Abergavenny Chronicle

I TURTLE HUNTING. Who when hearing of turtle soup does not immediately picture aldemiauic sumptuous- ncss? Turtle oiip served at a City dinner is made of green turtle, a large salt-water reptile. There are, however, several other sorts of turtle which make capital eating, i and one is the snapping turtle which is common, in ponds and lakes all over North America. These turtles are fished for with line and hook. The line must be a stout one, for the turtles weigh up to 201b. apiece, and near the hook must be put on a length of wire, for they have, jaws like scissors. As soon as the turtle is on the surface you grab him by the tail and haul him out, but soon as he is in the boat he shows fight, and he has not gained big name of "snapper" for nothing. lie would nip off a finger as easily as you oould bite a carrot. A stick is held out to the turtle and the moment he sees it, he thrusts- out his head and seizes it. At once a string is passed down one side, under the shell at the tail, up along the other side, then tied firmly to the other end of the stick. In this way the creature is gagged and can be sent alive to market.

I WINGED OCEAN FLIERS. In spite. of transatlantic crossings by aero planes and airships, there is still or.,1 more wonderful form of ocean flit" which is usually overlooked- This most won- derful of ocean-fly era is the butterfly which crosses the ocean in the spring. Naturalists say that one of the most umazing sights in the world is to see millions of these delicate creatures, like a oioud of tiny pieces of paper, flying across the Channel, from the Continent. to English shores, when the wind is favourable. Their stamina and endurance arc extraordinary, and although some fall exhausted into the sea, the bulk make a suc- cessful crossing. The butterfly army of in- vasion generally mcludes many beautiful specimens, and as an illustration of their powers of endurance it might be mentioned that many butterflies haw descended to rest, on vessels 200 miles at sea. It is said that the farthest distance tilt, which a moth has been captured at Ben. TO recorded by a well- known scientist eight years ago, who took specimens of a certain large moth 1,200 miles from the nearest possible land.

I AVOID TIGHT HATS. The tendency nf the present generation co become bald at an early age prompts orio to consider how the loss of lwir can be pre- vented. To keep hair vigorous and healthy it requires the stimulus of sun. air, and ex. posure to weather. When protected against these influences by a hat or cap, it shows a falling-toff and pining away that become aggravated as tiina goes on. Accompany- ing this diminished vigour of growth, the hain fails to ey tra-ot from the blood which feeds its roots the same amount of nutritive material. Therefore their blood-vessels diminish in calibre, while the scalp becomes thinner, tiougher, and drier. Again, the hard rim of the bowler or "topper" pressing on the arteries at the sides of the head, checks l' fneo flow of blood to the scalp, and so li is the free supply of nourislanent to the h:

I SAVE YOUR BOOTS. I V? h. L' --h- f Varrish is a fine thizi,, for boots. Boot soles may be made to wear for much longer periods without repair being necessary, b 1: they are given a coat of varnish before .wearing, and again at intervals of fror' two weeks to a month. A .most satisfactory solution has been found in Copnl varnish.

I -u t Mr. Shidehara, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, has been appointed Japanese Am- bassador in Washington. Eliza Elliott, the fourteen-year-old da ugh ter of a showman at Mitch am Fair, has died from burns caused by a paraffin lamp. During July and the first week of August 60 KUiaUpox eases were reported to the Min- istry of Health. One group of cases, num- bering" 25, was associated with the return heno of a sailor, a.nd three other groups, numbering 8 cases, to soldiers' returning.

