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

DOMESTIC TRAGEDIES. I A sad domestic tragedy was enacted at Lower Heyford, a Northamptonshire village, when Mary Nightingale, wife of a platelayer, murdered her fourteen-months'-old daughter and committed suicide in a most determined manner. She, filled a small bath with water to the depth of five inches, and laid the child face downwards in it. Her next act was to kneel down and place her own head in the water, and was still in this position, quite dead, when the tragedy was discovered. Mrs. Nightingale had, it is stated, been very depressed recently. At Branstone, a small Leicestershire vil- lage, an old man named Thomas Curistian, aged 70, who had recently been discharged from Leicester Asylum, suddenly jumped out of bed, and obtaining a piece of rope, placed it around his wife's neck, and hung her to the bed-post. He then left the room. The woman, however, managed to unfasten the knot, and going downstairs, was horrified to discover her husband hanging dead from a nail on the pantry door.

DEATH OF A DEVOTED WOMAN. I Mrs. Sarah Harriet Selwyn, widow of the Right Rev. George Augustus Selwyn, first Bishop of New Zealand, and afterwards Bishop of Lichfield, has died at her resi- dence, in the Cathedral Close, Lichfield, after three days' illness, in her ninety-eight year. She retained all her faculties up to her fatal seizure. She married Bishop Selwyn when he was Curate of Windsor in 1839, and two years later her husband was consecrated first Bishop of New Zealand. They sailed for that Colony from Plymouth in December, 1841, and stayed in New Zealand until 1867, when Bishop Selwyn was translated to the See of Lichfield. She shared with her husband all the dangers, hardships, and privations of the Southern Seas, and proved herself one of the most devoted women of her age.

LATEST IN YACHTS. I There was recently launched at Leith a yacht, built by Messrs. Ramage and Fer- guson, to the order of Mr. L. V. Harkness, a New York millionaire, which marks a dis- tinct advance in the history of British plea- sure boat building. The vessel is intended for long cruises, and will be fitted with im- provements not before seen in craft of this character. When she is completed in May, Mr. Hardness intends to take a twelve months' trip round the world, during which he will explore many of the little known spots in the Eastern Hemisphere. With this object in view, the Wakiva, aa the vessel has been named, is being fitted regardless of cost. A novel feature will be the installation of Lord Kelvin's patent elec- trical sounding machine, which gives warn- ing of the proximity of buoys when ap- proaching land, and she will also carry four quick firing guns, and a remarkably com- plete equipment of steam and motor launches and gigs and lifeboats, for the purpose of exploring some of the rivers to which the yacht, which is of nearly 1,000 tons burthen, would be unable to penetrate. Everything known to modern science to promote the comfort of the voyagers, such as steam heating, ventilation, electric light, bells, fans, and telephones, has been utilised; refrigerating rooms have been pro- vided, and also a fully equipped laundry, running with electric heat and power. The Wakiva has been built to Lloyd's highest class, and is of the shade deck type, with cellular double bottom and top-gallant fore- castle. The propelling machinery consists of two sets of triple-expansion engines, supplied by steam at 1851b. pressure from two large marine-type Scotch boilers.

COUNTESS'S ROMANCE. J In aristocratic circles at Bnda Pest there ia only one topic of conversation, the engage- ment of the Countess Wilhelmine Festetich to Nyari Rudi, a gipsy and the- leader of a band of musicians. Nyari is; a good-looking fellow enough, dresses welt,, and has con- siderable musical talent. He is twenty-eigjit years of age and passed through the Buda- pest Conservatoire before fmd&ft&.a- billet as Ua bandmaster in a local restaitratrfc-. Ilia -fiancee is a person of brilliant parts and speaks five languages fluently. She has been spoken of as having an im- mense fortune, but it is stated that she owns nothing during the lifetime of her father, though at his decease she will inherit about £ 8,000. Her gipsy lover was affered a large sum by the family solicitor to renounce his pretensions to the lady, but he refused. He is marrying her for love, he says, and for the rest he declares that he can earn enough to maintain her. Since her father, Count Paul Festetich, married a second time the Countess has lived with her aunt at Munich, and, while there, she made the acquaintance of Count Sig- mund Spretti, to whom she became engaged. She attended the concerts which the gipsy musician was giving at Munich, and soon after she startled her family by announcing that she loved her prospective bridegroom no longer, and that the fascinating Nyari had won her heart. A family council was called and all means were tried to make the Coun- tess change her mind, but in vain. Finally, she fled to the gipsy's home, where she re- mained until the wedding.

