ince Henry IV. of Germany did penance at Canossa before Gregory
Hildebrand in 1077. A curious incident that happened just after the
Emperor's visit was the breaking out of a fire in a wing of the
Quirinal, in which the pontifical escutcheon affixed to the palace was
burned. Another historical event occurred on October 17th, when Hamburg
joined the German customs union, giving up its privileges as a free
port. Bismarck's policy proved stronger than that of the free-traders in
the Reichstag, and German custom-houses now cast their shadows on the
waters of the Elbe.

In France the government proposals for a revision of the constitution
seem to be in a fair way towards adoption. They include a fixed term for
the ministers and curtailment of the Senate's powers. The senators
oppose the plan, not caring to be "revised" out of their privileges. The
Haytien republic has nearly finished its revolution. General Salomon,
the exiled president, died in Paris on October 19th, and General
Telemaque was killed in an attack on Port au Prince. The only other
candidate for the presidency, General Francois Denys Legitime, was
elected by the National Assembly on October 17th. The efforts of
Manitoba to reach a foreign market without being subjected to the odious
monopoly of the Canadian Pacific Railway may have serious consequences.
The Province is building a railway to connect with the American lines,
and the Canadian Pacific refuses to let them cross their tracks. Both
sides threaten to fight.

Business is quiet but steady. Wall Street sharpers are anticipating a
boom, as it is not expected that the new administration will do anything
to hurt the monopolies. The shares of those trusts listed on the New
York Stock Exchange--American Cotton Oil trust and Chicago Gas
trust--have advanced in price. "Old Hutch" of Chicago is said to be
engineering a corner in December wheat and January pork. Mr. John
Taylor, of Chicago, who lost his fortune in "Old Hutch's" last corner,
shot himself in a railway train while travelling from Paris to
Marseilles, making the second suicidal crime attributable to this
commercial freebooter. The investigation of the will of Mrs. Stewart,
who was left a fortune of twenty-five million dollars by her husband,
and died ten years afterward in debt over one million to her friend,
ex-Judge Hilton, who managed her estate, is developing a remarkable
system of book-keeping. All her investments ceased to pay, and her
adviser