The Week.

with his family on Friday , leaving his aged father and a servant named Jessie M'Phersou , to take care of his house . Early on the following morning , Mr . Fleming , sen ., according to his own statement , heard screams proceeding from the direction of the servant ' s room , but he took no notice of the matter , aiv-. l raised no alarm when he found that M'Pherson did not make her

appearance as usual on Saturday . Indeed , ho mentioned the circumstance of her singular absence to no one until Mev . day , when his son returned to town . It was then discovered that the poor woman had been barbarously butchered in her room , and that several articles of plate and wearing apparel had been stolen . It has now transpired that the stolen plate was pledged at the shop of a Glasgow pawnbroker , on Saturday , by a young woman . Meanwhile , the police took Mr . Fleming , sen ., into custody . The

woman who pledged the plate has been found , aud turns out to have been a former servant hi the family . She says that the plate was given her by the old man Fleming , which may be true ; hut it is obvious that the fact of her not coming forward voluntarily to tell what she knew of the matter , throws considerable suspicion upon her veracity . A very destructive fire took

place on Sunday morning in tho Westminster-road . Before the engines could be procured the flames spread out on every side , burning down about forty factories , shops , and dwelling houses , and laying nearly three acres of ground , which had been thickly studded with buildings , in a mass of ruins . Among the houses destroyed or injured , besides Messrs . Buckley's floor-cloth

establishment , were Mr . Harvey's extensive silk mercery establishment , known as Lambeth House ; Mr . Lyons's , a clothier ; Mr . Ward ' s , a hosier ; and others . Much valuable property was destroyed in all these premises ; but a still more pitiable disaster fell upon the families of the working men thickly inhabiting the back streets , few of whom had time to remove their furniture .

His Highness the Pacha of Egypt gave a grand dejeuner on Wednesday , on board his yacht , at Woolwich , in return for the hospitality that has been shown him in this country . The company consisted of the elite of society , and included their Royal Highnesses the Duchess , the Duke , and tho Princess Mary of Cambridge , the foreign Royal and Grand Ducal personages now in England , the leading Cabinet Ministers , the

Speaker of the House of Commons , the Lord Mayor , and several members of the higher aristocracy . The ceremony of opening the new building erected r . fc Ham Common for the National Orphan Home , took place on Wednesday in the presence of a large and fashionable gathering . It was expected that Earl Russell would have presided on the occasion ,

hut his duties elsewhere preventing his attendance , his eldest son , Lord Amberley , supplied his place . This was the first appearance in public of this young nobleman , and he acquitted himself very creditably .

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE . —The great topic of discussion in Paris at present is the rumoured meeting of the three Sovereigns of France * Russia , and Prussia , which popular reports fixes for the early part of September . The most various speculations are afloat as to the object of the meeting , but the general concurrence ot public opinion seems to affirm that the

Emperor of the French has taken the initiative in convening it . The violent language of Garibaldi against the Emperor of the French , at Palermo , is likely to cause great embarrassment to the Italian Government . The subject was brought before the Chamber of Deputies , on Monday , when Signor Ratazzi described the words of Garibaldi as inconsiderate , and expressed his regret that inoffensive language had been used

towaads the Emperor . It is stated that the Prefect of Palermo has been dismissed for sanctioning the speech of Garibaldi by his presence , and that the newspapers which published it have been seized . The French Consul at Palermo has also considered it his duty to protest against the speech . Despatches from

The Week.

Mexico , published in the Movd ' ev . r of yesterday , brings new from Vera Cruz to the loth , and from Orizaba to the 11 th uh > The French troops were occupying the same positions which they held at the date of the last despatches , and the condition of their health was reported to be very satisfactory . On the 15 th General Marque ? , was preparing to depart , with 1500 men from Vera Cruz , to join the French commander . General

Lorcncez . In connection with the subject of Mexico we may mention that a Madrid paper , the Epoca , of the 12 th , states that the . French Government has accepted the offer made'b y Spain , to make use of whatever resources the Havana may be able to furnish for the supply of the French army at Orizaba , and that , orders to that effect have been sent to the Captain-General of the island of Cuba . The Epoca adds that it has reason to believe that orders to that effect had been

sent off even before tho acceptance to the offer by the French Government was known . INDIA AND CHINA . —The overland mail brings papers from Calcutta to June 9 ; Hong-Kong , May 26 . There is no intelligence from India in addition to that received by the last Bombay mail . The news from China relates to the proceedings of the rebels and the recapture from them of Ningpo , by a combined British and French naval force . The rebels were in force round

Shanghai that it w as considered the allied force would have to retire within their lines and await reinforcements from India , from whence some eight or ten thousand native troops were expected . The Gazette of Tuesday contains a dispatch from Admiral Hope , on the China station , enclosing one from Captain Roderick Dew , of the Encounter , detailing the defeat of the rebels and the capture of Nagpo . The affair seems to have

been a very dashing one , and our seamen performed their share of the capture with their accustomed gallantry . They were assisted by two French gun boats , of whose conduct Captain Dew speaks in terms of high praise . The loss to both forces was slight , though we have to deplore the death of Lieutenant

Cornewall . He fell while leading on his troops in a hand-tohand encounter with the Taepings . This is the first official intimation of the new war we have entered upon in China . By telegram from Suez we learn that Major Green had telegraphed to Bombay from Cabool that a battle had been fought between the troops of the Ruler of Herat and those of Dost Mahomed in which tho latter lost many chiefs of note . The same telegram conveys commercial inte'ligence from Bombay to the

27 th ult . AMERICA . —Intelligence by the China confirms the information that General M'Clelkv . i had been driven from his position before Richmond , and that the Confederates had gained a great victory . It was supposed that another battle had been fought ,, but the Secretary of war has strictly forbidden the publication of any news from the seat of war . This fact , added to a levy of 300 , 000 men having been called out , leaves no doubt of the

critical position of the Northern army . The New York journals ,, however , deny that M'Clellan was defeated—in fact they assert that the plan of his retreat was matured long before , and that the way in which it was effected was equal to a victory . The defeat of the Federals at Charleston was so complete that General Hunter had given orders for the evacuation of James Island , and the suspension of the campaign . The Federal General Curtis , had been obliged to retire from Arkansas into

Missouri . The bombardment of Vicksburg , which long ago was reported to have fallen , had commenced by 20 Federal vessels . There was something like a panic at New York , and a peace meeting had been held . The news by the Jura is perhaps of still greater importance . Among the most prominent items are the confirmation of M'Clellan ' s defeat " with heavy loss after four days' fighting , " the Federal army retreating 17 milesthe

; abandonment of the Federal army by the Comte de Paris and the Due de Chartres ; very contradictory reports as to the Confederate capture of prisoners and supplies , the Confederates claiming 12 , 000 prisoners and three months' provisions ; and the illumination of Richmond .

To Correspondents.

TO CORRESPONDENTS .

An Engineer is informed that the bye-law of the lodge referred to , that warrant officers and sergeants are not eligible to fill the chair of this lodge , is illegal . No difference can be made between the members of a lodge . P . Sol . —You must pass regularly through each of the chairs .