The Aberdare Times

lllisttIIantnns fnttlligeittt, H-OME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL. A CHEERFUL SORT OF PARTY.—The following advertisement appeared in the London Times, on Friday in last week:—"A little lady, forced by temporary pecuniary troubles to leave home, seeks one as companion. Speaks French, is a superior vocalist, can ride, row, and keep a house cheerful. Could act as an amanuensis. If for a youny; lady, could finish her in music, rend French, Italian, &c., with hjr." We do not pritt the little lady's address (remarks trie Pall Mall Gazette)-it would be useless now. Scores of those solitary old gentlewomen who long for a companion" have by this time responded to the overtures of a treasure who cannot only speak French and sing prettily, and keep a house cheerful, but ride and row. A MONSTER F ARM.- One of the monster farms of modern times is that of General TJrquiza, of Buenos Ayres. It is composed of an unbroken body of 900 square miles, over which countless thousands of horses, cattle, and sheep are grazing. Of cattle the farm sends over 50,000 annually to the slaughter. The horses would supply the cavalry of a large army, and from the wool of the sheep, ships are loaded annually and sent directly to Europe. The buildings are ranged round two large squares, the open space of which is paved with dressed stones. The gardens and orchards are in keeping with the other features of the < state, and contain an endless variety of horticultural and floral treasures. Among other, improvements is an artificial lake, 75 rods squire and from 20ft. to 30ft. deep, the cost of which was. 20,0P0 £ in silver. Near the main residence is a permanent encampment of soldiers under the general's immediate command. A, SHARK INCIDENT."—A very fine painting from the able brush of Mr. Hunten, the accomplished mariner painter; of Hamburg, has been:recently exhi- bited in Glasgow; and has been painted to order, to illuitratethe following shark incident J In May, 1846,'the barque Anna Bella, of Port-Glasgow, ijatfbn the passage from London to Tobago, West Indies. The- crew Were in the habit of having fishing lines over th6 ship's stern, for the purpose of catching dolphin. One day, whet: sailing in the N.E trade winds, at the rate of about three knots, an hour, the wind right aft and very light, the ship" carrying all sail, with studding sails on both sides, an immense shark was hooked. The fishing line was not strong enough ";to haul the monster up over the stem, aad, in order te better secure ft, the line and shark were passed along to the starboard gangway, where the ship's side .was lowest, for the purpose of getting a bow line hitch passed round the' shark, it of- getting a proper sbafk-hook tackled in ltilawib. Witl1. this intention, Matthew Dow, the chief-mate (Since and now-well-known as a shipmaster out of Clyde,) got a ahark- hcok, with a long strong line attached to'it, and went-over the ship's rail In to the main chains, and while Jhehelit on with one hand, he tried with the other to hook the shark By the mouth, as the sailors contriver), with the flshthg-line, to piill the'shark's head a little out of the. water. WhVle go doing, the mate accidentally missei his. hoM anct-jeli Into the sea, and right: astride the shark's back, %he;ba#k fin of which h$clutohed In desperation, and the'feel of which was rough as a file. The shark, feeling the weight of Dow on its back, darted away from the ship's side, and the jerk on the fishing line nearly cut the hands of the sailors who held it They again contrived to divert the shark's head to the ship's side Captain Patterson, the master of the vessel, who was a muscular man, seeing the imminent peril of his mate, sprang over into the main chains, hung himself down, and, by a great effort, got hold of the mate by the collar, and by his muscular strength, aided by the crew, managed to pull him up from his perilous position, all hands standing aghast paralysed with horror. Meantime the shark, by a desperate eff.rt, got away uff the hook and escaped. A DOG STORY.—A. gentleman in New Haven recently erected^ie3r one of the colleges a large and beautiful residence, and adorned the grounds ;with more than ordinary-.taste and expense. Among other ornaments, not far from the street, he plaoed a large cast-iron statue of a dog, whoRe belligerent appearance and defiant attitude made him look as large as life and twice~as ugly. For weeks afterwards-the little dogs, on passing by Hhtfliouse, nevtir failed to give the statue a complimentary- bark and growl, which, however, never disturbed its equanimity. But One day a big old Towser from the country wasfollowing his master's market vtfaggon into town, and happened to spy the hostile forat of .his cast-iron foe. A preliminary growl andbow-jyow produced no effect. Surly and .defianf his enemy continued to gaze at 'him. Canine nature could "stand it no longer One leap over* the ffence