The North Wales Express

)1 0 FROM "THE KEYSTONE STATE.This inter- 1 change of opinion took place recently at a public Jj *&eeting in one of the oleaginous towns of i "euasylvania. The Chairman: "The chair v,I dispute the point with Mr "Watson." Mr atson "The chair had better not, unless he takes his coat off." The chair did not. A gentleman dining at a fashionable hoteL where 8eivants were few and far between," despatched lad among them for a cut of beef. After a long ji^ae the lad returned, and placing it before the *aiut and'hungry gentleman, was asked, Are £ °u the lad who took away my plate for this beef ?" os, sir." "Bless me," resumed the hungry '< how you have grown An old lady who was wont to sit near the door a certain church recently went, says a con tempo- rary, to the vicar, and asked leave to take a more Prorament sitting. "Why?" he asked. "The fact of the matter is," she replied, "your curates Preach such rubbish that by the time it gets down tome it's worth nothing at all." Women should understand that no beauty has aily charms but the inward one of the mind, and a gracefulness in the manners is much more enRaging than that of their persons that meek- nes" aud modesty are the true and lasting orna- ^eiits. These only are charms that render wives aQiiable. and give them the best title to our respect. THE SINGING QXADIULLE.—Victim Sing—aw— ll\lrsewy wymes ? Good gwacious! What is a ^fsewy wyme ? Can't you suggest something tPli^opwiate ?" First Partner (with emphasis): Y es—' Goosey, goosey.' Second Partner (more ^hphatically) Gander." (The victim has a notion that somehow there is something per- sonal somewhere). Yankees are universally allowed to be enex- celled in aeking questions but unite Irish loqua- City with Yankee inquisitiveness, and the cup is tuli. A girl of Irish decent, but reared in Ver- mont, was rebuked by the lady with whom she was living for her interminable propensity to ask Questions. Closing the rebuke, the lady remarked, 1: ou beat the Jews at asking questions." True to her nature, the girl rejoined, "Do the Jews ask many questions?" An incident mentioned by Dean Ramsay exhi- bits the familiar bearing of the older class of the ministers in the pulpit. A young man, sitting opposite to the clergyman, in the front of the gallery, had been up late an the previous night, and had studied the pack of cards with which he had been occupied into his coat pocket. Forget- ting the circumstance, he pulled out his handker- chief, and the cards flew about the church. The minister looked at him,,and remarked, Eh, man, Your psalm buik has been ill bund." A CHEERFUL WOMAN.—What a blessing to the household is a merry, cheerful woman—one whose spirits are not affected by wet days and little dis- appointments, and whose milk of human kindness does not sour in the sunshine of human prosperity. An old Scotchman, on marrying a very young Wife, was rallied by his friends on the inequality of their ages. "She will be near me," he replied, "toelose my een." "Weel," remarked another of the party, "I've had twa wives, and they opened my cen & Professor (describing ancient Greek theatre): And it had no roof." Junior (sure that he has caught the professor in a mistake): What did they do, sir, when it rained?" Professor (taking off his glasses and pausing for a moment): They got wet, sir." At dinner the host introduces to the favourable notice of the company a splendid truffied pheasant, amid murmurs of admiration. "Isn't it a beauty?" he says. "Dr So-and-So gave it me-killed it himself." "Aw, what was he treating it for?" asked one of the guests. Before beginning the second psalm for the day, a Glasgow minister reached down into his pocket and took a pinch «f snuff. Even yet he cannot understand what there was in the first verse of the psalm to make the congregation laugh when he read My soul cleaveth to the dust." Baby has begun to learn sacred history, and begs her papa to ask her questions, j ust to see how wise she is. "Well," said papa, "can you tell me who Adam was?" "The father of all men." Good. And who was Eve?" After a moment's reflection: The mother of all women." -6

Tile crops have been ripening rapidly under the brilliant summer sunshine. A continuance of such weather will go far to repair the injury caused by the prolonged floods in May. Wheat-cutting may be expected to commence next week in the early districts, provided the weather is seasonable, with a fair remunerative yield. Barley does not pro- mise well. The fields present a bleached and un- healthy appearance. Agricultural reports from Scotland are couched in the most satisfactory terms, barley and oats having vastly improved, while turnips appear to have thriven on even the poorest soils. Potatoes, too, are generally good, except in Ireland, where disease has made sad in- roads on what promised to be a heavy crop. In short, a week of true summer weather has exercised a most beneficial effect upon the condition of all crops. Still, as far as cereals are concerned, there appears good reason to doubt whether the yield on thrashing will reveal more than an average weight of gram, although the prospect of a fair outcome ^scarcely gainsaid. As usual at this season of the j ear, with harvest close upon us, the coun- try markets and Mark-lane also have been scantily supplied.—Mark-lane Express.

