The Cambrian

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC COMMUNITY OF SWANSEA. SOME HISTOBICAL NOTES. Next Sunday, the Roman Catholic community in Swansea will celebrate 'the jubilee of St, David's Church, Rutland-street, and in view of the interesting event a few historical notes on the rise of Catholicism in Swansea will not be out of place. The records do not extend beyond the present century, but, no doubt, there were very few, if, indeed, any Catholics in the town before 1800. The mission was started by the Rev. Robert Plowden in the old Swansea Castle, where mass whs said for the first time in the town since the Reformation. How the historic pile came to be the cradle of Catholicism in our midst is not quite clear; but there is one record that says the keeper was a Roman Catholic himself. At all events, the services must have been conducted very quietly, ani nothing could have been known to the outside public, who were apt to regard the Catholics in that day as natural enemies to the country. The mission did not last long here. It was soon given up for want of a proper chapel and of sufficient sup- port. In 1838, however, it was le-opened by a French refugee priest—Albert Sejean by name— who, before fleeing to Swansea, had been con- fessor to Louis XV. He built the little c lapel- house in Nelson-terrace. In 1826, Win. Jones, notary public, in a description of Swansea and its churches, quaintly referred to it as being on the great high road leading from Swansea to Gower," in a new row of houses. Sejean's congregation numbered only a dozen, and he maintained himself by teaching French. At the downfall of Napoleon, Sejean returned to his native country but when Louis Philip came to the throne he was nelglected, and he died in great poverty in 1830. Between his ministry and that of the Rev. James Fleetwood, concluded in 1830, there were two other priests, the Rev. Mr. Gildart, who died in 1817, and the Rev. Edward Richards, a Glamorganshire man. Dur- ing the 16 years covered by these men, the Catholic congregation only increased from 12 to 30; and perhaps it was tins comparative MpdtaK* of a- *»■«• Off that l,.d to do »..h the lnJ,ff«r»noe shown by the townspeople when the Catholic • Ant uas-ed through Parliament. Emancipation Act P!ls •- Sympathy with the oppressed sect was not, ho«- !•„(, • and if there was no great snow r;"Cgw.. i,. /.rr O, ,vT as Historicus Junior toll. u« m xu i,imil But a strong foundation bad another column# et»tL>tT™d and beneficent growt sprung up a vigorous community. In the .tflvoyears there were™ le«; th» five priests namely—I>r- 1,uorny (a ffrea nmthe- Zul) Hr: WaW, the Kev. Eobert Piatt, the Rev. M. O'Connor, and the Rev. James Butterfield. The latter died very suddenly after a stay of a few years, being found dead in bed one morning. After an interval of four more years-filled by the Rev. Mr. O'Lougblin and the Rev. Wm. Bond—came theRev.Chas. Kavanah, who, more than any one else, has made Catholicism a vital force in Swansea. Father Kavanah was born in North Wales, where his father and grandfather had settled a long time previously. Swansea was, it is believed, his first mission, and from the moment he set foot in the town the Roman Catholic community sprung into greater prominence. Who, amongst the older generation of to-day, does not remember Kavanah—genial, charitable, energetic r The active patron of all improvement societies the advocate of the better education of the. young; secretary of the Mechanics' Institute the verY soul of public life He endeared himself tu Catholics and Protestants alike, and his labours during the terrible cholera visitat.on of 1849 will never be forgotten. Day and night he spent amongst the stricken, heroically ministering to everyone, and performing the offices for the sick. He took an active part in the selection of Danygraig as the site of the new Cemetery, and by one of fate's ironies, he was amongst the first laid to rest where the wailing winds swept o'er The barren slopes o £ old Kilvey." WTe quote Pierre Claire," who, in another quatrain in the same poem, said :— "Beneath a fast decaying rood Bleeps pious Fattier Kavanah, Wat), through the ileatlly choler.1, Was undeterred in doing good' It is the Intention of Father Phillipson, by the way, to restore the "fast decaying rood," and it is t) hoped that all who admire and appreciate the work of Kavanah will assist him in restoring the monument to one S3 highly respected. An ardent minister. Father Kavanah soon became aware that his growiug congregation required a larger house of worship, and in 1847— fifty years ago—he built the St. David's Church by public subscription. The old chapel in Nelson street was then abandoned, and the con- gregation grew and prospered in the very hand- some church in Rutland street. Originally, the church consisted of a nave, chancel, and single aisle, but it has been considerably enlarged in the time of Father Kavanah's successors. The last restoration took place a few years ago under the Rev. Father Phillipson, at a cost of nearly £ 1,000, when the church Was greatly en hanced in beauty. There is cne most interesting relic in the church, well worthy of note. It is a fragment of a stained-glass window, of very ancient workmanship.. It depicts the Resur- rection in a quaint, primitive manner. The three armour-clad knights-one of them peeping inquisitively into the tomb from which the Saviour rises-are grotesque. The motto on the glass is Spes mea in Deo." The fragment, which was presented to the Church by the late George Grant Francis, is placed in the one-light window in the vestry, having been removed from the baptistry. After the death of Father Kavanah in October, 1856, in his year, the congregation was tended by Father Peter Lewis, who was educated at the English College, Duuai, in France. Father Lewis, who spent seventeen years in Swansea, is still alive, but, unfortunately, he is unable, owing to illness, to attend the jubilee services next Sunday. Canon Price was then in the living for a short time, and Canon Wi son succeeded him. Canon Wilson, unfortunately, is also unable to attend next Sun- day's se^vl £ e^- 1118 a peculiar fact that Father Kavanah, Father Lewis, and Canon Wilson each occupied the living for 17 years. In the early Pal'^0 ,T., 6 ev> father Phillipson succeeded Canon Wilson but the excellent work accom- I plished by these latter gentlemen is so well known throughout the town, that it is unnecessary to dwell upon it here. Out of St. David's has grown a much larger mission at Greenhill, the stronghold of the 1, ish population attracted here by the industries which flourished in the town. The Catholic population of the town is put at six or seven thousand, over two-thirds bemg attached to GreenhiH The dis- trict in the upper part of the town possessed not Ion? ago a reputation for extreme roughness. and perhaps one of the highest testimonials to the work of the Catholics in S-van#ea is to be found i in the steady and certain moral improvement of the p'rople of Orc<PuhiIl. I Next Sunday's services will.be very attractive. t The Bishop will say pontifical High Mass, 1 1!1 the evening Canon Richards will preach. I

