The Cambrian

CHESS COLUMN [EDITED BY SELAH. In state array the foemen wend their way. To battle un Oaissa's field." AUJoommunic&lions for this department should be addressed to the Chess Editor. I' OHESS RESORT. SWANSEA COUNTY CHESS OLUB.-Tenby Hotel, Walter-road. Meets on Saturdays from 7.30 to 11 p.m. Visitors are welcomed. Closed nntil October 1st. SOLUTION TO PROBLEM by W. A. CLARK. Key move—Q—Q B 2. No correct solution received. I To COMHtSFONDENTa. T. J. TURNER.—B x R won't do, because it checks at first move this would never do for a problem. PROBLEM.—By H. TOSCANI. BLACK (4 pieces). WHITE—(7 pieces). White to play and mate in two moves. Solutions are requested, and Problems will receive our best attention, with early publication if found worthy. Post cards will do. LIONS AT PLAY. Game played between Lasker and Blackburne in the present Chess Tourna.ment BTTT LoPEZ. WHITE (Lasker). BLACK (Blackburne). I P-K4 P-K4 2 Ktr-EB3 Q Kt-Q B 3 3 B-Kt5 P-Q3 4 P-Q4 B-Q 2 5 P-Q5 Kt-Kt 1 6 B-Q3 B-K2 7 Kt-B 3 Kt-K B 3 8 Kt-E2 P-B3 9 P-B4 Kt-R 3 10 Kt-Kt 3 Kt-B 4 11 B-H2 P-QKt4 12 P-Kt 4 Kt-K 2 18 QPxP BxP 14 P r P BxKtP 15 P-Q R 4 B-Q 2 16 Castles P-Kt 3 17 P-R 3 P -K R 4 18 B-K 3 P-R 4 19 P-Kt5 R-Q B 1 20 Rr-B 1 Kt-B4 21 Kt-Q2 P-R 5 22 Kt-K 2 P -Kt 4 23 BxP B-KKtl 24 BxP BxR P 25 B-Kt 3 B-K 3 26 R-K 1 Kt-Kt 5 27 Kt-Bl B-Kt 4 28 R-Kt 1 R-K R 1 1 29 Kt-B 3 B-KB5 30 Kt-Q 5 Q-Kt4 <tt P—B3 R-R8ch Position after Black's 31st move. I BLACK. I .u WHITB. I 32 K xR BxB 33 KtxB Kt-B 7 ch 34 K-Ktl KtxQ 35 Kt-B 5 B x Kt (B5) 36 P x B Q-Q7 37 K R x Kt QxB 38 Q Rr-B 1 QxBP 39 Kt-Kt 6 R-Q 1 40 Kt-B 4 Kt- Kt 2 41 Kt-K 3 Q-B5 42 K-B 2 Q x R P 43 R-B 7 Kt-B 4 44 R-K R I R-Q2 45 R-B 8 ch K-K2 46 R (R 1)—R 8 Q-Q5 Resigns. INTERNATIONAL CHESS CONGREBR.—The pro- gress of the Tournament is watched with intense interest, both at home and abroad. It is said that JE150 has been contributed by India towards the prize fund. When play was resumed on Wednesday Lasker was half a point ahead. We reprret to announce the death of the Rev. I G. A. Macdonald, a renowned and prominent chess-player and editor for the past 40 years.

DRAUGHTS. EDITED BY MANNINGHAJII," "18 friendly contention tlie old men Laughed at each lucky hit or unsuccessful manoeuvre Laughed when a man was crowned, or a breach was made in the King row."—Longfellow, Evangeline. TO CORRESPONDENTS. All correspondence intended for this column should be forwarded not later than Tuesday evenings, so as to insure insertion in the same week's issue. Secretaries of clubs.re cordially invited to send us reports of matches and meetings, or any other matter of interest to players generally. C. H., Swansea—Accept our best thanks. Solutions in order. CHECKERS," Swansea.—WH! keep your suggestion before Ut. SOLUTION TO PROBLEM 213. Black Men on 2, 3, 7, 11, 12, 13 and 20. White Men on 16, 18, 19, 22, 24, 27 and 28. Black to move and win. 3 8 7 10 11 15 12 19 2 25 18 14 14 7 19 10 24 15 Black wins. SOLUTION TO PROBLEM 214. Black Men on 3, 6. 9,11 and 15. White Men on 13,18, 20, 22 and 23. White to move and win. 20 16 2427 14 5 11 7 7 3 11 20 22 17 6 10 22 15 8 12 18 11 27 31 5 1 1 6 3 7 20 24 17 14 26 22 3 8 White 23 18 31 26 wins. PROBLEM 217.-By Mr. E. W. SPILLER, Brook- BLACK. [lyn, U.S.A. WHITE. Black Men on 5, 6, 7, 10, 14, 15 and 18. White Men on 13, 16, 17, 21, 24, 25 and 26. White to move and win. PROBLEM 218.—By Mr F. TESCHELEIT, London. BLACK. WHITE. Black Men on 3 and 5. Kings 18 and 20. White Men on 11, 12 and 16. Kings 2 and 4. White to move and win. GAME 108.—"BRISTOL CROSS." Played between Messrs. Heffner and Freeman. Freeman's move:— 11 16 25 18 3 7 18 11 6 15 6 2 *23 18 5 9 25 22 14 17 13 9 20 24 16 19 21 17 7 10 32 27 1 6 28 19 24 15 7 10 31 27 9 14 22 13 15 24 10 19 17 13 10 14 27 24 6 10 26 22 18 15 10 14 27 23 17 21 9 6 24 27 9 13 29 25 12 16 24 15 2 9 23 19 22 17 14 23 15 11 14 17 13 6 13 22 27 18 8 15 15 10 16 20 Heffner won. How THE BLIND PLAT DRAUGHTS. -IT is an interesting sight to see the blind play draughts, and watch the changed expression which over- spreads their countenances when they foel they have a win on. or contemplate a serious problem. The board on which blind persons play is about the standard size, the black squares being sunk and the white squares raised. The pieces used are twelve round and twelve square. The routid ones are painted black, the square ones white, and the round always move first. They are turned on the one Fide and ptain on the other, so that when a man it crowned it is played with the turned side up instead of putting another man on the top of it as in the ordinary game. When the men are placed on the board, the player having the round men makes his move. The other player places bis hand on the board, feels the move that has been made, and then makes his reply to it So the game goes on, move for move, until the finish. The players can move as quickly as players with sight, and make no mistakes. The affliction from which they suffer through want of eight, which -1 Randers,ill the world a darkened maze," would seemed to have sharpened their other senses, and to have made them more acute. Many an hour is passed pleasantly over the board, and the games played are, as a rule, of the finest class. MIXING WVI.LIE'S LEMONADE.—All will admit that the secret of Wyllie's success is in a great measure to be attributed to his temperate habits. Although not a pledged abstainer, he was a strictly temperate man, and was often heard to condemn the use of intoxicating liquors as a beverage. He on many occasions warned young players against taking strong drink. At the close of the international match held in London in 1894, the Scotch team and a few friends held a jollifioation," and. of course, the old man was present. He was asked if he would have a lemonade. The old man readily consented, but before the glass was handed to him a young Glasgow wag slipped a glass of good old Scotch" into the tumbler. The old man, without suspecting anything wrong, drained it to the bottom. By and by his face got as red as a lobster, and his tongue got Ioo<e, and then the "Herd" played all his matches over again. While in the height of his glee, the young wag slipped over to him and yelled into his ear, "James, they tell me ye have broken the TT. to which the old man replied, amidst a roar of IaullMer, If I have, I dintia ken aboot it. HtraUl,

