County Observer and Monmouthshire Central Advertiser Abergavenny and Raglan Herald Usk and Pontypool Messenger and Chepstow Argus

I MR. ARNOLD-FOHSTER AT CROYDON. Mr. Arnold-Forster, Secretary for War, who is the selected Unionist candidate for Croydon, addressed a meeting there on Tuesday night. He insisted on the importance of maintaining the union between Great Britain and Ireland, and of effecting a closer union between the different parts of the Empire. He expressed confidence in the value of the reforms that Were being effected in the organisation of the army. In regard to-the fiscal question, he was in full agreement with Mr. Balfour, and held that existing fiscal arrangements could not possibly endure.

BLOWN INTO THE AIR. NAVAL CUTTBTT DESTROYED WHILE SWEEPING FOR MINES. A naval cutter was blown into the air by a mine at Portsmouth Harbour on Monday after- noon, and a steam pinnace was so damaged that she sank in a few minutes. Two men have lost their lives. They are: — George John West, leading stoker. George Guy, able seaman. (( The cutter and the pinnace were engaged in sweeping" for mines with a steel hawser when' the accident happened. According to an eye- witness, the boats were close together hauling in the mines, when suddenly a terrific explosion was heard. When the air had cleared it was seen that the cutter had disappeared, and that the pinnace was sinking. Boats immediately put out from the shore, and the Vernon to rescue the crew, who were all thrown into the water. Some of the men were swimming about and others were clinging to pieces of wreckage. It was twenty minutes before the first boat could reach the men, several of whom were in the last stage of ex- haustion. Besides the two who were killed, two others sustained injuries and were taken to Has- lar Hospital. Their names are David Spracklin, first-class petty officer, who was severely wounded on the forehead, and an able-bodied seaman named Eemnant, who sustained a fractured skull.

Two years before the death of William IV. the Rev. T. D. Matthias, Baptist minister at Nantymoel, Glamorgan, whose death is reported in his eighty-third year, preached his first sermon. It has been unanimously decided by the Synodical Committees of the Presbyterian Church of England to open a fund for the assistance of the United Free Church of Scot- land'. After living together for eighty-two years in the house in which they were born at West Houghton, Manchester, Martha and Mary Hampson, twin sisters, have been separated by the dieath of the former. ) LAND AND SEA. Professor Boyd Dawkins has an interesting, theory on the inter-action of land and sea. In a lecture at Manchester, he states that from the time when there was first sea upon it there was a continual change of level, by which land at one time became an area of sea, and by which other areas of sea became land. It was to be concluded that it was the land' and not the sIEJa which had been changing—continually being lifted and depressed-during a vast period 01 time, while the sea level had practically remained constant. The shallows of the sea about the British Isles he attributes to deprw sions.

ENGLISH AH THE JAP SPEAKS IT. A Scotch Friendly Society has received letter, dated October 1, from a large insurakrea society in Osaka, Japan. It runs:—"We heard so much of the excellent reputation your firm enjoys and of the good name as the model of, the companies of the same line which render us to long after. We have indeed intended thus exerting with zeal to give a new aspect in the life assurance circle of our country. So we heartily request to continue to us your favouc and kind advice, and, moreover, ask for those prints of your company which give custom to the library in our company, such as youc accounts, policies, prospectrums, request notea,, and else, from which we can learn of a com- pany's standing." The wire entanglements of English speech have no terrors for the daring Jap!