WHO GAVE US PEACE? An interesting disclosure is made in the Army and Navy Gazette, that it was the assassin's arm which saved Europe from the tremendous war; it was Nobiling's crime which gave peace to the world." It is certain, says our contemporary, that when we were all pining and singing our flashy songs of joy and uttering our cries of Peace is assured," the country was all but at war with Russia. After all had been said and done, escape from war seemed so hopeless, ne- gotiation so impossible, that Lord Beaconsfield had actually given directions for his departure from Berlin, with the result of instant war. Then it was that Prince Bismarck made his supreme effort to secure Germany from the danger which if war should ensue threatened her in the outlet of furious passion and politieal hate, and appealed to the Russian Plenipotentiaries to avert the catastrophe. He had heard of Lord Beacons- field's resolve, and he had resolved that peace must be the result of the Berlin Congress. And he prevailed.

I MAP OF CYPRUS < I- MAP OF COUNTRIES SURROUNDING CYPRUS.

AN IMPEACHMENT OF THE PREMIER. A meeting of Foreign Affairs Committees, hl- eluding delegates from all parts of Yorkshire, wps held on Sunday afternoon, at Keighley, when the following resolution was unanimously passed :— That this conference petitions the House of Commons to exhibit articles of impeachment against Lord Beaconsfield for his treasonable con- nivance with Russia, by which, in violation of the law of nations and faith of treaties, he is making Great Britain an accomplice with Russia, not only in her conspiracy for the partition of the Ottoman empire, but also in the division of its spoils amongst its perfidious allies." Articles of im- peachment were adopted, in which it is declared that Lord Beaconsfield has obtained a grant of money from Parliament, under the false pretence of protecting the Ottoman empire from Russian aggression; that, under the same false pretence, he advised her Majesty to call out the reserve forces; that he has made a private arrangement with a power which he pretended to treat as an enemy, a line of conduct which is particularly in- sulting to France; and that he has advised the Queen to conclude a convention the occupation of Cyprus, which commits England to the dis- honesty of sharing in the spoil of the Ottoman empire.

A Danbury boy asked his father the other day what was a philosopher. "A philosopher, my son ? Why, a philosopher is a man who reasons." Is that so?" said the boy dejectedly "I thought it was a man that didn't let things bother him." The father silently patted his son's head. |

SERIOUS STABBING AFFRAY AT PENARTH. At the Penaith Petty-sessions on Monday, before Mr. R. F. L. Jenner, two German sailors, belong- ing to the Voorlichter, lying in the Penarth Dock, named Bemhald Lehukuhl, and Peter Eberhard, were charged with stabbing and wounding an English sailor, named Joseph Newman. The com- plainant, who was still very weak, said he was an able seaman, and belonged to the barque Kelso. On the 14th instant, about half-past 10 o'clock at night, he was returning to his ship in the Penarth Dock. He saw the two prisoners, with the mate of another vessel, standing near the shooting gallery. The ship's mate said "that's him." Witness moved away, and on turning round saw the prisoners coming towards him. Lehukuhl spoke to him something in Duch, which he did not understand. Lehukuhl then seized hold of him by the neck, and Eberhard took him by the feet, and they then threw him over the fence. He rolled to the bottom of the slope. Both followed him, and Lehukuhl kicked him as he was rolling down the embankment. He was stopped at the bottom by a lailway waggon. He then saw Lehukuhl come towards him with a knife in his hand. Witness put up his hand to avoid the blow which Lehukuhl aitned at him, and the blade of the knife passed through his hand. He cried out "Murder," and Eberhard came up and stabbed Vim on the left shoulder, in the neck, and on the left brest. They then went away and threw stones at him. He was afterwards carried to his ship by a night watchman at the Dock and a sailor. It was a bright moonlight night, and he was quite certain that the two prisoners were the men who had stabbed him. There was no quarrel between them. He had not spoken to the prisoners, and he was quite sober at the time. Thomas Unwain, a youth, 17 years of age, who was standing by the shooting gallery at the time the men came up, gave corroborative evidence. He saw both the prisoners throw the seaman over. the fence. He heard screams of murder, and afterwards saw Lehukuhl come up the embankment, with a knife in his hand, from which the blood was dropping, A young Woman, named Caroline Hunt, asked him what he had been doing, when he replied, I have killed an Englishman." Caroline Hunt also identified the prisoner. Mr R. F. Null, surgeon, described the wounds which the complainant had received. One below the shoulder was two and a half inches long, and an inch deep. The other wounds were slight. Complainant lost a great deal of blood, and was very weak when he saw him. The Wounds could have been caused by the knife produced, or by the dagger found by the police. Inspector Adams said he went on board the Voorlichter, on the night of the 14th. Had the crew brought before him. He took Lehukuhl into custody, and afterwards Eberhard. Newman identified them at once as the persons who had stabbed him. Prisoners made no defence beyond stating that all the truth had not been told. They were then committed for trial at the assizes.

