Weekly Mail

BLOWN UP IN A RIVER. A boatload of nitro-jjlyeerine. variously esti- mated at from 75 to 125 cans, attempted to tie up at t-he mouth of the Little Kanawha River, in Virginia. The offic- rs of Parkersburpr pre vented them, and the boat started up the Kana- wha. When about a quarter of a mile ip, and riirh't opposite Paj-kersburi?, and in the midst of its factories and near the leading busnieM street, the Irrat was being steered into Nea.'s Run, when an obf-ctructiott was hit, and the entire hundred or more cans of nitro-glyeerinc exploded with terrible force. Iubjt opposite the citv is the old Bremen hill, of great height. The full force of the shock was large!/ received there, and immense damage was (loae. ?h>' loss is estimated at not less than £ 12,000, and may be much more. For six squares nearly every business hou^e suffered a loss of from t+U to £ 600. Several of the selnol tuildmw were badlv shattered, and windows and doors broken and twisted out of shape. Thousands of panes of ^lass were broken. The Latho- lie. tjhe Pre-bj'ieliia.n, :.nd the Episcopal churches. the court-house, a foundry, a mill, r.i.d a large number of other etabli-diincut", including the telegraph office, were badlv damaged. One man, the one who was on the boat, was killed, although tlare were reports of much greater loss of life. Three houses npross the Kanawha were Hewn to pieces. A steamer and three barges were wrecked. The force of the shock was fel+ for a mile c-hinweys were blown down and v inflows broken all over the city. The wildest ri mours prevailed at the time of the accident Several ladies in a chapel were badly cut w.th glass. Scores of men and women had Mounds of more or less seriousness. The name of the rrsii on the boat cannot he learned, as he was a stranger. No-thincc bits booiii found of hnu or his boat a" yet. The caf)s were heat-ed. up to 190 decrees by the time of the explosion. All that, has been found of the man are three pieces of flesh and a piece of his coat. A whole battery of seven boilers in a. mm was moved several inches, and the sides of tne mill blown in. The buildings caught fire, but were extinguished.

AN INTERESTING COMPANION. "THE LADT'S COMPANION" is a fitting companion for wives and daughters. It contains a complete High-class Story the Practical Articles on Dressmaking, Home Decorations, Toilet, and Answers on all subjects important to ladies, make it a useful and interesting book. Price Id. by post, 2d.—E. CARTWETGHT, 8, Johnson's-coim, Fleet- street, Loudon. X*loo3

STARVED AND BEATEN. AWFUL STORY OF A HUSBAND'S CRUELTY. Intense excitement prevailed at Long If-lartid. in America, las't week, over the dis- covery tliafe on Fire Island beach, only ten miles across, an unfortunate woman bad for months been held a prisoner and starved and beaóten until neatly dead. Her gaoler proved to have been her husband. George Lake, who for two years had occupied a rootless, tumble down soap factory in Fire Island. Lake was known to live on the gloomy little island with a young wife and an infant daughter, but few had ever caught a glimptse of the unfortunate woman. No suspicion of her actual condition was eii'tent«itiied until several days ago, when a pale and emaciated woman crept out from be-hiind a sandhill on the south shore of the island, and beckoned to one of the life-saving (lrew lounging in front of the station. She thrust a lettber into the man's hand and begged h;m to forward it at ouce to her brother. ire k Benedict Wells," she cried, "and lives at No. 5, Oharies-st-reet, New York City. The quick delivery of this letter will probably save my life. I am held a prisoner here by my husband. He is a mad- man, and 1 shall he murdol-red unless 'Ben' comes to my help." She hurried away in the direciuion of her dismal home—the aban- doned soap factory—while the astonished life- saver, bearing the letter, made all haste to reach Boy Hftiore. The desperate situation of the suffering woman was discussed that night in hundreds of homes along the south shore, and half a dozen rescue projects were hurriedly formulated. The letter addressed to Benedict Wei is reached him at his home ia (Jharles- istreet, ^ew York, early in the morning. Welkf caught a train that landed him at Bay inhere three hours after receipt of his sister s letter. Wells, accompanied by a police-ecn- stubie, hind a sloop and within an hour was •scudding toward Fire Island before half a gale. 'Ihe little sloop anchored in shallow waiter off a lonely stretch of beach within a huswii ed yards of Lake's dismal Home. As Wells and the constable hurried across the sands towards the old factory, Lake, half drunk, appeared at the door, shaking his fists at them. "I came to get my sister, stand aside," said Wells- "Not by a cuseed sight," wa" the sullen reply. ''She's mille, and I'll do what I like with her." The constable's hand fell upon the ruffian's shoulder, and for a moment- the three men were tangled in a desperate battle. Lake fought like a madman, but a- woman's life was at stake, and, in lees time than it takes to tell, the frenzied ruffian was handcuffed and power- less. During the struggle an' old man and grty-hai'red woman rushed out of the tumble- down house and pleaded for the wife-beate^r. They were Lake's parents, who had been living with him during the winter. When Wells left the bound and handcuffed prisoner and rushed into the house, the haggard, trem- bling woman who half c.ose to greet him from a HWHH of blood-stained rags on the floor bore lia.:c!ly a trace of resemblance to the sister of his recollection. She was thin to emariat-ion. Her body was covered with marks of violence, and she was kirelv able to g-Asp out her story. As Uw constable diagged the cursing prisoner e across the sands to the boat, and tumbled him in head over heels like a bag of potatoes, the unfortunate wife gave her brother an outline of her misery. Sir- had been on the island two years, and during- the entire time, she said, had been starved, beaten, and imprisoned by her huVoaiid, who almost, daily swore- to kill her. To guard against the possibilities of his victim's e«.«ipe, he had brought his parents to the island, and installed them there as assistant gaolers over his wife. Only two days before her brother's arrival, she said. Lake had clubbed her into insensibility, and then trampled he.r under foot, inflicting serious internal injuries. Lake's pi-ients were left in the dismal home, to get along as bed they could. Lake wa-s promptly arraigned and committal for examination, while the victim of his brutality was at once taken to the city.