I i i YF-A,RS i AN L:V!M R!ADY KC;USZ ".D DY. \> LOOSEt45 PHLEGM. AU.AY5 COUGH. a} G»VC3 tHWEPIATZ ReUEP LINLJM CÃTHART1CUMP6J_f-S. ? Bt FOR ISClGcSTJON & ITS M SKK<H £ A8MMC BiUOUS DKSJJlCSMCft T tc. < AN AGBEEAfiH.B APSfllK^J. 'j I KAYS TIC PILLS" 1 CUflg PACE AC WIS & NgUlgAUCtA,. M ♦ ■» SU&377Ti/7~&'S. ■> if V^scio HAIR BESHIYIB JA.ir..Sl DEPILATORY instantly reniovK Hairs Croon the Face; Nach tit Aimt, vW out fjnjixrr to tSbs CfrØI. Of most CHendsts or fme bm tlb. ntraitioa, pou Los. OIl receipt Of ftcotal Order for "6 gfc .ad n. ø.-Mn. C. P. JAMES, aM. €«fcdvwtai ?-"4 London W I SAW EFFIAL RED E COLLOTYPE WILSON. RESTCILLS ..AI I a. | | Ladies Siko the I WOOD ( 6LNE DEVOLVING HEEL UBS. They prevent Nerve Jar and' save cost of Hea ling. COST Is. SlWE lOs. 1 Bnajdes being vary to w&Ik u £ ou> tIteV keep fcoota in sliaioB. ADd liT. IrJsT A SMART appearance to tho wearer. I ^Iiciw5ma.rt SM Weflset op r g S^| I Ms.cJjJs icckffi-Sioc Mem* blkr yfi i Skc'a V\r«aki-ir»«5 tkc I'D K Seo the H&me on —^ j| wiApai | t iiiMilfi if S'DAP. 4d. CREAM. fiiR iTCBJiiO, FACE SPDTS, ECZEMA, &C. 1/1i. POWDER. FOR REDRESS, ROUGHNESS, TCilET,&0. 1/

I A GARTER DECLINED. (King Carlos once refused the Order of the- Garter. The incident occurred some years ago, when feeling in Portugal ran very high over- I the doings of the Chartered Company and Eng- I land's attitude generally where East Africa was concerned. King Carlos wrote to the late Queen Victoria declining the offered Garter. He actad r (says the "Daily Dispatch") from motives of [ dynastic prudence, which were thoroughly appre- ciated here. Two or three years later he could- surround the left knee with "Honi soit qui mai y pense," and say it, too, without tear of dis- agreeable consequences.

