Evening Express

Snust iiibtstirmit. NEW Century.—Make up your^mirrd^tcT"1?) bTt- better this century than you did the last! Why not live rent free, as hundreds of others have done?—Apply, by postcard, mentioning ii?.13, paper, to Manager, 72, Bishopsgate-street Without, London, E.C„ for Copy of Booklet, How to Live Bent Free." e8791 ,tf How to Live Bent Free." e8791 Xrnimst SHUrtasts. A R ITC^ R D~~IN FURNISHING! BE VAN & COMPANY 't (LIMITED). REGISTERED AS "THE CARDIFF FURNISHERS, An examination of our books reveals the fact | mat for the year ended December 31. 1900, there las been an increase in cur sales over the arge returns of the previous year amounting to SEVERAL THOUSAND POUNDS! The trade done in the last year of the Cen- my has. therefore, beaten all previous records luring our Fifty Years' trading! This very raccessful result of the great reductions made In all departments twelve months since is not only extremely gratifying to ourselves, but affords the most conclusive proof to our army of customers and to the general public that we ttill maintain the proud position of being The LARGEST FURNISHERS In South Wales and Monmouthshire. This position we are determined to hold, and (hall spare no effort in order to secure a still further increase in our business during the FIRST YEAR OF NEW CENTURY. IMMENSE SELECTION! LARGEST STOCKS! SMALLEST PRICES! LARGE CATALOGUES GRATIS. DELIVERY OF ALL GOODS FREE. iLL COMPETITION DEFIED! BEVAN & COMPANY CARPET AND MUSIC WAREHOUSEMEN DUKE-STKEET AND ST. MARY-STREET. CARDIF F. Uso at SWANSEA. NEWPORT 4 PONTYPOOL e1876 æuDOR ^Y"ILLIAMS' pATENT JJALSAM OF JJONEYs IS THE BEST FOR COUGHS, COLDS Ac., A CERTAIN CURE! "Oh! dear me. I forgot. to glvØa TUDOU WILLIAMS' BALSAM OF HONEY to my chil- dren before they retired to bed. I am certain they will COUGH ALL NIGHT WITHOUT IT. There is nothing on the face of the earth equal to it; thoroughly up-to-date." In this damp and changeable climate coughs &nd colds are almost certain at some time daring the winter to visit every household in the land. It would. therefore, 3eem only a wise precaution to keep on hand a bottle of TUDOR WILLIAMS' BALSAM OF HONEY ready for immediate use. Pieasaut, soothing, healing, and & splendid tonic, it is certainly without an equal for the prevention and cure of troublesome coughs and in all throat and lung anections. Moreover, it does what no simple oough remedy will do—it promotes appe- tite, aids digestion, increases weight, jvud builds up the health and strength generally. It contains no opiate or other narcotic, and is perfectly safe even for the youngest infanta. We are constantly receiving reports from all parta of the kingdom attesting its remarkable power to relieve and care-troublesome coughs. It is p-escribed by the medical profession, and wed in the Jeading hospitals. BALSAM OF HONEY Contains PURE WELSH HONEY and an essence of the purest and most efficacious Herbs, Mt the Hills of Wales, being gathered in the proper season, when their virtues are in fall perfection. A GENTLEMAN REMARKS- I feel it my duty to inform you that I have fceea using your Tudor Williams' Balsam ot Honey in my family, which is a large one, foi many years, and have proved its great value, having used nothing else for Cough..durin I Measles, Whooping Cough, and Bronchitis. and eaa highly recommend it to all parents for such complaints. BALSAM OF HONEY AT THE ROYAL NATIONAL BAZAAR. When it was decided to have a. Welsh Stall "t the National Bazaar ia aid of the sufferers fcy the War, Mr. D. Tudor Williams offered the ion. secretary, Arthn- J. Cooke, Esq., a case tf Balsam of Honey, which was gratefully lecepted. The Balsam found a ready sale Mnongst the Royalty and nobility who patronised the bazaar. SEE YOU G £ T THE GENUINE ARTICLE. TUDOR WILLIAMS' PATENT BALSAM OF HONEY. SO MANY IMITATIONS AND FRAUD. I Sold by all Chemists and Stores in ls., 2s. 6d., vnd 4s. 6d. bottles. Sample bottles sont (post paid) for Is. 3d., 38.. 5s. from the inventor. D. TUDOR WILLIAMS, L.S.DiW., e85703 MEDICAL HALL. ABERDARE. TO WAR IN JgOUTH A CA. pHOTO JJUTTONS OF THK J^JUTISH. QENERALS, Lords Roberts and Kitchener Generals Bailer, White? Warren, Methuen, French. Badei* Powell, Gtatocre. Maedonald. and Plumer; tdto the English Flag (Union Jack). QNE pENNY JjjACH. Postage, 14 MtDt. STATIONERY DEPARTMENT, WESTERN MAIL, CARDIFF DON'T COUGH-USE COUGH-USE a\0'N»T COUGH-USE There is absolutely no remedy so speedy and effectual. One Lozenge a.lone gives relief; can be taken by the most delicate. J^EATING'S COUGH LOZENGES, J^EATIITG'S COUGH LOZENGES, EATING'S COUGH LOZENGES, If you cannot sleep for coughing, one Keating's Lozenge will set you right. Any Doctor will tel! you they are irTTTEELY UNBIVALIiED. UTTEBIiY UNRIVALLED. BBLY TJNEIVALLBD. Sold everywhere in tins. ld. each, or free on receipt of stamps, from THOMAS KEATING. Chemist. London. In use for Half-a- s Century. TO THOSE WHO SUFFER FROM HEADACHE, BILIOUSNESS, LIVER COMPLAINTS, &c. KERNICK'S VEGETABLE PILLS Ar4 a Wonderful Medicine. Thousands take no other. Buy a Box and prove it. Odd by all Chemists and Stores In 7d.. 13!d., and 2s. 9d. per box. Xernick's Vegetable Pill s. business; aifirmters* NO HIRE SYSTEM. PURJOSH AT SAM TAYLOR, 4 & 48, Cowbpjdge-Road, 'CANTON, CARDIFF. Is. IN THE £ ALLOWED OFF ALL GOODS. AVOID INSTALMENT SYSTEMS. Instalment and Bo-called Easy or Gradual Payment Systems a.re simply lures to lead you into debt. Why place yourself in a false post tion and risk the unpleasantness that crowdj on. a Debtor? ALL GOODS SOLD STRICTLY FOR CASH ONLY. All Goods delivered either in our own vans ox by rail Free any distance. CANTON TRAMS PASS THE DOOR. NOTE THE PRICES. NO LIMITED COMPANY. £ s. d. Feather Bed, Bolster, and two Pillows (full size), pure linen tick, all bees- waxed inside, weight. 601bs., only 1 15 0 Wool Bed, Bolster, and two Pillows, weight 501bs., only 0 10 6 Wire Mattress33, 4ft. 6in., double woven 0 8 11 Wire Mattresses, 4ft. 6in., double I woven, cabled edge and centre 0 12 6 Whe Mattresses. 4ft. 6in.. 4-ply, cabled centre and sides, usually sold at 21s., only 0 17 11 Wool Mattresses, 4ft. 6in., 5-uich thick 0 9 11 Washed Wool Mattresses, guaranteed sweet and wholesome, only 0 12 6 Wool Mattresses, 4ft. 6in., best that can be bought for money, only 0 15 6 Feather Pillows 0 2 6 Wool Fillows 0 0 llj Feather Bolsters 0 5 6 Wool Bolsters 0 '2 0 Wool Bolsters 0 '2 0 Straw Mattresses, 4ft. 6in., 4i-inch thick 0 6 11 Straw Mattresses, 4ft. 6in., 6-inch thick 0 9 11 Chair Bedsteads and Cushions, full size, complete. 