The Cardiff Times

SMALL CAPITALISTS ehould write for Pamphlets (copyright entered at Stationers' Hall) explaining H. B. SMITH'S SYSTEM OF MAKING PROFITS IN STOCKS AND SHARES. C5 and upwards without further risk repeatedly doubled, average duration of transactions three TO The best evidence of popularity and success ™ the crowds of clients which throng his offices. Stocks selected and acconnts managed, if desired. Weekly investment list showing lists of profits made during previous week. The Court Journal s The throngof operators dealing with "M Smith is quite astounding." Particulars, testimonials, press opinions, post free. 14764 H. B. SMITH, STOCKBROKER, 13, Size-lane, Queen Victoria-street, London, E.C.

WORKMEN'S TOPICS. BY MABON, M.P. INTERNATIONAL MINERS' CONFERENCE. On the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th June will oe held the next International Miners' Con- ference at Westminster Town Hall, Lon- don, hence next week will find the miners of England, Scotland, and Wales once more discussing the all-important questions of International Federation and the eight hours' question with the miners of France, elgium, Germany, and the various other large mining districts of the Continent, *nd we joyfully welcome the first Miners' International Congress ever held on British il, and strongly hope that it may not be *be last. The first business to be transacted we nnd be the Constitution of an International federation of Miners," and it will be pro- Posed that such a Federation shall consist of as many nationalities from Great Britain and the Continents of Europe and America 18 may desire to join. The obiects of the Federation will be :— 1. To bring together the mining nationalities of world. .2. To limit the hours of underground labour to bight hours per day from bank to bank. 3. To obtain proper supervision and inspection lDf mines, including the right of the workers to telect additional inspectors, and such inspectors 11\) be paid by the State. 4. To organise power to enforce legal enact- ments. 5. To use all legitimate means to secure just Contracts and fair treatment to persons in or about Ølmes. With the view of carrying out the above Ejects, the following will be among the tules proposed :— 1. That there shall be an Organising Committee posed of no less than two representatives from each nationality, whose business it shall be t'O consider all matters connected with the federation, and report and formulate advice to an International Congress. 2. There shall also be four officers to the Feder- Jtion, who must be members of the Organisation Committee, viz :—President, vice-president, treasurer, and general seoretary. JLt is to be proposed that the Organising Committee shall be elected by the various nationalities and approved of by the Inter- national Congress, and that each nation have the right to nominate a candidate for any office at the coming International Congress, "hen the election of officers shall take place, and the names of all nominees must be sent to the general secretary for programme of business one month before general Congress. It is also to be proposed that an annual Congress shall be held, or oftener if re- quired, at such time and place as may be Unanimously recommended by the com- taittee, or at the first annual meeting or other congress, and no extraordinary con- Rress to be held unless the matter in ques- tion affects a nation, then that such con- gress shall be called at once by the general Secretary and president, if approved of by the Organising Committee. Eveiy nationality shall have the fight appoint as many delegates to attend f|je annual and other congresses as «iey may consider desirable. The voting Power of these congresses is proposed to be by the numbers represented, and the voting power of the committee meetings to be by nationalities. All persons and officers acting on the committee or con- gresses to be paid by the. Associations to --hich they belong, the president and secre- tary of the International Federation to have power to call committee meetings when- ever necessary; that the cost of rooms and other expenses connected with committee Meetings and congresses to be borne by the Members of the International Federation. This Congress naturally will be the most important of all that has yet been held, in- asmuch as the resolutions passed at the .Congress held at Paris last year, with re- gard to the Eight Hours' question, formed the chief topic to be discussed thereat. It "ill be remembered that at Paris it was resolved that :— "The International Congress of Miners now Bitting at the Bourse du TravaiL deem a general Jfcd international strike may became necessary obtain an eight hours day. The Congress, however, before resorting to such an extreme Measure, invites the Governments and Parlia- ments of the nationalities represented at this ^ongress to agree to an International Convention dealing with an eight hours' day in mines, whether belonging to the State or private enter- prise;" and "this International Convention to" be similar to those which the various Govern- ments have applied for the regulation of the tXKtal, telegraphic, railway, and navigation Services." Seeing that nothing successful has been done with the foregoing resolutions Since they were passed, and especially fchat the British Parliament rejected the Miners' Eight Hours Bill with a great blajority during this year, the present con- gress will be of the greatest importance, asthe Naming of the International Federation, as "ell as solving of the Eight Hours Question, Will be remitted to this Congress to be dealt "ith as may at the time be deemed wise and expedient. And we apprehend that it Will be imperative on all British delegates to fully agree to maintain the Position they took at Paris, else they may find that they will be Pushed headlong into the stormy billows of an international strike. Having once ontered into this international engagement "ith our Continental fellow-workmen, con- tained in the Paris resolution, we may take it for certain that they will hold us to it, un- less we shall be able to out-vote them when the question comes before the London Con- gress. Hence it is our imperative duty not only to be strongly represented thereat, but that we should also be united in our efforts to have the eight hours' question settled by legal enactment. An international strike, in our opinion, Would not only fail in obtaining the object In view, but would bring destitution and Untold suffering ,and misery in its wake, and thus would be the means of creating in the industrial world, what, we fully hope *t may be the means of gre- Renting, in the social and political World. We therefore sincerely hope that the mining community will accomplish this great object by peaceful means, and that it will not be at all necessary to have recourse to the such disastrous weapons of industrial warfare-International strike. Leaving the use of that engine of destruc- tion, we hail with the greatest possible satisfaction a fraternal alliance between the "orkers of the world. The classes that live by war and the profit derived therefrom know well enough that the triumph of labour means the extinction of their livelihood, and hence do their utmost to prevent the workmen of the different nationalities from arriving at a common understanding one with another. This can- not and must not last much longer. It should be the aim of every worker, whether on the earth or under the earth he toils, to do all in his power to bring about that de- sirable time, when, at least, all the toilers of Europe will be one labour fraternity. Must encouraging and instructive upon this Poix-c were the speeches delivered last Sun- day week in Paris at the opening of the new Labour Exchange there. This magnificent institution has for its chief t. object the furnishing of employment to its l members instead of letting them have lecourse to registry offices, which in Paris, we are told, abstract about twenty million francs yearly from the pockets of the "orkmen. Labour, therefore, will have in Paris now its Exchange, as well as capital; and at no distant date, it is thought, this will wholly supersede the gilded temple of wealth and trickery. The due exchange of labour is the true and legitimate commerce of humanity, ordained by nature herself as a daily reminder of our common origin and mutual independence. When such great city has its labour ex- change, and all these beneficient institutions are leagued together in one irresistable .1 bond of union and knowledge, the true cosmopolitan character of labour will be for the first time seen. Not then pining in ignorant starvation while the labour they are ready to render is desired elsewhere, neither will the middleman then be allowed to traffic in work in which he has not done his fair share of the toil. We should heartily congratulate our- selves could we see such an institution as this in London. Indeed, it does not reflect much credit upon us that Paris has beaten us in this matter. What took place in Paris last week is of the greatest possible importance to labour. There was much natural congratulation, there was manifested resolve to utilise to the utmost the new facilities and to make the trade societies of Paris equal, as regards organisa- tion, to those of any other city in the world. But probably best of all there was the out-spoken and unanimous assertions of the International character of Labour. One speaker, amid frantic applause, declared that France-that is, the French workman-had no real enemy either across the Rhine or 'beyond the Alps, but that their brother German and Italian workmen were brethren and fellow-soldiers with themselves in the great campaign 9 against the exploitation of man. ,8' indeed, should be the great watchword of the hour. This is the talisman that should break the baneful spells that keep mankind chained in ignorance, intolerance, and op- pression. Whoever amongst us grasps this doctrine and sets it forward at every cost, and with all his force, is indeed a prophet worthy of the coming glorious dispensation. If to-morrow, with all the calmness of con- scious strength, British, German, French, and Italian working men could jointly record their distastefulness and scorn of all the despotic means that are used to keep them in continual distrust of each other, war would be impossible armies would crumble away into peaceful and happy bands of busy producers individual wealth and privilege would die out, and honest industry would, we believe accumulate public wealth at an incredible rate. Hence we hail the day- the great day-of labour and peace, these inseparable gifts of Heavan to man.

