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A TRIPLE DIVORCE.
1 (Ctysv.O A TRIPLE DIVORCE. BY CHARLES STALTON. Author of "Bound or Free?" "A Fugitive I St.iry," kc. :'Eave I a lover Who is noble and free ? I would he were nobler Than to love mR." Philip Darnt.on had been n.arried seven years, when he suddenly found himself wishing he had known his'wiie. When he met with Clara l^hurst there was no love at first sight, nor *ny emotio-i excitod which made him feel difTerentlv to her than towards any other girl he had ever "met.. She hud 1,0 special clinrr.i about her. She ^as neither beautiful, nor clever, nor fascinating. She was simply one of live daughters, and these by their numbers kept their heme life gay and animated. TlleY had I;D brothers to correct them, or curb their extravagant conceits. Their self- consciousnrsF thev took to be .1 knowing smart- ness, and it ^rew to a luxurious indulgence. A brother's ruder kns'.wiucge and rough frank- less would have beea" as useful there as a Pruning-knife in a visierv. If human culture could be followed as scient ifically and effectually as horticulture, many useless and foolish growths Would not trouble the ways of men and women. Mr. and Mrs. Millhurst were proud and fond of their daughters. 1;sey supposed their giris wpre as clever as they assumed to be. Having ed a simple life tuemseives, with a smooth and prosperous bu.-i they flattered them- selves that their daughters were introducing a superior life into their home. One night, while the girls and their friendg were merry in the drawing-room, the father and Mother were in the large house-kitchen, where t ley usually sat. It had an ample ■fireplace, with twiukling and flashing in their brightness. Under the long window there stood! dresser, with it-s white tijicl* top IOOKIT g iike an -altar of cleanliness and plenty. It now laden with cakes and fruits on,glass dishes and glaes etauds.with silver knives and iork;, and gleaming glasses, and decanters of wirfl, ready to be taken into tne dining-room tor iigiit; ce refreshment. The walls were gleaming too,with! superannuated fireirons and modern metal dish-j cover*, intermingled with old brass snuffer-tiays, j and two covers of warming-pans, representing! the light and warmth ot other days. The kitcheni had a warm, shining look of plenty and comfort, and Mr. and Mrs. Millhurst sat here, as was their wont, with si lining faces too. They were always pleased with their daughters' friends, and with the hospitality and amusement which followed their visit". They never joined the company of visitors, and always went to bed early. •• \vell, well," Mrs. Millhurst was saying on this particular night, "'things are difierent now- adays, Why, when thou corned a-seeing me, David, I were nearlv always at my loom, tha David, I were nearlv always at my loom, tha knows. Thou'd a looked rare an 'stonished if thou had seen things like these." pointing to the dainties, "on our dresser." i< Aye, Sarah, an" 1 should ha' stared even more if I had seen thee dressed like our girls, in silk an' satin. I should fleved ha' bin out 0' my its, I think. But tha "knows a peony in April, is a peony in June. on'y it has growed flowers, the old man replied. "Well, thank Heaven," Mrs. Millhurst said, i we'n grown flowers too. sn' our girls are as fine a sort as any ar.ywheer." "Aye, lass, they are, an' I hope we shall be able to keep 'em clean an' sweet, the old man answered, looking deeply into the fire. answered, looking deeply into the fire. able to keep 'em clean an' sweet, the old man answered, looking deeply into the fire. "Nivver fear, David lad," the wife answered., "Our girls know how to behave theirsels ? Lookj What money we'n spent 011 their eddication an manners If thee me could go reet, knowin as little as we did, sorely they mun go reet,: knowin' so much m<>ie!" "Well, lass, my mother used to say it wiir; better to be good 'I:r wise," the husband said, still looking thoughtfully in the fire. "Aye. but it's et.er to be both wise an good, David. Thy mother lived, tha knows, I When girls didna cot such eddication as OUT* »ave <fone, an' thev didn't know it wur possible to be made both good an' wise at same time.; But tha knows our girls are both, an cliner tool" • j v The last words were proudly emphasised by, the mother, as if they carried more in >jer opinion than either wisdom or goodness. The C)!d man still looked in the fire, and stroked his chin and murmured something which his wife, did not catch. The Millhursts lived at Danely, a village^ about a mile from the little town of Branton.l Mr. Millhurst haJ kept a horse and phaeton for his own use in business, but as his daughters grew up another liaise and a dog-cart had to be provided. They liked to dash about the country, and the horse 'knew the speed they liked. Parties were frequently held at Danely House, a large old-fashioned, homely place. In the -distance were some well-wooded hills, and picnics were frequently held there in the summer and autumn. It was < urious to noticej that the Millhurst girls rarely invited other girl3 to join th^u; in these picnics who had no, brothers. If a young fellow, 011 the other hand, had no sisters, he was soon surrounded with, attentions which, at be least, flattered him. His loneliness w: r eon at once, and because ofl this condition an active sympathy soon brought him into company. It thus came ai that Philip Darnton was invited to Danely I louse. He had lived a quiet life with his parents as an only child. When hej was twenty-four vw.rs of they went to, reside near Danelv They were soou called upon, by two of the Mil!hur.ts"on behalf of their father! and mother, Clara Millhurst being one of the two. Philip was a phenomenon in the village, and he was soon made to icel that lie was a more important individual thai) I.• iiad ever dreamt he was. He had been parsing socially, before' this time, through a chrysalis sort of life, taking little heed of what was" going on about him, or with dim wonder looking thereon. But he was suddenly subjected to the social! sunshine with which the Millhurst girls sur- rounded him. This wa" a new, and even in spite of bis natural shyness, a pleasing experi- ence. He was developing a new consciousness, as if he had wings somewhere about him, and would scon be able to fly. The flattering atten- tions he received increased his buoyancy, and ouickened the coming vitality, as the mystic breath of spring quickens all things in life. Clara Millhurst was an exceptionally strong ray t iara mi ;re which was evolving the m this social ^'n? philip Darnton. Her new consciousness m but they attentions were kti constancy became were constant, and ti.nr <j p*nprienr.