Flintshire Observer Mining Journal and General Advertiser for the Counties of Flint Denbigh

RECEIVING A KNIGHTHOOD. Shortly the knights of the Birthday Honours List will repair to Windsor to receive their formal investi- ture at the hands of the Queen. The knights go down to Windsor, and are entertained by the Lords- in-Waiting at luncheon. They assemble in an ante- room, and special care is taken to impress on each the importance of following the right man in the prearranged order. This is necessary to prevent any hitches, as the Budden appearance of a knight in the Queen's presence out of his turn would 1 upset the whole etiquette. When, let us say, Sir Henry Irving's turn arrives, he will be ushered into a room where her Majesty is seated, attended by some of the Princesses and the Ladies- in-Waiting. He will make a profound obeisanoe, advance towards his Sovereign, and kneel on the left knee. The Queen will take a sword and touch him lightly on the shoulder, uttering the words Sir Henry," not .Rise, Sir Henry." The II Rise" haa no existence except in historical romances. Sir Henry will not rise just then, but will place bis right arm on his right knee in such a posi- tion that her Majesty will lay her hand upon II his arm to be kissed. Then he will rise, and bow himself gracefully out of the room, back- wards. Her Majesty is very particular about this I 1 kissing of her hand. She will not have it done in the illusory fashion practised by witnesses in a police court when they are presented with a greasy i Testament. Sir John Rigby, when he was knighted, was thinking of the Testament, and neglected to kiss the royal hand; whereupon he was sternly called back, and compelled to go through the ceremony over again. It cost Sir Henry Irving one hundred pounds to answer the despatches of congratulations received by him the first day after the announcement that a knighthood had been conferred upon him. He has spent one hundred pounds since in the same way.

AN AWKWARD BLUNDER. It is not quite safe to criticise Americans in the higher circles of British society, unless the critic ha sstudied thoroughly the pedigree of those whom he addresses, says the Mascot. So many American girls nowadays are becoming a part of the effete aristo- cracy of the Old World Not long ago, at a reception given in Rome at the British Embassy, an Italian baron, who was presented to the Duchess of Manchester, sighed deeply, as with relief, i and said to her: Ah! How glad I am to get away from those Americans there! We come across them everywhere, don't we, duchess? You can't imagine how happy I n:n to converse with you—there is such a contrast between the manners of English and American women The duchess let him go on as long as he liked in this way, and'then said, with a gracious emile: •' Perhaps you are right., baron but being myself an American I am no doubt incapable of judging." The baron wished that the floor would swallow him up. and reflected that he should have known, as everyone else did, that the Duchess of Manchester was a New Yorker. — —

CORK ELECTION. The rreuit of the Cork election wns declared on the afternoon of the 28th ult., when the figures were announced as follows: Mr. J. F. X. O'Brien, Nationalist, 4,309 Mr. Roche, Parnellite, 4,132 Majority 177 The figures at tho last election were: Mr. O Brien (N.) 5,273 Mr. Healy (N.) 4,759 Mr. Redmond (P.) 3,186 Mr. Hogan (P.) 3,077 Nationalist majority 1,573

«a—se-ss THE SHAHZADA AT MARLBOROUGH I HOUSE. The Shazada dined with the Prince and Princess of Wales at Marlborough House on Saturday night, and a distinguished company was invited to meet his Highness. Two Afghan cooks were sent to Marlborough House to prepare food for the Shahzada, and the native interpreter, who forms part of the staff, also went to Marlborough House in order to impress upon the Royal servants that in the matter of sweets and drinks no intoxi- cants might be used, so far as the Shazada's •dibles and beverages were concerned. Similar pre- cautionB observed on other occasions have caused comment, and all sorts of absurd rumours have been based on the unusual proceedings. The simple fact is that the Afghan Prince is a strict Mohammedan, i and may not take intoxicants in any form, so that but for such precautions be would be precluded from tasting jellies and similar edibles, m the making of which wines and spirits are commonly used among Western nations.

