Flintshire Observer Mining Journal and General Advertiser for the Counties of Flint Denbigh

NOTES ON JIJKWS. 0. The announcement which the King made at "Cardiff that he proposed to establish a decora- tion for conspicuous bravery in mines has a striking parallel. Th<e Albert Medal, which has been described as the Victoria Cross of civil life, was try Royal warrant in 1877 (eleven years after its institution) specially extended to cases of gallantry in preventing loss of life from acci-. dents in mines. This mark of Royal favour was brought about by one of the most thrilling rescues in the annals of the South Wales coalfield. This was the flooding of the Tynewidd pit, in the Rh £ >ndc& Valley, near Pontypridd, and for the rescue of a band of miners, after ten days' imprisonment behind forty feet of solid rock, the late Queen awarded the Albert Medal to no fewer than twenty-five men—to four in the first class and twenty-one in the second. The medal had hitherto been bestowed only for gallantry in saving life at sea, and the heroic rescuers of the Welsh miners were the first to Teceive the decoration on its extension to similar actions on land. It is a singular coincidence that Wales should 'be identified with both the new Order and the existing one in such a direct manner. In announcing his intention of decorating those heroes of industry who have risked their lives to save those of their fellows the King said: I have often read, with a feeling of admiration and pride, how, when numbers of miners are cut off by fallen debris or other obstruction from the outer world, their fellow-workers, unde- terred by their perfect knowledge of the danger of the attempt, eagerjy volunteer to assist in the work of rescue. The whole country applauds, -and is grateful for the courage and devotion of such heroes, but I have, for some time, felt that insufficient means exist of giving a worthy and lasting public recognition of these brave deeds. I propose very shortly to establish a decoration, bearing my own name, to be awarded to the courageous men, who in the mines and quarries of this country voluntarily endanger their lives in order to save the lives of others. So successful was the great International Horse Show at Olympia last month that it is -satisfactory to learn that the directors have decided to make the show a permanent annual event. Although pressing invitations were sent from various countries for the show to be held there next year, it has been decided to hold the second one in London next year, and because Olympia, large as it is, will be too restricted for a show of such magnitude, the directors are considering plans for building a new hall twice the size of the one at Kensing- ton. The date of opening has already been fixed for June 4, and the exhibition will remain in progress until June 13th, thus com- prising the week between Epsom and Ascot. Arrangements are in hand to obtain attractive and popular exhibits, and the committee have sent representatives to Spain, Holland, Belgium, and other Continental horse-loving countries to secure the attendance of the best military riders. Negotiations have been opened with the Russian authorities for com- petitions of troikas and an equestrian exhibi- tion by a troupe of Cossacks. The prize money won in the last show has just been distributed, and the two principal winders both belong to England, Mr. Winans taking CI,057, and Messrs. Glencross £ 328. Mr. A. Vanderbilt (America) pocketed jE310, and M. Loewenstein (Belgium) £ 287, while the other principal awards went between England and America. Scarcely a day passes now but we read in the papers of some one—young or old, man or woman—being knocked down and either killed or badly injured by the motor-cars which now fly through the country utterly regardless of the rights and safety of those who also use the highways. These "road hogs" would do well to read, mark, learn, and take serious note of the remarks of the Lord Chief Justice at Chester Assizes, when a young man of 28 was given nine months' imprisonment for having killed an old man of 62 by negligent driving. His Lordship recognised that there was no criminal intent (for no one would ever say that a motorist knocked down a man just for the fun of the thing), but drivers of motor- cars must understand that if they caused death negligently they would receive severe sen- tences. It was not sufficiently understood that when a dangerous machine was being driven along the roads the lives and property of other people must be respected. Although he should not inflict so severe a sentence as was usually given in a case of manslaughter by negligence, it must not. be thought that in the future if death occurred by this kind of negligence such a light sentence would be pronounced. Another case by which people may well take warning was that which came before Mr. Jus- tice Phillimore in the High Court. Here a Newcastle-on-Tyna man entered a competition in "Football Chat," and by correctly fore- telling the result of twelve football matches he became entitled to a prize of £ 300, but though he applied for the money he could not get it. The hold which the coupon business has upon the public may be realised from the statement given in evidence, that, though this paper is published at Middle burg, in Holland, 16,041 coupons were received at the office, while on the occasion of the first round of the English Cup ties no fewer than 45,000 letters were received. The judge said he thought plaintiff had succeeded in the compe- tition, but the defendant pleaded the Gaining and Wagering Act, and as the bet was made in England, and the money was promised to be paid in England, therefore, the English law applied, and judgment was given for the de- fendant, who, however, was deprived of his costs. The "canny" man from Newcastle is, doubtless, now a sadder but a wiser man, The depressing weather which we have all » experienced up to the end of last week, has had a disastrous etfecf upon the Terrace of the House of Commons—this, too, in what ought to be the very height of the Parliamentary "sewon"-and never before probably at this time of the year has the Terrace presented so desolate an appearance as it has done this season. Last year, including the two Sessions, the total number of meals served was 165,401, of which no fewer than 75,218 were teas, and by far the major portion of the latter were those dispensed by the river's brim in the shape of strawberries and cream. But whilst undoubtedly t!H-"L<e is no falling off in the -number of fair visitors to St. Stephen's—in- deed, if anything, there is all- incx,(-ase it is probable that what the Kitchen Committee are losing in the consumption of their lighter confections is being made up to them by the very substantial dinner parties which have taken place in the House itself. London must have its sensations, and' though the Great Wheel has gone from Earl's Court, it is succeeded by the Wheel of A ver- nus. This is a switchback motor track in the form of a wheel, which has an outer rim bent in or bulged out from the axle. Round this circle are fixed rails and poised on these is a motor-ear capable of holding 20 people, kept in position by two arms. The car follows all the irregularities of the track, for at one moment it rises. 50 feet or so in the air, and then sinks gently down ten or fifteen feet, only to immediately climb up another bulge, no two points in the outer rim of the wheel being the same distance from the axle. The movement of the wheel towards the car— which itself remains stationary at the top— combined with the varying up and down motion, makes the illusion of "motoring in anid-air" complete,

