Welsh Newspapers
Search 15 million Welsh newspaper articles
15 articles on this Page
F .A.RNIINGNOTES.
F .A.RNIINGNOTES. Who (asks the writer on farming in the JOttrtlal of Horticulture) gets the profit accruing from the milk trade? In towns and thinly populated districts the milk trade is brisk, and the demand for tho re-Ily, good article great. But why is it that the B.D.F. is brought almost to the verge of ruin? What are '.fie causes, and what, if any, are the remedies "Sweet are the uses of adversity," and if adversity will open the eyes end enlarge the mind it lias fulfilled its mission well. Mr. Sheldon s, "The milk trade is under no management what- ever on the producer's side that involves the employment of a comprehensive of co-operation. This is the universal weak" a: ot of the milk trade-the want of regulation. TUB trade is like the rabble of an army, enitirely destit nl 6 of battalions and regiii,.eiits. The whole thing is without cohesion, regulation, organisation, or system it is, in fact, limp, loose, and invertebrate to a degree—a degree, however, that makes its weik- ness a certainty, and, at the same time, a constant source of loss." It is always hopeless to cxppct the milk trade to become organised so long aa farmers had no obvious leaning to co-oporation. It is a curious thing, but while a nian .-ill freely tell his rent, the amount of his wife's f.rtune, the price received for most of his farm produce, he keeps a still tongue in his head when the question of milk contract comes uppermost; it is a secret known only to himself and the dealer. There must be something wrong (continues the writer in our contemporary) when a farmer only receives 2d. per quart for that milk which is afterwards retailed in London at from 3d. to 5d. per quart—the much larger quantity at the greater price. Are we obliged to submit to this ? Of course we know that the retail dealer has working expenses and bad debts, but has the farmer never a bad debt? We think we have heard of a goad many dealers who have failed to come up to time, and there was no getting back the lost milk. Defence, not defiance," is as good a motto for the dairy farmer as for our standing army, and we are glad to see that at least a section of the profession are taking steps to prevent themselves being further mulct of their profits. We allude to the farmers of Staffordshire and Cheshire. Naturally the Cheshire men will look to their cheesemaking to relieve them of surplus milk, or rather to use milk for that pur- pose when it cannot be sold at a decent profit. Can any other opening be found for that milk which cannot be sold or turned into cheese or butter ? We think so. When we speak of cheese, we mean the ordinary hard-keeping cheeses. Now there are several soft cheeses seen only on the tables of the well-to-do which would make a charming addition to the bill of fare of the million. They are not difficult of manufacture they do not require much plant, and can be Bold at a popular price. Some of these cheeses have been made most suc- cessfully at the local technical classes; indeed, we fancy there is hardly now a district in England where the soft cheese" teacher has not been. Three cheeses here mentioned are made of new milk, and all are ready to use within the week. We refer now to "the Cambridge," "Coulommiers, and Gervais cheeses. Then, again, we have known a good trade done in the old-fashioned cream cheese, an article most easy of manufacture, and which leaves a nice living profit. Let the million have these cheeses set before them, and we guarantee there will be a market for them. How many a tired-out housewife will find in them an excellent substitute for the everlasting pudding. Which is nicer in warm weather, a piece of sweet mild cheese or some of the stickjaw com- positions seen on the middle-class table, and dignified by the name of the sweet course ?" All this time we seem to have lost sigbt of the real owners of the milk. Well, says one, has not this article been all about the dairy farmer ? Soft and fairly, my friends, not so quite. What business have we to take away the birthright of the calf ? We do not hold with substitutes for milk-we know by experience that our best stock is that we have reared ourselves on good wholesome milk supplied directly from the mother to her oflpring, \but here we go one better than Nature. We give our cows two calves to rear-sometimes three. We give the cow the best of all good food, and she repays