Potter's Electric News

A ROMANCE OF THE AUSTRALIAN BUSH. I The Melbourne correspondent of the Times tells the following story:—'Returning to the township of Victorian watering place, on a Sunday evening, alter a long stroll in the country, I heard coming up behind me at a trot, about 30 bead of cattle. I observed, as they approached, that they were all milch cows, and that a sort of gentle- man in his shirt sleeves, and well mounted, kept them together on the one side, and a woman, also on horseback, was rounding them up the other side. As she galloped after some errant animal, her habit gracefully flying behind her, and her seat (as she jumped logs and little creeks), safe and assured from long practice, she looked like Die Vernon turned useful; and any one would have pronounced her a lady, and an elegant lady too, had she not been driving cattle, which, to my prejudiced eye, rathpr complicated her personal appearance with a touch of Smithfield. The whole group swept hy, and in a minute were lost in the hush. Early on the next morning I wes walking through the little township before break- fllst, when I saw a milk cart with the most modern style of sbining tin pails in it standing at a door, a man serving the milk, while a woman sat in the cart handling the reins. As they drove off I had a dim recollection of having seen them before, hut where or under what cir- cumstances I could not call to mit.d. I described to my old Scotch landlord what I had seen as above described, and at once he told me what he and all his neighbours evidently regarded as one of the most romantic little stories of which the neighbourhood could boast. The pair of equestrians in the bush and the pair in the milk cart were, it seems, one and the same pair. When young and poor they had married in England despite the oppo- sition of friends. The gentleman had been in the navy, the lady had been delicately nurtured. Soon after mar- riage they resolved to begin the world afresh. They arrived in Victoria very poor. Mr D-, t!le husband, nearly rela ed to a noble family in England, nevertheless, with honourable strength of will, worked with his hands, and his delicate young wite was a devoted and self- denying partner in his hardships. He put by a little money, and bought a few head of stock. And now Mr D —— declares that he is as happy as the day is long, and that he would not exchange his position for the command of the best ship in her Majesty's navy. They have three children pronounced to he w< n lers of pretty behaviout and good training; and the father and mother (say the gossips), after nine years of married life, 'speak to each other more like lovers than like man and wile. Together they round up the cattle of an evening, and together they serve the milk in the morning. In the evening, after the 'kye' are in, she solaces herself and little circle with the piano, and gives an hour or so to the education of her little ones. But it is said she is not altogether as contented as her lord. 'Why!' said I, deeply interested in this little romance of real life. After many questions and many answers, here is the outcome of the cross examination of various witnesses. At the bottom of all the lady's rural felicity is a something wl:ich which poisons it sotnewl a -human pride. She is often addressed as a common milkwoman when she knows she is not a common milkwoman, and she shrinks from the vulgar but extremely natural mistake.' » THREE PERSONS KILLED BY LIGHTNING.-On the 24th inst., Mr Weller, a shopkeeper in Glynde, a small village in East Sussex, accompanied by his wife and another female, went to Brighton, about eleven miles distant, on some business. On their return in the evening they were overtaken by a severe thunderstorm that prevailed for several hours, and when within about two miles from home it would appear that the cart was strulk by the electric fluid, and the three inmates almost instantaneously killed. Their lifeless bodies were dis- covered at]an ar'y hour ffa urday on n orning by a person who was returning from Clynde to Lewes. LANGUAGE.—We are told by a country clergyman, that some of the labourers in his parish had not 30 words in their vocabulary. The vocabulary of the ancient usages of Egypt amounts to 685 words. The libretto of an Italian opera seldom displays a great variety of words. A well educated per on in England seldom uses more than 3,000 or 4,000 words in actual conversation. Accu- rate thinkers and close reasoners, who avoid vague and general expressions employ a larger stock; and eloquent speakers may rise to command of 10,000. Shakespeare, who displayed greater variety of expression than proba- bly any writer, produced all his plays with about 15,000 words. Milton's works are built up wil h about 8,000; and the Old Testament says all that it has to say with 6,6 i2 words. HINTS AS TO BREAKFAST.