CLUB WINDOW I The Prince of Wales is now on Canadiai soil, and will doubtless experience on oj the most successful tours that he has yet undertaken. Though* his Royal Highness Is a good raconteur it is not true that he hat been offered a salary of £2,000 a week tc tell a few stories on the halls." He 1;:18 however, a good fund of yarns, and in justi- fication of this it may be said that he re- cently told a friend he was polishing up hi "taTI" stories in view of his visit t< America. His favourite is about an officer who asked if the new sentry was vigilant. "I should say so," was the reply. "Why, someone told him that the gas was escap- ing, and he grabbed his rifle." • Strange to relate, many more anecdotes regarding Lord Kitchener have been told 6ince his death than before it; Sir Arthur Stanley told one the other day, in which it was shown that, although K. of K. wai usually rigid in his decisions, he could at times be swayed. The incident occurred be- fore the days of the British Motor Ambu- lance Service, when an influential lady an- nounced her intention of bearding Lord Kitchener in his den at the War Office. She said she would not leave till she had seen him, and she kept her word. The up- shot was a half-sheet of paper, signed by Kitchener, granting permission to search foi wounded as long as the searchers did not approach the front line. Perhaps were the late Secretary for War alive he might give us a different version. ♦ it All of you have heard of Black and White." Well, Mr. James Buchanan, whe has presented that relic of Lord Nelson, the log of the Victory, to the nation, is chair- man of the famous firm of distillers. One of his stories concerns a lecturer on tem- perance, who ghotfted: Whisky, my friends, has killed more men than bullets." "That may be," came "the voice," "but I'd rather be full of whisky than bullets." Both the War Office and the Home Office are seriously concerned at the failure of so large a proportion of ex-officers to secure employment. The anxiety of the Home Office authorities arises chiefly from the fact that insidious but persistent overtures are being made to these justly discontented men by two dangerous elements—the revolutionary and the reactionary. Little has been heard of the latter as yet, but many know ex- officers who could reveal some very queer details. At the same time, it is obvious to anyone who was at the front that many of the officers we met up the line were not mentally qualified to take on commercial positions demanding tact and knowledge.. Where bullying or "discipline" are con- cerned—p'raps yes J But where brain power comes in—no! decidedly no! Mr. Courtney, fhe well-known door-keeper at the Athenaeum Club, who is retiring from his post after nearly thirty years' service, is the hero of a good many stories. One re- lates to a bishop to whom he handed an umbrella. "This is not my umbrella." re- marked the prelate. "Possibly not, my loro., but it is the one you brought in with you," replied Courtney, with superb discretion. It is said that Tom Webster, the carica- turist, is a man of ready wit. Recently he went into a village barber's shop for a shave. When the tonsorial artist had finished he asked for a sum considerably in excess of the amount Webster deemed right and proper, and so he asked: "Do you hap- pen to know the significance of that red and-white striped pole in front of your shop?" "Yes, sir," said the barber. "You see, in olden times barbers were surgeons as well as tonsorial artists. When a. man had to be bled ihe came to a barber." And we still get bled," retorted Tom as he paid up, and hurriedly took his departure. It has been noticed, especially among cricketers, that the Rev. F. N. Gillingham has been displaying splendid form for Essex. "A sport he is: a. cricketer and our parson," they say of