Evening Express

Telephone, National, 502; Popt-odice, 95. Telegrams, "Express," Cardiff.

FOR THE GREAT UNWASHED. Election time is rapidly approaching, and Mr. Good, of the Cardiff County Council, after sleeping the sleep of the just for two years and a half, has at length suddenly returned to outer consciousness. So sudden, indeed, has been this awakening, that he has startled and shocked the eminently respeotable and steady-going public body, which, by virtue of the kindly nature of the Cathays voters, he has graced for the above mentioned period, by springing upon them two of the most strikingly original notions that any I11?n in troublous dreams could conceive. A few weeks ago we had the idea for a Good pa.en't head protector for tram-cars; now we have an unique suggestion for the benefit of the great unwashed. He proposes that a por- tion of the oanal feeder should be ix>ard::d in, so thai any gewtieman an wow to disport himself in the foaming mountain torrent may tefeo thither eottp and towel and lave himself to bin heart's content. Does Councillor Good, we wonder, desire him- self to dip into the limpid stream, or is he exasperated 3It the easy-going attitude of his own committee in reference to the Cardiff Baths? We can easily imagine that even Coun- cillor Good might be aroused over that. It is dimply scandalous, the utileI' laxity and dilatoriness which the committee have shown in the matter of those baths. Ages ago letters used to come crowding into this office asking when the baths would be open, but this correspondence liae, now entirely dropped. The writers, probably, are dead, and the new generation listen to accounts of the execrable Cardiff batih.' that u-ed to be. as a lruit-ter of ancient history, comparing them with the Poinpeia.ii and Roman baths of the same period. When these children aee grey-headed they will lie permitted to wash in a corporation liath too small to a-iow of a decent swim, and alto- gether inadequate for the practice of that modem gUM4 so ^ncjmimginig to the fdvanoemeeit of the art of I natation, water polo. Of course, v.'< know that "everything comes to him v;-h< knows how to wait." TIÚ" is what ti\e pro pe.' ty and markets committee tell ue. The tion k: How Ion!? are we to wait? and ovvi heart grows faint when we turn to our Scrip ture and read that "The days of our years art but three score and ten. ? --?-

OUR DIARY. TO-DAY. 1896.—February 20, Thursday. Sun rLses 7.5, seta 5.23. Weather forecast.- —South-westerly to southerly winds changeable; rain at times. High tide:—Cardiff, 10.39, 10.54. Swansea, 9.43, 9.59. Newport, 9.25, 9.41. Cardiff engagements: — County-court, 10.0. Cabs Committee, 10.50. Police-court, 11.0. TEN YEARS AGO. 1886.—February 20, Saturday. Cardiff election preparations in active pro- gress. Mr. J. W. A. Stevens returned unopposed for Canton on the town council. Presentation to Mr. George M'lntosh Douglas (collector of Cardiff Customs), on his retirement after 40 years' connection with the Civil Service. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS ASO. 1871.—February 20, Monday. Contract given out for a new dry dock ab Newport. "It is with unfeigned regret tliat we have to notice the sudden death of Mr. Jame- Russell, proprietor of the Forest Vule Ironworks, which took place on Saturday evening." Voltaire born, 1694. G.arrick born, 1716. Joseph Hume died, 1855. Duchess of Fife born, 1867. -?-

POPE LETFT'S DAILY LIFE. AN UNREMITTING DEVOTION TO WORK. In spite of his great age the Pope enjoys excellent health, and leads a life full of occu- pations from morning till night. He has in no respect changed his habits since the time when he Kved at Perugia as Cardinal. He rises very early, say? Marion Crawford, in the "Century Magazine," and. when, at about six o'clock in the morning, his valet, Pin Centra, enters his little bedroom, he more often finds him risen then asleep. He is accustomed to sleep little not more than four or five hours at night though he rests awhile after dinner. Of late, he frequently says Mass in a chapel in his private apartments, and the Mass is served by Pio Centra. On Sundays and feast days he says it in