A SIGH FROM THE COFFIN, IT STARTLES MOURNERS AT THE GRAVESIDE. The latest case of "livinp death," or burial while alive, is reported from the commune of Doussard, in the canton of Fa verges, France. It is that of a widow, Madame l'essat, an humble villager, aged fifty, and the mother of three children. Two days after she had drawn her la,t breath, as it was thought, the funeral wa-s held, and she was borne to the churchyard and placed at the side of the grave. Villagers stood at a respectable distance, and the priest was at the coffin's head with his tillY acolyte a4t,n or two l^hind him. The final words had just been pronounced, and the sexton's men were about to stt-P forward to bury her from skrlit and sound for ever, when a faint, smothered sigh came from within the box. Men and women started, back in alarm, but after a, second or so a few were brave enough to unscrew the lid. It was seen that the woman was alive. She gave little evi- dence of returning animation, however. The village doctor's effort* were in vain, and Madame Pessnt actually died an hour later. Similar occurrences have not been as rare as may be imagined. But onlv a, small propor- tion of them have been recorded with names and full elatS. Zola. in his "La Mort d'Olivier Becaille." a novelette, which has never been translated into English, telJf; of a young man who went- to Paris with his wifeo to seek em- ployment. He was taken sick almost imme- diately on his arrival in the French metropolis, and two davs later was supposed to be dead. Even the "orccpie mort-s," whose traditional business it, ia to bite the img-ers of bodies to determine whether life is really extinct, de- clared that he was dead. Because of his poverty, he was buried liatstily and carelessly, and when, within a few houre, an infinitesimal spark of vitality that had remained increased in size, he was able to buret ortn the lid of hi" coffin, and find his way into the streets again. After wandering about for seme time he was taken in by a generous phy- sician, and completely restored to health. This took a month or so. for his nerves had been shattered by the shock. Upon his recovery he tried to find his wife. but learned that she had returned to her native town. a young Parisian, having interested himself in her, with a view to marriage. Becaille gave up his search and lived a new life, never revealing his identity. A Nf>w York undertaker tells of a young man who one morning, in a state of great ner- vousness. called on a man who had buried his sister several days before. He stated that, as the result of P. dream the night before, he had become convinced that she was alive in her coffin. He insisted that the grave should be opened. The necessary permit was pro- cured and the body exhumed. It was 1 eadilv seen that the woman was actually dead and had been before she was placed in the coffin. The evidence of the grave was conclusive. Tn a hospital in the city of Mexico last January a mnlieal student had just started operations in the dissecting-room upon the body of a peon, or labourer. Antonio Va-ngoose. A few cuts had been made in the abdomen when the man sprang up and cried. ''Don't kill me!" The surgeons restored the flesh that had been cut out and sewed up the wound, but the man lived only fotty-eight hours. In London, at almost- the same time, the body of a woman had been laid out for burial, but not yet placed in the casket. Mem- bers of her family were sitting by her side weeping, when suddenly the covering was Nv(,e blown away. and the supposed corpse sat bolt upright. Her revival availed little, how- ever. for she died within the week. shock being the immediate cause. She had stated that she was fully aware of the preparations that were being made for her burial. Elam Muscot was buried in a Michigan town. When his body was exhumed, a year later for removal, it was found that he had evidently revived. He had turned over, and his hands had clutched his head. His face WaR lacerated fearfully.