him proudly in Bermondsey, where he officiates as Rural Dean. lie punches with words as hard as he punches with the bat. Thus does he lecture young men; "iSoek healthy exercise and social de- velopment. Don't waste your limited means on frothy pleasures and your precious hours in silly conversation or silent rapture. And if you cannot keep a wife in some degree of comfort, it is dishonourable to marry"-a dictum with whioh all of us will agree. •* Lord Dunraven is probably the only man who was present at the signing of the Peace Treaty which concluded the Franco-German War in 1871 as well as the Treaty of 1910. In his early days he was war correspondent for the "Daily Telegraph," and it was in that capacity that he was acting at Ver- sailles when the former Treaty was signed. One of his best stories concerns a man who rushed into a barber's shop one day and said hastily, "Cut the whole three short." "What three?" asked the barber. "The hair, the' beard, and the conversation." Many years ago, when Paderewski was giving a series of concerts in London, he was haunted, while taking his walks abroad, by a certain tune then greatly in vogue. He asked his friends what it was, but none of them would tell him. Finally, being deter- mined to find out, he grabbed a newsboy who was whistling it. What is that tune?" he demanded roughly. The boy struggled, but would not answer. Finally he broke loose and from a safe distance, yelled back: "Get yer 'air cut." And it was not until some time afterwards that Paderewski discovered that the seeming taunt was the name of the eong. » Field-Marshal Sir Henry Wilson. in a re- cent speech, said he felt like an old West Country parson, who had to hold two ser- vices, one in his own church and one in a church over the moor. On arriving at the church over the moor he said he was awfully sorry that he had- forgotten to bring a most admirable sermon he had written. "Luckily," -lie said, as I came across the moor I remembered a beautiful story which I will tell you in place of the sermon. Then he said, "Damn., I have forgotten that too The late Mr. Nat Gould, the novelist, Is said to have written four novels a' year, all erf them popular. In the days when he walked tho eart.h he once saw himself re- ferred to in the "Morning Post" as "the late Nat Gould." When Mark Twain read the report of his own death, he wired that the report was greatly exaggerated. Mr. Gould aconted another tack. He repudiated the "Morning Post's" suggestion by wiring to the editor: "Not late. Rise at seven." One would have thought that that would be brought in "odds, on" in some way. Miss Violet Vanbrugh, whose exoellent work on the stage is known by ali, tells an amusing story ot her early days. "We were playing Romeo and Juliet on tour," she says "and one night, in the poison wené. Juliet found herself without a phial. The audience was waiting, and in despair she snatched an ink-bottle from the stage car- penter, and jgasping Is it empty? rushed on But when the hapless lady raised the bottle to her lips and tipped it downwards, a stream of ink descended over her chin and down her white dress. The house yelled." Lord Russell of Ivillowen was orte scored off by a festive young officer of the Guards, who happened to be his partner at whist. The officer had dined well but not wisely, played very badly merely laughed when taken to task, so the Lord Chief Justice sud- denly flung his hand on the table, and said angrily: "This is not whist; it is confounded tomfoolery." "Keep your feathers on, old cock," replied the astonished Guardsman, there's no harm done." Almost speechless with rage, the Lord Chief Justice asked, in a hoarse voice, "Do you know, sir, whom you are addressing?" "Of course I do," was the reply; "but remember, my boy, yon are not. in your ——— old police-court now."

