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

liren hospital at Florence a patient was submitted to the X-rays,' 'when, to the astonishment of the operators, it was discovered that his heart was on the right side instead of the left. This did not appear to trouble the patient in any way. It may be remembered that Pidchianti, the noted scientist, also had his heart on the right side, and that he died ai 64 years of age without ever having been seriously ill.

FEMALE INFANTICIDE. 1 VIEWS AND PRACTICES' OP TilE HINDU. I Female infanticide, especially in the Punjab, was ttrongly condemned and thereby presumably preva- lent almost at the early date of which Sanskrit litera- ture gives us any record. A writer signing himself M.L." supports this thesis in the Calcutta Review. In the Garar Puran, next in antiquity to the Vedas and far older than the Mahabharata and Earna- yana, it is declared that he who kills an un- married girl shall become a leper and must be treated as a chandal." Similarly Manu, the great Hindu law-giver, Is) s down that be who kills his daughter shall be sent to the hell of the lowest region." In the Srimat Biiagvaf it is related that Kans, Kaia of Mathura, was punished with death for killing the newly-born female child of his Bister. In spite of these passages and many others that might be quoted from the early religious books of Ilindtisip, an attempt, has been made to derive the practice from the fears entertained by Hindus that their daughters may grow up only to be carried off to Mahouimedan harems. We ngree, efiys a writer in the Bombay Gazette, with M. L." in rejecting this theory, but eannqt accept his view thatthopracticeof infanticide was given up by the Hindus during the Mahouimedan supremacy. It is true that Ilaiiotri tiled, to his great honour, forbade the infanticide thut had been cot-anion i among his Arabian ancestors. "Do not kIll your children," says the Koran, for fear of poverty, for we supply them and you with food. Verily the killing of children is a most henious crime." This injunction was enough to prevent the followers of the Prophet from killing their own children, but would scarcely inspire them with sufficient philan- thropic zeal to stamp out a cruel custom that had pre- vailed so long among their Hindu subjects. If infantjeide is not mentioned by the Mahommedan historians of India, itie reason is thato it> w*e- » domestic crime committed in the seclusion of the zenana, and not likely to be published abroad. When the Mogul Empire began to decay, the Sikhs who were rising on its fnins are knowa to have beea addicted to infanticide. It was in vain that the warlike Sikh gurit, Govind, said in the Nasihat Nama 3 that "the face of one who kills his daughter must never be seen." It was in vain that the Sirdar Suk' a Singh was excommunicated as a punishment for killing his infant daughter. The practice, far from being stamped out, flourished during the time of Sikh glory and still prevails in the Punjab. At the present day, in spite of all the efforts made by Government to suppress it and a special Act passed for that purpose, the Commissioner of Jullandahar de- clares that the evil is now almost as glaring as before the introduction of the Act." Some idea of the tenacity with which the inhabitants of the country cling to their cruel old custom may be de- rived from the fact that in six out of the nine villages in Jullandahar that have been brought under the operation of the Act the number of female children under five years of age among the Sikhs is from 39 to 49 per cent. of the male children of the same age." In order to determine the beat means to remedy this deplorable state of affairs, it is necessary first to try to get a clear notion of the motives that lead to infanticide. Although the idea of the equality of the sexes is gaining ground in the most highly civilised country, still over the greater portion ef the world the male is regarded as superior to the female, and motfters are prouder of their male than of their female offspring. This feeling is extremely powerful in India, where a son is necessary to keep up the family sacrifices and keep his father and his ancestors in a state of bliss after death. This is no doubt the chief reason why, accord- ing to Indian proverbs, a son is the lamp of a dark house, but he that has a daughter is fined by God." Next in importance is the financial consideration, which always appeals so very strongly to the thrifty Hindu mind. The Indian Mahommedans, more reckless of expenses looming in the future, rejoice and receive the congratulations of their friends on the birth of a daughter, although even they would prefer a son. But the birth of a daughter among the Hindus casts a gloom over the whole family circle, No congratulations of any kind, no demonstrations or joy or marks of pleasure follow the event. A friend would Eay to the father of a newly-born girl So a daughter is born to you. Don't lose yoqr mind, brother; Ram will one day endow you with a son." The disappointed father would reply, touching hi. right hanrl to his fore- head, My fate; what oan be done? May she have been horn at a propitious moment and bring Lachmi (wealth) in her train." However, in most cases the hope that the daughter may bring wealth in her train is an expression of flat despair. As long as the girl is unmarried she remains a burden on the house- hold, earning nothing, while her brothers soon begin to help their father at his wotk. At the time of marriage her parents consider themselves bound in honpur to indulge in extravagant expenditure far beyond their means, and a dowry has to be provided for her. In the Punjab and elsewhere in India the marriage expenses are made more burdensome by the ambition of parents to marry their daughters into a luperior caste or tribe. This feeling is, according to Sir Donald Macleod, a fertile case cause of the pre- valence of infanticide. A father would sooner see his daughter dead than married to an inferior. There is also a great aversion to the idea of a stranger becoming the lord and master of one's daughter. Thus a girl wounds her father's personal pride, is useless for sacrificial purposes, earns no money, and, if she is to be married in such a way as to satisfy the family pride, is a heavy burden on the family finances not only at the time of marriage, but also afterwards, for there are numerous other occasions and festivities when presents must be sent to her and her husband, and children besides, if she has become the mother of children." And all these expenses appear to bring no return to the parent. Whereas in England My son is my son till he gets him a wife, but my daughter's my daughter all the days of her life," In- dian proverbial philosophy declares that there is no more complete stranger in the house than the married daughter." Such are the strong sentiments against which legislation had to find stronger coun- tervailing motives, if infanticide is to be put down. No doubt the strength of maternal love naturally enlists itself in this matter on the side of law, order, and morality. We may probably in most cases as- sume tfaatthe mdther is strpngly, opposed to the sacri- fice of Keif'infant daughter, and that her mother-in- law urges it on grounds of economyand family pride, while the father of the child wayersjj^^een the two contending powers.' 'tfut t\ie young mother, in such a struggle, has littfef chanes of. resistingA4he all- powerful mother-in-law, and-, when she herself has daughters of her own* will treat* them as she herself was treated. T^e crime is easily coniipitted and very difficult pf detection. Suffocation, opium, exposure, neglect, or a drop of the milky juice of asclepias gigantea soop. extinguishes the weak vital spprk in the newborn girl, and it is no easy matter to bring the crime home to the perpetrators. Special legislation on the subi»ct appears to have produced little effect.. The rules framed by the Lopal Government;« 1884,. in accordance with, the Female .Infanticide Act of 1870, ordered thphqacjs of the families to riport to thechowkidar the female, births in their families and the illness of female children. Families* were also to be produced for inspection by police officers, visiting the villages. The tainbardars (hea(Js of ,the villages, through whorql,the. r^venuejs patd) w^re.fp. see that the chowjcidars performedtheir .duties and to help the police. .¡ 1 — r, • »"