another chapel, preceding the throne-room. The little chapel is of small dimensions, but by opening the door into the neighbouring room a number of persons can assist at the Mass. The permission, when given, is obtained on apppli- cation to the "Maestro di Camera," and is generally conceded only to distinguished foreign persons. After saying Mass himself, the Holy Father immediately hears a second one, said by one of the private chaplains on duty for the week, whoso business it is to take care of the altar a.nd to assist. Frequently he gives the Communion with his own hands to those who are present at his Mas*. After Mass he Breakfasts IJjjon Coffee and Goat's Milk, and this milk is supplied from gait* kept in the Vatican gardens—a reminiscence of Carpineto, and of the mountaineer's early life. Every day, at about ten, he receives the Secretary of State, Cardinal Rampolla, andl converses with him for a. good hour ,ar more upon current affairs. On Tuesdays and Fridays the Secre- tary of State receives the Diplomatic Corps in his own apartmentR, and on those days the lender-Secretary, Monsignor Rinaldini, con- fers with the Pope in his r-hief place. Cardinal Mario Mocenni, acting prefect of the "Holy Apostoiio Palaces," is received by the Pope when he has business to expound. On the first and third Fridays of each month the Maggiordomo, Monsignor dclla Volpe, is re- ceived, and so on, in order, the Cardinal Prefects of the several Roman congregations, the Under-Secretaries, and all others in charge of tihe various offices. In the Papal ante- chamber there is a lint of them with the day. of their audiences. During the morning he receives ?t;he. Cardinal*, the Bishop* "ad limina,, Ambassadors, who are gjing away on leave, or who have just returned princes, and members of the Roma,n mobility, and di.s- tii.guished foreigners. At ten o'clock he takes A Cup of Broth, brought hy Centra. At two in the afternoon, or ;1. little earlier, he dines. He is most ab- stemious, although h<> has an excellent digestion. His .privatte physician, Dr. Giuseppe Lap- ponni, has been heard to say that he himself eats mote at one meal than th& Holy Father eats in a week. Every day. unlws indisposed, some one Ï8 received in private audience. These audiences are usually for the Cardinal Pre- fects of the congregations, the patriarchs, Archbishops, and bishop who are in Rome at the time, and distinguished personages. When the weather ip fine, the Pope generally walks or drives in ttfie garden. He is carried out of hit apartment* to the gate in n sedan chair, by the liveried "sedferii," or chair porters: or, if he go<^ -out by the small door known as that of Paul V., the carriage awaits him tthprp. and he gets in with the C i- nuriere Sogreto Partecipante, who is always a Monsignor. It is as WRII to say here, for the benefit of non-Oatholie,s. that "monsijr- r.ori uro not necessarily bishops, por even consecrated priests, the title beina- really a secular one. -Two Noble Guards of "the corps of fifty gentlemen known under that name ride beside the carriage door-. His closed carriage in a simple and elegant having his coat of arms painted on the door. In summer he oceasionallv arives in an open landau. Durinq- the jficat heat of the summer the Pops. after .saving- Mass, goep into the garden about- nine o'clock in the morning, and spends the whole dav there, receiving every one in the garden rn. vihon ail he would in the Vatican. Tie ennes there, too, and rests afterward, guarded by the gendarmes on duty, 100 whom he gener- ally sends a measure of gocd wine—another survival of a country custom; and in the cool of the day he a<yain gets into his carrui^e, and often does not return to the Vatican till after .sunset, toward the hour of Ave Maria In the evening, about an hour later (at "cne of tllf) night ), according to old Roman oom- putat'ov of t,ime, he attends at the recitation ot the I'ocpry, or Evening prayers, by Mon- «gn;r Mazzolini, his nrivate chaplain, and he require hjf immediate attendants to a.sfsi-it 3.]gO. He Mien -etircv to his room, where h" Trad*, readier, or writer verses, and at about ten o'clock ho ^atv a light supper.