The People's University. HOME-READING AND SELF- CULTURE. What Wales has Already Done. Of the 5,500 members which; the Union had at' the close of the second year& work, 300 came from Wales, and there are some 130 in Cardiff, or "nearly one-half of Wales' contribution. The only othar town in the Principality which has a considerable number of members is Swan- sea, but circles and members -exist at Caer- philly, Marshfield, Bridgend, and Mountain Ash. Cardiff has a District Committee, and it is hoped that this, will ultimately become an organising centre for the hole of the Principality. The Welsh Students' Union is also working in connection with the Cardiff Centre, I and efforts are bè made to get the books printed in Welsh, and Principal Roberts and Professor Lloyd, of Aberystwyth, are working earnestly towards this «pd. There is a constcLerableamountof promise inthese. sm&ll beginnings in the Welsh Metropolis and the places already named, but public meetings will be needed before any large enrolment of members is secured, unless the teachers of Sunday-schools and kindred organisations take it up. Wherever it has been taken up a vigorous propaganda has preceded it, and this should be done for Wales. The work which the National Home Reading Union seeks to do is admitted to be needed by all whose opinion on such subjects is valuable, and it has in it all the prospects of becoming a really important and valuable national institution. It should be mentioned that the National Home Reading Union has held three summer assemblies of members at Blackpool, when lectures have been given by eminent scholars said lecturers. Speaking of the progress of the movement in Wales and the West of England the second annual report of the Union states There are now local committees in the following 17 towns Bath, Birmingham, Bolton, Bristol, Cardiff, Croydon, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leamington, Leicester, Manchester, Mountain Ash, New- castle and Gateshead, Sheffiald, Swansea, Tre- degar, and Weston, and others are in the course of formation, An important development has taken place in connection with the Welsh Students' Union, a society consisting of past and present students of Uni- versity and other Colleges in Wales, and of past and present Welsh students in Universities, Col- leges, and schools throughout the kingdom, and having as one of its objects the promotion of home reading in Wales. As a result of various conferences between representatives of this society and of the N.H.R.U., a plan of co- operation has been arranged. The Union will, during the coming season, publish with its magazines a small supplement in Welsh, for Welsh-speaking members, the matter for which will be provided by the Welsh Students' Union, and which will deal with a short course of reading in Welsh arranged by that Society On the other hand, the Welsh Stodente Union guarantees to the Union a considerable accession of new members paying the usual fees, and receiving the supplement, together with the magazines of the section to which they be- long. The Council has much pleasure in an- nouncing this arrangement, which forms valuable precedent for co-operation between the Union and other educational bodies engaged in promoting similar objects." An endeavour was made twelve months ago to secure the holding of the Summer Assembly at Weston, so as to encourage the attendance of readers in Wales and the West of England, The movement has been successful, and during the week between June 25th and July 2nd the Sum- mer Assembly of the National Home Reading Union will be held at Weston-super-Mare. A strong programme has been arranged. Single lectures will be delivered as follows (1) 11 rrbe Physical History of the Mendip Hills, Lon by Professor C. Lloyd Morgan, M.A., Principal of University Cjllege, Bristol; (2) "TheFour Temperaments of Man," by Mr W. R. Sorley, M.A., Professor of Logic and Philosophy at the University College of South Wales and Mon- mouthshire (3) How came the Great Ice Age ?" by Sir Robert S. Ball, Professor of Astro- nomy at Cambridge, and Ae rronomer Royal of Ireland (4) Ants a Study of Sociology and Politics among Insects," by the Rev Dr Dal- linger (5) The True use of Books," by Mr J. Churton Collins, M.A., Balliol College, Oxford (6) Flowers and thettr insect Visitors (for young people), by Mr CS. W. Kimmins, M.A., D.Sc. (7) The Causes of the French Revolution," by Mr W. M. Childs, M.A., Lecturer in History not the University College of Wales; Aberystwy th. The following short courses, each of four lectures, will be delivered :-(1) "Four Great English Statesmen," (Walpole, Chatham, Pitt, audPeetH by <the Rev T. J. Lawrence, M.A., LL.M., late Deputy-Professor of International Law, Cambridge. (2) English Literature and the French Revolution," (Burke, Wordsworth and Coleridge, Scott and Byron, Shelley and Keats), by Mr C. Vaughan, M.A., Professor of English Literature at the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire. (3) Geo- logical Structure and the formation of Scenery," by Mr A. W. Claydon, M.A., Cambridge and London University Extension lecturer. A converazione and meeting will be held on j June 27th, at which the Very Rev the Dean of Bristol, Mr R. Yerburgh, M.P. for Chester, Mr C. T. D. Acland, M.P. for N.E. Cornwall, and others will be present. Excursions will, if possible, be arranged to Wells, Bristol, Llandaff, Cheddar, Glastonbury, and other places of interest. Professor Lloyd Morgan nas kindly offered to conduct An excursion to study the geology of the Mendip Hills. The general secretary and the secretary for the Young People's Section will be present at the assembly. Conferences and meetings will be held to interest visitors in the work of the Union in all its, branches. The official programme, coiltaining-a time table of lectures and meetings, list of lodgings and hotels, and full information on all subjects con- nected with the summar assembly, will be issued on June 1st, price 4d, by post 4%d. A syllabus of the lectures, interleaved for notes, will be ready on June 11th, and will be forwarded, post free, on receipt of 6d in stamps. Applications for tickets, programmes, etc., may be addressed w- any of the following:—London, The General Secretary, N.H.R.U., Surrey House, Victoria Embankment, W.C.; Cardiff, Mr J. C. Dore, 5, Ruthven-atreet, Castle-road; Weston-super-Mare, Hon. Seps., N.H.R.U Tra- falgar Villa Bridgwater, Mr T. Bruce Dilks, B.A., 48, Moømouth-streetl.

