The Cardiff Times

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•<; QUARTER SESSIONS. CARDIFF. The Cardiff Borough Quarter Sessions were resumed on Saturday before the Recorder fMr B. Francis Williams, K.C.) Stabbed the Wrong Man. William Taylor (31), labourer, was charged with wounding William Gardner on June 19th. Mr A. Parsons prosecuted. The two men were with several others near ihe Royal Hotel when a bottle was taken from prisoner's pocket. He resented this, and taking a knife out of his pocket tried to stab ;she man who had the bottle. ITe stabbed prose- cutor instead. When charged by P.C. Petheram, Taylor said he did not intend to assault Gardner, «?ho, according to Dr. Buist, had a wound Hin. ■long ani i|in. deep in the forearm. Prisoner was 'onnd guilty of doing grievous bodily harm, and Was sentenced to one month. Had Been Shot Three Times. Michael O'Dwyer was found guilty of breaking into the house of Win. Matthews and stealing one hammer and a boot last on .Tune 27th. Mr Francis Williams prosecuted. Prisoner said he had been on active serv ce in South Africa, he had been hit through each shoulder and through the breast," and for the sake of his family he pleaded for leniency. He was bound over in his own recognisances to come up for i judgment if and when called upon. Not Guilty. Henry O'Connor and Thomas Jones, labourers, Were charged with breaking and entering the shop of Thomas Bowles, tobacconist, Penarth- Toad, and stealing 4CO cigarettes and nine to- 'j&acco pouches, on June 26th. Mr Raymond Allen prosecuted and Mr Francis WilUams de- } fended. Prisoners were found not guilty and Ttcquitted. Robbed While Asleep. George Seymour (30), collier, was charged ■frith stealing £1 las, a ring, and a piece Df tobacco from Ehsan Syvarsen, at Car- ¡ diff, on June lltn. Mr Lleueliyn Wil- liams prosecuted, and Mr Francis Wil- liams (instructed by Mr Harold Lloyd) defended. Prosecutor, a foreign seaman, went to 19, Stoughton-street, where he drank rum and beer with prisoner and two women. He fell asleep, and then, it was alleged, Seymour robbed him. Prisoner's story, as given in the witness-box, was that the tobacco and ring (which the police found on hIm) were his property—presents from a. friend.' Prisoner was found guilty, and sen- teaced to 15 months. An Unaccomplished Burglar. I Edward Eggbeer (34), mason, found guilty of /breaking and entering the house of John Henry Lewis, Paradise-place, Cardiff, with felonious intent, was sentenced to three months' imprison- inent. The Recorder said the evidence showed jhat prisoner was an unaccomplished burglar. Alleged Indecent Assault, Lcncs Jacobsen (53), a Norwegian sea- Juan, was charged with indecently assault- $ng a little girl, Mary Ann Hay. at Cardiff, on May 27th. Mr Bowen Davies prosecuted, and Mr Ivor Bowen (in- strncted by Mr Morgan Rees) defended. The .(Recorder remarked that these charges were easy lo make and often difficult to disprove, however 'i1mocent the accused. He was disgusted and amazed Sessions after Sessions by the precocity of little girls in regard to certain matters. The way in which they talked, the language they used. and the familiarity they displayed with subjects that no woman ought to know anything abont 8eemed to augur very badly for future generations. The jury returned a verdict of ,50 Not guilty," and prisoner was discharge J. Cardiff Borough Quarter Sessions were re- sumed at the Town Hall on Monday morning before the Recorder (Mr B. F. Williams, E.G.). Charge of Stealing a Purse. The proceedings opened with the partly hgard ease in which Maud Dennis (18) and Wm. Luuilev (20), a. travelling dealer in fancy articles, both I of Merthyr Tydfil, were jointly charged with stealing a purse containing £6 las, the property of Elizabeth Ford. Mrs Ford keeps a small shop ra Cathays-terrace. and after a visit from defen- dants she missed the money., and they were "arrested that evening at the Empire. The Hon. ■ H. C. Bailey, for the Crown, relied entirely on circumstantial evidence. Mr Arthur Lewis, on instructions from Alderman J. W. Evans, Aber- dare, defended. Mr Lewis put defendants in the witness cox, and their story was that thsy were sweethearts, that Miss Dennis was a fre- quent visitor at Mrs Ford's, that while out walk- ing Miss Dennis trod on her dress, that they went to Mrs Ford's to mend it, and that they Were left in an inner room alone for several minutes while Mrs Ford was serving a child with sweets, but had never seen the purse Money was found on both defendants. The girl stated that the money was given her by her brother, who made her a weakly allowance, and gave her an extra amount on this occasion, as it wiis holiday time. Lumley stated that he was well in funds, having come to Cardiff after a success- ful day at Pontypool Fair. In charging the jury, the learned Recorder reminded the jury that the case against prisoners was purely cir- cumstantial, and that they had accounted for the money found upon them. Circumstantial evidence, however, he added, was said often to be stronger than direct testimony, for while wit- nesees could lie circumstances could not. (Laughter.), The jnry at once returned a verdict of Notgailty," and prisoners were discharged without comment. Pentre Architect Robbsd. David Rees (29) and Thomas O'Gormau (25), labourers, were charged with robbery with violence. They were defended by Mr St. John Williams, who received his instructions from the dock. The Crown was represented by MrArthur Lewis, instructed by Messrs J. H. Jones and Co. Mr Thomas Owen Rees, the prosecutor, is an architect, living at Pentre. On May 17th he was at the Gariick Hotel, Cardiff. He got into con- versation with prisoners and stood them drinks. He did not take anything intoxicating at al!, hut after drinking a lemonade he felt queer, As he was leaving prisoner Rees put his fist under his chin and his other hand into his pocket, tak- ing out £2, Witness shouted that he had been robbed, and Rees oftered to be searched. Prisoner Rees then left, and prosecutor followed him to the Hayes, where the prisoner threatened to bash in his face," On O'Gorman when arrested nearly £2 was found. During his cross- examination prosecutor was seized with faintness and was allowed to retire. Private John Williams, of the Welsh Regiment, swore that he witnessed the assault and the rob- bery, and saw the money being passed by Rees to O'Gorman. When prisoner Rees said Search me," he held the money "palmed" under his thumb. Witness said he dared not interfere, as there were too many chams of the prisoners about. Both prisoners made denial on oath, and asserted that prosecutor was drunk when in the Garrick. O'Gorman stated that the money found on him was won at Cardiff races. The jury found prisoners guilty. Chief De- tective-Inspector Scott and Detective-Sergeant Gretton proved a long list of convic- tions ags.inst the prisoners. O'Gorman had kept bad company since his dis- charge from the Army after he had served in the relief of Kimberley, and to the knowledge of the police had refused work in several quarters. In March, 1901. ho had been sentenced to nine months at 'the Glamorgan Assizes for robbery with violence, and in January, 1902, to two months for ?3sisting- in the manage- ment of a. disorderly house. O'Gorman had a respectable wife and two children living in Car- diff, but had deserted them and lived in dis- orderly houses. David itees had three months in 1897 for robbery from the person, and had been 25 times summarilv convicted for assaults and living on proceeds of immorality. The learned Recorder described the offence as being most daring, and said that the public must be protected from scamps of this class. Each would have to undergo 12 calendar months' im- prisonment. Drink and Felony. John Blair (31), corn portei, who pleaaedguilty to stealing a pair of boots from the shop of Mr Peter Halewood, was sentenced to two months' imprisonment. He admitted two previous con- victions for felony, and Chief Detective-Inspec- tor Scott stated he believed that drunkenness was the cause of the crime. Prisoner stated he was a hard-working man, as, so he said, was proved by the fact that he earned 12s a day. He begged for a light sentence, saying that this would be his last appearance in the court, and the Recorder said he would take the man at his word.