« «, of Clara saw this, and set ners ^articular Yet, so far, rhilip had shewn no particul« leaning towards any one of the Mi Millhurst and in this inchoate condition Clara >■ ■determined to try tier forming hand. meeting Philip at the parties at Danely WOU she frequently met. him, quite accidentally, on his way from business. In their picnic parties he would be led by her into some quiet pathway which separated them from the rest of the enmpmy. In the dancing parties at Danely House, Clara, without saving a to her sisters, got most of the occasions to oauce with him. Her domi- nance among her sisters was quietly acknow- ledged; all felt lie;- and submitted. These frequent asRocixti's ictu<en Philip Darnton r ana herself began to en-te a sore of unasserted claim in Clara's favour r Philip. He felt, too, a growing obligatii.n for her attentions, but he had never thoue'H'. even within himself, that they formed anv .-j .vial tie between them. One evening, in U e closing hour of a picnic party, Clara and Philip found themselves alone ID a small valley aim ng the rolls. The SUll was setting right, opposite the place where they stood, filling the skv with a tender loveliness of colour, and clothing the hills with an entrancing charn. Philip was keenly suscep- tible to such rare uuveilings of Nature's beauty. Clara stood looking tt the sunset as Philip did, and simply in imitation, as she saw him absorbed and silent. This attitude stirred a deep, glad response in Philip's soul. for he thought she too was entranced by the living, unspeakable loveli- ness before their eyes. Quite on the impulse of the moment, aft if some expression mu-t be given to the emotion the scene created. he put his leit hand on Clara's shoulder as she stood a little in front of him, and with his right hand was pointing to one particular blue lake in the western ssies, with amber shores. As soon as he touched her, she looked in the direction to which he pointed, and then partly turned to look at him. As her face was now near to his, and illumined by the sunset rays, her face seemed transfigured in the borrowed loveliness of the moment, and with passionate throb Philip embraced her. crying out: "Clara, my love, my love!" Their lips met in warm kisses and Clara lay against Philip's breast in assentiug silence. The vision which they had seen soon passed, and the loveliness turned to a leaden prey before they overtook the cempany strolling ?»omcward. Clara and Philip were now apart, in a self- conscious shyness. Philip felt a reaction passing through him, which he attributed to the chiller tir and darkening skiet. On his way home, the heavens suddenlyl, darkened to an angry scowl. Great drops of rain fell, and the wind began to roar. The rain nowi fell rapidly, the lightning flashed, the thunder I broke in sharp cracks as if enraged, and then roared away among the distant hills like a voice of despair. roared away among the distant hills like a voice of despair. When Philip Darnton got home, his father murmured, as if talking to himself: "Somebody might have done something wrong to-night. I have rarely heard such a sudden and fierce storm." Philip heard these words, and they rang; through his brain harshly; and in the reaction of his feeling he lay tossing restlessly all night on his bed. In a few months Philip and Clara were married. With all his misgivings he felt he;, could not withdraw from his pledge. From the! night he avowed his love Clara had been stren- uous in giving and exacting attentions, though she had veiled these r.s much as possible by a well-affected tenderness. They were frequently at parties at Danely House, lor though Clara had got captured the other sisters remained to be taken as well. Philip's interest, however, 'n these things soon began to wane, and he was more and more reluctant to go to these parties. He had been organist, and choirmaster too, for some months in the village church, and as his interest lessened in what he now deemed the social frivolities of Danely House it deepened in his devotion to his organ. He would spend hours in the long summer evenings in the church, playing favourite pieces until too late to read his score. Then, when he had filled his soul with the strains of the great masters whom he loved, he would let his thoughts and feelings flow out in extemporisation until only a few grey gleams of western light stole into the church. Rare were these moments, and exalted the rapture which filled his heart. Fre- quently he asked his wife to go with him to hear him play, and with such yearning solici- tude, but she only laughed at him and said: "I don't want to sit in the ghostly shadows of painted windows, and then go home with the bats flying about my ears. I would rather have light and fun, Philip. You go, if you prefer, to the church, and I will go up and see the girls, and the young fellows there." "The parting of the ways" in life is so insensible we see not at first whither it tends. Clara had not much insight, or she might have seen in his pained face a shadow on her path at once. But she saw only for the -moment the light and gaiety and freedom at Danely House, while there lay before her a path leading down to the tragic darkness of something worse than death. That flippant expression about "young fellows" smote Philip with a keen agony. This came not of jealousy, but from the preference of his wife for the society of others. He felt that his way must now be a lonely one, that in all for which he most longed, and which com- manded his loftiest aspirations, he must walk in solitude. Sometimes Philip would come back, from his organ with an ecstatic glow upon his face, but it soon passed away before the mocking raillery of his wife. She would make exultant com- parisons between what she had been enjoying with the girls "and the young fellows ana his mawkish proceedings. This raillery at times struck Philip as verging upon an unaccountable silliness. It was a new element of sinister omen which he durst not name. Sometimes, when he got home, he would find she had not returned. He would then patiently go to seek her. He always found, when he did go, that she was among the gayest of her sisters' company, and then, after she left, her dullness first and then her petulance would strike him