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

ENGLAND AND AMERICA. ARBITRATION TRBATY SIGNBD. The Treaty of Arbitration between Great Britain and the United States was signed shortly after noon I on January 11 by Secretary Olney and Sir Julian, Pauncefote. A duplicate copy was sent to England to receive the formal approval of the Queen's Govern- ( ment, and the document was to be transmitted imme- dintely to Congress for ratification by the Senate. There were also present at the ceremony of signa- ture Lord Gough (First Secretary of the British Embassy), Mr. Creidler (Chief of the United States Diplomatic Bureau), and Mr. Blandford (Private Secretary to Mr. Olney). In view of the historic importance of this docu- ment, Mr. Blandford preserved the pen "with which it was signed. The provisions of the Treaty are essentially as follows: "(1) The Treaty shall be operative for a term of five years from the date of ratification. (2) The Court of Arbitration shall consist of six members, three drawn from the Judiciary of the United States and three from the Judiciary of the United Kingdom, nominated respectively by.the Pre- sident and by the Prime Minister of thecontracting nations. (3) The Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all differenceii between the two nations now pending, or that may arise during the continuance of the Treaty, excepting the Behring Sea or the Vene- zuela Boundary disputes. 1 "(4) No question involving national honour shall be submitted to the arbitration of the Com- mission." The Treaty goes to Congress with a message from President Cleveland, recommending its immediate adoption. The Commission will act in the settlement of claims between the subjects of either nation or against the government of the other. In order to avoid Si tie-vote on the Commission, Secretary Olney u"ged the appointment of King Oscar of 'Sweden at final umpire, and his Majesty has accepted this office fQr the general Treaty, at well as for the Venezuela" arbitration. In the latter case it has now been decided that one nominee of the United States shall be specially representative of Venezuela. The King of Sweden, it is understood, is free either to act personally in any points referred to him, or to appoint a deputy to act on his behalf. It is also understood that the Alaska boundary ques- tion may be settled separately. The negotiations have been entirely conducted at Washington, and have been marked by a sincere desire to bring two great English-speaking nations to an amicable settlement of difficulties, and not to achieve a diplomatic victory. Not only in diplomatic circles, but among the general public, the event is regarded as of the highest importance. In Chicago preparations are in progress to cele- brate the occasion by a great Peace Carnival. Several influential men are at the head of the movement. Among other things, there is a proposal to strike off 300 gold and silver medals as memorials. These will be presented to the Chicago committee of 37 who forwarded memorials to President Cleveland and to Qn«mt Vfctdtfa in favour of a general treaty, of arbitration, and to certain prominent officials and citizens concerned in the movement. The presentation of these medals will take place in the huge auditorium at Chicago, and the occasion will be made one for oratory and possibly for a street demonstration. The Governor-General of Canada, President Cleveland, and his Cabinet, and all the re- presentatives of foreign Powers at Washington are to be invited to attend with a view to farthering the formation of a supreme Conrt of Nations. Whether or not success crowns these proposals, they indicate accurately the deep feeling which has arisen in America upon the arbitration move- ment. The State Department at Washington has revived its diplomatic regulations, and has inserted a clause forbidding speeches on political topics by representatives of the Republic accredited to foreign countries. — — —

ART AND LITERATURE. Mx. BSKNARD QIVARITCH, to whom Mr. Gladstone addressed hia recent letter on boek-collecting, ie the first living authority on book values, and his place of business in Piccadilly is the natural home of rare editions. He is of German extraction, but came to this country more than 60 years ago, and, with the exception of a short stay in Paris, has remained here ever sinoe, Some idea of the extraordinary per- severance that gained for him that position may be found in the Boke of Ye Odd Volumes," which tells how, when yet a poor man, HIt. Quaritch walked to and from St. Albans, and there formed the resolution that he would one day buy a copy of the Book of St. Albans." During 40 years of patient toil he never forgot this resolution, and at last the chance came, and at Christie's the hammer fell to his bid of 600 guineas, and he became possessed of the envied treasure. THE Royal Academy {remarks the Globe) proceeds slowly with its elections, for at Burlington House routine is not only prevalent but dominant. It is especially dominant in the matter of admitting out- siders into its outer ranks. Vacancies in these must be filled slowly, and with due regard to decorum. Happily they are more prompt in bringing up the effective of full R..A. to the standard 40. But in the list of the A.B.A.'s