"TRYING TO STOP A CANNON BALL." On Wednesday, as the Mumbles train was passing up Albert-row, Swansea, a man named Cornelius Sullivan, of Greenhill, rushed across the road and tried to throw himself under the train. Mr F. Andrews, who was passing on his cycle, and Mr James Eaton pulled the man away just in time to prevent the train going- over him. The man, who was handed over to the police, said ha was "trying to stop a cannon bull."

A FERNDALE FAILURE. On Tuesday at the office of Mr W. L. Daniel (Official Recaiver), Merthyr, the first meeting was held of the creditors of Meyer Hermann, trading as Hermann and Co., 67, Daiiryn-street Ferndale, furniture dealer and glazier. The gross liabilities amounted to £207 ]33 4d, and the deficiency to £1 TS 5s lOd. The causes of failure us alleged by the debtor were being unable to make sufficient profit on my business, want of capital, and bad debts."

The annual treat to the Sunday school scholars or the Noncomforrnist churches of Pontlottyn was given on Monday. The streets were paraded, and afterwards tea was supplied at the bciacsLs, Mtowed cfy cgpspejitive meeiivga..

I RAGBIT COURSING AT CAERPHILLY. i Warrant Issued, At the Caerphilly Police Court on Tuesday- before Mr W. Rees, Mr W. Ware, and Dr Maurice Evans—Godfrey Jones, of Clydach Vale, was charged with an offence under the Wild Animals in Captivity Act. Defenlant did not appear. Police-inspector Davies said that on June 28th he and P.C. Coles went to the Ponty- gwenny-field, Caerphilly, where a rabbit coursing match was in progress. He there saw Godfrey Jones in charge of a basket, measuring 2Cin. by 15Ain. and 132in. deep. Defendant handed a rabbit out of the basket and the animal was afterwards coursed. The rabbit ran very poorly and appeared to be weak. He (the inspector) went Up to Jones and asked him who the ubbits belonged to, and he replied They are mine." He also said he had 14 rabbits in the basket. which was made of willow with wire netting on top and covered with a sack. Witness looked through the netting and saw the rabbits were much overcrowded, and one of them was dead. He drew Jones's attention to the dead rabbit but he denied it was dead. He, witness then took the dead rabbit out. Subsequently three other rabbits v>ero taken out of the basket andconrsed. These ran fairly stroug. Shortly afterwards a match was commenced which lasted until about 5.30 p.m. During this time these rabbits were kept in the basket. At the conclusion of the big match some petty matches took place, and it was during one of these that three other rabbits were taken out of his basket. He advised Jones to kill the rabbits to prevent them suffering so, but Jones replied there was nothing the matter with them, only a little cold in the eyes. One of the men examined the eye of one of the rabbits which looked like a piece of ra.w beef. Someone ¡ in the crowd advised Jones to kill the rabbits I and this he did—kill two—leaving: four in the basket which he afterwards took away. The space for each rabbit was four inches. The rabbits varied in size, but there was not one so small as the one produced. A warrant was issued j for the arrest of Jones.

IBROX DISASTER, Evidence of Sir Benjamin Bake". The trial was resumed in the Scottish High Court of Justice on Tuesday before Lord Kyl- lctchy and a jury, of Alexander McDougall, con- tractor, on a charge of culpable and reckless neglect of his duty in erecting the terracing at Ibrox Park, which collapsed on the occasion of the International football match between Eng- land and Scotland, on 5th April last, and caused the death of 25 persons and the injury of over 500 others. Frederick Gardner Holmes, burgh surveyor, Govan, deposed that after examination by him the plan of the ground were passed by the Dean of the Guild Court. His approval was given on the understanding that the joists were to be of red pine. He did not examine the material until after the disaster, when he saw that the wood was of an inferior kind of yellow pine. Sir.Benjamin Baker said he designed the Forth Bridge, and the damming of the Nile was under his supervision. Ho inspected the terracing, and the stand was much too light for its work. The trouble in the case had arisen from the text i books, which were out of date. Some of the text books were absolutely and cruelly misleading, With regard to the red and yellow pine, assum- ing that the contract had been carried out I according to specification the stand would have been safe for a load of 251b. compared with the 1121b. which he would consider necessary. He estimated that on the day of the match the terracing bore a load of 751bs. per square foot instead of the 251b. which would have been safe. The structure was too slender. It was a case of. the Tav Bridge ovet again. Thecourttheadjourned. THE CONTRACTOR ACQUITTED. On Wednesday the trial finished at Glasgow of Alexander McDougall, of Glasgow, who had been charged with culpable homicide in connection with the disaster at Ibrox Park on the occasion of tbe football match between England and Scotland, whereby 25 spectators were killed and 500 more or less injured. Complaint was that the woodwork of the stand which collapsed was of inferior quality; and that the structure was erected in an unworkmanlike manner. The jury returned a verdict of Not guilty."

THE RIBBLE~D0CKS. Offer of Purchase by a Syndicate. A remarkable offer by a London syndicate came to light at Preston on Saturday. The object of the syndicate is to acquire the Ribble undertak- ing of the' Preston Corporation, which so far has cost the town one million and a half. The syndicate now purposes to acquire the property j and expend half a million in improving the channel to the dock. They are convinced the outlay of this sum will enable them to obtain a waterway from 22ft. to 26ft. in depth from the J sea to the dock. The half million is to form a first debenture charge on the undertaking bear- 1 ing interest 5 per cent.

I "LOST HIS HEAD AND TOOK* TO I FLIGHT." CURIOUS STORY OF BANKNOTES. At Bow-streeton Monday (before Mr Marsham) Paul Gilles (33), a Frenchman, having no fixed address, was charged with unlawful possession. Detective-Inspector Mclntyresaid that on Satur- day evening the prisoner was arrested in ,the street for being drunk and disorderly. He ap- peared to answer the description of a man against whom there was a warra.nt out for an offence com- I mitted in Franco, and he was detained pending the arrival of a witness who was staying in Lon- don. The latter attended at the station, but found that the prisoner was not the man described in I that warrant. In the meantime the accused had been searched, and the banknotes for l,0o0 francs each were found upon him. He was ques- tioned as to how he came into possession of them, and he said they were his own, and that ho had got them hero and there." Ha further stated that he lived at Dijon, and had come to London ] by way of Paris, Brussels, Antwerp, and Har- wich. and that very shortly he intended em- barking for another country. Witness told him he was not satisfied with his explanation, and should charge him with being in the unlawful possession of the notes. Prisoner then said M. Daste-Oreujesto, a, hide merchant, of Aach. Gers, sent me in a letter 8,500 francs in notes to pay a bill. My books were not in order I lost my head, aud took fiight." When the charge was read over to him he said, Let me go and I'll return at once and repay the money. You can't extradite me for what I've done." He subsequently saicf that he had been robbed of 1 200 francs that evening. Prisoner was ro- manded.