SWANSEA PARISH CHURCH- IMPORTANT LETTER. FROM SIR ARTHUR BLOMFIKLD. I We think that the following letter, which has just been received by the Vicar, may be interest- ing to our readers :— 6, Montagu Place, London. W., •p. October 2nd, 1897. DEAR Canon ALUN SMITH,- p1T1S! recenUy paid a visit of inspection to been removed ^rom ^X^chTnc^aUs^ S certain ancient features have thus be.n )0se<l to view as was naturally to be ejected Of all these we have eot full a a » j drawings afld measurements, together with n «i„ as it now exists, shewins* a)] .«» «»« morial slabs with their inscrinK 6 re")f'lnin^ formerly existed along the e wlnC taken up some years a'o J" we" i •j a hen the present ti were laid down. It i8 not m.„ turb this floor, but to fill jn again to dm amount of dry stone rubble tr.P°n „„ which the new cWe,1"^ethe concrete as you are aware, will be some fiw i!-b? laid' Th'S« originally contemplated the ff cr t^ian by circumstances which you ° I'eing cause it is desired that any of thQ remetnber. be reproduced in the new fl0 1Jasa.r^ptions shoul with small brass plates or in01-' °an ')e ^0I,C the new floor. Notice should °1Se^ ^tones let any such wish exists. sP £ edily be given i The change in the level of fj-.„ fl make it impossible to retain th °r a*one woU without permanently buryin„. ° c^ancel wa"s ancient work just brought to~li!\ f°°^ deal of of fact the whole has beer, u-.f, ',1hut ln p01" such a state of dilapidated eonf reduced to alterations, clumpy repairs, and b"Y repeate poseless destruction of interest,^ P*>,iriently. ''nr; its entire removal is a matter 0f Ures' 1 As questions may be asked abonfTu' tion or reproduction of ancient r .pieeerrAl details in the new work, I will b °ature8 aD views on this point. bll<% state on this Some of the arches and recesse, a- „at of them) which have been expose(l + • T ve been denuded of every trace Gf 'a „ work—(if they ever had any ■ ,OUJrllt stoB tremely doubtful.) Wh s*em, < The sttme dressings and detail* and arches which still exist have v> 'G W'D °T" lated and subsequently injured hv Gen S° J and painting that they could no^v!"61^ repa1^ they are. 0t be re""sed aS Thev might, of course, be conio^i A if it were thought desirable ihnf x? reproduced usual merit, either in design'01. f1p+„Vere is ,no n,u for preservation, except in ii1Q j .nc*' ca j records which have been made. drawings an Besides the known memorials fully preserved and will be refix'ed on +v,ar° lwif the new chancel, there is one feature r to be retained and introduced it, the newbuiTdfng as near it- present position as possible buua This is the arched recess on th« -ao which, though sadly defaced and robbed of much ornamented detail, is good Fifteenth oonturv work. and is still in a condition tha.t admits of its complete restoration. When thus repaired and refixed, it will form a very suitable resting place for the beaut:fnl eifisry (now lying in the churchyard) which exactly fits it. Whether the arch really brdonjrs to the figure is a question which may be left to others to dis- cuss the important pcint is that the only remains of the ancient chancel which can be re-used in the new one will thus be preserved, and will together form an interestinar relic of what once existed, as well as a beautiful and appropriate ornament to the new building. I do not know that there is any other point fo which 1 ousht to refer at present, but I shall be c-lad to write more fully and minutely as to any- thin "• on which you require further information. -Believe me, very truly yours ARTHUR W. BLOWFIELD.

I SWANSEA THROUGH CAMBRIAN SPECTACLES. (-BY historicus JUNIOR.) [ARTICLE XLI.] ON THINGS IN GENERAL. The February of 1828 was a month of storms and Swansea received its full quota of ships seeking refuge. About two o'clock one Thursday morning a brigantine, bound with a cargo of cattle from Bristol to an Irish port, made for the ¡ Swansea Harbour. The light on the pier head was not exhibited at the time until tne water registered seven feet on the bar, and on this eventful stormy morning it had not yet been lit. The captain of the brigantine discerned a light on the shore, and mistaking it for the pier, steered his course accordingly. The vessel struck, and, the gale increasing- in fury, the crew took t., the riggh'Si and ciungon. in spite of the huge breakers, until the ebb. By that time they were thoroughly exhausted and little able to help themselves They hailed with delight an offer of assistance from the shore. Seven or eight men, gallant in the sight of all beholders, put off to the wreck and offered to help to save the cargo and other material on board. Unfortunately, a jar of whisky formed part of the other material," and as soon as these men got hold of it they set about placing the contents into the safest place. The result was that not only were they incapable of rendering ihe assistance they proferred, but they actually formed the most critical portion of the live-stock on board. Two of them, indeed, had to be hauled up from the hold, and carried on ladders to their homes, presenting in the streets a spectacle of everlasting disgrace to the Swansea seafarers. At home they became alarmingly ill, aiid the medical pumps were manned. In July a ne .v departure took place in social functions. A bazaar was organised "under the sanction of the ladies of Swansea and its vicinity" at the New Rooms, to augment the funds tor the relief of the widow and orphans of poor clergymen in the diocese of St. David's." The peculiar ciiaraoter of this benevolent object," we read, evidently restricts its friends and promoters from publicly u-ing tne language of importunate recommendation." Such was the delighful modesty of the promoters r Cardiff had held a bazaar only a week before. It mast have been a very remarkable aud unique affair, for the generality of the articles were to be sold for considerably less than their vlilue:" The bazaar was to be open to respectable visitors of all classes, and," added the advertise- ment, no person need be a purchaser if not so disposed." But there, as the poet put it :— To those who now sigh, And with downcast eye, Lament o'er some fair one's frown A chance is given, (To lovers a heaven) The fair one's invention to own." And who could resist such temptation, not to speak of the novelty of buying an article at a bazaar at considerably less than its value:" Cardiff's bazaar realised some £ 250 for the Dispensary there, and Swansea's effort was set in rivalry. Although the promoters had no lan- guage of importunate recommendation," they. like Cardiff, had their poet: While all the Muses and the Graces crowd The Cardiff Charity to blazon loud, Shallllot one word for our Bazaar be said r Are all our Mures, all our Graces lied ■" he asked, and having thus struck the combative note of rivalry, he goes on to suggest that '• o>cr Muses and Graces" diligently employed the hours- "To wreathe the shrine of Charity with flowers, To fill the horn of plenty with increase, And hush the iear. of Poverty to peace. There were plenty of visitors to Swansea to make the bazaar a success, prominent amongst them being the Earl of Jersey, Lord Yilliers, lady Frazer and family, the Marchioness of 1 Beaufort, Sir Hmsey Vivian, M.P., Sir C. Cole, j M.P., Mr. C. R. M. Talbot, Col. Kingscote, Sir rles and Lady Taylor, Sir R. J. A. Kemys, l But of thy bazaar itself there appears no -d. As the year rolled on to its decline, i • came many other visitors besides, including r",Jy Byron and her daughter but tne year was a quiet one, and except for the MethoJist re- vivals already related, and