STRUGGLE WITH A PANTHER. I Captain G. H. Sawyer, 23rd Sikh Pioneers, second in command Chitral Scouts, has been severely matuled by a panther whilst big game shooting in the Himalayas. He sent his shikari out to look for game, and the man came back with news of a panther. Cap- tain Sawyer immediately went out and fol- lowed up the tracks, and, coming up with the animal, fired, and, as he thought, killed it. The panther lay on its back with its legs in the air. It then rolled down the hillside, and Captain Sawyer and his shikari went down to look for it, and found it gone. They then looked for the tracks, and followed them up. They came to a holly tree, Cap- tain Sawyer leading, when suddenly the panther charged him, biting him very severely on the left elbow and bearing him to the ground. Whilst the captain was struggling with the panther a man of the Chitral levies at- tacked the panther with a knife. The ani- mal then turned on him, but he dodged it, and again knifed it. The panther then re- turned to Captain Sawyer, and bit him in' the right leg and then made off. The party returned to Captain Sawyer's camp, which was some distance away, and Captain Saw- yer was conveyed in a dhooli to Drosh, which was reached, where it was clearly seen that the only way to save his life was to amputate the left arm as high as possible.

I TO FIGHT DISEASE. Professor Ray Lankester's new volume, "The Kingdom of Man" (Constable)., contains many striking statements, the most important of which perhaps is: There is a certainty of man's power to remove all disease from his life." But the Professor says:- If the people of Britain wish to make an end of infections and other diseases, they must take every possible means to discover capable inves- tigators, and to employ them for this purpose. To de this far more money is required than is at present spent in that direction. It is neces- sary, if we a,re to do our utmost, to spend a thousand pounds of public money on this task where we now spend one pound. It would be reasonable and wise to expend ten million pounds a year of our revenues on the investiga- tion and attempt to destroy disease. Actually what is spent is a mere nothing-a few thou- sands a year. Meanwhile our people are dying by thousands of preventable disease. We play with the provision of an adequate army, officers, and equipment to fight disease, which annually destroys hundreds of thousands of our people, much as barbarous States or bankrupt European kingdoms play with the provision of an ordinary army and navy. Their forces exist on paper, or even in fact, but have no ammunition, no officers, and no information.

HARNESSING THE SUN. An interesting article in the ''Strand Maga- zine" is one by Mr. Arthur T. Dolling, on "Pro- blems Science Has Almost Solved." A problem which has been engaging the wits of practical philosophers of the last quarter of a century concerns the utilisation of solar heat. "I hope some day," declared Mr. Tesla, "with an apparatus I have invented so to har- ness the sun's rays that that body will operate every machine in our factories, propel every train and carriage in our streets, and do all the cooking in our homes, as well as furnish all the light that man may need by night as well as by day. It will, in short, replace all wood and coal as a producer of motive-power and heat and electric lighting." His idea is simple enough, consisting, as it does, of concentrating the heat of the sun on a focal point by a series of mirrors and magnifying glasses, and the great heat so produced is directed upon a glass cylinder filled with water. This latter is chemi- cally prepared, so that it rapidly evaporate into steam. The steam is made to operate a steam engine, which, in turn, generates electricity. This electricity is received by storage batteries, and a vast and cheap supply is generated for all purposes. With thousands of these sun-stations dotted about here and there, the -whole indus- trial problem would seem to be solved for man- kind.