SHOTS WITH MOONLIGHTERS. A sharp exchange of shots occurred; between the police and moonlighters near Ruan, Co. Clare, on Sunday night. A farmer named Michael Casey was returning home, followed by a police escort, when a body of men, concealed in a wood, opened fire on them and the police iu a wood, opened fire on them and the police promptly returned the fire. Neither Casey nor the policemen was injured, but there was no opportunity of finding out if any of the as- sailants were hurt. The outrage is associated with a local agita- tion about the division of a farm which has caused much bad feeling, and in connection with which a farmer named Murphy was lately fired at and severely wounded. Murphy has since surrendered his portion of the farm.

ATTACK WITH A KNIFE. A tragedy was averted in Buxton in the early hours of Monday morning. William Pedley, a coachman, who had recently had pneumonia, was sleeping in one room with his wife and four children in a cottage in London-road, when he got up, and, seizing his pocket-knife, began to attack his family with it. After cutting his wife's throat, he cut the throat and tongue of one (of the Ettie girls, and I was proceeding to cut his own throat when two police officers ran in. After a long struggle the demented man was overpowered. Fortunatelv, the'knife was very blunt, and this has probably been the means of sating the lives of the 'man's wife and daughter.

DROWNED WHILE BOATING. 1- Two young men were drowned in Rudyard Lake, a popular North Staffordshire resort, on Sunday evening, the disaster being witnessed by hundreds of spectators. The men were John Bode and Henry Bennett, both of Leek, who, with a lad named Hill, went boating on the lake, When in the middle of the lake they tried to change seats, the boat capsized, and all were thrown into the water. Mr. Charles Bed- worth, of Hanley, promptly rowed, to the spot, and succeeded in rescuing Hill, but the others sank before they could be reached.

A prisoner, committed for trial at Liverpool for sacrilege, was stated to have scratched his. finger and thumb-tips with a pin in order to evade detection by the finger-print system. On a juror at Manchester Assizes refusing to kiss the Bible when being sworn, because it had been kissed by 1,000 people before him, the judge ordered him to leave the jury-box. I am in the habit of always speaking the truth, whether what I am saying is right oa. wrong," said a defendant at Bristol Polioe- court At Coseley, Staffs, a school girl named Bertha Wright became ill and fell head foremost into 4in. of water. Not being able to extricate her- self she was asphyxiated. At Willesden Police-court a woman produced a paper requesting her attendance before the Public Prosecutor, and said she thought that meant the magistrate. I The Haywards-heath Bench decided not to accept cheques in payment of fines, it being stated that cheques from some defendants. had been returned dishonoured. I It was stated at an inqueet on a peasant in a Servian village that the man died from swal- lcwing too many bullets, which he was accus- tomed to take, in common with all the peasants of that district, whenever he felt ill. Mr. Jack Harper, of Denver. Colorado, who has just celebrated his 100th birthday, is a great believer in vegetarian diet, and walks about ten miles before breakfast every fine morning. At the inquest on Lizzie Kirkpatrick, of Great Marlow, who was drowned in the Severn. it was stated that the engines of the ftiotor launch in which she was seated stopped when the vessel was near a weir and the launch was capsized. Mr. William Roberts, parish clerk of Wol- borough (Devon), who has just celebrated his 90th birthday, has been continuously an active worker in the church for 75 years, first while still a boy and until his, marriage in 1841 as a Sunday School teacher, then up to 1863 as deputy parish clerk, and from 1863 to the present time as parish clerk and sexton. Two proposals of marriage took place recently in a submarine, at the bottom of Lake Ronkon- | koma, Long Island, New York. The inventor, Mr. Cyrus Rivington, proposed to Miss Ara- mantha Mandrake, of North Carolina, while in the next compartment Mr. James Mickle, a Government food expert, proposed, to Mrs. Martha Rue, a widow. Both were accepted. i A novel licensing point has been determined by the Langholm magistrates. A customer ordered some bottled beer from a grocer who held an off-license, but owing to pressure of business the beer was not delivered until 10.15 p.m., or a quarter of an hour after the time specified in the license. The Bench said there WM a technical offence, but declined to impose a penalty. J.