TROUBLESOME MISTAKES. A magazine, in it. household' department recently infonned its readers thnt "'Aberdeen housewives make th", best of pickle." Hor- rible One cf its contemporaries ?hotlt, th0 same t-ime ;<aid that antoncr other nairtieal instni- ments sent to the Cold fWt by the Gov?.rn- ment there w;is larir» numher of ;'small .ex- tons." A lecturer before a tempera-nce society told his audience, in describing his '.onrnevs, that he had mcr:.iy had "t<i«te of Naples and R-ome. He «va-s liorrif: 'he next dnv. in readinsr n report of his lecture, to see that he was credited with saying he had merely had a "taste of a-pples and rum. In laying down rules of etiquette a Con- ntecfricut j)fl.pw (say*:—When 0. <jeehle«man and lady are walking in the street the ladv shorld walk inside of the gentleman." The editor of a countrv paper wrote ons evening:—"To-dav is the anniversarv of the death of Louis Philippe." When the proof was handed to him the. name reairl "Sa.m Phillips," and he wrotp on the margiiK "Who the devil \s Sam Phillips?" The next morn- ing the article read, "To-day is the anniver- sary of the death of Sam Phillips. Who the devil is Sam Phillips?" An Alabama coroner's jury recently ren- dered this verdict in the case of a man who had1 died from having his teeth knocked out with a hatchet:—"Death from axedental causes." A you/ig man aljout to start for his new pari.' h was unexpectedly detained by the in- capaeitv >f th« Pre««1jytery to ordain hint. In order to explain his non-arrivai, he sent the following tel;'<>Tain to the deacons of 'the church — "Presbytery lacked a quorum to or- dain." In the course of its journey the mes- sage got strangely metamorphosed, and rod when it reached the deacons, "Presbytery tacked a worm on to Adam.' The sober Church officers were sorelv discomposed and noti- fied, but after grave consultation conclude-i it was the minister's faiceticwje way of an- nouncing fhait he had got married, and accord- i ingly provided lodging^ for two instead of one.

] Hanford Divorce Suit PETITION BY AN EX-CAR- DIFF CLERGYMAN. The Case is Undefended, and Judge Jeune Grants a Decree Nisi With Costs. Owing to the rapidity with which Sir Francis Jeune, the president of the Divorce Court, dis- posed of the seven cases which were allotted to him to-day, the case of Hanford v. Hanford and Jenkyn- was transferred from the Divorce Court II., presided over by Mr. Justice Gorell Barnes, to whose jurisdiction it had originally been allotted, to the First Court. On account of this sudden change of procedure, many prurient- minded people interested in local affairs who had attended early in the day to gratify their curiosity were grievously disappointed. They missed the case entirely, and are now bewailing their fate and fortune. The case, however, was not provocative of any sensational features. The amorous proceedings of the wife of the late rector of St. Andrew's and his curate were prosaically narrated, and the sombre surround- ings of the oourt robbed even this bare narra- tive of any colourable interest which it might I PETITIONER. ?, .?, I- otherwise have attained. Like every other court in this architectural monstrosity, that presided over by the president is defective of light and inartistic in construction. Heavy tomes of legal lore in oaken cases extend halfway up either side of the court, and relieve the cold stone walls above, but otherwise the bare oaken seats and narrow oaken gallery above confront the president, behind and above whose be- wigged head! on a, background of velvet stands out prominently the brass anchor and cord em- blematic of Admiralty procedure. This inte- resting trophy was for 200 years in the old Doctors' Commons at Lincoln's Inn—it is also said to justify the witty description which has been given of the court as one of "collision and collusion." The case for the petitioner was outlined by Mr. Barnard, behind whom sat the Rev. Mr. Hanford. Mr. T. Smith, of the firm of