0 12 6 Strong Iron Bedsteads. 4ft. 6in., only. 0 14 11 Strong Brass Rail Bedstead. 4ft. 6in., only ø 16 11 Very handsome Bedstead, with Rosettes and two Brass Poles. 4ft. 6in 0 19 11 Beautiful Bedstead, with 6 Brass Rings and 6 Spindles, 4ft. 6in.. only 1 10 0 Very missive 2in. thick Pillar Bed- stead, 4ft. 6iir. 2 5 0 Strong, well made, spindle-back Couch, only 0 16 11 Strong Combination Bedsteads, fitted with Wire Mattresses, complete, 3ft. x 4ft.. only 0 14 11 Mangles, Hardwood Rollers, thoroughly reliable, only 1 15 0 Solid Walnut Octagon Tables, only 0 16 11 Loo Tabies, large size. only 0 18 6 Very handsome Solid Walnut Side- boards, 4ft 3 19 6 Beautiful Design Solid Walnut Side- board. 4ft. Sin 5 19 6 Grand Value. 5ft. Bow-front Sideboard, board, Solid Walnut, very massive, only 8 8 0 Cheffioniers 19 6 Dining Table. 5ft.. telescope. Walnut. 1 15 6 Leather Suites, thoroughly well made (7 pieces), all spring seated 3 10 0 Do., do. (9 pieces) 4 5 0 ■Saddlebag Suites (7 pieces) 6 16 Q Do. (9 pieces) 7 10 0 Dressing Chests and Washatands, in satin or black Walnut colour. Two Chairs and^Towel Rail. only 3 5 0 Very handsome Walnut or Mahogany Duchesses, with Two Chairs and Towel Rail. complete 3 5 0 I DO NOT ADVERTISE ANY GOODS I CANNOT PRODUCE. SAM TAYLOR, 46 & 48, (^0WBilIDGE-R0AD CANTON, CARDIFF. Orders by Post Promptly attended to. SEND FOR CATALOGUE. NO HIKE SYSTEM. e8625 ATLAS IJ^URNISHING fiOMPANX -*• (LIMITED). i'HE GOAL OF TO-DAY. THE STARTING afONE TO-MORROW. We never rest on our oara. but we are con- tinually studying our patrons. Our aim is to supply our customers with a first-ciasa articl* at the lowest possible price. MANUFACTURE most of tbe goods we sell; therefore, we can guarantee them. What goods we don't make we omv at the Best markets, and good* w811 ll; bought are half soid. DINING-ROOM SUITES ¡ -L* From £50 toO £.5. We keep no Rubbish. DRAWING-ROOM SUITES From £50 to £5. No Rubbish kept. ]VOTICE.—We are the sole Proprietors •*■- of Samuel's Patent Clamp, which. i» fitted on our ohaiN. This Keeps them firm and rigid; no giving way at th< back. No other Firm may use these Citwnps. BEDKOOM SUITES From £10 down. to £3 b8. NO RUBBISH KEPT. BRASS AND IKON BEDSTEADS AT ALL PRICKS* CARPETS. LINOLEUMS. KITCHEN FURNITURE, OFFICE FURNITURE All Kinds of Furniture and Household Requisites. PIANOS AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, All at the Lowest Possible Prices. NO RUBBISH KEPT. Deal with us Direct, either by Calling or bj Letter. E EMPLOY NO AGENTS OR TRAVELLERS We Pay No Commission. Thus. instead of Paying Large Commissions t(I Agents, averaging about 20 per cent., whieb the Buyer has indirectly to Pay, SAVE IT BY DEI. LING DIRECT WITH 1J8. NO MIDDLEMAN'S PROFIT. YOU GET GOOD VALUE: Don't be Guided by Misleading Advertisement* with Cheap and Nasty floods. QUALITY IS THE TRUE OF CHEAP. NESS. RUBBISH IS DEAR AT ANY PRICE. E A S Y 1:) il M E N X S Purchasera to whom it may be more conve- nient to Buy on Easy Terms will be supplied by us at the Lowest Possible Price. •Our Re-paymsnts are far below any other Arm iu Wales; in fact. we generally arrange Terms, to Suit Our Customers' Convenience. YOU CAN SELECT FROM A STOCK OF OVER £50,000, A LARGE AND NEW STOCK OF MAIL CARTS AND PERAMBULATORS, All Goods Delivered Free Within 100 Miles. ALj GOODS WARRANTED. CATALOGUES FREE ON APPLICATION. NOTE THE ADDRESS: — ATlAS j^URNISHIN 1 MPANY COMPLETE HOUSE FURNISHERS. HA YES-BUILDINGS, CARDIFF. AND AT LONDON- 7944 Ii. J. HEATH AND SONS, REMOVED TO 76j Queen STREET, CARDIFF, (CORNER OF CHARLES-STREET). Largest Saloon in Wales. jyjAGNIFICENT gTOCK OF TOIANOFORTES AND ORGANS BY ALL MAKERS. SOLE AGENTS FOR BROAD WOOD, SCHlEDMAYER, WALDEMAR, and CROWN PIANOS. ALSO ORCHESTRAL PIANO PLAYERS AND SYMPHONY SELF-PLAYING ORGANS. LONDON STORE PRICES FOR CASH OR EASY TERMS. Repairs in all Branches by Skilled Workmen. Estimates and Catalogues Post Free on Application. Nat. Telephone; Cardiff, 01.199. Pontypridd, 21. MANUFACTORY: LONDON. 9750 — FOR THE PIPE THREE NUNS TOBACCO NONE NICER-loz, 2ez, 4oz. SOLD EVERYWHERE. J. & F. BELL, Ltd., GLASGOW e84 OBMHHnnBnHMrauBHMiini aHTE GREAT BL OD PURIFIER. THOMPSON'S BURDOCK PILLS, Overctme the worst forms of diseases and the foul lest state of the Blood, Stomach, Liver, and Kidneys; they go to the core of every disease, where no other medicino has power to reach. In Boxes, at Is lid. and 2s. 9d. each. Sold by all Chemists, or froai the Burdock Pill Manu- factcry. 44. 0?ford-etr«et, Svwwa* EBusiness! abbrezots. J JNFLUENZA RE-APPEARS. INFLUENZA RE-APPEARS. THE JgEST JJEMEDY GWILYM EVANS' QUININE BITTERS. GWILYM EVANS' QUININE BITTERS. GWILYM EVANS' QUININE BITTERS. FOR INFLUENZA.. CHEST AFFECTIONS, WEAKNESS, NERVOUSNESS, SLEEPLESSNESS. INDIGESTION, LOW SPIRITS, GWILYM EVANS' QUININE BITTERS. GWILYM EVANS' QUININE BITTERS. GWILYM EVANS' QUININE BITTERS. Sold in bottles 2s. 9d. and 4s. 6d. each. Beware of Imitations. See the Name Gwilym Evans on Label, Stamp, and Bottle, without which none are genuine. w ———— SOLE PROPRIETORS: QUININE BITTERS MANTJFACTTJRINS COMPANY (LIMITED), e26185] LLANELLY, SOUTH WALES. WORTH A GUINEA A BOX. jgESCHAM'S pILLS A-P ]E;BECHANS pILLS FEECHAM'S PILLS -L Cure Bilious and Nervous Bigordera. EECHAM'S PILLS B F'E Cure Stomachic Troubles, such as Indigestion, Want of Appetite. Dys- pepsia, Fulness after Meals. Vomiu in-g, Sickness at the Stomach, Ac. EECHAM'S PILLS Cure Restlessness and Insomnia, and give sound and refreshing sieep. CHAM'S PILIS Cure Constipation and Sick Head- ache. Pi EE CHAM'S PILLS J Ensure Proper Assimilation of Food. B EECHAM'S PILLS Arouse Sluggish and Torpid Livers and Dispel Bile. ,"EECHALVPS PILLS Are suitable for both young and old. B EECHAM'S PILLS Will make you look well, feel well, and keep well. B EECHAM'S PILLS Remove Wind and Pain in the Stomach. LEECHAINRS PILLS Are sold everywhere in boxes, Is. lid. and 2s. 9d.. containing 56 and 168 Pills respectively. e8131 STERILIZED MIljK. ASTOUNDING FACT! I THE HIGHEST MEDICAL AUTHORITIES declare that if STERILIZED MILK WERE CONSUMED the mortality in the !arg-e 4wns would DECREASE VERY CONSIDERABLY. A NECESSITY TO ALL. NO CHEMICALS OR OTHER PREPARATIONS WHATEVER ARE ADDED TO THE MILK. which is delivered to the Consumer in A of ABSOLUTE PUITITY. CARDIFF MILK SUPPLY Co CASTLE-ROAD, ROATH, CARDIFF.- Nat. Tel. 475. Tel. address: "LACTUS." 88683