WELSH GLEANINGS. 7 By Lloffwr. A Great Dictionary. Canon Silvan Evans is busy with his Welsh- English Dictionary, which is likely to make two dozen bulky volumes, and will necessarily take many years to complete. Mr Evans years ago prepared a large-sized scrap book, on which have been pasted the leaves of an old Dictionary. Whenever Mr Evans comes across a new word- and he is always on the look-out—he make a note of it on the ample margin of this scrap book, Qgiving the page, &c., in the book in which it is o be found. In his search for words and authorities Canon Evans is in communication with all sorts of people, learned and unlearned, the only condition being that they can help him. The erudite Canon is assisted in his present work by his sen, Mr Henry Evans, M.A., who has temporarily relinquished the medical profession for the purpose of assisting his father in his I .colossal undertaking. Love of Music. Mr C. F. Lloyd, son of the late eminent Welsh composer, Mr Ambrose Lloyd, writes as follows to an English journal :-The enthusiasm of the Welsh people for music is shown in many ways. Are there any small towns in England where the inhabitants, all of the humbler class, having dis- covered amongst themselves one whom they con- sider that nature has endowed with exceptional musical gifts, take upon themselves the responsi- bility of providing him with such a training as will enable him to go forth into the world and take his place by right amongst favoured artistes ? This is what the people of Mountain Ash have done. There is at present studying at the Royal Academy of Music, London, a young man who, a few months ago, was working in one of the coal mines of the Taff Vale district. Having proved successful in several vocal competitions at eisteddfods, the people of the town, recognising his talents, felt it their duty to provide him with that training which alone would enable him to take his place amongst professional singers. They combined for the purpose, and, by means of concerts and subscriptions, raised a sufficient sum to send him to our greatest English musical institution, where they continue to maintain him. "Cymmredor." After a long interval the concludiug number of the 11th volume of the "Cymmrodor"hasmadeits appearance. It is one of the best numbers of the entire series. The editor, Mr Egerton Phflli- more, contributes a deeply-learned and masterly paper on The Publication of Welsh Records." Mr J.W.Willis-Bund's article on "The True Objects of Welsh Archaeology'' is another appeal in the same direction. In addition to these two 'papers the "Cymmrodor" contains "Notes on the Crofter System of the Western Isles of Scot- land" and "The Callernish Stones of Lewis" (by Mr Alfred N. Palmer), whose local inquiries into the history of Wrexham and the neighbourhood has been productive of so much excellent work a delightful paper on "Henry Vaughan, of Scethrog" by Mr F. T. Palgrave, Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford, and a,plea for "The Proposed University for Wales" by Principal T. F. Roberts, formerly of the University CoHege, Cardiff. Dafydd ap Gwilym Sooiety. The Dafydd ap Gwilym Society was deprived on Saturday night of the presence of its president (Professor Rhys) and of Mr Gwenogfryn Evans, M.A., both of whom were among the Lord Mayor's guests at the Welsh National banquet that night. The meeting was held in the rooms of Mr Lewis J. Roberts, of Exeter College, and was presided over by Mr Edward Anwyl, B.A., of Oriel College, while a paper on Giraldus Cambrensis was read by Mr D. J. Lewis, of Jesus College. Songs were sung by Mr J. T. Williams (St. Catherine's) and a visitor (Mr T. E. P. Davies, of Wadham), a reading being given by the Rev John Rogers. The Welsh Banquet. Very much at-home" was the Welsh Lord Mayor at the Mansion House on Saturday even- ing, when he received and entertained a numer- ous, and admittedly the most thoroughly repre- sentative, gathering of Welshmen that has ever probably been assembled outside the Principality. With kindly discretion the Lord Mayor distributed a lengthy toast list among those who sat on his left and right. In the toast of the evening, "Wales," he may fairly be said to have surpassed himself his speech was a model of neatness and point, and the concluding portion in the Cambrian tongue gave unbounded satisfaction to his enthusiastic and delighted hearers. Among the notable points of a memorahle evening were the well chosen and courtly phrases of the Duke of Beaufort and Lord Penrhyn, the fervid eloquence of Archdeacon Howell, and the lengthy anecdotes of the mayor of Cardiff.—The World. Et Csetera, The Baptist Chronicle, the organ of the Mon- mouthshire Baptist Churches, has made its ap- pearance. It is tastefully got up, and the matter is pleasingly diversified, the requirements of young and old having apparently been carefully studied. The editor is the Rev J. M. Davies M.A., classical tuter,Pontypool College. Thelittle periodical has a wide field of usefulness before it, and should have both a long and successful career. The Council of the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, are about to make an effec- tive appeal for funds to get rid of the debt entailed by the burning of the college buildings in 1885. There is a debt of something like 28, 000 to get rid of. The buildings are unfinished, and require some £6,000 spent on them, and the hostel for women students will require a further outlay of not less than 26,000.

COMFORTING. TAILOIt Look here! I have worried myself sick over that bill of yours." CASKET (the undertaker): "That's all right, old man. If worst comes to worst you can take it out in trade."

No WONDER SHE DizD. -A Scotch clergyman was lately depicting-before a deeply interested ■audience-the alarming increase ofintemperaace, When he astonished his hearers by exclaiming "A young woman in my neighbourhood died verv suddenly last Sabbath, while I was preach- ing the gospel in a state of beastly intoxication. NATURE'S BUNDIWORr-]E[e What dentist made your teeth for you ? She Those are my own teeth. No dentist made them (was the indignant He = You say so,! How deoe tive they are. They look as nice as the best tnd of false teeth. What a wonderful thing nature is ? It is not generally known that new rice is one of the most indigestible substances thatcan be eaten. It is almost certain, when eaten directly after gathering, to produce various derangements of the digestive organs, and in countnes where the rice is grown the fact is so well known that the people never eat it until it has been kept at least one year. In India, where rice is the staple diet of the people, they never, save in the case of famine use the rice until it is two or three xwnfl I old. ■■