FRENCH AND ENGLISH WOMEN. Some idea; of what a French writer thinks of the English women may be obtained from a chapter of Pierre de Coulevain's L' In- connue," which is translated in the Fort- nightly Review." In England the woman of the lower class is inferior to the Frenchwoman, Her life is very much sadder. Her work is to supply number. When one sees her,, haggard-looking and faded, at her wash-tub, surrounded by her little brood, 3ne can no longer think of reproaching her for totting her husband go to work badly fed and badly clothed. Many of these women are brave 3reatures, and one wonders how, with only two handa, they get through so much work. They have a right to the first place in the history of human martyrs. The English crowd is very much mixed and crossed, so that the Anglo- Saxon type is becoming more and more rare. Ugliness predominates—an ugliness that is jften monkey-like, the nose and mouth betray- ing a great deal of animality. Here and there, however, one sees faces with pure features of perfect oval amd a wonderful colouring, which :1It!;cmtŒ balong to a Higher humanity. v r- r't ,r

MARK TWAIN AND CHRISTIAN SCIENCE. A striking instance of the growth of Christian Science is given by Mark Twain in the book which he has written on the subject. Four years ago there were six Christian Scien- tists in a certain town that I am acquainted with; a year ago there were 250 there they have built a church, and its membership now num- bers 400. This has all been quietly done; done without frenzied revivals, without uniforms, brass bands, street parades, corner oratory, or any of the other customary persuasions to a ^odly life. Christian Science, like Moham- medanism is "restricted" to the "unintelligent, the people who do not think." There lies the danger. It makes Christian Science formidable. It is "restricted" to ninety-nine one-hundredths of the human race, and must be reckoned with by regular Christianity. And will be, as soon 8M it is too late.