painfully. He noticed, too, that Clara's sisters began to regard her with concern, and even to discourage the frequency of her visits. After they had been married three years, a baby was born, and it seemed for a time as rf this new tie would bring husband and wife in closely together. The relation of father and mother seemed to give a sweeter fulness to the relation of husband and wife. Philip Darnton loved his baby-girl with an ever-deepening love, and even his organ was only visited when the child was safely asleep for the night. He found growing within himself a new tenderness for hit wife. Her motherhood distilled a sacred charm upon his soul, for he always saw her through her child now. But after awhile this beautiful mood in his soul was stricken like Jonah's gourd. soul was stricken like Jonah's gourd. To his dismay he found, as his interest in the child increased, that of the mother de- creased. It seemed difficult to say whether this was the result of jealousy or the growing irksomeness of having to stay at home so much. To the husband it had seemed a paradise, but now he began to feel the chill presence of some tempter. Now and then his wife would fretfully compare her bondage with her sisters' freedom. She failed to realise her compensation in the new joy -of her motherhood. Her com, plaints about the monotony of her life led her, husband to urge her, though with a smitten heart, to go to Danely House for a change. This was accepted with a fierce, reckless joy, and this joy was exhibited to the dismay of all her friends. Her excitement at parties was now an element of concern. Philip's alarm at this deepened as the months; went on. After she returned home from these; parties she would rarely take any notice of her! child during the whole night. Philip shrankj from giving this excitement a name, and yet,! like a dumb agony in his heart, it was strug- gling for utterance. But he felt his silence a growing culpability which was strangling him. One day he returned from his business earlier than usual. It was a sunny afternoon, and the doors and windows of his house were wide open. He sat down in the shade of a tree naar an open window, and soon heard voices which attracted and absorbed him. The first words he heard were from Mrs. Millhurst, speaking to his wife in remonstrance and then in entreaty. "You know, Clara, this habit is growing upon you, and as it gets stronger your child! and your husband are less cared for, Yourl father and I have seen—aye, and it has made! our hearts ache. Father blames himself. He; says we've been too indulgent, and ought to' have known there was danger in letting the girls have what they liked, to be like other folks. He'll have no more wine in the house, he says, and the girls say the same. I cannot tell how you have formed such a habit." "No, mother," the daughter replied, "you cannot, because you cannot know the loneliness of my life. It is not the habit, as you call it, which has led me astray. I am afraid I have made a mistake; Philip is too good for me. I thought I could make him live as I wished him to live. I have got a kind husband, but not-no, the words shall never pass my lips. I am lonely in a way you can never know, and I only wish I was dead." How these words affected her mother Philip Darnton never knew. He fled from the garden and wandered over the hillsides until the even- ing shadows began to fall. He saw the aun set again, and it made him shudder as he thought of his former rapture and rashness as he had seen its setting. As he wandered he kept murmuring the words of his wife till his own murmurings seemed like mocking voices from the hills and the skies. Every time he thought of the words, they struck him like a blow on the brain. "What could it mean ? he asked himself, and the question brought an echo from his heart which called him. He seemed to hear in that «cho the utterance of the true inwardness of the reiation between himself and his wife. He saw nnw a trulf which no law could ever bridge, and Zt over that gulf he saw buoyed up, on radiant illal nf love the form of his child. Once he !had thought that child would make ^relation between himself and his wife real and holy but it was an illusion, now dispelled by those baleful words. The thought smote him un al he reeled under its burden, that in everything b t n con- ventional form they were divorced. He returned home late that night looking haggard, and his wife asked him it he was ill, land why he was so late. But the question was asked in a half-intelligent, maudlin lnditier- ence, which convinced him that while his wife saw him she had no present interest in him. That night, weary and heartsore, he gathered his child in a warm embrace. Be heard its every breath, and it came like a gentle music to soothe his overwrought nerves. An unslumbering agony i rolled like fire within his soul, but still the pressure and the gentle breathing of the child led him to master it. From this time his wife seemed to resent his care for the child, and to regard him with a! furtive fear. This drove her to subtler ways and mora 'cunning methods of indulging "the habit." As! Dandy House was now virtually closed to her: her defiance, though dull, was persistent. All this widened the gulf between husband and wife: and mother and child. At last he resolved to appeal to his wife. He' expressed his deep sorrow that anything hadj ever come between them, and without naming! "the habit." he implored her to put away what-! ever had come between them. "Clara," he said, '"think of the child, think of the darling child, land how all her future depends so much on you.! Think what she must suffer in the future, if) lever she comes to know what you may become.) |(Ian a darker cur e fall upon her? A mother's (character is sacred, and when that character is turned from the light to darkness, how great is ithat darkness! I implore you, if not for my' sake. then for your child's sake, give yourself jup to better ways." His wife was silent for sometime, and then looked at him strangely and coldly, u she saicl- "Philip, you arc different from me; you always were different. I knew it and felt it, and yet I compelled you in my rashness to give what I knew you had rashly promised. I ""Q punisheu. but I punish others as well. When the chilf came, I thought we should grow to be one, but it is not in me. It is not the habit' which keeps us apart. That is only a symptom of something else. I loathe myself. I have even cursed myself, but