The funeral took place on Monday of one of Cardiff's oldest inhabitants in the person of Mr Bryant Biggs, of 40, Con way-road, Canton. Mr Diggs, who was 82 years of age, hailed from Swansea, and came to Cardiff soon after the opening of the Bute Docks and opened a business as an optician and nautical instrument maker, which he carried on until quite recently. A large number of 5ovha atteudstf the funeral QbseoAies. c"

I Officer's Divorce Suit. II ¡ WIFE AND LOVER'S COOL CONFESSIONS. Extra-Matrimonial Affinities. In the Divorce Court on Tuesday (before Mr Jus- tice Barnes and a special jury) a case was beard in which Lieut. Robert Byron Drnry Blakeney, of the Royal Engineers, sued for a dissolution of marriage with Mrs Eva Theodora Anna Blakeney, against whom he alleged adultery with Captain Alexander Geoghegan Stevenson, of the Royal Engineers. Respondent and co-respon- j dent denied adultery. OPENING STATEMENT. I Mr Lawson Waiton, K.C., in opening the case, said that the petitioner and corespondent had been at Woolwich together, and had been on I terms of close friendship. Mr Blakeney and his wife were married in December, 1895, at which 1 time the respondent had been living with her mother, who was a widow lady, partly at Folke- stone and at different fashionable resorts in the South of Europe. Petitioner had taken part in expeditions to Dongola, and was absent in the Soudan two and a half years. In 1898 he was ap- pointed deputy traffic manager of the State rail- ways in Egypt. At the time he obtained the D.S.O. Mrs Blakeney, owing to health considera- tions, did not stay in Egypt, and returned to England to stay with friends. In 1900 peti- tioner went to South Africa,where he was thrown into close relationship with Captain Stevenson, and be and his wife nursed Captain Stevenson when be was wounded. Petitioner, believing that the friendship was of an innocent character, allowed his wife to return in the same vessel from South Africa, where he was detained. It was not until a later date in 1901 that peti- tioner was led to change his opinion. From cer- tain correspondence which took place it tran- spired that when the wife went to visit friends in the country Captain Stevenson stayed in the same neighbourhood. About that time Colonel Gjroaarrlm South Africa told the petitioner that Mrs Blakeney had actually, at an interview, made the extraordinary statement that her husband, Mr Blakeney, bad made her absolutely free so far as her affections and conduct were concerned, and that if she ever loved anybody she might enter into any bond of union she thought proper, and that Mr Blakeney would play the part of the complacent husband, and would never attempt to bring her back or put an end to the friendship, but would rather connive at and recognise as legitimate and proper, Such a Monstrous Attachment. When explanations were demanded the respon- dent and co-respondent avowed their affection for each other, although they both denied any misconduct. The wife persisted in a defiant attitude, and declined to live with her husband as his wife. She offered not to communicate with Captain Stevenson for a year, but she declined to live with her husband. Counsel went on to explain that he should rely on letters which had been written to support petitioner's allega- tions. In one of the letters to her husband she spoke of mental worry, and made references to the co-respondent. On the 22nd October, 1901. J she wrote a letter to her husband in which she said — Augustas has written to you, as I saw his Jetter, about the strange thing that has hap- pened to us. It is all true, and we love each other absolutely, and know that it is the real thing, for there can be no mistaking real love when it does come, for I never knew what it was before. Nothing has ever come up to this I do love him with all my heart and soul. I don't think it entered our beads that we should be more to each other than the very best friends always, and then quite suddenlywe knew. Do you know it gave us quite a shock— a very nice one though—and we simply could not understand ourselves; but we know that we love each other and always will, and that we are awfully happy, and that is enough. Further on in the letter she said :— II You simply don't know how sweet he is. We are so happy, we simply don't know if we are on earth when we are together. It sounds stupid, but yon understand, and this, instead of making me less fond of you, my dear, sweet, old Tommy, makes me fonder still. And. Tommy, I will never forget that I am your wife and bear your name. Do not grudge us our happiness. We want yon to come home and share it, and say you are not unhappy or displeased, and we will all three be happy to- gether." Lover's Confession to Husband. The co-respondent on 21st October wrote to the petititioner a letter in which he said :— My Dear Tommy,—A most unexpected thing has happened, and I am in doty bound to write and tell you. I love Viva, and have told her so,and she returns my love. I am abso- lutely sure she is the only woman in the world so far as I am concerned. My dear old man, I know the world will think my actions wrong, but I am absolutely sure that I am right in every way in loving Viva. I have gradually I found out your troubles, olcl man, and have always been so sorry for you. Don't know how the affair is going to work,but I shall love Viva to the end of all things and loving her so much. I can never take her away from you, as I I could not bear to let anybody in the world point the finger of scorn at her. Viva is awfully loyal to you, and it was not until we loved each other that she told me everything that was be- tween you. I sort of feel that everything will come right some day, and I know that my love foi her is really right, as I can pray for her and have no pride of conscience." In a subsequent letter from the Junior United Service Club, the co-respondent wrote :— "I want you to understand that I do not feel any guilt on my conscience in loving her, although from a worldly point of view I sup- pose I am a scoundrel for telling her so. The whole thing came upon us as a tremendous surprise. I want you to try and remember your old friendship for me, although I am fully aware I am trying it rather high. I also want you to try and realise that Viva has been absolutely loyal to you in all things except in letting me love her, though I think I you will allow that as you and she did not love each other, she is not really to blame for loving anyone else." The letter went on to a.ssure the petitioner that there had been nothing beyond affection, and ended, You know that your honour is absolutely safe, and V. and I have kept our secret. Try and be gentle with Viva. I can offer*you my old affection. Can you accept it ?" Counsel contended that these letters showed a guilty affection. THE EVIDENCE. The petitioner was then examined in support of counsel's statement. He said he was 30 years of age. He was married to the respondent on the 3rd December, 1895. His wife's friends were wealthy, and she had an income of £2,000, Peti- tioner said ho was now traffic manager of the State railways in Egypt, and he resided at Cairo. After the honeymoon thev went to live at Alder- shot, and he was afterwards ordered to join the Dongola Expedition, when he again saw her. She seemed to be less fond of him, and to be anxious to get away. Later on, when he saw her in Lon- don, she wanted them to live as brother and sister, or friends,but he refused to accede to that, Did she make any statement to you as to a I gentleman she had met She told me that in the spring of 1898, when she was staying in the South of France with her mother, she made the acquaintance of a Mr Tellow, and that they became friendly, and that one day when out bicycling together they stopped to rest under the shadow of some trees, and that when he helped her up he pulled her towards him and kissed her. She also said that she felt that she had given her heart to him. She told me she had met him constantly after that, and that she bad kissed him, and that was the reason for her coldness towards me. She also said that after they had kissed she found out that he was a married man with a child, and that before he left her one day he said, "I have got two sleep- ing car tickets. Shall we go away together ?" and she had refused, saying that it would ca.use pain to her mother. She told me she had no love for me, gjid that he was the one man she cared for. I told her she must have nothing more to do with that gentleman. Petitioner went on to say 'that he was released by Lord Kitchener from the Soudan in 1899. Subsequently his wife said she had accidentall;r met Mr Tellow in London, and that she felt a sort of attraction that she wanted to leave Eng- land to get away from his attentions. Peti- tioner said his wife made the acquaintance of Captain Stevenson in the autumn of 1899 at Cairo. In Sonth Africa Captain Stevenson was badly injured in a railway accident, and he and Mrs Blakeney nursed him. Co-respondent and respondeht afterwards travelled to England in the same ship, as he had every confidence in Cap- tain Stevenson. In. London afterwards his wife said that Captain Stevenson was a safe person," and never loved anybody. She had talked about running away with a man. There was no truth in the suggestion that he told his wife if she met a man she really loved he would not interfere with her if she ran away with him, and that he would be a friend in trouble. She always said there was no danger in Captain Stevenson. Subsequently witness called on her at the Hotel Windsor. His wife was in bed at the time, and there was a large photo of Captain Stevenson in the room. He told her he was staggered a,t the letter he had received, and that he had never flirted. but had always been faithful to her. He laid down condi- tions which he required his wife to agree to — that she should retract allegations she had made against him to Colonel Girouard, that she should have nothing further to do with Captain Stevenson, and should re- turn to him (petitioner) as his wife. She said that Colonel Girouard' was mistaken, and that he ha.d given her permission to make that state- ment. His wife wrote saying that she could not agree to the conditions, and then reasserted :— I¡ You said that if I did some day run away with an affinity yon would not bring me ba.ck, I and would remain my best friend." Petitioner said that was untrue. In the letter she also smd-" As you like someone else. you must see it would be unfair to ask me to return I as your wife." In cross-examination by Sir Edward Clarke, K C. (for the respondent) petitioner, said he felt I assured that there was no guilty relationship be- tween his wife and Mr Tellow. He had told his wife that, before he married her, he had: loved another 1-idy and had proposed to marry her, and his wife was distressed about it. His affection for the lady was not returned, and during his married í life there had been no love-making between him and thaJi lady. Other evidence was given to the effect that when Mra Blakeney was living in apartments in Margaret-street, Cavendish squrre, Captain Stev- enson had called there. ¡ Mrs; Templar, wife of Colonel Templar, of .j AWerskot, said tfcat on a. Saturday afternoon in October last she met Captain Stevenson with Mrs Blakeney on the road between Rickmans- worth and Chenies. Other evidence was that they had tea at an inn at Rickmansworth that. on one occasion they went by train together from London to Stroud in a first-class compartment and that Captain Stevenson had stayed at a. farm near to where Mrs Blakeney was. A waiter from the Windsor Hotel. London, said Captain Stevenson had dined with Mrs Blakeney when she was staying at the hotel. He had, he said, seen them alone in the sitting- room together, Mrs Blakeney lying on the couch and Captain Stevenson sitting on a chair. Another lady was staying at the hotel with Mrs Blakeney. Two chambermaids gave similar testimony,aud said Mrs Blakeney had the portrait of the gentle- man in her bedroom. This was the petitioner's case. THE DEFENCE. Sir Edward Clarke, in opening the cass for the defence, said there was nothing more in the evidence given agamst the respondent and co- respondent than what had been disclosed by them in their letters to the husband. Apart from the letters the evidence was trivial. With regard to the letter submitted it did not follow that because persons were fondly attached to each other they would commit tho offence attri- buted to them. It was a fact that the husband had before his marriage formed an attachment for a lady he could not marry, and who re- mained namarried, and the wife said he had admitted to her that he still had an affection for that lady. The wife therefore told him that as he had an ideal love for that lady, and that she did not suspect them of guilty love passages, so she considered she was entitled to have anideal love, and that she was entitled to tell her husband there might be for her an "affinity" in a man such as he had found in a woman. But she de- clared that there was no guilt, and both she and the co-respondent would say that there was no foundation for suggesting misconduct. The further hearing was adjourned. In the Divorce Court on Wednesday (before Mr Justice Barnes and a special jury) the case of Blakeney v. Blakeney and Stevenson, reported in our yesterday's issue, was further heard. The petition was that of Lieut. Robert Byron Drury Blakeney, of the Royal Engineers, traffic manager of the Egyptian State Railways, for a divorce from his wifee Mrs Eva Theodore Anna BIakeney, nee Satow, against whom he alleged adultery with the co-reapondent, Captain Alexander Geoghegan Stevenson, also of the Royal Engineers. Mr Inderwick, K.C., now opened the case for the co-respondent. He said that the petitioner and the co-respondent had been on terms of friend- ship, and it was not surprising that under the circumstances of the case an affection should spring up. The question was, did the letters re- present the real feelings of the respondent and co-respondent for each other at the time they wrote, or were they, on the other hand, merely a device to cover a guilty intrigue ? He invited the jury to say that the letters did not disclose anything more than affection, and that they did not point to guilt, but to innocence. Outside the letters there was very little against them. The letters were undoubtedly foolish, but be reminded them of a saying of Lord Bacon that a person could not be in love and be wise at the same time. If they were engaged in a guilty intrigue, why should they disclose the matter by writing letters ? From first to last they had ab- solutely denied any guilt. The co-respondent in his letter of the 21st October said, I shall love Viva to the end of all things, and loving her so much I could never take her away from you. as I could not bear to let anyone in the world point the finger of scorn at her." In another letter he also said that the wife's honour was perfectly safe, and the wife herself had said in her 1 ter that she never could forget she bore the peti- tioner's name, These circumstances, counsel contended, pointed to there being no guilty rela- tions. MRS BLAKENEY IN THE BOX. The respondent, Mrs Eva Theodora Blakeney, was then examined by Mr Deane, K.C. She said she first made the acquaintance of Captain Stevenson in 1899, and she knew that be had been an intimate friend of her husband's. She and her husband had nursed Captain Stevenson in illness, They called each other by Christian names. She saw him after the railway accident in January, 1901, in South Africa. During that time she was left a great deal alone with Captain Stevenson, and she returned to England in the same boat, her maid accompanying her. Daring the whole of that time she and her husband and Captain Stevenson were on affectionate terms, and called each other by their Christian names. Before going out to Egypt the second time she saw Captain Stevenson in London at her sister's house and at Folkestone, where her mother used. to live. Has your husband ever objected at any time to your being about with Captain Stevenson—walk- ing with him and going about ?