Musical and Eisteddfodic Notes. BY MAELGWYN. ( South Wales Brass Band Association. Unaffected by the sneers of some pretended friends of musical advancement, the South Wales. Bross Band Association continues to make splendid progress. On Easter Monday last no fewer than fourteen bands competed at two Eisteddfodau, and next Whit-Monday and Tuesday an even larger number is expected to put in an appearance at the Caerphilly and Porth contests. Those who assail the bandsmen for having combined in their own defence will do well to pause and ask themselves when, before the establishment of the association, was it possible to get a dozen South Wales bands competing on the same day ? It is hardly necessary to say that the Association are straining every nerve to secure the^success of both thegreat Eisteddfodau that are to be held in Whit- ] sun week. But their efforts are not by any means being confined to Porth and Caerphilly. Brass Band Eisteddfod. On Monday, July 4th, a great Brass Band Eisteddfod will be held in Penydarren Park, Mertbyr, and, like the contest held in the same place last July, it will be open to all bands that belong to the Association. The prize list is an extraordinary one, consisting of cash and musical instruments. The value of the first prize will be £40, made up of £ 15 in cash and a patent compensating solo euphonium of the value of £25. This instrument, which is silver- plated and engraved, has been made by Messre Boosey and Co., of London and Man- chester, who have made. a present of it to the association. The second prize will consist of B10 in cash and a beautiful patent clear-bore silver- plated cornet with gold points, and gold inside of bell, in case complete, valued at 14 guineas. This instrument has been obtained from Mr Joseph Higham, musical instrument maker, Man- chester. For the third prize, £ 5 in cash will be supplemented by a B flat tenor-slide trombone, made by Messrs Hawkes and Son, of Leicester- square, The description of this instrument is as followsB flat tenor slide trombone, "Excelsior" class (C), triply silver-plated in best style, and with floral wreath on bell, fitted complete in very handsome chocolate coloured leather lock- up case, value. 12 guineas. The fourth prize will be made up of of 22 in cash and a B flat tenor slide trombone of the value of JB6 6s, and made by Messrs Silvani and Smith, of London and Paris. Besides the above very valuable prizes the South Wales Brass Band Association silver medals will be awarded to the solo cornet and solo euphonium players, who will best render their respective parts in competition. The test piece is a selection from Mercadante's Il Quiremcnto, published by Messrs Wright and Round, Liver- pool, and the adjudicator is Mr R. Stead, of Slaithwaite. Inasmuch as the Association has been, joined by something like thirty bands the success of the eisteddfod is assured, even if ther weather should prove as unfavourable as it did last year. If the weather be fine-and it certainly ought to be for such an important event-the Eisteddfod will be held in the open air in Penydarren Park, but if it rains the contest will be decided in the Drill-hall close by. Messrs Boosey, Silvani, and Smith, Hawkes and Son, and Jos. Higham have promised to send their representatives with a fine .exhibition of musical instruments, and as refreshments willbe provided on the field, every- thing seems to indicate that we shall have a right royal holiday, To those who may wonder why the prizes should be given partly in cash and partly in kind it may be as well to state that this practice has long been in vogue in England, and we are now importing it into Wales. Caerphilly Eisteddfod. When it was first announced that a great Eisteddfod would be held at Porth on Whit- Monday the promoters of the Caerphilly gather- ing naturally felt a good deal of anxiety as to the fate of their annual gatbering-A was feared that the two Eistedcfodau would so seriously clash one with the other that both would prove financial failures. Fortunately, however, there now seems little chance of this gloomy forecast being realised. The good sense of both com- mittees has prevailed, and at present there is every reason to believe that the two Eisteddfodau will receive the patronage of many thousands of people. The great choral competition at Caerphilly will take place as soon as possible after noon so as to allow those choirs who want to go to Porth to do so. The Porth committee, who have consented to hold over both the brass band and the male voice competition until Tuesday, felt, very naturally, that they would not be justified in postponing the chief contest for a day. If they did so, their first day's programme would be little else than a blank. The Caerphilly committee, as already stated, have agreed to take the chief competition early, this being the only concession that was required of them. It is impossible as yet to give any conclusive details about the Caerphilly Eistedd- fod, becausa the list of entries does not close until the 1st of June. It is safe, however, to predict that some Splendid competitions will take place. The secretary informs me that several choirs have already en- tered, and the number of soloists is already very large. Quite a host of brassy bands are expected. There are three prizes of! thetive value of 212, 98, and PS, and the test piece is a petîte arrangemenm the Bokevvian. Girl, publiahed by Wright and Round, under the name of I Zingari. The adjudicator is Mr Hanney, the leader of the Morriston Band. Among the competing bands will be several who have never yet taken part in any contest. Treorky Doings. The celebrated Treorky Male Voice Choir in- tend to compete at Porth, and I am to understand that if you are present at the Eisteddfod you will hear such singing as was never yet heard in any male voice contest." Let us say Amen to that at once. All the same, good friends, be not too confi- dent. The choir now consists of over 90 voices. There is a desire at Treorky that Mr William Thomas, the able leader of the choir, should get together a large mixed choir with a view to com- peting at either the Bridgend or Llanelly Eistedd- fod, or at both. But nothing will be done in this direction until the male voice competition at Porth has been decided. Then, all ye old- established choirs tremble! Brief Notes. I have been asked to stir up the Merthyr Volunteer Band. What has become of it ? It competed at the Merthyr Band Eistedd- fod last July and gained a prize, Is the per- formance to be repeated this year ? Surely the band Will not allow all those beautiful eupho- niums, trombones, coblets, and medals to go out of the town of Mertbyr without a struggle. Now, boys, brace up. Will anyone tell itte tehat a choir eisteddfod is like? As a guide to all who think of giving me the desired information, I may say that at a choir eisteddfod held last week in the Aber- dare district, prizes for poetry, solo and choral singing were given. In fact, the business was that of an ordinary eisteddfod. Why then prefix it with the word choir ?' It is stated that yet another attempt is being made to get together a large competitive choir at Merthyr. The result of the attempt-if it be successful-is that the Merthyr Harmonic Society will compete at the Barry Dock Eisteddfod on the August Bank Holiday.

Lady (to girl applying for a place): I will pay you £ 12 a year if you will be careful in your work and kind to the children. Applicant (looking at the three hopeful ones): I will do your work all right ma'am, but if you want me to love the chil- dren, you will have to make it:S1 more, please. Teacher You must not come to school any more, Tommy, until your mother has recovered from the small-pox. Tommy There ain't a bit of danger. She ain't going to give^me the small- pox. Why, how is that V ale's my step- mother. She never gives me anything." No DAmAGic Doxz. -One of the stingiest men in New York fell from a street car and broke his leg in two places. Are you hurt ?" asked one of the parties who came to his assistance. Not a particle," replied the sufferer, grinding his teeth in pain "I pay a doctor so much a year." DANGEROUS.—Master See here, Nora, if your friend Sandy MacDonald comes here again he must leave his pipe at home. Mistress A pipe! In our house Think of the carfcains Master: Think of the windowsand>ceUHHJWH»d neighbours. It is a, bagpipe. F- r-