I OTHER MEN'S VIiINOS. I I There is no real peace.—Mr. Philip I Snowden. VALUE OF EDUCATION. I It is foolish policy to regard education primarily as machinery for the earning of money.—Sir Sidney Lee. BACK AGAIN! I We have thrust Kaiscrism out of the front door, but it is already knocking at the back.—Bishop of Peterborough. WHO SAID "LIMPETS"? I No man is fit to hold a public offioe unless he is also ready to give it uli.-Sir Arthur Steel -M a i tl a nd. PREPARE FOR ACTION! I If any attempt is made to take away our right as British citizens, once more I will call out the Ulster Volunteers.—Sir Edward Carson. WHO'S WHO. I Mr. Fisher, the Education Minister, is & generous high-minded man, but an utterly short-sighted, unstatesrnanlike politician. --Captain Loseby, M.P. ——— I OPTIMISM! I We should be a very happy people indeed if nothing stood between us and the millen- nium but the existence of Mr. Churchill.— Mr. C. A. McCurdy, M.P. I I THREATENING THE I It may be necessary to prohiLit7 the erec. tion of cinemas.—Dr. Addison. I MANY MILLIONS HAVE THOUGH! I I do not think alcohol is meant for human beings to consume.—Mr. Leif Jones. I THE SPENDTHRIFTS. The country speaks as though, after Vic- tory, nothing was left but to spend.—Lord Curzon. I SOMEWHAT NATURAL. A blight seems to fall on any property which the Government commandeers.—Sir J. S. Harmood Banner, M.P. I THE HOUSING PROBLEM. I No matter angers the people ao much at the moment, especially soldiers returning home, as a shortage of houses.—Mr. Bonar Law. I BE READY. I The surp, way to secure peace is to be ready for peace.—Mr. J. R. Clynea. I BAD ADVICE. i Leave Russia -a^one, and let her fight her I ray to freedom.—Mrs. Annie Besant. I NOT READY. I regret we are not in a political posi- I non to establish at once Socialism in this )ountry.N,lr. D. Carmichael. I THE GOVERNMENT'S FEAR. In asking the miners to give their pledge In ask-in(r the iiiiner,, not to strike for three months, the Govern- ment were only afraid the workers would take direct action to prevent troops going to Russia.—Mr. G. Friend (chairman. Lon- don Trades Council). I DISCREDITABLE. I The Coal Commission was a rat-ner <ii&- I croditable affair.-Duke of Northumberland. I HEAR! HEAR! I It will be "God help us" if the Govern- I ment nationalise the railways. Lord Jokey. I GOOD WALKING. I For years I have walked four mites to I work and four miles back each day.-Judgc E-adeliffo. I THE FADED FLOWER. The flower of the nation's manhood be- I tween the ages of 20 and 40 has gone, Gen. Sir H. S. Ilorne. I AGAIN, CHEERS! I The less Government departments inter- fere with trade and industry the better.— Lord Brassey. I SUGAR BEET. It was this country's Free Trade prin- ciples which stopped the sugar-beet in- dustry from being adopted several years ago.—Lord Denbigh. I THE OBVIOUS. There is no subject which interests thp British public to-day half so much as tb-P cost of living.—Mr C. A. McCurdy (Deputy Food Controller). I ALWAYS DISSATISFIED. I Weare never satisfied with anything in I this world.—Mr. Straker, Miners' Executive I A LIVING CURSE. I People who cut themselves off from others arc a curse to existence.—Earl of Sandwich. I LORD' RIIONDDA'S SACRIFICE. Lord Rhondda died for his country as much as any soldier on the battlefield.- I Mayor of Merthyr. I LUCKY T-)-(-)T.Trr I I The jiolioe now receive wages upon which I they can live comfortably without home troubles.—Capt. W. H. Tomasson. I A "HOUSE TO LET! I believe that at present the Peace Palaca I at the Hague is one of the few palaces to I ie>t.—I'-oar-Adm ir.nl Adair, M.P. I THE PROFITEERS' LAIR. J If we can only trace the profiteers, many of them will be found taking the plate I round in the churches and chapels.—-Mr. Holford Knight. I REFUSE TO PAY. I People who are asked to pay an excessive price for a head of cabbage or any other article would do more to remove profiteer- ing by refusing to Fay. the high price than by bla-minsj the C, over iiiii citt.-Dr. Addison.