brought him into tHe yard, and two- or three mora carried him to hig inute :antagonist. Quicker than' thought lie attempted to fasten his teeth -on- the cast- iron chops of the statue,: but the next moment gave'up the contest. The last that was seen of that dog ne was seen sneaking out of the yard with his tail between his legs, the most completely sold specimen of canipe society we ever witnessed.. EXAGGERATION OF LANGUAGE—But hardly a day passes that we-are not tempted into the committal of this sort of exaggeration by the wholesale manner in wliich we use the superlative degree of "comparison in all our adjectives (remarks the London Review). Superlatives are dangerous thiogs. A man once wrote to his wiftt-" My dearest Maria;" and by return of post he received a cold reply—" Permit me to correct JAPONIC GENERAL.—General Sherman ha?_ recei+Jpd "his' commission as Lieutenant-General. tHe<;has'ddrefsed a gathering: of his friends in Washington staging tfra £ "'he h^d' nothingr to say. His home was in St. Loiii^ Hé was going to the Plains, where he would be happy to see thosfe" before him. Theless a map said Washington the "better." The General was sereriadfed-in -Cleveland- on his way west, and gave utterance !to soiiie 7very charatsteristifc remarks. I see/' he said, that: the Atlantic cable has Wen successfully laid. That's a great thing. -1 also see that Congress has adjourned. That's a gooij thingT". t; ,¡ A RAPACIOUS STEWARD !—The tendency'of thë generality af ^e^gtewaivls to enroach upon the fortune of. their masters is almost? proverbial. Bui what can be said of the rapicity of this one :— r r Last montha rich landlords Normandy was ordered'by his physician to go to Kissengen in Drder to recruit hia health. tSelyre jeavink hie gave a powtr of attorney to hit steward^, very;.inteUigent, but: yet moreg self-interested A: few. days afterwards the steward put the paper In his pocket, aud called on the tabellion of the commune. Mr Nljjtary did, he say, my master has given'ine ajprocnrationrj-jcan I; make me-of it to act in his name?" 'VCertainly iOt is »■' powsr of attorneyf or general purposes. Jjfct me see it!. Yes, it is all light..You can transact business for your master 'J sign inshis n»rae any fieed, ,«c. Any1" Undoubtedly. "5 Then, Mr. Notary, please-to open your register ."You: wi»h to maWa-a»e of fche-power y<flir master gave^u?"; Yes I intend to make hia will in ray favour." 11.1. AVIEIR NATIVE LAND !—During the past few -&eeks numbers of families have left the iron s. apd'^aeial districts of South Waies for the United States, and this mania for emigration has taken such a permanent hold of the miners and iron workers that the exodus is expected to keep up for some time, not- withstanding the improved prospects of the staple trades of the district. It is well known that the masters were greatly influenced in withdrawing the late notice of a reduction in wages by the preparations the men and their families were making to emigrate, and it was thought that the concession made by them, together with the unsatisfactory reports received from those who had gone out, would have at least in a great measure stopped the movement. Such,Tiowever, has not been the result, and the only ground to account for it is; that the large number of hands who have been thrown out of work by the: great crisis through which the commercial world haspassed are thoroughly tired of, as they say, Roping against hope," and have de- termined to risk the chances of the American labour- market. t — v PLEASANT TO R RECORVI-Ireland ia now filled with tourists, whose annual outlay makes up a very important item in the monetary statistics of localities such as KiUarney, the Giant's Cause way, ;Gal way. and the west, and Wicklow ajpd the east coast. What a local journal (the.Bray Gazette) remarks of the last- mentioned district, may be-eaid of all: — ':f English tourists, it is pleasant to record, are now travel- ling through the picturesque districts round Bray, and to be found in such variety in the county of Wicklow in consider- able' numbers. It is also pleasant to note that, wherever they are met with in their wanderings, they express them- selves well pleased; with tha_charms of the scenery, the civility of the people, and the.convenlence and moderation in charges of the various fine hotels of the coupty. It is an excellent thing not only to impress visitors thus at the time of their visit to the county, bijt also to insure their carrying away such a lasting good impression that they will come again, and induce others to come with ihem. LONGEVITY IN ENGLAND.