HIGH WATER TO-DAY. t Morning. EvMtTMg-. JVifht. Swansea 1.52 2.28 23, 9 Cardi* 2,54 3.34 24.10 Newport 2.55 3.35 24.0 WEATHER FORECAST. issmu YROX XXTX*ROLO*ICAL 8.30 R.V. The forecast of the weather throughout the West of England aud Sontfe Wales for to-flav (Thnrsdar) iaasfollews:—a> and S.W, winds, fresh; mild; un- settled seme rain. Y*STER»AY'S FORJ:CAST. I YESTJ:R.AY'S WKATHKR. S.E. breezes, moderate; ) Variable wimds morning fair j cold. ) showery, afterwards I fair but unsettled. WEEK'S TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL. The following table gives the temperature and rainfall at Cwrt-V-Vil, Penarth, for 24 hours, as read at 9.0 a .m., and entered to the preceding day:- TEXPERATUI&E DATB. RAINFALL Max. Min. Mean Wednesday 9 43 28 35*5 *00 Tuesday 8 30 .24 27*0 *00 Thursday 10 47 35 41*5 • -23 Friday 11 52 35 43'5 '00 Saturday 12 43 32 375 DO Sunday 13 43 33 39'0 "CO Moaday .tl4 45 34 39'5 "00 .11 i^i'■■■if,' -as

HUNTING APPOINTMENTS. HARTLERS. CRICKHOWELL. Saturday, Jan. 19, Cwtnbannwr .11 a.m. FOXHO TITOS. CARM ARTHENSHIRE. Friday, Jan. 18, Bankyfelin 11 a.m. GLAMORGANSHIRE. Friday. Jaft. :8. Miskin Village .11 a.m. Monday. Jan. 21, Dunraven ho<3mk 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23, Llaftaran House 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 25, St. Nicholas .11 a.m. LORD TREDEGAR'S. Thursday, Jan. 17, Marshfield .11 a.m. LLANGEINOR. Thursday, Jan. 17. Craigynisnedd .10 a.m. LLANGIBBY. Friday, Jan. 18, Graig Harris 11 a.m. MONMOUTHSHIRE.. Thursday, Jan. 17, Aginconrt-square, Monmouth .11 a.m. MR. CURRE'S. Thursday. Jan 17, Barnets .11 a.m. MR. SEYMOUR ALLEN'S. Friday. Jan. 18. Llanfalteg Bridge.11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22, Norchard Gate 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 25. Tenby .11 a.m. PEMBROKESHIRE. Thursday, Jan. 17, Denant .11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 21. Camrose .11 ;L.in. Thursday, Jan. 24, Letterstone .11 a.m. Tf*YSIDE. Thursday, Jan. 17. Eglwyawrw 10.45 a.m. YSTRAD. Friday, Jan. 18, Tontraethog .10 a.m.

MANUFACTURER, HORSFORTH, OFFERS I HIS OWN GOODS DIRECT from the LeOK at MILL PRICES, viz. Serges, Fancies, Cashmares, Bieges. Meltons, Mantle ClothA Patterns sent freepn application. Save all intermediate profit. Special Lot of Dress Meltons, all shades, at per yara.

WIRELESS TELEPHONES. French Inventor's Discovery. The "Morning Post" Correspondent at Paris records the discovery of wireless telephony. It is said to be due to M. Maiche, a French inventor of some renown. M. Emile Gautier, the scientist, witnessed the experim-ents on Sunday last in the Forest of St. Germain. The apparatus consisted of a transmitter put ill communication with the ground by means of a chain and of two iron posts which were set up at about one thousand yards dis- tance at any spot desired, but for preference on damp soil. The two posts were placed from 25 to 30 yards apart, and were conneoted by a wire. The pliable wire of an ordinary telephone receiver was attached to one of the posts, and the apparatus waa complete. With I its aid M. Gautier was able to hear his friend, whose voice was perfectly recognisable, count up to abundred with absolute distinctness. In, each case the sound had been transmitted beyond all question by the earth, which, with- out the aid of a conducting wire, seemed to act precisely as if such a wire had been laid down.

THE EXTERNAL" AFFAIRE." 1— The never-ending Dreyfus affair has induced the serious Figaro" (we are told by the Chronicle ") to offer a special joke, witui a moral. An elderly gentleman meets a con- temporary lady, and thus explain*:—" Do as I do. I never speak of the Dreyfus affair, and if I think of it I fine myself ten soura each time. I have already 8,000 franca in my special \a. '1ot.A.V t'i- I I

T icphwne: NaWena!, 582. Post-office, 99- Telegrams; "Express, Cardiff.