the fact that Sir Christopher Cole obtained leave in Parliament, in Match, to bring in a Bill for the erection of a new market-place at Swansea, uneventful. The following year was far more noteworthy. The great moving public question of the early part of 1829 was that of Catholic Emancipation. Day after day tne public p-ace was threatened Ly infuriated partisans. Protestants met, notably in Brecon, tj petition Parliament, with a fervour that ill became them, against further relief to the Catholics. But Welshmen generally assumed a peaceable demeanour. The Cambrian took its stand with the Government, aud held from the first that the measure so far frum compassing any injury to Protestantism, did not even con- template it; and that the Protestant religion stood on too firm a basis to be moved from 'ts security, "even shouid the fantastic Church of Rjnie ever obtain either the force or the hardihood to make the attempt. Glamorgansnire, as a county, looked upon the controversy with calm and dignified confidence in Parliament. We trust all classes will now unite," said The Cambrian, when the measure passed through the Hou-e of Lords, in hailing this distinguished act of our Legislature, as an offering on the altar of political amity. consecrated by the universal charity of our holy religion, and destined, by the blessing of the Most High, to tranquilise national irritation, to conciliate theological animosities, and to perpetuate the stability of the British Constitu- tion." There were some Swanseaites, however, who felt keenly and resented so natural an extension of constitutional liberties. One purblind patriot wrote to the harbour-master of Pembrey On Thursday, 23rd (April), St. George's Day, the St. George's flag will be hoisted in Swan-ea Bay, union downwards, in lamentation of the severest blow evtr inflicted on England (meaning Catholic Emancipation) and the di-graeefut means by which it has been ejected and no doubt a like feeling will he in the same way expressed by every "true Protestant master of a vessel in the port of Pembrey." The letter was branded as "demoniacal, seditious arid uncharitable." There is no record of the flag being so hoisted in Swansea Bav. or in Pembrey. No doubt, masters of vessels had too great a respect for their Catholic fellow-mariners if not, indeed, for the Church that opened its doors to them in every port in the world. A marriage wit a a history took place here on Monday, Augu-t 3rd, 1829. It was announced in this way: On Monday last, Mr. James Treasure, to Mrs. Moses, widow of the late Mr. Benjum n Moses, of the Golden Lion Inn, in this town, whose death we recorded in our paper of the 23rd of May la?t. Ihis is the bride's fourth appearance at the hymeneal altar, and who, within the la.-t three years, has been twice a ilinconsokite widow, and thrice a happy wife. Happy is the wooinz That is not long adoing.' The couplet did not turn out right on this occa- sion. A few weeks after the marriage, the happy pair were disturbed in their mutual endearments by the unexpected and unwelcome appearance of a prior claimant of the gentleman s affections, from a villase near Bath. She came to fewansea l'y the steam-packet, braving the winds and waves to get her Treasure-trove who, nine months before, had pledged himself to love and cher.sh her. The chronicler leaves the ludicrous meeting to the imagination, and I had better do the same. The neighbourhood soon became aware of the little incident, and the people Fathered round the Golden Lion to share m the fun. The much-married landlady had now re- covered from the shock her nerves sustained; but probably one husband more or less was nothinsr to her. So, tucking up her sleeves, and brandishing a broom, she bundled her eriing spouse out ot the house. He expected little mercy from the crowd, and t, ok to his heels with the populace in full chase. Treasure eluded them, and cleared out of the town. Poor Mr". Moses returned into disconsolated widow- hood, and (it reads like a fairy tale) lived happy ever afterwards with—her rival!

SWANSEA Y.M.C.A. AND ITS ADVANTAGES TO YOUNG MEN. The. facilities for mental, social and physical improvement to be found at the Y.M.C.A. are numerous. It is a matter for surprise and re- gret that the young men of our town do not more earnestly avail themselves of these facili- ties. The membership of the Y.M.C.A. still holds its own, while the various classes are as well patronised: but considering the size and importance of Swansea there is roon: for ivn" provement. Too many of our young men spend their evenings in idleness and frivolity, leading and cultivating a superficial life which can be productive of nothing but harm. Our educa. tional classes are not attended as they ought to be—in fact, the results of the efforts in the past to cater for the intellectual, social and physical improvement of our young men have been far from encouraging. For many years past the Y M.C.A. has played an important part in de- j veloping the youthful moral character. It is still carrying on an excellent work, and deserves all the support it is possible to accord it. The institution is admirably situated. A more central site than Dynevor-place it would be im- possible to secure. Physical training is of the greatest importance. Without it a healthy and long life is almost impossible. Training of the best and most useful kind may be indulged in at the Y.M.C.A. Gymnasium. The instructor is Mr. Neville Davis, an experienced, typical athlete, whose tact and geniality have won him many friends. The gymnasium is fitted up with all the most modern apparatus, while everything is done to secure the comfort and convenience of the members. As an evidence of this we may mention that a few new shower baths have just been put up in a, room adjoining the dressing room of the gymnasium. The.;e are conveniences which the members will be sure to highly appreciate. Shower baths, in addition to being very healthy and refreshing, are excellent preventives of colds. The gymnasium is open on Monday. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday in each week from eight to ten. The terms are very reasonable. Those who desire physical as well as moral development, could not do better than join a gymnasium. Connected with the Y.M.C.A. is a swimming club, which can boast of a membership of 54, and a chess and draughts' club. The latter club is steadily g-rowing-, and has 've arranged an attractive programme for the season. It is hoped that the exceptional opportunities which this club affords of obtaining a knowledge of chess and draughts will be well taken advan- tage of. Then, again, there is a Sunday afternoon class, a debating class, social gatherings—in fact, everything that tends to make the Y.M.C.A. bright, attractive and helpful. The institution is admirably furnished, the reading room, parlour, lending library, etc., being cosy, cheerful, and homely. We can conceive of no better w ay than pen mg pleasurable and profitable evenings tian a the Y.M.C.A. The secretary, Mr. W. Nichols, will be pleased to supply any information that may be desired. —