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TOWN TOPICS. (From Our London Correspondent.) The weather in London continues to be very Trinterly, with local falls of snow, sharp frost, and fog. It is many years since winter came to us so soon, and it has greatly aggravated the distress which prevails in the East-end, as it has put a stop to building operations and other outdoor work. The rise in the price of bread and of sugar also presses hardly upon the poor. Still, it must be said that London at the present moment is wonderfully healthy. At the time of writing the metropolis is absolutely free from smallpox. Not even a single convalescent is at present under the care of the Metropolitan Asylums Board. Not since the severe epidemic of some four years ago has it been possible to record a clean sheet until the present time. The forthcoming Cattle Show at Islington- the one hundred and sixth which the Smith- field Club has organised—promises to be one of unusual interest. Prince Christian of Schleswig- Holstein is the president for the year, and his Majesty the King is expected to be present on the opening day. The entries are good in every department, and comprise 276 head of cattle, 168 pens of sheep, and 106 pens of pigs, in the ordinary classes; and for tho carcase competition 32 cattle, 59 sheep, and 35 pigs, with 203 entries in the table poultry section. Prizes are offered for the South Devon breed of cattle, and for Ryeland sheep, for the first time, and there is an additional class for small cross- bred cattle. The prizes are on the usual generous scale at this show, and amount to £4094. The report of the Beck Commission has, so far, given satisfaction, but the question which everyone is asking is What steps will the Government take in the matter ?" People want to know if the officials at the Home Office and the Recorder of London, on whose shoulders the blame must rest, are to be censured or otherwise punished. Will the defects in our system of legal procedure be amended, so that such a shocking miscarriage of justice may be impossible in the future ? Moreover, there is an uneasy feeling that many innocent men may at the present moment be suffering for the crimes of others, and that many cases call for a searching investigation. When a man is put under lock and key, and has neither money nor friends to help him, it is the hardest thing in the world for him to prove his innocence against the evidence which the prosecution have prepared against him, or to escape from the net which the police have woven around him. Not every one has a publicist like Mr. George R. Sims to take up his case for him, and Adolph Beck would probably have been now serving his second unjust sentence had he not had this powerful friend to aid him. It cannot be said of the City Guilds to-day that they are entirely dissociated from tho trades whose names they bear. There are now but few of them which do not take an active part in promoting the prosperity of the par- ticular industry which each represents. One of the most active Guilds in this respect is the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers, and a well-deserved compliment was paid last week to the respected clerk of the Company, Colonel T. Davies Sewell, by a large number of the Fellows, Freemen, and Liverymen of the Com- pany. The appreciation of the colonel's labours in the interests of the guild took a very substan- tial and tangible form, the gifts presented in- cluding a handsome overmantel, a pair of London-made field-glasses, and an album, con- taining the names of some 400 subscribers. In addition, Miss Daisy Sewell, his daughter, was the recipient of a beautiful pair of opera glasselè. The presentation took place in the Pillar Hall at the Cannon-street Hotel, Mr. G. E. Ellis, C.C., the chairman of the Presentation Com- mittee, presiding. Turbine steamers are rapidly coming to the fore, and the universal adoption of this system of propulsion seems to be only a question of time. The Belgian Government has resolved to put on their Dover-Ostend mail service a triple-screw steamer driven by Parson's Marine Steam Turbines. The speed stipulated for is 28 knots an hour, and there will be three turbines with threi-) independent driving shafts, one for steaming ahead and the others for going either ahead or astern. On the promenade decks there will be twenty private cabins, a luxurious private suite, a smoking room, and a ladies' boudoir; while on the main deck is the first-class restau- rant, approached by a vestibule and grand staircase, where more than a hundred guests can be served simultaneously. AU these rooms will be richly decorated, and the vessel will bo a veritable floating palace. England alone among European nations has no national State-subsidised theatre or opera house. Many schemes for securing one have from time to time been formulated, but have fallen through. It was felt impossible to ask Parliament to sanction the expenditure of a sufficiently large sum to erect a building worthy of the nation. It is now stated that a wealthy newspaper proprietor, whose name has lately been much before the public, has intimated his intention of devoting the sum of L250,000 to the building of a suitable national theatre. The King has made no secret of his personal view that the millionaire who supplies this want will confer a great benefit upon his country. The title of this year's pantomime at Drury Lane is "The White Cat," the story bein w founded upon an old fairy tale by the Countess D'Aunoy, which has been considerably varied by Messrs. J. Hickory Wood and Arthur Collins. As produced at the Drury Lane it will be in fourteen scenes, and the same number of principals will be required to work out the plot. The legend as given by the present adapter starts with two separate stories, the actors in which do not meet until several scenes have been gone through. As at present arranged Harry Randall will be Asbestos, a fairy retired from business, and Johnny DanVers King Ivory. His son, Prince Peerless, who wins the fair Princess, will be played by Miss Queenie Leighton, and the two other sons will be Fred Eastman as Prince Plump and James Welch as Prince Patter. Mr. Hugh J. Ward, who made such a success last year as the Scarecrow, will this year impersonate Simeon, the missing-link, a wonderful study of a progressive monkey, and the Fairy Princess, afterwards the White Cat, will be Miss Jeannie Macdonald, a newcomer to Drury Lane. Miss Ruth Lytton, the second boy, will be Aristo, the head of the nobles, and that old favourite Miss Marie George will be Cupid. The successful run of The Earl and tho Girl," which commenced last autumn at the Adelphi and has been continued at the Lyric, will terminate on December 17, and immediately after Christmas the new piece written by Mr. Seymour Hicks, and set by Messrs. E. Haines and Evelyn Baker, will be produced. With one or two exceptions, including Miss Louie Pounds, who takes up Miss Zena Dare's part in The Catch of the Season," all the members of the present Lyric company will appear in the new piece, while notable additions are Miss Maude Darrell, who is now appearing in "Veronique," and Miss Sydney Fairbrother. Mr. Walter Pass- more should find an admirable medium for his drolleries in the part of a broker's man with which the authors have provided him. T. I

Housewives in Florida scrub their floors with oranges. In almost any town in the orange- growing districts women may be seen using the fruit exactly as we use soap. They cut the oranges in halves, and rub the flat, exposed pulp on the floor. The acid in the oranges dceg the cleansing, and does it well, for the boards are AS white as snow after the application.