I cannot master myself. But I will try again. Say no more now, I am oppressed; but I will try to be different." Philip welcomed these words, and tried to nurse the feeling they expressed into fuller de- velopment. But it was all in vain. Weary months passed by. with ever-deepening fears. The dumb horror which had lain in him now broke loose and tore and rent him, while no Divine Voice said: "Come out of him." One day he was asked by the firm by whom he was employed to go out to one of their foreign centres of business. One of their travellers had died, and it was important his place should he filled at once, as some critical business was pending. Philip Darnton had now to decide quickly what to do. To accept the position meant a great promotion for him at once, with larger prospects beyond. Was it the devil who suggested to him just then that, as he was realiy divorced from his wife by alienation, he might be effectually divorced by,distance ? Was it a vicious fascina- tion in the thought which made his heart leap? Whether this was so or not, the thought of his child filled him with sadness, and all the perils which seemed to stand around each one of them. She might sicken in his absence, and the climate might slay him. His wife urged him not to go, but her pleas were strongest when she was least fit to press them. His confidence in her was dead. Having received assurances as to the care of his child, he accepted the appoint- ment. The agony and perplexity of parting from his wife and child were now over. Philip ^as now standing on the deck of his ship, looking out upon the multitudinous waters of the wide ocean. He thought there was a curious analogy between those waters and his own thoughts, rolling through his mind in dim, far-reaching restlessness, and passing away to horizons mingling with impenetrable mists. He wrote frequently to his wife, giving accounts of his success in his business, and charming accounts of the strange country and people and customs he saw. He gave droll and exquisitely vivid pictures of what was about him, and strove thus to enkindle in his wife a new interest in himself and his doings. He received letters from her, at first with intense avowals of a warmer love. But, as the months passed on, the tone was more and more uncertain. The letters became languid, short and commonplace. He struggled against oppres- sive and fear-smiting thoughts, and still made his letters as loving and as vivid as poaaible. In less than two years his wife's letters came at still longer intervals, and having no element of interest in them. Then ominous hinta came from friends to whom he had written for infor- mation. No clear statements were made, but such hinte as went like storm-shadows acroaa his mind. In one tragic hour Philip resolved he would never see his wife again. "I am divorced by distance," he hoarsely whispered to himself. "I am free, if not by law or by death." Soon after this resolve was formed, he was surprised at himself. There was a sudden out- flow of his spirits, and he plunged into reckless pursuit of pleasure. But the fever of the country was really in his blood during this wild outburst. In a few days this fever was raging, and he was delirious. He was in a lonely part of the country, and far from the city which had been the centre of his oper ions. In such a remote district he could only have the barest attention. The doctor who visited him sdfcured him a superior sort of black girl for his nurse. The doctor, having to travel over a wide di^trictj had to leave him for long intervals in this girl's charge. She soon became devoted to her patient, and followed as closely as < she could the doctor's orders, combined with such aids as her own wit suggested. She shewed a dog-like fidelity, and never tired of watching him through his fiercest deliriums, and the prostrating re- actions which followed. In his slow recovery, Whien he had only power to watch, his eyes followed this black girl, and he could not help thinking what might have been if only another had shewn the same interest and fidelity. The contrast saddened him, and softened, him too, for it brought thoughts to his mind answering, to the best an4 purest yearnings of his past life. When hia health was retttored. there came news of his wife's death. It was a beneficent coincidence that this news came when he was quite strong again, and when the black girl's simple devo- tlon had jfirrn soul. His wife, he learnt, had fallen from one degree of indulgence to another, until her life became a burden and a shame. She had drowned all her self-respect, and her debasement became a horror, which death only could wipe out. After reading this letter, Philip rushed away into the silence and loneliness of a forest near by, regardless of the dangers lurking in it* glades. His first act was to kneel down and thank God his, child was so young, and had been saved from a life-afflicting memory. Then he leaped on his feet, and with a wild laugh he cried: Divorced "Divorced, now, by death as well as distance," be criad again. "Yes, I am free," and he made the forest ring with his voice. My bondage has passed. The heavens were angry when I entered upon that bondage. I remember my father said something wrong might have been done to rouse the anger of the storm. My God! have I not borne the penalty of that folly ?" and he looked up appealingly to the clear heavens above him. "I am free," he cried again. "My child is free. 0 great Death, how beneficent thy face looks now Free, divorced, and no law court to tongue it to the .world! The^lack girl, with her keen ears, now heard his wild exclamations, iidd ran to see if anything were wrong. When she saw him with a smile oiji his flushed face, aU the pleasure and tender- ness of her soul rose in a swift, strong rapture intd her own face. She became as one trans- figured in his sight, but he remembered hOw once he had been misled by a look. But he looked again, and saw how love could suffuse even a black skin. Then a sudden thought smote him and changed his countenance. That change jfell like a dark shadow on the black girl's face, and she went away with despair in her heart. The thought which smote Philip was one abAut his child., She came as in a vision, with her golden hair surrounding a pensive, reproachful face, and yet with a look of entreaty in her eyes. That look was decisive. The love it bore saved him from taking this black girl and making her the "mother of hia dusky race." LTifs EG.)