Cemments 4 and Criticisms. BY "COCHFARF." Thoso who are in sympathy with the move- ment for the teaching of Welsh history in our university colleges, and are within reach of the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire, will soon have an opportunity to take practical interest in the work, for arrangements have been made whereby Pro- fessor Little will give a course of six lectures on "Mediaeval Wales." The first lecture will be given on Wednesday next at eight p.m. in lecture room Nv. 12, at the back of Brighton House; and for the sake of strangers I may explain that Brighton House is about four doors up Newport-road from the main entrance to the college. The admission will be free, so even parsimonious patriots can attend without the troublesome necessity of paying for admission. On the authority of more competent persons than I am, I can say that Dr. Little ia about the most competent living authority upon that period of British history; therefore, exery student of history will find interest in this course of lecture. The worde of Mr. T. Hurry Riches, C.E., at the last meeting of the Cardiff Technical Ii struotion Committee on the aims of technfbal instruction were weighty and timely, and I know no one better fitted to deal with the question than Mr. Riches, for he carries very little nonsense with him; therefore, I need not hesitate in telling those of the public who do not know that Mr. Riches has worked steadily from the work-bench up to the responsible position of locomotive superintendent of the Taff Vale Railway. Grave disappointment must follow those who are satisfied with the practical knowledge of trades gained at technical classes, for it is certain that unlearning of unworkmanlike methods will be very com- mon. and will be of an unpleasant character to those who acquire them. I have worked many years at a. trade, and the great need I felt during my apprentice- ship days, and during the period known to most craftsmen -as "improver" period, was a means of learning the "why and wherefore" of my trade—how to calculate how many "risers of certain width would be required for a staircase of one pitch, and how many more or less "risers" of the same width would be required for another pitch, and how to mark out the necessary wood so as to cause the least possible waste in cutting it. This is an illustration that will appeal to every workshop habitue; but let the novice go to ths ollhand who has handled saws, and planes, and mortice chisels, and mitre blocks, and pairing chisele, and rip saws, and tenon saws. and cross-cut saws for twenty or 30 years to know hew to make a correct mitre joint with the first cut of the saw, and to cut a tenon without leaving a broken edge, or a shoulder without trespassing on the cut" line. ]>uring the many discussions I have taken part in relating to the Sloyd system in schools I have strenuouely advocated the appointment of artisan teachers for similar reasons. This system may be called an eye and and hand training," and not necessarily a preliminary to learning a trade, but even if this is tbe only aim of Sloyd teaching it is desirable that a good, firm joint should be made, and not a tenon that will rattle in the iportice like a dry kernel in a nutshell, as I have seen in specimens proudly shown to members of com- mittee.s where the teaching is by a non-artisan teacher. It nust be remembered, however, that Mr. D. E. JomM, her Majesty's inspector of tech- nical instruction, had met the Cardiff Com- mittee at the latter's invitation, and let me undeceive tbofM who may think that Mr. Jones is given to talking with- out tihe book. It is unfortunate that Mr. Riches and others- who think with him (myself included) were not present at the meeting he attended, for I know Mr. Jones, and he can be relied upon to give a good reason for his views. Therefore, another meeting should be arranged, so that this important question can be thoroughly thrashed out. The Rev. C. M. Sheldon will have a crop of exceptional experiences by and bye, and if he helps in the slightest degree to solve the ser- vant girl problem he will deserve well of his generation. He expresses the opinion that Corinne the cook and Mary the maid should be regarded as daughters by the mistress, and Fritz and Pat as chums of the master. Some will say that this new -tentury, of which so many extraordinary things were prophesied, is developing rapid symptoms of universal insanity, and among experimenting ministers in particular. But, on reflection, is Mr. Sheldon very much in error? Has not the best service to em- ployers been rendered by employes who were treated, perhaps unconsciously, with snacks of confidence not exceeded between the most inti- mate friends? But Mr. Sheldon's views prove that he is < nly a theorist in this matter. Vieita by servants to drawing-room functions would often disconcert them to sufeh a degree as to make an intended kindness a very pain, ful ordeal, but if the masters and mistresses descended (?)—(well, yes, that is the word best understood)—to the servants' hall (where there are servants' halls, or, where there are none, to the servants' kitchen-pariour-scullery), they would discover the narrow limits withini which they—the servants—have to seek their diversions, their pleasures, their self-improve- ment. Then, it would add to some mistreasea' expe- riences, and possibly tend towards more con- siderate treatment of their underground slaves if. after a "great" social night.^when the servant or servants would have to labour a few hours to clear the remnants of the fes- tivities after their superiors had sought their downy beds, the mistress relieved them to the extent of permitting them an additional hour's rest the next morning, and undertook the duty of 'getting the lord and master of the household his breakfast in time for him to get to his office or ilhop This is social treason, but let those who oomplain of bad servants ponder over. these things well. More humane treatment of servants will not bring the Millennium, but it will secure better ser- vice from our domestics and as much happi- ness to those who exercise it as to those who receive it. __I The Newport magistrates were troubled yes- terday with tho puzzto as to whether a. defen- dant was drunk at a given tims and place. A landlady of some experience once told me that the had certain cuotomors whose drunken- ness commenced in their legs, and their brain would remain clear enough for some time after the earlier affliction, and so certain was this the case with these particular people that she never served them with intoxicants without first asking thiem to walk across the room aa a test of the state of their pedil extremities. But there are others whose first indication of haviilg had a "drop too much" is a. thickened speech and an indication of the invertebra- tion of tihe neck. Some olever people have a series of dialectical tests for this class of drunkards on the lines of the old phrase, "Burgess's fish sauce shop." The phrase that finds favour with some is "Shoes and eocks shock Susan," and with others, "The man whose sister was a thistle-shifter," and also the more commonly known Traly rural" said several times in succession. Verily, the man who drinks "strong waters" presents more extraordinary phenomena. than any other creature under the sun. The hand of death has robbed Wales of another of her loyal sons. But a short time ago Mr. W. Scott, of Haaelwood, Cardiff, raised- a. chorus of gratitude from his fellow-country- men through his very handsome gift of Welsh books and manuscripts to the Cardiff Public Library To-day the sad duty of chronicling his death falls to oi* lot, and/our dear country is much the poorer in consequence of it. His public qualities are well-known through the action I have referred to already, but his personality was a winning one in every respect, as can be testified by those who were favoured with his private friendship. He bore a. painful illneea bravely for many weeks, for he knew that death had marked him for its own. Outwardly, ho was a picture 01 fine manhood, but a local complaint had troubled him for some time, and I record here a brief but moet sincere tribute to his excep- tionally good qualities. My memory of him will be always very sweet.

INQUEST ON THE CHILD ADJOURNED. Search for the Lodger. The inquest on the child. Evelina Christo- phersen, aged six, who was foully murdered at Liverpool on Tuesday night, wa.s opened to-day, and, after formal evidence, adjourned for a fortnight. The hunt for Bennett, who lodged with the child's mother, and is suspected of having com- mitted the crime, is being continued with ur abated vigour, but up to noon to-day with- out success. He is believed to be hiding in the city, and the whole dectective force is engaged in trying to find a clue.

ITALIAN DOCTOR CHARGED With Supplying- Drugs. Salvator Palombi, a. chemist, was charged on remand at Richmond to-day with supply- ing a domestic servant, named Florence Jones, with drugs to effect an unlawful purpose. The young woman was again too unwell to appear. Medical evidence was given to show the harmful nature of the contents of the bottle which, it was alleged, prisoner had given the girl, and evidence was given that certain white coated pills of harmful nature were found among prisoner's baggage. After further evidence as to implements found among prisoner's baggage, the case was again adjourned. It is expected that the young woman Florence Jones will be able to attend next week.

INTENDED FOR VENUS. Mr. Tesla intercepts Martian Love Message. The worst of trying to grapple with stu- pendous matters which are really far and away beyond the concern of practical humanity is that you may in your igno- rance get yourself and others into no end of a. bother. That is just what Mr. Tesla is very likely to have done in his recent copying down of a message senjk through space by the planet Mars. The message, says a satirioaJ writer in the "Sketch," was not meant for OIIJ. "It was in. tended for Venus. It is for the 'eternal feminine'—for the Venusdans, that Mars is playing this game. Assuredly some day will Mars call for a reckoning with us for our breach of planeting etiquette." The whole idea. is, of course, Shouted by steady-going English scientists; but all the best news from the planets comes from America', and Mr. Tesla's name certainly carries weight. This consideration makes one tremble a.t the thought that he may actually have recorded a message which, of course, was not intended for us. How can we explain to the Martians that it was not us; that their wrath must be visited on, America—and Tesla?