I ITHE WAR 1 — I FIGHT IN A SNOWSTORM. A despatch from Chabsiamatun under Satur. {. day's date states that the Japanese took the offensive against the eastern Russian positions on November 24, but were repulsed. At eleven o'clock on Friday morning of last week the Japanese began operations with one brigade of infantry and twelve guns against the Russian central position, but soon after noon the attack ¡ was repulsed, the Russian artillery succeeding in silencing the Japanese guns. At four in the afternoon a heavy snowstorm came on, accom- j panied by fog, and under cover of this the I jJ^Panese again attacked along the whole front, j The fighting lasted three hours, the Japanese j eventually retiring. PRINCESS'S PLUCKY ESCAPE. telegram to the "Echo da Paris" states that the Princess Lievin, whose husband com- manded the Diana, which took refuge at Saigon after the sortie of August 10, has succeeded in manded the Diana, which took refuge at Saigon after the sortie of August 10, has succeeded in making her escape from Port Arthur on board a Chinese junk. The Princess, it appears, besought her husband to allow her to accom- pany him on board the Diana on the occasion of the sortie, but he refused to permit her to I run so terrible a risk. I JAPAN WILL FIGHT TO TTTTn. T.AST General Kuropatkin reports that intermittent artillery fire, is kept up along the whole front of the Manchurian armies, and Marshal Oyama describes various small encounters which have taken place, one of them on the right bank of • rjver- An unofficial telegram received m loki o states that the Russian outposts on the I bna-ho are within 200 metres of the Japanese. vT ft.Vers -W1^ soon ke sufficiently frozen to bear the weight of heavy transport. An official telegram received in Tokio from Port Arthur says that the Japanese approaches to Sung-shu- shan -and the eastward forts having been almost completed, a strong attack was begun on Satur- day night, but, owing to the enemy's stubborn resistance, the object of the assault is still unattamed. Fighting continues. A further telegram states that a picked body of Japanese swordsmen has attacked the Russian forts. In St. Petersburg, on Saturday, the case of the seizure of the British steamer Cheltenham, captured by the Vladivostok fleet in July last, came before the Supreme Naval Prize Court, which upheld the seizure of the ship. Accord- ing to a foreigner who has arrived at Nagasaki from Vladivostok, the Russian cruiser Bogatyr is unserviceable and is supported by pontoons. The Gromoboi has twenty-five frames broken, and is badly strained, and the repairs will take some months. A Tokio correspondent reports an interview with Count Katsura, the Japanese Premier, who declared that Japan was pre- pared to sacrifice the last man and the last yen in the war. A SERIES OF SKIRMISHES. I An official cablegram announces that a deter- mined attack upon Port Arthur was begun on Saturday. Fighting still continues without cessation, the besiegers having apparently resolved upon the falt of the fortress before the arrival of the Baltic Fleet. One account of the attack, which was signalised by desperate hand-to-hand fighting, estimates the Japanese losses at 7,000. The fighting in Manchuria has resolved itself into a series of skirmishes, in which both sides appear to gain slight advantages alternately. The cold is being felt very keenly by both armies, and on one terrible night five of Kuroki's sentries were frozen to death. The advent of winter has caused a remarkable congestion in the town of Mukden. Accom- modation for the officials is difficult to obtain, and the trouble is increased by the Chinese from the neighbouring villages, who are flocking into the town. 0 Detachments of fresh troops continue to arrive daily at Mukden, while many men wounded in the Sha-ho battle have been dis- charged, from hospital at Harbin, and have returned to the front. An article which appears in the St. Peters- burg "Invalid" estimates the strength of General Kuropatkin's army at 600,000 men. OFFERING LARGE SUMS FOR ENGLISH 1 SHIPS. I The purchase of the torpedo-destroyer Caroline, and the adventurous voyage of that vessel from London to Libau, proves to be the result of a system organised by Russia for the purchase of ships and stores in Great Britain. According to a Liverpool correspondent, a French commercial firm, inquiring whether a gunboat just being completed at Birkenhead for the Peruvian Government was purchasable, negotiations were opened, and an agent arrived at Liverpool shortly afterwards. He proved to be a Russian gentleman of military bearing, who spoke most European languages perfectly, and added to a sound com- mercial acumen an expert knowledge of vessels of war. Inquiries show that this gentleman had control of an unlimited supply of money. He moved from place to place in a motor-car of very high power, and, for longer journeys, on more than one occasion chartered a special train. In some of his dealings he represented him- self as acting for an American millionaire, who wished to acquire very fast motors and yachts. This agent, whilst in Liverpool, made over- tures for the purchase of one or two swift liners, and actually entered into preliminary arrange- ments with a shipping company of world-wido fame. Both transactions, however, subsequently fell through on the question of price and delivery, and the agent left for the Tyne, where he inspected other warships nearing completion, and then travelled to London, where apparently he found what he wanted. At the same time, through a firm came an offer to the same Liverpool broker of £5 a ton for 7,000 tons of steam coal for Vladivostok. A well-known Liverpool shipping company accepted the offer, but the rate was reduced to £ 3 per ton, presumably on receipt of other offers. The business was then declined as being "too risky." BALTIC FLEET. The supplementary squadron of the Baltic Fleet, which anchored, off Dover on Sunday night, weighed anchor early on Monday morn- ing and steamed: away. The fog prevented any- thing being seen from the shore, but fishermen report that during the night the vessels were engaged in coaling about four miles from the shore. The Dover authorities have evidently taken the Dogger Bank incident to heart, as the request of a. journalist who wished to engage a tug to take him out to the fleet was refused. The reason advanced by the harbour authorities was the danger of the tug being fired on by the Russians if she proceeded to close quarters in the fog. SHARP FIGHTING ON THE SHAHO. A despatch from General Kuropatkin of Mon- day's date says:—"The engagement near Tsin- khe-chon was resumed to-day, but ceased at eleven o'clock in the morning. We collected the Japanese dead with the object of burying them near the position occupied by us. By midday we had found 230 bodies, all of men of the Seventh Reserve Regiment of the Ninth Re- serve Brigade. We took a large quantity of rifles, ammunition, and entrenching tools. We have received no further report regarding to- day's events." General Sakharoff telegraphed to St. Peters- burg on Tuesday as follows: -"Yesterday after- noon the enemy's troops, having attacked the position at Tsin-khe-chon, began slowly to re- treat. Advanced posts of our troops sent in pursuit of the enemy were received with a fusil- lade from an unnamed village situated four kilo- metres from our position; but our cannonade forced the enemy to abandon the village. "The night of November 28th passed quietly." PROGRESS AT PORT ARTHUR. I The Japanese Legation in London on Tuesday I night issued the following despatch :— "The following telegram, dated Tokio, 29th November, has been received at the Japanese" Legation: — '"Port Arthur besieging army's report, dated November 29tli j Against the enemy's line of entrenchments, f extending from Sungshushan eastwards, the army succeeded in firmly occupying the top of | the counterscrap and neighbourhood, and is now destroying casemates and caponnieres. I Against 203 Metre Hill the army succeeded in occupying the enemy's trenches near the top after several assaults.*