LINUM CATHARTICUM "PrMjr,1 digestive, corrective,. and agreeably aperient. 9|d., 13|d. Of all Chemists. :a 2 You are wasting your time, old man," datd Fred to George. You're courtihgthe wrong girl." No: she's the right girl. I'fai &Fraidtrhe trouble is that I'm' the wrong man-. "LINSEED COMPOUND"XTradeMark)forCouehs and Colds, 91d., 131d.. Sold by Chemists only. MY family," said MieS Antique, Came- over with William the Conqueror." Did they really?" ex- claimed Savso. How very interesting And were you seasick?" f LINSEED COMPOUND for Coughs, Cold, Asthma, and Bronchitis. Of "Chemists only. DoRcAs "But why do your parents. object so to Mr. Larkins?" Peg:" Mamma objects to his short- comings, and papa to his long-stay ings." "LINSEED COMPOUND (Trade Mark) for Coughs and Colds, 9 £ d., 13Jd. Sold by Ch emjsts only. BUBBLES: "My wife and I met by accidont— thrown together by ehance, as it were; WheeLwoman. (eagerly) :Did you .breali the bicycles?' COAOULINID.-Cement for broken articles Bd. and Is. postage 2d. Sold everywhere. Home and abroad. "WELL, Willie," asked grandma, "have you had all the dinner you want ?* No," answered littlo Willie; but I have had all I can eat A. -I UNION LINE for fie SOUTH AFRICAN GOLD FIELDS. Sailings from Southampton every Saturday. Calls made at Madeira and Tenerife. Apply to the UNION STEAM SHIP Co., Ltd., Canute Rd., Southampton, AND SouthAfrican House,94to96,Bishop^C'ate St.Within, London BORWIGK'SI INSIST ON tfPOWQERfl IRAK BUILDINGS AND ROOFING. 9 Cllurcho8, ChRpela, ilJsoion and School Room* I Lawn Tennis, Golf, and Cricket Fa^licso, CoW ■ stable#, Farm Building#. Hoofing « •'•ry Description of Iron J5uiJdinp. ,1. south bermonbseFS^ W. HA MOWS' fllffiKS, LONDON, S.B^ CUR3D INSTANTLY BY lEiVgflg KitUymK- All Cfawaiato.la. lt<«- I Slt.ta TTILLIA'RD AND BAGATELLE .13 TABi.ES. A LAKUK STOCK OF NEW AN!) SECOND- HAND TAiiLES always on haud. WRITE FOR PRICE LIST06 —O. KDWARDS. KINOBLAyD HOAU. LONDON, N.E. pa ggSk 9PI8 A Man* excellent lUi sk lui IP* M S iU O Bargains in every BilnBfliilo. of "The Bazaar, the Exchange and Mart" by Ilrivate J'erxoH* Y.h.j are willing to accept very low prices. Also, for disposing Of Private Property thnt is no longer required there is no medium to equal The Bazaar." iiet a i opff and tec. Full of Information and Illustrations of the greatest interest to all bv eminent Experts and Specialists. See also Special Illustrated Supplements, given free. Price d,. at all bookstalls and newsagents', or post free from the office for three penny stamps. Office: 17O, STJtA.A~lP, LONUOlf* ),LL. IR P FOUH^REAT 5 BOOKS. TRY ONE, TRY ALL, ► I j AA m « b* fc :§ K | In Half the Tim a, with Half the n [ o j g Rfl Labour, you can produce fiort 1J [ o 1 7 a Bw Polish with Two Penny Packets HTa g f t of Rising Sun than with Half- II S (5 mam Dozen of ordinary Blaoklead. o t < 1 :I5 «- B J I il r. 11! 1 4 2 4 2 I Sold In ,3d., 6d. & 1/- Bottloo. No Mixing, [ 5 No Scratches, Scarcely any Rubbing. ( £ .r «CHANCELLOR'S PLATE POWDER. >4 r G* 41 Tkere is no preparation or which w e know toequal § « -a 4 Its excellence "-ENQtl IRE WITHIN—3d. per box. ? J 0 ?4<: :M 'is REQUIRES no addition or preparation. » i 5 3 4 SAVES Time, Labour, and Uncertainty, f k « PRODUCES BenutifulWhite Glossy Linen. ° 1 7 Ask your Grocer to get them for you. r N I C. CHANCELLOR a Co.. LONDON, E.C. 5 ltULES FOR STARCHING. A most valuable little book for thos* who do their starching at horns. Post, free for two stamps. C. OHNOELLon So cn T.1" "T? n