—A great fault in the diet- etic system of this country consists in the fact that most people are supported mainly by dinner. This meal is consequently too large, and from this unsuspected cause much dyspeptic suffering results. The dyspeptic patient should take something substantial and nourishing for breakfast. Nothing answers the purpose as well as a mutton chop carefully broiled and eaten while hut. It will of course be proper to vary this, should the patient tire of its sameness. Cold roast beef and mutton agree well with a few, but most persons find them heavy. Any of the digestible meats, as game or poultry and occasionally fresh fish, may be tried. Patients persist in saying I can never eat breakfast.' The fact is, the habit of eating largely at dinner has so grown upon them that they are virtually supported by that single meal, and have no appetite for substantial food at any other time. Let the quantity taken at dinner be reso- lutely diminished, and breakfast will soon be appre- ciated. Most dyspeptics digest with greater ease hnimal food taken at breakfast than at dinner. I have often fjund this notably the case with reference to the same quantities taken at both meals. Not only is digestion better performed soon after the repose of the night, than when the nervous energies are more or less exhausted, but owing to the early replenishment of the blood, gastric juice of better quality will be provided for the digesiion of dinner. The time for breakfast must vary with the in- dividual case. On rising from bed, appetite, is often com- pletely wanting, yet the feeble stomach should not be allowed to remain long without refreshment. It will be sometimes proper, especially should the patient rise early, to take only a small cup of tea or coffee, with a biscuit and a little dry toast, immediately on getting up. If circumstances admit of it, gentle exercise out of doors may then be taken, and after an hour or two, the solid breakfast as already recommended. The Causes and Treatment of Imperfect Digestion by Arthur Leared M.D. A STORY OF THE BRUNSWICK FAMILY.—The hearing has just commenced in the Paris courts of a case in which a certain Madame de Civry, alleging herself to be the daughter of the Duke of Brunswick, claims a pension of 35,000 as alimony. The plaintiff's story is that the Duke in 1825 became acquainted in English society with a young lady of rank, Lady-, and under pretext of marriage seduced her, took her to the Duchy of Brunswick. and installed her in a chateau near the Court, where on July 5th she gave birth to the plaintiff. The Duke's name, however, was not entered in the baptismal register as father, but he and Prince William of Brupswick were ] sponsors. Lady- returned to England with her child, in whose education the Duke continued to take an interest till, at the age of 17, she became a Roman Catholic, when he abandoned her. She afterwards, in 1847, with his ,i consent, married the Count de Civry in London—the j marriage creating some talk in the fashionable world, In the announcement of it she was stated to be the daughter of the Duke and Lady, a circumstance which added to his irritation. He never received either her or her husband, and, as they have now been reduced to poverty, this action, after many threats, has been brought, The Duke demurs to it, because, if the plaintiff claims by the law of France, lie is notliable for her maintenance, I since hi* name does not appear, on the register as that of har father; and if she claims by the laws of Brunswick, ( a father is not liable for the maintenance of his natural < child after ]4 years of age. He also gives a different i colour to the story. 'PlaintifPs motber was 1\ Miss-, ( who only assumed the name of Lady as a nom de < guerre, and the Duke met her, not in society, but at .1 the theatre.. There was no seduction or marriage, and s st,e voluntarily became bis mistress. rHe denies that he t quarrelled with the plaintiff on account of her change of i religion. The rupture was occasioned by other reasons, ( and among them he* extraordinary conduct in Paris, I where she called upon hia agent dressed up in man's I clothes. Her marriage^ with M. de Ctvry was a specu- t latiop on the Duke's wealth, but it had the effect of i increaiiing,hia displeasure with the young lady* He had i given his consent to it. He would not, however, enter ( into the reasons why he declined to give her money, but I coDteoed himself with the legal argument, I A NOBLE MABQUIS AND HIS WAY OF SPENDING THE SABBATH.