BAStES IN'BOXES. I In a pamphlet published by Meafcrs. Andrews and Co.. "Glannost" seeks to lay before the thinking public the under side of life, and urges the necessity of general housing improve. ment before "the axe, by the fatal stroke ot time, is laid at the root of the tree that main- tains England's greatness." With truth, "Glarinoet" urges:—" Man waft born to inherit life—not mere existence. How often do we see in the police reports, 'No fixed home ? Our masses are not beer-bibbers by instinct; civilisation haedri-ven them to drink. The housing of the poor is accountable for much misery; if it be improved all will be well. This question has always been looked upon as a trouble. When taken up in this way failure must be the result. Those who design model' dwellings do not understand the class for which they design, nor do they fit them- selves for the task before them. "Visit some of the poorer houses, and, laying half-a-crown piece on the table, ask the hoetess if she will make them some tea. "On one occasion on which I thus visited a home my hoetess donned her nnet and shawl, saying. I ha vet only enough tea. for ourselves (six in number1, but not enough for you.' "When I asked her how much she had she replied, Half an ounce, sir: showing me the tea in a broken cup taken fi win the mantel- shelf, with plenty of dust in it, and further remarking, Just look at my fifth; he is nearly asleep.' < "And looking at the spot indicated I found a. baby in a box by the side of an old coal- scuttle, with the bottom stand gone!"

ATTEMPT TO WRECK A TRAIN. The Central News says that an attempt. was made yesterday to wreck the 3.25 express from Liverpool-street to Walton and Clacton between Kirby and Trinton Stations. The engine of the express dashed into a block of wood which had been placed across the metals. For a hundred yards or so the wood was carried along the line in front of the engine, but then fell into the four-foot way. No damage was done.

HIS UST TOAST. "Here's to our sorrows!" remarked Ambrose Mitschke, a tradesman of West Hartlepool. to the landlady of nblic-house as he drank a glass of whisky. That was his last toast. A few hours later he was found to have been accidentally drowned.

LOST RING FOUND BY X-RAYS. i Whiltf making cakes a. Hampstead1 house- wife lost. a valuable ring in the paste, but did not discover her loss until the cakes were in the oven. She took the cakes to a photographer, who, by means of the Rontgen rays, accurately located the missing ring, which was then extracted.

FOOTBALL WITH A SKULL. Large pieces of cliff, including a portion of a curchyard, were recently washed away at Dunwich, Suffolk. One morning a gentleman was walking along the beach when he saw some boys playing football with a skull. The end of a. coffin is still protruding from the cliff.

TOO MANY CIGARETTES P Jacob Cook, a. Mile-ond bootmaker, 54 years of age, left home smoking a cigarette, after eating a hearty dinner, in the best of health on Tuesday morning, and fell down dead 1n the street. An inquest was held yesterday at the Stepney Coroner's Court. A juiror asked1 his brother if he smoked many cigarettes. He was told that he was rarely without one in his mouth. Dr. Franklin Hewitt said that death was due to syncope, from sudden failure of the heart's action. Constant cigarette-smoking was, cer- tainly, not beneficial. "Natural death" waa the verdict.

--=- _J- PROUD OF WORK IN PRIcONS. A housebreaker." Robert Palmer, who was accused at Sauthwark of theft from a drug comrpany's burnt-oüt premises at which'he was engaged to cart away rubbieli, told the magis- trate that he possessed spectable character. I can get a good reference from Holloway Prison, where I have been for two years, and I have also been at Newgate and Pentonville," he asserted. Do you suggest tha-t^you have been a resi- dent at those places?" the magistrate inquired. "Oh, no; I have been wúrkingre, I mean," replied PalmeT, who was fined 40s. for being in unlawful poeaession of gooda.

CLEVER BAD BOYS. Two hardy ruffians. Jonathan Mitchell, aged eleven, and William Gardener, fifteen, were charged at Slough yesterday with stealing sweetmeats from an automatic machine at Langley Station. The lads obtained a number cf condemsed milk tins, out of. which they oat discs. These they inserted in the slot, and obtained bars of chocolate. So successful were they that they obtained on January 9 twenty cakes of choco- late cream. The agent stated that in one week he found 92 of these discs. The lade were also charged JBth stealing a pot of treacle on the same dateW Mitchell was ordered- to receive six strokes with the birch, and) Gartiener was remanded.

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Ministerial Statement. IRISH MEMBERS DECLARE NO LIBERAL ALLIANCE EXISTS. Vote of Confidence Carried. ["EVENING EX PRESSES FECIAL.] [FROM BEHIND THE SPEAKERS CHAIR.] The anxiety which hon. members felt as to the fate of the former Deputy Lea-der of the Radical party was relieved by his re- appearance last evening. I was somewhat startled when I observed on takin,g my seat that the mantle of Mr. Speaker Bow-en had descended for the night upon the gentleman who hrd previously voiced the sentiments and feelings of militant and pro- gressive Radicalism. The last occasion when the right hon. gentle- man (Mr. A. Bertram) was "at home" to his Parliamentary duties was when he delivered himself of an eloquent discourse upon the enormity of Ministers holding directorships in public companies. It appears that since then he has been industriously pursuing investiga- tions at Somerset House, and has come back brimful of facts and figures, which he will shortly place before hon. members. He was gagged to-night by being put into the Chair, which he occupied with great satisfaction to all. Let us hope that his peripatetic feet will now cease to carry him. far from the environs of Cardiff Parliament. The debate on the Radical Ministerial state- ment was tame, and members were not sorry, when, without a division, it was declared to possess the confidence of the House. It is true that more than one Irish represen- tative was deeiroys of testing the feelings of our legislators on what they call the scanty consideration of the Govern- ment in dealing with matters per- taining to the distressful country across the water. On two occasions during PEMBROKE BOROUGHS. I the sitting a division was challenged, but without effect. The Deputy Speaker ruled firmly against such a proceeding. It wa.3 pointed out that precedent was a-gainst a divi- sion, but this only incensed the Hibernian -phalanx, who pretend to care little for prece- dents and much for fatherland. Indeed, one of them was so inconsistent aa to utilise his time allowance in saying agreeable things about the Govern me nit, and then, as soon its be had had his say, he coolly informed Minis- ters that he was going- to enter his protest against their treatment of Ireland by dividing the Houøe. He was not, however, allowed to do so. J?he pro-Boer who startled us on the previous night by his pibus declaration of horror against the war was not in his place to watch the interests of Mr. Kruger and Dr. Leyds. Like a meteor he flashed through the Parlia- mentary sky, momentarily illuminating our darkened minds and then disappearing as suddenly aahe came. Pro-Boerism had no champion last night- the Transvaal and Orange River belligerents are without their representatives. Burning -farma and all the other detestable practices of warfare will be carried on unless the hon. member, returns to his Parliimentary duties and keeps hie eagle eye on the Government. The first speaker was the A^Morn^y-General (Mr. Prott), who is one of the youngest mem- bers of t.he Administration, and certainly one of the ablest. Most of his speech was occupied by twitting honourable members opposite with their inconsistencies. The problem he had tried to solve was how could a Unionist be a Home Ruler? He ie still trying,to evolve an answer to the question. The Member for Limerick intervened in debate with his maiden speech. The only con- cessions given to Ireland in recent times, he declared, were—(1) the formation of the Irish Guards, (2) the painting of the halfpenny stamp green. He was very dissatisfied with the treatment of his country, both by the Liberals and the Conservatives. The Secretary for'Foreign Affairs spoke in defence of the Government. He was quite lively and good-humoured. In passing, let me say that for weeks past he has been working out the problem of how to ascertain the cubic capacity of mankind for drink. Earlier in the session he hsd got, so far as to form a. ready rule for recognising a. man who had taken either one ikink or three drinks. Here is his methods- One glass makes a person a Jingo, and he immediately proceeds to sing "Soldiers of the Queen." Three glasses make him an Imperialist, and he sings "God Save the Queen." The missing link is what do two glasses do? "He has promised that when he has dis- covered what-a dual glass does, he will at onoe inform the House." Last night he waded through the Ministerial statement, and preached to as the doctrines of Liberalism on each item contained therein. The right hon. gentleman is nothing if not dogmatic, but a winning smi!e trickled all over his coun- tenance as he proceeded through his speech- abasing those wicked toriee opposite. After him we had the member for Pem- broke Boroughs (Mr. Downs). When he first looked at t.he Radical programme he thought it was "bilious," but on looking more closely into it he owned up to changing his diagnosis of the affeotions from which it suffered. He contributed to the debate what might be called an adjectival speech. Cold, unsympa- thetic, unkind, derisive, contemptuous, abu- sive, angry, sorrowful, defiant, clerical, medi- cal, legal adjectives followed with lightning rapidity—with such speed, indeed, that one hon. member discovered no less than ten being borne into the world on one breath. So worn out was the member for Pembroke that when the bell rang he could only gasp ORt- "I envy the Government neither %heir em-oluments nor their offices." The Radicals snorted. It was the oaee of Mr. Reynard over again they thought. ^Then we settled down to listen to the mem- rer for West Bromwich (Mr. A. Thomas). He bus already made his mark upon the debates, and, in consequence, has been pro- moted to office. It is believed hottas devoted the rest of his young life to the* accomplish- ment of Home Rule for Ireland. The Member for Clielsea, (Mr. Snelling) blew bot,h hot and cold upon the Liberal proposals, and had there been a division it would have been hard to foresee in-to which lobby he would have gone. The Hon. Member for Bath worried himself about the Boers, and the Member for West Donegal busied himself with the affairs of Ire- land. With a speech from the Prime Minister, the motion of confidence in the Government was, put .and declared carried, the Irish members dissenting. Next Wednesday Electoral Reform will en- gage the attention of the House.