I NEEDED NEW BLOOD. I DS. WILLIAMS' PINK PILLS MADE NBW BLOOD. My daughter came home ill at the end of last year, and day by day she faded away until I had lost all hope for her," said Mrs. Barr, of Toft-lane, West Rasen, to a reporter of the Lincolnshire Chronicle, They were dark days for us. My daughter had had medicine enough. What she wanted was new blood. She seemed to have no ] Miss Annie Bcvrr, who was saved by Dr. Williams' Pink Pills from death ■%v Aiuemia and, Rheumatic Fever. strength left, and doctors said her illness was Rheumatic Fever and Anaemia. For three weeks she could not turn herself in bed. Then she took Dr. Williams' Pink Pills, and if she had not she would not be here now. After one box she was out of bed." I Miss Barris now the very type of bright, healthy young womanhood, and there is no doubt that without the new blood which Dr. Williams' Pink Pills gave her, she would have sunk into a Decline and died. Women know why they and their daughters need new blood more than men; but men can be Anaemic, too. The weak back, easy fatigue, lack of interest in life, Indigestion, and general nervous weakness which trouble both men and women, need new blood to cure them, and these pills make new blood. Nerves that need new blood to feed thom show their neted in Neuralgia, Fits, St. Vitus' Dance, eventually Paralysis, Loco- motor Ataxy, and utter breakdown. But Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People can cure all these things—the genuine pills. It is important to avoid substitutes, and purchasers should take care to see the full name, as above, on the wrapper, before paying. Sold by all dealers, or sent direct by Dr. Williams' Medicine Co., Holborn-viaduct, London, post free for 2s. 9d. a box, or six boxes for the price of five—13s. 9d.