—The mortality re- turns of England for 1864 show that in that year 98 persons (28 men and 70 women) died who had reached 100 years of age or upwards, one woman dying at 108 and one man at 109. Of these 98 very old people twelve jjSSed in London, viz., one at the age of 106, two at 105, four at 103, one at 102, and one at 101, and the re- maining three at 100 each. In Yorkshire, with nearly three-fourths of the population of the metropolis, there were only three. There were three also in the north- midland division, which had not two-thirds of the population of Yorkshire; and Wales, with less than half the population of London, had 21 centenarians in its obituary. The man and woman who had attained the great ages of 108 and 109 years respectively, re- sided, the former at Hereford, and the latter at Bolton, in Lancashire. ASSASSINATION IN FRANCE.—An assassination is repoffced fronsrSji, j&erre-Eglise, in the neighbour- hood ofCherbourg. The victim was a widow named Poutas, fifty-one yfears of age, who kept a wine shop. The murderer, a man named Duval, a shoemaker in the same place, entered the house in the night with Oe intention of committing a robbery, but in conse- quence of the resistance offered by the victim, he struck hfer repeated blows on the head, and then he hanged her to a door with a piece of rope. Tie afterwards egpteacked the house in search of money, which, how- ijgy#r, he could not discover. He then withdrew, and TH the course of the day attended high mass. Towards half-past ten in the morning the widow's sen, who lived near, noticing that the house was unopened, got in through the yard behind, and found his mother extended on the floor, the rope having broken, and the absence of her husband, was on Friday evening at Greve-de-Lecq (on the north side of the island), in a slightly intoxicated state, when she was seen and fol. lowed by the two prisoners, who dragged her into a copse, where they violated her. Two little girls, who f«BW the prisoners dragging the decease*} towards the copsfe, Informed their mtittwr, who hMttmM to On spot, and saw the prisoner Tull struggling with the deceased. and Le Brun standing a short distance off. She asked the latter, whom she knew, why he suffered the deceased to be ill-treated, when he replied, That's h-r busi- ness let her ffet out of the pickle as she best can." She ran off for assistance, and a Mrs. Renouf, a neighbour, and her son, a young man, returned with her. As they approached, the prisoners threatened to kill them if they went near. This so frightened them that they dared not render the deceased any assistance. As soon as the prisoners had left, the deceased, assisted by the witnesses of tbe outrage, walked home, and after lin- gering till Saturday night died The inquiry has been adjourned. The deceased was 36 j ears of age. THE EX-KING OF HANOVER.—King George is more tenacious than ever. Only very recently he replied to a deputation from Hanover, begging him to abdicate in favour of his Bon-that" he held his crown from God, and would only live it back to God on his deathbed." A few days ago only he said to an officer, "In reorganizing my army I shall resume the old red uniform. I will no longer allow my soldiers to resemble the Prussians." It has been calculated at Hanover that there will remain to the King a private fortune of fifty millions of thalers. It is supposed that, when compelled to leave his late dominions, he will come to England, and take his seat next session in the House of Lords as the Duke of Cumberland." A SAD CASK !—We are heartily sorry for the editor of the Church Review (remarks the Pall Mall Gazette) In his leading article of Saturday he com- plains that while the C-lurch of England has ordered all good Churchmen to fast on certain days of the week the doctors say that when the cholera is about it is dangerous to do so. No rioubt, he says, the doctors are right; it isplain that when the Church laid down her rule she did not intend it to be of iron; but, unfortunately, no one in authority comes forward to grant the necessary dispensation from the rule, and ao the editor oL the: Church Review and his fellow religionists are in danger of dying of cholera if they keep ,ity and of losing their souls if they don't. We cannot wonder that in such dire extremity the Bishop of Ltindon is implored to give some sign. In common humanity it is to be hoped he will do so, unless he hopelltoget rid of the ritualists by making martyrs of them. A CHOLERA DRINK.-—Messrs. J. and W. Dud- geon write to The Times to recommend as a drink suited to this choleraic season angostura bitters, which they have adopted with most beneficial results amongst their workmen at Mill wall and Cubitt-town. They speak of these bittt-rs as coming from Venezuela, and as haying been long known and extensively used in the. West Indies and South America as a cheap, agreeable, and effectual specific for diarrhoea. The bitters are made by infusion from the bark of the Galipcea Cusparia. But unfortunately they are very easily imitated by using the bark of the nux vomica tree instead of that of the Galipcea Cusparia, and an infusion of the bark of the nux vomica tree is a deadly poispn. Angostura bitters were first introduced into England in 1788, and for many years were held in great esteem; but in 1804 so many cases of poisoning resulted from their adulteration with nux vomica that their use was almost entirely abandoned. About the same time and for the same reason the sale of Angostura bitters was forbidden by !1.w in Hamburg, Austria, Bavaria, and Wurtemburg. The Lancet says that there an easy and certain test for distinguish- ing the true and wholesome from the false and poisonous^ bark is obtained by tincturing its inner surface with nitric acid, when the false bark becomes blood red, whilst the true bark retains its colour. But this test offers no-security to purchasers of the bitters. PUBLIC RECANTATION.