FARM AND GARDEN, Bath and West and Southern Counties Society. By the time this reaches our readers the annual meeting of this old-established Society will be in full swing at Swansea, having been opened on Wednesday. Saturday will be the first Is day, when a very large attendance is anticipated. On Sunday there will be a special service in the yard for the herdsmen and others who are engaged there, and the show will finally close at 6 p.m. on Whit-Monday, June 6. The working dairy is the largest and most complete structure of its kind tl At has ever been erected in this or probably in any other country. It is most substantially built, and is covered with thatch, and seating accommodation is afforded for 600 spectators. A very large space for dairying operations is re- quired to accommodate the exilraordinarily large number of competitors in the butter-making con- tests, for which there are no less than 175 entries. These are being held every day during the meet- ing, and among them is a special class for students from the many dairy schools the society has carried on during the past four years. On the last day of the show tho whole of the prize- winners of the previous dstys will compete for the championship and for the Society's gold, silver, and bronze medals. The services of some of the most skilful exponents of dairy operations have been secured, and the Society has been fortunate enough to in- duce such eminent authorities as Prof. Carroll, Prof. Long, Mr F. J. Lloyd, F.C.S., Mr T. Rigby, and others to attend and give explana- tory lectures and demonstrations with reference to-dairy husbandry generally, while the Society's dairy school teachers will illustrate the makiag of clotted cream, and the most recent improvements in butter-making. There will also be daily exhibitions of power and hand cream-separator3 and other dairy appliances. There will be a very extensive exhibition of implements, ma- chinery, &c., all the leading agriculturalimple- ment firms being represented. Profitable Pig-keeping. The pig is an animal which is generally kept in the background on farms where other descriptions of choice stock occupy a great deal of attention, says a writer in a Chester paper, but every now and then, when other things do not promise much, we hear someone asking whether some- thing cannot be made out of pigs. Such a ques- tion has lately been asked in one of the agricul- tural papers, and, to some extent, answered also; but it is one which has many sides, and requires. to be looked at from a great many points of view. As I observed the other day, it is of no use to rush intb pig-keeping on a large scale because pork and baton happen to be dear, nor is it much wiser to rush out of it because they. happen to be temporarily oheap. Keep on through thick and than is the motto-that is, if you know how to mJanage pigs, otherwise you had better not have anything to do with them, for they will never make ajwofit or give an adequate return for the care, trouble, and outlay required. The greatest drawback in the matter, even sup- posing you know how to keep and feedpigsasthey should be kept and fed, is the difficulty of finding a suitable market for them after- wards. Unless there happens to be a first-rate bacon factory inithe neighbourhood there really is not Any fair open market to which they can be taken with t reasonable prospect of disposing of them to advantage. AsforJkilling them and con- signing to the London Óy other market, that is about the most risky End of business in the world, for though there are often blanks, there are seldom, or never, any great prises, fork may be dear, bnt the fanner who, tempted by the quotationsiho sees in the papers, ventures to kill down a seme, or two, and send them off to asales- man, wilBmost likely find that in some mysterious way the market has taken a wrong turn that day, while the xpenses have become greater than ever. Thdre is no niaking pig-keeping profitable unless yon ICat1 find a better market than this. Vegetable Garden. This is algood time to plant asparagus, as the growth is rather backward this year. The plants are best raided at home, or obtained from some nursery close at band, and then the roots need not remain out of the ground long. The soil must be in a friable, wWll-broken up condition exposure to the atmosphere for a time does this best. A little charredT refuse passed through a half-inch sieve placed over the roots is a great help. In windy district the young shoots should have some support to prevent damage from twisting by the wind's force. Get plenty of cefory picked out to meet all demands. Late celery sown in the open air should be thinned out in the seed-bed to two inches or three inches apart, and then it will do without pricking out; but this open-air raised celery will not attain the same size as the plants raised a little earlier in gentle warmth, though it will pass through the winter with less damage, and will not bolt zo soon in spring. Put out early-sown leeks in shallow trenches dressed with old manure or rich compost. Sow more marrow peas and dwarf French beans inudmaliet runners. The white-seeded runner is a profitable kind to grow for late bearing. Perhaps the most profitable of the dwarf French beans for main crop is the Canadian Wonder. Do not plant too thickly in the i rows, nor yet set the rows too near together. jfhreerfeebspaces belweenitbe Tovia-will not, be too 'muchj^and where land cambespared a little more than this may be allowed. Eight inches or nine inches between the beans in the rows will give good results. Give liquid manure freely to French beans now bearing in pits. There should be no French beans in fruit-houses now; they are too dangerous, from their liability to red spider, to keep in vineries or peach-houses, but I have grown them between the rows of tomatoes till the latter get up without harm. Cucumbers in houses will require almost constant attention in pinching, tying, top-dressing. &c. It is better to flood the floors with water than to use the syringe over the foliage overmuch. Window Gardening. Where the plants have been well hardened window-boxes may be filled now or shortly. There is no reason why all boxes should be filled on the same stereotyped plan with plants of the same class. Let the owners of the boxes use their own tastes a little more. If this were done a little more in gardening there will be some ohance of getting an original id- occasionally. One of the things to be aimed at is to cover up the boxes with growth. To do this we must have strong plants of the right kinds. Among the plants suitable for this work Ivy-leaved Geraniums must have a prominent place. Nasturtiums and the creeping lobelia speciosa, Creep- ing Jenny or LySimactna, or any other plants, including ivy that can be utilised for covering front of boxes and to tram round the windows. Having done this much some of the boxes may be tilled WIth plants in mixture, others furnished with two plants, either in contrast or in harmony. Geraniums will always be popu- lar, because they are lasting, and are not per- manently injured if they happen to be neglected in the matter of watering occasionally. Mar- guerites or Paris Daisies are also useful. Fuchsias in some situations can be employed, but are not a success generally in smoky towns, and, besides, are not so much cared for as they were. Still, a box filled with Fuchsias and White Ivy-leaved Geraniums along the tront, with a spray of heliotrope peeping out here and there, will be Drettv. —Gardening IUmtraUd. i Living Vases. Some pretty living vases may, says Ama- teur Gardening," be formed by sowing very fine grasses, or the oommou garden cress on terra- cotta vases. Unglazed vases are the most suitable as they are-poroos. If unglazed vase is used let it soak in a pail 9r °* water twenty-four hours, then take it o* lay it on its side, and sprinkle the seeds evenly over the surface, turning it round so that the whole is well covered; then place the vase m a dark cupboard for some time, and keep it nBed with water; if possible, place it a, frame so as to preserve humidity and facilitate germination. When the plants are developed, in case they should become do ad, Pass a pack thread or fine wire in different directions round the vase. The thread will soon disappear under the vege- tation. If a glazed vase is used, or one of metal or glass, it will be necessary to take a piece of flannel or cloth and soak it thoroughly in water, «nd bind it round the vase with thread or wire, then sow the seed on ttie flannel, and keep thoroughly moist by pouring water at the top of the vaae and letting it saturate the flannel. This must be done constantly. With a poroue vase it will be 4=dv.wowmry to ;kwp it fillec *rithwater.

Songs for the People. Andrew Fletcher, of Saltoun, in a letter te the Marquis of Montrose, wrote I know a very wise man that believed that if a man were permitted to make all the ballads he need not care who should, make the laws of the nation." IS THE BATTLE OF LIFE WORTH FIGHTING P Is the Battle of Life worth fighting ? Is the conflict worth the cost ? Is it well to wage a warfare, Which many have fought and lost; Where our friends are few and feeble, And our foes are great and strong; Where the issue of Efe is doubtful, And the struggle is fierce and long? Oh, yes yes yes! It is better to stand and fight In the ranks of the brave and faithful. Than turn in a coward flight. Is the Battle of Life worth fighting ? Oh say. were it not as well To hide from the raging onslaught And the storm of shot and shell; From the soldier's toils and perils To seek a sure release; To wear the yoke of the conquered, And eat one's bread in peace ? Oh, no no no It is better to fight and fall In the cause of right and duty, Than reign in the wrong over alL Is the Battle of Life worth fighting ? Is there hope of a rest beyond ? As we scan the distant future, Need we falter or despond ? Is the victor's crown worth wearing? Will the spoils reward the fight ? Shall we share the Leader's glory, In the triumph of the right ? Oh, yes yes yes There's a rich and rare reward, When the good and faithful servant Shall enter the joy of his Lord. Fireside News.

A Child's Puzzle. Pray where do the old years go, mamma, When their work is over and done, Does somebody tuck them away to sleep Quite out of the sight of the sun ? Or. perhaps, they are shut into crystal jars And set away on a shelf, In a beautiful closet behind the stars Each year in a place by itself ? Was there ever a year that madea mistake, iAnd stayed when its time was o'er, Till it had to hurry its poor old feet When the New Year knocked at the door ? I"vidsh you a happy New Year, mamma, I'm sure new things are nice And this one comes with a merry face And plenty of unow and ice. But I only wish I had kept awake Till the old year made his bow, ( For what he said when the clockstnrcktwelve I never shall know now. Do you think he was tired and glad to rest, Do you think that he said good-bye, Or melted away alone in the dark Without so much as a sigh ? Do I bother you now must I run away ? \Whv that's what you always say— The jfew Year's just thesame as the old, j might as well go and play. Oh, look at those sparrows so pert and spry, They are wanting to get their crumbs FortheNew Year's sake they shall have some c&ke,. And i-bope they'll fight for the plums.