—No. Up to that time had there been any feeling of affection between you and Captain Stevenson ?— No. At that period, said the witness, Captain Stevenson was employed at the War Office, He had business to transact at Gloucester, and he went down with her to Stroud on her sister's invitation. When did yon first know that your husband had an affection for somebody else ?—Before we were married, but he told me he loved me the best. When did he next refer to the subject, after your marriage ?—A'long time afterwarrs. He told me he hau, seen her, and that he was very pleased to meet her. Did he say what his feelings were towards heri?—He told me six weeks after the marriage he realised that he loved her.That caused me a a;reat deal of trouble. Respondent went on to say that she felt ex- tremely miserable, as she had stated in her let- ters, because she fe!t that she was standing be. tween the husband and the woman he loved. She did not know what to do. She had a conversation with her husband on the subject, and he told her his views, and said she was not to tell anybody about the matter. She felt that she must have some one to help her, and the only person he -would allow her to tell the arrangement to was Colonel Girouard. Sir Percy Girouard was mis- taken when he told her husband that she had said her husband would allow her to run away with anyone she liked. Her husband's affection for the lady referred to made her very miserable. She was very fond of her husband at the time of the marriage, and he had always shown affection for her. Her husband's account of the Tellow in- cident was correct. She and Mr Tellow had kissed each other, but there was nothing beyond kissing- Her "Affinity" Discovered. When she was staying in "Margaret-street, Cavendish-squatre, sha and Captain Stevenson made the" discovery of their affection which led them to write to Mr Blakeney the letters read. Captain Stevenson visited her at Mar- garet-street, and the friendship was known to all their friends. Before she wrote the letter to her husband she found that her friendship for Cap- tain Stevenson had become more than friendship. Mr Deane What was it disclosed that fact to you both ? Mrs Blakeney Captain Stevenson and I went out one evening to the Empire,and when we came out we went home. Mr Deane Tell us what happened. Mrs Blakeney (who spoke with hesitancy and in a low voice) t was sitting in tùe chair, and he sat on the arm of it. We began to talk, and then he stooped down and kissed me. Did anything else happen except kissing ?— No, certainly not. What happened after the kissing He seemed different to me somehow. I kissed him back. Did it make any difference in your feelings to each other, the fact of your having kissed ?—Yes- Mrs Blakeney (continuing) said it was after this incident that she wrote the letter to her husband in which she said :—" I told you I would tell you honestly if I loved anyone, and you must believe me when I tell you now that I do love him with all my heart and soul. We have always been snch good friends, he and I, and know each other so very well now. I don't think it ever entered our heads that we should be more to each other than the very bost of friends .always, and then quite suddenly we knew, Do you know it gave us quite a shock (a very nice one though), and we simply could not under- stand ourselves, but we knew that we loved each other, and always will, and that we are awfully happy, and that is enough." Witness said it all came about a? they sat and talked, and Captain Stevenson brewed her some chocolate. Has there ever been any impropriety between yon and Captain Stevenson ?—Never at any time. Respondent Cross-examined. Cross-examined by Mr Lawson Walton, Mrs Blakeney a aid marital relations between her and her husband ceased soon after the marriage. She had always objected to marital rights. Questioned as to Mr Tello she admitted they had kissed each other, and that he had proposed to run away with her. She told him that she would not run away with him. What reason did you give for not going away with him ?—I said it was for the sake of my mother. You did not suggest that your duty to your husband restrained you ?—I only mentioned my mother. When Tellow kissed you you did not resent such familiarity ?—No, because it was not serious. Don't you think it was your duty to your hus- band to indignantly resent such familiarity ?—I did not fear him. You-were simply guided by your feelings for the gentleman at the time ? Yes. Do I understand that as the result of the con- versation with your husband at Cairo you would be rendering him a service by committing your- self with another man ?—1 thought it would free him. To commit adultery ?—It was not necessary to go away and commit sin. Bnt what would be the object of going away ? — rJjo free my husband, but not to commit sin. Do you suggest that you would go away with a man and would not commit sin when you were extremely fond of each other ? Not the particu- lar sin of adultery. If a wife goes away with a lover who consents to take her away from her husband can there bo any motive for it on his part except adultery ?— If he truly loves her he would not commit sin. What do you suppose he would take you away for if it was not to love you as his wi'i after wards '?—What I mean is, in that way yon would free the husband and tho wife, and the world would think that there were grounds for divorce, and if t.hev did not defend themselves and only keot silence I suppose they could be divorced. 1 If yon could create the relations of a lover with someone else, and if he ageed to that rela- tion. you think by that means you could afford evidence by which your husband might be ablef to put an end to the marriage ?—-Yes. So that the world might think adultery had I been committed, and yet you might not commit i it is tfca-ij ypnr potipn [ And you suggest that the man with whom you went away would take the same view, and that divorce could be procured when in fact adultery was not committed ?-If he loved ma. i further questioned, the witness said np to the time she had referred to she had no idea that she loved Captain Stevens on. There had been no ex- pressions of endearment between them, but they I we]. fond of each other. Did you not think it wasa gross breach of your duty to your husband to allow the acquaintance I to ripen into extreme atlection ?—No I never thought it would. 1 thought we should be friends and nothing else. Respondent added that j when the question of binding herself to another man was discussed, it was without a.ny refer- ence to Captain Stevenson. She did not think it was An Outrage on Her Husband for her not to resent Captain Stevenson's act of jamiliarity in kissing her. Did you return the kiss as warmly as it was given ?—Yea. You state in one of the letters that you scarcely realised where you were, in Heaven or on earth at the titae. Did that describe your feelings at the time ?—Not then, but laier. After those endearments I take it you spent an hour together in perfect solitude, realising the biiss of the first consciousness of mutual affec- tion ?—Yes. You, a married woman, with this man whom you had been on terms of constant affection ?— No answer. You were embracing each other as lovers, kiss- ing each other. I snppose this was not a solitary experience ? You kissel when you met and parted like lovers ?-Not always. Generally ?—Sometimes not generally. When you were alone you naturally sought, as lovers will, to be alone Sometimes,not always. You sought this solitary association with the man you loved, and who loved you, and do you tell the jury it was limited to*. these frigid em- braces ? Do you mean to say that you did not t commit adultery ?—Certainly not. What was it to end in ? Was it to go on like this to the end of the chapter ?—Yes not. always, because he was going to South Africa. You made hay while the sun shone ?—Yes. Further cross-examined, wiitness said that most of the world might think her action wrong. She had said in her letter, Nothing had ever come up to this, not even Tello." How is it that Captain Stevenson is more than Tello ?-I was very fond of Captain Stevenson. You speak of this as being ideal love. What do you mean by ideal love between a married woman and another man ?-I am afraid I could not make you understand. (Laughter.).j "Witness said she would not run away with Stevenson, because it would spoil his career. Re-examined by Mr Deane, K.C.Did Capt. S';svenson ever suggest to vou to go away with him ?—Once he did, on the 20th of October. We I were at the theatre, and between the acts he said, If I ask yon to go away with me, will you ? I answered, No. Think of it, sleep on it f you don't mean it." Next morning he came I round and said he saw that it was wrong. THE CO-RESPONDENT, Captain Stevenson the co-respondent was the nest examined by Mr Priestley. He said he was in the Royal Engineers. He was in the Soudan Campaign, and got the D.S.O. It was on the night of the visit to the Empire Theatre that he and Mrs Blakeney discovered their love and kissed each other. He wrote the letter to the petitioner because he knew he was his trusted friend, and he could not go on seeing Mrs Blakeney after loving her without letting Mr Blakeney know what had occurred. Is there any truth in the suggestion that you 1 desired Mr Blakeney to act the' part of mari complaisant 1 had no such intention what- ever. Captain Stevenson denied that be had at any time committed adultery with Mrs Blakeney. Cross-examined by Mr Lawson Walton Did you not realise you were doing a serious in- jury to your brother oSicer?—! am afraid I never thought of him. Did you think you had a right to indulge in this feeling ?-It would certainly have been wiser ] to have gone away, but I had not the moral cour- age to do so. What did you suppose this passion was to lead to ?—I knew it meant separation, but I did not expect it to lead to this. I Don't you know what an affection between a man and a woman leads to ?—I know what it is sapposed to lead to. ? You can except yourself from the category of ordinary humanity ?—I can restrain myself. Where do you draw the line in your relations with another man's wife ?—At any rate, at with another man's wife ?-At any rate, at adultery. You say your system of self-restraint is such that you can go the length of kissing, treat the woman as a lover, and draw the line at adultery ? -It is low down to draw it, but that is where you must draw the line. Don't you think it likely to come to adultery when a man finds his embraces passionately re- sponded to by a woman ?-It may be checked. You knew this was a married lady, and did not deny yourself a single interview ?-I was human. I thought from your taking upon yourself the power of restraint yon were a little more than human ?—There are limits. I believe you actually proposed to this Ialy to run away with her ?— I did on one occasion. Did you understand that meant adultery ?-I did at the time. And you meant to do it ?—Under the impulse of the moment. I did not take her away because I would not commit adultery with her. Captain Sa^venson added that Mrs Blakensy had inti- mated to him that she was anxious to set her husband free. By committing adultery ?-No, by acting in such a way that the act of adultery would be in- ferred. She looked at life in a different way from other people. Questioned as to the letter which he bad written, Captain Stevenson said the love came as a surprise. He did not want it, a.nd it was a. calamity that it did so. Therefore you think you are to be excused for indulging it when it does come ?-No.- Then why did you not leave her ?—I had not the moral courage to do so at the time. Did you share her transports of delight ?-Not in the exuberant way in which she described them. The act of kissing a woman you love is a pleasant one, even if it be anotherman's wife ?— That is unfortunate. A number of v-itnesses •vere called.to say that they had never seen any familiarities between the 'I respondent and co-respondent, and counsel for the co-respondent having addressed the jury the: further hearing was adjourned. j