THE" ODJ) t, LETTER.—A cockney inquired at the post office the other day for a letter for Enery Hogden." He was told there was none. Look 'ere," he replied a little angrily; you've hexamined a hodd letter for my name. It don't commence with a haitch; it begins with a ho. Look in the 'ole that's got the L- c';s.

FLINTSHIRE ASSIZES. On Monday last, these assizes were opened and concluded at Mold, before Lord Justice Bramwell, who arrived by road from Ruthin about half-past nine o'clock, and proceeded to the County Hall a little before eleven o'clock, accompanied by Lieut. Col. Trevor Roper (high sheriff), Mr G. Boydell (under sheriff), Chester; Mr Thomas T. Kelly (Messrs. Kelly and Keene, acting under sheriffs), and the Rev John Rowlands (vicar of Hope), sheriff's chaplain. In charging the grand jury, of which the Hon. George T. Kenyon, of Gredington, was foreman, his Lordship congratulated the northern portion of the Principality on the extraordinary absence of crime. Mr Crompton, the clerk of the assize, had told him that this was nothing unusual. It was a subject of congratulation, however, because it was not accidental or incidental. In Montgomery there was one prisoner who was acquitted; in Merioneth there were two prisoners for whom the Principality have not got to account because they were not Welshmen; at Carnarvon there was one prisoner who was very properly acquitted on account of insanity at Beaumaris there were four prisoners, three of whom were convicted-their offence was perjury; there were three offences at Ruthin- there were four prisoners, three of whom were convicted by one jury, but when the fourth was tried the jury gave such a verdict as showed that they would have acquitted the others if they had had the trying of them (laughter). And now they had one case and two prisoners for Flintshire. In the whole of the northern part of the Principality there had been fourteen prisoners, which was about what they might have expected in an orderly well-conducted small county in England. It was to his mind a most remarkable thing. He was not going to praise them at the expense of the Saxons, but our rural people behaved very well indeed. There was a smaller proportion of offences which came before the judges of assize in the northern part of the Principality than any country he was acquainted with. The judge then commented on the case which would come before the grand jury, which he said was one in which there was the gravest doubts as to the commission of the offence -one of rape against the prisoners. The grand jury having returned a true bill in the only case submitted to them, were discharged with thanks. ALLEGED RAPE NEAR BANGOR-IS-Y-COED.—A MISERABLE STORY. William Minshull and Francis Young, on bail, were indicted for ravishing Ann Davies at Welling- ton, on the 22nd of June. Mr Coxon appeared for the prosecution, and Mr Ignatius Williams de- fended. The Judge allowed Mr Williams, at the close of the evidence for the prosecution, to put it to the jury if there was any necessity to call wit- nesses to rebut such a miserable story," and they replied that they thought not, and immediately re- turned a verdict of not guilty, which the Judge told them he thought was quite right.

A minister in the North was taMng to task one of his hearers who was a. frequent absentee, and the accused defended himself on the plea of a dis- like to long sermons. "Deed man," said his reverend monitor, a little nettled at the insinu- ation, "if ye dinna mend, you may land yourself where ye'11 na be troubled wi' many sermons, either long or short." "Weel, aiblins (parhaps) sae," retorted John, "but it may be na for want t o' ministers." •

"Do you think, William," said Mrs Brown to her husband the other night, that the telephone will ever be as generally used as the telegraph?" Why, yes," replied Brown the time is coming when it will be as common to telephone as it seems ucvr to tell—a fib." t x