there are many gaps to be replaced. In the catalogue there are but 28, and of these 28 Mr. Crofts and Mr. Jackson, the last elected R.A.'s, are counted as two. These two members have not yet had their diplomas made out and signed by her Ma)mty, and so in the Academy catalogtie they are deprived of the affix of Esquire," and that even though one of them was elected before Sir Edward Poynter got his knighthood. This concession to routine causes no inconvenience. The AJI.A.'B have almost practically the same rights 48 the R.A.'s, except that they may not sit on the TJourS»icf*>«-~take part in the election of President. TUB next "UJe New Irish Library, of which Sir Charles Gavan Duffy is the editor, will be "Bishop Doyle: a Biographical and Historical Study," by Mr. Michael McDonagh. Doyle was pro- bably the greatest Irish Roman Catholic prelate since the Reformation. He was remarkable not only as a religious leader, but as a politician and publicist." As Bishop of Kildare from 1819-1834, he was a pro minent figure in the Catholic Emancipation move- ment and in the subsequent agitation for the aboli- tion of tithes (rivalling Daniel O'Oonnel in popu- larity), and was chiefly instrumental in establishing the present system of national education, and in having the English system of poor-relief extended to Ireland. Dr. Doyle, to whom, by the way, Mr. Glad- stone refers in his famous pamphlet on Vatican Decrees," created a great sensation in 1824 by advo- cating the union of the Churches, which at that time, in Ireland, were carrying on- a furious contro- versial campaign, but the proposal met with the hos- tility of his brethren in the Episicopacy, and BO came to nothing j. THE issue af CasselTs Saturday Journal, published on Wednesday, the 13th inst., contains the com- mencement of a new serial by Mr. George Manville Fenn, entitled In Dark Waters and of a new series of true stories by Harry Blyth, entitled In the Eye of the Law," in addition to a unique ptize scheme in which everyone who takes part will re- ceive a prize. In the same number appear several communications from well-known M.P.'s under the heading, Why Men Enter Parliament." MR. H. J. PALMER, the editor of the Yorkshire Post, discusses in the Nineteenth Century the ques- tion of advertising in newspapers, and, as might be expected, he pleads strenuously against the habit of advertising by puff. Of his own experience he speaks without reserve "The degree to which this pursuit of masked advertisement has grown of late years will be understood when I say that fully .50 per cent. of my daily letters come from persons in quest of some such favour, from the perennial Bounder, M.P., who wants the world to know that he has been shooting with the Duke of Forfarshire, to the professional advertising agent who coolly forwards an ornate recommendation of some quack or company, whose advertisement is to appear in your columns: Air. Palmer believes that the self-respecting editor generally relegates such communications to the wastepaper basket, and, spiking for himself, he says that he has "fallen intiF the habit of slipping them into a drawer reserved for the ouriositiea of Journalism, with which 1 propose fo entertain, a cynical old age." When, however, the editor of the Yorkshire Post finds himself at a dinner party, and has to listen to the said Bounder, M.P., answer, 011 being chaffed at using his invitation for advertisement purposes, that he is "excessively annoyed to find it got into the papers, and that it is impossible to keep those newspaper fellows out of one's private affairs," his patience gets exhausted, and he saYer' I feel tempted to squeal on him there and then." A cuaieus history attaches to The Narrative of Captain Coignet, Soldier of the Empire 1776-1860," which will shortly be published. M. Lorédon Larcbey, who edited the last French version from the original MSi, in turning over volumes on a bookstall of the Quai des Saints Peres, in 1869, oame upon a little book, entitled Souvenirs de Jean-Roch Coignet" dated 1851. On perusal the interesting character and the actuality of the reminiscences struck his fancy, and he made inquiries as to their veracity. He found that Coignet was, indeed, a veteran of the Empire, who after ceasing from his military career became an habitue of a caf6 where his recital. of his recollections dtew ronnd him A orowd of listeners. A suggestion that he should embody his experiences in a book was carried out with the help of & local notary, and the author himself materially aided the tales of hia book by calmly inviting any visitor to the caf6 to purchase a copy. At his death lie left 700f. bo furnish a repast at his funeral for theee friends and readers. THE Royal Academy's winter exhibition comprises a very complete collection of Leighton's works. They range from the "Cimabue to the Clytie "—that is to say, really the whole course of the late President's artistic career. Landscapes, portraits, figure subjects are ranged altogether over four large rooms. A long range of noted achievement it is, with, however, as everyone notes, comparatively few surprises, fer the method of Leighton changed comparatively little from the first to the last. But throughout, if there is lameness of method, then is also an impressive unifor- mity of sustained strength, dignity, achievement; A record in effect it is of a life-long quest for beauty, with a poet's insistence, consistency, genuine appre- eiativeness wherever that beauty peeped. To the end there is order and method, but never anything that deserves the name of enthusiasm that Daughter of Heaven, as Schiller called it. Indeed, apart from Cimabue," with its freshness and feeling, the cold ipell mainly grows, and work after work shows the path of the restraints, the conventions, the academic moods. But be this as it may, the collection is a worthy memorial of a great artistic life, an admirable legacy to lovers of art and of beauty. H- M.P. for East Denbighshire—the Right Hon. Sir George Osborne Morgan, Bart., Q.C.