealing a lamp

from a Roman Catholic chapel . He pleaded guilty , aud was sentenced to six months' bard labour , which was probably more than would have been given but that a silver crucifix was stolen from tbe same chapel tbe jirevious day . The prisoner Croft , who is in custody on the charge of murdering the poor old woman at Sunning-hill , near Windsor , has

been examined before the magistrates . The evidence given was not very conclusive , and the prisoner was again remanded . A shocking tragedy occurred at Shirley Common , near Southampton , on Saturday , tbe result of unbridled passion—or "love , " as the ] assassin is pleased to stylo it . A recently married couple , who lived happily together , wero visited on

Saturday by a man named Broomfield , butler in tbe family in which the young woman had been a servant previous to marriage . During the temporary absence of tbe husband Broomfield shot tbe unfortunate wife dead , and afterwards wounded himself . He now lies in Southampton infirmary . —¦—Two girls were killed on Sunday afternoon on the South-Eastern Railway . They had been visiting their parents , ancl on their return to

Folkestone were walking along the line , when the mail tram came up , and before it could be stopped , ran over both , killing them on the spot . An accident of a very alarming character occurred at Harrington , Cumberland , last week . The embankment of a reservoir , three acres in extent , and situated at a short distance from the town , suddenly gave way , and the water thus liberated poured clown through the streets , causing considerable

damage to property , Happily not a life was lost . The reservoir was connected with the works of a private firm . An inquest was held at Guy ' s Hospital on Monday on the body of a man named Hughes , who was found between one and two o ' clock on the morning of Saturday week lying in Gracechurcbstreet , bleeding profusely from wounds in bis head . He was

taken to the hospital , where lie died . The police heard no struggle or cry , and , though one had passed the spot only three minutes before , he saw nobody there . The man himself said he had been knocked down , be did not know by whom . It did not appear that he had been robbed . Under these circumstances the jury returned an open verdict . The prisoners White and

Sutton , who are in custody on the charge of scuttling tho ship Snowdrop , of which they were the master and mate , were brought up on remand before the Lord Mayor . Evidence confirmatory of what was before given was offered by other witnesses . It will be remembered that tho ship ran upon a reef of rocks in the Baltic ; but it was said by the carpenter

that she made no water till he , by the direction of the prisoners , bored several holes in her bottom . The prisoners were again remanded , the Lord Mayor refusing to accept bail for either of them . The captain of the brig Alciope , which has just arrived at Queenstown from Demarara , reports a frightful tragedy by which his voyage home was marked . Two of the crew , Frenchmen , murdered the mate and carpenter , aud then attempted to

take the captain ' s life . Both the murderers are dead ; but the accounts as to the manner in which they came to their end are conflicting . According to one statement one of the Frenchmen committed suicide by jumping from the rigging , while the other died from the injuries inflicted upon him in the efforts which were made by the remainder of the crew to secure him . A

second version of the affair is that "both died within two days after the tragical occurrence—one from the effects of injuries inflicted on himself by beating his head against the side of the vessel until the brains protruded ; and the other , it is believed , -from the effects of poison , self-administered . " We have to report the murder of a woman in Aberdeenshire , and an attempt

which was made on Wednesday morning by a young man at Halifax to drown a girl with whom he had been " keeping company . " At tbe Stafford Assizes , on Wednesday , a miner was sentenced to death for tho murder of an old man who lived in a lonely hut near Tunstall . An outbreak of convicts took place in Portland Island on Tuesday , but the authorities succeeded

in restoring order , and are now engaged in capturing the fugitives . The Home Secretary has decided that the whole of the reward of £ 300 for the discovery of tbe murderer of Mr . Briggs is to be paid to the cabman Matthews , who , it is stated , is now a prisoner for debt in Horsemonger-lane Gaol , and will have to be bankrupt , so that he will not in reality

reap any advantage from the reward . A woman named Lucy Thompson was tried at the Warwick Assizes on Wednesday , on a charge of poisoning her illegitimate child by administering strychnia . A verdict of not guilty , on the ground of insanity , was returned hy tbe jury , and the judge ordered the prisoner to be detained during her Majesty ' s pleasure .

FOREUM INTELLIGENCE . —The approaching Jour-de-l'An , some weeks distant although it still be , is fully occupying the Parisian mind , to tbe exclusion of all other matters , whether social or political . The condition of M . Mocquard is considered to be very precarious , and various candidates for his office are already named , as it is believed that even if he recover he can

never resume the duties of his onerous situation again . By a convention between the French and Papal Governments , a new tariff is to come into operation , by which a telegraphic message between Home and Paris may bo transmitted for five francs , instead of 13 J-, as at present . The Court of Correctional Appeal of Paris bas confirmed the sentence passed by

the inferior court on the thirteen members of the Legislative Body , who were convicted of forming an illegal electioneering association . Tbe trial seems to have excited little interest in Paris . The Patrie calls for the establishment of a French protectorate at Tunis to counteract English

influence there . Tbe Constiliitionnel , by the aid of a special commissioner sent to investigate the state of matters , has discovered that tbe Channel Islands ought to have been annexed to France ; tbe " nationality" of the islands is French ; and an act of annexation would bo of immense advantage to the inhabitants , delivering them from a long list of grievances

perpetuated by British rule . According to intelligence received at Paris , tho whole of Afghanistan is in a state of insurrection . A battle between the Russians and the Khan of Kokam had resulted in a loss of 6 , 000 men by that Prince . The new constitution for Greece has been finally ratified by the King taking the oath to observe and maintain it . The people of Athens

are reported to bo much elated with their new constitutional prospects . Tbe German Diet has approved the demand made by Austria and Prussia , that tlie Federal " troops of execution " shall be withdrawn from the Duchies of Holstein ancl Lauenburg . Saxony , Bavaria , Wurfcembiirg , ancl gome of the small