----...------_-Silt THOMAS…
Silt THOMAS LIPTON'S BEGINNING. Writing of "Young Men in Commerce," Ar- thus Mee says in "The Puritan" for October: "A little over twenty years ago, a young man of twenty-seven opened a small in Glasgow: to-day lie is perhaps the biggest general dealer in the world. Sir Thomas Lipton is still 011 the riglitsitle of fifty, but he has made enough money out of the little Glasgow shop and its offspring to be able to drop £ 25,000 cheques about without a moment's thought. Sir Thos. Lipton began business with £100, which he had saved while working on a plantation in South Carolina, and in another business in New York; to-day his 420 ships and his tea plantations give employment to 10,000 persons, the print- ing alone requiring 250 hands. Some time ago, it is said, Sir Thomas was offered E8,000,000 for his business! Whether this is true or not, all the world knows that on the formation of the business into a limited company, £ 40,000,- 000 worth of shares were applied for. It is with natural pride that the man who controls this immense business says, 'I have never had a strike and never shall have one. I make it my business to look after the interests of my men, and we live in peace and harmony.
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-— + Porth-Thursday.
-— + Porth-Thursday. FALSE PRETENCES AT FORTH. On Thursday at the Porth Police Court Mar- garet Wilhams (16), who had been in service with Mr Ashford, Blaenllechau, was charged with obtaining 15s by false pretences from Mr J. H. Jones, grocer, in the district. Prisoner told Mr Jones that Mr Ashford had sent her to him to ask for the loan of 15s to enable him to go to Cardiff that evening. Prosecutor gave the money. Prisoner had spent it all on cloth- ing and other things. She was bound over to come up for judgment when called upon.
Pontyprídd- Friday.
Pontyprídd- Friday. Before Dr R. C. Hunter and Mr R. T. Rich- ards. Mr J. Colenso Jones, solicitor, Pontypridd, applied for the transfer of the licence of the lloyal Oak, Norton Bridge, from Mr Edward Lewis to Mrs-Parfitt, who for 27 years conduc- ted a similar business in the district. The application was granted.
Ystrad. Monday
Ystrad. Monday Before Mi' D. W. Davies (in the chair), Mr J. D. Williams, M.F.H., E. H. Davies, and Alderman Richard Lewis. CYCLISTS FINED FOR SCORCHING. Charles Evans,an assistant auctioneer at Llew- elyn street, Pentre, was summoned for riding a bicycle at the furious rate of fourteen miles an hour at Gelli on the 16th inst. P.C. Rhys Da- vies gave evidence in the case. Defendant sent Mia brother, Mr Tom Evans, auctioneer, to an- swer the charge, who stated that his brother was riding his machine at the time of the alleged offence. It was geared very low, conse- quently the machine appeared to be going much faster than it really was. The Bench imposed a fine of £1 and costs. When the case against Thomas Thomas, Ys- trad Rhondda, for a similar offence at Pentre was called, Councillor Thomas Thomas, of Ystrad Rhondda, stepped into the box. Mr D. W. Davies: Are you summoned for scorching, Mr Thomas? (Laughter). Mr Thomas: Well, I am the only person an- swering to that name at our house. Mr Thomas explained that it was his son John Ambrey who ought to have been summoned. He had sent him to the bank on the day in question, and he rode a bicycle. P.C. Rhys Davies then proceeded to give evi- dence again "Thomas Thomas." W Thomas asked the Bench if be should question the constable. Mr D. W. Davies told him he could not be allowed to do so unless he was present when the scorching took place. John Ambrey Thomas did not present him- self at Court. He was fined £1 and coste. OVERLOADING HIS BRAKE. Thomas Richards, brake-driver, Aberystwyth, Rteatanrant, Tonypandy, was summoned for overloading his one-horse brake on the 2nd inst., and was fined lQs. UNMUZZLED DOGS. John Galagher, oyster dealer, Pentre, and Frederick Woodward, Traalaw, were fined 10s for allowing their dogs to stray about un- muzzled on the 16th VIA. ESTABLISHING RECORDS! A Pentre collier named Thomas Morgan, who resides at Llewelyn street, was again charged with being drunk and disorderly on the 18th inst. Evans had a. list of numerous convic- tions entered against him for similar offences during the course of the 'year. He was now fined 15s. Richard Jones, a Treherbert col- jjier, was also fined £1 for a similar offence at Bute street The evidence given against Jones was that he wanted to fight all and sundry Phillip Phillips, landlord of the Glamorgan Hotel, Williamstown, was summoned for open- ing his premises for the sale of intoxicating liquor on Sunday, the 10th inst. Mr W. P. Nicholas, solicitor, Pontypridd, defended, and "Police-superintendent 'Cole conducted the prose- cution on behalf of the police. P.C. Keevil, who endeavoured to prove the case, said he saw a man named John Jones oesia from the direction of the back premises of the Glamorgan Hotel on the evening in ques- tion. He observed him putting something in hit pocket. When questioned Jones said he had only been talking to the daughter of the Glamorgan. Witness searched him and found two bottles of beer m Ms pockets; He was then taken back to the hotel through the back door which was partly open; and the landlord was asked to account for Jones being at the back .r iisbouse in possession of the two bottles of beer. The landlord said he had not supplied any beer that day and no one could do it with- out his knowing. Mr Nicholas, addressing the Bench, observed that the mere fact of the back door of the hotel being open was not sufficient to found a charge of opening the premises on Sunday. John Jones, the young man found on the pre- mises, when examined said he had purchased the two bottles of beer at the Glamorgan Hotel on the previous night (Saturday), and before going home that night he hid them by a quarry by the Bethear Chapel, because the people where he was staying were teetotalers. On the Suaday evening he went to fetch the bottles. When near the Glamorgan Hotel he met a Mr N. Thomas and asked him for a. knife or a corkscrew to open them. Mr Thomas being tunable to comply with his request he went to Lewis Jenkins' house, which was situated near the back of the Glamorgan Hotel, but found no one at home. When he was returning he met the constable as described by him. Mr N. Thomas, when called, swore John Jones had asked him for a knife or corkscrew to open the bottles of beer. Defendant still adhered to his statement that no beer had been supplied to any one on the Sunday in question. The Bench contended that the case failed through lack of corroborative evidence. From the evidence before them they lia-d no reason to think other than that the bottles of beer were supplied the night before iho alleged offence. The case was dismissed.