--u i I A FAMOUS HEIRESS. The mother of Lady Victoria Long-Wellesley, whose death at an advanced age has just been announced, was one of the moat richly dowered; English brides of the present century. The eldest daughter and heiress of Sir James Tylney-Long, she inherited estates the yearly rental of which WU" £ 60,000, together with one of the finest mansions in England, the famous Wanstead House. Her marriage with Mr. William Pole Wellesley, afterwards the fourth Earl of Mornington, was celebrated in 1812 with the splendour befitting a bride whose pin- money alone was 913,000 a year. Her wedding- dress cost 700 guineas, her "cottage bonnet of lace 150 guineas, and she wore during the ceremony, among other jewels, a necklace worth 25,000 guineas. Unfortunately all Miss Tylsey-Long's wealth could not purchase happiness, and the story of her married. life is a sad one. In 11 years Mr. Welleslev's extra-" vagance had so seriously impaired his wife's vast fortune that she was compelled to sell Wanstead House (a palace superior, in some ways, to Blenheim or Houghton) merely for what it would fetch as building materials. Wanstead, the erection of which cost £ 360,000, was sold to a Norwich builder in 1823 J for £ 10,000 upon the condition that every vestige of the magnificent fabric, even the foundations, should I be removed within the following 12 months. Mrs. Pole-Welleeley died broken-hearted soon after the- sale of Wahstead House, but her husband, who did not succeed to the Earldom of Mornington until 1845, survived her for 32 years. The Lady Victoria was I, the last remaining member of this branph of the Wellesley family, which is now extinct.

CARTER'S LITTLS LIVER PILLS. A. IsuJl FUL smau J&SFgSlTTtE 8m*U jj&^XSflVER rrlrt. M Forty ia a Pnroij Yeget&bJt. Core Torpid Lirer, BCt, BalloW Complexion, and Sick promptly: aad en re ;heu so u to fcjtf tared.. Is- -'s" BEAUTIFUL TEETH (at all who ON dftllr on tn« bnuh » few drops of SOZODONT Ilk. pItMtmtttt dratilrlco ia'tSa world. Cleannes the teethandspaces between them as nothing e' %a will. Sound and pearly white teeth, rosy lips, and fragrank breath ensured. I Ask lor SUZOJJONT. Qs. M.