THE EXPANDING TRADE OF SWANSEA. PFRTINENT REMARKS FROM "LLOYDS." The Shippino Gazette and IAomV.< on Saturday contained the following:—Attention has b«>en directed several times of late to the expanding character of the trate at Swansea, ajjii the statistics to hand for the week just ended are eloquent as to the vitality of trade there just now. There is an all-round increase in both exports and imports. Whilst there his been a bisr outcry for tonnage all the week at Cardiff, Newport. Barry. and Pcnarth. Swansea has been plentifully Mipplied. The shipments of coal foreign-wise for the week amounted to 52,040 tons compared with 25.225 tons in the corresponding period of last ve ir. The largest eustomer was France for 17,716 tons Italy comes next with 7,950 tons: Germany third with 6,226 tons, and the United States a ^ood fourth with 6,147 tons. Most of the shipments to the States are anihracitc coals. The shipments of tinplates amounted to 4,531 tons against 2,299 tons in the corresponding period of last year. The imports which are always ot a varied character at Swansea, were equally satisfactory. The old port has taken a long time to move, but a forward march seems to have commenced now which will take a lot of stopping. Natarallv the port is admirably situated for a larg-e trnde' and no other town or district in Wales can cla ni to be the seat of so many min. ral and general industrial undertakings and, equally, no oth r town in Wales has such a large and varied imiv-rt trade. In short, those who know Swansea b' «t know that there is a great future before it

New Archdeacon OF ST. Asaph.—The new archdeacon of St. Asaph (Canon David Evans, of Abergele) was on Thuitsday collated by Bishop Edwards to his archdeaconry

TWO SEPTEMBER SUNDAYS. There is no lovelier mout:1 in the whole ycar than September. Not even the flash of spring, with fair nature's eye awakening from its winter slumber to brighten once more the cloisters of the world with bird-song and botanical eloquence, can exceed the majestic slid of a typica* September day from the quiet glow of the morning, on through tie cloudless noon to the transient tints of the autumnal aiter^loiv, when the sun shjots its final rays into a clear azure vault, bounded to the east by a cjld grey tint of gathering night, and to the west by a wealth of gold and purple and red, blending delicately into a fugitive poetry which attracts the young artist as powerfully as the wonderful glow of Titian's pigments attracted Reynolds. Take your favourite book away of a Sunday— ithat is the ideal of September days—to the hushed autumnal marshes," where the plover calls plaintively to his mate or wander through the woods, fast deepening into russet hues, and listen to the chirp of a lonely bird, or be, like I was on Sunday, September lltb, a way-farer by unfrequented mountain footpaths, where, over the low-cut hedges, you can see the calm, glistening waters of Swansea Bay, with here and there a sail and nevpr a, breath of wind to blow it seaward where the sun is warm and the sward soft; where you will discover a mysterious nothingness in the air that speaks of peace and loveliness, and prompts strange aspirations. It is the very nativity of noblo thoughts, this nothingness in the September air. You are not distracted by the ceaseless chatter of the hedge- sparrow, or ravished by the early melo dv of the lark. Now and then a bird sails over you, or a blackbird hurries away from his thicket, and the young skylark feebly attempts the lht of its parents. But nature seems to rest and to con- template her work; and you will probably contemplate it witii her until the moon lurns the waters from gold to silver and the ouill night air drives you homeward. For after all there is no greater lesson to be learned than that of the divine orjer of nature I do not speak of human nature. Heaven kuowsj there is no real order with mankind, and we contrast strangely with the ordered procession of the seasons. But from nature's book you may glean many a lesson of parennial interest and profit, even though,as Matthew Arnold souiev. here said, man must begin where nature ends, jxture &nd man can never be best friends." In truth, nature is your sincerest friend and sympathiser. You must be sensitive to know it and conscious of a world ever-expaading with inherent beauty. Don't be too particular of your details, like a Holman Hunt, or a yoathfu1 Millais. Be rather like a Turner, seeing, in his great moods, always the largeness of life, and in 1 the m!ds;t of it all, human destiny—toiling, un- wearied mortals, passing away silently for the gener^iiuns O follow. When he painted the dediue of Carthage, he interpreted the sheer j sadness of the cry "Carthago delenda e-t When he painted Rome, countless ages and fluctuating empires marched across his canvas. And when he painted the delicious romance of Venice, he saw, in the stately piles that rose on either side of the mist-enveiled water-highways, the repose and peajefulness of life. And so, with the eye of a Turner yon may appreciate the repo.sefulness of a September Sunday. Rest yourself on some grassy mound, and the whole country-side lulls you into dream- land. Now and then a grasshopper will alight playfully on your book, aud gently chirping scud off again into the grass. Ths balated bee performs his last labours, lazily droning and strolling—the obsequies, it may be, of slowly- dying flowers. And you may pull at your pipe in peace, watching the smoke curling fantastic- ally into fair faces. As I at and turned over Ca^yle's chapter on Romance, and the wreathing smoke would take shape into a fair Blumine or a Beata Beatrix, and they would hover around in their "angel-plumage" until some passer-by would: barbarously persist iu talking of the alliances of European nations, of the jingoistic might of Eng.and, and the wars that wage, ceaselessly and cruelly, on the frontiers of the empire Horrid nis-htmares, disturbing the sweet serenity of life --the sweet peace of a September day. As your talkat.ve passer-by goes on his way there comes a lonely robin to emphasize your peace, just as, in t'ie annals of Mythology, this Bru-daearg came to St. Columbus, thirteen hundred years ago, and Sting its lilting sweet song." He perches on a tree and shakes off the first of its withering leaves. Instinctively Victor H ago's "reuilles u'Automue," and his poem on oppres,ed nations, arise in your mind, and your thoughts go after the talkative passer-by. Youbejome indignant on account of poor Greece —"our disembowelled mother"—of "bleeding Ireland, dying upon her ero-s "-aye. even of Germany, no longer distracted by petty king- doms, Lut now an unhealthy force in European politics. Still, you cannot disregard Bru-dhearg. You have heard the story of the robin who perched itself on the Cross of Calvary, and, slaking its thirst in the holy blood that flowed so free, tinged its litt.e breast with a hue that became an eternal symbol of the Crucifixion. Someone has versified it:— Holy, holy, holy, A wee brown bird am I; But my hreast is ruddy For I saw Christ die. Whenever you gaze upoa the confiding little bird, so comforting and tender in its dumb way, you are struck with it as with a messenger from some unknown land of peace, who proclaims the utter barbarity of all things earthly. Baibarity i -in truth. "The heaven-inspired melodious i 1 singer loveliest serene highne-s nay thy own amber locked, snow aud rose bloom maiden, worthy to glide sylph-like almost on air, whom thou worshippest as a divine Presence, which, indeed, symbolic-ally taken she is-has descended like thyself from that same hair-mantled, flint- hurling, Aboriginal