OUR LONDON LETTER. (From Our London Correspondent.) Princess Victoria is said to have benefited immensely in health by her stay in Norway with her brother-in-law and sister, King Haakon and Queen Maud. She lived as much a^poisibJe out of doors there, as she generally does, indeed, at Sandringham for an outdoor life is supposed to be the best treatment for the sort of nervous headaches from which the Princess has now suffered for a good many years. Her Royal Highness's health began to be unsatisfactory about ten years ago, from the results of a severe attack of influenza. And her illness last year, when she was operated upon for appendicitis, left her naturally still more delicate than she had been before. Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, is to join her sister, Princess Henry of Battenberg, in the South of Europe, during the spring. Princess Henry, after leaving Spain, will pay one or two visits to her friends before coming North; and her home route will embrace Biarritz, where she will meet the Princess Frederica of Hanover, and Cap Martin, where the Empress Eugenie, with whom she is a great favourite, will receive her. The Prin- cess Louise is expected to join both these parties. No definite arrangements, however, have yet been made, as all plans depend upon the course of events in Madrid. The news of the marriage of Lady Stanley, widow of Sir Henry M. Stanley, the cele- brated explorer, came as a surprise to the general public, for no intimation had been given of the event, and the news was kept quiet for a day or two afterwards. The bride- groom, Mr. Henry Curtis, F.R.C.S., is a phy- sician in Harley-street, and the wedding was very quietly celebrated at All Souls, Lang- ham-place, by the Rev. F. S. Webster, only a very few persons being present. There was a great contrast between this ceremony and Lady Stanley's marriage to the great African explorer. Mr. Gladstone and a host of celebrities were present in Westminster Abbey, and the list of wedding presents was remarkable. In the later years of his life Sir Henry and Lady Stanley adopted a little boy, just as the explorer himself had been adopted in his own early boyhood. This lad, Denzil Stanley, will inherit in due course part of the substantial fortune left by Sir Henry. Two Victoria Cross heroes, who are also brothers, major-generals, C.M.G.'s, and clever painters, are exhibiting pictures at. the Naval and Military Art Exhibition at the Bruton Galleries. These two, Major-Generals E. H. and R. W. Sartorius, are sons of the late Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rose Sar- torious, and singularly enough they both exhibit pictures of Swiss .scenery. Major- General E. H. Sartorius won his V.C. in the Afghan war; while his brother gained his in the Ashanti campaign. They have another brother, Colonel George Sartorius, C.B., a hunter of big game, who shot the biggest bison ever bagged. An A.B. seaman, Harold White- bead, a naval pensioner, is exhibiting some clever paintings of British battleships, and Major-General R. S. Baden-Powell, the hero of Mafeking, who is an accomplished artist, sends several paintings. Mr. W. T. Stead, who was accompanied by Mrs. Stead, has sailed for America, where lie will attend the inauguration of the Pittsburg Technical Institute, which he describes as one of the greatest benefactions Mr. Carnegie has conferred upon his "partners," the people of Pittsburg, and also the Peace Convention in New York. He proposes to "take soundings in influential quarters as to the wishes of Americans and their Government concerning the forthcoming Hague Conference." He flopes that America. will move to make com- pulsory the principle of arbitration in inter- national disputes before permitting recourse to war, a principle which America got unani- mously approved as a recommendation of tho Hague Convention of 1899. He does not ex- pect the armament question to have anything more than an educational result this year; but he hopes to see the British Empire and the United States acting as before in unity. Among Mr. Stead's fellow-passengers were Sir W. H. Preece and Mr. Maarfcen Maartens, the Dutch novelist, who are also attending the Pittsburg Institute inauguration. n Lent being over, the usual rush of marriages has commenced, and West-end churches will have a very busy time of it up to the end of April. Although, judging from the announce- ments in the papers, more ceremonies than usual took place during Lent, there have been few really smart functions, but now many of these have to be crowded in before May sets in, for the merrie month is still held to be unlucky for marriages. The dressmakers are all hard at work on the bridal and brides- maids' dresses, and now that it is the fashion to have from ten to twelve bridesmaids, with two little trainbearers or pages, the costumiers will have their hands quite full. For Thurs- day, April 11, there are no fewer than twenty- one weddings, among them being those of Viscount Cole, eldest son of the Earl of Ennis- Irillen, and Miss Irene Miller Mundy, at St. Margaret's, Westminster, and Captain God- frey Faussett, Equerry to the Prince of Wales, and Miss Eugenie Dudley Ward, at the Chapel Royal, St. James's. The Prince and Princcss of Wales attend the latter ceremony, and their Royal Highnesses will also be present at St. George's, Hanover-square, on the 25tli, when the Hon. Dudley Gordon, second son of the Earl and Countess of Aberdeen, marries Miss Cecile Drummond. The welcome which the City of London will give the Colonial Premiers will be a. particu- larly warm one. The feature of tlie day will 'be the presentation of the Freedom to Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Mr. Deakin, Sir Joseph "Ward, Dr. Jameson, General Botha, Mr. "Moor and Sir R. Bond, and thus at one fell swoop the City will double its number of honorary freemen, the half-dozen st'dl living being Royal personages, great statesmen or great military leaders. The addresses 01 wel- come will be exquisite works of art., and the caskets to contain them, beautiful examples of the goldsmith's art, will be of solid gold. The casket itself is in the form of a hoi low golden sphere, upon which is traced the map of the world, with special regard to the British Empire. The presentation will be followed by a Guildhall lunch, at which many distinguished guests will be present, and after this there is to be a conversazione in the art gallery, library, and council chamber of the Guildhall. The streets of the City are to be decorated as lavishly as for a Royal visit, and special efforts are to be made to give the adornments special significance, thE> arms and products of the Colonies forming the basis 01 caamy designs. S. J.

