The straits to which the Parisians are reduced are forcibly shown by the follow ing extract from the Paris correspondence of the Melbourne Argus :—" Cats have risen in the market—-a good fat one now costs 10 francs. Those that remain are exceedingly wild. These sagacious an in mals seem to have remarked a murderous intention in the eyes of their former friends, This morning I had a salmis of rats : it was excellent, something between frog and rabbit. I breakfasted with the correspondents of two of your contem poraries. One of them, after a certain amount of hesitation, allowed me to help, him to the leg of a rat: after eating it, he was anxious as a terrier for more. The other, however, scornfully refused to share in the repast. A.s he got through his portion of salted horse, which rejoiced in the name of beef, he regarded us with horror and disgust. During the siege of Londonderry, rats sold for 7s each, and if this siege goes on many weeks longer, the utmost which a person of moderate means will be able to allow 7 himself will be an occasional mouse. I was curious to see whether the proprietor of the restauraut would boldly call rat rat in my bill. His heart failed him —it figures as a salmis of game."

We learn from the Wellington Inde-> pendent that, at the late meeting of the Wellington Philosophical Society, Pr, Hector gave a very interesting discourse on the meteor seen recently throughout New Zealand; and in order to convey to his hearers an exact idea of the course travelled by it, the most northern and southern points from which it was ob served were marked on a large map of New Zealand, intersected by an -inter" mediate line of red tape to represent the flight. It appeared that from the inac curacy or carelessness of the observers, who recorded the phenomenon it was im possible to arrive at anything like a clear understanding. The area over which observations had been made showed a length of about 700 miles, and a width of 250 or 800. There existed amongst them considerable difference of opinion, a$

THE HAWKB'S BAY TIMES,

February 11, 1871.