I LENBIGHSHIEE ASSIZES. Mr Baron Bramwell arrived in Ruthin on Thurs- d from Beaumaris, and was received by the High S riff (Mr James Goodrich) and the usual retinue. T :t.i trial of prisoners commenced this morning, t; bein +li,,eo on a charge of arson and two oil a c rg-. ;>e. .j foi, j, -ng gentlemen were sworn on the GRAND JURY Major Coinwallis West (foreman), Messrs. Thomas Hushes (YtircA), Towi:shcnd Mair waring Thomas FitzHugh. Samuel Pierre Hop", Thomas Jones Parry, Phillip IFJbry Chaiub. o; Mai T Birch, Colonel Xuyjo- LryVv!, IUO-S-K. i Richard Heaton, Pierce vv'ynne lonce, our Robert Cunliife, l\Ic^ iro. Robert George Johnson. Brooke Cunliffe, W. Douglas Griffith, JOIKI Carstairs Jones, John Fairfax Jesse, Sir William Grenville Williams, Messrs. William Low-?, Oliver Burton, Colonel Maurice Bonner. Captain Arthur Mesham, and Mr Edwaid Evans. In charging the Grand Jury, his Lordship said he had to congratulate them as he had in other counties upon the light statc of the calendar. At Newtown they had one prisoner; Dolgelley two, who were undoubtedly not Welshmen Carnarvon one prisoner, who was acquitted on the ground of insanity; at Beaumaris three prisoners, all con- victed and Denbighshire has tour. Therefore in all there were eleven prisoners in live counties, the smallness of the number being a very remarkable occurrence, and much he rejoiced at it. It was impossible to deal with the case in the calendar in which four prisoners were concerned without deal- ing with it altogether, as the circumstances were so mixed up. William Thomas, one of the prisoners charged, was in possession of a stack of hay, which he insured. He was charged with having pro- cured the other prisoners, Thomas Davies, Edward Davies, and John Matthews to set the stack on fire or to be instrumental in its being set on fire. It is said that the object was to defraud the Insur- ance Company with whom the stack was insured. In answer to this, William Thomas, the owner of the stack, says he was insured, but states that he had no motive in setting fire to the stack. It is also said that he caused the hay to be fired because he could not sell it, but it seemed to his Lordship a strange thing that a man should set fire to a stack because he could not sell it and because the price of hay was low, he would get no more from the in- surance than from the market. However, it was said that Thomas got these other prisoners to do it, and it was charged against them that they did it. His Lordship would deal with these three prisoners first. There was evidence in the way of confession from all of them. That they were parties to it two confessed they were present when it was done, and were principals in the matter in every sense, and the other man bought some paraffin to set fire to the hay. There was abundant evidence against all three on there o wu confession. With regard to Thomas, it is said that on the night of the fire he was drinking at a public-house with the other^ prisoners, and after they were taken into custody saw the wife of one of them and gave her f £ >me money, saying, "Has Jack any lawyer to defend him ?" Also adding, Tell him not to split." His Lordship thought these facts would be sufficient for a true bill against the whole four prisoners. If not against Thomas, it would be right to find one against the other three, and have a separate bill against Thomas, and if any of the other three thought fit to give evidence against Thomas, that one msst be acquitted. A bill would be set up against the whole four for conspiring to defraud the Scottish Commercial Insurance Company, Liverpool. His Lordship concluded by saying that with the same materials with which they would find true bill against the prisoners for arson, those materials would find a bill for conspiracy. STACKFIRING AT POX KEY. .Thomas Davies, Edward Davies, and John Matthews were charged with feloniously setting fire to a stack of hay belonging to William Thomas, and the lattei was charged with inciting th e,e men to burn his stack with intent to defraud the Scottish Insurance Company. The cases were taken separatly. Messrs Ignatius Williams and C. Williams, instructed by Mr Lewis, Wrexham, prosecuted, and the four prisoners were defended by Messrs Trevor Parkins and Alfred Coxon, instructed by Mr John Jones, Wrexham. Several jurymen were objected to by the prosecution. Sergeant Vaughan proved seeing two of the prisoners near the stack, and hearing one whistle shortly afterwards and saw the stack was ablaze. Matthews who coming rushing away but was captured. Each of the prisoners made confessions in which they admitted the offence and asserting that Thomas the owner employed them to set it on fire as he said he could not sell it and wanted to get the thing out of his sight." The Judge suggested that William Thomas ,,g should now be called, but it must be distinctly understood that Ro favour would be shown to him in consequence of his evidence. This was told to witness, who said he fully understood all about it. He was then sworn, and totally denied all that had beeu said about his connection with the three prisoners. He also said that the letter declining to ask for compensation was written the day after the men were up before the magistrates. Mr Parkins called a woman to prove that Thomas sent a message to one of the three prisoners not to split. Mr Parkins then argued that the prisoners ought to be discharged, as they merely acted as servants of Thomas, and had no guilty knowledge that fraud was being committed by burning the stack. Mr Williams, for the prosecution, urged the jury that the men must be convicted, either on the ground that they intended tt> injure Thomas by firing the stack, or, on the other hand, that they consented to help Thomas to defraud the insurance company by firing it. The Judge, charging the jury, said, there was no doubt Mathews and Edward Davies were guilty of firing the stack, and if they believed Thomas Davies bought the paraffin to enable the others to do it, he was accessory before the fact, but the question was did they know that fraud was con- templated? If no fraud was intended and Thomas did not want the stack burnt, why did he withdraw his claim from the Insurance Company, why did he not press his charge to clear his character from the insinuations made that he got the stack fired P The Judge severely criticised Thomas's evidence to-day as most astonishing. The Jury, after being absent twenty minutes, returned with the verdict of Guilty" against the three men, stating in reply to the Judgs that they believed the crime was committed at the instiga- tion of Thomas, the owner of the hay, for the pur- pose of fraud. Before delivering sentence, his Lordship decided to hear the case against Thomas for conspiracy to defraud the Insurance Company. A fresh jury, at the request of the prisoner's counsel, was em- panelled. The three prisoners were called up from the cells to give evidence against Thomas, and they all said that Thomas bribed them to fire the stack, but they were not aware of his motive, Thomas simply telling them that the people laughed at him be- cause the hay was spoilt by the rain. They were also to fire a neighbour's stack to avoid suspicion. The jury returned a verdict to the effect that the prisoner had no intention of defrauding the Company, and his Lordship said the result was that he could not punish the other men, as they only helped Thomas to do what he intended. The charge of conspiracy was therefore dismissed, but the judge warned all four not to do it again, as it was a hazardous game.