To be introduced to a Good Book Í6 to make a Friendship." Messrs Ward, Lock, Bowden and Co.'s serial publications this month include four popular his- torical works. Motley's Rise pf the Dutch Republic," part 7; Gibbon's Romau Empire," with Dean Milman's notes, part 21; i)'Aubigne's "History of the Reformation," part 7 and "Epochs and Episodes of History," part 7, dealing in an interesting and popular manner with the mutinies at Spithead and the Nore, British charters of liberty, the Great Plague and Fire of London, and the Sicilian Vespers. John Forster's admirable Life and Times of Gold- smith" has reached the eighth part. The deser- vedly favourite Universal Instructor," part 33 and "The Child's Instruc- tor," which is one of the best books for children in the English language, part 9. Part 4~of "The World's Religions," a lavishly illustrated and popular work, is occupied with Brahmanmodern Hinduism, and Buddhism. Two fine art works are "Our National Cathedrals," part 20, and the selected edition of, the Waveriey Novels, part 2 of Peverit of the Peak." The other publications are the Bible Commentary, Mrs Beeton's Household Manage- ment," "OOsra.eli'g Cariosities of Literature," "The Illustrated Bibe for the Young," "Moore's Irish Melodies," "Industrial Self- Instructor," and Amateur Work." "Sylvia's Journal" for June contains new stories by Hhll Came, and Wadham Peacock, in addition to all the latest information about fashions and'household matters. Two of the best. features of this excellent publication are Gossip about Books and Authors, and Problems in Furnitum The Leisure Hour" is a very interesting I number this month. J. Frone Wilkinson writes on The State and Insurance for Old Age*" and then we have among the more-impprtant atfactes -,?-, "Statesmen of Europe: Spain," "The Great London Dailies," "The Horse World of London," and Egyptian Sketches." The illus- trations are of a first-class order, andltb'e *maga- me deserves to hold a high place among the more-important monthlies. In The Sunday at Home is commenced a series of articles which promise to be specially interesting to readers in Wales. Under the heading of Some of the Old Welsh Preachers D. Burford Hooke writes of Daniel Rowlands. The article is illustrated from the statue by E. Griffith. In addition to the usual budget of seasonable I fiction, the "Boy's Own Paper" includes articles on goli, cricket, grass snakes, fishing with a water-net, photographic cameras^and boomerangs, with the doings for the month. There is an excellent coloured frontispiece, A Good Omen." The "Girl's Own Paper" is still the best publication of its class. Indeed, the articles, fiction, and illustrations are so uniformly good that it continues to have no serious rival. This deservedly popular magazine occupies an impor- tant position among the weekly and monthly publications, and no girl-whether she still be a juvenile or no longer young-who desires to learn to see the best in life should neglect its articles and fiction. The other publications of the Religious Tract Society include "The Girl's Own Indoor Book," part 9; "Indoor Games and Reoreafcicioa," part 9; "The Cottager and Axtizan, "Tvwt Magazine," "Friendly 11 Greetings," "Our Dote, "Child's Companion," ^d Jio. graphical Series.

A PHILANTHROPIST CRUSHKD.—A crushed philanthropist is not a pleasant sight to behold. Leeds has one. He was telling some friends all about it the other night. "I bought one of the best private dwellings in the town, and fitted it up regardless of expense. The furniture was all new. I bought a good library, and had plenty of pretty pictures on the walls. Nothing was left undone to make the place delightful I had a matron, a cook. a chambermaid, a seamstress, and three or four other women for servants, and the house was absolutely free to everybody, yet only one person ever went in there, and she was blind. "Did you have a sign on the house?" someone asked, Yes a.beautiful one, in blue and gold, right over the door. What was it "Leeds Old Maids Home." The crowd laughed, and a IDaD with eye-glasses said, 'That's what killed it. You are all right, only yon are a little too far out. Just try your philan- thropy in Harrogate, if you want to get a full house the first day." The Due de Richelieu w as-very independent in character he once had a conversation with the Comte d'Artois, and reminded him that when he took power the count had given him his word that he would support his cabinet. The count answered "But- The Due de Richelieu did not let him finish his phrase he bowed, re- tired, and slammed the door. The strongest man living—the man who moved the house by his tears. How about the farmer moved a cord of wood with his steers

ECHOES FROM THE CALENDAR. 1 JUNE. 1 -S. SUNDAv.-Whit-Sunday. 6. MONDAT.—Bank Holiday. 7. TUESDAY.—First Reform Bill passed, 1832. 8. WEDNESDAY.-Alexandra Palace burnt, 1873. Ma- hornet died 632. 1 9. THUBSDAY.—Charles Dickens died, 1870. 10. FpiDA.T.-Crystal Palace opened, 1854. U. SATURDAT.-St. Barnabas. The Mohocks. On the 6th June, 1712, Sir Mark Cole and three other gentlemen were tried at the Old Bailey for riot, assault, and beating the watch. A paper of the day asserts that these are Mobock, that they had attacked the watch in Devereux-street, slit two persons' noses, cut a woman in the arm with a penknife so as to disable her for life, rolled a woman in a tub down Snow-hill, misused other women in a barbarous manner by setting them on their heads, overset several coaches and ichairs with short clubs loaded with lead at both ends, expressly made for the purpose. In their defence the prisoners denied that they were Mohocks, alleging that they were Scourers," and had gone out with a magistrate's sanction to scour the streets, arrest Mobooks and other offenders, and deliver them up to justice. On the night in question they had attacked a notorious gambling house, and taken 13 men out of it. While engaged in this meri- torious manner, they learned that the Mohocks were in Devereux-street, and on proceeding thither found three men desperately wounded lying on the ground they are then attacked by the watch, and felt bound to defend themselves. The jury, however, returned a verdict of guilty," and the judge fined the culprits in the sum of three shillings and fourpence each. It is scarcely credible that so late as the last century, a number of young men of rank and fashion, assmingthenumeof a savage tribe,-emulated their barbarous actions of wantonly inflicting the most disgusting cruelties on the peaceable inhabitants, particularly women of London. And after these Mohocks, as they styled themselves, had held the town in terror for two years, after a royal proclamation had onered JEMO reward for the apprehension of any them, when these four persons were at last brought to justice, the amount of punishment: inflicted was merely the paltry fine-of 3s 4d. John Howard Paine. Thousands have had their tenderest sympathies rawakened by thtialmostumizersalsong of "Home, sweet Home without knowing that the author's name was.John Howard Payne, and that it was first sung in a once popular but now forgotten ;melodrarna, entitled Clara, or The Maid of Milan. Payne was a native of America, and born on June 9, 1792. Early turning his attention to the. stage, he soon became a popular actor and writer of dramatic pieces, both in England and ■ his native country. Few persons have been so greatly loved by so large a circle of private friends. Dying at Tunis, where he latterly filled the office-of United States Consul, he was buried in the JChristian Cemetery of St George, where a monument was erected over his grave by his grateful country," expressive of his merits as a'.1 poet and dramatist, and stating that he died,- after a tedious illness," on the first of April, 1852. His remains were removed from Tunis, and re-interred at Washington, America, in 1883. Ch&rtes Dickens. Charles Dickens, one of the greatest of English novelists, was born on February 7th, 1812, at Landport, Portsmouth. His father, John Dickens, was then in the employment of the Navy Pay Department, but subse- quently became a newspaper reporter in London. Young Dickens received a scanty education, was fme m time a mare drudge in a blacking warehouse, and subsequently a clerk in an attorney's office. Having perfected himself in shorthand, fhowever, he became a newspaper critic and reporter, was engaged on the Mirror of Parliament and the True Sun, and in 1855 on the Morning Chronicle. For some time previously he had been contributing humorous pieces to the "Monthly Magazine," but at length in 1835 appeared ir. the Morning Chronicle the first of that series of Sketches by Boz which brought Dickens into fame. His works are known where- ever the English language is read. Dickens considerably overtaxed his strength during his later years, and died somewhat suddenly at his residence, Gad's Hill Place, near Rochester, on 9th June, 1870. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. A Remarkable Career. I lived," says George Withers, a remarkable man, to see eleven signal changes, in which not a few signal transactions providentially occurred to wit, under the governments of Queen Elizabeth, King James, Charles L, the King and Parliament together, the King alone, the Army, Oliver Cromwell, a Council of State, the parliament again. and the now King Charles II." Withers was, brpugbt up as a rigid Puritan. Imbued with a-mania. for scribbling, and a thorough detestation of what Carlyle called shams, he left behind him upwards of a hundred and forty satirical pieces, the greater part in verse. In early life he took service under Charles I., but when the eivil war broke out he sold his estate to raise a troop of horse, which he commanded on the side of Parliament. He was-once taken prisoner by the Royalists, and about to be put to death as a traitor, bat Sir John Denham begged his life, saying to the King, "If your Majesty kills Withers, I will then be the worst poet in Eng- land." As Withers's satires were conscientiously directed against all that he considered wrong, either in his own or the opposite party, he very often was made acquainted with the interior of a prison but in spite of these drawbacks he managed to rub through life, favoured in some degree by both sides, as he held office under Charles II. as well as under Cromwell. He was born on June 11th, 1588, and died on the 2nd May, 1667.