E- IN Paris Hie practice of doctoring fruit by colour- ing is common. The latest development of this business is in connection with pears, which are dved red over a third of their area and blue below thus presenting the national colours when peeled. MWT. perrons are aware that the earth makes a romplele revolution on its axis once in 24 hours, but, probably many are ignorant as to the high rate of speed in accomplishing the feat. The highest velocity lrpr attaineo by a cannon-ball has been estimated at something like loooft. per second; and'the earth must turn almost equally fast. In short, the rate of .peed at the equator has been estimated at nearly 1500ft, per second, or a mile every 3-6 seconds, or 17 miles a minute.. ALTHOUGH they have no order of nobility m the United State., they have some of high birth. The nighest. born of these so far as known, is a child born vr .0 a family living on Pikes Peak, Colorado, at"an altitude of' 12,000ft. above sea-level. The father is the foreman of the mountain cog* fAilwav A VISTTOR to Germany was surprised to find a number of cripples among the celebrated college pro- fessors men whose high standard of learning makes ♦v. t' „« world over. One of them is wheeled similarlv, though for the most part less pamfully, afflicted This is due partly to the fact that, under the militnry regime of Germany, when a boy is dis- qualified for the army he is trained either for science or the law. TIIK immense sleeves such as are now being worn by ladies are by no means a now thing, as will be seen by the following ordinance in regard to them adopted bv the town of Pedham, Massachusetts, m iooy: "And bo it further enacted, that hereafter no person whatsoever shall make a garment for women or any other sex with sleeves more than half an ell wide in the widest part, and so proportionate for bigger or t »ii., wisons. And for the present reformation borate great sleeves apd some other super- of .mmo^rato g be easily redreg8ed withouh m £ ch fluit.es which ma?of gfirmenig> ia ordered „ jjrwudice 0L. PClJ;MENCE, who went to Afghanistan threeyea'rs ago to superintend the purchase of horses for theAnJr, has been commissioned to revi^t the old country for the purpose of buymg a number of cows and bulls. M. Clem.ence is a comparatively young man but, besides being gifted with more than ordinary shrewdness, he is an excellent talker and a man of considerable culture, and he is a great favourite at Cabul. He h mderJbis charge m Afghanistan 3000 mares large "umber of 7vv Anotralian, and A nan horses, besides a En l i— s too n< rous to mention. The .tad of country bre^ & & Ameer, altho g fche paUvi.g -n tbe R0val stables horseflesh. V in j- The yearlings at Cabul alon ce's d are a capital lot, and under Mr. Clemen^ ot"t'h" leadine Iudi°" meetings in has burst forth afresh, and j TUB b^Vf^B<-ty than ever, says a London with greater 1 0^B pjore charming on her wheel writer. N0 rg sister of Lord Wolverton, and j than Lady J^J- and gallant Admiral Carr Glyn. 0' P P fearless rider, and starts off from Lady Norreys teBt cf rig8) without heed to the h°n8e,m her dogs as sole escort. But what astir0-! m f is the fact that well-known turfmen and n 68 "TfV-nOUS ™cing "tables are taking to th« whe^n^r?ofpuke of Portland has followed the exatnp]e 0f His of Fife, and is endeavouring t« hi, rauidlv ir»cren*inff bulk bv bard ridine.