Anthropophas-us;" The sartorial philo--opher was right. But looking back through the corridors of life, canst thou not see the divinity growing up from ea.rly f-rms of nature, and gradually filling the whole world with a high, intelligible Te Deum," until, at length, svmbolizeil in some fair form, it bursts out with an everlasting influence upon mankind. For man must have some guiding star of fortune, and your tobacco smoke will picture one for yoa truth, simplicity, godliness, honour. and, high-echoing above tbem all, virtue 0, it is great. This thought of pure and honourable womanhood that; gives a man security against his passions that creates the yearning to do the right and live for the benefit of fellow men Believe me, this ideal womanhooJu-angelic and virtuous—can alone save the race from its deterioration. For, to quote Carlyle anew, If in youth the univeise is majestically unveiling and everywhere heaven revealing itself on earth, nowhere to the vouno- man does this heaven on earth so itnmediatelv reveal itself as in the young maiden.' Unless, indeed, it be in the f air mystery of a September day, when the land is still, and the sky aglow with full sun-radiance when you can see the sky meet the sea in a junction of dreamy haze, and your visions will wander infinite and fiee through the vistas of futurity, vanishing away in the mi-t. 'y » j September has its contradictions. A week later the self-same resting place lost all its repose. The fields, on which the mown harvest had yet remained, all tattered and torn by merciless rains, were cleared after the storm and stress ° »«*, SO ll>at not oarrion ««red its fliglit near, and the cold air, fn*bt"fa tl,M remained of the a»t«»» r ^/«»:r;dapteTr have an ending too. Have you ever noticed how consonant with your own moods are the deeper, more majestic, more eloquent moods of nature ? Or is it that nature is a great world-mother, shedding a tear cf j sympathy with all of us or a great book which each man may interpret in a thousand different ways ? Pronahiy, we have all had moments in which we could have spoken to her like Heine "0 Nature, thou silent Virgin; 1 understand thy stars, and thou comprehendest uy tsars On this second September Sunday, great white cumuli puff across a threatening sky. and far down to the southward, instead of the dreamy horiz.oiL and the calm, glittering pool, the headlands of another coast loom against a troubled sea life shrinks into the small span from coast to coast. The wind blows strong, so that you must be prodigal with your matcoes or do without your pipe. And you cannot conjure up sweet facto of inspiration when the wind plays free with your- every little fancy, wafting it heaven only knows where The robin returns, and perhaps, as he alights nimbly on the hedge uear by, you look for the peace which he is supposed to bring. But even this is denied you. All unconscious of the tradition that gives him so holy a tinge. Morselur- B; a-dhearg sticks out his chest and in a note of grim pugnacity challenge^ the whole tribes of the air with a truculence that you would never suspect in one so insignificant. Presently. a. kinsman comes up, and perching himself on the opposite hedgerow, responds with equal trucu- lence. And all your visions of peace and its feathered messenger instantly vanish. Crucifixion iort forsooth Rather, it will seem to you, the robin has robbed the yellowhammer of a drap o' the Deil's bluid You will rise in disgust from your cold seat, wish the iittle heretics in another place and depart homeward, visionless and sorrowful, it may be, but still conscious of the charm an 1 sweetness of a September Sunday at its best, and ever ready to agree with Esmcnard: rions de fleurs notre existence, Le temps, bieii les fu'-trir Avant que notre hiver commence, Trop heureux qui salt les cueillir Bientot la jeui.esse est fam e, It n est qu'uti instant pour l amoui :otre vie a-com me l'ann,"e- Son dernier beau jour." A. L.

MAURI AGE OF Mil. HERBERT VIVIAN. At Brighton, on 30th September, Mr. Herbert Vivian was married in SL. James's Church, to Miss Olive Walton, daughter of Mr. Frederick Walton, of Cwmllecoediog, Montgomeryshire, and 4, ChicbestE-r-terrace, Brighton. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. F. Henry Vivian, father of the bridegroom. The brides- maids were the Misses Violet and Clarice Walton (sisters of the bride) and Miss Cordelia Vivian (sister of the bridegroom). A reception was held afterwards at Chichester-terrace, and Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Vivian then left for Paris and the East of Europe.

LOCAL TAXATION LICENCE DUTIES. '^Special TO THE Cambrian. The annual statement of the Local Govern- ment Board, issued on Saturday last, the ISth September, of the amount received in respect of each administrative county and county boroigh from local taxation licence duties for distribu- tion for the year ended 31st March, 1897. gives the following relating to Glamobgan.—In this administrative county the total amount received was £ 47.204 against £ 46,090 in the preceding year, and included licences issued for the sale of intoxicating liquor for consumption en the premises. For spirits, £24,953, against £ 24,254 beer.. £ 1,473, against £ 1,484, and beer and wine £ 154, against £ 158. Licences issued for the sale of intoxicating liquors for consumption off the premises: Re- tailers of beer, C22 against jE22, and wine £ 22S against £ 222; licences to deal in game. L24 against £16: licences to beer dealers. £ 721 against i:719 to spirit dealers, JE:1,387 against £1,450, and to wine dealers, £191 against £ 238: to refreshment house keepers, CI86 against £ 180: dog licences, X7,193 against. £ 6,972: licences to kill pine, XI.038 against X966 gun licences, X674 against E667 appraisers and house agents. £3¿; against £3: auctioneers, JE790 against £ 737 tobacco dealers, £ 1.287 against £ 1,223 carriages, JE4,023 against £ 4,162 armorial bearings, £ 316. against £ 324 male servants, zC888 against £852: hawkers, zC404, against £ 352 pawnbrokers, S382 ngair.st £ 397. and plate deaJers, zC593 ag-ainst £ 605. The penalties incurred during the year amounted to £ 57 against .£57. Swansea.—In this administrative county borough the total amount received was £ 8 593 against £9,754 in the preceding year, and in- cluded licences lor the sale of intoxicating liquors for consumption on the premises, viz. For spirits. £6,177 against JE:6,176 beer, jE:197 against £ 198, aud beer and wine, t8 against £7. Licences issued for the sale of intoxicating liquors for consumption off the premises: Re- tailers of beer, £16, against £ 16, and wine..E50 against £55; licences to deal in game..S12, against £ 12: licences to beer dealers. £ 122, against £ 119: to spirit dealers, £ 323, against £ 339, and to wine dealers, JE63, against £ 63; to refreshment house keepers, E69, against £69; dog licence-, £ 961. against £ 976. licences to kill game, £ 78, against £ 80 gun licences, £ 6c, against £ 62; appraisers and house agents. £ 16, against S18 z auctioneers, £ 3 60 against £ .200 tobacco dealers, zC2,82, against £ 278 carriages, £ 515. against £ 589; armorial bearings, £ 28t against £ 30; male servants, £ 87. against £ 99- liawkers. £ 48, against £ 46 pawnbrokers, £ 135 against £ 135, and plate dealers, £174, against £ 181. The penalties incurred during the year amounted to £150, against £35..