—It is not the poor pitman this time. On the 26th ult., before a bench of magistrates at Lough borough, the Marquis of Hastings was charged with causing a cock to be cruelly tortured, and Edward Plaits, Joseph Farebrother, and James Dumelba, gamekeepers, with aiding and tibetting in the offence. Mr Sleigh con- ducted the prosecution on behalf of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Mr Love, the prin- cipal constable of the'society, said that he had gone down to make inquiries regarding this charge. On the 4th of June, accompanied by an officer of the society, he called on Plat\ who told him that the Marquis of Hastings had had some cock-fighting at Doriington-hall on Sunday three weeks before. He said they fought six pairs of cocks, there were 6 cocks killed, that they had all steel spurs on, and that the Marquis was one of the persons who put the cocks to fight. The other persons accused were present. Mr John Colam. secretary of the society, and Georee Young, an officer in their employment, stated that they had called on Lord Hastings on the 8th of June. They stated who they were, and told his Lordship that he and other gentlemen were accused of having been present at a cockfight at Donington-hall, and he admitted the fight had takeh place. Mr Merewether, who appeared for the Marquis of Hastings, said, after the admission made to the secretary, he thought he could not say that there had been no cock-fighting, but his Lordship denied altogether that there had been any cruelty used in the sense of the words of the information. As far as Lord Hastings and the three keepers were concerned, he should relieve the Bench from any further trouble. A conviction against them was then entered. The magistrates ordered the Marquis of Hastings to pay the full penalty of X5, and the three gamekeepers to pay a fine of it2 each. The secretary stated that it was not tha custom of the society to take moieties of penalties allowed by the Act to com- plainant, and in this he would be glad if the clerk would hand such moieties, amounting to £5 10s., to the Lough- borough Dispensary. THE PROGRESS OF CRICKET.—From a well-written article in Once a Week, on the Progress of Cricket,' we take the following particulars, which will be read with interest by those of our readers who are admirers of the healthy and hardy game --In 1774 cricket made a great start. Sir Horace Mann, who had promoted cricket in Kent, and the Duke of Dorset and Lord Tankerville, win seem to have been the leaders of the Surrey and i Hants Eleven conjointly with other noblemen and gentlemen, formed a committee under the presidency of Sir William Draper. They met at the Star and Garter in Pall Maani laid down the first rules of cricket] which very rules form the basis of the laws of cricket of which very rules form the basis of the laws of cricket of this day. The old skeleton hurdle was abolished, and I wickets (two in number) twenty-two inches high and six inches wide substituted; the weight of the ball was determined to be (as now) five ounces and a half to five ounces and three-qnarters. In the following year, 1775, a middle stump was added, and although the height and widthof the wickets were twice increased subsequently, until they attained their present size. still in all essential points-even allowing for the difference of cricket grounds, the comparatively rough materials for the game, and the changes in style-a cricket match in 1775 must have much resembled a cricket match in 1863, The next great step in cricket was the establishment of the White Conduit Club, in the year 1799 and among its members, in addition to the beforn-named patrons of the game, we find the names of Lord Winchilsea, Lord Strathaven, and Sir P. Burrell. Their place of meeting was still the Star and Garter, and their ground was in White Conduit-fields. One of the attendants on this club, of the name of Lord, was persuaded to take a ground, which he did; and under the patronage of the old white Conduit Club, a new club, called the Marylebone Club, was formed at Lord's ground which was then situate on the site of the present Dorset- square. It would be superfluous to say anything about the Marylebone Club, as the fact is notorious that the rules of the Marylebone Club are the only rules re- cognised as authentic throughout the world wherever cricket is played, and that the very mention of the name of the club in connection with anything said or done in the cricketing world is suffieient to stamp it as the right thing to say or do. GLASS V. PEWTER, OR THE NECESSITY OF USING IMPERIAL MEASURES. — j>. r Winter, the proprietor of the Bell Tavern and Luncheon-bar, in Basiaghall-street was summoned before Mr Alderman Mechi and Mr Alderman William Lawrence, for using in his business six glasses not containing imperial measure. This was an entirely new point, and one whicb deeply affects the licensed victuallers' community, aiming as it does at the suppres- sion of the practice of drawing malt liquors in small glasses so universally adopted in London, and the court was therefore crowded with members of the trade interested in the result.