  We study the spectrum of confining strings in SU(3) pure gauge theory, in
different representations of the gauge group. Our results provide direct
evidence that the string spectrum agrees with predictions based on n-ality. We
also investigate the large-N behavior of the topological susceptibility $\chi$
in four-dimensional SU(N) gauge theories at finite temperature, and in
particular across the finite-temperature transition at $T_c$. The results
indicate that $\chi$ has a nonvanishing large-N limit for $T<T_c$, as at T=0,
and that the topological properties remain substantially unchanged in the
low-temperature phase. On the other hand, above the deconfinement phase
transition, $\chi$ shows a large suppression. The comparison between the data
for N=4 and N=6 hints at a vanishing large-N limit for $T>T_c$.