MISS ANNIE MADGE'S Alrf EXHIBITION. A pleasant morning mav be spent at Mis* Madge's studio, 29. Walter-road. where a Mm'wr oi painting, by a lady of refined artistic talen^ arc exhit.it-d. The works bear various uat' and although their merit is uneven they possess' on the whol». an attraction for all brt-love-1' Among>t the oils are some pretty interior-^ th' most noticeable being: the dming-ro m in*' +J,6 Mu-a Planta at Antwerp, arranged into original sixteenth-century order. It i< painted. There are two or three ve^ homlg studies, one a lady comfortably seat. ~,Z y fire. This, however. ls in li £ ''•\a.,warm prefer the picture of a l-'H-* i we i f l«-V} and genth man reading m lamplight-obviously a direct 1°m..The interior of* South wold ,lmrabie in perspective. Looking up the enaii' the artist has caught a pretty effect witti the stained-glass window in the background, In water-colour. Miss Madge evinces a strong. 'npathetic feeling with nature, particularly in a lew landscapes, painted in Suffolk—an artists* paradise. Thev are small but effective. One is a flat landscape, with peaceful river and di>tant foliage, delicately and poetically treated, and another has in the fore-ground a iiigh-banKed Stream, into which is prettily painted down tne ruction of "teh'toS; distance, a church amid red roc> » CTrQund For refinement in tone attractive a ,g 1)othing in the exhibition and coloui wliite anemones and Virginia whicli excc«r-gs jtfadge has exquisitely painted creepers. 0f woodland scenery, in Perry's an esc"1p81w.er. In her management of the brush, Wood, in a nice appreciation of the li^ht no J composition, she has shown her- a vigorous and. at the same time. d«inty rtist. A small but fascinating little picture is that of a back-yard, with it* domestic line of dotbes. In arrangement this modest little picture is perfect. The Gower headlands seen from Horton and A First Rathe are pleasing marine studies. For a copy, nothing could be better than that of Gainsborough's "Parish Clerk." Then there are numerous school and studio .sket'-hes. both in pencil and water-colour which show the artist's technique iff to advantage. An artist so refined lr1 her treatment attains a natural success in niiua-ure-paintins-. The most delicate aitistic qualities are required for such work, and the portraits of Miss Vera Home and of Sir Robert Morris s little son, delight- fully childlike in feeling and fresh in colour, prove that Miss Madge possesses those qualities. Besides the paintings, Miss Madye exhibits several ornaments, lamp-hraekets, tables, &c., in bent iron-work, executed to her own designs. No doubt, on a. future occasion, we shall have the pleasure of noticing an exhibition by Miss Madge's art class.

ELECTION NOTES. There is little, if any, change in matters elec- toral just now. Burgesses who some months ago stated they would place their services at the disposal of the ratepayers, now prove that they were not serious. Mr. C. L. Bath declines to oppose Mr. Richard Martin in the Ffynone Ward but some of the opponents of the Triple Scheme declare their de- termination to leave nothing undone to secure a new representative. Well, we hope they will not succeed. In Mr. Martin's present state of health, and in view of the splendid services he has for years rendered the town, it would be infra dig, to say the least of it, to submit him to the woirv of a contest. Mr. Martin is without doubt one of the ablest public men in Swansea. He cer. tainly has not his superior in the Council Chamber. He has his faults, it is true, but only the prejudiced question his usefulness to the town. Whatever may be said to the contrary; we believe him to be a man of strict integrity, whose extraordinary zeal in promoting the Triple Scheme was prompted by his loyalty to Swansea and by his keen desire to improve the position of the burgesses. Should he be opposed next month, he may rely upon finding among his most en- thusiastic supporters many who could not see eye to eye with him over the Triple Scheme. We wish Mr. Morgan Hopkin would keep quiet, He is like a galvanized jack-in-the-box, popping up here and there when least expected. Why does he not fellow the example of Mr. Bowles by tbanking his "numerous friends for their kind offers of assistance," but regretting that "pressure of business compels him to turn a deaf ear to their entreaties, for the present, at any rate. The burgesses generally would be greatly relieved were the ex-labour tribune to do that. When ex-Alderman Chapman retired from the Council three years ago he made up his mind not to again come out of his shell. He has not swerved from that decision, as may be gleaned from the following characteristic replies to the questions of a pressman Let me see. I put a value of two guineas a day on my time, and the figures are really very low. It will take me a week to canvass the ward, and I shall want to be paid for that. Then one guinea per committee, and two guineas for a cour.cil. Is there anybody paying such sumsr No r Then my answer is in the negative. I gave 16 years' service to the burgesses free, gratis, and for nothing, and I think that now I am entittel to a rest. I am bound to say, though, that I feel gratified at the cordiality with which I have been invited to stand, and for the recognition thereby implied that my work on the Council was of some value. I have been asked to stand for four wards, and in the kindliest way possible. I don't say, mind, that if there was a vacancy for which no one else was standing that I should object to go into the Council unopposed. But I am not going to fight for it or spend money. I would rather give it to the poor. It is on the tapis that Mr. Robert Evans, of the Landore Foundry, may be induced to contest the Landore Ward in opposition to Mr. W. Williams, the retiring member. Mr. Evans, as an employer of labour, is largely interested in the borough, in the development of which he would no doubt render valuable assistance.