us in this way, by bringing the calves to first-rate condition and keeping in good condition herself. Breeding stock has paid and will pay in more ways than one. There is nothing that beats good purebred stock, and how can any trust to pick up what he wants in the market? We still find, bad as times are, that our butter meets with a ready sale, and we know our pigs are capital machines for turning the old milk into prime bacon and ham. Good meal, a few u taties," and all the old milk the dairymaid can be induced to spare, will, if put into a growing pig? skin, make a good profit and quick return. WORK ON THE HO.WIS FARM. The recent partial rain has had a good effect on the hardening clods. Sow, drill, or plant have been the order of each and every day, and good progress has been made. We are not sure that the present is not the busiest time of the farm year. The drilling of grain and planting of Potatoes, the sowing of small seeds and preparation of land for Mangold operations, all condensed into four or five weeks, at a time when sheep and cattle are requiring more labour and atten- tion than at any other period cf the year, make the seedtime a very anxious one for the tiller of the soil. Sheep are coming off Turnips, and will have Man- golds on grass until clipped and sold. They will not bear to be too closely penned up when eating Man- gold, as they are better for a little exercise, which prevents the excess of sugar in the Mangold from bringing on urinary complaints. Grass has grown very fast, and pastures are now giving a nice bite. Stockowners did not require much reminding that it was time to turn their cattle out, and many fields are nonQptocked. Fallows are turning up very rough, and require the drag harrow and roll very closely after the plough if a fine tilth is to be secured. If the land is clean, we prefer ploughing again after a few days' exposure to the sun and wind. This only applies to the medium and heavy soils; for light ones there is nothing better than a repetition of drag, harrow, and roll until the land is clean or wanted for turnips. Mangolds should be drilled at once on warm and dry soils where they will be safe from frost. The soil must be in fine condition, or the seed will not germinate; but to make safe of it growing it may be steeped in water for 24 hours, then drilled, with the help of a few fine dry ashes to keep it from clogging in the drill; 61bs. per acre is a good quantity, some sow less, but we think it is risky, and the mangold crop is too valuable to play tricks with. AILCKEN NOTES. The best position for coops (a practical writer in the Agricultural Gazette says) is facing the south, but they should be protected from the north and east, j either by a stout hedge or the conformation of the ground. Wherever possible, the shelter of bushes c! a small plantation should be obtained. Bushes and trees afford shelter, but they do more. Part of the natural food of fowls are insects and grubs, which are met with among shrubs and trees than anywhere else. If the actions of fowls are observed, it will at once be seen how eagerly they seek after these forms of life, as also for worms. That chickens can be reared in small runs where there are no bushes cannot be doubteu, for thousands are so raised every year, bnt to make the beet of them, to produce healthy, hnrdy birds, liberty is a most important factor. Where space is limited, the run should be removed on to fresh ground every day. The best plan is to move the coop its own width every day; taking care, however, not to place it where another coop had been a few days previously. When I the ohicks have full freedom this is unnecessary, and I an occasional removal is all that is required. The feeding of chickens is an important matter, and the rock upon which many a fair venture comes to grief, j Too many breeders treat chickens as they do children, regarding the giving of rich food, and Slenty of it, as an act of kindness. The plainer th« iet, however, the better, so long as it is nutritioui and suitable. The greatest kindness is to give ) nourishing food in just the quantity that will supply i the bodily demands. We know that some will reaè I what we say, and then go and do their own way, foi experience is with many the only teacher, but it I must be emphasised that to over-feeding are due 1 many chickens' troubles, and bemoaning poultry rearers would find failure turned into success if thej would adopt a plainer diet for their broods.