SNEAK THIEVES. A possible insurance fraud—only just observ,ed-is on railways like the Great Nor- thern, where insurance tickets arc not signed. A survivor in an accident, or a mere spectator, could search the dead and take his choice of the most valuable insurance. How often (asks the Daily Chronicle ") has this not happened? During a recent accident a pawenger seized a Bits" journal (carrying a heavy insurance) from another sitting opposite him, and pocketed it. Fortunately, all present were unhart-and nearly murdered the thief! In a south-eastern suburb lately a man was un- earthed making a comfortable income by insuring everywhere, and then getting run over by oyclifete, who generally supplemented his legitimate ealary with a sovereign as cowpen- sation. He was actually training two children to the business!

Not Particular. sf At last night's meeting of the Chelsea Borough Council Councillor Brass said: I lto hope we shall drop all this nonsense about this and Mr. 'Alderman' that.. Mi4er' is quite good enough for me." ————

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SALT CRAZt LEADS TO SCURVY. Lime Juice Called For. The salt craze (says a New York telegram to the "Daily Express") is ending in scurvy and various bodily' disorders. The American people are, certainly, the salt of the earth just now, for they have done everything but pickle themselves in brine since it was announced a few weeks ago that the lowly, cheap, and common condiment was a life saver, a life lengthener, and a rejuve- nator. The newspapers printed pages about the wonderful cures effected by salt, glycero-phos- phate of nodium, and similar chemical combi- nations which the public understood to be nothing more or less at the bottom than salt. Then Mr. Abram S. Hewitt, a former mayor of New York, declared that ten years had been taken from his age by a salt treatment in Paris, and this fairly launched the mania for the "elixir," which none were too poor to buy. In institutions for the aged the withered men women struggled for the salt cellars, while the aged and ailing everywhere used sodium chloride in quantities that would have stag- gered a buffalo bull at a salt lick. Many physicians gave warning that this excess of salt eating would have evil effects, and already there are numerous cases of scurvy reported. The watchword of the faddists to-day is lime- juice, and the apothecaries are working over- time filling prescriptions to cure scurvy and general debility brought on by the senselefs mania for dosing which has always been a characteristic of the American people, from the tinle Indian doctors began to sell medicine compounded of "roots and yarbs."

-1 GLAMORCAN RODS AND BRIDGES. Ely Bridge Difficulty. The surveyor to the Glamorgan County Council (Mr. T. LI. Edwards) reported to the roade and bridges committee to-day that the Aberavon Corporation had laid a, gas-pipe across the rivet"bridge near Margam, and that several irregularities had taken place in con- nection therewith. Proper notice had not been given, the arches of the bridge had been cut into, and the work had not. properly been re- covered.—It was decided that the corporation be called upon to remove the present filling on the pipes, and to substitute concrete, and generally to alter it to the satisfaction of the surveyor. Considerable discussion took place on the question of widening the Great Western Rail- way bridge at Ely. A plan was put in ehow- ing the alterations as sanctioned by Act of Parliament, whereby the road would be widenei to 50ft., the cost of which would be borne in equal proportions by the county council and the Cardiff Corporation. The Surveyor thought there was a. little "sharp practice" in the way in which the matter was carried out. It had been agreed that the plans would be arranged by the three engineers to the Cardiff Corporation, the Great Western Railway Company, and the coynty council. He, however, had heard nothing about the matter until that moment. He believed the whole matter before Parlia- ment waa misrepresented. The Clerk (Mr. FraiAlin) pointed out that by the present arrangement the county paid a share for the land in the borough. Nothing, however, could be done in the matter beyond writing to the Cardiff Corporation.

CHARGES AGAINST A CARDIFF PUBLICAN. Case Adjourned. To-day at Cardiff Police-court (before the Stipendiary, Mr. T. W. Lewis) Mr. M. P. Pearse, of Elliott's. Family Hotel, St. Mary-street. Car- diff, was summoned upon several informations for allowing his licenced premises to be the habitual resort of reputed unfortunates, and allowing th,m to remain there longer than necessary for the purpose ot obtaining reasonable refreshment. There was a further charge against defendant of being drunk on his licensed premises on January 4. Mr. Board (deputy town-clerk) appeared to prosecute.—Mr. Lewis Morgan, for the defence, applied for an adjournment. Defendant, he aid. was ill and, unfortunately, confined to the house, and he produced a medical certifi- cate.—Mr. Board raised no objection, and an adjournment was granted until "Wednesday.

ANOTHER WALKING MATCH AT CARtflFF. Another walking match has taken place at Cardiff. The aspiring ped." on this occasion was Mr. H. Duggan, a man over 40. He undertook to walk ten times around the Sophia Gardens track within the hour for a wager of £10. under "go-as-you-please" rules. During the walk he made a further bet that he would accomplish it within fifty minutes. This he did, with one minute to spare, or eleven minutes short of the hour. The total distance covered was five miles and 770 yard3. Mr. J. Manders was referee and timekeeper.

Cardiff District of Oddfellows. The annual meeting of this district took place at th^Oddfellow'a-hall, Charles-street, thia week, the Grand Master (Bro. F. Cadwell) presiding. Ail the lodges were represented., 45 delegates being pfesent. The sum paid for funeral claims amounted to JE126. Bro. T. Roberts, D.G.M., was elected as Grand Master for 1901; Bro. Evan Jones Prov. D.G.M.; Bros. T. W. Reamee and R. G. Gavin were elected book-examiners; Bro. J. Holloway was ejected auditor; andi Bros. H. J. David, T. W. Beames. and! J. S. Dewar elected to represent this district a.t the ensuing A.M.C. IÍt Norwich. Bro. J. Jenkins was elected relieving-officer. Charitable grants:—Infirmary, £15; Hama- dryad, JEZ 2s.; lifeboat, £2 2s.; Cardiff Jubilee Nurse Fund, Barry Nurse Institute, 1 Is.; deaf and dumb, JEl Is.

Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution^ Harvest and other Church collections which have been forwarded, to the Royal Agricul- tural Benevolent Institution between January 1 and December 31, 1900:-Llangor8e, Talgarth, R.S.O.; Talygarn, Llantrisant; Lisworney, Cowbridge; Llanmih angel, Cowbridge; Old Castle Parish Church, Pandy; Portfrkerry; and Prince's Gate Mission Chapel, Lampeter Vel. frey, Narberth.

Practical Judge and Commercial Traveller's Trousers. An amusing dialogue took place yesterday at Ipswich County-court between Judge Eardley Wilmot and Mr. R. H. Hill, a commercial traveller of York. Mr: Hill objected to paying for two suits of clothes supplied by a fashionable tailor, the latter being the plaintiff in the action. Defen. dant put the suits on. at the judge's request, and the first one, apparently, fitted very well. The judge, critically observing it,' gave his opinion that the cut was stylish and the fit glovelike. Defendant: It's not the coat so much as the trousers. Judge: What's the matter with them? Defendant (looking bashfully at some ladies); There's no room to sit down. (Laughter.) Judge: I'm afraid you are unreasonable. Can't the seam be let out? Tailor: Certainly, air. Judgment for the amount claimed'. Pre- sumably the seam will be let out, and ull will be well.

Discoveries in the Forum. Rome, Thursday.—Further excavations in the Forum reveal the fact that the Christian Basilica recently unearthed on the Palatine was the residence of the Popes in the eighth century. The following description ha& been dis- covered: "Johonnes VII., Servus Dei." John VII. was Pope from 705 to 708 A.D.— Central News.

SERIOUS SITUATION. New York, Thursday.—The "Sun" says that the State Department has received private, but trustworthy, sCdvices from Venezuela to the effect that the seizures of the two stetamers of the Orinoco Company are intended to be used against the Asphalt Concessionaires, and that the Government will attempt to get posses- sion of the company's arms on the pretence of using them against the revolutionists, as Venezuela has been informed that the forcible dispossession of the concessionaires cannot ba tolerated. The seizures are a direct d-efiance to the United States, and hostilities are re- garded as possible. It has been ascertained that, while the steamers seized were of British register, they sailed under the Venezuelan The United States has informed Vene- zuela that the rights of the American owners of the steamers must be respected. Nothing is known here as to the probable action of Great Britain. Thursday, Later. The warship Scorpion has been ordered to La Guayra. The Scorpion has instructions to land Marines if necessary.—Central News.

SENSATIONAL SOUTH AFRICAN STORY. Settled out of Court. A correspondent of the "Snn" understands that a sel1,sationa.1 divorce case is to be with- drawn, terms of settlement having been arrived at by the parties. The petitioner in this case was an officer serving in South Africa. His wife had accompanied him, and it is alleged that the misconduct took place in South Africa with a rich young officer of position. It is said that £30,000 damages were to be asked. It was not intended to offer any defence, and it had been arranged that the suit should not come on for hearing until after the marriage of the co-respondent, who is engaged to a charming J'oang lady. Another arrangement has now been arrived at (says the correspondent), whereby the husband has consented to a separation without going into court, and is to receive a very large jsum as compensation.

BRIDE .£1 A POUND. The story of an amusing episode is sent us by a correspondent in Huntington, Connec- ticut, U.S.A. Six years ago the father of X particularly plump young lady jokingly remarked that lie, would give a couple of hundred pounds to the man who married his daughter. She then weighed s. Being ffnly eighteen and still growing, it appears that the local inhabitants considered the risk to be disproportionate to the premium offered. As this small family ircrease-l in weight to 28Jst.—or 4001b., to be exact—the father grew anxious and increased his bonus propor- tionately, to £400. This offer has been accepted, Mid Miss M. A. Plumb is now Mrs. Harang. Our correspondent concludes with the infor-i toation that the husband is of small though athletic build."

i- „ = LORD SPENCER'S MISSING GARTER. Since Lord Roberts was made a Knight of the Garter several incidents have been told of wearers of that distinguished order. The "Agricultural World" prints an amusing anec- dote told by Sir William Harcourt, who thus relates what once befel a Cabinet colleague privileged to wear the Garter: —" I was dining one evening at Marlborough House. Lord Spencer, who was one of the guests, had for- gotten to put on his Garter. The Prince is very particular about such things, and a, ser- vant waa despatched for it. The Garter arrived in the middle of dinner. I and one or two others managed to form a sort of entourage' around Lord Spencer to shield him from observation while he was putting it on. We were successful. Lord Spencer then told me that this was not the first time his memory (or his servant) had served him such a trick. Once befcre, when he was the guest of Royalty, he had come without it. Lord Gran- ville's house not being far away, he sent his servant to borrow Lord Granville's GartJr. But Lord Spencer's servant happened to be very friendly with Lord Salisbury's servant, and borrowed the Prime Minister's Garter instead." The matter was afterwards a sub- ject of pleasant, joking between the Tory marquess and the Liberal earl.

WRITING ON THE WALL. The Battersea Coroner s Court, which is in a dilapidated state, yesterday drew a protest from the jurymen serving on some inquests. They complained' that the wall against which they were sitting was wet. The coroner said he had over and over again asked the sur- veyor to have that part of the wall covered with wood, but all to no purpose. It was per- fectly disgraceful, but now that they had got a municipal council fie was hoping for some- thing better. Several of the jurymen also complained that they were shivering. The present court, by reason of its proximity to the vestry-yard and a steam chaff-cutting machine, has Jong been unsuitable for its pur- pose. Several strips at paper /which cover ominous cracks in the wall bear the following ilIlScrIption ;"A Braxton Hicks, his sign." The coroner says that when the paper splits he is going to "clear out."

PREFERRED THE SIFTER. A Hornsey woman yesterday obtained a war- rant for the arrest of her husband. He had, she said, eloped with her sister, and taken one of the three children with him. The sister was twenty-four, and her attrac- tion for the husband had, it seemed, been the cause of discord in the family for some time. Before disappearing the man drew JE160 from the bank, and left his wife penniless.

AN 181b. TOOTH. Away in far Alaska, where .the Klondyke gold comes from, there are other treasures of more scientific, though less intrinsic, value than the glittering yellow metal. Such a treasure (says "Scientific Sittings") is the tooth of a mammoth, an extinct animal of the ele- phaint species, which inhabited the polar regions, perhaps, 1,000,000 years ago, when that was a tropical country. The tooth weighs about 181b., anbeIonged to a<n animal from 16ft. to 20ft. tall and large in proportion. The tooth waa found at 64deg. latitude in one of the tributaries of the Sulphor River, a region famous for its gold deposits.

POLICEMEN ON SKATES. After the cycling and diving policemen it ia- noW the turn of the policeman on skates. The Grand Canal at Versailles has (wires a press correspondent) proved such an irresistible temptation, to skaters tnat, in order to keep them off until the ice ds safe, the prefect cf Seine-et-Oise 'has equipped a brigade of "agents-patineurs," whose duty it is to chase offenders off the prohibited sections of the canal.