OUR LOKUON COBKESPONDKNT. Even the Easter holiday season has brought no respite in the talk in London concerning preparations for the Diamond Jubilee, the unique character of which is becoming increas- ingly recognised as the time for its celebration draws near. It is now the turn of the police authorities to make their arrangements, and these, as may be imagined in the case of so vast a crowd as is certain to assemble, will be onerous in a high degree. The calculation is made that, of the fifteen thousand three hun- dred and forty-two men of which the Metro- politan police force, apart from the City con- stabulary, consists, at least twelve thousand will be brought into service on the memorable day. This would entail, under ordinary cir- cumstances, the denuding of the suburban dis- tricts, in order that the thoroughfares alono- the liue of the Royal procession's route might be well guarded but, as it would never do for the rascaldom of London to bo let loose on the suburbs, while the inhabi- tants of those districts were enjoying them- selves elsewhere, it is contemplated bv the Scotland-yard authorities to ask a certain number of constabulary pensioners of five years' standing to resume the uniform for the great day; while the idea also is entertained of ask- ing the Watch Committees of some of the large towns in tho North and the Midlands to send companies of police to the capital to assist their metropolitan brethren. Police pre- cautions, i" act, of a most ample kind are certain to be taken. Certain events which happened before the House of Commons' Committee on South African Affiirs, just previous to the adjourn- ment over the Easter recess, led to a deal of assertion in various quarters that, if a witness before snch a body proved contumacious, he would be brought to the bar. and thence committed to the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster. The error underlying this assumption has been formally y I disposed of by tho Chairman of Committees of Ways and Means (Mr. J. W. Lowther) stating in the House itself that only members were sent to the Clock Tower; but he did not add that II strangers." in the Parliamentary sense of the word, were given for contumacy a resting- place in Newgate. For some centuries the Tower of London was recognised as the prison proper to this House," and, when an offender against the dignity of the Chamber was un- usually obstinate, he was not only ordered to be kept close prisoner in that ancient fortress, but was specially incarcerated in Little Ease," the most loathsome dungeon of them all. There were members to be found three centuries ago willing to jest upon even such a grim subject as this, for when this horrible cell was once re- ported to be in a worse state than ever, it was remarked in the House that its name—grue- somely significant as it is-ought to be changed to Least Ease." Protests against the new regulations for the muzzling of dogs in the metropolis are under- stood to be pouring in at a rapid rate, not only to the London County Council, which adminis- ters the law, but the Board of Agriculture, jSEtich lays it down. These come from two different orders of objectors, the one protesting against the practice of muzzling in toto, while the other complains that the leather muzzles with which they had previously provided them- selves have been officially declared to be ineffec- tive, and that they must now get wire ones. But the Board of Agriculture is so satisfied with the recommendations recently made by its Departmental Committee, specially instructed to examine the. whole question, that it is understood to be preparing to extend the muzzling order in other directions. South Lancashire and a portion of Cheshire, with Manchester as the centre of the specified dis- trict, would furnish the first ground for this experiment in the provinces, with a Midland district, having Birmingham for its centre, would follow; and, if this expectation is ful- filled, the protests are likely to be more multi- tudinous than ever. The time-honoured injunction to soldiers to keep their powder dry will soon, in a literal sense, become inapplicable, the Secretary for War having decided that no more black- powder magazine rifle-ball cartridge shall be used for practice or exercise by any arm of the service, cordite-which, as its name suggests, is a combination like string, and not powder at all—being substituted. It is stated that this order applies specially to the militia, whose officers had previously been dis- appointed that their service should have been selected to consume in this year's musketry training the remaining store of black-powder ammunition, while cordite was being issued to the regulars and volunteers. There are many very bitter critics of cordite, who aver that this particular form of ammunition wears out the grooves of the rifles at far too fast a pace, but the War Office authorities are satisfied that this is not so, and they have just been showing at the House of Commons some specimen rifle barrels to prove their contention. Once more at Easter, the' volunteers in various parts of the country, and especially in and around the metropolis, are engaged in exercises and manoeuvres, and all admirers of the civilian soldiery will entertain the hope that their work will have good and lasting effect. It is objected by some that Easter, because of climatic condi- tions, is not a specially suitable season for these operations; but it must be borne in mind that it is not easy to choose another time at which so many of the men can simultaneously for so long a period be absent from their em- ployment. Whatever drawbacks, indeed, may exist to the present system, it is incomparably superior to the old idea of thirty years ago, when a sham fight at Brighton, followed by a shaky march past, was the sum total of the Easter volunteer operations. Even that may be said to have been better than nothing, but the ideas prevalent on the matter in 1897 are so far ahead of what they were in 1867 that there is really no comparison between them. More than that: even the most carping critic is not likely to deny that the spectacle of so many thousands of civilian workers sacrificing their holidays in order to learn something of soldiering is inspiring to the patriot. The removal of a brick wall from the front of a London residence would not seem at first sight to call for special notice from anybody but the owner, occupier, and contractor for the job. But when the private residence is that of the Duke of Devonshire, and the wall facing the Green-park is one of the very ugliest that even the metropolis can show, it is a different matter. The passer-by in Piccadilly has often wondered how the successive possessors of Devonshire House would have suffered this eyesore so long, but the present owner the Lord President of the Council — has resolved to substitute for it some ornamental railings, with the celebrated iron gates, at Chiswick House, which are to be removed from their present position for the purpose. Not even then, however, will the un- privileged wayfarer be able to guess that at the rear of Devonshire House are the finest grounds in all London, with the sole exception of the Queen's private pleasaunce behind Bucking- ham Palace. More than one Duke of Devon- shire has been offered well-nigh fabulous sums for this space, which occupies one of the best portions of the West-end, and which could rapidly be filled with heavily-rented houses; but money has proved no temptation iu this case, a fact over which the lover of the green- sward will rejoice. A cynic, on reading a few days since that a thief in London had been captured by a cyclist, expressed his rejoicing that some use for the pleasure-taking cyclist had at last been fou 4 The circumstance, indeed, was so interesting as to arouse attention among many who have no bitter feelings towards wheelmen. A gentle- man, finding himself robbed of his watch on an li.V-inibus in the Strand, hurried down the stairs a.ter the thief, but fell in getting off. The cir- cumstance was seen by a passing cyclist, who, noticing the thief running away, gave chase on his machine, but it was not until he reached Shaftesbury-avenue that he secured his man, who would certainly have escaped but for this effort. A few such occurrences would dis- arm the opposition of even the severest critics of cycling, whose complaint has usually been that wheelmen race away from the police when their names and addresses are required rather than giving any aid to the majesty of the law, which in this instance, however, was so hand- somelv upheld. R.