PROPERTY MARKET. — Messrs. J. Howell Thomasand Son. Carmarthen, on Saturday offered for sale the freehold farmstead called Purcnwe, near Llanstephan. containing dwelling-house and outbuildings and 1H acres of land. A grealdeal of interest was tiken in the sale, owing to the peculiar ciroumsti nee that up till the last Car- marthenshire Assizes the ownership of the pro- perty was in dispute, and the occupier had lived there rent frt'e for several years As a result of that action, Mr. Carbery Yaughan Pryse-Rice, of Llwyn-y-Brain, Llsndovery, proved his title to the property, of which he was now the vendor, being represented by his solicitor. Mr.W.Morgan Griffiths, Carmirthen. The farm was sold for the very satisfactory price of £590 to Mr.Beynon of LanghArn". A small building plot in Llanvbri was also sold to Mr. John Johns, of Parcethyn, for the sum of £13. SWANSEA CYCLISTS' CARNIVAL.—A meoting: of tbe Carnival Committee was hell at the Hospital on Friday evening. Mr. W. Phelps presided. and thf're were also present Messrs. J. E. Williams, F. Saudry, W. D. Hughes, W. Billings, R. H. Wbittaker. H. Xott, and H. Davies. Several important details regarding the class and style of the show were discussed. A number of new features a.re being avraneed, good offers of shows having been received from all parts of the country. It, wa< decided to i""ue collectine-books, solicit donations for prizes, &c.. and a sub-committee was formed to see the local railway companies about the running of excir- sioiis from nil parts of South Wales and theWost of England. The committee were unanimous that Mrs. Ehenezer Davies should be asked to form a ladies' committee, as on former occlusions, the ladies' help being regarded as most valuable. Messrs. Sandry and Whittaker handed in the list of prizes given this week, which brings the total amount up to date to over £ 32. The Committee will be pleased to receive prizes and donations from friends who have not already eiven. Their efforts are quite voluntary, and it is only by the greut hplp and assistance given in that way that a carnival can be got up. "ST. ILLTTD'S CHURCH, PEMBRET Its History and its ArchttPctnre," by Mr. Edward Roberts and Mr. H. A. Pertwee. This is a welLwritten and reliable work: it is profusely illustrated, and should be in the bandB of all interested in CMwrch history. Order at once

YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE! Sufferers from Gravel, Lumbago, Piles, Pains in the Back, Dropsy, Wind and Water Com- plaints, Diseases of Kidney, Bladder, Urinary Organs, Stone, Gleet, Stricture, Sc. latica, Rheumatism and Gout, will find a positive cure in HOLDROTD'S GRAVKI, PILLS, Try a small oox, and if not satisfied your money will be returned- Price Is. lid. of all Chemists, or post free 12 stamps, from Holdroyd's -liedieal Hall, Cleckheaton, Yorks. Don', be put off. If you cannot eet them. write at once to the Proprietor, and a t'ox will be Met next post.

ST. ANDREWS' PRESBYTERIAN SUNDAY SCHOOL. Anniversary celebration services in connection with the anniversary of St. Andrews' Presby- terian Sundav School were held on Sunday, when the Rev. David Connor, M.A., pastor, was the preacher. Scholars and choir combined rendered a capital selection of crisp and tuneful numbers under the direction of Mr. J. McGiven, while suitable voluntaries were played by the organist, Mr. D. T. Williams, A.R.C.O., who also effectively and tastefully accompanied the singing. The morning's address Thirsting for Righteousness," based on Matthew v, 6, was powerfully and ably reasoned. The preacher said they wished their children to grow in knowledge of the natural world in wh'ch they lived, in history, and all the laws regulating human life, but all this knowledge was worse than vain without a hungering and thirsting after righteousness. The word righteousness meant trying to be good, doing the will of God from the heart, justice to their nighbour, and obeying God's holy laws. To hunger and thirst thus must be the supreme good of life. The Lord in that fourth beatitude did not. pronounce a great blessing on what they thought or said or even on what they did. They were sent into the world to be even more than to do" in order that character might be produced in them corresponding to that of Christ. The world was full of hunger aud thirst for various things. When hungered for food, they thirsted for water, and those physical capacities must be satisfied in a measure, for life was in part made up of such things, but assuredly man should not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God. A man's life consisted, not in the abundance of the things he possessed. It was right men should hunger and thirst after knowledge and the control of the resources of the physical world, but those things could never satisfy them because there was within their hearts a yearn- ing after God and that righteousness which they believed to be the very life of God. There waa no detire in knowledge which could compile with the hunger, the thirst of the human soul for Gold and for likeness to God. With that yearning within them they received, as His gift, the blessing from the Lord, even righteousness from the God of their salvation. What was the blessing which came to them if they hungered after righteousness and they Werefilled ? The first beatitude said there ix a kingdom of God; its blessing was not merely of tlie future, but it was also for the present. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God." I they possessed the kingdom of heaven they possessed every other blessing and so tliousrh there their Lord spoke of the future He meant to a certain extent that men in that world should be filled with that righteousness for which they hungered and thirsted. It was only Christ who could fill them when hungry. That righteous- ness was a hungering after Christ an inner yearning that the; might be perfectly I subdued to His likeness and LRVC His righteous- ness within them. The afternoon's subject "The Great Stone Face." founded on Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous story was most interesting and secured the undivided attention of all. I11 the evening Mr. Connor spoke eloquently on The sale of the Birthright." He said they were not to overlook its grest moral lessons because they felt justly indignant at the manners of Jacob. r nlike Cain and A bel, the one good and the other bad. Esau and Jacob were both mixed characters, and when they started life Jacob had something that was good and a great deal that was bad, in fact they nmlit say the bad predominated, while Esau had a great deal of what was good and they might be inclined to say the good predominated. Many them would argue that at the time of the sale of the birthright Esau was the better man, but the Bible whicH was always candid in describing its characters flowed how Jacob felt, liis meanness and surrendered himself to God until by the time they came to the end of the book uf Genesis they found It;" character had been revolutionised. Jacob was praised not because of what he was but what he became. Esau stood before them as a man whose character they might ilt many ways understand and sympathise with. It, found a parallel in that of their Charles II, who was praised by friend and foe alike for his inimitable good nature, for Charles II was in many ways an attracliveman and he was certainly g( o j naturcd, but be was a sinner and a man of the world who despised the righteousness and the gifts of God. Esau's character was spoiled by his inconsisten- cy, overbuoyancy and worldly temper which preferred tbe seen always to the unseen. In that, story they had a picture of their own life. God gave to them the birthright of Britons which was freedom, and they liked to magnify it in their talk, but how often did the Briton throw away the birthright of his liberty He was not the sKve of the Pope or the Czar, but of his own lusts. He was the slave of drunken- ness or some besettiug sin. There was no freedom open to them, they had to tfhoo.^ between the service of sin and the service of God. A birthright was given to tijetu-the love of God-which might be theirs, and hey treated them as vain things. Might God in His mercy teach them one and all the greatness of His redemption and might they in the dawn and 1 morning of their lives turn to Him.- and might He lift up His countenance upon them and give them His blessing.