RESIGNATION HONOUTU3. It was officially notified at Downine-street Im Sunday evening that the Queen has been graoiously pleased to approve, on the recommendation of the Earl of Rose be ry, of the following honours t. appointments: To Du CKKATKD EULI. Lord Houghton. Lord Carrington, G.C.M.G. To BB CMVTED PAROWL V The Right Hon. Sir n. B. Loch, G.C.B. The Right Hon. Herbert Gardner, M.P. Mr. Sydney Stern, M.P. Mr. James Williamson, M.P. To BE CREATED BARONETS. Mr. James Blytb, a Governor of the Royal Apt. cultural Society. Mr. Willliam Agnew. Captain Naylor-Leyland. Sir Joseph Renals, Lord Mayor of London. Mr. James Bell, Lord Provost. of Glasgow. To RECEIVE THE HONOUR OF KNIGHTHOOD. Mr. Arthur Arnold, Chairman of the London County Council. Colonel E. T. Gourley, M.F. Mr. Clarence Smith, M.P. Mr. Frederick Howard. i- Dr. H. D. Littlejohn. r Mr. Oowasjee Jehanghir. Mr. James Lo-, Lord Provost of Dundee. To BE SWORN Or THE PRIVY CoTJKCtt. Sir Ralph Thompson, K.C.B., late Under Secretary of State of War. Sir Bernhard Samuelson, Bart., M.P. To BB AfPOINTBD G.C.S.L f The Right Hon. Henry Hartley Fowler, M.P. To BB APPOINTED G.C.B. The Right Hon. H. Campbell-Bannermann, M.P. To BE APPOINTED K.C.B. Mr. Robert Giffen, C.B., Comptroller-General of the Commercial Labour and Statistical Department of the Board of Trade. Colonel V. D. Majendie, C.B., Chief Inspector of Explosives at the Home Office. Mr. Alfred Milner, C.B., Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue. To 1111 ApPOINTBD C.B. Mr. W. J. Courthope, a Civil Service Commissioner. Mr. J. R. Dasent, of the Education Department. Mr. M. de Bunsen, Charge de Affaires in Siam. Colonel R. B. Fellows, Deputy Clerk of the Council. Mr. H. J. L. Graham, Clerk of the Parliaments. Mr. Arthur Hardinge, her Majesty's Agent and Consul-General at Zanzibar. The Hon. Charles Hardinge, Second Secretary in her Majesty's Diplomatic Service. Mr. E. S. Hope, a Charity Commissioner. Mr. F. J. S. Hopwood, C.M.G., Assistant Secretary of the Railway Department of the Board of Trade. Professor Judd, F.R.S., Royal College of Science. The Hon. E. Chandos Leigh, Q.C., Counsel to tho Speaker. Captain F. D. Lugard, D.S.O. Mr. Reginald Macleod, Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer, Scotland. Mr. A. R. Pennefather, Receiver for the Metropolitan Police District. Mr. A. de Bock Porter, Secretary to the Ecclesias- tical Commissioners. Mr. Stephens Spring Rice, a Principal Clerk in the Treasury. The Ilon. Armine Wodebouse. Lord Houghton is the only son of the first Baron, by his marriage with the Hon. Annabella Hunger- ford Crewe he was born in 1858, and succeeded his father in 1885. He was educated at Harrow and at Trinity College, Cambridge, and graduated M.A. in 1885. He was private secretary to Zarl Granville, 1883-84 a Lord-in-Waiting to the Queen, February to August, 1886; Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland" since 1892, and by virtue of his office Grand Master of Knights of St. Patrick. Lord Carrington is the son of the second Baroty jy his second marriage with the daughter of the 19th Lord Willoughby d'Eresby, and was born in 1843; succeeded his father in 1868. He was educated at Eton and at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was Governor of New South Wales, 1885-90; Lord Chamberlain since 1892, and was M.P. for Chipping Wycombe, 1865-68. Sir Henry Loch, whose appointment of her Majesty's Privy Council was announced in theljst of Royal Birthday honours just over a month ago, was born in 1827, and, having served both in the navy and army, entered the Diplomatic Service, and ac- companied Lord Elgin's embassies to China in 1857 and 1860. In the latter year he was treacherously taken prisoner by the Chinese, by whom he was treated with great barbarity. In 1863 he wxa ap- pointed Governor of the Isle of Man, and *n 1884 Governor of Victoria, while in 1889' ho became Governor of the Cape Colony, a position which he re- linquished only afew months ago. The Right HOB. Herbert Colstoup Gardner was bern in 1847, and was educated 11t Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge, gradii^1Eg M.A. in 1872. He has represented the Saffron VValJon Division of Essex since 1885, and was made Resident of the Board of Agriculture in 1892. Mr. Sydney James Stern is the eldest son of the late Viscount de Stern, and was educated at Mag- dalene College, Cambridge. He contested Mid- Surrey (1880 and 1884), Tiverton in 1885, and Ipswich in 1886'; first elected for North-West Suffolk in April, 1891. Mr. James Williamson, of Ryelands, Lancaster, has represented the Lancaster Division of Lancashire in Parliament since 1886. He was born in 1844, and educated at the Lancaster Royal Grammar School and at a private school in Cheshire. He is described as a manufacturer, is a Justice of the Peace both for the borough and county of Lancaster, and served the office of High Sheriff of that county in 1885. Mr. James Blyth was born on September 10, 1841, and is the eldest son of Mr. James Blyth and of Caroline (eldest sister of Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart..). Along with his brother, Mr. Henry A. Blyth, he is a partner in the firm of Messrs. W. and A. Gilbey. Mr. William Agnew is the head of the firm of Thomas Agnew and Sons, the well-known fine art dealers of London and Manchester. He is the eldest son of the late Thomas Agnew, of Manchester, was born in 1825, and is distinguished as an art collector. He is a member of the firm of Bradbury, Agnew, and Co., publishers, of Whitefriars, and was returned in the Radical interest as an M.P. for South-East Lancashire in 1880, and for the Stratford Division in 1885. Captain Herbert Scarisbrick Naylor-Leyland, who represented Colchester as a Conservative in the present Parliament until a few months ago, when he accepted the Chiltern Hundreds, was born in 1864 and educated at the Royal Military College, Sand- hurst. He entered the 2nd Life Guards in 1882, and became a captain in 1891. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical and Zoological Societies, and resides at Colchester. Sir Joseph Renals is a native of Nottingham, and was born in 1843; educated privately. He is tho head of the firm of Renals and Co., lace and hosier) merchants, and was elected Lord Mayor last year. Mr. Arthur Arnold, son of the late Robert Arnold., of Framfleld, Sussex, was born in 1833. He wat Assistant Commissioner of Public Worur in Lanca* shire in 1863, author of the History of tb, Cotton Famine," From the Levant," Through Pel" by j Caravan," "Social Politics," "Bree Land," &c. lit was M.P. for Salford from 1880 to 1885, and is now the Chairman of the London County Council. Colonel Edward Temperley Gourley has sat for Sunderland since 1868. His father was a shipowner, and Colonel Gourley was born in Sunderland in 1828. He served for 16 years as captain in the North Durham Militia, and is colonel of a Sunderland Volunteer corps. He is a merchant and shipowner in his native town, of which he is an alderman and magistrate, and of which he has been three times' Mayor. Mr. Clarence Smith was born at Wakefield in 1849, Mr. Clarence Smith was born at Wakefield in 1849, hi" father being the late Rev. Dr. Gervase Smith. He a trfember of the London Stock Exchange, and was ) Sheriff of London and Middlesex in 1883. He re-1 presents tho Eastern Division of Hull in the House of Commons as a Home Ruler, and resides u j Chislehurst.