Considerable forethought was shown by a man named McGarrity, who committed suicide on Hampstead Heath. A few days beforehand ha asked a Salvation Army insurance agent: "Does your society pay out for suicides?" and was told "Yes." The funeral took place at Sandback of George Agamemnon Upton, grandson of Lieutenant i Burns, who served under Nelson at the Battle i of the Nile. Mr. Upton was given as his second Christian name that of the ship on which his grandfather served. "Like many more people I was quickl) affected by damp or wet weather. The result was that at one time Sciatica held me in its clutches to such an extent that I was tortured night aDd day." The speaker, Mr. John Jackson, of 2, Myrtle- street, Heywood, near Manchester, has had an agonising experience of Sciatica, and in a thankful spirit he willingly related how Dr. Williams' Pink Pills rescued him from a wretched existence of pain. "That was about four years ago," he con- tinued. The pains of Sciatica caught me first THESE WERE HIS SYMPTOMS. IHIS SYMPTOMS. in the lower part of the back I and then ran right down my legs into my feet. Sharp, piercing pains they were, that I came on like a flash, so that I could hardly move. Only with the greatest difficulty could I get on with my work. These terrible attacks would seize me without warning, and from being in torture and the constant dread of another my face became haggard and drawn. Each attack would leave me for a time with my limbs too tender to be touched. I shudder even now when I recall that awful feeling, as though red hot wires were being run through me. At night I would be distracted with pain as I lay in bed, with sleep out of the question as soon as I got warm the pains began. "I saw one medical man and then another, but in spite of treatment I felt no relief from the Sciatica. For months I hobbled about in this pitiable state, awfully depressed and hopeless. I was eating practically no food, and lost weight steadily. My strength had become so reduced that work was almost beyond me. Then my wife read of a case like my own in which Dr. Williams' Pink Pills had cured the sufferer. So she got a supply of Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for me, and I began to take them regularly. I did not notice much improvement at first, though my appetite improved. After a while, however, the pains grew less acute, while the attacks were not so frequent. So I continued to make pro- gress, all the time regaining strength until there was no doubt about it; I was cured of the Sciatica. Dr. Williams' Pink Pills altered my life entirely, and the best proof is that I have never had a twinge of the complaint since then." Mrs. Jackson added "Yes, my husband was made a different man by Dr. Williams' Pink Pills if at any time he gets run down I obtain Dr. Williams' Pink Pills, for they strengthen him so." Thousands of cured men and women speak from experience of benefits derived from Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People in cases of Anaemia, General Weakness, Indigestion, Eczema, Sciatica, Rheumatism; Pains in the Back, St. Vitus' Dance, Neuralgia, Nervous Disorders, and Paralysis. Sold by dealers, but always ask for the genuine pills (seven words as above); if in doubt send to the British Depot, 46, Holborn-viaduct, London, 2s. 9d. for one box, or for six j Js. 9d. An interesting illus- trated pamphlet describing many cures will be sent post free on application.

SEIZES IV SGiATJCA. This Man Lived in Torture. No Respite Day or Night. Never a Twinge of Pain Now. Cured and Strengthened by INN& jw-,m g% m S% ur.wiiilalli Plnh Pills

CHRONIC BRONCHITIS, NASAL CATARRH & ASTHMA. A SPEEDY HOME CURE. GRANVILLE H. SHARPE, F.C.S., Analyst (late Lecturer on Chemistry to the Liverpool School of Science") 11 & 12 Great Tower Street, E.C., says—" I HEREBY CERTIFY that I have sub- mitted to a careful Chemical Examination, a sample of VENO'S LIGHTNING COUGH CURE, and I consider it to be a skilfully prepared specific, possessing In an agreeable and inviting form, valuable curative and palliative properties. It promptly relieves the painful irritation caused by coughs, colds, etc., and is FREE FROM THE DANGEROUS DRUGS that are frequently present in preparations used for similar purposes. 1 am of opinion that it will prove a valuable remedy in the cure of coughs, colds, asthma, and all bronchial complaintš. fin mm JLBK FOR Iff ENDS LIGHTNING 0 Iff COUCH CURE mHh Ita forest and mo«t efficient Earned? procurable for Iff COUCH CURE mHh Ita forest and mo«t efficient Earned? procurable for mm Coughs, Colds, Bronchitis. H Asthma, Catarrh, Weak IB Lungs & Children's Cou^ho* S,d., 1/14 and 2/9 per bottle. iiI all Chemists and Drug Stores everywhere.