Caerphilly -Tuesday
Caerphilly -Tuesday Before Dr Fnanklen Evans (in the chair). Major H. M. Lindsay, Dr Edwards. Messrs Evans Owen. William Thomas, and E. Jones, ASSAULTING THE POLICE. John Williams and William Williams, colicrs, Llanbradach, were brought up charged with assaulting Police-sergeant Williams, Nelson, at 11.30 on Saturday night last. Mr P. R. Mor- gan, solicitor, Caerphilly, defended. The evi- dence was to the eeffct that the prisoners were seen by the officer in a drunken condition, were swearing, and behaving in a very disorderly way. He requested them to go home, but re- ceived instead an invitation to fight. Three other men joined the prisoners in stoning the sergeant, who was struck by two of the mis- siles thrown by John and William Williams. A man named Hill came to his assistance. Prison- era were now fined 40s and costs each. A BOTTLE FOR A LAMP. John Sullivan, haulier, Abercynon, was sum- moned for having only one light attached to his trap after dark on the 13 inst. The other lamp consisted of a candle stuck in the neck of a bottle. He was fined 2s 6d and costs. DRUNKS. John Prosser, collier, Nelson, was charged with being drunk on the 9th inst., and was fined 10s and costs. Frank James, Caerphilly, was similarly charged, but as it was his first offence he was was discharged with a caution.
LOCAL GRIEVANCES AT MAESYCWMMER.
LOCAL GRIEVANCES AT MAESY- CWMMER. PUBLIC MEETING. At the Maesycwmmer Board Schools on Sat- urday evening a public meeting was held under the. chairmanship of Mr Richard Edwards, Cwmdu Farm, to consider the present inade- quate train service on the Great Western Rail- way from Pontypool to Mountain Ash and Aber- dare. An earlier train, it was shown, would be a decided gain to the farmers of this dis- trict in that it would enable them to place theii milk at Mountain Ash and Aberdare at an hour requisite to the demand of their customers. In addition to this the necessity for an earlier train was very clearly shown by a number of commercial gentlemen present. With the pre- sent service it is impossible to reach the Rhon- dda Valleys before noon, and having regard to the importance of this field of commercial en- terprise they .find themselves very much handi- capped and frequently outrun by competitors enjoying better railway facilities. It was unanimously resolved that the secretary should communicate with the proper authorities set- ting forth local grievances and asking that a deputation be received on the subject of the present train service. The secretary was also instructed to write the Rhymney Railway Com- pany asking that the 9.45 p.m. train from Car- diff for Merthyr should be reinstated as a stop- ping train at Ystrad Mynacb Station. Up to this stage the meeting had been in a very sup- plicant mood, when its whole tenour was com- pletely change by a reference to the Rhymney and Aber Valley Gas and Water Compnay's alleged negligence in failing to provide an ade- quate supply of water for the district. This question quickly moved everyone to a feeling of indignation, and strong expressions were used against the manner in which the company has ignored the increasing wants of the com- muaity. After further discussion, the meeting resolved to call the attention of the District Councils of St. Mellon's and Gelligaer to this lamentable state of things, requesting them to instruct their sanitary inspector to take such steps as would afford relief and protection to the inhabitants.
--"---,--------------'--COLLIERY…
COLLIERY ENGINEMEN AND EMPLOYERS. JOINT MEETING AT CARDIFF. A joint meeting of the committee appointed by the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coal- owners' Association and of the representatives of the enginemen, stokers, and outside fitters in the Monmouthshire, Merthyr, and Dowlais districts was held at Cardiff on Monday on the subject of the notices given by the latter classes at a number of associated collieries to termi. nate contracts on the 30th inst. Mr T. H. Deakin was in the chair and Mr W. Hopkins in the vice-chair. The Chairman at the commencement of the meeting explained that the meeting was called in response to a letter which Mr Dalziel had received from Mr Hopkins stating that although the voting had been adverse to the suggested suspension of the notices the representatives of these classes were hopeful that if the em- ployers would grant them a further interview possibly a settlement might result. After a dis- cussion which practically occupied the whole of the afternoon and until 8 p.m., and the respec- tive parties had repeatedly separated for con- sultation amongst themselves, the representa- tives of the enginemen, stokers, and outside fitters consented to a suspension of the notices until the 31st of October, upon the understand- ing that the employers would submit forthwith an amended schedule of wages for their con- sideration; and also upon the condition that any change in wages that might be agreed upon in further discussion shall date as and from the 1st of October. In response to this arrangement the employ- ers at the elose of the meeting handed in the promised amended schedule, and this is now in the hands of the workmen's representatives, and will be placed by them before the workmen affected, it being understood that further meet- ings between the parties will take place shortly.