Westminster sweepers and dustmen are to have a 47-hour week. Food Ministry staff was reduced from 9,118 in November to 4,441, July 1. Passenger ships of the Tyne-Teee Company are running a London-Newcastle service. Thomas Williams, a motor-cyclist, was killed by running into a cow at Bridgend, G lamorg-anshire. Next July's Lambeth conference of hi-hops will discuss spiritualism, marriage, and sexual morality. Colonel J. Wedgwood has been admitted to membership cf the Parliamentary Labcur Party.

THINGS THOUGHTFUL. I Some persons say that all they ask is jus- tice, as though justice were not the most difficult tiling and the highc-t.-Dc Quincey. THE POWER FOR GOOD. I It is impossible to estimate the power for good—in this sad, struggling life—of a i>r;ght, glad, shining face. Of all the lights vou carry on your face Joy shines farthest out to sea. If any little word of mine may make a hfa the brighter, If any little song of mine may make a. heart the lighter, God help me speak the little word, and take my bit of singing, Aud drop it down on,,e lonely vale, to set the echoes ringing. I ———————————— I THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING PEOPLES. I In what spirit will the English-speaking peoples enter on their high function r Their.s it will be not only to "stretch the bounds of freedom wider yet" fcr themselves, but for others. Theirs 'it will be to mother the backward peoples that are still in their childhood into the gradual practice and the they fak?e this art of self-government. If they face this task in the spirit of mutual suspicion and rivalry, with divided aims and eseltish policy, we may be preparing for a worse calamity than even this which has brought Europe so nearly to ruin. if they do so with a com- mon purpose and in loyal friendship, there are no bounds to the possibility of good that lie before this torn and tortured, but still aspiring, world.—Principal Griffith- Jones, D.D. OUR SUPREME DUTY. I I tell you that this is the working day, that this is the watching- hour, a.nd that our supreme duty is to work till the day is done, to watch till the hour is ended.- Raleigh. LOVE AND SPEECH. I What silences we keep year after year With those who are most near to us and dear; We live beside each other day by day, And speak of myriad things, but seldom sav The full sweet word that lies iust in our reach, Beneath the commonplace of common speech. Then out of sight and out of reach tlif,v ,o- These close, familiar friends who loved n,> Flo And sitting in the shadow they have left, Alone with loneliness, and some bereft, Vve think with vain regret of some kind word That once wo might have said, and they huvo heard. I FORESIGHT.. We may well learn that the purest faith in God should be accomjianied by foresight, that in the day of prosperity we should not forget that a darker day will surely come, and that they who have best used the sunny hours will best endure darkness and storm. Not only in economy as to money, but in regard to far higher things, we are to lay up for a rainy day."—Maclaren. I REAL LOVE. The love that is kind, that envies not, and is hariible, will win its way through doors that are barred to the self-assertive and the overbearing. Shakespeare wrote, is Burke wrote, foi his audience; and their glory is that they have outlasted the conditions they observed. Yet it was by. observing them that they gained the world's ear. Let us, who are less than they, beware of scorning to be- long to our own time.—Sir Arthur Quiiier- Couoh. Evil is wrought by want. of thought ae well as want of heart.—Hood. I THE TEST OF EXPERIENCE. Goodness is a kind of beauty. The moral law, like the laws of physical nature, rests in' i,he long run upon instinctive intuitions, and is neither more nor less innate" and "necessary" than they are. SOUK there are who cannot feel the difference be- tween tho "Sonata Appassionata" and "Cherry Ripe"; or between a gravestone- cutter's cherub and the Apollo Belvedere, but the canons of art are none the lesc acknowledged. Some there may h. who, devoid of sympathy, are incapable of a seni-e of duty; but neither does their existence affect the foundations of morality. Such i pathological deviatiolls from true manhooc are merely the halt, the lame, and the blind of the world of consciousness, and the anatomist of the mind leave#* them aside, a the anatomist of the body would ignore au- normal specimens.—T. H. Huxley As long as evil anO righteousness both remain in the world th-re must needs be warfare, and every soul must choose ou which side it will tight. I HUMBLE WORK. The noblest aervioe comes from nameless hands, And the best servant does his work unseen. Who found the seed* of fire and made them shoot, Fed by his breath, in buds and flowers of flame? Who forgedtni rearing flames the ponderous stone, And shaped the moulded metal to his speed? Who gave the dragging car its rolling wheel, And tamed the steed tlw t whjrls ite circling round? All these have left their work and not their names— Why should T murmur at a fate like theirs? This is the heavenly light; the pearly stain I Was but a wind-cloud drifting o'er the s t ars Oliver Wendell Holmes. I I A WARNING. I In that great storm of terror which swept over FraiMie in 1793, a certain man who was every hour expectiiLg to be led off to the guillotine uttered this memorable senti- ment: "Even at this incomprehensible moment, when morality, enlightenment, love of country, all of them only make death at the prison door or on the scaffold more certain—yes, on the fatal tumbrel it- self, with nothing free but my voice, I could I still cry take care to a child that should come too near the wheel; perhaps I may save his life, perhaps he may one day save his country."—John Morley.

Local authorities are urged to stock coal owing to the uncertainty of the supply. The Guildford Castle, with repatriated Germans from South Africa, has left Ply- mouth for Rotterdam. General Ludcudorff's memoirs are to be published, says a Reuters message from Berlin. "Who'll Four French sailors were condemned to prison for their part in the mutiny on the Justice at Sevastopol in April and May. Nearly all the Upper Silesia. coal miners are on strike. Charged with murdering his brother with a barrel stave, George Lunn was remanded at Dunmurray, near Belfast. Those engaged in the drug and chemical industry are agitating for higher wages and shorter hours, and at a mass meeting of the Amalgamated Society of Pharmacists, Drug, and Chemical Workers, in Mile End- road, it was decided to take no action until after a meeting between the Society and manufacturers had been held. A Bill is being prepared to give effect to I the recommendations of the Committee on Kigbt Baking.