A HYPOCRITE'S FRAUDS. I RUINED INVESTORS. I Until quite recently, David Shepherd, who was at Cardiff, on Tuesday, sentenced to five years' penal servitude for embezzlement, had been re- garded as a man of unimpeachable character. He had for long taken a prominent place in busi- ness and social affairs, devoting much of his time to philanthropic movements. For many years he had been a leading figure in Nonconformist circles. In passing sentence, Mr. Justice Bray pointed out that it was only by this apparent respectability that Shepherd had been able to commit the frauds. No auditor would have passed his accounts but for the absolute confidence reposed in him at Cardiff. Shepherd's defalcations amount to the huge sum of E15,000, and practically spell ruin for a number of hard-working people, who had implicit confi- dence in him and invested their savings in one or other of two local Starr Bowkett Building Societies, of which ht was secretary. His em- bezzlements from these funds exceed ESOOO. These, however, did not come to light at first, but only after he had, to the amazement of his friends, confessed that he was £6000 short in his accounts as chairman of the Cardiff Intermediate Education Board. He only took this step when concealment was no longer possible. How these huge sums were expended at present remains a mystery. Shephard was by profession a chartered accoun- tant, but his energies were applied to a host of other enterprises. He was one of the founders and secretary of the Cardiff Free Church Council, secretary to many societies, an ardent temperance worker, and Sunday school superintendent. The character which he bore for generosity is now shown to have been obtained at the expense of other people's money. On Cardiff platforms he was a familiar figure, frequently offering up prayer in publia.

THE KING. I RETURN TO SANDRINGHAM. I Dense foggy weather marked the King's return to Sandringham on Monday afternoon. His Majesty travelled by ordinary train as far as Cambridge, and then went on to Wolferton by special train. Extra precautions were taken to ensure a safe journey, scores of fogmen being stationed along the line in addition to the ordinary watchmen. Wolferton was reached at 2.42 p.m., three minutes before the scheduled time. Here his Majesty was received by the Rev. F. A. S. Foolkes, rector of Wolverton, with whom he warmly shook hands. The King walked unassisted across the platform. The limp has disappeared, and his Majesty has now entirely recovered from his re- cent attack of gout. His Majesty proceeded in a closed motor-car to Sandringham, where the Queen and Princess Victoria awaited his arrival.

"THERE IS UNQUESTIONABLY" NO better remedy in the whole world for all coughs and throat troubles than KEATING'S lrOZENGES- any medical man will assure you of this fact. Relief is speedy; simple but sure in action; the most delicate can take them. Sold everywhere in 13îd. tins. 2 THE FARMER'S PROVISION.—An old country farmer dropped into his lawyer's office the other day with the object of making his last will and testament. Among his other instructions to his legal adviser was one that the life income be- queathed to his widow should be doubled in the event of her re-marriage. The man of law objected, and pointed out that the more usual coursein such a case is to provide for the cessation, or at least a diminution, of the income. Aye, may be," replied the old farmer," but thau doan't know my missus. The chap that marries her will deserve it all THE QUEEN AND THE COTTAGER. As the Queen, when Princess of Wales, was one after- noon sitting in the cottage of a humble country friend, she laughingly took up a stocking, and there and then knitted a heel to it, remarking, I'm sure you can't do the heel as quickly as I can. Do you know I rather pride myself on the way I can knit stockings ? I have just made a pair for the Prince, and Her Royal Highness was not allowed to finish her statement. The old woman, with staring eyes and almost frightened voice, exclaimed, Well, well! And, so the Prince wears stockings, do 'e ? And, your Royal Highness! Only me and you who makes these stockings knows the 'orrible 'oles the men do make in the 'eels, to be sure 1" Needless to say, her Majesty laughed heartily.