WHY THE CAT JUMPED. A lady who lives in India was in bed, ill and alone, when she saw a large cobra fixing its eyes upon her. She was paralysed with fear, and thought her last hour had come. In t.he room was a large blue-eyed white Persian oat, which, on seeing the snake, jumped upon the mantelshelf, not, as his mistress at first thought, to escape from the snake, but to get an advantage over it, for he immediately flew at the back of the snake's neck. and. futen- ing on with teeth and claws, succeeded fsays a lady's paper) in killing it!

Nightshirts Won by One. A motion to provide the children in the Cockermouth Workhouse with nightshirts has provoked a heated discussion among the guar- dians. Mr. Ross contended that nightshirts were a nuisance, and urged the provision of pyjamas, a suggestion which drew from Mr. Briggs the severe observation that the cnildren should be glad if they got dayshirts, let alone night- ebJirt. By the narrow majority of nineteen to eigh- teen, tne nightshirt party eventually won the day. I

Four a Penny, Bananas. A box of bananas, which was seized on a stall in Lavender-hill, was destroyed yesterday by order of the South-western magistrate. The bananas were unfit for food, and they were being sold at four a penny.

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By the Way. A horse eats nine times its weight in food ia a year, a sheep six times. Egypt exported last year 65,000 tons of sugar, 55,300 tons of which went to America. Oxford is the greatest university in tha world. It has 21 colleges and are halls. A new name for voting machines has been invented. They are now called votoraeters. If the world be divided into land and water hemispheres, London is the centre of the land, New Zealand of the water. The Sydney lighthouse has the most power- ful light of any. It is electric and of 180,000 candle power. It can be seen for 50 miles. Ceylon is setting its house in order against the arrival of the plague. In the past year in Colombo tho municipality has had 60,000 rats killed. Artificial silks are made of wood fibre, dis- solved to a glue-like consistency by acids, forced through holes in glass, and drawn out into threads. The two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of the Prussian Kingdom, which occurs to-day, will be observed with great festivities through- out the Kingdom. < A Mexican newspaper declares that when Mexicans vftlt the United States in winter they suffer more from the overheated houses than from the cold outside. The Baptist connexion (Welsh and English) in the Neath district have refused to join the Free Churches in the simultaneous mission. and have decided to hold a mission on their own. A Cleveland inventor has been granted a patent for a novel hill-climbing device for automobiles, which automatically lowers the gear of the vehicle according to the steepness of the incline to be mounted. In a recent lecture Dr. Hofthauer claimed that the age of fishes can be told by their scales. These show under the microscope stripea similar to the bands in the crosscut of a tree, which indicate the age of the fish. A number of orders for printing presses have been sent to the United States from Mexico recently. And, apropos of this fact, the first printing press of the Amerioan Con- tinent was set up in Mexico City. An old record has been unearthed in Ulster County, New York, in which a consistory of Dutch clergymen way back in 1667 set forth their "supplication" to the civil authority to suppress kissing games and a popular pastime known as "pulling the goose." Kissing games remain. The system of rating on the unimproved land values seems to be growing in favour with the local authorities of New Zealand. Hitherto the land and improvements have been equally liable tp be taxed for local purposes, but a recent Act of Parliament made it optional with boroughs whether they would continue the old system or adopt the method of taxing the unimproved values only. » The Paris "Temps" states that Mr. William C. Whitner has just bought of Mr. Hermann Schaus, the great New York picture-dealer, for £25.000, a full-length portrait of William de Villiers, Viscount Gandison, by Van Dk. which was in the Antwerp Exhibition last year. The price is the highest ever paid for a por- trait by an American collector. Mr. Sclj&us is said to have paid either £10,000 or £12.000 for it to Mr. Jakob Herzog, of Vienna. One Sunday (writes a correspondent) I called at a cottage in the south of Midlothian and requested a measure of milk, which was promptly handed to me. I offered the woman who attended to my wants a few coppers, but she curtly responded, I canna tak siller on a Sawbath!" I thanked her, and was turning away, when she whispered, "Mon, ye can drap the bawbees in that tub wi; the graith (soap- suds) in't. I'll get them oot the morn!" The courthouse at Odel, Indiana, which was erected in 1858, is soon to be demolished. and the residents of that place are very much interested in the tearing down of the structure, because a gallon of rye whisky waa placed in the corner stone when the foundations were laid. The whisky was sealed up and deposited there by "Uncle" Billy Smith, who, according to a, local paper, has determined that if there shall prove to be but one drink left he will have it. The engagement of Mr. Charles Yaughan, a. nephew of the cardinal, was duly announced some weeks' ago. Tho day of his wedding was fixed, as wril -is the place for the ceremony. The church was. in feet, visited on the day in question by a crowd of persons who did not know, what was, indeed, the fact, that the engagement had been broken off two days before. The heir of Crurtfield, the Vaughan property in Herefordshire, is once again un- engaged, and free, therefore, to follow his two brothers, if ho so mind. into the celibate ranki of the Roman priesthood. The Quean's buoyancy and cheerfulness at all times are remarkable (writes one who may be supposed to know in a popular journal), and this has beea no small factor in the prolon- gation of her life. There are two other fac- tors which have much to do with her Majesty's health. One is the strict regularity of her habits, and the other is her abstemious iroda of living. She does not dine from many courses of highly-seasoned dishes prepared with the utmost elaboration of the most skilful chef, nor refresh herself with tumblers of the richest wines. Good, honest English beef is her favourite and staple article of diet, and a little simple whisky and water her stimulant. The men who first recognised the possibili- ties of the sheep industry in Southern Pata- gonia have made colossal fortunes, and their only difficulty is to obtain reliable assistants. Most of the shepherds are Scotsmen, but quite a considerable number are ex-sailors, who have given up the sea to follow a more profitable occupation ashore. Dr. Cook, the surgeon anthropologist of the Belgian Antarctic Expe- dition, says that the man who chooses Pata- gonia. for a home must be content to dis- pense with many comforts which are regarded as necessaries in more civilised countries, but for those who have a natural love for the free life of the pampas Patagonia offers many attractions. Curiously enough, while sheep farming is the occupation of the rich and the well-to-do, gold mining is the occupation of the poorer classes. This is accounted for by the fact that the only implements required are a shovel and a pan, so that the thrift- less and the reckless members of the commu- nity naturally drift into an occupation which offers them a comparatively easy life, with the element of gambling furnished by the pos- sibility of striking a particularly rich "find." It is very amusing (says a contemporary) to watch the efforts of the "Daily News" to obey the word of command. "Right about face!" To- df. y it plucks up courage to print a leaderette on the Dutch deputation coming to England frcm Cape Colony, in which it endorses a. letter from "A Former Colonist" on the ante- cedents of the gentlemen forming "this influen- tial and important deputation." This corres- pondent has some slashing remarks to make about "our latter-day Rhodesian journalists," among whom, apparently, are to be reckoned the conductors of the "Daily News" itself up to a week ago. The chief reason given for accepting the "influential and important deputation" as being composed of men loyal to the British Empire is that in 1895 their loyalty was attested by an address which was signed by Mr. Rhodes and Dr. Rutherfoord Harris. Well, we are not members of the "Rhodesian Press," so we cannot accept tlid idea* of Mr. Rhodes's infallibility. He made more than one mistake in 1895, and possibly his belief in the loyalty of Mr. Hofmeyr may have been among them. Nor is it incon- ceivable that Mr. Hofmeyr may be a different mop now to what he was then. But VIle "Daily News" need mot fear that the deputa- tion will not obtain a hearing in this country. We shall all read their sentiments in ths "Daily News," and no one will propose ( L a.D then ehoot th-ezat J