OUR LONDON LETTER. [ OUR LONDON LETTER. I [From Our Special Correspondent.] I London. This Parliament completed its first Session this week, and rose for a web- earned recess. The Prime Minister's s peech on the adjournment wa.s eagerly awaited. I am told that there is every possi- bility of a. great deal of political activity in the country during the latter part of the recess, and il may bV stated with confidence tnat Coalition members who spend part of their holiday in their constituencies will be ,.1110 to give a very creditable account of iheir stewardship. Thi" is not the place to outline what has been done, but in buls alone (not to mention quality and useful- lit,) the legislative output since Parlia- ment. assembled in February last is literally prodigious. Tin: HEAT WAYC. no" I I I I I ? I LfCnoon lias l>oen a C'ooo piace to oe oui. of dining the last week. It does not ap- pear. however, that it has been much coo!e>- arvwliere else. The children, who are on their Jong vacation from school, have made the be*t of all the bathing facilities in and round London. Great crowds of small boys may be seen every day waiting in llvde Park for twelve o'clock to strike, at which hour they are allowed to bathe in the Serpentine. More amusing still it has been to see ciowds of youngsters Splashing in the ba-ins of the fountain's in Tra- falgar-square. One has felt the cooler for watching them. The ladies have made the si reel s gayer and the men envious by their light and delicate apparel. Nobody yet seems to have discovered a mode of dress for the man who must work in town 1Il which he could keep cool in times like these. Plenty of white ducks have been lit otit, of the presses, but compared* with- the diaphanous apparel of the fair sex even such' clothes seem awkward and hcavj. LORD GREY'S APPOINTMENT. I That Viscount Grey of Falloden should have consented to undertake a mission to Washington pending the appointment of an Ambassador has aroused universal interest and approbation. There is no British statesman whose character and repute stand 1 higher in the estimation of the world than his. And, quite apart from the satisfaction which is felt that his recently indifferent health should have been so restorc-d as to permit of his undertaking this mission, it is everywhere recognised that there is a peculiar appropriateness, which is calculated to have very fruitful results, in his ap- pointment to Washington. If there was one man in this country ?ho. more th?n anv other, might have been felt to ?e-sess those uuaHtie? and sympathies most appre- ciated W our trau&-A.HanHc cousins, that l man wa. Lord Grey. I observe that the American press of 01] parties i? s pouring forth a chorus of welcome and sa?-?acti?! and there can be no doubt that the supre- mely important task of developing and im- proving, where they can be improved, the relations between the two great English- speaking communities of the world, will be I much more than safe in Lord Grey s com- petent hands. THE PROFITKEKING BILL. The House of Commons was hard at work week en the Bill to deal with profiteering. On Wednesday it did not bIl ( far hort of sitting the clock round. There was a time when all nig-ht sittiug-s were more frequent than they have been in re- cent veD r. I do not remember, however, to have heard bel'ore of the sing-ubr cnn- tention which was made last week that it is an insult to Parliament to ask it to work aM night in case of necessity. The same people who have "aid this strange thing- will doubtless be' telling us to-morrow or next week, as they have often told us before, that this Parliament never dees anything' The Profiteering Bill which passed its third reading in the small hours of Friday morning lias undergone some stiffening during its progress through the Hoar-e. and the general opinion is that it will result in a healthy improvement in the condi tions which have g iven ri se to it. THE WELSH CHURCH. Much satisfaction has expressed at the action of the Welsh Liberal r::r'!]a-' mentary Party in stating as convincingly as they did the other day the facts about the new Welsh Church Bill. It was. as they point out, a point in the Coalition programme at the Gene- ral Election tha.t there should be no re-f-pening of the controversy which was closed by the parsing of the W elsh Church Aci, 1914. That Act for the disestablish- ment and disendowmcit of tho Church of England in Wales must, it was agreed, stand. The great majority in the present House of Commons was returned on the understanding that no change involving a question of principle should IK* made in that Act. The new Bill does not make any such change. But what it does is to make such financial readjustment as will enable the Act of 11H4 to be put into operation. How this can be, as has been alleged in some quarters, a violation of the principles to which the majority in Wales adhere, is beyond comprehension. One is forced to conclude that the critics of the Government are concerned more in making political charges against it than in proving them. The new Welsh Church Bill makes it pos- t-ible to settle this matter once and for all, and the sooner it is settled the better. THE NEED FOR ECONOMY. I There is sound sense and a more than 1 local application in some observations made by that witty Dublin journal. "The Leader." on some tendencies that seem in- ternationally prevalent. Says rfnv Irish contemjKirary: "We should like to see less spending, more saving, and more attempts at economic development in Ireland to- day. Even in Ireland money is flood- ing into all sorts of amusements. It would he healthier if more people were thinking; saving and planning. Amongst the wage-earners there must be large numbers so circumstanced that 'they i could save considerably out of their earn- ings and use such savings individually or co-operatively to their own and their country's better economic development. Are they doing it? If wage-earners want to own and control industries they must re- frain from scattering all their wages need- lessly. Talk of workers controlling indus- try, while workers whose hu-k of family re- sponsibilities would enable them to save money want to have a Hg-ood time" and scatter their money abort, is tall: and noth- ing but talk.