I A WARNING. FRIEND (to Timid): What's them flags for ?" MB TIMID That's a danger-signal my son Tommy has run up. When the old lady is on the war-path, he lets me know that way. You see 1 forgot to send up some sugar this morning. Pretty soon she'll take her afternoon nap. Then Tommy'U hoist the fair-weather flag, and we can go in wieh safety. See 1"

SOCIETY MAvN.mRs. -"How do you do, Mrs Yerger ?" Pretty well, I thank vou, 11b McGinnis." Have you been calling this beauti- ful afternoon?" Well, not precisely. I started out to call on my friend, Mrs Peterby, and I got half-way there before I fortunately remembered that this was her at home' day." A young English traveller in Valencia recently became enamoured of a gipsy girl, but told the mother that he was not rich enough to marry her. The mother laughed and said What, not rich enough in the land of guineas 1 Why, with so accomplished a thief as my daughter, you will be a millionaire in a twelvemonth I OB RKTDSKD ALTMrMIZP.-Dinwiddie (& tem- perance worker) The question, Should clubs De licensed ?" is becoming a prominent one. Dukane (a base-ball crank) Well, unless they can play better than the St. Louis team did yes- terday, I think the licence should be put at a pro- hibitive figure. A SAD STATS OF THINGS.—Mis O'Rafferty And how is Pathrick this morning, Mrs Doolihan? Mrs Doolihan He is no better. He is laid up wid the rumattcs. Whin he goes to slape he lays awake all night, and his toes are swelled up as big '1 as a gooee egg, so when he stands up he faUft down jmaftriiatoly.

Men and Movements of the Day. i [BY SALEX.] No. 15.-CHARLES BOOTH and His Work among the Poor. The publication in a cheap form of "Pauperism, a Picture." a little and unpretentious though ex- ceedingly valuable work, has called attention to its author, Mr Charles Booth, who, until quite recently, was little known, though he has been playing an important part for several years past in the philanthropic movements of the present day. Mr Charles Booth will be known to pos- terity as the author of Labour and Life of the People," a work in which he has collected a vast amount of valuable information, as much in fact as a Royal Commission would be able to bring together, and then it has this advantage, that the author for med his conclusions living on the spot, actually surrounded by the poverty which he described. When the history of the philanthropic move- ments which have characterised theclose of the present century comes to be written, the name and the work of Mr Charles Booth will occupy no insignificant place. His writings are text books and works of reference, which no student of the problem of the poor can afford to ignore. Mr Charles Booth is no relation to the family connected with "The Army," though the social work of the Salvation Army and the name of "General" Booth are likely to lead to a mis- apprehension as to the individual who is known as Charles, Booth. Mr Charles Booth, when be- fore the Labour Commission last year, described himself as a shipowner and merchant. He did, in fact, entfer London as a wealthy shipowner. But he was a shipowner and something more. His whole thoughts were not centred on freights, and tariffs, and percentages. What was uppermost to his mind may be readily judged by those who ,are familiar with his published writings. He felt deeply and keenly on the 'social question, and being possessed of a restless 'intelligence and indomitable courage, be trans- lated his sympathy into practical work. Ac- cording to one writer, he had passed through a period of religious doubt and difficulty. Having left the period of Everlasting No," as Carlyle so vividly describes it, he quickly passed the "Centre of Indifference," and sailed boldly into the "Everlasting Yea." He interested himself in politics, and then plunged deeply into the task he had. set himself, doing-everything with a thoroughness that could only satisfy his vigorous mental attitude towards his ideal. When giving his experience before the Labour-Commission, he said, with pardonable pride, No one has ever found fault with my figures,, or disputed my facts." His sympathies were roused some years ago in the great labour question. The subject was then new it was just raising its head and demanding to be heard. Charles Booth, as a wealthy shipowner and merchant might have been expected to have looked upon it as a bore and a disturbing element in his business, and he might also have listened to the wiseacres and croakers who prophesied that the labour question would be buried in its infancy, and soon cease to trouble employers of labour. But it was not so with Charles Booth. He had settled the Religious doubts and difficulties which had disturbed his own peace of mind, and he determined to probe to the bottom'the great social. problem which was known in its latent revival as the Labour Question. The average enquirer would have been content to read the political economists and what books on the subject he could purchase or borrow, but this did not satisfy Mr Booth. He must take the matter at-first hand, and fortunately he had the means to enable him to pursue his ideal. It may have been in reading the scanty literature on the labour question at that day, that he saw his opportunty of being of real use to histime. Be that as it may, he struck outa bold and praiseworthy line of action. It is very rare that so fine a pwblic spirit is seen as that dislayed by Mr Charles Booth. Having wealth, and sur- rounded by all the pleasures of life, be went alone to the East End and took lodgings, so that he might make a careful study of the labour question and the problem of poverty at first hand. It did not take so keen an intellect as that pos- sessed by him long to discover that it was useless to attempt a survey single-handed, so he enlisted in his service a band of young students of economics engaged a regular staff of clerks, and commenced his great work of giving a lucid, unbiassed ac- count of the labour and the life of the people of Ijondon. His thoroughness of method is only equalled by his modesty, and on the two volumes of his work on the great problem of Labour and Life of the People," his name stands simply as editor, with the names of his assistants fully tabulated as contributors. These volumes are filled with pictures of the poor in varying degrees of poverty and destitution. Coloured maps indicate the character of every street as to poverty and wealth,and when thework is completed, by the addition of new volumes on trade-unions and organisations for self-help among working people, we shall be in possession of an encyclopaedia on the subject of poverty of priceless value. It is not difficult to see how his work will help legislation or private effort for the amelioration of the lot of the poor in the East,End of London. The facts and figures which he has recorded are a, powerful indictment aga nst the powers that be. Mr Booth promises to do for the whole of London what he has done for the East End, and it is to be hoped that he will have something to say on methods of reform. Coming from such an authority on the subject, they would have additional weight, and be of good value. In his latest work, "Pauperism, a Picture and Endowment of Old Age, an Argument"— which, by the way, may be purchased for sixpence-he has done something to suggest a remedy for pauperism in old age. If Charles Booth had done no more than call attention to the problem of the poor be would have done commendable work, but by his sacrifice of time and money, in his desire to help the less fortunate than himself he has enriched our stores of know- ledge on one of the greatest and most difficult problems of the century. May he live long enough to complete his great work and also to see the in- fluence of his "Picture of Poverty" translated into legislative reform. He is a noble citizen, and deserves well of his fellow-citizens and the State. NEXT WKKK :— The Rev S. A. BAKNETT afid the University Settlements among the Poor.

THE WEATHER AND THE CROPS. The weather has been all that the farmer could desire, but with regard to trade, which has been in a very non-speculative mood, English wheat must be quoted 6d lower on the week in the country, and the London average has fallen from 32s 6d to 31s 6d per quarter. The spring corn trade has shown us 16 barley markets, 21 oat markets, seven pulse markets, and 23 £ naize markets in sellers' favour on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, against six markets weaker for barley, three for oats, seven for pulse, and two for maize on Friday and Saturday. This firmness under- went a partial modification barley and oats on Friday were 3d lower at Mark-lane, but Liver- pool was a Id per cental dearer for maize. The Irish markets were also dearer for maize. The country markets on Saturday were dull, but steady for oats and barley 6d cheaper for beans. London was dull for linseed at 37s 6d for ordinary Indian lots. At Bristol on Thursday, 29s 6d was accepted for Canadian peas. -Mark-Zane Express.