I RESPONDENT. Ridd«H, Vaizey, and Smith, who had in- structed counsel on his behalf, was on his imme- diate left. und the general public, the mem- bers of which did not quite fill the court, were Í!1, the rear. To the disappointment of the audience, neither fair respondent nor the cleri- ca,l co-respondent put in an appearance. The respondent did not defend, but as the co- respondent had entered a defence it was at first thought he would attend. It, however, transpired that he had not instructed counsel, and, as a consequence, the case was quite un- defended. Counsel's opening consists mainly of a recital of the pathetic letters which had been forwarded to the petitioner from the respon- dent and co-respondent. Their delivery quite overcome the petitioner, who throughout the hearing presented a "ad. object for pity and sympathy. Dark rings which encircled his eyes betokened many a sleepless I night, and the nervous motions of his fingers and the unmistakable twitching of lip indicated the great mental anxiety under which h,e suffered. The opening speech occupied the attention of the court- for some ten minutes, at the end of which time Mr. Hanford was called into the box to give evidence. He left his seat with some agitation, and walked slowly and1 laboriously across the court. His I CO-RESPONDENT. examination was but formal, and lasted only five minutes. Facing counsel, he gave his answers in low, nervous, but yet decided tones, I and appeared very relieved when the examina- tion was ovier. Proceeding to his z;,eca..t, he resumed the attitude of dejection which had marked hit, conduct from the first, and remained apparently engrossed in sorrowful thought until the end of the case. He was followed into the box by Elizabeth Reed, who filled the position of cook in the Hanford household. Elizabeth, respectably and decorously dressed in black, showed her- self a good spec-mien of to e English domestic. She gave, her answers with due respect, but with considerable frtjipHsis, and there was no questioning the side upon which her sympathies j CLARA COLLINS (Housemaid at the Vicarage'i. I were placed. Clara Collins, the housemaid, rho followed, was more brightly attired. She -.vore a double-breasted box-cloth jacket with puffed sleeves, a sawwt kerchief, and a hat of ample proportions, ornamented with a nagenta-coloured bow. She was as equally em phatic as the cook in her answers to counsel, and it was quite evident that the action of their late mistress had not filled them either with respect or admiration. Detective Wm. Oxley, as the next occupant of the box, W38 somewhat slow im answering to his name, ELIZABETH REED (Cook at the Vicarage). but when he did reach the poet of vantage he proceeded to give his evidence with all the readinejas and confidenoE" begotten of long experience. Rumour and an ample note- book, which he appeared to treasure highly, had given to his evidence the element of sen- sationalism which had been lacking from that of previous witnesses. Rumour was not, however, justified. Sir Francis Jeune rigo- rously prevented any unnecessary matter from being imported into the case, and allowed but sufficient to be given to justify him in grant- ing the decree- nisi. Detective Oxley seemed a bit disappointed on this account, and, if rumour is thus to be 'trusted that his expur- gated evidence would have evinced a natural aptitude for "shadowing" and exploiting, his disappoin-t-mcnit on professional gjrouuids is readily understandable. Oxley's testimony as given was, however, ample, for the pur- poses required, and, after having had the case before him for forty minutes, the President ) PRIVATE-DETECTIVE OXLEY. briefly gave a decree nisi with costs. On the announcement petitioner hurriedly took up his hat and, unaccompanied, hastily left the un- savoury precincts of the court. Others inte- rested left in a more leisurely manner, ex- pressing the keenest sympathy for the respected cleric in his domestic troubles.