—Mr Beard attended for the defence. -Mr Johnson, one of the inspectors of weights and measures, said he was in the defendant's house on the 22d of June, and heard a man ask for a pint of porter, and after the man had drunk the beer he (witness) measured the glass and found it was three-fourths of an ounce shoit of the imperial pint. Three other glasses were half an ounce deficient. three three.fourths of an ounce, one 1-1 oz., and one If oz,—He did not seize the three glasses which were only half an ounce short deeming the six produced sufficient; for the present case! -Mr Beard said this WfS a question of vital importance to the licensed victuallers of London, and explained that in the present instance the defendant's bar was divided into two compartments, in one of which, as it was fre- quented by gentlemen for luncheon purposes only, glass was used, and if any one required malt liquor in impeiial measures he was referred to the other compartment where pewter was used. It was well understood by the public that the glasses did not contain impeiial msasure, but they were preferred as drinking vessels on the score of cleanliness.—Mr Alderman Mechi said that might Ibe, but in so accommodating the public the defendant got the advantage of the If ounce deficiency. It was quite clear the glasses produced were not proper legal measures.—Mr Beard said they were not measures at all, and to prove the bona fide intention of the defendant he produced an invoice to show that the glasses he had bought since he had been in the house were invoiced to him as imperial pints.—Mr Alderman Mechi said he entirely acquitted Mr Winter of any im- proper motives in using such imperfect measures, at the same time a great wrong was inflicted upon the public, and it was that which the magistrates had to deal with.—Mr Youle, clerk to the justices, said that it was not necessary to stamp glass measures, but by the decision in the appeal case of 'Reg. v. Aulton,' it was laid down by Mr Justice Hill, that a vessel of glass or earthenware, though not marked, if ordinanfy used by a vendor of I beer as a measure containing the same quality as imperial measure, and if found to be unjust, is liable to be seized under the 28th section of the act, and the vendor himself is liable to the penalty.'—Mr Beard again submitted that the beer was drawn in the glass not to measure a specific quantity, but for the purpose of meeting tbje convenience of gentlemen who merely required a draught from a clean vessel.—Mr Alderman Lawrence said Mr Beard's invoice proved-the. case against defendant, as it amounted to an admission that he ought to give imperial measareiu the g'asses referred to, all of which were deScient.—Mr Beard said t lie glasses produced were not the same referred ,to in the invoice They were old stock; aid Wtre'k,-Pt. foe lemonade and ginger-beer, but raisiak"H could nor always be avoided in the use Of them.—Mr Alderman MechicSaid the Court could have entertained the line 01 defenct),adopted had the deficiency stated been the average of a number of measures; but it appeared that the im- periectjpns in the glass measures produced were all in favour oOhe tavern keeper, and be must, therefore, con- vict the defendant; but as it was the first case of the kind he would only nne him the hoininal penalty of 10s and costs.—Mr Beard hoped, after the explanation given that the defendant would have escaped the stigma oa his character of a conviction.—Mr Alderman Lawrence re- minded Mr Beard that the deficiency of the glasses nro^ • duced amounted to .3i per cent., 6!per cent. and 81 per cent.-rMr Beard said he was- prepared to undertake on the part of his client that the practice of drawing beer in small glasses, although for the benefit of the public should be d Alderman Lawrehce^hoped' it-wouW, as by so great a. deficiency the tavern "keeper obtained an additional profit of one pint out of every fifteen pints ot liquof he sold. The defendant said he .1 had six-dozen pewter pints and four eetsof measures, l and they were all found to perfectly correet —Mr Alder.- ipan Mechi said he could not alter lifs decision.