NEWS NOTES. LORD PLAYFAIR'S plan for the South Ken- sington Museum could hardly be adopted at a more opportune time than now. Every visitor to that great and unique institution knows how its vast treasures are, to a large extent, rendered useless for lack of room. Enormous quantities of valuable objects are stowed away in dark rooms, where, even if they were properly arranged, it would be impossible to study them. Thousands of intelligent artisans would derive instruction as well as pleasure from study of the textiles and other specimens of manu- facture kept in the museum, if the arrangement were different. The building of additional wings and the rearrangement and classification of the contents would be a worthy commemora- tion of the Diamond Jubilee Year. THE condition of Crete has, in a sense, curiously enough, a considerable bearing upon Great Britain, and the island is really rather an interesting example of what Queen Victoria's subjects might possibly have to expect in time of war. Tho navies of all Europe are repre- sented in the blockading squadrons, and yet they have not been able to prevent cargoes of food and arms being landed, though the coast- line of Crete is very much shorter than that of Great Britain, and though there is not much to be gained by running the blockade. EVEX if the Greeks should, it is pointed out, entice the Turks into the plains, they will be hard put to it to drive back, with their army of 30,000, including but a single, weak brigade of cavalry, the Turkish Army, variously given as between 160,000 and 130,000. There can be but little doubt that the time for tho Greeks to have struck was a month or more since. With 10,000, with 8000, with 6000, or even 5000 men they might have forced, by direct assault, the weakly-guarded moun- tain passes, and, by rapid, skilful, effective blows, have completely paralysed the Turkish mobilisation. Of course, this would depend on the Greeks being able to move—that is to say, their departmental corps, commissariat, tran- sports, &c., being in working order, for without these absolute necessities the most valiant army could not keep the field for more than 2-1 hours. < i DTTRING the last few years a large number of small metal plates have been found at diggings in Athens and at the Pirseus. At first they were supposed to be small symbols, but the Greek archaeologist Svoronos has now demon- strated that these metal plates were used as tickets of admission to the theatre of Dyonisos about the time of Lycurgus. The images on these theatre tickets, certainly the oldest of their kind in existence, show either the head of Pallas Athene, turned to the left, or the head of a lion, and the letters of the alphabet in J single, double, or triple arrangement. It J appears, therefore, that the laws introduced by I Lycurgus, which had such a great influence, upon Athenians in all walks of life, extended also to the admission to theatres, which was also probably regulated by him. I WHEN the Phoebe left Bonny for Simons Bay from 100 to 120 officers and men, or about one- half of the complement, were on the sick list with malaria, and 12 stokers had to be requisi- tioned from the St. George to steam the vessel to the Cape. The effect of the fever on some of the men engaged in the Benin expedition is alarming, and many of them will, it is said, be unfit for further service. Leading Stoker Merritt died from the plague, and Petty-officer Tilly, of the Alecto, from wounds. j AN absurd story is going about in the papers to the effect that Prince Nicolas of Montenegro went to visit the Queen dressed in a kilt," j and some papers have gone so far as j to embroider the original statement by saying that the garment was made of white muslin, and stuck out like a ballet-dancer's skirts. Prince Nicolas does not wear, and never has worn, the fustanella," which is the distinctive dress of the Mahomedans of Albania. What the correspondents mistook for a kilt was his long Montenegrin coat, which resembles j nothing so much as an ordinary frock-coat, This costume is made of white cloth, and is bound round the waist with a coloured silk sash. IT appears that the most incriminating docu- > ment in the Panama scandals has not left London yet. The firm of solicitors holding it has advised the owner not to disclose its con- tents unless as a condition of a free return to France and the fuil restitution of civic I rights. The solution is hindered, says the Paris correspondent of the London Daily Chronicle, by certain fiscal difficulties, to over- come which would entail the signature of the President of the Republic. Those who ) have seen the photographs of these papers i declare that written requests for money, cheques endorsed by Deputies and Senators, j and every evidence of corruption are amongst them. Arton has been urged in his disclosures to M. Le Poittevin to clear his own character I against all charges of misappropriation, WE shall soon be hard into the enjoyment of cricket for the 1897 season. Apropos, the annual report of the Sussex County Cricket Club has been published, and it proves of a highly gratifying nature. One peculiar feature though, is the striking difference between the takings on a three-days' cricket match and those at a football match. The money received at one of the latter games ex- ceeds in many instances the takings for the three days of a cricket match. The Report mentions that it is proposed to present Prince Ranjitsinhji with a hundred guinea dinner service. The Duke of Norfolk will be the new president.