SHARK AMONG BATHERS. I An exciting experience befell Mr. C T j Cuss, assistant manager of the Great We*#, tern Locomotive Works at Swindon, who, while on holiday in orth Dcyon. shot a shark 7ft. Gin. loil,, iii Croyde Bay, near Barnstaple. According to the story, it is said that the jhark was circling round two young women bathing. They beat a hurried retreat, whil-e Mr. Cuss brought a gun from a farmhouse and, wading in. shot the shark dead.

Ex-metropoiitan policemen who were dis- m 's-cd owing to the strike now hold meet- ings in the evenings ot street corners, where collections are made. Butchers' ajid bakers' sh»!ps at Kensing- ton and Padding-ton are invaded by swarms of flies, which are increasing daily owing to the accumulation of rubbish during tile dustmen's strike. Lieut.-Col. Alan Burgoyne, M.P., was fined 20s. at Brentford for exceeding the ppeed limit whilst motoring. A case of anthrax is reported on a Leices- J tershire farm. The Great White Horse, Ipswich, known to all lovers of Dickens, has been purchased by the Trust Houses. Ltd. Cycling near Wadton-on-Thames, a boy named James McDougall, of New Maiden, i was knocked down and killed by a brewer'* iciry.

f TELEPHONING ALONG LIGHT. One hardly stops to ponder upon the mar- vels of science recorded almot every day. Aanong the most recent attainments achieved jv the scientific worid is the searchJght telephone, an apparatus which enables one L. speak along a beam of light, using it as a substitute lor the telephone wire. Either aatural or artificial light can be used, and and distinct messages can be trans- mitted up to a distance of eight mires m sunlight, and half a mile in artificial, It appears that the secret of the inven- tion lies in the transmitter, whicfi, when words are spoken into it, causes the inten- sity of the light t.o fluctuate, these fluctua- tions being reproduced in a telephone at the receiving end, which so tuned that it varies according to the light failing upon it, ¡ud so conveys the message. One great ad- vantage of this wondeiful invention is that, unlike wireless messages, wnich are distri- buted broadcast, the searchlight ci can o':Iv be tapped by an int.erpÜon of the beam of light. The inventor, Dr. A. 0. Ranbn(', d Uni- vprsity iiin-eitor, Dr. A. icirts out ,hI! the versity telephone would i-, i,s ui-,t the "light'" ¡l:l:" the ?-c cf w?; P:lJ::h\ll{ )lItidp a port, and anxicus to get into com- n nrication %with the shore authorities at nnce. This invention would enable a "hip to start verbal communication imme- diately, simply by focussing the sun's rays or using the searchlight, and the ixissit,Ci- tie, cf this latest vender will be imme- diately apparent.

