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Show LETTER FROM LONDON. Mining HlitircN. American Kpccuintortf. Sir linker'. Reception. Uluric Twain's . lecture. Tlie AnIiiiiiIock And Divorce tuifi. London, Dec. 11th, lf73. EtUturs Jkralu: Nothing ol absorbing interest has occurred during the past wck in this . great Babel, and consequently I fear my letter will be rather meagre in incidents. in-cidents. The bank rate, as I predicted, pre-dicted, has fallen one per cent., bcin' now live. Foreign mining shares have fluctuated considerably during the week, but closed yesterday ahMit tlie same as my last quotations, Emma Em-ma being 3J to 3J; Flavian :k t" 32; Last Chance tMT to 1 1 ; Utah 1 to 1 j; Tecoma U to H; Richmond ' Consolidated 6i to tij; Eberhardt 4 to 4. j hp ihsi lew steamers navi- umnm an influx of American speculators a majority of them having mines lor sale. They appear to have the most i child-like confidence in the gullibility of the English public, and in the belie! be-lie! that they have only to show their I reports and" statements to have their properties immediately accepted at fabulous prices. The people here have been bitten just once too often, and at the present time there is more chance of the New York Herald sending send-ing a man to the Moon to prospeet for green cheese, and succeeding, than there is to raise a thousand pounds on any mining property here, no matter how valuable it may be. It is generally predicted that there will be a more favorable feeling in the ! Spring, but every one unites in saying that if the Emma would turn out satr-isfactorilv, satr-isfactorilv, if she would once more declare de-clare a dividend, there would be no obstacle to placing b"iia fide mining properties on this market. Although we are constantly in receipt of news from Utah that thoEinma is all right, still the contrary report is circulated and believed, as I have already mentioned men-tioned in a former letter. If the mine were as good as represented, shareholders sa, why does the market mar-ket value not rise alove '. per share ? Mysterious are the wavs of Providence and Emma, and indeed kof various Utah mines. The event of the week has been the reception given to Sir Samuel Baker and lady, on their return from Eirypt, by the Royal Geographical Society. I was so fortunate as to receive an invitation; invi-tation; but going rather late it was almost impossible to work a way through the dense crowd to the doors, and alterwards to gain even standing room inside. The reception was held London. The hall and galleries were filled to overflowing, fully 1,500 persons per-sons being present. With some gen- ! tlemen, I seized a ladder and gained a ledge which ran all around the building below the windows near the roof; a number of other enterprising individuals were so bold as to reach the leads outside and join us in our elevated position, where we had a fair view of all the audience and could hear moderately well. Sir Bartlc Frere presided, and the Prince ot Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh were on the stage. The interesting lecture of Sir Samuel Baker wis listened list-ened to with the most marked attention, atten-tion, and at the close the Prince of Wales, who was warmly received, made a very neat speech, thanking Sir Baker on the reniilts achieved by him in suppressing the Slave trade in Africa. The large concourse broke up by giving hearty cheers for Lady Baker, who had bravely accompanied her husband throughout his most adventurous campaign. Aiitric TViuu is doing a issuing issu-ing business in H-cimiug, having hav-ing in a few weeks won for himself a remarkable popularity; he is now lecturing on "Roughing it on the Silver Frontier," his former lecture lec-ture having been "Our Fellow Sav ages ot tue bandwich islands. With regard to the Ashantee war,no-thing war,no-thing of importance has lately occurred pertaining to military matters. It is stated that the Ashantee army is retreating re-treating northward through the bush, but it does not argue any demoralization demoraliza-tion on their part, as they had received positive orders to fall back to their own country even before the late skir- mishes. The Ashantees have been i proven able strategists, for finding i themselves being hemmed into the ! district bounded by the sea, the Prah, and the road from Cape Coast Catlc to Coomassie, they have hastened to extricate themselves from the Bnare. It is their policy to show themselves wherever the British are not, and to draw the latter as far from their base as possible. Another steamer, the Thames, left with troops yesterday for the Gold Coast. Among the curious "notions" taken out were several thousand brass and zinc tablets to be used for numbering the native allies. There are to be corresponding numbers num-bers on the rifles, so that the gun and its bearer may serve for mutual identification. iden-tification. For some time past there has been the greatest activity in the divorce courts here. Chicago may well look to her laurels, for there is not a day passes but some unhappy "hubby" or dissatisfied spouse seeks for relief in that Bweet haven ot all ill-assorted couples, the divorce tribunal. The causes are without exception ex-ception lasciv-cohab, commonly called adultery in this country, I am much afraid Byron was wrong and that blood here is of just the same temperature temper-ature as in "sunny" Spain or "halmr" Tt.,!.,t The fog during the past few davs has been most intense; traffic was generally suspended in the City; gas was lit in all the offices and Bhops, and the stieet lamps were lighted at noon; link boys and men with lanterns lan-terns were on every corner ready ti . pilot belated pedestrians from point to point, it being absolutely impossible to see more than a foot before you. The fog still continues to-day. Hoping Hop-ing soon for clear weather, and a short I visit from Phuibus, I remain as ever, CfSTOS MORUif. |