WEST AFRICAN TROOPS. Reviewed by Mr Chamberlain. MAY STILL'SEE THE KING." About 150 black Colonial troops from the Alex- andra Palace, mostly Haussas, travelled by special train to London on Monday morning in order to b3 reviewed by Mr Chamberlain at the Colonial Office as representatives of the whole of his Majesty's native forces in West Africa. There were about 20 from North Nigeria, seven from Southern Nigeria, 22 from the Gold Coast, 29 from Lagos, a small gun detachment, 15 gun carriers, and the remainder representatives of the Sierra Leone and Gambia. They had with them a 75 millimetres quick firing gun, the sections and wheels of which the bearers carried on their heads. The troops marched to the Colonial Office quad- rangle, headed by the baud of the Highland Light Infantry. They were mostly in khaki, with red or black zouave tunica and red fez caps. Some of the men wore sandals, but others were bare-footed. The carriers wore nowing draperies and on their heads were curiously twisted cloths and pads, to distribute the pressure of the heavy weight borne. At 12 o'clock Mr Chamberlain entered the' I quadrangle accompanied by Colonial Office officials. The right bon, gentleman was re- ceived with a, general salute, after which he had the European officers presented to him and pro- ceeded to inspect ihe troops with evident interest. Their services and other particulars were ex- plained by Captain Vernon and Colonel Pen ton, chiof Staff officer. One bugler who had received the Distinguished Conduct medal, was separately presented to Mr Chamberlain. After the inspection Mr Chamberlain ad- dressed the parade. He said though the Coronation had been postponed through the King's illness, he was hopeful that even now they would have some opportunity of seeing his Majesty's face before they returned home. He saw by their medals that they had already foaght for their King, and on thosa occasions they had done well, and it justified the confidence the Government had placed in them. They be- longed to different races and different religions, but they were now all of them soldiers of the King, and he trusted they would continue to be proud of the force to which they belonged and the fiag under which they fought.