A strange sight was witnessed in Bayswater- road, London. One of the new motor-cabs caught fire, and blazed furiously. Several fire engines came upon the scene, and the firemen, in order to extinguish the flames, threw large quantities of sand on to the burning vehicle. A.n overflow of petrol caused the outbreak. WEATHER FORECAST FOR THE KITCHEN.—Stormy and Squalls, unless Cook is kept in a good frame of mind by a liberal supply of Keating's Powder, which keeps pantry and larder free from Beetles, Ants, and Cock- roaches. Sold by Chemists, Grocers and Oil- men, in tins only, 3d., 6d., and Is. Bellows (filled), 9d. The Claydon Ruri-decanal Chapter (Suffolk) have resolved, "that it is the duty of both clerical and lay-members of the Church to up- hold religion and morality by their votes in all I great political questions, but the clergy should not introduce politics into the pulpit unless ab- solutely necessary."

MUTINY IN A LONDON GAOL. Wormwood Scrubbs Gaol has during the last few days been the scene of some sensa- tional incidents. For some time the spirit of mischief seems to have held sway (says the "Morning Leader"), and at length to have broken out into rebellion. One evening a convict, working as a shoemaker on the fourth floor, was temporarily let out of his cell. Breaking away from the warder, he ran along the corridor, and, seizing a chain which worked the ventilating apparatus, he climbed up it like a monkey. Having hidden under his clothes a shoemaker's hammer, he used this to smash the fixed glass skylight that gave him access to free air. The noise of the falling glass brought up relays of warders, but they were held at bay. If they moved to capture him the convict stopped their progress with a well-aimed piece of glass. Having exhausted this, he hammered the tiles into pieces, and used these as ammunition. This went on until everything that was within his reach being expended, he quietly surrendered. On Sunday morning from 100 to '120 pri- soners were patrolling the exercise yard under the supervision of four warders only. Suddenly the shoemaker-convict stepped from the file and threw his cap into the air. Then he assumed an impudent attitude of defiance. Inspired by this, the other convicts broke out into open insubordination, and be- came menacing. The officers sounded their whistles, and other warders rushing upon the scene, singled out the ringleaders, and seiz- ing them dragged them into the gaol, where they were locked in their cells. Later the same morning another convict ran wild. He had been transferred from an- other gaol, and was classified as a "danger- ous" man. Making a dash for a waste-pipe that ran up the building, he quickly mounted this until he was some 30ft. from the ground. There he remained. A well-directed stream of water from a fire hose, however, brought him down pretty quickly. The other convicts became abso- lutely ungovernable, and in the end the governor had to resort to severe measures. By his orders two men were placed in irons, pending the visiting justices' award of the punishment they merited, and others were ordered three days' confinement in their cells, with a diet of bread and water. Much of the trouble is, it is stated, dis- tinctly traceable to the fact that the prison is understaffed, as may be gathered by the statement that with a thousand convicts at- tending the chapel the guard only consists of 21 warders.

BIG INSURANCE FIGURES. There are no fewer than 27,941,960 people whose lives are insured in the United King- dom, and the total value of the policies in force amounts to the enormous total of £ 1,005,808,588. These facts are, however, brought to light in a voluminous Blue-book giving the returns of the ninety-five British insurance, companies which carry on life in- surance business. The companies have assets totalling X384,398,298 in value and they receive in premiums nearly X37,000,000 a year. The most remarkable fact is the large proportion of the insurances in force which have been undertaken by the eighteen companies doing industrial business. Ordinary policies num- ber 2,397,915, and the amount is £ 754,252,481, while the industrial run up to 25,544,045, but the amount is £ 251,556,107. The significance of this fact is seen when it is pointed out that the total premiums are divided between tho two classes of insurance as follows:—Ordinary J625,000,000, Indus- trial X12,000,000. Thus it is evident that, taking an average, the insurers in industrial companies, most of whom are working people, pay premiums of about J61 for every £ 21 insured, while those who hspre their policies in the ordinary companies obtain an insurance value of just over X30 for every XI premium. I