I AN ANIMATED MOUSE-TRAP. An odd discovery was made by Mr." John Svmonds, a fish merchant, carrying on busi- ness on the Marine-parade, Great Yar- I- e n. his ljre- mouth, who found when opening his pre- mises tbr?t an oyster had caught a mou. The oyster had apparently opened to feed when a m?use must have ?k?d its nose into wheii a inoue i?iu:?t .,2ave objecting to the intruder Pl;"l it5 shell, yenning the c'us-ed :2 & l ie-!1, the

I WILL MR. SMILLIE. "DROP OUT?" In acknowledging- a pre^e-ntotion to him- self and Mrs. Smilbe from the National Union of Scottish Mine Workers in Ayr, Mr. Eobert Smillie said he always thought old men should make v.-ay for younger ones in the Labour movement. He had often thought of dropping out, and the probability was that that would come in a tihort time.

I HURRAH! I A Reuter message states that several gold ornaments of great value and two cil paintings have been ,tol:l from tne ex- K?iser's study at -1 1Tn sh c,,Ehe Castle. There is no trace of the thieves.

I SUICIDAL EPIDEMICS. A strange fact noticeable in the annals of suicides is that invariably there is an epidemic of the various forms or methods by which these deluded creatures depart this life. Is suggestion a cause of such suicides? There appears to be ground for this belief. One suicide committed in a particular mode is almost invariably followed by one or more others in the same fashion. If this is the ;<ase. then there is a good argument for less publicity of suicide news. Dr. Waido, the wel l-known coroner, has been confronted with a small epidemic of persons diving in front of trains. Dr. S. H. Gibson, a poiioe surgeon, who believes that "sakh cases lead Dr. Walio t.!lat ho imitation in suicide, told Dr. Waldo that he had more experience ci the subject among "natives," three or lour of whom would com- mit suicide if one cf their numlier did so. Other authorities confirm these views. It would seem that the time bas arrived when we should review the wh ile system on which coroners' inquiries are conducted. The neec less washing of dirty linen—often that of the dead—m nabliC such occasions is be- coming one cl the scandals of the day, and could well be dispensed with.

 j DANCES CHURCH. I Dancing, in church is not a very common practice, yet ".rt? ? ?'?' yc'?r. a ?o the I E;:fSlce h urc h ;¡ 1 'ot" ,t:;s;\ e, (iJ: :n land. was the scene of a dance every May Day. Then twelve young maidens of Erough, chosen ,:iid approved by the vicar, would assemble on the first of May at ten in the morning at ihe foot of Brough Bridge. They were dies.-ed winte, frocks adorned with flowers, and each wore a garland of rushes, arauad her head. The girls, accompanied to" a band of music. marched through the f-.eld., to 'Musgrave, about a mile distant. the rush-bearers, dancing, were led up the north aisle of the church, and hung uv- their garlands on the church wali, where thev remained until <Jit next veai. The Gos> e- was read, prayer* E.3": ;dtl1 {:¡ ;i; T;: 'Yê;e:: v i car and the clerk ret i re d Afterwar d s a space was cleared near the altar, a fiddle produced. an d dancing began in reai ]I;I;(;. 'l:i:'(' :;111:7 eh;:F.}: es l(1 rt Continent where da,ruing ta kes piace. They are at Seville an d Ec h f-raaa h in Luxem- burg.

Mr. Hnga^s. iinne Minister of Aus- tr;f¡'. ):,tl.n:1\1î;)I'f (,n tralia, made a short -tav ia Durban on u;s wa h.O:l{,: The Ma ripe- ? Lon d onderry, Finance Member of the Air Council, has appointe d ?\;t<}; :FC;i,7}? vice Captain L^r.l E. A. Grosvonor, R.A.F. Seventeen owners ard occupiers of pro- aerfv' on the West Brighton estate have petitioned Hove Corporation against con- certing a large house into five small ones. The Vv hitc Star li ner Ch;t.p?' is Icing );;7all¡:,it7 hcr?.-J'?r?.?'?-"Fr?. i3' tIld W olff. Ltd.. at Eeiiar-t. and will re- rarr-j settings early next- year

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