cf Middlesbro' require only one license to 446 persons, Cardiff one to 414, and Glasgow one to 375, why does Swansea want one to 244 f Also, if Middle-bro' and Glasgow, which, in 1872, had one licensed house to 339 and 255 respectively, of the population, have been able to improve their figures to 446 and 375, why cannot Swansea take more vigorous measures in the same direction ? Mr. Joseph Ackland, in an article on this subject in a recent number of the Nineteenth Century, stated that it was impossible to avoid reflecting on the gravity of the responsibility which these appalling statements cast upon the bishops and the clergy of the Established Churches of England, Wales and Scotland, who, for party political purposes, join their supporters of this degrading' traffic. The bishops and clergy, con- tinued Mr. Ackland, have it in their power to bring this evil within moderate dimensions within a few years and if, while so vigorously defend- ing their own ecclesiastical supremacy, they refuse to aid in the suppression of the abuses of this traffic, great indeed must be the condemnation awaiting them." It is extraordinary that in all the legislative attempts to deal with this evil, the chief endeavour seems to be to ascertain the utmost which shall be given to its promoters and abettors as compensation for limiting their oppor- tunities of doing mischief, rather than to discover how they may be made to suffer the penalties of the law for the vice and misery which they have caused. Delay in dealing with the problem on a reasonable basis can only result in the extreme prohibitionists gaining power, and perhaps pass- ing a drastic measure which will lead to a worse reaction afterwards. An impression prevails in some quarters that the licensing magistrates have no power to abolish an existing license except on the ground of a. breach of the law by the holder of it. The iraDress;on is entirely erroneous- The icensmg authorities have power to abolish the license of the best conducted house in the town if they think necessary. Let us assume for the moment that there are twenty public-houses in High-street, that they have been in existence for many years, and have never appeared on the police black list. The magistrates could, did they choose, weed the number down to twelve, regardless of the injustice tha.t might thereby be done to the abolished eight. Some system of weeding is needed in Swansea, but we are afraid it would never be put into force to any substantial extent. To what are we to attribute the lamentable increase in female drunkenness in Swansea ? The -question is difficult to answer, but we think it may with good reason be claimed that the superfluous number tf licensed houses play a no unimportant part in fostering this social evil. Many of these houses are vile dens, more fit for beasts than human beings. Refreshment houses they certainly are not; accommodation for man or woman they do not possess, but they are a. danger and a evil. They serve a bad purpose—in more ways than one but, thanks largely to our imperfect licensing laws they are allowed to exist. It is such houses as these that enable women to foster and gratify their craving'for strong drink, in that nine out of every ten aresituated in out-of-the-way corners, sheltered from the public gaze. It is rare we see a woman-unleS8 she be an abandoned character—enter a licensed house situated ill our busiest thoroughfares. Again, in spite of the vigilance of the police, these houses rely more upon illicit tha.n honest trading. The Head Constable (Captain Colquhoun) could say much about the evils which result from the excessive number of public-houses in Swansea. A report from him on the subject would be interesting reading, and a guide to the licensing magistrates how to act in future. Apropos the drink question, the following lines were sung at the National Temperance "Convention in London on Tuesday — The House of Commons, as we see, Has spoken out decisively Securing a majority Against all Suuday boozing. Come. aid us to remove this blot. Aud .suike Hie iron while 'tis hot, With Temperance men east in your lot, And work for Sunday closing. By no stretch of poetic licence," remarks the Daily Telegraph, can the word 'boozing be made to rhyme with closing.' Where one and •all concerned in the movement are in such desperate earnest, and strive so hard to inspire confidence in their supporters, it is a pity that the narrow border-line that divides the sublime from its antithesis should be so palpably over- stepped." The Mumbles District Council has been vindi- ^Catad The county auditor has declined to pass Lhe expenses incurred by engaging boatman Smith +0 Watch over bathers in Langland Bay. At Tuesday's meeting the chairman referred to this fact, fj :¡d seemed to think it a complete answer to the rroneous impression that prevailed after the 'owning of young Llewelyn John a few mc s ago. We suppose it is impossible to con- "he local administrators that although not • liable to spend a brass farthing in bathing utions, they made themselves moral y Tt sponsible to do so. They engaged Smith five or six years ago, and it seems to us that the auditor has been lax in his duty in the meantime. Why were not these particular expenses objected totW), three, orfonr years ago ? As we pointed out a fe.v months ago, tM members of the Mumbles Council certainly iltra vires in engaging boatman Smith, but done so it was taeir duty to see that he It allowed the use of a. rotten line and buoy, proved useless in an emergency. We repeat that they seriously neglected a very tant duty. To contend that they were not WTv called upon to provide bathing precautions, •after having made an attempt to do so is an fnr the folly which allowed precious ?' %J Two blacks do not uurnan life was concerned. make a white, ye Mumbles "City & iers The utter inability of the Rev. John Davies to maintain in public the reputation he has cai ne* in private was again evidenced on Wednesday, f b« rev. gentleman is an eloquent, thoughful tcier, capable of doing excellent work, but •1 Mediately he leaves his special sphere he seems r ose control over good sense and reason. He .iI.not brook opposition. It make. him wield his <me very much as the Indian wields his 'tomahawk. Of course, he is the sufferer, and those whose who know his virtues as a preacher aDd a man and not his fail.inS{s as a public representative, feel sorry for him What could have been more unkind and unjustifiable than his attack upon Principal Salmon at the School Board meeting on Wednesday ? As educationists in the true sense of the much misunderstood term there is no comparison bet.veen the two. The Lpntacle of the Rev. John Davies pointmsr out in what direction lay Principal Salmon's duty as an educationist is altogether too funny. Mr Koirer Beck will °f Mr. KOL<- encceeds in influencing the Mumbleoman* i ^]je lane between District Council to imp-O noeitive Langland and Newton. At Prepen di^mce-ovon to Mumble*. wh«o the P«b .0 roads to be systematically ,K'? cc L< lane which Mr. Beck hopes to get improved wil in the course of a few years, become one of the most important in the district. It is the approach to some valuable and eligible building land, upon which has been recently builta. number of detached and semi-detached villas. A good road to and through this land would increase it in value aid popularity. The Rev. J. Morgan Jones, the predecessor of the Rev. J. Rhys Davies as pastor of the English Calvinistic Methodist Chapel at Alexandra-road, and which pastorate he resigned to undergo a course of study at Cambridge, has accepted a call to the pastorate of Hope Chapel, Merthyr, which has been vacant since the departure of the Rev. D. C. Edwards, three years ago. Mr. Jones will be at Cambridge for another year, at the end of which he will commence bis duties in this sphere. Aluminium is supplanting copper in rolley- line wires for electric traction. Its advantages are lightness, strength, and resistance to corro- sion. It has only 60 per cent, of the conductivity of copper, but it is three and a-half times as light. There is no reason why it should not be employed with advantage in telegraph and telephone wires, bat in cables the greater bulk necessary would militate against it superseding copper. Professor W. T. Samuel, G. and L.T.S.G., will next month adjudicate at the Sboreditch Town Hall, London, in connection with the Annual Eisteddfod of Falmouth road Chapel. Mr. Samuel will also shortly appear as adjudicator in Liverpool. It is time the District Council properly named the streets and numbered the houses at Mumbles. Visitors are frequently directed to two or three different places when in search of a certain house or street. The confusion arises in this way: At first the re.