Mr. John McCane, Loyalist member of Parliament-elect for the middle division of Armagh, is dead. Mr. McCane was the guarantor for Mr. Philip Callan, in the latter's petition to unseat Colonel Nolan, the Nationalist member of Parliament from the north division of Louth. Mr. William Doherty, who had been ill with heart disease for some time past, died Saturday night, January 16, at his residence, 142 Edmonson Avenue, Baltimore, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. * * * * * THE ROYAL BAKER AND PASTRY BOOK.--A Royal addition to the kitchen library. It contains over seven hundred receipts pertaining to every branch of the culinary department, including baking, roasting, preserving, soups, cakes, jellies, pastry, and all kinds of sweet meats, with receipts for the most delicious candies, cordials, beverages, and all other necessary knowledge for the _chef de cuisine_ of the most exacting epicure, as well as for the more modest housewife, who desires to prepare a repast that shall be both wholesome and economical. With each receipt is given full and explicit directions for putting together, manipulating, shaping, baking, the kind of utensils to be used, so that a novice can go through the operation with success; while a special and important feature is made of the mode of preparing all kinds of food and delicacies for the sick. The book has been prepared under the direction of Prof. Rudmani, late _chef_ of the New York Cooking School, and is the most valuable of the recent editions upon the subject of cookery that has come to our notice. It is gotten up in the highest style of the printer's art, on illuminated covers, etc. A copy will be sent as a gift to every reader of this MAGAZINE, who will send their address to the Royal Baking Powder Co., 106 Wall Street, New York, who are the publishers of the book, stating that they saw the notice in this MAGAZINE. SECRET SOCIETIES.--A bold and noble stand against secret societies has been taken by General Pacheco, the new President of the South American Republic of Bolivia, and one which stamps him with the superiority of Christianity and manhood among princes and rulers. He declares himself a practical Catholic, and the unyielding foe of secret societies. Finding that Freemasonry was making way in the Bolivian army he has issued the following decree: "Bolivia being a Catholic country, and Freemasonry being entirely at variance with the teachings of the Catholic religion, no man will henceforth be allowed to hold an officer's commission in the Bolivian army, who is known to belong to a Masonic lodge." * * * * * Transcriber's Notes: Punctuation and obvious spelling errors repaired. Unusual period spellings and grammatical usages were retained (e.g. Phenix, millionnaires, ivied, employés, clock times using period rather than colon).