[No title]
FRIEND: How are you getting on?" Seedy Author Good. I've got the material on hand for a splendid comedy, besides." You are fortunate." Yes all I need now is the material for a now pair of trousers." Ihtl. NBXDOOR Your husband is an inventor, I bdieve P" Mrs. Chatters Yes some of his excuses for coming home late at night are in use all over the country." a
GARDENING GOSSIP. -
GARDENING GOSSIP. (From Gardening Illustrated.") CONSERVATORY. Zonal Pelargoniums for winter flowering should he selected now from either autumn-struck cuttings or the earliest spring-struck*. If intended to bloom in 5-inch pots, good early spring-struck stuff will suc- ceed. F. V. Raspail is still a favourite for winter bleoming. Among the singles, Henry Jacoby flowers very freely in winter, and it is a colour which is attractive. The advantage of having plants in 5-inch pots is they can be placed on shelves near the glass in a warm-house, and the plants flower much better in such a position if they .get heat enough. To do Zonals well in winter they want a night tempent- ture of net less than 55deg. They do well in the same house with Tree Carnations; the Carnations on the stages in the body of the house, and the Zonals on the shelves, wherever a shelf can be fixed tempo- rary or otherwise. Of course, such plants are not so useful in the conservatory if the house is large, though a group in a light position will last some time. I always (writes Mr. E. Hobday) think that to make a show of Zonals in the conservatory the plants should be set out in a good border. I was in a house a short time ago where the back wall was a mass of scarlet from top to bottom, planted with F. V. Raspail. Heliotropes do very well ulanted out in a light posi- tion and trained up a pillar or over an arch or on a wall. Plant a light and dark variety to obtain plenty of flowers in winter. Prune back early in August to get a new growth. Abutilons should be treated in the same way to have plenty of flower in winter from plants in good condition. The White Brugmansia is a very handsome thing in summer, either in pots, boxes, or planted in the border. A plant or two in tubs will be useful for planting or plunging in a sheltered plaeo on the lfiwn iu summer. Must have abundance of water during growth, but will be better kept rather dry in winter. Lilies of the longiflorum type will be attacked with flies now, and they creep down in the heart of the plants among the flower-buds, and if not destroyed will spoil many of the blossoms. We have had a very easy time with these and other things of similar attractiveness for flies since we adopted the vaporiser. We cannot do without fires just yet if we plant plenty of flowers, but less fire will do now. It will be better to let the fire go out every morning, and light again in the afternoon after thoroughly clearing out the furnace. Flues ought to be brushed out once a week if all the heat is to be taken out of the fuel. Let the plants be watered freely now, especially those in flower, and those planted out must be seen to often. 8T0VE. Young shoots of Poinsettias 2in. or so long with a heel of old wood at the base will strike now, or when J the cuttings can be got in a brisk bottom-heat, kept close. These are brilliant things in winter, and no one has too many of them, as by striking at different times through the spring a succession will be ob- tained. After they are rooted grow them in a light position to keep the plants dwarf and robust. Plants raised in this way and ripened out in a pit in summer will retain all their foliage and produce large heads of scarlet bracts. A few plants of the white variety ought to be grown for the sake of contrast. The Sonerilas are charming things for tho small stove. They really ought to be grown in a glass case. The foliage is beautifully netted and variegated, and they are charming miniature ornamental plants for those whose taste runs in that direction. When I first grew these there were only two or three varieties now there are more than a dozen, and a continual in- crease is going on. The great drawback is they want rather a high temperature, freely charged with moisture, to do them well, and for this reason they are frequently grown in a case which can be easily shaded. WIMIIUW U A RD E.4 LNU. The window should be bright now with Genistas, Azaleas, Deutzias, Lily of the Valley, Spirceas (the last-named should stand in water), Cactuses, and Pelargoniums. Shabby plants should either be thrown away or placed out in frame. Repot Palms, Ferns, and Aspidistras. OUTDOOR GARDEN. The time is rapidly approaching when the beds will require to be filled with the summer bedders, and provision should be made for doing the work well. A number of beds