The general preference shown for HORN-CM AN'S PnRB: TEA iH owing to it" a. nifo) i>i ijualiijt, yrcal flreagth and dehcioitx fl irour. Vh< Rett in the Chrapent. Horr.iman's Tea is th" < hra\)fst and .H"lIt. Sold in Swansea «nd Diniriet by Messrs. Tunhridge and Sons, Sole Wholesale Amenta, Wassail Square; Konnett, Reathtield. street; Chapman, Mansel- *treet; CI"rk, Oxford.street and r^ach-street Davies Bros., OKf. ril-street; J. T. Davies, Walter-road; Evans Walter-road J. Jones, Wassail 8qllareand Forestfach M. Jones, tliffh-Htreet; Matthews, St. UeleU's-roatol; Morris aUf: Co., Carmarthen-road; J. A. Morris, Dillwyn-street and Siiigletnu-Htr'et; eiirliiv. Mansel- ttreet; Rf-es. St. Thomas; J. E. Ttroinas- Walt«T-rOad Vationai Stores; 50. High-street.

THE CENTENARY OF TOM HOOD. Tombstones occasionally tell untruths hence the appositencss of young Charles Lamb's query in the Temple graveyard, And where are all the bad people buried h Occasionally, too, they make mistakes, A monument iii Kensal Green credits the year lïV8 with the birth of Tllomas Hood. Perhaps the mason was responsible for the error perhaps the family records were obscure any- way a certain entry in a certain parish register places the fact beyond doubt. If it had been guided by knowledge, the chisel would have 'o carved 1799 upon the tomb which marks the resting place of him who" the Song of the Shirt." It is a ceutenary which deserves to be recorded, for Tom Hood was not only a singularly versatile and clever writer, but a man of very sweet and winning nature—one of the world's best.. He is also an example of how talents and reputations are moulded by material circumstances. Primarily he was a serious poet, one with a faculty for pathetic expression and for graceful lyrical writing. Necessity made him a. verse humourist, or rather forced his humour into undue prominence. The grace and strength in him are evidenced in his" Plea of the Midsummer Fairies," a long and ambi- tious poem, which has the sad interest of the might have beens"'—the things that give promise of ajfruition that does not come. Its design is to celebrate the immortality which Shakespeare has conferred on the fairy myths. On an Autumnal evening, the poet wanders to a sequestered grove, and catches a vision of Titania and her elfin cre'v. According to their custom, the piamies are indulging in sport but not;cilg that the Queen is sad, and that tears steal often to her eyes, they droop into silence and crowd her softly round, anxious to learn her sorrow. Then she reveals the cause of it. Their fairy lives, ske says, are based upon the fickle faith of men, and she has dice misgivings that, as poets no longer spake of them, and they seemed to be fading from the memories and affections of mortals, their poor empire's overthrow is not far dis- tant. She is interrupted in the lament by the arrival of old Father Time. Huddling together, the tiny folk await, paralysed with fear. a stroke from the devastating scythe. Emboldened by despair, the queen entreats the ancient king to spare her and her fays. The despot remains obdurate, but just as he raises his arms to give the fatal blow another visitor appears on the ssene and receives, without injury, the stroke which was intended for the fairies. Haffled and enraged, Time ) nies off, and the grateful fays gather round the immortal Dramatist, kissing his hands, anointing him with magic savours, and doing him reverence. This certainly is a poetic conceit of originality and grace; and the literary workmanship of the poem is of a high order. As an example of the descrip- tive power, take this picture of the Autumnal evening:— Z, 'Twas in that mellow season of the year, When the hot sun sitiffes the yellow leaves Till they be gold -and with a broader spherp. The Moon looks down on Ceres and her sheaves When more abundantly the spider weaves, And the cold wind breathes from a chillier clime That forth I fared, on one of tho-e still eves, Touched with the dewy sadness 01 the time, To think how the bright months had spent their prime. In Eugene Aram (Hood's next considerable poem) we have several Striking and felicitous images. As the poem is of highly-wrought, dramatic interest, the ornament is properly subdued, but where it is employed it is em- ployed effectively. What better imagery of buoyant youth than, in the opening verses :— 'Twas in the prime of summer time, An evening calm and cool, And four-and-twenty happy bovs Came bounding out of school: There were some that ran, and some that leapt Like troutlets in a pool. # Like sportive deer they coursed about, And shouted as they ran,- Turning to mirth all things of earth, As only boyhood can But the Usher sat remote from all, A melancholy man The incidents of Hood's life are few in the main it was a life of struggle against ill- health and impecuniosity; To the columns of the New Monthly Magazine he contributed his humorous, tragical, and moral poem, Miss Kilmansegg 'and her Golden Leg "-written in a comparatively humble lodging in Camber- well, where there was little of Gold, gold, gold, gold, Bright and yellow, hard and cold. But there was something brighter and better. Gold can never make up for poverty of mind and heart, and Tom Hood was richer than Miss Kilmansegg and many others like her the whole world over. On the death of Theodore Hook, he became editor of the Nor -Ilip-itlily, and though worried by a law suit, which hung round his neck like a mill- stone until his death, his prospects may be said to have improved a little. In the Christwas number of Punch for 1841, ap- peared the famous" Soug of the Shirt"—a song worthy of the writer and of the age. A poor man, Hood could not gratify the promptings of his heart by gifts to charities. He did more he awakened in the public mind a sense of the existence of woes to be cured and wrougs to be righted. The Song of the Shirt" illustrates t he benevo- lent and the pathetic side of his poetry, and in this connection, also, we have "The Bridge of Sighs" and the Lay of the Labourer," both well-known and touching poems. The stanzas beginning, We watch'd ber breathing through the night," ai'O penetrating in their pathos, for touching directness and simplicity not surpassed ill I the language. It was, however, by humour that Hood had to get his living, and it is not surprising, therefore, that we should find it sometimes forced. Punning is unquestionably the cheapest form of wit, but there are puns and puns, and the puns of Hood are, as Cole- ridge described them, almost invariably good--often, indeed, they sparkle with the true lustre of wit. He said himself that he made more puns and spat more blood than any other man grim contrast. In harness to the last, writing for different magazines when racked with pain, he bore his cross with the pluck and buoyancy which bad with the pluck and buoyancy which bad characterised his whole career. In May, 1S-I-5, the public hoard with real regret the announcement of his death. As Dickens was tbe novelist, so Hood was the poet of the people. His broad, generous sympathies were always with them. J'he principles of humanity and justice were dear to him and he exemplified in his life and writings the Christian spirit. We may not claim for him a very exalted place 011 the scroll of fame; but we may claim for him the tribute of affectionate retnemberance, of hearty appreciation, of sincere regret.