MADAME PATTI has a pet dog, a little Mexican terrier, named Richi. She has supplied him with f complete wardrobe, among which are some night- gowns made of cosily silk. He has aloo seven collar*, one for each day in the week. ABOUT 2,000,000 quarts of brandy are consumed every year in the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg., or a average of nearly 10 quarts for each of the inhabitant STEAM tramways are more general iu Italy t.hao, any other country. At the end of I there V It 1575 miles, and, notwithstanding tae period of COÍ'tT' mercial d?prefision, at least JU miles have been I added since. '4

A STRANGE CONFESSION. The Nottingham police have received information from Auckland, New Zealand, that a carpenter, named Samuel Evineon, a native of Retford, has given him- self up for having caused the death of a woman in Nottingham by pushing her into the River Trent, near Trent-bridge, in March, 1882. At the time be was employed by a Nottingham firm of contractors and builders,11 and his statement is to the effect that he was out walking with the young woman on the Trent-side, when a quarrel ensued as a result of his charging her with "baing seen with another young man. She struck him in the face, and he gave her a push and she fell with her head on the stone coping of the bank, and thence into the river, where he saw her carried away. It was dark at the time. He walked on to Trent-bridge, and, not knowing what to do, went home. The young woman, he states, was a lace hand. He only knew her by the name of Jenny, and only made her acquaintance eome three weeks before. He stayed in Nottingham three months, but never heard of the body being recovered. In 1891 Evinson went to New Zealand, and he states that he has been driven to confess the crime through the pangs of conscience. He is reported to show no signs of insanity. In cor- roboration of his statement it may be stated that in June, 1882, the body of a young woman was taken from the Trent near the spot described, and at the inquest the usual verdict of Found drowned was returned, there being no evidence as to how it came in the water. It had, however, been in some time, for it was covered with mud and it was identified as that of Sarah Elizabeth Dutton, a lace-dresser, who had been keeping company with a young man, whom she had only known a short time, thus confirming E Vinson's statement in two material particulars.

It <. A QUEER PET. Madame Sarah Bernhardt has succeeding in acquiring a new pet. The eminent French tragedienne does not take her sensations in the manner of an ordinary woman. An afternoon's shopping in London would be to her ennui, but when she can pick up something choice in the way of pumas, something eccentric in the monkey line, something really out of the way in liens, she is happy. She has already no mean zoological collec- tion in Paris as it ie, but this week she has made a striking addition to her list of pets. Making a journey to the Empire of India Exhibition, she soon became inteiestedin the performance of the wrestling lion. The show fascinated her so deeply that she stood apparently spell-bound before the cage, and at the close was unmistakably impressed. She did not, however, join in the general applause of the public who witnessed the show, but in her impulsive, and at the same time practical manner, desired to be pre- sented to the management. She was fortunate. Not only was the management available, but it so happened that Mr. Cross, the naturalist, of Liver- pool, happened also to be in the exhibition, and he was introduced. Madame Bernhardt went straight to business. She wanted to buy that lion. The management was sorry, but the lion belonged to Ur. Cross. Mr. Cross was desolated, but the lion was not for sale, and, moreover, it had an engagement at the exhibition till October. Madame Bernhardt did not see how either of those considerations in any way entered into the discussion, and calmly asked the sum that would make her the possessor of the one particular lion that she desired. Mr.Gross was in despair, but inas- much as the lion was not for sale there was a serious difficulty in the way of obliging madame. But you can sell it to me 1" with the aceent on the last word, exclaimed the actress. This, of course, touched Mr. Cross on a tender point, and he succumbed. His I hesitation proved his ruin. Madame Bernhardt saw her advantage, once more asked the price, and Air. CJJOSS mentioned £ 1000. "The lion is mine," ejacu- lated madame with delight, and was apparently ready I to'lake her purchase away with her without troubling Mr. Cross to send it round. The conditions of st'se-- namely, that the lion must perform his Engagement- were pointed out to her, and she was grievously dis- appointed that she could not have her lion there and then delivered ab her hotel. Perhaps the hotel people l might not care to have the lion delivered there. But yet they would be delighted to have anything belonging to the great French actress. Still, the hotel people will be saved from having io show their delight over the arrival of the { vAavful beast, for it is not to be delivered until the tcfoiei of its engagement, and will then probably be I taken to Paris. Mr. Croes has since made an un- successful effort to prevent the Well-trained lion slipping through his fingers, but Madame Bernhardt stuck to her bargain. Mr. Cross pleaded that he had numerous lions at his place in Liverpool which would euit her better: quiet, well-behaved lions with no vice, and not one-tenth the cost; but the tragedienne was not to be moved. Absence of vice was no recom- mandation. She did not want a lion that was quiet to ride or drive, but a king of the jungle who could get a man down in the corner of his cage and pretend I to eat him, and probably would some day. The par- ticular lion she wanted was the particular lion she bad bought, and she would not change him for a wilder- ness of monkeys or a jungle of lions, and for the pre- sent that is the end of the story.