lOUR ROYAL VISITORS. A VISIT TO EVESHAM. King Carlos and the Queen of Portugal arrived at Evesham soon after five o'clock on {Saturday evening, on a visit to the Queen's brother, the Duke of Orleans, at Wood Norton. They had journeyed in the Royal train. Preparations had been made to give their Majesties a civic reception, and a guard of honour, consisting of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion Worcestershire Regiment, and the battalion band were drawn up at the station. The Royal travellers were met at the station by the Duke and Duchess of Orleans, who had previously arrived by motor-car. Cordial greetings having been exchanged, the Ma-vor presented an address, for which the King expressed his thanks. The Mayoress presented file Queen with a handsome bouquet, which her Majesty graciously accepted, shaking hands with. the donor. i After inspecting the guard of honour and leaking hands with the Mayor and prominent townsmen, King Carlos, with the rest of the Royal party, proceeded by motor to Wood! Norton, the Duke of Orleans driving. A dense fog overhung the town, preventing the decorations from being properly seen. The King was attired in a morning dress, with silk hat and large overcoat. The Queen wore a sealskin coat and a black hat. Before setting out for Evesham, King Carlos, getting up early, went shopping in the West- end. Accompanied only by an equerry, his Majesty left Buckingham Palace immediately after breakfast, and, walking across the park, proceeded to Bond-street, where he entered several shops and made purchases. He was not in all cases recognised by the shopkeepers, for where his purchases were not bulky he carried them: himself instead of having them sent to the Palace. On Sunday the King and Queen of Portugal attended Mass at the church close to the mansion at Wood Norton. PHEASANT SHOOTING. The King of Portugal had a good day's sport over the Hipton coverts on Monday, with his host the Duke of Orleans, and other members of the house party. When, after luncheon, sport was resumed, the Queen and Duch-esse d'Orleans, the Duchesse de Guise, and the Marquis de Several, accompanied the guns, and remained until the bag had been made up. At some previous shoots in which King Carlos has taken part since his arrival in England the pheasants have been a trifle more tame than so expert a sportsman would have desired. This was not so on Monday, and work proved correspondingly exhilarating, greatly to the satisfaction of the King, who expressed himself delighted with the excellent sport provided for him. Their Majesties dined in the evening with the house party. The dining-room at Wood Norton is a fine apartment, with hand- some oak panellings, and when the valuable collection of plate is on view, as it was on Monday night, the effect under the light of massive candelabra is extremely rich. A RECORD BAG. King Carlos on Tuesday made a record bag in the preserves near Wood Norton House. The weather was delightfully fine, and the thaw had completely changed the face of the country. The party of eight guns was made up exactly as on the previous day, and they were joined by Queen Amelie and the other ladies of the house party at luncheon, which was served in a room recently erected as an annexe to the head game- keeper's lodge. Several photographs were afterwards taken. At the end of the day it was found that the eight guns had accounted for 2,810 head of game, including forty-one wild duck and a number of rabbits. The Portuguese King and Queen ended their visit to Wood Nor- ton on Wednesday morning. The Royal saloon left Evesham at half-past eleven for London.

RUSSIA AND BRITAIN. THE INQUIRY INTO THE NORTH SEA AFFAIR. AFF AIR. The text of the Declaration signed on Friday of last week at St. Petersburg by the British An) bassador and Count Lamsdorff has been pub- lished. The preamble declares that the Bntieh and Russian Governments has agreed to entrust to an International Commission of Inquiry the task of educidating by means of an impartial and conscientious investigation the questons of fact connected wth the incident which occurred on the night of October 21 in the North Sea, on which occasion the firing of the guns of the Russian fleet caused the loss of a boat and the death of two persons belonging to a British fishing fleet, as well as damage to other boats of that fleet, and, injuries to the crews of some of those boats. There are eight articles in the Convention. The terms of most of them are in accordance with the draft already published. Article II., relating to the scope of the inquiry, now reads as follows:- "The Commission shall inquire into and report on all the circumstances relative to Lhe North Sea incident, and particularly on the question as to where responsibility lies, and the degree of blame attaching to the subjects of the two high contracting Powers or to be subjects of other countries in the event of their responsibility being established by the inquiry." Article VI. stipulates that the report of the Commission shall be signed by all its members, and Article VII. that the Commission shall take all its deci- sions by a majority of votes. COALING THE BALTIC FLEET. I WARNING TO BRITISH SHIPPERS. I Lord Lansdowne, in a letter which has been addressed to the Chamber of Shipping of the United Kingdom, the Association of Chambers of Commerce, and certain other associations, gives a further warning on the question of British colliers and the Baltic fleet. In view of the numerousi inquiries received on the subject of Lord Lansdowne's recent state- ment that it is net permissible for British owners to charter their vessels for such purposes as fol- lowing the Russian fleet with coal supplies, his lordship now explains that such action might render those concerned liable to proceedings under the Foreign Enlistment Act. A similar question, it is pointed out, arose during the Franco-German War, and Mr. Glad- stone, in reply to a. question in the House of Common! said that such colliers would, in effect, become store ships for the fleet. Lord Lans- downe mentions that the Foreign Enlistment Act has been applied recently by Orders in Council in British Protectorates, and also m countries where the King exercises extra-territorial juris- diction over his own subjects.