NEWS IN BRIEF. Tragedies, and. Disasters. í Miss Gwenny Rees; an elderly spinster, was on Sunday weeding her mother's grave in Llantwit Cemetery, Neath, when she went to the canal close by for some water to freshen the flowers. On the canal bank she lost har foothold, slipped in, and was drowned. Two brothers named John and James Gor- man, both elderly farmers, residing near Carrigaholt, Clare, were gored to death on Sunday night by a bull belonging to them. On the Moor of Rannoch, near the borders of Perth and Inverness, were found the de- composed bodies of two men. Both were apparently of the navvy class, and it is thought that they were making their way to the Kinlochmore water-power works. As Albert Green, an ex-signalman, was walking along the railway line with his son, aged seven, at Chorley, on Saturday, they were caught by a train. The father crouched between the platform and the rail and escaped, but his son was killed. > Amy Ethel Corlett, eight years old, was accidentally shot by a boy playmate at Balla- beg Farm, Bride, near Ramsey, on Satur- day. The boy picked up a rusty old gun, which he thought was unloaded, and pointed it at her. The girl's head was practically blown to pieces. Alice Green, aged four years, died at Exmouth on Saturday evening from the effects of terrible injuries received through burns. She was playing with some child- ren, one of whom struck a match and acci- dentally set her nightdress on fire. A lad named Groves, was cycling down Bois Hill, near Chesham, Bucks, when he lost control of his machine, which -ran int. the side of the road, and he was thrown off, and received terrible injuries to his head. He was taken to the hospital, but died shortly after admission. Accidents. ■ A mansion vrhfch had just been built and ,I was almost ready for occupation at Lympne, J Kent, was entirely destroyed by fire early on | Sunday morning. It belonged to Mr. Upjohn, ILC., and was worth about £ 5,000. Just after leaving Tilbury on Saturday the excursion steamer Yarmouth Belle, bound for Margate and Ramsgate, collided with the Steam Navigation Company's steamer Alou- e.tte. There was great alarm among the pas- sengers on the Yarmouth Belle, but neither vessel was seriously damaged, and both pro- ceeded on their way immediately. A fitter named Benjamin Hyde was crushed against a wall by a motor-omnibus which was entering the garage of the London General Omnibus Company, at Mortlake, .on Satur- day morning. Hyde was removed to the hos- pital. In Fleet-street, London, "E.C., on Saturday afternoon a runaway horse caused consider- able excitement. The animal, which was at- tached to a covered van, dashed across the street into Mitre-court, and the van struck the window of a shop, completely wrecking the front and scattering tile contents into the street. The horse was badly cut' about 'the head by the falling glass. A tra'mcar on the routfe between 'Totten- ham and Wood-green was 'discovered to be on fire early on Saturday morning. The pas- sengers alighted, and efforts were made to extinguish the flames with sand, but with- out success. A message was sent to a sub- station of the Tottenham Fire Brigade, which attended, and in a short time subdued the fire. One side of the ear wa-s severely damaged. Crossing a road in front of a cart in Brid- lington, a child was seriously injured by a motor-car driven by the seventeen-year-old son of the owner.Mr. Taylor. Told in the Courts, 1 < ;¡' "Yes, I took them because I was hungry," admitted William Haines, aged twenty-four, to the marvelling Willesden magistrates. His appetite had run to a hen and her five chickens. He wJs remanded. The Dowager Duchess of Sutherland ap- peared as a witness at the Windsor Police- court on Saturdays when Margare| Desboro, ohe of her housemaids, was. sent to prison for three inonth's for stealing '^50 worth of her, trinkets. During'the hearing of a case at the Yar- mouth Police-court on Saturday a man ad- mitted that in order to induce his wife to go to London in the hope of effecting a recon- ciliation he telegraphed to her first that he was very ill, and then, in the name of his father, that he was-dead. 1. While leaving Nettlestead National Schools, 'near Maidstone, one of the scholars, the son of an assistant master, was knocked down and killed by a' motor-car belonging to a Sussex'gentleman. At the inquest on Saturday the evidence showed that the acci- dent was unavoidable, and the verdict was "Accidentally killed:" ¡ News of the Churches., A remarkable find of remains of the ice age has been made near Melk, in Lower Austria. Five feet beneath the surface of a field the site of, a prehistoric hunters' camp was un- covered. The bones of xtiammoths, reindeer, polar hares, northern swans, and other ani- mals known to have existed in the ice age were fQund under, a layer of ashes six inches dqep.