A LEGAL SCANDAL. I TRUTH THINKS THE CIRCUM STANCES SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED A copy (says "Truth'') has been sent. to mo of an interesting correspondence with the Treasury respecting a. criminal prosecution fo.v libel wluch took place some time since in Mia provinces. The proceedings were insti- tuted by a professional man and his wifc n.nd the character of the libel ma.y be estimated from the fact that the accused was s-enfenced to three months' imprisonment as a first-class misdemeanant, fined JB50. and ordered to pay the costs of the prosecution. In a criminal prosecution for libel a private prosecutor gets no such allowance, for his costs from the public funds as is made in all other prosecu- tions, and, consequently, the prosecutors, in this instance, had to ta.ke steps to recover the money from the prisoner. As a preliminary to suing, they had him served in gaol with the bill of costs, which as taxed amounted to J365 3s. Before anything further could, be done, the prosecutors received a teleoram. ironically suggesting that they would be "glad to hear the sentence on h remitted." Application for permission to s<srve civil process on the prisoner in gaol was granted, nothing being said by the Commissioners su-t to Remission of the Sentsnce. Next day, however, the word' was received from the gaol that, though -less than half of his term n,f imprisonment had expired, the prisoner really had been discharged by order of the Home Secretary, "on medical grounds." ■11 ww f*<M'r.yl. liowen-er, that while the prisoner was compelled to pay the fine of L,50 before he was released, nothing was said or. done with regard to the costs; and m soon as he was at liberty the man put himself out of the reach of thee prosecutors. As the latter had thus heen' deprived of the chance of recovering the JB63 3s. o'.ely through the unexpected and unex- pija-ined action, of the prison authorit-ia*. thev appealed to the Treasury to pay the coste, or at least to grant the jS50 towards the amount; but this the Traasurv have re- fused to do The position s -wTtainlv one of great hardship to the prosecutors, and the circumstances in connection with the secret, liberation of their traducer—especially in view of the mysterious telegram-—might be use- fully investigated by the Home Secretary.

THE MARRIAGE ROMANCE, AEGTTMJSNTS HEARD IN THE APPEAIi COURT. In the Appeal Division on Wednesday ('*>- fore Lord Jueti'ees Lindlev, Ka-v. and Lopes) a motion was heard in the remarkable Plymouth matrimonial suit of "Wilkin s v. Wilkins. which somewhat presents the story of Enoch Ardea in actual life. In 1854 a Miss Emma Hind married at Plymouth a Georo-e Rickard, who was engaged, on board one of her Maiesiv's ships lying j:n Plymouth. Dockyard. Shortly after the marriage he went to the Crimean Wa-r. He afterwards went to the West Indies as one of the crew of her Majesty's, ship Indus. There he deserted and returned to Plymouth, where he rooumedi cohabitation with his wife. Soon after he emigrated 100 the United States, and was no" heard of for 36 years. In March. 1865, his wife married one John Wilkins at Devon- port, bub The Couple Mutually Separated iu 1883. In December, 18S2, the wife petitioned for a judicisd separation, and Wilkins, in reply, pleaded that the marriage was void owing to her husband being alive in 1865. A cross-peti- tion for nullity of the second marriage waa entered by Wilkins, but this was finally with- drawn, a,nd the jury, in the issue left. to them on the wife's petition, found that George Rickard, the tirst husba-nd. was dead, when in 1865 Emma Rickard married John Wilkins. but in Sep- tember. 1895, George Rickard was found to be living at Devon port with his brother, an hotel- keeper. The result was the presentation of a second petition for nullity of the marriage of 1865. The petition was tried' by Mr. Juatife Barnes, without a jury, in January, and George Rickard himself was called to prove that. he was alive. Mr. Justice Barnes was satisfied, bwt was powerless in the face of the finding of the juiy that he was dead, and the case now came before the Appeal1 Court upon application for leave to appeal against the finding of the jury in January. 1895. which recorded the death of Emma. WiMcIn&'a first husband. Lord Justice Landiey, ha giving judgment, said thaii- they would only give leave to move to appeal upon the terms that the applicant undertook to ps.y to the woman whom he had married, amd with whom he had lived for so many years, the sum of Bl per week. Under these terms orly would leave be granted. The other Lords Justices concurred, and accepted leave to appeal waa granted upon the terms stated. Mr. tnderwick sail he did not want- a new trial, and an order was made, by ones ont, setting aside the judgmemt and the finding of ithe jury that the husband Rickards was dead at t'n« time ~oi the second marriage with. Wilkins.