But do not rob the lamb of its natural due--its mother's nourishment--to waste it on an alien. There is no spirit of illiberality in these remarks; they are put forward to advocate the rights of our own destitute countrymen--to claim for them a share of the lavish commiseration bestowed on others--to call attention to the desolation of _their_ hearths--the wreck of their comforts--the awful condition of their starving and dependent families--and to give the really charitable an opportunity of reserving some of their kindnesses for home consumption. Let this be their _just_ object, and not one among the relieved would withhold his mite from their suffering fellows in other climes. But in Heaven's name, let the adage root itself once more in every Englishman's "heart of hearts," and once more let "Charity begin at home!" * * * * * THE FIRE AT THE ADELPHI THEATRE. Yates was nearly treating the enlightened British public with an antidote to "the vast receptacle of 8,000 tons of water," by setting fire to the saloon chimney. Great as the consternation of the audience was in the front, it was far exceeded by the alarm of the actors behind the curtain, for they are so sensible of the manager's daring genius, that they concluded he had set fire to the house in order to convert "the space usually devoted to _illusion_ into the area of reality." The great Mr. Freeborn actually rushed out of the theatre without his rouge. Little Paul drank off a glass of neat water. Mr. John Sanders was met at the end of Maiden Lane, with his legs thrust into the sleeves of his coat, and the rest of his body encased in the upper part of a property dragon; whilst little round Wilkinson was vainly endeavouring to squeeze himself into a wooden waterspout. Had he succeeded he might have applied for the reward offered by the Royal Society for a method of [Illustration: SQUARING THE CIRCLE.] * * * * * THE CRIMES OF EATING. [Illustration: S]Sir Robert Peel and her Majesty's Ministers have, we learn, taken a hint in criminal jurisprudence from his Worship the Mayor of Reading, and are now preparing a bill for Parliament, which they trust will be the means of checking the alarming desire for food which has begun to spread amongst the poorer classes of society. The crime of eating has latterly been indulged in to such an immoderate extent by the operatives of Yorkshire and the other manufacturing districts, that we do not wonder at our sagacious Premier adopting strong measures to suppress the unnatural and increasing appetites of the people.