LONG LIFE. A representative of CasssWs Saturday Journal in quest of the recipe for longevity has obtained the opinions of some eminent men. Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson wrote as follows I have no specific for longevity, but the conditions on which I believe it rests are; (1) Healthy heredity. (2) Healthy edu- cation, ment44 and physical. (3) Competency for existence. (4) Freedom from worry, excitement, and over-fatigue. (5) Regular hours. (6) Moderate diet without alcohol (7) Continuous industry, with- Versatile labour." Sir Henry Thompson, who was addressed, confined I his reply to the declining years of life. Most elderly men," in his opinion, eat too much they do not understand that as the output-i.e. the activity I of the body—diminishes so must also the intake." Lord Playfair, from the standpoint of a sanitarian, wrote: When the prophet said, Wash and be clean,' he gave, the secret of public and private health. But the phrase must be taken in its full meaning: there I must be pure air, pure water, clean surroundings, and sound food. With these regular habits, and plenty of work, an individual, as well as a community, ought to have good chances of a long life." I Professor Blackie was applied to, and shortly before his death made ft communication in which he discussed the subject at length, and in which occurred the following: The world of which we are a part is a world of active force and creative work. The work of a man is projected from his soul, but the tools of his work are his bodily organs-so to speak, the machinery of the great work we call life. The • healthy state of this machinery is essential to a happy life, and, next to necessary food, the healthy state of the bodily machinery depends on air and exercise. Let every man, therefore, who wishes to have his j^odily organs in good condition for any sort of pwork, beware-of lazy and sedentary habits. Let him H cultivate motion and open-air exercise as much as possible, and, whenever there is opportunity, to mere walking, let him add golfing and cricket and skating, snd other amusements which call forth the whole power of the physical system.* Other replies, according to our contemporary, were not alittle disappointing, but the conclusion of the writer is Clearly, all that the ordinary man can do to attain longevity is to obey the general laws of health, and to adapt his mode of life to hia physical peculiarities and his daily occupation."

| TUB WIFE Yes, at first, my dear, the doctoi jtiought that your illness had affected your brain." The Husband He still thinks so, it seems, from the bill he sent in yesterday," As eccentric shopkeeper stuck up a board over hie door, upon which was painted the following: I will give this business to any man who is contented." He very soon had an applicant. Well, sir, are you a contented man ?" Yes, sir, very." Then what you want with my business?" The applicant did laot stop to reply. « TUB Emperor of Japan is devoted to football. TIIERE are two planta regarded as weeds in ^fperica that might become useful vegetables under cultivation. One is the wild lettuce, common on the plains, which may be gathered in abundance in the spring. It resists heat and dryness remarkably well. Th, other is the Astrygalns crassicarpus, whose lific seeds partake of the flavour of the haricot, taragus, and salsify. It is ready in the beginning ¡ 1May. Most of our succulent vegetables have a ble origin. Out of the many thousands of wild plants only- a hundred or two are used as food, but I (election and cultivation would no doubt render fanv others edible. i :'1