THE Official Receiver and Liquidator posted on Saturday the first and final dividend of 4s. lOd. in the pound to the creditors and depositors in the Liberator Building Society. The dividend has been paid by the distribution of fully-paid El shares in the United Realisation Company (Limited), which took over the assets of the Balfour companies. FRANCE will present a protest against the Dingley Tariff Bill. v b ELEVEN THOUSAND of the Philippine insurgents have made their submission at various points. DAMAGE amounting to 50,000, OOOdol. has been done I to the Mississippi cotton crop by the recent floods. SEVEN corpses have been washed on the Brittany coast, supposed to belong to the ill-fated Cvanus. I T^B Grand Duke of Mesklenburg-Schwerin died at Cannes on Saturday evening from rupture of an Aneurism. aneurism. BLOCKS of auriferous quartz, containing gold in ¡ large quantities, have been found in the Italian colony ofErythrea.

f CHICKENS AND MUNICIPAL CONTROL. A correspondent in Wisconsin writes to call onr j attention, says the New York Tribune, to a signal municipal triumph over a domestic animal which has been turning liberty into license. He encloses n newspaper clipping giving an accost of the placing of the chickens under police surveillance in cerUiu I parts of Milwaukee. It appears that heretofore the domestic hen has enjoyed peculiar privileges in Mil- waukee. We have a vague notion that these may have been originally guaranteed her in the city's charter, or something of that sort, though we may be mistaken. Anyhow, the hen and freedom have been synonymous in Milwaukee. It is true-that-the historian can point his finger „to. instances, when she has been deprived of her jliberty, but in every such case, we believe, she has been promptly released on a ¡ writ of habeas corpus. But it seems from the before- mentioned clipping that for some time an agita- tion has been going on for an abrogation of the treaty with the chickens. In the City Council this opposition was led by Alderman Maphay. But the chicken-raisers were powerful in the Council, and the alderman had a hard fight to carry his point, though i to a disinterested observer it seems that it was high time that something was done. In the business sec- tion especially the wandering chickens were growing to be little short of a nuisance. The larger and more indolent breeds had become haughty and overbearing to a degree, often refusing to move out of the way for the customary Shoo I" whether uttered in Eng- lish or German. Many well-known citizens tripped over large Brahma bens or Shanghai roosters and fell heavily to the stone walk. An old Plymouth Rock took two falls out of Alderruan Maphay hiin- self, thereby showing ner indiscretion, since this tended to increase rather than to diminish his op- position. The smaller and more excitable breeds went to the other extreme, but were no less a nui- sance. They were constantly becoming frightened, flying about and creating a disturbance with their incessant cackling. One nervous Leghorn pullet used to fly to the top of the flagpole on the Farmers and Manufacturers' National Bank every time the fire company appeared on the street, where she would cackle till she was hoarse. Another speckled hen of uncertain breed acquired the habit at sunset each evening of going to roost on the slanting pole of the first trolley-car which came along. While this practice was not a direct hardship on any one, Alderman Mapbay urged that it tended to impress the stranger in town with an idea of Milwaukee's bucolic character which was not justified by her population and volume of business. When the matter came up in the Council the chicken-owners made a vigorous protest. They freely charged that the citizens who had been tripped up by the fowls had been in a condition to see more poultry than actually existed, and that in trying to avoid the imaginary they had tumbled over the real. The bottom was knocked out of this argument, however, when it was shown that the president of the East Side Prohibition Club had several times fallen down over indolent hens, and that on one such occa- j. sion an enterprising young pullet had rushed up and seised wd wallowed his diamond shirt stud. "Is the time coming," pointedly asxed Alderman Maphay, when gravel won't be good enough for our chickens, and the city will be called upon to provide for them tin pans of 15-carat diamonds on every corner?" This somewhat disconcerted the chicken- raisers, and there were loud cheers from the tax- payers among the opposition. But when the matter came to actual vote the motion that chickens be not allbwed to run at large was lost. Alderman Maphay, however, was resourceful, and immediately proposed I a compromise by establishing chicken limits on the plan of fire limits. This he finally carried through, the East Side district being bounded by Wisconsin and Milwaukee-streets, Ogden-avenue, and the lake shore; the West Side district by Thirteenth, Oly- bourne, Twenty-fifth, and Wells-streets, and the I South Side district to include all of the residence neighbourhood. Within these limits no chickens are now allowed to run at large in the street. A man may attach a string to his hen's leg and lead her about, but if he let go the string she is liable to te taken up and impounded. All public nests fornd within the chicken limits will be confiscated and the eggs turned over to the Almshouse Board. Thus municipal reform marches on.