The truth of what we said the othor day alout the value of the recent addition to the world- empire of the Germans is gradually dawning on the good people of Berlin, says the St. James's Gazette. As might be expected, the result has been to cool down their enthusiasm considerably, and the linul stage will be reached when they realise that Spain has made an uncommonly good bargain by getting £870,000 in hard German ca.-h in exchange for some worthless islands, the administration of which will require outlay with- out much hope of return. Germany, according to the Times correspondent, is paying about JE25 per head for her new subjects. These subjects have no u-e for fie jr KM -ts of civdisation. They are like OUT first parents in Paradise a" regards victuals and clothes. Cocoaimts are th jir only joy, and: their only possession. In 1894 there was a total export from the Carol'nGs to Hamburg of £ 8.250 in value, though what was exported, unless it was cocoaimts. we do riot know. But three years later the trade had fallen to .£125, and now has ceased to ciri>t" altogether not a hopeful state of things, certainly, from a commercial and world-empire point of view.

Th« Medical Pi Ofes-ion recommend the moderate use of welt-matured Port. Wine in cases of Influenza. W. and A. Gilhey have specially ■selected th* finest Wine from Oporto for this purpose, and thus placed their 3.000 age«t-s in a position to supply their Invalid Port at 2a. 6d. per bottle in every town.

SWANSEA MARKET IN FLAMES. AS UNACCOUNTABLE AND DESTRTTC- TIVE FIRE. EiU'lv on Tuesday morning, the police constable on beat in Oxford-street discovered that a, lire had broken out in the Swansea Market. The tire brigade was immediately j on the spot under Captain Colquhoun (the Chief Constable) and Captain Thomas, his deputy; but the flames were already raging fiercely in the centre of the magnificent hall. The fire had reached its height with startling rapidity, for it had evidently originated in Mr. R. H. Musgrave's basket-stall. The £400 worth of inflammable goods on the stall burnt fiercely, and when the brigade came on the scene the lire was at white heat. It would be impossible to put out the flames in the particular portion of the building in which they had broken out, and the efforts of the brigade were consequently directed to keeping them confined there and to saving the remainder of the building. For nearly two hours they had a hard battle with the fire, and during that time the damage done to the building was somewhat serious, amounting, probably, to between £5,000 and £6,000. From the) basket-stall, the fianies spread to the weigh- ing-diouse, and of that structure only a few charred timbers and desolate walls remain. The heat of the flames was so strong that some of the iron supports of the glass roof were bent, and a considerable glass-area was broken. The electric-lighting apparatus, which was situated in that spot. was also destroyed, and several stall-holders suffered severely. ) The cause of the fire is a complete mystery. Some have gone so far as to suggest incen- diarism, and it is pointed out that access to the building can easily be gained near the Orange-street entrance. Another theory is that the heat of the sun on Monday must have ignited some matches which Mr. Musgrave left in his stall; or else the heat of the sun had ignited something which smouldered during the day ajid burst into flame at night. Another theory lays the blame upon the propensity ot the rats for gnawing matches! -At this period of the year no fires are lit in the market, and when the building was closed on Monday night, no light was to be seen anywhere. Whatever the cause, the fire originated in a peculiar way, for at midnight, when the chairman of the Market Committee, Mr. Tutton, passed that way and, naturally enough, took a good look at the building with whose construction he had so much to do, everything was quiet and in perfect order. It was three hours later that the outbreak was discovered, and amongst the earliest to arrive on the scene were Mr. Tutton, who had been hurriedly summoned, the Mayor, and Mr. Warmington, the manager of .the market. The market buildings are insured for £35,000, so that the loss of the Corporation is fully covered; but it is most unfortunate that it should have occurred at the very commence- ment of the Corporation's management, for it must necessarily mean a loss in revenue, The damaged portion of the market is right in the centre, and is about one-eighth the size of the whole building. It was occupied, not by perishable food-stuffs, but by fancy goods, earthenware, books, &c., and fire, water, and falling debris worked havoc amongst this lot, although a few well-stocked crockery stalls on the very borders of the fire-circle seem to have escaped with com- paratively small damage. Few of the stall- holders had insured th.ir goods, and tne insurance of the Corporation does not cover them. The greatest loser is Mr. Musgrave, whose stall contained, it is said, some £400 worth of goods, completely uninsured. Other considerable losers are Mr. Berry, Union-street, china dealer; Mr. Chas. Collis, fruiterer Mr. Gregory, New Orchard-street, china dealer; Mr. Roberts, bookseller; Mrs. Britton, Nelson-street, china dealer Mr. Williams, Grenfell-street, china dealer Mr. Rowe, umbrella maker, and Mr. Page, Port- land-street, dealer in tin goods. Mr. F. Lee, Mr. John Collis, }1; R. Davies, and Mr. Wheeler also suffered some damage. The stalls of Mr. Gregory and Mrs. Britton were partly insured. As soon as possible the reconstruction of the destroyed portion will be proceeded with by the Corporation. Mr. Tutton referred to the unfortunate occurrence at the Property and General Purposes Committee on Wednesday. He said it was inconceivable how it arose, and it was not possible yet to estimate the extent of the damage. They would try to make the thing as little burdensome to the stall- holders as possible. (Hear, hear.)