STANDARDIZING THE SAUSAGE. I "What is a sausage" is a question which has often been asked, but which no one has yet been able to answer. "There is abso- lutely no legal or authoritative definition of a. sausage," says the "Lancet," and this fact is held acountable for certain frauds fre- quently practised on patrons of the sausage. "Surely it is time, says the journal, "that the sausage should be standardized, and that the selling of a commodity by that name should be an offence unless it is proved to contain a reasonable amount of meat. There is nothing to be said against a well-made sausage which is prepared with sound meat. On the contrary, it affords a valuable, con- venient, and appetizing food, and that being go, the sausage should be standardized so as to prevent its being loaded with a cheap substitute which is nearly always bread or broken and waste biscuits. We can see no difficulty about introducing such a desirable reform and abolishing a palpable fraud. The practice may not poison people, but it I certainly swindles them."

A HAUNTED NECKLACE. A story of a haunted necklace, which for- merly belonged to the Maharani of Cooch Behar and is supposed to bring -bad fortune to everyone connected with it, comes from India. The necklace is composed, of pearls and turquoises, and while it was in the Maharani's possession she was robbed of a quantity of valuable jewellery. The Maha- raja, too, lost some of his best racing ponies by death and breakdowns. Things were beginning to look serious, and the advice of a pundit was sought. He pre- scribed a change of ownership and a voyage across the sea in order to break the spell. The necklace, it is stated, was then given to a lady in England, As a result, the Maharaja has begun to win races again, and the Maha- rani has recovered her stolen property. The present owner of the necklace, how. ever, has been the victim of persistent ilI- fortune from the day that it came into her possession.

Mrs. Amanda Hill, of Morris Hill, Nebraska, "became hysterical, and after singing for four days without stopping, died of exhaustion. Mr. R. T. Coryndon, Administrator for North- Western Rhodesia, has been appointed Resident Commissioner for Swaziland. For the murder of his son-in-law, Edmund Clarke, at Quarry Bank on December 1, Joseph Jones, a stockkeeper, was executed (lot Staf- ford. Seventy homeless men, not one of whom was sober, were stated at Manchester Police Court to have slept on the brick-works at Cheetham Hill. Mr. Justice Warrington has so far recovered from the effects of his recent accident that he has been able to leave for his country residence in Wiltshire. "Female education in Japan" is the title of a paper which Baron Kikuchi will read before the Japan Society on April 10 at 20, Hanover- square. The cast of Mr. Louis N. Parker's new comedy, "Mr. George," which will be produced at the Vaudeville about the middle of April, will in- clude Mr. Charles Hawtrey. Thomas Nolan, a labourer, fifty-eight years old, was remanded at Liverpool on a charge of murdering his wife by cutting her throat and battering her head. In consequence of the demand for Burton beer in Lancashire, a Bolton firm of Brewers are bringing water by rail from Burton-on-Trent in order to brew the beer.

I MAID AND MASSEUR. Details of an exceedingly ingenious rob- bery from a demi-mondaine living in the Rua Richelieu, Paris, have transpired. Tne lady suffered acutely from rheumatism, and, on the advice of a maid, engaged a "masseur," who promised to effect a cure with the aid of electricity. The "masseur" accordingly came to the house and encased the lower limbs of his patient in plaster of Paris as a prelimi- nary. The preparation of his electrical ap- paratus, he informed her, would take about two hours. During that time mademoiselle might hear sounds like the breaking of fur- niture. She need, however, feel no alarm, it would only be the "apparatus." So saying, the "masseur" left the apart- ment, and in a little while the sounds of which he had spoken made themselves heard in an adjourning room. For the prescribed two hours the patient waited in confidence, but when the period had been considerably exceeded, she began to feel some surprise, which deepened into anxiety. The plaster casing proved a difficult thing to grapple with, but at length sufficient of it was re- moved to enable the patient to walk. She then found that her rooms had been ran- sacked, and that her maid and the "mas- seur" were missing, together with jewellery and money to the total value of about £ 150. So far the police have been unable to find the,. thieves, and the unfortunate victim ra. mains a prey to chagrin, and rheumatism.