HOW MAN Y HOURS TO SLEEP. Medical men (says a writer in Cdsselfs Saturday Journal) are divided in their opinions as to how many hours a day should be given up to sleep. Some say six hours, some eight, and others from 10 to 12. But the average man knows, or ought to know, just ¡ how much slumber he requires without catechising his doctor on the subject. It is those people who wilful'y prolong or curtail the period of rest who cailse so much dissension on this ever-green topic. A wealthy gentleman who owns several large ccal- fields in Russia lives in a perpetual state of drowsi- ness. He is never awake for more than two hours together, and even then refuses to be bothered by matters of business. That there is nothing the matter with him physically more than one clever doctor has testified. He could keep awake easily if be liked, but he glories in his lethargy, and desires nothing better than to be allowed to drift dreamily down the stream of life without worry or responsibility. All his affairs are managed by a clever secretary, who draws a splendid salary in return for his efforts on behalf of his sluggish employer. It seems strange that a clever athlete should suc- cumb to the charms of Morpheus, but a Lancashire man, who some years ago won several valuable prizes on the running-path, has developed an insatiable liking for sleep,, As be possesses a small private income, and can afford to ignore the world's claims upon his time, he has retired with his family to a cottage in the country, where he slumbers undis- turbed for days and weeks together. The story of the sluggard who slept away a fortune reads almost like romance. He was a Frenchman, who lived in a village near Paris, and was the lucky owner of a voucher whieh entitled him to a prize of 40,000 francs (£1600). Being a lazy rascal who valued sleep and absinthe above all things in the world, he was slumbering deeply in his dirty lodgings all through the day on which he ought. to have been in Paris claiming his money, and tJfe crowd of people assembled in the lottery room to nee the prizes distributed wondered why the holder of the coveted number failed to appear. The next day a messenger presented himself at the abode of the sleepy Frenchman, and making his errand known with some difficulty, the visitor ex- plained tfcat the prize would be handed over at once if the wilier would go back to Paris with him. I'm not coming, I tell you," mumbled the drowsy Frenchman. Give the prize to somebody else—I'm too sleepy to bother." So, after the lapse of a month, during which time the somnolent Frenchman did not make his claim, the lottery was re-drawn, and the valuable prize went to another lucky individual.

REMEMBER the Black Beetles, horrid things, and be sure to tell Cook to well sprinkle the floor near the fireplace last thing at night with Heating's Powder," the unrivalled Killer of Fleas, Beetles, Moths. Harmless to animals. Sold only in tins, 3d., 6d., and Is. each. "LINSEED COMPOUND (Trade Mark) gives Expec- toration without strain. 9!d., 13d. Of Chemists. EXCITED TRAVELLER Get me to the station in- three minutes, and I'll give you a sovereign I" Driver Can't do it, sir. You might bribe me, but you can't corrupt my horse." "LINSEED COMPOUND," a demulcent anodyne ex- pectorant for Coughs and Colds. Of Chemists only. Bus: Is old closefist mean ?" He: Mean Why, he lives in the suburbs, and has made a complaint to the authorities to prevent cyclists from pumping the pure air of the place into pneumatic tyres." KLINX.-New white in organic Cement for Pottery, Porcelain, &c., 6d. and Is.; postage 2d. Of Chemists. MABEL has a lot of sense." Indeed How ¡ does she show it?" Why, she never permits herself to appear more intelligent than the man who is talking to her." Tiin yueen has approved the following appoint- ments Brevet-Colonel E. T. Dickson to be colonel, to command the 49th Regimental District Colonel J. P. D. French and Colonel J. B. Dickson to be colonels on the staff, to command cavalry brigades; Colonel A. E. W. Goldsmid to be an assistant-adju- tant-general Captain W; M. Marter, 1st Dragoon Guards, to be a deputy-assistant-ad jutant-general; Captain N. H. Vertue, East Kent Regiment, to be aide-de-camp to Major-General F. T. Hobson, com- manding the troops in Ceylon; Captain C. B. Collins to be an assistant-instructor at the School of Submarine Mining.