SCIENCE NOTES AND GLEANINGS. WINTER THUNDERSTORMS. Professor H. D. Stearns, in the United States Monthly Weather Review," finds that in the British Isles and various parts of the world the percentage of winter thunderstorms decreases in passing from the coast inland, in the general direction of the prevailing cyclones. This agrees with the inference of Professor von Behold that both winter and night thunderstoims are more frequent on coasts and the sea than inland, except, perhars, where the paths of cyclones are generally from laud to sea.. TO KILL THE HEECB PARASITE. Owners of beech wools tint suffer from the parasite cryptococcus fagi will find in the Trans- actions of the English ArboricuJtural Society a paper by Mr. John Shortt, head foreste. to Sir M. White ,Rid ley, DarlT.. "j th an account of 8 remedy he has foun J. for the pest. Trees decay- ing f:0'.ri (his cause have holes bored in tho I tiui:k alout two feet above ground and slanting cl'"V* nwards to a common centre. Sulphur is placed in the ho!es, which are then tightly plumed. The s"lphur appears to liaTescnx: influence cn the lap, and saves the tree. rHOTOORAVHS OF "KXBDOX LlrtllTMNu." There has been some discussion on this matter in the United Stales, and Prof ssor Cleveland AM 6 and other leading inve tigators in meteor- ology appear to te fully satisfied that tinbon lightning, as so often seen in photographs, is not due to movement of the camera, as some- times conjectured, but to an oscillatory dis- charge. frequently related in the air-crack which is opened hy the first, discharge. Con- sidering that the snries of oscillations only lasts a few millionth* of a second, there is obviously no possibility of any appreciable movement of the camera. MR. EDISON S SOy AS A\ INVEVTOR. A discovery which may revolutionise the steel trade is attributed ty the V,'ashi,ujto,i H.r.Hd to Mr. Thomas A. Edison, j in.. son of the groat inventor. It is claimed that he has made important, improvements in hardening steel. A six-inch plate, treated by the new process, is Bu.-crior in power of resistance to iftteen-inch Hjuveyhel plates. Kdison's is said to be also ■myrfe su^erbr to Uie Krupp proeers. The steel rails, Mr. Edison declare", manufactured und. his process, will not ;,plcarl. Tools aod bc»ri!„ fire 111 de practi ally cwilaoti^g. A Washington -^•respondent says the process is to Ie kept secret until after the Government has experi- mented with it on armour-plates. THK DENSITV or ICK. Ex, eriments to determine the density of ice are described by Professor Edward L. Nichols; in the January number of the Physical Rciivb. From his own investiyatious Professor Nichols concludes that the natural ice he used in the form of air-tree icicles, and in the massive f(.. 11 of ice-blocks cut from the surface of a frozen pond, had a Oensitv at Odeg. of O'91EO Artificial ice produced by the use of Carbon dioxide and < ther was found to have a density not far from 0 S161. There appears to ln»Ho dout.t that natural ) n obtained from the surfacn t tVoseii ponds and M'VITS and in the slow formation o' icich a posse-ses a density greater than tttiit of aitifioial ice by about two parts in a. thousand.

The latest craze is the book tea. A number of guests-the sexes e<jtially represented—are asked to afternoon tea, and ea.ch is to wear a badge denoting a book. The book is not necessarily a novel, though the run i« on novels, nor is it necessarily a modern book, though the*e are more generally selected. The badge, which is a. little toy. must express the title of the book. The guests arrive decorated, supplying a.nd wearing their own decoration- and each has to guess the titles of all the others. Some people are very stupid at it: some very. quick. And there is skill, loo, not only in guessing the titles, but in making the orders. Two little wooden shoes, for instance, announce themselves. A pair of very small wooden dolls are the Heavenly Twins. A little bronze devil, with crrstal drops in his eyes, is (or are) the Sorrows of Satan. A bicycle attached to a ribbon is the Wheels of Chance. And so, with Mudie's catalogue, one could1 go on indefinitely.