- American physicians are, astonished at the physical perfection of Mrs. Mary Fay, of New York, who has just died at the age -of 105. He'r body was as well nourished as th^ii of a woman of thirty. She lived on bread1 and milk for the last forty years. Considerable sensation has been. created in Seoul by the discovery of 24 men concealed in the ladies' apartments of the palace. It is believed that their intention was to assassi- nate trie Emperor's Minister^. An aeronaut made an ascent of 7,000 feet in Ohio, when something went wtbiig with the mechanism. The aeronaut hastily threw out all his ballast, and succeeded, in Breaking the fall. The airship was wrecked, but the aeronaut was practically unhurt. p The Bishop of Limerick, who was for many years honorary chaplain of the mission's to seamen for the vessels at Tralee, has now ac- cepted a vice-presidency of thsit society. Military ond Naval. Colonel Malcolm sGf6ver, commandihg the,, Mardan Brigade of the 1st Peshawur Divi- sion, has been promoted to the rank of major-general. Rear Admiral Sir Percy Scott, C.B., hoisted his flag on board the Good Hope -at Portsmouth on Monday, on succeeding Rear- Admiral G. Neville in the command of the First Cruiser Squadron. Admiral Sit Charles Drury, commander- in-chief of the Mediterranean fleet, has ar- rived at Beirut with two battleships. The French Aumiralty training ship Trouin put into Belfast Lough on Sunday, and the crew buried the body of Artificer Paul with military honours, aided by the I' band of the Royal Sussex Regiment. Paul had visited Fingal's Cave with a party from his ship, and whilst looking for seagulls' nests fell from the crags. The "London Gazette" announced the ap- pointment of Major-General the Hon. Sir Reginald Arthur James Talbot to be colonel of the 3rd (Prince of Wales') Dragoon Guards in place of the late. Major-General G. Salis-Schwabe. The largest repair ship of the world has left th^ Weir for the Tyne. This is H.M.S. Cyclops, which has been constructed by Sir James Laing and Sons, Sunderland, for re- pairing the ships of the Navy. A vessel of 11,000 tons, the Cyclops has aboard all man- ner of workshops, and resembles a floating dockyard. She is equipped with ice-breaking plant, and can supply a fleet with fresh water by means of gigantic condensers. r Social. Bury St. Edmunds Town Council on Saturday unanimously decided to confer the freedom of the borough on the Lord Mayor of London, mainly in recognition of his ser- vices on behalf of crippled children. Lord Blythswood, Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Renfrew, has intimated his desire to become the first president of the newly- formed London Renfrewshire Association. The Duke of Devonshire and others who represent the founders of Eastbourne College have offered to surrender any pecuniary inte- rest they have in it so that it may get a charter, and be put on the same foundation as Eton, Harrow, and any of the bigger pub- lic schools.. Princess Christian has promised to open the new buildings in connection with Miss Meredith Brown's work, as a lodging-home for working women, early in February next. In his capacity of Lord Lieutenant of Mid- lothian the Earl of Rosebery on Saturday un- veiled in the County Buildings, Edinburgh, a portrait of Sir Robert Dundas, of Arnis- ton, who for twenty-seven years was head of the Midlothian County governing, body. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who, since the Colon- ial Conference, has been touring in Europe, has H.H for Canada. Prince and Princess Christian and Prin- cess Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, who are the guests of Viscount Iteagh at Elveden Hall, witnessed the pageant at Bury St. Ed- munds. The Duchess of Scania (Princess Margaret of Connaught) has given an order to the Royal School of Art Needlework for a com- plete set of embroideries for the English church at Stockholm. On Saturday, August 3, the King arrives at Cowes, where his Majesty's cutter Britannia is already fitting out. Her skipper, Captain Carter, has arrived in the town. Commercial and Industriol. An agreement has been provisionally entered into whereby the Caledonian Bank, whose headquarters are at Inverness, are to make over tQ the Bank of Scotland their whole assets of every* descfiption, inclusive of their rights of note issue and goodwill of the business. After studying shorthand7 for nine ? days or 100 hours at the BusiifeSs Exhibition at Olympia, Mr. T. A. Trevor succeeded in writ- ing ninety words a minute and in transcrib- ing his notes. Mr.. Trevor was awarded a gold medal. On the retirement of Mr. H. Buxton For- man, C.B., the Postmaster-General has ap- pointed Mr. A. H. Norway to be an assistant secretary to the post office. Mr. Richard Bell, M.P., stated at a meet- ing of railway workers at Wellingborough on Sunday evening that during this week he would approach the railway companies for a third time with the demand that the negotia- tions for the redress of the men's grievances should be conducted with the officials of their union. For the Week, ended July 6 the traffic re- ceipts for the L,C.C;" steamboats were £905, as compared with .