—The ordinary course of morning service at Burslem parish church was de- parted from on Sunday week for the purpose of en- abling a convert from Roman Catholicism to make a public recantation, and to afford an opportunity of re-baptising a child of the convert, a gentleman of the name of Hollamby. In the middle of the service Mr. Hollamby presented his child for baptism, when the questions prescribed in the Prayer-book in the case of a child supposed to have been previously baptised were put to him by the rector, the Rev. Dr. Armstrong. Dr. Armstrong baptised it in the usual form, he and his niece' acting as sponsors. Mr. Hollamby then re- quested to be allowed publicly to read his recantation. The rector produced the form of recantation which was sanctioned by the late-Archbishop of Canterbury, and used by the rector on numerous previous occasions. This was read aloud by Mr. Hollamby. During these ceremonies the most breathless attention pervaded the church. CLAIM TO THE ENGLISH PEERAGE.—A dis- covery was made during the late war in Germany, which is likely to add another chapter to the romance of the English peerage.: When James Radcliffe, Earl of Derwentwater, was executed for the share in the rising on behalf of the Pretender, in 1715, he left a son, the Hon. John Radcliffe, and a daughter, Anne Maria, who afterwards married the eighth Lord Petre. The son, although he lost his title of nobility by the attainder of his father, was admitted tenant in tail of all his settled estates, and the fortune of the Earl's daughter was also raised and paid out of the same. The Earl's son was in possession of the estates during sixteen years, and had he lived to attain twenty-one, he might have effectually dealt with them so that they could not at any future time have been affected by the attainder of his noble father, or of his uncle, Charles Radcliffe. Upon his supposed or reputed death in 1731, without issue,, the estates were confiscated by the Crown, notwithstanding the fact that collateral relatives were living at the time. It is now asserted that the Hon. John-Radcliffe did not die in 1731, as reported, but that he escaped to the Continent, and lived in Germany to the;ag& of eighty-six. Moreover, it is alleged that, a ISjdy is now living at Blaydon-on- Tyne who claims to bft lineal descendant of the John Radcliffe in qne4ion. This is the Lady Amelia Matilda Mary Tudof B-adcliffe, Countess of Wald- steine Wafers, Whose claims- were brought under the notice of Governmenften- years ago. ONE *)F THE: STRFIET SIGHTS OF PARIS.—Not the least of the celebrities of Paris is a street astro- nomer, M. Billault. Hè:1R generally to be found in the evening in .the Place^endome, where he fixes a splendid telescope, sAid-to; have Cost a thousand pounds. On the pavement he xiraws with chalk a sort of pro- gramme i»f what is to be geen during the evening. This is artistieally executed~in:white.and black, and there is sometimes much wit jn the title he gives to the spec- tacle of the evening, J?he price for a peep at the moon or any of the plaijets ia half a franc or fivepence, but with'a view to extend-a taste for science among the working classes, he wilLafrow a poor man to look at half price; One evening Ihe Abbe Moigno, who is equally noted for religion, science, and amiability, arrived irfthe place Veifdciiué. The announcement on the pavement was, £ Pbis evening the comet is visible." What,r»aid theabbej "have you seen acomft up |l there ?" lVYe*, l'hbbe," said M. Billault, "look through the^eijslbpe for yourself." The erudite priest mcTlmted the l&ddfer'for the purpose. He saw the comet perfectly, and said, But the Observatory is not aware that there is a comet in Pari?. When you discovered it in your observations upon the clouds, why did you not give them notice ?" The Observa- tory," replied M. Billault with a smile, is in compe- tition against me." At night M. Billault shows the moon to the Parisians when she is to be seen, and in the day he exhibits to them the spots in the sun. On some occasions he makes a good deal of money, for in- stance, during an eclipse. He is no vulgar man, but describes the planets scientifically and wittily. Some of his pavementary illustrations, to coin the word, are ,^ery quaint and. remarkable. WORKHOUSE' RELIGION.