THE TEMPERANCE BOOM IN TEXAS.—Not long since a prominent Houston journalist, who was suffering from the loss of appetite and headache, applied to a local doctor for advice. The doctor examined the sufferer's pulse and his breath, and perceived at once that too much beer was the cause of the trouble. You should drink seltzer water," said the doctor. Which ?" asked the journalist, who is a little hard of hearing1. I said you should drink seltzer water." That s just what I do. I drmk seldom water. It is the seldomest thing in the world for me to drink water. It is very seldom, indeed, that I drink anything except beer." A certain enterprising furrier respecfully an- nounoes to ladies who wish genuine furs, that he makes muffs, boas, to., of their own skins."

GOSSIPS' CORNER. The Bute Docks police-force is comprised of one superintendent, seven sergeants, and thirty-five constables. Many foreigners are driven out of Naples by sheer inability to endure the abominable sight of cruelty to animals seen in the streets. The PaU Mall Gazette describes Mr Gladstone's letter on the representation of the Forest of Dean as "the cutting off of Sir Charles Dilke." Monte Video is said to be the greatest gambling place in the world. Children there bet as soon as they can talk, and long before they can read. A race on wooden legs, from Bordeaux te I Biarritz and back, a distance of 300 miles, is now in progress. An ancient copper mine, which was tirst worked 1,183 years ago, is about to be re-opened in Musashi, Japan. Lieut.-General Sir Lewis Pellv, M.P., late of 21, Eaton-square, left a personal estate valued at L36,765 12s 4d. It is estimated thet thereare over67,000Jews in London, and about 26,000 iu other parts of Great Britain and Ireland. Mr C. P. Lewis, Llandovery, the well-known cricketer, is to be married to Miss Lizzie Walters, Llandingat Villa, ou the 22nd proximo. The report that Herr Bebel, the ablest of the German Social Democrats, is about to retire from public life owing to throat disease is quite un- founded Count Tolstoi has no confidence in English Trades Unions. I fear," he says, that in the course of time they will merely substitute for the injustice of the minority that of the majority." In the beautiful village of Shere, Surrey, in shrubberies adjacent to the fields and woods be. yond, a dozen nightingales have been singing against one another all last week. Mr F. W. D. Davis, son of Mr W. Davis, of Brynheulog, Neath, has just won a Brown Scholarship at the Yorkshire College Branch of the Victoria University. Mr Davis is an old pupil of the old Neath Proprietary School. Changes are gradually creeping over the Lon- don morning papers. On Saturday, for instance, the Times had only one leader, and that led to nowhere in particular, as it is more of a summary than a leader after the old three-decker style.— London Eeho. The committee of the Reform Club have elected Mr Passmore Edwards, under the special rule empowering them to confer memberships upon two persons every year for conspicuous services to the Liberal cause. Mr Gladstone will contribute to the June number of the Nineteenth Century an article entitled "Did Dante Study at Oxford?" Mr Herbert Gladstone sends to the same number of the review an article entitled "Ireland Blocks the Way." In announcing the success of his appeal for & Welsh family, Dr Parker humorously declared, after a recent sermon, that the Welsh were re- markable for the dazzling simplicity of their names of persons-Evans, Williams, and the like —but the names of the places where those per- sons lived were too high for him. Just now the King of Spain is absorbed in the study of how to mount a pony and a bicycle; his health is excellent, and he has grown con- siderably during the last few months. The latest portrait whicl. Queen Christina has caused to be taken of her seven-year-old son, the King, shows him standing by the side of his mother dressed in a black velvet "Lord FauntleroyK costume. It is from the Queen of Denmark that bar three daughters—the Princess of Wales, the Empress of Russia, and the Duchess of Cumber- land—derive their beauty and their perennial youth. Queen Marie, at the age of three score years and ten, is still a very handsome womant with flashing eyes and lively manners, which cause her to look at least fifteen years younger than her actual age Mr D. Lleufer Thomas, the Welsh Assistant Labour Commissioner, will shortly be married tc Miss Gethin, of Aberdare. We learn that the date has been fixed for Saturday, 18th June next. The wedding will take place in London, and will be strictly private. Mr Thomas, who is the son of a tenant farmer in Carmarthenshire, had a brilliant career at Oxford, and was a student of Lincoln's Inn, where he carried off the Tancred Law Studentship. He is a member of the South Wales Bar, and is still under 30. This is the history of the phrase Robbing Peter to pay Paul," according to an American journal It is supposed to have originated in an incident which occurred in London during the 16th century. About the year 154-0 the Abbey of St. Peter, in Westminster, was elevated to the dignity of a cathedral, but 10 years later was again joined to the diocese of London, and its property appropriated to pay the expenses of some necessary repairs to the Cathedt-al of St. Paul. It was evident that to do honour to St. Paul the estate of Peter had to suffer, and hence ,the expression which has become proverbial." A Nonagenarian describes, in the Spectator, the respects in which he thinks things are better with us now than they were in his early days. Men do not swear so much or drink so much the clergy are more in earnest and do more work the nurses are more sober and respectable the public servants (such as railway porters) more civil there are more museums, and libraries, and village reading-room.- —more institutions for the benefit of young men I and women. Altogether, the nonagenarian thinks we ought not to view the condition of .our country with discontent or despondency." Mrs Bonner is engaged in writing the life of her late father, Mr Bradlaugh. Several instalments have already appeared in the Natio-nal Reformer. In the last instalment in the periodical we have an account of Mr Bradlaugh's soldiering career in the 7tb Dragoon Guards, and it is stated that during his last illness General Sir Beauchamp Walker called twice to inquire at Circub-road, and told the maid to "tell Mr Bradlaugh that his old capcain had called." He was delighted beyond measure," says Mrs Bonner, "and was for the moment the boy private again, with the private's feelings for his superior officer. The visit gratified him almost as much as if :t had been one from Mr Gladstone himself." There is no limit to the eccentricity of some people. A Church of England clergyman gave four Christian names to his first son, five to his second, and six to his third, but after marrying a second time,apd having an additional family he lavished a really surprising wealth of nomencla- ture upon his children. Thus, one of his sons is called Lyulph Ydwallo Odin Nestor Egbert Lyonel Toedmag Hugh Erchenwyne Saxon Esa Cromwell Orma Nevill Dysart Plantagenet Tollemache-Tollemache, whilst one of his daugh- ters is named Lyona Decima Veronica Esych Undine Cyssa Hylda Rowena Adela Thyra Ursula Y sabel Blanche Lelias Dysart Plantagenel Tollemache-Toliemache, and another daughter has 15 Christian names.

A SATURDAY SERMON. Never, gentle reader,, so long as you have a stitch about your anatomy, believe yourself alone. If thoughtless people could only know what their left-off clothes say about them, sure I am they would resolve upon one of two things—either to reform their lives, or to go naked. Let no man harbour a black spot in hie breast and believe that his waistcoat is wholly ignorant of the stain. Let no man drop an ill-gotten guinea into hit pocket and think the poke unconscious of the wrong. His very glove shall babble of the bribe that has burnt his hand. Kis cravat shall tighten about his throat if that throat be seared with daily lies. Ignorance of man to believe i that what is borne roon the body has no intclli gence with the moral jood or evil dwelling in tho, soul to think that the purple of a Dives knows not the innermost arrogance of its bfcarer that the rags that flutter upon Lazarus breathes nri. I the sweetness of a May-day blossom. DOWLAS JS$BOLD.