£1,450 for the correspond- ing week of last year. For the present season up to date the receipts amount to J66,617, as compared with £ 8,453 last year. A speed of more than eighty words per minute has been attained by more than one of the competitors who, at the Olympia Busi- ness Exhibition, have been -endeavouring to learn shorthand in nine days. National and Political. Much unrest, .prevails in portions of the New Hebrides, and news Sas reached Sydney of an encounter between the natives and a; punitive expedition landed by H.M. cruiser Cambrian to avenge the murder of a Euro- pean. Some of the natives were in posses- sion of rifles, and one bluejacket. waskilld and another wounded. The National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of ithe Established Church are up in arms against Mr. LMeKenita's Conscience Clause for training colleges. Their official organ de- scribes the new regulations as a "comprehen- sive, elaborately-devised, and most danger- ous attack on the very existence of genuine and definite religious teaching throughout the educational system of the country." Speaking at, Llangollen on Saturday night, Miss Annie Kenney said the Premier ad- mitted that women's suffrage was necessary, but pleaded that his Cabinet was divided on the subject. What improvements there would be,, she added, with a female Chancellor of the Exchequer! Fifty thousand persons took part in the 12th of July demonstrations at Belfast, and resolutions were passed against Home Rule. Mr. Keir Hardie, M.P., left Liverpool for Canada on a tour round the world. He stated he would carry the greetings of the Labour party everywhere as a Socialist., 'The cost of the unopposed return of Lord (Boualdshay !fco the House of Commons to represent Hornsey in succession to Captain C. B. Balfour, who retired, amounted to £789 Os. 5d. The New Zealand House of Representa- tives, by 50 to 15 votes, has adopted a reso- lution approving the change in the Colony's designation to "Dominion." From Other Lands. Hamburg seamen, after being on strike for several months, have decided to resume work immediately and unconditionally. ■ ■ As a result of the United States Govern- ..ment investigation, it is stated that the prin- cipal "inside officials" of the Tobacco Merger have received as, their share of the profits during the past three years 40,000,000 dollars. The steamship Romanic, which arrived at Tn. New York, ran down a fishing schooner off the Davis Shoals lightship in a dense fog. Three of the schooner's crew were drowned. The remaining 15 were rescued. A large furniture shop, two factories, and several other establishments atA Marseilles were destroyed by fire. A fireman and two workmen were seriously injured. The* loss is very heavy. King Peter of Servia's 63rd birthday was celebrated in Belgrade. Marty military- men and Government employees received promo- tion. Mrs. Thaw, mother of Harry Thaw, has sold for C400,000 her holdings in- the Penn- sylvania Coal and Land Company. This act has been necessitated by the enormous ex- penses of the late trial, and also of the second trial, which is to be held next October. Returning from a drive on the Kahlenberg (a hill near Vienna), a motor-car which had stopped on a precipitous slope suddenly dashed forward owing to a collapse of the break, and after attaining a frightful speed capsized. Of eight persons in the car three welre terribly injured, including the chief of the Viennese Fire Brigade. The French Army airship Patrie made its fifth ascent with perfect success. The Patrie was in the air for two hours, and carried a crew of six officers and military engineers. Other Interesting Items. At the funeral of the late Sir William Broadbent, which took place at Wendover, Bucks, on Saturday, a wreath sent by the Queen was inscribed, "In grateful remem- brance, from Alexandra." Recently the attention of one of the Tot- tenham relieving officers was called by a clergyman to a woman aged 100, and her widowed daughter aged seventy, who were in great need. The centenarian is a native of Suffolk. The guardians instructed the dfficer to allow her 7s. 6d. a week. On falling between the rails at Dewshurst on Saturday in front of an approaching train, Walter Harris, a boy, lay still and was Uninjured, but he fainted when he reached the bank after the train had passed. Workmen who were digging the foundation for a new Lady chapel at St. Giles' Church, Colchester, found a silver coin of the reigoi of King John and an ancient bullet. f; \0. t.