—is another instance of a man who throughout a busy life at the Bar and in Parliament, following a distinguished University career, has found recreation in classical studies. Mr. Henry Prowde, Oxford University Press Warehouse, announces as almost ready for publication. Sir George's rendering of Virgil's Eclogues into the despised Englisn hexameter— the Latin poet's own metre. It is dedicated to Mr. Gladstone, Sir George's old political chief and exemplar in devotion to the poets of the old world. The inscription runs: "To the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, who throughout his long and illustrious life has known how te lighten the cam of a states- man by the recreations of a scholar." THHRE is something always fresh and invigorating about Mr. Clark Russell's sea stories, and What Cheer!" (Cassell), his latest contribution to fiction of that class, has all his best characteristics, and cannot fail to attract a wide circle of readers. lffn. RICHAKD R. HOL108, the librarian at Windsor, is preparing the material for the authoritative Personal Life of Queen Victoria." The letterpress will embrace a consideration of her Majesty's posi- tion, first as Princess and daughter, then as Queen, Wife, and mother, and. finally, of her reign since the death of the Prince Consort. The writer will be authorised to correct sertain inaccurate statements made and often repeated concerning the Queen's childhood, education, and early years on the Throne, and the Queen herself has consented to examine the monograph during its progress. All proofs, both of text and illustrations, will be submitted to her. For frontispiece there is to be a reproduction in oolours of a beautiful miniature portrait of her Majesty by Robert Xhorbum; and the other illnatrations will in- elnde plates taken direct from the original paintings of many well-known and several less hnawn portraits ef tbeQoee^

r;. iiiume s HINTS. (From" Cottage Gardening.") NORFOLK DUMPLINGS.—Mix lib. of self-raising flour into smooth dough with water, taking care that it is not too stiff. Form into round balls the size of an egg. Have ready a pan of fast boiHng water, throw in the dumplings one at a time and boil for 20 minutes. Serve as soon as they are cocked, and eat with butter and brown sugar. LEMON DUMPLINGS.—Mix with lOoz. of fine bread- crumbs, lib. of beef suet chopped very small, one large tablespoonful of flour, the grated rind of two lemons, or of one large one, 4oz. of powdered loaf sugar, three or four eggs, well beaten, and the juice of the lemons strained. Divide this into four equal Earts, and tie in well-floured cloths and boil for an our. GINGER PUDDIXG.—Ingredients: Half a pound of flour, lIb. of suet, !lb. of moist sugar, two large teaspoonftils of ground ginger. Free the suet from the skin and chop it very fine, mix it with the flour, sugar, and ginger, and stir well together butter a mould or basin, put the mixture in dry, tie a floured cloth over the top, plunge into boiling water, and boil for three hours. STEAMED MUTTON.—Into a stewing-jar put 31bs. of mutton, a carrot, small onion and turnip cut into dice, two teaspoonfuls of salt, a saltspoonfnl of pepper, a tomato, and J pint of water. Cover closely, and stand the jar in a saucepan of water, which keep boiling for three hours. Arrange a border of boiled rice on a dish, place the mutton in it, the vegetables in the centre, and sprinkle over all some finelv- chopped parsley or capers. ONION Soup.-Three large onions, jIb. bread-crust, a large carrot, a few slips of celery, the yolk of one egg. Pare and slice the onions, fry in butter till nicely browned put them in a pan with one quart of boiling water, the bread, pepper, and salt. Add the carrot and celery cut in small pieces, let the whole boil together for two hours ten minutes before the soup is required beat the yolk of the egg, add a little of the soup and vinegar, pour this gradually into the soup, and stir the whole constantly the same way. Do not allow it to boil. TOAST SANDWICHES.—Cut the crust from stale bread, slice and toast a delicate brown. Spread lightly with mustard butter, then with any chopped meat or fish. Put two slices together, and with a sharp knife cut in long strips and serve on a platter. To make mustard butter: beat until well incorporated and perfectly smooth, two tablespoon- fuls of mustard with soft butter the size of a large egg. CORNISH POTATO CAKE.