—He bad imposed a nominal penalty because he believed the defendant had offended uhlntentldnaftr, bat be wished ( imposed a nominal penalty because he believed the!' defendant had offended uhlntentldnaftr, bat be wished ( the trade generally to know that foi: the fatore the full ] penalty of £ 5 would be enforced in every case. < MELANCHOLY DEATH OF A YOUNG LADY BY DROWNING.—A melancholy occurrence took place at Fal- mouth on Wednesday, which resulted in the death of Miss Ellen Mitchell, an amiable and and accomplished young lady, the daughter of the late Mr Mitchell, chemist, of Falmouth. About eight o'clock in the morning Miss Mitchell left her house in company with her sister-a child of not more than 12 years of age— for the purpose of bathing at Gyllyngvase Beacb, it being the first time she had done so this season. It was a very fine morning, with scarcely a ripple on the water. After waiting some little time on the beach for a tent to be erected, the two sisters proceeded into the tide. Miss Ellen Mitchell, when she had got to about two thirds of her depth, commenced floating on her back with her head seaward. She continued doing so for a few minutes during which time she unfortunately drifted out of her depth. When she frund that she could not obtain her footing, she appears to have ioat: ail presence of mind, and rising up her arms sank below the surface. She never screamed, but rose several times and again disappeared. The violent screams of her younger sister, however, as well as of the booth attendant, attracted the notice of some men working in the locality, who rushed to the beach, swam out and brought Miss Mitchell on shore. She was not at the time six feet beyond shallow water; she had, however, been submerged about fifteen times, and was quite dead.— Western Morning News. A PECULIAU DREAMER.—An article in the Sixpenny Magazine gives the subjoined amusing account of a most remarkable dreamer :-An officer in the expedition to Louisburg in 1758 had this peculiarity (susceptibility to believe in phantasms produced by nseociations with bodily sensations) in so remarkable a degree, that his c)mpanions in the transport were in the constant habit of amusing themselves at his expense. They could produce in him any kind of dream by whispering in his ear, es- pecially if this was done by a friend with whose voice he had become familiar. One time they conducted him through the whole progress of a quarrel, which ended in a duel; and when the parties were supposed to have me', a pistol was put into his hand, which he fired, and was awakened by the report. On another occasion they found him asleep 011 tbe top, f a locker in the cabin, when they made him believe he had fallen overboard, and exhorted him to save himself by swimming. They told him that a shark was pursuing him, and entreated him to dive for his life. He instantly did so, and with so much force as to throw himself from the locker upon the cabin floor, by which he was much bruised, and awakened of course. After the landing of the army at Louisburg, his friends found him one day asleep in his tent, and evidently much annoyed by the cannonading. They made him b ;lieve that he was engaged, whenjhe expressed great fear, and showed an evidem disposition to run away. Against this they remonstrated, but at the same time increased his fears by imitating the groans of the woun- ded and the dying and when he asked, as be often did. who was hit, they named his particular friends. At last they told him that the man next himself in his company had fallen, when he instantly sprang from his bed, rushed out of the tent, and was only roused from his danger and his dream by falling over the tent ropes. A remarkable thing in this case was that after these experiments he had no distinct recollection of his dreams, but only a confused feeling of oppression or fatigue, and used to tell his friends that he was sure they had been playing some trick upon him. FATAL FALL FROM ST ALEAN'S ABBEY. —Great ex- citement was caused in the town of St Alban's on Wed- nesday, by a report that a gentleman had thrown himself fr m the tower of the Abbey, and was instantly killed. This, however, was incorrect, for though it was true that a dreadful and fatal accident had taken place, the lamen- table occurrence was proved to be the result of an acci- dent. From the inquest, which was held before Mr R G. Lowe, coroner, it appears that the name of the deceased was Thomas Wakefield Moore, of No. 7, Church-street, Kentish Town. He was 24 years of age, and had been married only a few weeks. In company with his father and two elder brothers, he bad come down to St Alban's from London, arriving at the Peahen Inn at three o'clock. Having obtained tickets for the Abbey, they at once proceeded there. All the party started to ascend the towjr, and