.L v- T MILL ACCIDENT, Workman Killed at Cardiff. About 7.45 p.m. on Tuesday Michael Keenes, of 141, Wellington-street, Cardiff, a workman employed at Messrs Spillers and Bakers' mills, West Dock. was feeding grain down a shoot on to the floor below when he missed his footing, arW was Irawn into the shoot, and before the flow of grain could be stopped a considerable quantity had fallen on him. Efforts were immediately made to extricate him, but some time elapsed before he was got clear. Dr. Girvan, who had been summoned, pronounced life to be extinct,

170 Pages, IJIastraterf. HORSES, DOGS, BIRDS, CATTLE. 120,000 OWNERS OF ANIMALS Have secured a copy of the ELLIN FIRST AID BOOK Estract from a letter received from Major-General Baden-Powell referring to The ELLIMAN FIRST AID BOOK. "It will, I am convinced, be of the greatest t value to the Troop Officers of the Constabulary throughout the New Territories, and I am suppiyine each of them with a copy." Sent post free for is. In stamps, or upon receipt of the label affixed for the purpose to the outsJ-Je of the back of the wrapper of zs. 2s. ód" and 3s. 6d. bottles of ELIJAH'S ROYAL EMBROCATION J THE ELLSMAN FIRST AID BOOK Published by Elllman, Sons & Co., Slough, Ent. ==- 11 Us?1 I ¡ v. I I bieIVTS -A -TvrT" I I J Mr J. H. CABLING, Grocer, High-street, Ryde, writes The Cambridge lie: >, ji I may say, is far and away the best I have sold yet. It has quite a refreshing flavoUl:, auu 1d I without that horrid acid. A customer to whom I introduced it has, within the last six'weeks, used four dozen. She said she had used every other Lemonade she could.get, but Cambridge • beats all," I The CAMBRIDGE LEMONADE is carefully prepared from selected Sicilian Lemons, and is gnaranteed to contain the natural refreshing constituents of the fresh ripe fruit, free' from any added acid or other injurious ingredients. PURti AND WHOLEbOME.—The Lancet" The materials are pure and wholesome, u being obtained from selected lemons, It possesses the pleasant aroma and acid taste of P fresh cut lemon, and affords a refreshing and agreeable summer beverage. I 5|d per Bottle sufficient to make 2 gals. Delicious Lemonode. I CHIVERS & SONS, LTD., HISTON, CAMBRIDGE, § Proprietors of the First English Fruit Growers' Jam Factory. 1

The above is the Lion of St. Mark, Venice. Oppo eite the Doge's Chamber in the Palace was a head of this Lion, with mouth open, into which persons secretly threw whatever was to meet the eye of the Doge. We place it at the head of this column to indicate that public letters are received by'us, and also letters requiring answers on legal and general also letters requiring answers on legal and general topics.