-Boil the potatoes till they are soft and floury, dry them, and, while warm, mash them thoroughly, then mix with them as much flour as will bind the potato without making it stiff, add salt, and roll out on a Soured board, and shape the cake or cakes; fry in boiling bacon-fat. Usually the cake is rolled to about hali-inch in thickness, moulded to the shape of the pan, and fried whole. Properly made, it is wonderfully light. It requires some art in turning it. This is managed by heating only enough fat at that to fry one side, then dexterously turning the cake on to a plate, and, when sufficient fat is boiling for the other side, sliding it into the pan again. TURNIP Sour.-Put a good lump of butter in a saucepan, and when melted add a small Spanish onion sliced, and one large turnip pared and sliced; cook them in the butter for five or 10 minutes, but do not let them brown. New pour in one pint of boiling water, or, if you have it, the water in which rice has been boiled. Simmer till the turnip is quite tender, then rub the whole through a sieve, and return to the saucepan. Add a teacupful of milk, one tablepoonful of fine breadcrumbs, pepper and salt. Boil for a few minutes, and serve. USEFUL HOMX-MADX ARTICLES.—A bookcase can be fashioned from a box in which goods have been packed. One that is 4ft. or 6ft. long, 4ft. wide, and 18in. deep is a good size. Sandpaper until smooth, and fill up all crevices or nail-holes with putty. Use thin boards for shelves, and put in as many as the space and the size of the books will permit. A strip of moulding should be placed all around the top; then stain it to correspond with the other furniture of the room, and varnish. Put two curtains of silk, or other suitable fabric in front of the shelves, suspending them from a brass rod. A footstool may be made of a box with a roller under each corner. Fasten the lid to the box with hinges, pad the top with several thicknesses of an old quilt, and cover with cloth. The box can be used to keep the Sunday shoes in, or for the various garments that need mending. A hat-rack for the ball is both useful and ornamental. Procure a board 2ft. or 3ft. square and lin. thick. Cut out a square or oval opening in the centre, in which a mirror may be placed. Bevel the outside and inside edges of the frame, sandpaper very smooth, stain it walnut or mahogany colour, and varnish. Fasten a hook into each of the four corners, and hang it np diagonally. Under this hat-rack may be placed an umbrella stand, made of a section of drain pipe set in an earthen saucer. Paint some large design of flowers or birds on th& pipe. BLACKING FOB BROWN BoOTS.-The simplest, quickest, and most effective manner to blacken brown boots is to take a raw potato, cut it in halves and rub the blacking in well, polish, and the result will be so satisfactory as to make it difficult to say whether the boots had not always been black. This recipe is the only one known and used in the army, where the boots are principally brown when issued to the soldiers. THE USES OF BORAX.—The value of borax in the household is not understood as it should be, for there are few articles so generally useful. Borax is com- posed of sodium and boracic acid, and in its natural state is a crystal, but is prepared in a powdered form for general domestic purposes. By its use hard water is made soft, woollen garments and blankets readily cleansed, delicate colours washed without fading, dainty laces returned to freshness, and stains removed —all without the least injury to the cloth or fabric. In the kitchen it may be added to the water used to clean all cooking utensils, disinfect the sink, and destroy all unpleasant odours adhering to pans and kettles. In the dining-room, pantry, and kitchen cupboards, the sprinkling of borax on shelves and floors will entirely do away with the annoyance of ants, roaches, and bugs. The use of borax in food is not advisable, and it is often present in large quan- tities in milk, both cowkeeper and retailer adding it to preserve the fluid, and often the housekeeper pnts in a little for the same purpose. To MAKB BOOT. AKD SUOBS WATERPROOF.—A good composition for winter use, when it is desired to make boots proof against wet and snow, is composed of one part mutton suet and twice the quantity of bees-wax, melted together. It should be applied to the leather at night, and the boots wiped with a flannel next morning. Although when the composi- tion is first applied the leather will not polish as well as usual when blacked, yet it will be susceptible to a brilliant polish after the blacking has been applied a few times. The following com- position not only renders the leather capable of re- sisting wet, but also makes it more pliable, softer, and more durable: Dissolve i-oz. of Burgundy pitch in half-pint of drying oil mixed with loz. of turpentine. To use this fluid the boots should be made slightly warm before the fire, and painted over with the composition by means of a soft brush. Then allow them to dry, and paint them over again with the liquid. The boots should then be placed in a warm and dry place until perfectly dry. Another composition of a similar kind is made by dissolving loz. of powdered resin in t pint of linseed oil made hot over the fire in a pipkin; then add 2oz. of mutton suet, from the kidney, chopped np small, and simmer until the materials are well mixed. This com- position is applied like the last, but does not require a second application. To REMon FUR imom Ksmys.