poorly furnished is always disap- pointing, but one bed well done is pleasant to look upon if rightly placed. The geometric garden is not finding much favour among people of taste in laying out new places, but a bed or two of bright flowers is effective. Among the plants which we should mix are I Heliotropes (the dark blue variety is charming), White Stocks of a good strain, White Asters, Chinese Pinks, and a good strain of Phlox Drummondi are .always useful, and have the merit of being cheap. Blue flowers are not plentiful. The old Salvia patens is well known, but no one seems to have enough of it to make a really good show. The best dwarf blue- flowered annual is Phacelia campanularia, and it is fairly lasting if sown thin and thinned to 6in., and mulched as soon as the thinning is done with a little very old manure rubbed through a fin. sieve. This is an excellent plan on dry soils. "Tufted Pansies appreciate it. More is being done with bulbs en Grass. The other day I saw a small lawn gay with different coloured Crocuses; they had been dibbled into the Grass to form a sort of plan, fitting together, and were, in fact, a miniature flower garden in dif- ferent coloured groups, and looked rather pretty, and would not last long enough to become wearisome. FLOWER GARDEN NOTES. It is necessary to no longer delay making provision for getting in those annuals which do not require early sowing in a considerable amount of warmth, but which either want a little artificial heat to bring them; up well, or being hardy enough to sow out-of- doors, are more acceptable if their season is a little anticipated by the indoor sowing, especially if an early display in the flower garden is important. The fact is also worth noting that several species are so susceptible to the attacks of slugs that a little protection in their earlier stages is worth consideration. Where sufficient house or pit accommodation exists they can be sown in boxes, otherwise a hot-bed may beprepared something after the style used for the early crops of Carrots and large enough to carry a two, three, or four-light box, as circumstances may require. The bed may be made of Oak, Beech, or Spanish Chestnut-leaves, with a little sprinkling of manure, and instructions given that in the building the materials should be made as solid and even as possible. About 4in. of soil will be enough. Old potting-compost answers the purpose very well, with perhaps a little sandy loam or leaf-soil added to give additional firmness or lightness as may be required. The bottom inch may be rough, the centre medium, but the top inch is best passed through a fine sieve, as some of the seeds with which one has to deal are very small. The soil should be made sufficiently firm to get a nice even surface and the drills formed by gentle pressure with a round, smooth stick; more rapid germination will be ensured by damping the drills with a fine rose a couple of hours before sowing. In the case of the majority of seeds ordinary covering-in will suffice, but very fine seed like that of Petunia, Lobelia, or Nieotiana is all the better for a little fine sand* both in the drills before sowing and sprinkled over the seed. The frame should be kept close and slightly shaded when necessary until the seeds have germinated. It is not advisable to let them remain too long in the seed frame; sufficient of each variety may be pricked off into boxes or into another frame so soon as they can be handled, and a fairly accurate idea of the numbers required may be formed if the plants for the summer planting of the flower garden have already been made. The articles on the best annuals that have already appeared render a recapitu- lation of varieties unnecessary; it may be taken for granted that a judicious selection of these beautiful flowers will go a long way towards keeping any ordi- nary sized garden bright and gay all though the summer and early autumn months. It may be noted that these things should be well looked after from seed-sowing to planting time; it does not follow that because they are so called common things a happy-go-lucky style may be adopted with them. Careful attention is necessary to secure good plants, and these are essential to obtain an early and a long-sustained display. When estimating as to the number of different varieties it is well to remember any clumps of early-flowering bulbous plants that may exist on borders. If the pound has to be clothed after the foliage of these has died awav, such things as Phlox Daummondi and Nemesia will^ be found very acceptable. The bulbs will not be injuredthey were planted deeply, and if the ground is poor a little artificial manure may be shaken on and lightly pricked in before the summer things are planted.