LEGAL ADVICE. By a Cardiff Lawyer. Income Tax (Cvmro).—You can recover three years j income tax,which should nave been deducted when | you were nayinp the interest. I'Emggago Detained bv Landlord (Inquirer).—Your best course would be to commence an fiction in tho County Court against your landlord for the return of your effects and damages for their detention. j Executors with Power of Sale (Lionel).—If there is a clauie in the lease against assigning without the clauie in the lease against assigning without the consent of the lessor, you, who are in the same position as the lessee, must obtain the consent of the landlord. School Attendance (A Mother.)—If your child attends a school in the town yon intend sending ncr, that is all that 13 necessary to satisfy the Education Department. Advances to a Minor (H.H.).—If the father has dis- tinctly promised iu writing to pay the money ¡ advanced you can recover. Colonist.— You will find, the Church of England marriage serf ice in the Tiook of Common Prayer, H,E,-Il1quiries relative to the proposed "Immor- tality Census Paper" should be addressed, we marriage serf ice in the Tiook of Common Prayer, H.E.—Inquiries relative to the proposed Immor- tality Census Paper" should be addressed, we understand, to Mr Schiller, Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Boundary (Lemco).—The adjoinin g tenant can cul- tivate his garden up to a plumb live drawn from I the eaves of the pine end of his neichbonr's house, Contract for Delivery of Goo'la (Inquirer).—You can refuse to take delivery if there was undue delay owing to the negligence of the contractors, time being of the essence of the contract in this case. Action for Libel (A.B.C.).—A has no ground of action. What B stated is no libel. Seduction (Miss g. E-N—Your parents or employer can tiing an action for damages for loss of ser- vice. You should consult a solicitor at once. Income Tax (C.B.).—You need have ao fear of the authorities claiming yonr" little place." Your income is not sufficient to pay tax. Altered Cheque (Snffarer).—Where one of two inno- cent parties has to suffer for the fraud of a third, the law declares that the party to bear the loss shall be that one whose conduct or negligence has enabled the third peifon to commit the fraud iu question. You had better consult a solicitor. w: B. Griffiths.—Address to the United Service Club. D. J.—The address of the Patent Office is 25, Southampton Buildiogg, W.C. E. L.. Talywain,—These records are constantly being set up, as one track is so much faster than another, and In record making first one and then another cyclist gets advantage from beiDg more fortunate with his motor prccr. Tirnhil.—The true facts will transpire when the case comes on. At: present, whiie" Old Stacer" thanks you ror your note, we do not feel justific(l in publishing more about the claim. S. B., Gflfach.—Answer to your query shall appear in Athletic Notes on Saturday. in Athletic Notes on Saturday. THE GORSEDD. -INTERESTING 1 DISCOVERY. TO THE BDITOK. Sir,—Circumstances prevented me from attend- ing the proclamation of the Goraedd of 1903 at Llanelly on Saturday. I therefore beg fobs It permitted to announce through your very widely- read journal by the Bards of the Isles of I Britannia that I have quite recently made a profoundly interesting discovery in Gorsedd (Great; Throne) emblems of the Ancient Druids as a religious sect, and not as a benefit society of that name. Many confound the latter with the former in these days. The discovery is that the ancient Britons, whose earliest name was Kimmerians, used in the Gorsedd of Alban Ilcfln or the Summer Solstice, anciently always observed on June 21st. a great mirror which they called Drych I Haul Cibddar, or Mirror of the Sun Husband- man. Its existence is perpetuated in the name, Glass Town Bury (Glastonbury). It is often referred to in the writings of the very Ancient Bards. Iolo Horganwg spoke of it to Robert ,Southey, the Poet Laureate. Bat Iolo Morganwg t ea (I led Southey to suppose that the instrument was a glass coracle, or a galley made entirely of glas3. Then Southey in his poem of Madoc, in which he depicts Brinca Madoc, son of Osvain Gwynedd, the fabulous discoverer of America, performing the rites of the Gorsedd in pre- historic America, and the bards on one of the vast lakes of the United States, writes as fol- lows :— In his crystal ark Whither sailed Merlin, with his choir of Bards Old Merlin, master of the mystic lore Bo like his crystal ark, instinct with life, Obedient to the mighty Mistress, reached The land of the departed, there bettor They in the clime of immortality." Lord Tennyson also in his "Idylls of the ¡' Kings," describing the infant Arthur's birth, represents ths Royal babe as brought from the sea in a mysterious ship, on whose deck were shining people, that the ship was dragon j shaped, and the babe came from it rolling in the I waves, and landed 0:1 tho crest of the ninth wave. The ninth wave is the yearly ninth I wave of light, meaning the ninth sign of the | Zodiac, or December, the Thebefc or Ark month I of the Hebrews. Tho ship was symbolised by every rocking stone, representing it rocking or, the ocean. We find it represented inside Stonehenge, and in l very ancient poems, as the late learned Arch- deacon of Cardigan points out, Salisbury Plain is alluded to as a sea, and its" Dinas diachor, ) mor a'i cylchyn." Now, jthe great mirror reflected back the sun's face on^hina 25th. The reflection is constantly to this day called, '• Gwyneb Ilaul Ilygad to this day called, ¡, Gwyneb Ilaul Ilygad Goleuni (tho ;Face of the Sun Fountain of Light). There is sotiio wonderful connectioa between this Gorsedd and the narratives of Moses. This is seen very strikingly in Ex 24 the minor is marvellously like the light in the burning blish. A voice came from that bril- liant blaze. The Incas of Mexico, as related in (Ihambers's worl, states the mirror in the temple of the Inca3 faccd tho Sun rising, and that the reflection wa3 very wonderful to behold. Are we all Hebrews ?-I am, &c., MOlilEN. ) I

EFFECT OF THE T.V.R. STRiKE. I A Successful Appeal. I The Appeal Court on Tuesday disposed of the 'case of Steel, Young & Co. v. Grand Canary Coaling Company,which was an action to recover damages against the defendants for alleged breach of charter party to ship on board plaintiffs' steamship Nith, at I Nswport, a coal cargo. Defendants contended that a strike having occurred on the Taff Vale Railway, by which coals were to be taken to the ship, they were relieved from obligation to load, and that all the t plaintiffs were entitled founder charter was £ 205, —Justice Phillimore held that plaintiffs were entitled to damages based on profit value of ves- sel during time she was detained, and awarded sel during time she was detained, and awarded them £ 827 and costs. Defendants now appealed. The Master of the Rolls, in giving judgment, after hearing learned counsel on both sides, said that this appeal must, succeed. Under the terms of the charter party it was quite clear that th defendants wera entitled to treat the contract aa at an end if a strike lasting for six days or more occurred. Tho plaintiffs contended that that provision-did not apply m this case because the lay days had expired before the occurrence of jthe strike. That fact, in his opinion, made no difference, because the charter party was still alive when the strike occurred and the vessel was on demurrage. Therefore, all tho plaintiffs were entitled to was demurrage as from Aug. 15, when the lay days commenced, to Aug. 25, the I sixrh day of the strike. Tho defendants had paid a sum of JG205 into court, which was sufficient to cover this, and therefore judgment should have been entered in their favour with costs after the date of the payment in. Lords Justices Mathew and Cozens-Hardy concurred, and the appeal was allowed with costs. -u,

The Mayor of Swansea (Mr Griffith Thomas) J has struck an 8-foot seam of coal at his Maesy- | marchog Colliery, OnUwyn.