t QUEEN'S HOUSEHOLD AND HIS WORK. The scandalous waste which characterised the reigns of the Hanoverian Kings was (says the writer of an interesting article in Tit BIts) especially notice- able in the management of the Roval Household. It will scarcely be believed that, at the beginning of the present reign, there were literally hosts of places which had been created simply in order that rela- tions of people who already held well-paid offices in the Household might also draw salaries, there was so much division of labour, moreover-.ith a view to multiplying places and salaries-that it was an official acting under the orders of the Lord Stewaid who laid the fires in the palace, but they could only be lighted by another official belonging to the depart- ment of the Lord Chamberlain. The late Prince Consort set himeelf the task of re- forming the extravagancies and absurdities of the Royal Household, and he succeeded so well that at the present day the Royal Household is better and more economically managed than that of any other Sovereign in Europe-a result which was not obtained without much opposition and the exercise of great patience. Even now there is much that would bear reform were it not for the opposition of many great political and other interests. The division of the Household into three parts, headed by the Lord Chamberlain, the Lord Steward, and the Master of the Horse, merely leads- to great expense, for the heads of de- partments have little to do but draw large salaries, and the real work haa to be done by other officials, who also receive considerable payments. From the point of view of economy, all these political posts might well be got rid of, the real working beads of the departments alone retained, and ) the whole centralised under one superintendent. Of the working officials, one of the most impor- tant is Lord Edward Pelham Clinton, the Master of the Household. To him falls the practical manage- ment of the inner machinery of the Royal Household. The theory still exists that if the Royal cellars need replenishing with coal, or the Royal Palaces need re-decorating, or the Royal milk-bills come up for payment, it is the Lord Steward whose business it is to see into the matter, and without his order nothing can be done towards a settlement. In practice, however, all the ordinary business of the Household is managed by Lord Edward Pelham Clinton, without any reference to the Lord Steward at all. In the event, of any new occasion arising, moreover, the Queen issues her own orders directly to Lord Edward, and if she requires further advice on the subject, is in the habit of consulting her daughters, Princess Louise and Princess Beatrice, or her Private Secretary, Sir Fleetwood Edwards in short, one of her immediate Court, who may be naturally expected to know more about the subject and her Majesty's own personal view than an outside official who has been appointed solely for political considerations, and hardly ever comes to Court at all except on State occasions or by special command of her Majesty. Lord Edward is, in fact, the permanent working head of the Lord Steward's department, and he bears much the same relation to the Lord Steward, Treasurer and Comptroller, who are his nominal superiors, that the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign Office does to the Foreign Minis ter and the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. If there is any difference, it is that the Master of the Household has far larger independent powers. It mav be of interest to our readers to know some of the duties actually performed by the Master of the Household. One of these is the issuing of the necessarv orders for the preparation of the various palaces in anticipation of the Queen's arrival at any of them. There is, moreover, a regular routine of re- decoration and re-furnishing, which is carried out, room by room, and year by year, at the London palaces and at Windsor Castle. It is part of the Master's business to issue the necessary orders when the time arrives, and to superintend the results of the '$:ork. When the question arose whether the electric light should be installed in Windsor Castle, it fell to ..he Master's duty to make the necessary inquiries with regard to cost, to cause a survey of the castle to be made in order to discover a place convenient for establishing dynamos and distributors, and finally to submit the plans for the ornamental por- tion of the installation to the Queen, and receive her suggestions on the subject. her suggestions on the subject. The supper and refreshments which are supplied at Buckingham Palace at the State balls and concerts' are prepared under the order and supervision of the Master. The directions sent to the Royal purveyors to provide supplies are signed by him. The instruc- tions for engaging extra cooks and servants issue from him. The entire machinery of the Royal kitcheu moves at his bidding. When the Queen feasted the foreign Royal Princes and the great dignitaries of the realm at Windsor Castle during the July of tho Jubilee year, the Master of the Household had a week of hard labour, arranging all the details of the great. State dinner parties which took place in St. George's Hall. On the several occasions when the Shah of Persia and his suite were lodged in Buckingham Palace, it fell to the Master of the Household to make the com- plicated arrangements necessary to enable these Mohammedan strangers to reside in the midst of an infidel palace without suffering any hurt to their fastidious relfgious feelings by contact with what they regarded as unclean. The whole of the preparations in Buckingham Palace for the wedding of the Duke of York and the Duchess of Fife were really arranged by the Master of the Household, though the credit of the perform- ance went to the Lord Steward. Among the numerous officials who are under the orders of the Master are the Housekeepers of the Royal Palaces, the Pages of the Backstairs, the Pages' Men, the Keeper of the Swans, the Barge- master, the Ratcatcher, the Pages of the Presence, the Dentist to the Household, the Royal Gillies, the Hindu attendants, and, of course, a long array of cooks, flunkeys, and maids. In addition to the residential palaces, the palaces of Hampton Court, Kensington, and St. James's also fall under the care ot the Master of the Household, and if any of the aristocratic tenants who inhabit the suites of rooms wish to have any work done to their residences, either for themselves or by them- selves, they have to consult with the Master of the Household, at whose advice practically the order of the Lord Steward will be issued for or against. In return for these multifarious duties the Master of the Household receives a salary of E1100 a year. He is, moreover, provided with a private residence in the Norman Tower of Windsor Castle, another, with a private entrance in the south-east comer of Buck- ingham Palace, and a third at Osborne. He is thus lodged free of expense, and if he chooses to dine at the general table provided for the suite, he is boarded free as well. The present Master of the Household, Lord Edward Pelham Clinton, succeeded to the office last year on the death of Sir John Clayton Cowell, who had held it for nearly 30 years. He is the younger son of the fifth Duke of Newcastle, and uncle of the present duke and of Lord Francis Hope. He served for some time in the Rifle Brigade, where he attained the rank of colonel. He also sat in Parliament as M.P. for South Notts from 1865-8. He was appointed Groom-in-Waiting to the Queen in 1881, and held this post with so much satisfaction to his Royal mistress during J3 years, that on the death of her faithful servitor, Sir John Cowell, she promoted Lord Edward to his place. The period during which he has held office has been. too short for many notable experiences beyond the usual heavy routine. However, it has been his duty to see that Clarence House (which, as a portion of St. James's Palace, is under his care) was duly prepared in order to receive the Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and that the Royal palaces were put in proper order for the cere- I monial of the Drawing Rooms and Levies of the year.