LEIGHTON HOUSE. [ I Ihi in a mews," Lord Leighton used to any. Gradual^, however, many of the stables which justi- fied thejttumble description of the road in which he built Liifoouse have (remarks a writer in the iyest- minster Gazette) been turned into studios—email workshpfts clustered under the wing of the great I workshop. Plans have been made for a further transformation. In a very few years these studios and the little gardens behind them will disappear, and larpl, mansions be erected in their stead. In fact, bricks satT mortar are fast robbing Kensington of its private gardens and (,pen spaces. But eighteen months tgo. in one "felt swoop," those de- lig" rtrvrdene belonging to the Terrace which some of us knew so well were swept away, and high houses built entirely over them. A girdle of mansions is encircling Holland Park, and in ten years Cine Lord Leighton's house Will find itself ;n tbe f itreof as crowded a neighbourhood as Belgravia and ronth Kensington. Considering that its distance from Hyde Park Corner is only two rtiiles and a quarter, it is somewhat surprising that it has not becoiie so ere this. Its garden, however, is a garden auioh;.gai-OenL-, and it is much to he hoped that the oasis oêgreen lawns and trees which are surrounded by Melbury-road and Holland Park-road will all remain an open space—a lung for the neighbour- hood-44i which there are such iS-rnselv-crowded districts—districts in which you may in vain search for any spot of beauty to which the public has access. Two wiies to the oast there is the South Kensington Museilib, but to the north, south, and west there are miles and miles of cloeely-packed dwellings with not one spfrtof beauty to inspire and nurture any latent spa*' 3i artistic sensibility in the inhabitants. The g& fonging to Lord Leighton's house will every y foroe a greater treasure o the surrounding nt aturhood, as by degrees other open spaces are cb* Inp by buildings. M. ^hoisy, whose eminent attainments make his appreciation of exceptional value, has described with great skill the high artistic worth which the noble gift veered by Lord Leighton's sisters to the country possesses. In any part of London would this wonderful specimen of colour in architecture be a treasure; but it is seen to very special advantage where it is placed, and in the surroundings which Lord Leighton planned so carefully. The effect it can produce on the eye, which is quite unrivalled by anytttiBg of the kind ir. the Western world, reaches its dimax perhaps in the spring-time, in May, when the forest trees that grow so near to this famous Arabian Court sparkle with bright, clean, new-born leaves, and the fresh green of the lawni shine in the spring sunlight. Leaving these and entering the shadowed splendour of rich colour, where the eye is met by the gorgeous purples, blues, violets, and greens of Eastern art, the flicker of the goldfta mosaics, the softened sheen on the varied marfslM, and the gem-like glow through the old Damasceen windows, each small pane like a jewel set cleajr—it is then, with the contrast of nature's fair coloftr still influencing the eye, that the complete gorgeousness of this beautiful creation in art can be re&ljpHl.

TI;B Biivish Arcbccological Society will probably hold i!a annual meetings at Conway next August. SINCK the census taken in Egypt in ld82f; the ion of the country hap increased 30 per centT Tiim. Quinquennial International Postal Congress TT'.U meet at Washington on May 5 next.

\L J j llli-4 PVIDCO of Wales is an expert shoemaker. This ] W(tS a; particular handicraft which the Prince chose j' to learn when a boy, the Queen and the Prince Con- Eort having made it a rule that each of the Princes should receive a thorough practical training in some trade. It is said that the Prince has worn shoes of I his own make. 3?!,K David's Diocesan Directory states that the confirmations in the 10 years ending December, 1896, reached a total of 29,501, the number for the pre- I iiaus decada being 23,022. During this last 12<yeHrsj V* | the scin expanded in the diocese from voluufary sources (\n-b'ttilc}iQ.g ,(e¥l\l.sjveQfr ordinary ,repa.irs. and endowments amounts to £ 325,087. I THE committee recent ly.- appointed. L-y. the. Home! Secretary to inqpire into the education of prisoners has recommended inter alia that all prisoners, under 40 years old who cannqt pass Standard TV.. sUnfl receive school instruction in thfrir cells at letast-few ieV j1 ii week, and arrangements are being iittde for thie to bo cflnied ont without avoidable delar. <

— 11 Tlie SJoBt Blue l bav« [One of the very many unsolicited NixiV'siyik a ™ "CERVUS" J B A G ,,< ft. BLUÈè, Ready for Use, Best. Large d. and 1d. and ccL*Boxo&. Insist on NIXEY'S.