MUSIC IN WALES. t" By D. EMLYN EVANS. WELSH BRASS BANDS; Time there was when the musician, be lie voeat or instrumental, was not held in such good repo" as at present. When Good Queen Bess a Commission for holding an Eisteddfod at Caerwys-in the words of the official docament Caioyesin our countie of Pflynt "—in the yest 1568, it was with tha avowed object of reducing into order the vagrant and idle persons,naming themselfs mynstrells, rithmors, and barthes, lately growen into such an intolerable mnltitudl -liot within the principalitee of North Wales very complimentary to the "mynsbrells. ritb* mors, and barthes." Some of us are old enough W remember that in onr own day for one to becoffl 0 a, public singer—" myn'd yn gantwr would hardly be deemed an advancement, socially or otherwise whearas to join a band was a sWP unmistakably retrograde, Times Have Mended for both singor and player. A man or woman's soul is now not considered altogether irretrievably lost even if ha or sha impersooats pu Don Juan or a Marguerite and the bandsInOll of to-day taken as a class are not only looked upon as rospectable members of society, but ar6 also recognised as agencies which contribute to" wards the improvement as well as the entertain* ment of the people. No better proof of this fact is required than the action of some of our leading municipalities in this connection and it is to-be hoped that the time is not far distant when evorf town of importance in Wales will have both jtiJ public park and public band—or at least a boud that will be available for the purpose indicated- During recent years Welsh brass bands hal's forged their way into prominence to a very factory extent. Were we challenged as to-oar possessions in this direction a comparatively years ago we should probably have to be -cotent with instancing the Cyfartbfa Band in Soutb Wales, and later those of Nantlle and Llanrag in the North. Now, however, Glamorgan aO^ Monmouth alone can produce a goodly numbol of excellent bands, and to a lesser but enconr- aging- degree other counties in both South and North Wales. It is not necessary to inquit6 into the cause-or the causes-of this growth od, development; that may be debatable grouød, and sufficient now is the result. We had occasion recently to call-attention111 this column to the performances of some of 0°* Welsh brass bands in various contests lately held in England and Wale3, and at which the (" hen wlad ") had no reason to be disappointed its representatives. Now we are indebted to,tb' secretary of the Ferndale Band, which, in"tbf words then used, scored in each contest, scored well in more than one," for some.interest.' ing particulars concerning the constitution the history of that band a band, which we vssft add, of which we know nothing except by repute, from its talented leader, Mr S. Radcli down to its youngest member. The difficulties connected with beeping &bOa together, and afterwards of forming a body of i1** strumentalists.worthy of the name ordennitioo- a band. need no pointing out to those verS in such matters. Even with choral societies tbe9" are very considerable but vocalists-possess 'is musical instrument at least by the grace.of Nature. The instrumentalist his to buy his"" not an unimportant i^em to handle—and card when on the march, an often unwieldy invention of brass to split his lips on the way to at 8k right embrochure, and to see, by and faithful practice, 'that such lip pmficiepo1 does not lose its cunning. IrrAveil-ordered bO do there is also The Question of Unifewn to be met, in addition to the proper of the leader, the ordinary expenditure on tDtlSl" pieces for performance, and.musical journalS; "nd the real musical leader requires not-1 only tb. exact pieces performed, but in the case of saleC tions the works from which they have been takeJ" We have heard of, indeed we have come aerosof choral conductors who essayed an interpretation say of Thanks ba to God" or the Chorus," who were guiltless of all attempt9 9"1 discovering why thanks to the Almighty or pra,ise to .Tehofah should be given and which knowledge can only be got at by a thorough sttrfy of the complete"works containing these and similarly immortal choruses. We have also brass and"—some '• made in other count# than Wales — in whose playing the principle seems to have been that of the fiddler, made famous in history, who neithe^ played by note nor by ear, but by the power 0 arms and shoulder. Those are not'the practic and this is not the principla which appeal to auT intelligent; leader or bard nor we may. be sure of those,of Ferndale, whose motto is Swyu cenedl yw sain canu," and where it is pretty evident that it is lectuality as does it." We should like to quote at length from annual report and the bye-laws in connect with this band did spaca permit, would make very interesting and instructive x .4 ing. The number of practices held, the syS-f maticaJ attendancexecord kepi, and the rules I9 down as to ¡ Demeanour and Conduct Indeors • (at rehearsals) and out-of-doors (when from are in every way excellent. We must baconØ with quoting the three final bye-laws. i Every member must be attentivfl ob.edient at practices. No improper Ian £ 7^ shall be used, and every respect must be to the bandmaster. j No refreshments of any kind shall be all° J in tha band room during band practices. members not playing are requested to tnai11^^ perfect silence and order, to keep their s0. £ not to smoke, or in any other way interfere the bandmaster or the players in the exccn^d- of their duties. Farther, should the master so desire it. he may prohibit any- t players from entering the band-room f°r, full practice in each week and all se .jeg. practices. (This latter part of the rule jjjt as we take it, to the ordinary members 0 Institute of which the band forms a part.) Bandsmen and members generally ticnlarly requested when from home to b manly, courteous, and civil, and thereby in maintaining the good character and reputation of the band." tvill tk There is not room to refer more roIn"\1 the record of this band, its Successes Past and Preset** in the field of competition, a.nd the servicesit has rendered in various dirsctio^_ 011 nected with charitablo and other (lez ic jects and it only remains to wish the III, Brass Band and all others of onr on similar lines a larger measure of c0 prosperity and of well-doing again in the j

Workmen's Institute for Aber.-i-A' mfji'i has been in progress for fomo time to es^j,en5f*'1; reading-room ami institute for the -te c-1 and Aber districts. It is hoped that a ba obtained midway between tho -„riy The matter has progressed so far tb at; men employed at the Universal Col j c ghenydd, paid in their first ponni 1U penny on Saturday last. It is ucde ,lSSirMj the owner's of the loca.1 collieries -ntei3^ the committee aa far as poaeible. to apply to Mr Carnegie for a contnot1