DEATH OF A SOUTH WALES COLLIERY…
DEATH OF A SOUTH WALES COLLIERY DIRECTOR. Mr James Harrison, one of the directors of the Bwllfa and Merthyr Dare Collieries, died suddenly on Monday. Deceased, who was a native of the North of England, came down about 40 years ago with Messrs Brogden to Tondn, near Bridgend, and when Messrs Brog- den bought the Bwllfa Colliery Mr Harrison went to Aberdare and became cashier to the company. When the Bwllfa. and Merthyr Dare Company was reorganised some few years ago Mr Harrison became one of the directors, a position which he held at the time of his death in ad'dition to that of chief cashier of the company. Deceased appeared to be in his ordinary health on Sunday, but he complained of feeling somewhat unwell on Monday morn- ing. and did not leave his house. He was at- tended by Dr Bankes, but no serious result was feared until 4 o'clock, when he suddenly grew worse and expired from apoplexy at 5 o'clock. Deceased was about 60 years of age, and was a prominent Wesleyan Methodist.being the trustees of their English chapel at Aber- cynon, which he had been largely instrumental in erecting. He bad from time to rime held all the offices open to a layman in the Aberdare circuit. He was extremely generous to all connexional funds, one of his last contributions being 25 guineas to the 1,000 guineas fnti,i. He leaves a widow and a large family. He was for six years a member of the Aberdare School Board.
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-----PONTYPRIDD'S NEW INSTITUTE.
PONTYPRIDD'S NEW INSTITUTE. TO BE OPENED THIS WEEK. On Saturday next a new club will be opened at Pontypridd, through the generosity of Miss Thomas, Llwynmadoc. The new club is situa- ted near the Pontypridd Free Library, in Gelli- wastad House, and will be called the Gelliwas- tad Institute. The idea of starting this club is entirely Miss Thomas', who is one of the own ers of the Pontypridd joint estate, and has a large interest in the neighbourhood. Some time ago Miss Thomas expressed a desire that pre- mises of this sort should be provided for the young men of the town, so that they might have a place in which to spend a pleasant evening, indulge in games, see the newspapers, and hold meetings. She. selected Gelliwastad House, which was for many years occupied by the Thomas family, and had alterations made to it, at a cost of 41,000. There is a commodious bil- liard room, with two new and excellent tables, a splendidly arranged and large skittle alley, card, and reading rooms, with lavatory and bathroom accommodation. The two rooms and hall in the front of the house have been turned into one large room, to be used for general purposes, and another room has been fitted up as a bar, where non-intoxicating refreshments only will be sold. The lawn in front of Gelliwastad road, as well has been given by Miss Thomas for the purposes of the town, and here seats will be placed, quoits played, and a fives court arranged. The whole of the Institute has been handsomely fur- nished at Miss Thomas' expense, the total cost of the alterations and furniture being 41,500. The club will be open to anyone who wishes to join, the only restriction being as to the general character of the applicant, and on Sunday the Institute will be closed. The members will be at liberty to form clubs for themselves, such as chess clubs, or debating clubs, but political and religious subjects are forbidden. Everything up to the present has been managed by a com- mittee, nominated by Miss Thomas, the chair- man being Mr Godfrey L. Clarke; vice-chair- man, Mr L. G. Lenox, with Mr Rhys Morgan. M.A., as secretary. In general the club will be carried out on the lines of the Macintosh Institute, Cardiff, which has been so successful, but it is not to be confined to people living on the estate Miss Thomas is interested in. The club is open to anyone over 17 years of age, the subscription being 2s 6d per quarter, or 7s 6d yearly, payable in advance. The alterations were entrusted to Mr Arthur O. Evans, archi- tect, Pontypridd, who has carried them out in a masterly manner, and made the club the best equipped and most comfortable in the district. The club will be looked after by the steward, Mr Vincent, formerly colour-sergeant of the Horse Guards Blue, who has had similar exper- ience at Teddington. Miss Thomas has con- sented to open the Institute for the use of mem- rs on Saturday, the 30th inst., at 4.15 p.m. The committee hope hose interested in a move- ment of this sort will be present. The rooms will be open for inspection, and any information with regard to the object of the club and other things can then be obtained. It is understood that no special invitations will be given to the Pontypridd ceremony.