- Fill the kettle with cold water, put in it about one drachm of sal ammonia. Let it boil for an hour, when the fur, or petrified substance formed on the metal, will be dis- solved, and can easily be removed. In boiling a kettle, care must be taken to put the lid on closely, so as not to leave the smallest crevice. If the lid ia the least bit broken or bent, a new one should be got, otherwise the water is liable to be smoked and ren- dered unfit for use, communicating a disagreeable taste to the tea or anything it is mixed with. To KBBP TINWARE BRIGHT.-For keeping tinware bright, a little emery powder is preferable to bath- brick, and for copper and brass nothing is so easy to use and so ready as the polishing paste sold in tins. The French housekeeper, whose kitchen-ware is her pride, keeps herself provided with a one quart bottle of water in which loz. of oxalic acid has been Ab- solved this, dropped upon a soft cloth, j" £ sufficient of itself to produce a polish, andif nseq-m conjunction with a little dry brickdust ft is au-e lift. t

CONSTANTINOPLE BLUDGEON MEN. Yvan Troshine describes in Scribner's Monthly the bludgeon men who massacred the Armenians in the streets of Constantinople They were of all shades of oolour, from the white-skinned Las and Circassian to the brown and hook-nosed Kourd and the coal- black Nubian from Africa. Their faces were a study of fearful passions. There were faces seamed and scarred liked the head of a fighting bulldog; faces distorted by malice and greed; faces seared, as by fire, case-hardened in ignorance of all except vice, and ferocious as an angry tiger. Some of those faces burnt their way into my memory and remained for days; a haunting revelation of brutal instincts and beasifa desires which made one wonder how it was possibta to have lived in safety for weeks in a city containing such men.

THE WOMAN'S WORLD. WRITING on hand-wear tn the Daily Magazine, that reliable autiisrity on all current matters in the fashion world, "Lady Charlotte," says: Gloves play perhaps the moat prominent part in the toilette of u refined woman, and may be a very considerable expense unless care is taken of them. Instead of sending gloves to the cleaner's after they have been worn a long time, it is far better to keep on hand a small bottle of gaso- line, and to go lightly over the surface sf the gloves with this and small sponge every time before putting away. After the cleansing process, the gloves should be drawn off, inflated by blowing into them, and hung up in a draught of air. 81 rinkle inside a little sachet powder, fold, aad lay carefully away in white or blue tissue paper. Do not use the gasoline near any flame or fire. BUTTONS should be firmly sewed on new gloves before wearing, and if the hand is plump it is well to clip small pieces of kid from old gloves and sew them under the buttons of the new pair. This holds the buttons fast, and prevents the kid from tearing. Clasps are often preferred to buttons, for they are exceedingly strong, and are very pretty in silver, gold, enamel, pearl, &< AMONG the desirable novelties in gloves are the seamless designs. These are made in black and in various shades of browa, tan, and grey, in four and five button lengths, and have no side seams. They impart to the hand a graceful roundness, and apparently diminish the size in a most desirable manner. DOE-SKIN GLOVES lined with coloured silk are de- lightful in cold weather, for the lining fits smoothly, slipfs easily over the hand, and keeps it very worm. Black, beaver, and tan are the favourite colours. 1 For wear with tailor gowns the stylish glove is the piqu6-sewn pattern, and another desirable pattern for everyday wear is the chevrette glove with neat braid points. GREY GLOVES stitched with black or white are beau- tiful for dressy wear. For evening, the choice is very large. Every conceivable colour and shade is seen, and the lengths vary from eight to 20 buttons. The most fashionable evening glove is still the white or cream mousauetaire suede. TWENTY-SEVEN INCH fancy nets with chenille figures are very popular, and are in black, brown, navy-blue, and cream, also in white with black designs. Chantilly veilings with designed borders and chenille armures are ultra-fashionable, and are worn with dressy hats, plain malines, or tulle in black or white, serving for everyday purposes. SMART kid and satin evening slippers (the Morning tells us) are worn in various delicate tints to match, the dress or its trimming, but, as usual, white, black, and bronze are more in favour. Open-work trimmings being the order of the day,'the newest slippers are beautified in this fashion. Narrow bands of jewelled embroidery CTOBS ft'fid recross the top of the foot, from the toe part over the instep, and fasten like sandals at each side of the shoos, which keeps them well in positionand makes them very com- fortable. They are very pretty, too, when worn over coloured silk stockings, plain; open-work, or em- broidered. For white ones, silver, pearls, and crystal. sequins and beads are generally used, and occasionally pink coral, opals, or turquoises, to go with some part; of the dress. For pink