CHIPS OF NEWS." A brilliant garden-party at Hatfield on Satur- day in honour of toe Queen's Birthday Was attended by the Prince of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of York. The Princess of Wales abandoned ber visit owing to the indisposition of Lady Salisbury. The news from South Africa grows in gravity —opinion is intense on both sides. Business is paralysed at Johannesburg and the Cape, and a rus 1 from the Hand has begun. The troops in Natal are ready and prepared for war at a moment's notice. Great apprehension is visiblft iz:¡ Government eircles. Instructions have been given that the two new batteries constructed near Stangate Creek, on the Medway, for the protection of the boom- defen e system, shall be eaeh equipped with two 12-pounder quick-tiring guns. Electric lights are a so being installed in connection with tho protectionottite boom, which in the, event of war would be laid across the Medwav to prevent torpedo-boats entering the river. At the launching of the American yacht Columbia, on Saturday, the explosion of a photographer' flashlight killed one person and injured several bystanders. Some lads were bathing in the Severn at Iron- bridge (Salop), when they diseovered the head- less body (If a child tied in a, bag. The body is supposed to be that, of a child about four or "five months old. Mary Ann Fawcett. a lady-like person, of Carnforth, was charged at Lancaster as an habitual drunkard, this being the first local case under the Inebriates Act. There being no home in Lancashire, the Bench declined to sendher elsewhere, and committed ber to Lancaster Castle for one month. The death has taken place, at the Heath, Leighton Buzzard, of Mr. Francis Bassctt, at the age of eighty. He was chief partner in the bank ot Ba>sett and Co., now merged in Barclay and en., and from 1872 tn 1074 r,'pre:l'lIt, d BI,dford- shire in Parliament in the Liberal interest. Mr. Bassett was a member of the Society of Friends. At Downpatrick Quarter Sessions Jane Bowden, postmistress, Groom sport, county Down, and Mrs. McFerran. her sister, pleaded guilty to making false entries in regard to a sum of £30 in the Post-office savings bank. Bowden was sentenced to Jlilw months' imprisonment, and McFerran to six months. A young man named Robert, Stewart, a. joiner, residing at Greenbrae, Dumfries, was drowned whilst bathing in the river Nith at Dumfries, lie was suddenly seized with cramp. Whilst making for St. Heliers Harbour, Jersey, the steamer Bass Rock came across a boat adrift off Corbiere containing three men. In their endeavours to get alongside, all three occupants werecapsixed, and one was drowned. The others were saved. A shocking accident occurred at Norwood Junction Station on Saturday, in full view of the passengers waiting for the arrival of a train for London Bridge. As the train drew into the station a man standing close to the edge of the platform, was struck by the incoming train and knocked into the permanent way, where he was at once decapitated by the wheels of the engine. The only clue to identification w, s the name W. H. Hopkins engraved on the dead man's watch. Over JE150 in notes was found in his pockets. Alfred Barrow, an engine driver in the employment of the Midland Railway, stepped off his engine at Wigston Junction, near Leicester, and. in avoiding an approaching train, was knocked down by a light shunting engine. One of his legs was cut off, and he died before reaching Leicester Infirmary. While playing polo at Bangalore Major Reginald Hoare, 4th Hussars, sustained an accident to his right leg, which was, 'unfortunately, broken. Medical aid was promptly secured and the patient is doing well. A submarine boat of a new type, destined to displace divers has just successfully accomplished its first trial trip at Cherbourg. The boat is the invention of a Captain del Passo, and in addition to its commander carries an engineer and electrician as crew. It was sunk to a depth of over 160ft. and admirably answered the expecta- tions of its builders. A strange problem confronts the Liverpool Workhouse Committee, as, owing to a decrease in the number of inmates, there are not enough able-bodied women in the institution to scrub all the wards. Outside assistance is objected to. In conducting an inquest on the three-year-old daughter of a Camberwell bricklayer, burnt to death, Mr. Langham could not understand why people would persist in using the long-condemned glass reservoir lamps, the sale of which ought to be stopped. Peter Halsell, employed in repairing the rail- way viaduct over the River Tonge, at Bolton, fell over the viaduct into the water, a distance of 80ft., and sustained terrible injuries. He was taken to the Bolton Infirmary, where he afterwards died. The French Chamber of Indictments has ordered the provisional release of Lieutenant-Colonel Ficquart. Picquart has been in prison fourteen months as a "suspect." It was he who said, as they bore him away, that if he were found dead it would be a case" of murder, since he had no idea uf committing suicide, like Lemercier- I Picard ami Henry the forger. At Nottingham a married woman named Alice Allcock, aged thirty-nine, whose husband is in an asylum, was committed for trial on the chargo of manslaughter. The theory of the prosecution is that the accused inflicted terrible wounds upon her mother, death ultimately ensuing. Both deceased and accused were. it is alleged, of intemperate habits and continually quarrelling, A disastrous 3xplosion has occurred at one of the Kiniberley mines. It is believed that the dynamite magazine blew up. Seventeen natives were killed and three Europeans «nd twenty- seven natives seriously injured. Professor Blaikie, D.D., died at Edinburgh late on Saturday night. The liner Paris, now lying on the Ma iacles, is 1 reported to be doomed. Two suspected cases of rabies have occurred at Kingswinford (Staff). The dogs supposed to he affected were killed, and their heads have been forwarded to the Board of Agriculture that the usual tests may be made as to whether the dogs really suffered from rabies. On Saturday the body of a woman was found in the Firth of Clyde Canal, Glasgow, and was identified by George Black, a shoemaker, as that of his wife. The police found an insane woman wandering about in Southern Glasgow on Sunday morning, and as she called herself by the name of the woman whose body was found in the canal, ■ the police sent for George Black. The latter identified the woman as his wife. Meanwhile, he had, at much cxpeuse, arranged for tho funeral | of the first wotiiaii. Late on Saturday night Frank Brown and his wife, an old couple living at Warminster, were awakened by smoke in their bedroom, and on rushing downstairs found the place in flames. Their cries attracted the attention of neighbours," who, on bursting open the door. discovered Mr. and Mrs. Brown lying on the floor suffering from serious burns. The woman died three hours later. and the husband lies in a critical condition. One of the New River mains at Canonbury burst early 011 Sunday morning, causing much damage. Whilst engaged cleaning a revolver Thomas Kennerley, twenty years of age. the sou of a painter residing at Alsager. Cheshire, met with a. shocking death. Kennerley was not aware that the firearm was loaded, and it discharged in his face. Death resulted within half an hour. 1 The chief cashier of the Russian Loan Bank of Teheran disappeared with notes and cash to the value of £35,000. It has since transpired that lie fell a victim to foul play, his body having been found buried in a house frequented by the native employes of the bmk. The murderers have beeu arrested, and most of the notes have 1 been recovered. Lord G. Hamilton unveiled the Martjrs' Memorial at Canterbury on Saturday—a monu- mcnt erected on the spot where thirty m jn and eleven wonion were burnt in 1555-1558. during the Marian persecution. Dean Farrar a I, spoke. An address had previously been given in tho Cathedral by Canon Mason. A labourer named George Wil!ou«hln- was killed in a chalk pit at Cooling, near Rochester, A portion of the chalk clilr suddenly collapsed and buried the man. His son, aged thirteen, had a very narrow escape. The boy had the presence of mind to scratch awav the chalk from his father's face, but was powerless to remove the heavy mass which had crushed his body. He promptly summoned assistance, but Willoughby was dpad. The yacht Columbia, the defender of the Ainerica Cup, was successfully launched at Bristol, Rhode Island, on Saturday. In a determined contest at Coney pbnd for the boxing championship of the world Fitz- simmons, who defeated Corbett, was knocked out by Jeffries in the eleventh round. At Colchester, the Rev. George William Elliot, of Shrewsbury, was charged with drunkenness in the public thoroughfare, and fined 5s. (Id. and costs, which, not being paid, he was sent to prison for seven days. The prisoner had been befriended by the Rev. Pierpoint Edwards, vicar of West Mersea, who is known in London as the "Fighting Parson," and there was eveiy prospect of hifl being reclaimed.