[No title]
HOBSON: "How are you getting on with your bicycle ?" Dobson "Same way as usual. 1 haven't loaned the pedal meant ret-" J
--AMERICAN HUMOUR. -
AMERICAN HUMOUR. JOSH BILLINGS wrote The very prekosl-re child iz the one who allwuss gits the fust bite at the mollassis kandy, and nine times in ten turns out to be the arbi- trary phool ov the whole lot ov ohildren. MOST ov the melankolly in this world comes from the dispepshee, and a large share of the ballance from being out ov a job. IF we accept a sekret, we should lok it up in our hearts, and then throw away the key. Az we gro older we are apt to reduce the number ef our acquaintances rather than inkrease them. This iz not the best way; the more we mix with the world, and the less we let the world mix with us, the happier we shall ba", Look out for the efuv-eyed and pure chap, who is anxious to kiss everyone- he meets, man and woman alike—look outforhiin; he kaizt tell himself what he will do next. First ov all, az a rashional being, yu are required to exercise yure reazon after that fails, fall back on yure faith, not on yure doubts. No one fran be held ackountable for his faith-he may for his doubts. I hev sed this same thing before, and I repeat it irow-after i am ded and gone, let the obituara notiss on mi tume stun be: Here lies a man ov menny failings, but he tried hard to be honest. Josh Billings waz hiz name." If we won't learn anything only by our own ex- perience, just about the time we git an edukashun we are neddy to die but if we will profit bi the ex- perience ov others, we kan get our learning as we go along. l The devil takes all his chances. This ackounts for hi; grate suckcess. He attacks the lazy through their fears, the bizzy through their hopes, and all ov us through one avenue or another. I don't bet enny money on the man who iz at the top of the ladder to-day. Come to mo to-morrow, and I will talk to you about it. I never knu a man who walked on the points ov hiz toes to amount to mutch; the flat-footed kind are the ones who win. A kunning man kant travel far on his kunning without gettingTtetched; and wfrefi he'is ketched, he is like a fox in a trap, the meekest kritter yer ever saw, with nothing to fall back onto. Kuriosity is comsnon to all. The man who haz no kuriosity haz no brains; but thare iz a heap ov idle curiosity, which iz anxious to kno things, simply bekause others kno them. The grate art ov kontentment konsists in being per- I feckly satisfied with what yer hain't got. When I cum akrost a man who iz allwuss anxious to argy and bet that there ain't no hereafter, I put him down az a man who haz both eyes on hell all the I time. When i see a yung man wbo:iz anxious to disbelieve everything he sees and hears, I konklude he haz got 1\ but few branes, and don't feelaz though he could afford to take enny chances. I am now past 60 years old, and every now and then i meet a relik who knu me 45 years ago and remembers distinkly sum deviltry I waz guilty ov then. Ain't it strange how tenashus the memory iz ov theze things, and how weak it iz ov enny good thing a fellow may have acksidentally done ? The rules for long life are very cheap and simplo- here they are Praktiss tempranse, freely exercise, keep yure hed cool and level, keep yure feet dry, and I breath thru your noze, and if you don't liv az long aa Methuzerler did i hav made a mistake in the figger^ that's all. I Flattery ft: an evfdence or a craven spirit; Ire never flatter thoze whom we respect. • •• Yung man, watch yure opportunity, and, when yu see it, lay violent hands on ic. It it: sure toeuntfonco, and may not cum the seckond time. c s :u,1. •' WrfO is that sprightly girl ovetthere ?" '^That's Miss Binks, who took part 1ft the amateur theatricals last night." And who are those nineteen tired- looking women near her ?" Those are her mother, sisters, aunts, and cousins who helped her get ready." FIRST CHICAGO MAN: Well, I've spent every cent of my wife's money." Second Chicago Man What are you going to do about it r I suppose I shall have to get married again." &S, AFTER all, we have much to be thankful winter." What, for instance ?" Well, I' rQ(Jiad I'm notftghting flies out at that farmhouse where staved last summer." "WHAT IS pronunciation, Uncle Jim F" "If is something you hunup in a dictionary one day and I forget the next." ) WHAT is nutritious food, Uncle Aleck ? It is food that is so cheap and plain that many people fore ashamed to eat it." How long did it take you to learn the bicycle?" Me ? It wasn't three days before I could lie as fast as any of them." How joy would shine in the human heart And life seem nothing but fun. If work looked as little before you start As it does when you get it done. MR. BELLBFIELD "I don't like Spiffing. He has wheels in his beach" Mr. Bloomfield: Don't you think that is an expression to be condemned ?" T'Indeed, I don't. I know that Spiffins has wheels in his head." How do you know ?" By the spokes which come out of his mouth." "WERE there any marks of violence found on the remains?" inquired the coroner. Nonothat I could see," replied the witness. 