turquoises, silver pearls, strass diamonds, or green beads are used, and for, pale blue, pink coral, green and crystal beads, pearls and silver. Bronze shoes are embroidered with gold,, steel, old paste, or jet, and black are diamonded, and, worked in different-coloured sequins or jet. Sometimes the toe-part only isembroidered,and frequently the only ornamentation is a rosette of crimped soft ribbon, perhaps tinselled at the edge, and sometimes a small flat jewelled buckle is used with small leather straps passed through, and embroidered with the smallest of lace designs in seed pearls, or diamonds. To wear with tea gowns or handsome morning wrappers there are morocco slippers, in different colours, with double flaps coming weU over the instep, with fancy buckles in strass diamonds, cut steel, silver, or jet. PRETTY, delicate-cc loured stockings are open-work or plain for evening wear, and embroidered in dainty floral and other design in contrasting colours for day wear; and fine cashmere hose are embroidered or Shot with silk, or they have open-work silk fronts to the feet. FOR outdoor wear there is little change in footgear, except that brown leather boots and shoes are being much more worn this winter than usual; possibly because they are very becoming to the foot, when well made, and of the best leather. For skating, the boots should always lace, and fit closely at the ankles, so as to give the required support for that most delightful exercise, and the heels must be of sensible and moderate dimensions. Cyclists also require neat, comfortable, foot-gear, with very common-sense heels, that can be trusted when a sudden descent from the machine is im- perative. While touching on this subject it may be as well to sound a note of warning as to the danger of careless or reckless riding in slippery or greasy weather, and more particularly when using the brake on steep declines. Falls from this sort of carelessness are of the worst kind, and, nnfortunately, as yet, the warnings in large lettering at dangerous points fer the cyclist are few and far between. It is, however, easy to. remember that what is dangerous for horses and carriages is equally, and sometimes more so, for the cyclist. FULL waists of chiffon are worn with silk and satin skirts, and the fashion of using green velvet or silk 'as a trimming for a white satin or gauze gown serves 'the double purpose of making anew gown stylish, and of freshening up an old one, as this fancy of adding a colour to white is especially effective, while a touch of black on a coloured dress is also very good, and 'will quite often disguise the fact that the garment is foiled. THESE is a great diversity in fashionable jackets, though a fevoift-ite etyle for ordinary wear appears to be the one with straight fronts and a tight-fitting back, and with two to four buttons. The wide, flat bollar is liked by some, but the majority have a close fit around the neck, and nearly all lap quite across the chest. The short box coat is generally in fine covert cloth, with strapped seams, and tailor finished. Some have plaits in the back, some yokes and some sprung bottoms, and others are only seamed, while moire collars and facings are seen on others. The Louis XVI. are also shown, but these are all made of the richest possible material, and are intended onlv for very grand occasions. NEW hats have added breadth, height, and bold- ness to their style since last season. When the hat ie large it is very large, and the toques are anything but small. Breadth seems to be the effect most sought after, and the Gainsborough hat is here again, with its abundant feathers and becoming shape, while other large hats are rolled on one side or both sides, and trimmed with plumes or cocks' feathers, spread- ing out on either side like rams' horns. THOUGH the newest skirts are much smaHer than formerly, the godet plaits are still seen at the back, but not at all in front. Bands of fur and velvet ribbon are set on in rows diagonally across the front, or to form a deep point in front, commencing on the hips. One of the latest novelties in skirts is made separate from the silk lining, exoept at the top, gathered in at the band slightly all around, with more fullness at the back, and again about 2in. below on a large cord, while it is hemmed to the bottom. THOÐGH every detail of a woman's personal belong- ings bears mute witness to her taste and habits, none, perhaps, is so true an evidence of either her refine- ment or mere love of luxury as the paper upon which she traces the communications and endearments of friendship or affection. It is said that a well-bred woman's writing paper becomes a part of herself, and that new fads may oome and go, but she still sticks to the pure white, cream white, or delicately tinted selection with which she has been always associated. Be that as it may, however, there is no gain- saying the fact that bright red hues, dark grey, glaring blue, light green, and pink are shown among the fashionable colours in this season's stationery, and it remains to be seen whether society ladies will take kindly to this new fancy. The billet and octavo sizes are the most popular, though a great sheet that folds twice and is thrust into a large envelope has been gaining favour recently.