DISASTER ON A BATTLESHIP, Seventeen men have been injured by the bursting of an 8-inch gun in one of the superim- posed turrets of the United States battleship Georgia during target practice off Province- town. The Navy Department at Washington on Monday received the following message from Rear-Admiral Thomas, commanding the battle- ship fleet, via the Highland Light Massa- chusetts wireless station: "An accident occurred on, the Georgia, seven- teen men being injured, eight seriously. An 8-inch charge becamei ignited in the after super- imposed turret. Lieutenant Goodrich and Mid- shipmen Cruise and Goldthwaite were injured, Cruise seriously. No deaths have occurred yet. A Board of Investigation has been ordered. I will send the Georgia to Boston Navy, Yard im-. mediately for the transfer of the injured to hospital." <> The Georgia is one of the newest battleships in the United States Navy, and had only been in commission for about ten months. The Lieu- tenant Goodrich who has been injured is the son of Rear-Admiral Goodrich, Commandant of the New York Navy Yard. Two physicians were e^nt from ISoston to. the battleship on a naval tug. A message from Boston states that the Georgia arrived there with five dead.

Think not 'mid all this mighty sum" Of things for erer speaking That nothing of itself will come, But we must still" be seeking. [(I

Life is the daily web of character we un- consciously weave. Our thoughts, imagina- tions, purpose, motives, love, wilt, are the underthreads; our words- tone of voice, looks, acts, habits, are the upper threads and the passing moment is the shuttle, qwiftlv, ceaselessly, relentlessly, weaving those threads into a web, and that web is. life. v. v i c,n r ,iü ,0 )1' f

THE, REWARD. Who, looking backward from his manhood'fc prim<j, Sees not the spectre of hie misspent timet' And through the shade Of funeral cypress planted thick behind, Hears no reproachful whieper on the wind From the beloved dead? Yet who, thus looking backward o'er hi»> years, • Feels not his eyelids > wet with grateful tears,* If he hath been Permitted, weak and sinful as he was, ro :cheer and aid, in some ennoblihg caiise, His fellowmen? t If he hath hidden the outcast br let; in. A ray of sunshine to the call --of sill;, ;j ? If he hath lent .C Strength to the weak, and in an hour of Over the suffering, mindless of his creed Or home, hath bent; Ha „has not.liv^d in vain; and. while he gives Thê; praise to Him, in whoJI1.:J!e,ntQ;veS:.Ml4.-t" lives, ..v h., •' "V^ith thankful heart, V He gazes bckward; nl with hope before, a6 re, K) wing that from his work he nevermore, l » C*n h§flcefortjb,part. ( -rrWh^t-ier. ltj-

I. Ir;—: r-t i Every one has a part to perform whilst stationed here, but he must strive with en- thusiasm to perform it.

Db not weary in the quaking of your i heaven!' You, skillet! workman! You are shaping it in the- things yen make. •• You, bookkeeper! You, are securing it in the, figures of your calculation^ You," trader! You are buying it1 in wh'at'you buy, 'and' eon- firming the purpose in what you sell. You, nierchant, seeking goodly pearls until vo» eary in the search.' Whatever you may miss; or find in your earthly • ventures, you will (Certainly, if you live by divine law, find-1 a 4ngth a pearl of far greater;; price than. a £ y itojbe found here.- You, mistress of the t, buwi. weary and worn down with, children,, • servants, home cares' 'You are treading irv tflis toilsome, -although secluded, path, up-. • war.4s to the .heavenly fields, You,keervant, «. djing your duty well, perhaps amidst many difficulties! You are serving-a Master, who will say to you one day, HWell. done—^b$ruler All workj however hard ot.. exhftijstri;;ii injg it m,?iy be, h^jjthe grawl function of pre- p^rii^g iftiQ workejr, jf he, work th" faith, for the* heavenly rest. < v

Lito!s a journey not so,;Iong, 5" Try to ease it with-a song., [ Birds, though busy on the wing,, f Pause a little while they sing. ¡ Music soft the-traveller hears, "r If he doesn't close., his Qar..s., Teeming Nature still finds room A; | For.^ the fragile flow'rets* bloom. Loveliness the traveller spies •i> If he doesn't .close .his eyes. ,¡ L ) 1.

Water flows downward, but fire flows; UP-7 wardt Our spirits are like the fire. It isr their nature to aspire to seek ever higher- an'ct' higher levels. No one can "be happy' who-is- £ not in some way aepiriftg.- •• v

To. live well in. onq's place in the w.orld„ adori^ipg one's „ callipg,. hpwever lowly, doing- one's* 'most prosaic work diligently antjf' honestlv, and dwelling in love'and unselfish- ness with all men, is to live grandly.y. To> «• figlht well the battle with one's own lusts <1p., tempers, "d be victorious .in the midst of •the temptations arid the provocations of daily life, is to be a Christian hero.