"I feel dead." Nonsense! If you were tlead vou wouldn't feel anytliins about it. Just feel -monir your loose change for 9el. Send it to Newball |lf] Mason Nottingham, for sample bottle of Mason's Extract of Herbe for making: Non-Intoxicating Beer, which will quench your thirst, and refresh your 6el. Bottle makes eight gallons. Of all chemSte and grocers, 6el. and Is. LelMS-l Ask for Tyler aDd Plin 00;6 M«&1 CSetfe* c Ad Serpe.

-# ..m.- FIGHTING AGAINST DEATH. THE WONDERFUL DISCOVERY OF A DOCTOR. A discovery has just Ixen made by a well- known physician, Dr. Lloyd Parker, which, if substantiated, will create a revolution, not only in medical science, but in the whole economy of life, to which Newton's discovery of the law of gravitation will seem as mere child's play. Hitherto each experiment has served to confirm the conclusion arrived at by the discovery that death itself is caused by a. certain specific microbe that can be recognised and bred., just as the microbes of various diseases have been discovered and pro- pagated by Koch, Pasteur, and the other bacteriologists who have already a.-toiu-h-d the world by the announcement and positive pioof that, to a microscopical but living atom, all disease is due. Tlie labours of these great men have made further discovery p-ssible, and it was through 'the s!udy of their achievements that Dr. Parker conceived the idea that, iiias, much as disease was caused by these inti-ide- simal cleraliters of the human system, the cul- mination of disease must have its own speci- fic microbe to put the finish to the work of dissolution, without which the various organs of 'he body. distempered and degraded from their pristine purity and vital activity, would retrain a purulent mass of living corruption, unable to resolve itself into its ■oriinal elements, and to form other combinations, a process which we see taking place every day as detunet animal matter sinks into the earth, or vanishes into the air afford food for new and active urgan Hiis. Reasoning thus, Dr. Parker ?ommenoed a series of experiments with the design of finding that microbe, though lie should devote ail his ener^es and all his time to the search. Dr. Parker is a quiet, reserved, and gentleman-like man, of an extremely studious habit and little given to taking part in the ordinary trifles of life. From, his earliest youth he has been an ardent and painstaking mieroscopist, and his labours have been rewarded by many and strange dis- coveries, all tending toward the same point, and culminating in this last and greatest of all-the microbe of dtath. After a long- course of experiments on various bodies, animal and vegetable, the strange phenomenon of death of the- Japanese day lily occur' ed to him. Why this plant should bloom for twelve hours only and then die, absolutely and en- tirely. not merely folding its calyx and going to sleep like other flowers, but literally giving up the ghoyt, as it were, and fading into nothingness, was the question he set himself to answer. For months lie studied this fragile plant, and at- length discovered, by the aid of a powerful mieToscope, a curious thing embedded in the very heart- of the root. in- visible to the naked eye, it appeared under the lens as a hair-like spiral, that- kept con- tinually rolling and unrolling itself with an uncanny motion, different to that of any of those rod-'ike bacteria, that had ever before come under his notice. The flower was in full bloom, and apparently quite uninjured by his researches into the bulb from whence it grew. But, when he exposed the little moving, writhing, atom, by