ST. 1'LLTYD'S CHURCH, PEMF>U:V Its History and its Arcbitectnre," by Mr. f..wm-d Roberts and Mr. H. A. Pertwee. Th, is a well-written and reliable work; it is rvofnsely illnstrated, and should be in thp linn, o: ill interested in Church history. Order t Price, one shilling —See sdft.

A WORD TO THE WISE. I The numerous caseb of marvellous cures effected, and restoration to perfect health, of those who had long suffered and had vainly tiied other remedies, can be accounted for by simply stating the effect which Gwilym Evans' Quinine Bitters has upon the system. 1st, It strikes at the source of the disease, and by removing the causes of disease, the evil effects soon vanish. 2nd, It strengthens that part of the system which is weakest, and, therefore, most liable to the attacks of colds and all diseases. 3rd, It purifies the blood, and thus gives new life and force to all parts of the body, for disease cannot exist where there is a tree circulation of pure blood. 4th, It ffives healthy action to the digestive organs, and to the liver, thus aiding to keep away Indigestion, and the host of different forms of disease which result from it. Sold in bottles 2s. 9d. and 48. 6d.

FASHION NOTES. LBY MESSRS. BEN EVANS AND CO., LIJJITTD SWANSEA.] It is impossible to understand why the average Englishwoman is stupidity and clumsiness itself, compared with the deftness ) and grace of her French sister, in the matter of holding up her dress from the mud. Scarcely one in fifty holds up her dress daintily or with any utility. The manner most in evidence is merely to hold the centre of the back of the skirt to one side, showing the petticoat, and from thence letting this part, and necessarily the longest part of the%kirt, trail on the ground Watch any Frenchwoman, from a grisette to a Countess, trip across the Rue de Rivoli or the Rue de la Paix, and you will see a very different mode. Either she will bold her dress tightly round her with one hand placed low on the skirt, so as to enable her to raise it well out of the mud, as does the lady of our sketch; or she will take both bands, raising the skirt either side, showing a flutter of frills and a certain amount of ankle and neatly-shod feet, but in any case, keeping the gown quite free from mud or dust. Some ladies make no attempt to raise their skirts whatever, and let them trail after them on the dusty ground, and is it not a horrible idea to think of one's dainty garments sweep- ing through street dust, when one thinks of what that dust is composed ? A gaping placket-hole is another feature often seen. The style of hat drawn in the first sketch is one of the most fashionable just now. I Usually these hats are of fine sunburnt straw, either with or without quilings of THE LATEST HAT. I chiffon inside the brim, roses or hydrangeas forming the floral decoration, and a. tulle scarf tied from the back in a broad bow under the chin. This tulle must be the full width of the tulle or it does not look well, and alas, fresh tulle is needed after every few times wearing. Hydrangeas and roses are quite the favourite flowers worn, and the other day in Earls Court Exhibition, which is more than usually interesting this season, we saw one of the same shaped hats as that of our sketch, trimmed only with tiny red and pink roses under and above the brim ami white tulle strings on the sunburnt straw. It was so pretty. There is quite a little furore in favour of capes, those of pale grey or biscuit colour obtaining the greatest amount of favour. And very pretty these are, cut just below the waist at the back and sloping slightly up in front. The one sketched is especially charm- ing, of very pale biseuit coloured smooth A NEW CAPE. shiny cloth. This bears two or three inser- tions of cut-out work, the edge sewn with narrowest cord, and showing through the interstbes white satin beneath. The hem of the cape is frilled with white silk muslin, doubly beaded, and frilled on itself again with a narrower frill of chiffon, with a soft fussy effect, over an under frill of pinked-out white glace, with which the cape is lined. The high collar is a mass of foamy frills in- white glace, with which the cape is lined. The high collar is a mass of foamy frills in- side, and outside a scarf of chiffon is passed tying and hanging with long frilled ends in II front.