If I am even with my enemy, the debt is: t pajdj but if I forgive, it, .1 oblige him forr ever." I !I 'th-

Let men, know the divine principle wi 'in, themselves and it will ennoble all- tioeiftl' duties. -It will give sanctity t6 'give matters, i; It) .will breathe a deference and t.eR,do,r, respect through manners which will put to shame what how passes for courtesy. It will awaken an intense-effort for-distressed: humanity. It -will, send far and. wide a spirit of reform, from the nursery to the hall of legislation. It will substitute the holy 'tie of' Human Brotherhood for, all artificial bonds of social order. With this great truth in his heart a. man cannot insult a fellow man, for he beholds the Divine in the Human.

Opportunity is the flower of time, and -A;& the stalk may remain when the flower is cut off, so time may remain with us when. oppor- j tunity is gone. Ii, •-

Every hour that fleets so slowly Has its task to do or bear; -v Luminous the crown, and. holy, ( .i If, thou set. earch gem with pare. J rn:

What makes hope so intense a pleasure 18 the fact that the future, which we -art'ange according to our liking, appears to us under--■ a multitude of foi'ms, all pleasant, all pos- sible. Even if. the/one we desire most comes to be realised, we shall have to make the1 •; sacrifice of the others; and we shall then have lost a great deal. -Therefore, the idea of the > future, pregnant with infinite possibilities, is more fruitful than the future itself. That is why we find more charm in hope than iij. possession, ia ^dreams than in jreality.

THE KING'S INVESTITURE. | The King, accompanied by Mr. L- V. Har- court, Commissioner of Works, on Monday ex- amined the progress made in the erection of the memorial to Queen Victoria, in front of Buckingham Palace. His Majesty then held an Investiture at Buckingham Palace, when the recipients of the recent birthday honours attended, and received from the King in person their decorations and the honour of knighthood respectively. Sir Randal Cremer alone was privileged to attend in ordinary dress, since, as a man of peace, it was against his principles to wear a sword. Later in the day his Majesty motored to New- market, to attend the Second July Meeting. He dined in the evening with Sir Ernest Cassel, at Moulton Paddocks. Queen Alexandra and Princess Victoria wit- nessed the performance of "The Girls of Got- tenburg" at the Gaiety Theatre on Monday ¡ evening.

SHOOTING AT BISLEY. The principal events at Bisley on Monday ,were the Prince of Wales's Prize, the Donegal! Cup, and the Alexandra. The Prince of Walee'e eompetition is open only to the winners of N.R.A. gold, silver, and bronze medals, and to the winners of similar medals in affiliated associations or county competition medals, while the Alexandra is open to, all comers. When firing in the Prince of Wales's compe- tition was completed, it was found that there were five holders of aggregates of 81. They were:—Sergeant Snowball; Canada; Sergeant Grist, 2nd Gloucester; Private H. Ward, 4th Devon; Quartermaster-Sergeant Curtis, Royal Marine Artillery; and Private Cutler, Aus- tralia. The Alexandra produced two aggregates of 69 ;-Srgeant King, of the 4th Lanark, who made a possible at the first range, and Private Urquhart, who scored 35 at the second. The Donegall Cup was won by Sergeant Grist, 2nd Gloucester, with a score of 81.

DEATH OF MR, T. F. BLACKWELIi. By the death of Mr. Thomas F. Blackwell, which occurred on Sunday, Britain has lost another of her commercial princes. Mr. Blackwell, who was ,'in his seventieth year, was the head of the firm of Messrs. Crosse and Blackwell. He was one of the most highly respected men in the country. He had been connected with his Arm for 50 years, and became chairman of the board when the con- cern was converted (in 1892) into a limited lia- bility company. He was. deeply interested.in commercial affairs in London, and,, in 190$, be- commercial aifairs in London, and,, in 190$, be- came president of the London Chamber of Com- mercea post which he held until last April. One of the honours which he prized most was his membership of the Advisory Committee of the Board of IradeV Oh two occasions he acted as Master of the Salters' Company. Mr. Blackwell was frequentlyaskd toqffe; himself for Parliament, but always declined.. He was a man of great" generosity, subscribing I, liberally to many charities, and helping many religious denominations. Some indication of- his philanthropic sympathies may, .be gained. from .'the' fact that he was president of the Grocers' and Tea DeaIers', Beneyolent Associa- tion and the Commercial Travellers' Schools, be- sides being a governor, of Christ's and St Thomas's Hospitals (to the latter he \gv,. £ 1,000 for thepuroe of;endo,Jna;pe4).