.DISASTER ON THE NIGER. MASSACRE OF A BRrrIS11 EXPSDITIO*. News of a terrible disaster has, according to Reuter's telegram, reached Bonny from Beain. Abont January 1 an expedition to Benin City started from the coast by way of Sapele on quite a peaceful mission. The party consisted of Acting Oonsul- General Phillips; Major P. W. G. Copland Craw- ford, deputy commissioner; Captain A. M. Boie- ragon, commandant of the Niger Coast Protectorate Force; Captain Maling, wing officer of the same force, Messrs. R. F. Locke and R. C. Campbell, of the Consular staff Dr. R. H. Elliott, medical officer; and Messrs. Powis and Gordon, civilians; together with a number of Kroomen and native carriers. The Consul-General's yacht Ivy has returned here, bringing intelligence that the whole expedition, with the native followers, has been massacred by the King's people. Alarming news reached the Foreign Offioe on January 11 from the West Coast of Africa, to the effect that a party of British officials had been cap- tured, and possibly murdered, in the Benin City. The information is unofficial, but from a reliable source; in fact, it is believed to have been con- veyed to the home Government by some of the survivors of the captured party. It w» however, very scant, and to the effect that the captives were members of an unarmed party which left the British Consulate at Benin, on ,the western side of the Niger, to travel inland u towards, it is believed, Ada Muga. They were sur- prised on the frontiers of the chief of Benin City, where the party was fired upon, surrounded, and captured. The message expresses the fear that the captives were murdered, but definite information on this point is awaited from the British authorities on the scene. Lord Salisbury has telegraphed for par- ticulars. The receipt of the news created the utmost commo- tion at the Foreign Office, where immediate steps were taken to apprise Lord Salisbury of the fact. Lord Salisbury visited the Foreign Office in the course of the day, travelling from Hatfield for the purpose. Fortunately the British Commissioner in the Benin districts (Mr. Moore) happens to be in London at the present time, and no delay occurred in conveying the news of the disaster to him. Mr. Moore immediately visited the Foreign Office and had a consultation with Mr. Curzon, the Under- Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and Sir Thomas Sanderson, the Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Office. Instructions were subsequently given as to the steps to be taken in the matter, and a copy of the telegram recording the disaster was sent to Mr. Goschen, the First Lord of the Admiralty, in view of an augmentation of the naval force on the West Coast station being necessary. Most of the captives were well known in official and club circles in London. Benin City, some 60 miles up the Benin river, is a large town, the seat of a powerful theocracy of fetish priests, and used to be famous for its human sacrifices. It lies within the sphere of the Niger Coast Protectorate. Mr. J. R. Phillips was educated at Uppingbam School, and obtained his B.A. degree at Cambridge in 1886. In 1891 he became Sheriff on the Gold Coast, and Agent to the Queen's Advocate there in 1892, while later on he was appointed Deputy Com- missioner and Consul-General in the Niger Coast Protectorate. He was acting as Consul-General at the time of the massacre, in place of Mr. Moor, C.M.G., who is at present in London. Captain Boisragon was an officer of the British army, which he joined in 1878. In 1884 he attained his company in the Royal Irish Regiment, with which corps he served through the Egyptian Cam- paign of 1884-5, and was awarded the medal, with clasp, and the Khedive's Star. Subsequently he com- manded the force that escorted the Anglo-French Commission which in 1892 delimited the western boundary of the Gold Coast, a service for which he received the thanks of the Secretary of State for the Colonies. In the same year he was sent on a special mission to the Krobo and Shai hills, and since 1894 he had commanded the force of constabulary main- tained in the Niger Coast Protectorate. Captain Maling, who at the time of his death was the comrade of Captain Boisragon in the command of the constabulary force on the Niger Coast, belonged to the 16th Lancers, in which he held the rank of lieutenant. He joined the army in 1890 as second lieutenant, and became full lieutenant in 1894. Messrs. Campbell and Locke were young members of the colonial service who had only recently gone out to the West Coast. Major P. W. G. Copland-Crawford, was the son of the late General Robert Copland-Crawford, of Sud- bury Lodge, near Harrow. He was 40 years of age, and was a major in the 7th Battalion King's Royal Rifles. In 1893 he proceeded to the West Coast of Africa as Deputy-Commissioner and Vice-Consul in the Niger Coast Protectorate. Last year he was made a companion of the Distinguished Service Order.