------------------A MERTHYR…
A MERTHYR WOMAN'S STRANGE BEHAVIOUR. An unusual scene occurred at the Pontypridd Police C-ourt on Friday—befere Dr R. C. Hun- ter and Mr R. T. Richards—when Sarah Mor- ris, a middle-aged and respectably-dressed Mer- thyr woman, was charged with being drunk in Station road, Porth, on Thursday. Whilst being brought up from the cells in a loud voice she cried, "My little boy, sir, my little boy." Mr R. T. Richards: What about him? Defendant: Oh, my little boy, sir. They've got him, and you'll give him back, won't you? Dr Hunter: Hush a minute. Let us hear what the constable has to say. Defendant: Alright, my father, I will for you. I shall have my IEvan bach, shan't I? P.S. Rees: Yes, yes. Hush a minute. P.C. Davies deposed that defendant was found in an intoxicated- Defendant: Where is my boy with you? Superintendent Cole handed in a list of pre- vious convictions against her, which included eleven of drunkenness and one of attempted suicide. Defendant here interrupted the superintend- ent, by shouting, "I will sing for you now; I sang for Mr North (the Aberdare Stipendiary), and I will sing "Lead, kindly Light," for you if you will give me my little boy, and suiting her action to the words she started to sing in a shrill falsetto the first line of that well-known hymn. She then offered all her money, she would give anything for her little boy. Mr North, she said, had put her in the infirmary last week, but she only thought of her little boy Evan. "I will knock this one if you liko I (pointing a rate-collector) if you give me my little boy." Dr Hunter: You bad better take her down- stairs, and then we'll see what Mr Llewelyn I (warrant officer) can do for her. She was then taken below, still muttering something about "my Evan bach." Later in the dsy the woman was again brought up, when it was explained that Mr Llewelyn could not be found. Defendant was still very strange in her manner, and told the magistrates, "If you will find him I will go to j chapel and all. I sat by the canal last night and I didn't do anything to myself, and I saw little Evan come up from the pit and say his father is dead and taken from me. He is my Evan. give him to. nie. Turning to the reporter she exclaimed, ''They have taken my little boy, from me: I have hefvn cut 8.11 night many times j stealing; too. Mr boy has been in Church Vil- lage (in the Cottasre Homes' h9 wns ?fterwar<!« seen bv the warrant officer. Mr Ack Lhwolyn. 11d the Beneb i thought "aH" her strange b' haviour could not, be put down to drink. She afterwards bad several fits in Court, and ultimately she was fined 10s or seven Dr Hunter remarking that if her brain was oill she would be exa- mined by the prison doctor. After ng taken hplow, her voice was distinctly heard singing "Lead. kindly Light," to the policemen.
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--------------.." THE GREAT…
THE GREAT METEOR SHOWER OF 1899. All who are eagerly anticipating the great metor shower, which is due in November, should read the admirably written article on the sub- ject appearing in the October number of the "Windsor Magaine," from which we extract, the following: "This year we expect the approack of the Leonid swarm itself, a vast procession of myriads upon myriads of flying stones; and. if we are fortunate, our earth, carrying all its inhabitants, will plunge headlong into the midpt ot it. Then we may see a spectacle of a life- time. The culmination of the shower is expec- ted in the early morning hours of Tuesday, November 14th, and a night free from clouds is. of course, essential if the spectacle is to be viewed in its full grandeur. There will be a thin crescent moon. We should have a diJ.. play every year on these November nights when we cross their track, if only the Leonids wero about; but they cluster in a great swarm, and it is only when we plunge into the thick of the swarm that we get this brilliant spectacle in our skies. We cannot handle a meteor, because as has been said, none fall to earth: but meteo- ric dust, the debris of meteors which have boa destroyed over our heads, abounds, and ftoIa the larger aerolites which descend to earth we can form a pretty good idea of what their sub- stance must be. The Leonid swarm is composed of many myriads of flying stones, tiny sgeda of gravel or dust, and few of them probahiy larger than a pea, which are grouped in a gr«BS cluster some hundred thousand miles in thick- Bess. Each moves on its separate path, and at a considerable distance from its neighboui--sm atomic world complete in itself, obedient to the same forces which control the earth in its jour- ney round the sun. When they pass the earth, they are travelling at a speed of about twenty- six miles a second. Remember that our earth is itself moving round the sun at a speed of, eighteen miles a second. On this journey, the earth encounters the meteors "front on,' so that, when they dash into our atmosphere, they are moving at the almost inconceivable velocity of forty-four miles a second. Little wonder, then, that the intense heat which is set up by friction with the atmosphere dissipates each of them in a second or two into a wisp of glowing vapour. Of course, only a small proportion of the bulk are destroyed in our atmosphere: the rest tra- vel round the sun and onwards in their inter-4 minable journey.
DEDICATED
DEDICATED To Mr George Ebsworth, Prudential Assurance Agent, Pontypridd, and Miss E. A. Griffiths, Porth, on the occasion of their marriage, August 30th, 1899. There is an old proverb, which lasteth to be, So truly now as ever, by what we can see; lie meaning admitted, carried, and done That two in all cases is better than one. To live independent alone and in ease Is out, of the question, and trials will cease. So far they are failures, as mist they have gone In the heat of motto "Two'r better than one." Amongst the great number Geo. Ebsworth did try, But failed to accomplish the problem and stay,; As once he intended an hermit alone, For soon he discovered two's better than one. And then to the altar he hurried away, Determined he should not make further delay, For Miss E. A. Griffiths had thoroughly won His heart to acknowledge "two's better than one." And there they were captured, imprisoned for life, And charged in accordance as husband and wife To pay the expenses for that which was done And get their diploma "Two's better than one." But ha, they must always remember again. And carefully study the rule it contain, That two in all case: whatever is done, Are strictly requested henceforth to be one. No difffrent opinions arc further allowed. They all must be blended and carefully mould, To one, and one only, by wisdom alone, And likewise be governed and honoured as ooc. One view upon questions relating to life, Its objects and duties of husband and wife. In order to make it successful and good. Must also unitedly be well imderstood. And then it is certain the union will last. And frictions will vanish, disputes will be cast, And love with its power shall reign en its throne, And dwell is their bosom to keep them a j ono. Attached to the union is a letter called D. Which stands for the debit, and also a B; The first must be always ahead and above. Hut the seeond abolished by powerful love. We therefore together congratulate you Upon the occasion as boys of the Pru.: Your joint life asurance a.? ready expressed. If kept in good order will never be lapsed. WILLIAM MILL-V \RD. Prudential Assurance Agent, Ynyshir.