-idents affected decide to name a new street in Castleton Bay-street. That was not aristocratic enough for some, who styled it Bay View Crescent. Then we had Victoria Avenue, by which name it is now known to a few. The experience of this par- ticular street or avenue or crescent is not common to other places in the district. Confu- sion, however, will soon give way to order and reason, as the Council have actually resolved to name and number the streets. We hope they will put the resolution into force within twelve months. It is probable that a dozen men will be employed this winter in laying out the Coed Saeson estate for building. As we hinted a few weeks ago, a strong syndicate has been formed for that purpose. The principles upon which the Company is to be conducted are entirely new to this district. They have answered admirably in other parts of the country. Two Mumbles women conducted a war of words. Sulphuric expressions were used with an ease and vehemence which surprised the by- standers. A few days afterwards one of the women received a lawyer s letter demanding an apology on behalf of his client—her opponent. She made reply by pasting up the letter in her front window. The incident tickled passers-by for weeks. Writing in the current number of the Goleuad with regard to the curriculum in vogue at the Calvinistic Methodist Theological Colleges, Dr. G. Arbour Stephens, Walter-road, Swansea, suggests that a course of, say six or nine lectures, on The practical application of science, physiological, sanitary, or any other, to a minister's career," might be of considerable service to the student., especially in their post. collegiate days. Tha doctor thinks, too, that such a course might have an inhibiting influence on the rashness displayed by so many minis- terial students of rushing into indiscreet or, at least, premature marriages, with the necessary consequences of poverty-stricken homes, ill- nourishing meals, and sickly children, the result being a serious reflection on the ministry and a hindrance to the work. If such an influence is too Utopian to expect, then the writer thinks it is time the connexion considered the advisability of refusing to ordain any but single men. "The Enchanted Bird" (Morley & Co.), a soprano or tenor song, by Mary Augusta Salmond, has been selected as one of the test pieces for the Temperance Festival at Newport. Comrades of the Past (Weekes & Co.), is a new regimental song by the same composer, and its refrain renders it most useful at many gatherings of societies, be they civil or military Swanse i has been well represented in Matlock and Buxton, two charming health resorts in Derby, during the past few weeks. Mr. and Mrs* Richard Martin, Mr. W. Watkin-, J.P., Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Freeman (Corrymore), and Mr. and Mrs. John Roberts, among others, have been seen there. Mr. and Mrs. Freeman returned to Swansea on Wednesday. Mr. John Thomas (Pencerdd Gwalia) Harpist to the Queen, is among those who have been honoured by receiving the Jubilee Medal from Her Majesty. The Duke of Connaught's annual report on the training of the volunteers at Aldershot this year is a high compliment to the efficiency of the Force. Of course, strictures are passed, and, unfortunately, Ihe South Wales Brigade, together with the Plymouth Brigade, comes in for an accusation of slovenliness. His Royal Highness complains of great negligence in keeping the camps clean and in good order, especially in some batallions of the brigades men- tioned. A contemporary (writes our corres- pondent who accompanied the Third G.R.V. to Aidershofc in August) states that two Swansea corp3 were in the South Wales Brigade, meaning the 2nd Welsh and the 3rd G R V. The latter corps, as a matter of fact, is in the Severn Brigade, to which it was attached towards the end of the last volunteering year, and from my own observation I can say that the camp was left clean and in good order on the Saturday morning. As to the Second Welsh, I can only add that, his Royal Highness mentions no particu- lar battalion. On the whole the volunteers have done remark- ably well in the single week allotted to each corps —a ridiculously short time to spend under canvas and in hard training. As to the improvements noticed, the men are better disciplined, they work more silently, they are quicker in movement and more dashing, and the fire discip ine is improved. The officers have also shown greater confidence in themselves. The duties of the Volunteer Medical Staff Corps were carried out with intelli- gence. Amongst the strictures are Itise-sential that preliminary company and battalion work should be learned before going to Aldershot; too many men remaining in camp who should attend parades the negligence already alluded to and "the doubtful advantage" of the elaborate cooking-stoves brought by some battalions. The love of such luxury will, no doubt, vanish in a chert t-jme bui so long as the dash and smart- and discipline continue to increase we need not complain much of that. It is a healthy sign that although many of the men were young, ana ti „ tj R.H. says, was of a more the train'2 a volunteers usually get, the arduous natuie than appears to be week's camping at Alc.tr.uo popular.. But utility should be placed before popularity in a matter of this sort. A weeks training is absurdly insufficient in view of the fact tnat, in eventuality, the volunteers would be called out before, probably, the picked and trained troops of Europe. With an optional week's training, with but one compulsory turn-out for every man (and that for ceremonial and company drill before the inspecting officer), one cannot be surprised if His Royal Highness, keen soldier that ho is, complains that a greater knowledge of outpost duty is necessary." It is a question worthy of consideration whether there ought not to be three or four—or even more-compulsory turn-outs during the year, not confined to ceremonial and inspection drill. In regard to cyclists his Royal Highness suggests that they should be worked in a body under regular officers, who should give them a military scheme to carry out. The officering of the volunteers generally ought to be overhauled, for there are some to whom it would be sheer folly to entrust half-a-dozen human lives. Professor Newman's long and active life will be claimed as a triumph by the vegetarians, teetofallei"S. and anti-tobacconists. After middle vC up meat and alcohol and he did age ie p g2 an(j wag wrjyn„ not smoke. ¥C learned books till within a couple of years or so of his death. On the other hand, the bibbers of wine and the smokers of pipes may take comfort from Tennyson. The poet lived to be 83, and he kept his intellectual powers and his poetical faculties absolutely undimmed to the close. And Tennyson was assuredly no ascetic. He tried vegetarianism once to oblige Edward Fitzgerald, and gave it up after a few weeks. He liked his pint of port, and smoked steadily and persistently. Indeed he was quite unhappy if he were asked to stay in a house where he was not allowed his pipe at all times. But longevity and vigour in old age have probably much more to do with a man's inherited constitu- tion than his habits. Tennyson was one of a family of twelve, nearly all of whom lived to be over 70. As poor Emily Tennyson, the betrothed of Arthur Hallam, said, "The Tennyson's don't die." Mr. Barney Barnato has disappointed his admirers. He has only left a matter of £900,000, which is no doubt a respectable sum of money; but not much for a man who was credited with his one, two, five, or fourteen millions. But a good many of these speculative millionaires cut up," as the coarse old phrase went, rather less profusely than is expected. Colonel North, the most typical of them all in many ways, left a comparatively small property behind him.