—It would appear that not only in relation to the treatment of the sick in workhouses. is there need of inquiry, and, possibly, room for improvement—there exists in some of these establishments )Vha.t, if correctly represented, is a worse than Coriathian abuse, and we sincerely trust that the competent authorities will do their utmost to remedy what we believe to be at once unseemly and -degrading to the inmates (remarks the Poor-Law r Chronicle). It wilFrroarcely be credited that in some workhorses prevails a custom of holding Divine ser- vice for the inmates in the same room as that in which they partake of their meals. Such being the fact, the inevitable deviations from gropriety, which occur will 'readily be imagined. Not only, in such cases, are Divine things blended with- secular to a degree pre- judicial to the former, bufc-conveifsations, sometimes 'ota notivery elevated character, are succeeded by the services ^(almost Detore the echoes have subsided), to "be" resumed on ^thi disappearance of the minister. .Considering the importance of the subject and the bad example presented to those whom it should be our Aim to elevate tojthsi- social scale — and how can this be •better achieved than by a proper respect to the ser- vices of religion ?^rifc is to be hoped that the President of'the Poor-law Ijjoard may avail himself of the occa- sion to promotejihe best interests of society and to further his reputation. A PHOTOGRAPHIC SPY.—One would have thought that photography was essentially an art of peace, but it is also a war of contrivance. In 1864 a Prussian photographer was travelling in Bohemia, stopping in each town and in every village to photograph people for a very small sum of money. Meantime he took many photographic views of the country. Last month, which was so disastrous to Austrian arms, a farmer of Gitschin had to quarter a Prussian Staff Colonel. He stood gaping several minutes at the sight of the officer, who was no other than the strolling artist who had taken his photograph two years ago. Having recoverded himself a, little, he ventured to ask his guest how he became a ColoneL The officer answered him—"Rather ask me how I became a photographer." No wonder that the Prussians knew so well every corner of Bohemia during the recent war. THE LAW OF TRADE MARKS.—The general sense of what is due alike to the public and the in- terests of commerce causes the Trade Marks'Act to be enforced in nearly all places with wholesome severity According to the recent advices from India the polil-e m June last entered the premises of a printer in Calcutta and seized a large quantity of forged labels of several Enghsh manufacturers, among which were those tLV h?,? L«a and Ptrrins, P. and J.Arnold, R/™,? Martin, and Crosse and Blackwell. The under th^T y commenced a prosecution tliflPonoiMrj Acts (India), section 485 of j ^fkieh resulted in the conviction of the naer, and his being sentenced to two years' rigorous mprisonment. A similar punishment was awarded to a I?L1VL whom some of the spurious goods upon which the forged labels were placed had been sold. JHE FUTURE OF ENGLAND. The "Morning Star" refuses altogether to consider the question of foreign wars. Such wars ought (in the opinion of that journal) for us to be impossible and must be if our rulers do not most grossly betray their trust. We shall have no more armies in the Crimea, or in any other part of the Continent of Europe, with the good will of the people of this country. To increase our standing army would be simply to put a temptation into the way of Governments to interfere in quarrels with which we have no concern. Let us be safe at home by all means. Let our forces be so organised that they shall be homogeneous and effective. We have plenty of men and abundance of courage. We have no lack of wealth and all the machinery necessary for the efficient management of our defences. What is really required is more honesty in that management, more common sense, and less selfishness on the part of the governing classes. Were the army, militia, and volunteers in this cotuitry pat upon a sound footing, and brought into closer association the one with the other, all would be done that could be desired for the protection of our shores. A DETHRONED GERMAN PRINCE.—From the moment the decree for the annexation of Electoral Hesse arrived a change took place in the prince's mode of life. Since Sunday he has separated himself entirely from his most intimate friends, and he does not communicate with anyone. The general table to which, in addition to the Countess Ideuburg, the court lords, and sometime-! even foreign guests, were daily invited, has been done away with. Promenades and pleasure parties have also ceased. On the 20-h of August, the anniversary of his birth, the Prince Elector received no one except his daughter. The same day he sent Major Eschwegs, one of his aides- de-camp, on an extraordinary mission to Berlin.—Oder ■ Gazette.