GREAT OIL FIRE. RIVERS OF FLAME. The banks of the Thames on the Essex shore at Purfleet were the scene of an enormous oil fire on the night of January II, and the conflagration was still raging fiercely at a late hour. The property attacked was that of the Russian Oil Company, whose works and stores cover a very large area, and include scores of oil tanks, barrels of oil in every stage of preparation, and stock in other forms used in the course of the business. Piles of barrels of oil, reaching to a very great height, are erected on the ground, while the tanks contain thousands of gallons of the most inflammable mate- rial. Moreover, the extensive works of the Anglo- American Oil Company, placed for similar purposes in the same locality, abut upon the area of ground covered by the Russian Company, and it was in this mass of terribly dangerous material that fire sud- denly broke out in the midst of a dense fog. The flames made rapid progress, and in a very short time were blazing right and left with appal- ling magnificence. The local aid in the shape of fire- extinguishing apparatus was practically nil, and for a lengthened time the fire had to be allowed to take ite course. There is a local volunteer brigade at Grays —four miles off-and help from this source was tele- graphed for, but the fire rapidly grew in intensity, and was presently lightingupthe entirecountry around. At nine o'clock the whole of the river Thames between Greenwich and Gravesend was brilliantly illuminated, and the blazing oil was running in streams of fire down to the river. The scenes which ensued as crowds of dock labourers, workers at the mills, and people from the country places around com- menced to assemble were of the most exciting nature, and those in authority at the works, besides telegraphing for aid from the Essex Constabulary, deemed it necessary, in view of the rapidly increasing gravity of the situation, to appeal to the authorities of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade for aid in the emergency. Commander Wells thereupon sent three of the powerful river floats to the fire. POWDER MAGAZINE IN DANGER. Another correspondent writes When it is under- stood that the powder magazine in Purfleet garrison is the largest in England the fearful nature of the catastrophe threatened by the conflagration will be apparent. Directly the outbreak was discovered the whole of the employes at the Anglo- American Works, who are practical firemen, turned out, and were soon joined by a de- tachment of the Lincoln Regiment and the Grays' Fire Brigade, under Captain Poter. The efforts of this combined force were concentrated npon keeping the tanks cool. Meanwhile the fire crept steadily along the filling and cooperage sheds; which, although composed of iron, burned furiously; and, to add to the danger and difficultys a number of barrels of oil exploded, thus adding fresh fuel to the flames which the forked tongues thrown out began to lick. A veering of the wina to the west greatly assisted in averting angw from the powder magazine, but had reached one of the tanks sufficiently to <»u plosion nothing could have »t ibont JhoJ l»"r cea»d phyiDg npog in not iiated. but must represent an enormous sum.

MAJOR WILLIAM H. LAMBERT, of Philadelphia, recently delivered an address before the Historical Society of that city on Thackeray, in the course of which he read a number of letters of the great novelist which have never been published. They were written by him to a lady living in North Carolina, whose family have been offered large sume for the privilege of publishing them. But all to no purpose. They are of too personal a character, it seems, to admit of this.