Mme. Flammarion, the distinguished wife of her equally distinguished husband-astronomer, never allows anyone to cut her husband's hair but herself, and she uses the shorn locks for pillows. Her home in Paris i& full of such .pillows stuffed with clippings. Telescopes, heliometers, sextants, astrolabes, and other astronomical instruments are scattered all over the room among them. The Flammarions were married thirty years ago; therefore, taking the average time of a man's growth of hair between each cutting as three weeks, the treasured accumulation of over 500 hair-cuttings must make a goodly pile.

r'DEXTER'S '] ft SECOND If 1 GFGAH MIL I I GDIS PETITION I 1 II OOTOX&S Hat TO ZK5CESIBEJ5 Slat,, im. SAVE | I YOUR CIGAR BANDS 1 I THEY ARE WGRIll MmŒy. | jg .or the Best Collections of otur 1 j DEXTER'S I I 2d. KEY WESTI I CIGAR BANDS. 1 H received by n* at our nrftetersd Office if §9 Quaes'* Bridge Roa4, Kotan £ h»m, not H H Later than Monday, Jumtn tej, ISSO. SS |g we *111 gin ft»lfo*in* |l H PRIZES. 1 B A Fit*st Prize of S10 1 ( « for the largest number of Bands j i sent in s H A Second Prize of 435 fl for the second largest number. 8 Throe Prizes of ShISSIngas H for the three collections next in I B order. j S Five Prizes of to Shillinds 9 B NO Prizes of 6 Shlflings } g-for the collections adjudged nest iu 9 order of merit l|j The bands must be tied 6p aridnutiihered 6 g M 5.. 'v? eaVe!f>pe or package addressed to SB B *2"^ Sn»s, Ltd., Cigar Factory, B§ £ 1 '2^°' «Nottingham, and is B d Bnad Competition," mast rezch UB M H t-s er MoacUy, Jwuary 2nd. 1S05. 8t H «,n? «<*dres»«;s of the Winners H ,-wlJl be ndvertisod ijr tke pubiic press not IS H thai! Jtmiary loth. Messrs. Dexter$8 H J-*d., decision in the matter of thy KB H award of pmes to be absolutely final. eg B B MUST an -ravcw!it imom i i.DEXfflS Id. Iff Br, CIGARS I (7 CIGARS 1/-) 1 B FROM ALL TOBACCONISTS. 1 Bf {Should the basiila not be familiar to yoa we i B •owe you a spoeiaoa band on receipt of a 1 ■j staokpod envelope addressed for reply.. 1 | Ask your Tobaownlst •fpa* i B 2ri. fr&ay Cigars. | B znarcxira 1 H Slave the Budi for the Competition, | '0

EATJL AND LADIES' CHURCH ART." Earl Beauchamp has been ungallant enough to call in question the artistic tastes of ladies who contribute to the decoration of the churches which they attend. Some caustic comments in this direc- tion were made in the course of a report presented by his lordship at the Worcester Diocesan Confer- ence on behalf ot the committee (of which he was chairman) appointed to investigate the principles which should govern the use of music in churches. The earl said the committee felt that in certain churches choirs had allowed their zeal to run away with them. There were churches in which the congregation was discouraged when it wished to join in the singing. There were organists who composed musical services when they ought to be practising the pedal exercise. The services should luo not only beautiful in themselves, but should be really suitable to churches in which they were sung. In other forms of ecclesiastical art it was observ- able that the restraint should be exercised. Ladies perpetrated" embroidery in the church, for inutaisce, which they would never tolerate in their own homes. An authority was wanted to whom both designs and music should be submitted for approval.

It is officially stated that persons conducting Post Office Savings Bank business-who number 12,000, and are for the most part shopkeepers —will be responsible for any defalcations on the part of their assistants, which may result from the abolition of acknowledgment of savings bank deposits under ZI. How disease is spread by feline pets is engag- ing the attention of the Medical Officer of Health at Cheshunt. A little girl was sud- denly stricken wi,th diphtheria, and it has been discovered that the source of infection was a favourite cat, which has since died. -V""t 4

"NO BETTER FOOD." Dr. Andrew Wl/son, F.R.S.E., Sso. r%V" °° O StC* 300 IX* COLD MEDALS, &c.