GOVERNMENT NOT CENSORED.. i ¡. A prolonged debate took place in the House of; Commons oh Monday night on the vote of cen- sure moved by Mr. Lyttelton,* Colonial Secret tary in the. late Government. The right hon. gentleman's motion was in tthe. following terms That this House regrets that his Majesty's Government have declined the invitation unani- mously preferred by the Prime- Ministers of the self-governing Colonies ,to consider favourably: any form of Colonial Preference or any measures for closer commercial union of the Empre on a preferential basis. To, this Mr. Soares proposed, an, an amend- ment That iu the opinion of this House the; permanent unity of the British Empire will not be secured through a system of preferential" duties based upon the protective taxation of, food. ->■■■ The division, taken at a late hour, resulted thus: For the motion, 111; against, 404; Government majority, 293; and Mr. Soares' amendment was then agreed, to without a divi- sion.,

RECORD MURDER TRIAL. A record has probably been created by the speed with which a man was charged with mur- der and sentenced to death at the Liverpool Assizes on Monday. The appearance of,,the prisoner in the dock and the- passing of-the dread sentence only occupied five-minutes. Charles Patterson, a coloured seaman, when charged with the wilful murder of Mrfil; Lilian Jane Charlton, at Moss-side, Manchester, im- mediately admitted his guilt. Interrogation of medical witnesses did not tend to show any traces of insanity in the pri- soner, and Mr. Justice Channell, assuming the black cap, at once pronounced sentence of death. For several months Patterson had lodged with Mrs. Charlton in Moss-side, Manchester, and when eventually she told him that she' would prefer him to go elsewhere, he followed her into the bathroom of the house and cut her throat.

n: Exhall man named Thomas Smith was killed by a fall of roof at the Newdigate Colliery, near Nuneaton, and a companion named Joseph Twigger, who was working close by, was seriously injured and removed home in a critical state. Two cases of suicide were investigated at Grimsby. Charlotte Hewson, aged" 51, drank laudanum in her husband's presence, and died shortly afterwards. In another case, Isabella Blow, a middle-aged spinster, hung herself from » rail outside her bedroom. Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, opened at Rumpelmayer's the first Australasian exhibition of women's work. Products of a great many arts and crafts are on exhibition, and the whole will shortly be transported to Melbourne and shown there during November. "1 have lost one lung and three-parts of the other. I am only half a man," pleaded a labourer at Stratford Police-court. He had as- saulted three people, including two constables, prior to being placed in the dock, from which he was sent to three months' hard labour. A Farnborough hairdresser appeared at the Farnham County-court on a judgment summons, and pleaded inability to pay more than a few shillings a month. He said his business had lately been in a bad way owing to the wet weather, which kept people from going to him to have their hair cut. At Witley, Surrey, the death occurred of Sergeant George Morris, at the age of 80. Morris joined the old 28th Regiment in 1847, and was present at the siege of Sebastopol and the battle of Inkerman and Alma. He also served in the suppression of the Indian mutiny. A local ironmonger was fined Is. by the Yar- mouth magistrates for not complying with the conditions of the Pistols Act in selling a five- chambered revolver for half a guinea to Bald- win, the Volunteer who murdered a young woman on the beach, and then committed suicide. w •■'v.' /■. I, II.

THINGS THOUGHTFUL. No man has ever discovered all the good there is in a fellow-man. And it often seems as though we were most blind .to the good in those whom we really hold dearest. It haf been said: "We rarely know our best friends on their best side our vision of their noblest selves is constantly obscured by the- mists of preoccupation and weariness." If there is unseen good in those whom we love, there is still more unsuspected good in those who are unattractive to us—unattractive only because we won't look for the good that ig there. Wiiat a rich mine of unworked trea- sure, then, is at hand for us all! In friends and foes, those whom we love, and those to jtfhom we are indifferent, are veins of pre- cious ore that we can never exhaust, try as we may! Would it not give life a new mean- ing and joy and zest if we should start to- day at discovering some of this treasure, de- termining to count any day wasted in whichs> we have not turned up new gems?

,> We sometimes think people recognise us by 9ur virtues, whereas they usually identify us, by our weaknesses.

A woman's love comforts a 'man' like sun- shine after rain. Why should -she not show it, and beam on her husband and children as the sun beams down on the earth, and makes gladness and joy. Bottled love does no good to anybody. Just as some women keep theirs best jewels at the bank, so many wives and: L mothers lock up their love in a tight com- partment of their hearts, and only let it out! when a great sorrow or crisis comes in the. lives of husband and children. or*.