TERRIBLE ) MURDER AT SWANSEA.! LABOURER KILLED AND HIS PARAMOUR WOUNDED. STATEMkuT BY THE ASSAILANT. Shortly after we went to press last Friday morning-and as we briefly announced in a second edition-a terrible murder was committed in Baptist-court, High-street. The victim was a dock labourer named Wm. Kingdom, who lived with a woman of ill-fame, Margaret Tobin. bearing the soubriquet Sawdust," at No. 1, Baptist-court. The antagonist was a Prussian seaman, Henry Pelican, who has traded for some years to and from South Wales ports, where, amongst a class of acquaintances, he appears to be held in some degree of estimation as a quiet, respectable, and generally-sober individual, There is another victim of Friday's tragedy, a woman by the name of Ellen Waltham, alias Sullivan, with whom the fracas which ended so fatally commenced. She, too, was stabbed with the same knife that killed her paramour, and she now lies at the Swansea Hospital in a critical, but not hopeless, condition. As the nauseating details of the tragedy were unfolded it became evident that it was the outcome of the vice and the sordid conditions of society which arise only too naturally in such a vicinity as that of Baptist- court. It is one of the little blind alleys that the town improvement scheme carried out under the Artisans' Dwellings Act left, for some reason or other, untouched. It emerges into High-street a few doors above the Bird- in-Hand Hotel, and after you pass a blind wall and the small back yard of a High-street shop, the first house on your left is the one in which the crime was committed: a low, dingy little cottage of the one-storey, ill- ventilated and of the tumble-down order that, in this boasted civilization of ours, ought to belong to a vanished order of the world. Nearly opposite the door is a street-lamp, whose flame on this clear June night threw fantastic coruscations of light on the walls and roofs nearest it, and stretched out dark shadows over the rest of the court; it was the only light, and that a doubtful one, that penetrated into the darkness of this little group of half-a-dozen hovels. At its other end. the court has a breezy aspect overlooking the North Dock. The story of the tragedy has hitherto been imagined, and the version tJ which the greater credence is attached is quoted in extenuation of the deed for which the foreigner allowed himself so passively to be arrested. Early on Friday morning Pelican, whose ship, the Ravensheugh, was then lying at the North Dock, went to No. 1, Baptists- court with Ellen Waltham. The house had bad associations. Kingdom, the murdered man, had none too good a character; and his regular paramour is at present in the Swansea Gaol awaiting trial at the Quarter Sessions. Meanwhile, Ellen Waltham, or Wathen, was his associate, and plying her unfortunate calling on Thursday night, she made the acquaintance of Pelican, after he, in a half- intoxicated condition, had been turned out of the Colosseum Hotel in Wind-street. The two were seen together by Pelican's ship- mates, and It is more than probable that, when they went to the woman's resort between half-past one and two o'clock on Friday morning, he waa not entirely sober. From what the neighbours heard, the row appears to have commenced over money matters. I did it in self-defence. They robbed me, and I did the best I could for my- self," said Pelican to the police when all was over. And the picture which that simple statement conjures up has the stamp of probability upon it. The woman had taken possession of his money, or she had refused to give him change. An altercation ensued, and the woman rushed upstairs. According to one account, the foreigner stabbed her on the staircase, and then Kingdom came down. What followed is doubtful. Either they wanted, as the prisoner said, to push him out of the house, having taken his money, and he would not submit; or he wanted to leave but found the door locked. In either case he conceived himself to be in a desperate posi- tion—probably in one of those traps that are set for the unwary sailor in the great sea- ports. Now be was faced not only by the I woman, but by Kingdom as well, and he used his large clasp knife with deadly purpose. I When Kingdom new at him," as he put it, he sheathed it in his breast, just under the heart. Two stabs and Kingdom was prostrate on the floor, a dead man. In the scuffie the woman was also seriously, nearly fatally, woman was also seriously, nearly fatally, wounded; but her cries, mingling with the oaths of the men, had by this time disturbed the whole court, and a man named Bowling sought the assistance of the police. When P.C. Hawkins (80) arrived on the scene, Pelican had left the house through the broken window, and the woman, although wounded, had followed him, and met the con- stable at the entrance to the court. Pelican still held the knife in his hand, ready to use it if need be. But he surrendered quietly to the policeman, and whilst he was marched off to the poliee-station, the woman was sent to the Hospital by the order of Dr. O'Sullivan, who readily responded to a call, and who, after an examination, pronounced Kingdom to be dead. At the police-station Pelican was charged with wilful murder, and he replied: Wilful murder r—self-defence. They new at me. They came downstairs and ilewed at me when I was in a strange house. They' flewed upon me, and I defended myself the best way I could. I have not told you about 'the ditty.' She told me to givt; her a half-a- sovereign. They came downstairs and -they flewed upon me, and I done the best I could. You have got the pocket-knife, haven't you ? After they had the money off we they turned me out of the door, and I would not allow them to do it. That is all I got to say." PRISONER BEFOHE THE MAGISTRATES. Pelican was brought up at the Police Court on Friday morning before Dr. J. G. Hall, Messrs. J. W Jones, D. Owen audGritf. Davies. He had previously had a conversation with Mr. Hy. Thompson (Messrs. Andrew and Thompsou), who had been instructed for the defence by Mr' Noonan, the local secretary of the National Se imen's and Firemen's t'nion. Directly the ease was called on the Head Constable (Captain Colqnhouii) applied for a remand until Monday without, ottering any evidence. Mr. Thompson consented, and the leniaud was granted. On Monday, when Pelican was again brought up the magistrates on the Bench were the Stipendiary (Mr. J. C. Fowler), Messrs. Joseph Hall, F. Roeke, Joseph Rosser and William Wat kins. Mr. Laurence Richards, who prosecuted on behalf of the police, applied for a week's remand in consequence of a materia! witness, who was injured by the prisoner, being unable to appear. Mr. Hy. Thompson (Messrs. Andrew and Thompson), who appeared for the defence, said lie consented to the remand, and tin; application was therefore acceded to. THE INQUEST. The inquest was held at the Crown Court of the Guildhall on Friday afternoon, before the Coroner (Mr. Edward Striek). and the follow- ing jury.—Wm. Thomas (foreman), James Barnett, Ted Humby, John Morgan, Ezekial Jenkins, Daniel McLtchIan, Joseph Ball, John Brown, Albert Jones. A. Cheswiek, Philip Kieft. Alfred \oiing, and Samuel Woods. Mr. Henry Thompson (Messrs. Andrew and Thompson) watched the proceedings for the prisoner, and Mr. Xoonau. the local secretary of the Firemen and Seauieu's Union was also present. Itjvuienca of idontiticatiou was given by Richard Kingdom, of III, Pottery-street,. brother of the deceased, and a labourer at the Graigola Fuel Works. Interrogated by the Coroner, be stated that he was unaware of any of the circumstances which led to his brother's death. Deceased, who was 43 years old, was a dock labourer, and lived at No. 1. Baptist-court. The last time witness saw him was on the previous Monday night, and he heard nothing until three o'clock that morning, when he was informed of his brother s death. Witness went to the house where his brother lived, and found him lying dead on the bed, and the stairs covered with blood. He did not know whether deceased had any ill-feeling or enmity with anyone. Mr. Thompson having questioned witness as to his brother's habits, P.C. Jas. J. Hawkins, of the Borough Police, was called. He stated that he was on duty in High-street at 1.55 0 on Friday morning, when a man named Thomas Bowling gave him some information, in consequence of which he went to Baptist- court. He there saw Ellen Waltham, who told him that she had been stabbed by a man, and he saw that she was bleeding under the left side. She pointed out the man who bad done the deed. He was standing oppo- site the door of No. 1, and witness went up to him and took hold of him. In his right hand he had a knife. When he caught hold of the man the latter said, I did it; they both were robbing me." Waltham having told him that Kingdom was in the house stabbed, he entered and found deceased lying at the bottom of the steps behind the door. Wit- ness sent for a doctor, and Dr. Sullivan, arriving a short time afterwards, pronounced the man dead. Witness then took prisoner to the High-street Police Station, where, when charged, he made the statement quoted above. Cross-examined by Mr. Thompson: When be first saw the prisoner be made no attempt to run away. Nor did he resist when witness took the knife from him. The knife was open at that time. He should say five minutes had elapsed between this and the time of the tragedy. Baptist-court was a low locality. and Waltham was a woman of ill-repute well- known to the police. The deceased was a muscular man and bigger than the prisoner. Mr. Thompson When he said, Wilful murder?—self-defence; they were robbing j me and I defended myself"—is that what you understood by the statement? Witness That is what he said, sir. By the Jury He did not notice whether the prisoner had been roughly used or not. Dr. Michael O'Sullivan, who was called to the house shortly after two o'clock on Friday morning, described the nature of the wounds, one of which penetrated the apex of the heart and caused death. He could not say that deceased had been drinking. This was all the evidence taken at this stage, and the inquest was adjourned till Wednesday. When the Coroner's court met on Wednes- day, however, the condition of Waltham necessitated a further adjournment to Monday.