the three brothers had reached the top, the aiber being a short distance behind. They were not ac- companied by the verger, and there were no other porsons present at the time. When they reached the leads, they determined to get to the top of the headway over the stairs, in order to obtain a better view of tr8 ountry. On reaching this dangerous position, the de- ceased said, I think I shall sit down,' and directly afterwards attempted to sit down between the embrasures but, being deceived as to the height and brendth of the wail, he overbalanced himself, and fell over with such force and velocity as to cause a vent in the roof, which his leg went through as high as the knee, while the gutter was flowing with blood. By this dreadfvl fall the back and leg of the unfortunate man were broken, and his sku'l fractured. The body was lowered by mtans of ropes to the meadow adjoining the building. It was stated at the inquest that, when the accident occurred, Charles Moore, one of the brothers, who was standing by, turned round, and to his horror saw the deceased in the act of falling. He called out, when the other brother, Walter, looking, saw the deceased turning over and over in his descent, to the north transept. The jury, after hearing the evidence, returned a verdict of Accidental death.' The body of the deceased was conveyed to London early on Thursday morning. ANOTHER DISCOVERY OF A VALUABLE VEIN OF IRON ORE.—We are informed that Messrs. Kennedy Brothers, of Ulverston, have discovered a vein of haematite iron ore, on the Greenscow estate, belonging to W. A. Mackinnon, Esq., M.P., and adjoining the property of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire, near Dalton, which is likely to afford an abundant supply of mineral on which the prosperity of this district so greatly depends. Two shafts have been sunk already on the vein, and a third is faralvanced. Two powerful pumping engines, worked by steam, have also been put down, and the mine, even in the present imperfect state of the works, produces up- wards of 600 tons of ore a week, the quality of which is ta:d to be superior to that of any other mine in Furness, a district which is well known to yield the best ore in the kingdom. When the mine has been brought into full working operation it is confidently oxpected that the lessees will be able to raise upwards of 1500 tons a week, ot 7o,030 tons a year of first-rate ore, by which—as it i? anticipated that the mine may be worked at the same rate for 60 years at least without being exhausted-the mineral wealth of this county will be increased by 4,.500,000 tons of ore, worth X2,250,000 steiling. As a proof of the uncertainty of mining enterprise, it may be noticed that the lease under which the present valuable discovery has been made was granted to our late respected townsman, C. S, Kennedy, Esq., by Mr Mackinnon, in the year 1848, and that after working an old shaft on an adjoining estate, belonging to Mr Mackinnon, the vein was lost in the year 1855, and the mine abandoned. Various trial shafts were afterwards sunk, and borings m ide by U e hte M r Kennedy, and also by hia son's after h;s dealh, in different parts of the estates, without suc- c ss, and the present vein was actually struck within t n yards of a shaft which Mr Kennedy had previously sunk without meeting anything save rock. It seems pretty certain, however, that both the spirited proprietor of the estate and bis enterprising lessees are now likely to reup a rich reward for their energy and perseverance. Ulcers ton Paper.

HELP FOR ALL. A PHYSICIAN, upwards of 40 years in practice, having been successful in curing thousands of sufferers from nervous and general debility, loss of memory, indigestion, pains in the back, consumption, rheumatism, gravel, gout, and nuny painful jymptDins too numerous to mention, resulting from imprudence and other causes, is desirous of imparting (gratis) to those who need it, the means by wnlch their restoration to health was effected, and will send his book (100 pages) containing prescrip- tions in.English, diet rules and all the necessary information for the self-treatment, &c., of nearly all the ills that flesh is heir to,' on receipt of a stamped and directed envelope. Address- Dr. Kussell; 2i, Hawley Crescent, Hampsted Road, London, rhis book is offered with unaffected sincerity to all who need relief,'and especially to those who have been deceived with quack woks and medicines. Your book is worth anything to those srho need a doctor.* J, Short, J^uton. I adopted your pres- sriptidii and and my giddiness Is all gone.' H. Merry. Longthorpe. I value your book, and wish you to me three wpiea to sive »way.' ftrrW.Lelfh.