Several priests who attended the funeral pro- cession of two of the Jena victims at Brest have been summoned for illegal exercise of their religion on the public highway. Misa Pauline Chase will be presented in London by Mr. Charles Frohman next season in the title role of a new play in which Joan of Arc is the leading figure. As many as 12,000 boxes, containing over 60 tons of flowers, were shipped from Guernsey for the Easter markets. This beats all records for the island. A collection of the works of Frederick J. Shields was formally opened in the City Art Gallery at Manchester, where his early struggling days were spent. Half a million of money is to be spent on the construction of two huge reservoirs at Ponders End for the Metropolitan Water Board, and the work will keep 1,000 men employed for five years. Probate has been granted of the will of the late Marchioness of Ripon, formerly a Ladv of the Bedchamber to the Queen when Princess of Wales, who died on February 28 last, leaving £ 49,316 gross. J Mabel Grinstead was committed for trial at Hastings on the charge of giving a poisoned pie to a tram conductor named Sinden. It was stated that Sinden, who is married, had fre- quently taken Grinstead about.

THE SINS OF SOCIETY. Although Father Vaughan has been preach- ing against the Sins of Society, he is not the first in the field. Mr. G. W. E. Russell tells ua in "Seeing and Hearing" how Mr. Wilkinson, of St. Peter's, Eaton-square, some years ago re- buked the sins of all and sundry, from Duchesses to scullery-maids, Premiers to page- boys, octogenarian rakes to damsels in their teens. Then, as now, Society loved to be scolded, and the more Mr. Wilkinson thundered the more it crowded to his feet. "Pay your bills." "Get up when you are called." "Don't stay till three at a ball, and then say you are too deli- cate for early services." "Eat one dinner a day instead of three, and try to earn that one "Give up champagne for the season, and what you save on your wine merchant's bill send to the mission field. 1 ou are sixty-five years old and have not been confirmed. Never too late to mend. Join a Confirmation Class at once, and try to remedy, by good example now, all the harm you have done your servants or your neighbours by fifty years' indifference." "Sell that diamond cross which you carry with you into the sin-polluted atmosphere of the Opera, give the proceeds to feed the poor, and wear the only real cross—the cross of self-discipline and self-denial."

AN IMPERIAL OFFICE. A suggestion of the formation of an Imperial Office is put forward by Lieutenant L. H. Hor- dern, R.N., in a pamphlet which he has issued, called "The Beginnings of an Imperial Part- nership." The department would be composed of selected representatives of all the various States of the Empire, each one of whom must control and be responsible for the conduct of his own branch of the Imperial Office. The duty, then, of this department is to col- lect and co-ordinate information, to point the way. The function is that of the compass. It neither works the machinery which drives the vessel nor moves the helm, but it is there to be consulted by those whose duty it is to set the course and direct the ship of State. The in- telligence it collects will be partly confidential, partly for public guidance. It may publish monographs on special subjects, or make con- fidential reports, but in either the informa- tion it furnishes must have been carefully sifted and considered by all the States, and not merely by the Government of the United King- dom. The British Cabinet must be able to turn to it for knowledge as to what is desired on a particular occasion by the Governments of the other States, and the teply must be forthcoming in the shortest possible time. The executive must be able to feel assured that if it acted in accordance with this information it has the whole of the Empire behind it; while, if it fails to do so, it is acting contrary to the wishes of the rest of the Empire, to which it owes an explanation of its action.

"Stop playing that trombone, sir. The man next door says he can't read." "Never heard of such ignorance. Tell him I could read when I was five years old."

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Some forty applications, it was reported to the Chiswick District Council, had already been received for flats in connection with the touricil's houlging scheme at Strand-on-the- Green. It has been decided to give preference to local men earning low wages. There are forty tenements in all, and the rents fixed vary from 4s. 9d. to 6s. 3d. per week. Earl Cadogan has given half an acre of free- hold land in Manor-street to the Chelsea Bor- ough Council for the erection of dwellings for workmen whose incomes do not exceed 25s. a week. Constant knocking at doors, it was stated at Clitheroe, had created an unnatural growth covering the knuckles of the right hand of a tramp, who was sent to prison for fourteen days for begging.