VAN PULLMAN "-now can I believe that you love me better than you did your former husband when vou say you kissed him oftener than you do me?" Mrs. Lakeside Oh, my dear, the kisses I give you are just twice as long as those I gave him." ADMIRAL BALDAHTIA DA WAMA, whose death is re' ported from Brazil, will be remembered as having been conspicuous in the last Brazilian insurrection on the part of the insurgents. He took command of the insurgent fleet in the harbour, and fought with much pluck and determination until news came that Admiral Mello, who had gone south for ftinfo ments, could get no help. Da Gama then struck his colours and surrendered; but afterwards effected hie escape, and joined the insurgents in the Southern provinces. He has now died by his own hand seeing no prospect of success of his revolutionary schemes Tu« correspondent of a Western contemporv savs that since the return of the Severn from China the air has been full of interesting and possibly authentic details of the Chmo-JapaneBe war. Captain Hender- son, who is in command of the Severn, has brought several souvenirs of the war, one of which is of con- siderable interest. Most people will remember that ine ill-fated Ting, Admiral in command of the Chinese Squadron, committed suicide from shame and remorse. In the cabin of the flagship in which the deed was perpetrated was an armchair-the Admiral's own—quaintly and fancifully carved in the orthodox Chinese style. This chair was pre- sented to Captain Henderson by his attached friend, Admiral Ito. In the captain's possession are also some extremely curious pieces of shells that exploded on Ting's ship, and a percussion musket of the most obsolete kind, used bv a Chinaman at Wet-hei-wei.

THERE are 38 medical journals in Russia, of which P are published at St. Petersburg, five at Moscow, 'our at Warsaw, two at Odessa, two at Charkov, and 5ne apiece at Kazan, Kiev, Saratov, Woroneaz, and ultova. The oldest of them, is the Medizinskoie bozrenie, which has been in existence 21 years. Tbe Kmskaia Medizina is 19 years old, and tbe Vttith it In Its 15th year. A MAGNETIC contrivance is said to have been in- Tented by an American which ought to lessen the chances of collision at sea. The apparatus, attached to a compass, causes the needle to deviate in the direction of a ship that comes within the magnetic sphere of the vessel carrying the magnetic tell-tale, .aithe is 8everal miles in diameter. The needle, when indicating the direction of the in- truder within the circle, is made to close an electric circuit, which sets in motion.an ilwtim.