the aid of an exceedingly fine cambric needle, the leaves dropped, the -Sower withered, and the plant died, in the twinkle of an eye. Rapid decomposition fol- lowed, and in an incredibly short space of time the flower hadl disappeared. leaving nothing behind but a s! ?ht. glairy scum and a subtle scent that permeated the atmosphere of the room. The discovery was made, the microbe of death was found! In an interview, Ih-. Parker told of his dis- covery and his further investigationR thus:- "Having succeeded so well with the vege table kingdom, I proceeded to experiment on the lower orders of the animal and selected the Ephemerae, insects that live but for a day. as my subjects. H?re again I was successful. May flies, midges, and the various tribes of gi ats were exposed to the purifying influence of the vapour I had discovered, and. one and all, continued in life till they became so an- noying that I was forced to catch them in gauze nets, and annihilate them by vinlent means, which, by destroying their absolute bodies, rendered further exeistence impossible a; even though deprved of the microbe of death and capable of living on forever, life, or the manifestation of life, is impossible with- out bodily organs. Rising in the scale of creation, my next experiment was made apon the amphibia, and there is a certain pond in asthe neighbourhood of Southampton, which i8 so thickly inhabited by immortal newts and ever living frogs that I was obliged to dis- continue my experiments in that direction, lest I should bring about a renewal of the ant-i- lliluviall periods, when the earth was given over to reptiles. 'Advancing still further, I, to use the vulgar expression, 'tried it on a dog,' and here (pointing to a fine St. Bernard), is and here (pointing to a fine St. Bernard), is the result of my experiment. When ] first began with him. he was in the last stage of cnine decrepitude. He was old. mangy, and rheumatic, and look at him now! The impersonation of health and vigour! "As yet. I have not ventured to apply my discoveiies to Man. But I have no doubt that, so far as his bodSly structure is con- cerned, his life may be continued indefinitely. The spiritual part of his nature, however, is beyond my ken. As a medical man, I deal with body, not with soul. I shall continue my re-earciies carefully and prudently, veri- fying each experience as I go on. It will, of course, take some to prove whether the life that is continued by the abstraction of whaft. I have ventured to call the microbe, of death is transient or permanent. Whether i.t is a mere inviigoration through the with- drawal of a noxious influence or an absolute immortality, on this earth, at least, and till the end of my experiments has arrived, I shaill keep my secret as to the means and manner, confident that at present I should do more harm than good by divulging it further. "It is either the most wonderful discovery thait was ever made by man, or reason, judg- rnpnt, and experiment go for nothing. "Time alone can tell!" The doctor seemed disinclined to enter into any further particulars about his discovery, be,in.g of the open ion that the time was not [ ripe for full elosciosure. He instanced the [ premature publication of Professor Kccli's discovery of the bacteria of consumption and the hurried and im-perfect use made by cer- tain unscrupulous physicians of a remedy which, if left to time and further experience to develop. wouZd, and probably will yet, prove of ine;¡1:imahle benefit to mankind, but which, in unskilled and rash hands, had proved to be rather an injury than otherwise.