ANOTHER FATAL FIGHT.— AM the Ashton (War- wickshire) Police Court, Wednesday, Matthew Stephens, a striker, was remanded on a charge of causing the death of William Groubage, spade maker. On the 22nd ult. the men fought several rounds, Groubage eventually falling down, and exclaiming, "I'll give in; i'nldone now." He was found to be very dangerously injured in the abdomen. He lingered till Friday last, when he abdomen. He lingered till Friday last, when he died.

NARROW ESCAPE OF A CAPTAIN IN THE BRISTOL CHANNEL. -On Friday night the American ship Jamestown, Captain Kidder, left Penarth Dock in tow, bound for Rio Janeiro, and at the stern of the vessel was attached the yacht Red Rover, with Captain Guthrie, Mr M. Thompson, and one man on board. Having arrived about three miles west of the Holmes the ship dropped anchor, the captain was invited on board the yacht before parting, the small boat from the Rover fetching him. Having been en board and spent a little time there, he started to return to his ship, but owing to the strong tide then running, the boat was capsized, throwing the man and Captain Kidder into the sea. The man fortunately caught the boat, righted it, got in and floated down with the tide, and was picked up by a tug. The captain, how- ever, was in a most dangerous position. He had caught hold of the warp attaching the yacht to the vessel, and owing to the strong tide which was ebbing, he was placed in such a ]x>sition that neither the occupants of the yacht northe crew of the vessel knew how to help him. Just at the last moment the third mate of the Jamestown fastened a rope round himself and went to the captain's assistance, and a rope was thrown to him which he fastened round the captain's body, who was got on board after having been in the sea for some time, and was nearly exhausted.

A FRENCH TRAGEDY. An awful tragedy occurred on Wednesday, at the chateau of Grigney, near Lyons. The chateau is inhabited by Madame Revol, a lady of a certain age, who not long since got married to a painter of Lyons, named Grosbon. The union was contracted in Switzerland, but had not been recognised in France, and appears to have caused differences in the lady's family. Madame Revol had a son, named Alphonse, by her first marriage, and he resided at the chateau. In the afternoon, M. Grosbon, accompanied by two friends on a visit, went into the garden to gather some fruit. Alphonse Revol appeared a few minutes after with a gun, for the purpose, he said, of shooting some sparrows. Suddenly a shot was fired, and M. Grosbon fell dead on the spot. His friends tried to disarm the young man, but he resisted, and it was not till the police arrived that he gave up the weapon. On being asked why he resisted, he said he wanted to keep the gun to commit suicide. The event has caused the greatest sensation in the high life of Lyons, where the family was well known. Alphonse Revol is said to possess in his own right about JE3000 a year. His sister, who was married to M. de Bouteiller, mayor of Grigny, is at present confined in a maison de sant.

A PARLIAMENTARY SCANDAL The London correspondent of the Birmingham Post say:—A Committee of Honour, of which Lord Kensington is chairman, has been appointed to consider the case of the peccant member, to which J-fayfair to-night guardedly alludes, I think the strong probability is that the result of the investigation will be to create a vacancy in the representation of a North Wales constituency.