THE WEDGWOOD CENTENARY. in celebration of the Centenary of Josiah Wedg- wood, the virtual founder of the Staffordshire potteries, an Exhibition of old Wedgwood ware was opened the other day, at Buralem, by Mr. Mundella. The Centenary celebrated was that of Wedgwood's death. A hundred years ago he died, at the age of 65, at Etruria Hall, then the most magnificent place in North Staffordshire, a beautiful house em- bowered in woods, and looking out upon a country which still bears traces of its former love- liness. Great mounds of refuse from Lord Gran- ville's iron-pits and furnaces rear their mighty sides of fiery molten attiff-veri table clouds of smoke by day and pillars of fire by night-between Etruria Hall, where Josiah Wedgwood spent the last happy days of his life, and the beautiful banks of Ha/tshill, Bosford, and Wolstanton, still pretty, if only by contrast with their dismal surroundings. Deep marl quarries and clay pits have been cut out of the sides of these banks to obtain some of the raw material required by the busy and thriving towns of the Potteries, Stoke and Longton, Burslem, Hanley. and Tunstall, with their quarter of a million of potters and miners, a marvellous increase of popula- tion since Wedgwood's days, when the whole annual product of the district was less than £ <000. Many changes and developments have taken place since Wedgwood's days. Other large firms have arisen, and other artists have come to thl front. Minton's has obtained a world-wide fame. The name of Solon, whose graceful and delicate handling of the process of pa-tequr pdte is not less characteristic than were the classic designs of Flaxman, is becoming widely famous. The Cauldon ware of late years has won a place at international exhibitions which has raised it to a level with the products of Minton and Copeland in the markets of the world for choice art; while at Chicago, Doulton's Burslem work challenged a first place with the charm- ing issues from the Cauldon kilns. Among the recent developments in the Potteries is the introduc- tion of a famous enamelling kiln, concerning which there is at present much talk in the smoke-laden part of the country. Experiments with this German inven- tion have been made at the Cauldon Works with-such success that there is some prospect of a time when th. firing of china and earthenware will no longer be a smoke-producing process; the consumption of coal will be reduced by more than one-half, and the lustre, brilliancy, and delicacy of the colours employed in de- coration will be immeasurably enhanced. But while these wonderful developments-th results of a century of experiments made by k»en and highly cultivated men—have been going on, the work com- pleted by Josiah Wedgwood a hundred years ago remains unapproachable, and the great firm he founded remains where he left it, in the front rank of the art potters of the world. The collection of old Wedgwood which is now on view at Burslem, in connection with the Centenary celebration, is, without exception, the largest, most representative, and most beautiful that has ever been brought together. Collectors in all parts of the country have contributed handsomely of their treasures. The unique collection made by Mr. Huline, a Burslem potter, who has made the choice of Wedgwood ware the crowning effort of a busy public life, and has generouslv presented the result to his native town, is the nucleus of a perfect representative collection. Other amateurs in all parts of the country have con- tributed generously and, of course, the National Collections at South Kensington and the Geological Museum have been freely drawn upon. Unquestion- ably, nothing so truly representative of Wedgwood's work, with the reproduction of the classic Homeric and Virgilian story, in British historical studies, in grouping and portraiture, in decorative work, in articles of vertu and jewellery, has ever been collected before. A fine collection of the allied modern English Art in watercolours has been lent from South Ken- sington, and a beautiful representation of photo- graphic work, arranged by the Staffordshire Potteries' Society, adds a feature of attractiveness to the Inhibition.

ROYALTY AND THE RACES. As to the connection of English sovereigns and princes with the turf, the Field says that whether the free sorrel courser; the one courser spotted with white," and other animals for which Edward III. had to pay various sums, were race-horses or not, we have, at this lapse of time, no means of knowing; but Henry VIII. would certainly appear to have run horses in races, for in Nicholas's "Privy Purse Expenses of Henry VIII." there is an entry relating to the keep of the King's Barbary horse," And also to a sum of money paid by way of reward to the boye that ranne the horse." The exact position of James I. as a sportsman baa been the subject of many a discussion but in racing be appears to have always taken the greatest interest. He was certainly at Newmarket, probably for the first time, on February 26, 1605; and between that date and 1617, when he saw Lincoln Races, his Majesty doubtless acquired a good deal of turf experience. Charles II. seems to nave organised a spring and autumn meeting at Newmarket, and at Burford Races appears to have donned boots and breeches and ridden in a race himself; while Queen Anne entered con amore into the pleasures of racing. She rray be said to have founded Ascot Races; sSe ran her horses at Datchet, and won one of her own plates at York on the very day on which she was struck down with the apoplectic fit that caused her death within a few hours. A brown horse named Star was the winner on this occasion, and he was possibly the best the Queen ever pos- sessed; for the greys Mustard and Pepper always managed to meet something rather better than them- selves. Neither of the first two Georges had more than a nominal connection with racing; nor does George III. seem to have done much more than take his whole household to Ascot, and to have given a plate to be run for by horses that had been hunted with his staghounds; but George IV. made up for all the family shortcomings in this respect, as he devoted himself gaily to the turf, and, when at Brighton, never failed to attend the Lewes and Brighton Races, driven by Sir John Lade, and having Colonel Mellish for a companion. During the first seven years of his career as an owner of race-horses he managed to win the Derby with Sir Thomas; and had it not been for the Escape business, he would doubtless have been an ardent patron of racing down to the day of his death but, although he returned to racing in 1826, be never, perhaps, took quite the same interest in it; though he gave more for his horses than he had ever given before, and when on his deathbed he bad messages sent to him (laying how things were going on at Ascot. As is well known, King William IV. kept on the royal stud, not so much because he knew anything or cared much about racing, but because he thought it was the proper thing to do in the circumstances, and at Hampton Races he made quite a pretty speech to the public in praise of the turf yet not long after- wards he had a couple of stones thrown at him at Ascot on his stepping out into the balcony, but the heavy hat of the period saved him from injury. From the time of the King's death until the Prince of Wales came forth in the character of an owner of race-horses, royalty had taken no active share in racing.