A LION AS WATCH DOG. A Dalziel's telegram from Bridgeport (Con- neefticut) sass :-On Thursday night the house of Mr. Callahan was the scene of a daring bur- glary, frustrated by a domestic animal of the rarest type. The family received some time ago from a member of Barn urn's Circus, a lion cub, not. larger than a oat, and determined to bring it up in the house. The lion seemed perfectly tame, aaid slept in the basement. On Thurs- day night the Callahans were aroused from their sleep by awful shrieks uttered hv a human being below. They rushed downstairs, and saw a- man trying to escape through the broken win- dow, but dragged back by their watchful lion, who. with his claws, was tearing the burgher's clothes, and would have indicted severe punish- ment on him. but for their opportune arrival. Profiting by the diversion, the man jumped through the window, and the Callahans only with the areatest difficulty prevented the lion from pursuing the fugitive.

EPPS'S COCO A.Grateful and Cumforting.- "Hy a thorough knowledge of the natural laws which govern the operations of digestion and nutri- tion, and by a careful application of the fine pro- perties of well-s-leetej Cocoa, Mr. Epps has pro vided for our breakfast and supper a lelicatelv- flavourecl beverage whidl may save us many heavy doctor's nills. It is by the judicious use of sueh articles of diet that a constitution may be gradually built up until strong enough to resist every ten- dency to disease. We may eacapc many a fatal shaft by keeping ourselves well fortiSed with pure blood and a properly nourished frame."—"Civil Ser- vice Gazette."—Made simply with boiling water or milk,-Sold only in packets, by Grocers, labelled— "James Epps and Co. (Ltd.), Homoeopathic Chemists, London."—Also makers of Epps's Cocoaine or Cocoa- Nib Extract: A thin beverage of full flavour, now with many beneficially taking the place of tea. Its active principle hein-j; a gentle nerve stimulant, supplies the needed energy without unduly exciting the system. kl343 A*k for Tylw MId Co, CfeM Medal FSaaael* § Ciotnes\ i § Wash- I § Themselves a and save your rime ||| when Titan Patent l||| I Soap is used -1 It m drives out the dirt jSt without rubbing, j||j: and the clothes last ? much longer. if., 1 1 itans If PATENT ||j I Soap I lather, fill JL. andissoft and pleasant Jg| wi to the skin. k I v i p! c- It Whitens Linen with- ||1| "O out sunshine or chemicals, and makes flannels and XT woollens soft and fleecy. @ Excellent for colored and 3s. dyed articles, and specially jm> suited tosilkgoods, whichit leaves in perfect condition. Ml for all Domestic pur- W posts Titan Soap is un- "} equalled and the most economical in ^he market, jyr f Try it |§ S and Prove it! || w (1! SOLE MANVKaCtusrks — §H Jp,1 Jig The Liverpool Patent Soap mm Company, Limited, ltl|- jL LIVERPOOL,

FOURTEEN BOILERS BURST. TERRIBLE EXPLOSION AT REDCAR. Redear was on Friday evening the scene a terrible boiler explosion, one of the rnosfc destructive that has ever occurred in th., North of England. At the ironworks 01 Messrs. Walker and Maynard's, at Warrinby, four furnac-es were in full blast, attached to fourteen boilers 60ft. long and 4-jfi. in diameter, when at about half-past nine the whole of the boilers exploded. Pieces of iron were hurled hundreds of yareis away. A volume of boiling water a yard deep rushed over the men at work, while others of the employes were forced by the explosions on to a, quantity of red hot iron. A boiler-minder named Barker was killed instantly, and seven, others succumbed scon after. A number of men were also injured. Ten men were re- moved to the hospital suffering from fractured limbs, f\0alds. and other injuries. It is stated- some of the men received their injuries whm.. quite 200 yards from the scene of the explo- sion. Another death on Saturday morning brouerht the number up to nine. the names of the victims b(,iii g :-Patrick Moore, 25; John OS-ale, 21: Patrick M'Carthy, 38; Janu s Hallijjan. 28; George Wallace. 29; Edward Ayton. 24; Henry Barker, Robert Wray, 32; and Edward Doolev. The damage to property is estimated at £ 50,000, and had the explosion occurred earlier in the day the loss of life would have been much greater. The. reiiairR of the works will occupy months, and, some 400 hands will be out of employment. A Board of Trade inquiry into the circum- stances will be opened to-day (Monday). A coroner's inquest was opened at Warrenby: village, near Redcar, on Saturday on the bodies of Peter M'Carthy. Peter Moore, John Gale. James Halligan, George Wallace, and Edward Ayton, t'he first three of wlhmll were insftantenouisly killed, while the re- mainder died from the injuries they received. After viewing the bodies the jury proceedeel to the- ironworks, and spent some time ini kicking over the scene of the disaster. There were fifteen boilers in Use at the works, and. as an instance of the fore\e of the ex-plosion, five of them '.vtue blown nearly 200ft. A travelling crane was blown 100ft. away, and some of the hot metal from the pig beds was hurled a considerable distance. In addition to toho;;e mentioned alxrve about twenty men were injured, and two of these are lying in a critical condition. At the inquest on Saturday only medical evi- deuce as to the oause of death was g'v^rt. rl"?, ^le irKll1(!T was then aeijourned n.Ul In day next.

COLLAPSE OF A FLOOR. A Central News telegram from Vienna on Friday says :-A terrible tragedy ooenrred to. day at the town of Rovigno, on the Austrian coast of the Adriatic. The body of a young man was lying in state in the hall of an old house when the floor suddenly collapsed unekr thft: weight of some 70 friends and mournorg whG bad assembled in connection with the celebra- tion of the last rites of the Church. Tbc whole of those present were precipitated into a deep cellar, and when aid could be secured to extri- cate the victims it was found that fourteen wero dead and 25 had sustained serious injuries.

Gwilym Evans' Quinine Bitters, the Tonte. is certified to be pure and harmless, may S* taken in all ca^e* of weakness. See the namf 0WJUI mtf" oa M. nt-imp. aai bdtte Prta* ie. li*, 2e. 9d., aad fe <WL^ SbSS