11 You positively identify the remains as those of a man you saw walking along the pier one day last week ?" I do. There's the same slouch hat, Prince Albert coat, black trousers and yellow shoes." And the jury at once brought in a verdict to the effect that the deceased had probably been struck by lightning and afterwards fallen into the river. TEN dollars," said the magistrate. But, your honour," said the prisoner, I protest against this fine. I have the right to make a defence against the charge." "But you have already pleaded guilty," said the magistrate. I beg your honour's pardon. I denied the charge in the plainest terms." Young man," said the magistrate sternly, I want to call your attention to the fact that the court underbtands the English language. You have pleaded guilty in unmistakable words. The plaintiff charges you with assault and battery. It is clearly evident that he has been assaulted and battered. According to your statement he approached you on the street and used abusive language toward you. Then you say that you didn't do a thing to him.' If the court understands the language spoken by seventy millions of people, you immediately wiped up the earth with him. The fine stands, and any further reflection upon the court's knowledge of English will cost you 10 moie.' "'How frightful I must look exclaimed theyoujng woman whonad fallen into a muddy excavation; in the street. You look," exclaimed the panting hint infatuated youth who lifted her out, like 150Jb. of extracted honey I" ie "I SAW that German tenor drink ater takifo gallons of beer last night." Nothing straifood a>ut that," replied the manager. "He is determi'^u^at his voice shall not lose its rich liquid quality." DUMPY doesn't seem as well pleased as he might because of the hundreds of congratulatory telegrams he received the day of his wedding." I should say not. They were all sent' collect. HONESTLY, doctor," said the man who prides himself on being sceptical, isn't there a great deal of imagination in your profession ?" To be candid with you," replied the physician, "I think there must be. A number of my patients seem to imagine they Cid my bills in full, when, as a matter of fact, they ven't even given me a dollar on account." TUB patient man in the restaurant Grew wrathy at last, and later, The man he attacked to the hospital went, Where they called him the patient" waiter. I CAMS to ask your consent to marry your daughter," said the young man, with a trembling voice. You're a fool, sir!" shouted the irate father. Well, really, I didn't think you'd object to having ene more in the family, sir." SPINKS It's very inconvenient to be poor. I hope Dame Fortune will soon knook at my door." Mrs. Spinks It wouldn't do you any good if she did knock." Spinks What's the reason ?" Mrs. Spinks Because you are never at home." DAISY We had to give up our private theatrical performance." Belle: Did you r Daisy: Yom. Miss Oldmayde insisted on being Juliet, and we eouldn't get a young man in the village to play Borneo/' BRIDGET: Mum, here's the man wid the coal." The mistress Yes, Bridget 2 just show him into the parlour, and tell him I'll be down as soon as rye had the safe prepared for the ceaTs reception." MRS. HASIICROPR Is there too much seasoning in I the turkey, Mr. Billings?" Billings: No. I should my there is too little torker in the seasoning."
TICKETING BABIES. !
TICKETING BABIES. A curious feature of a large relief works camp in the Punjab, where about 40,000 persons allD at work, is the arrangement just introduced, by which a large number of babies are looked after while their mothers are at work. Previous to this about 700 or 800 babies of sorts were all left in one place, and the mothers anxious in the evening to reclaim their little ones presented a scene which is better imagined than de- scribed. It was not possible even for mothers to find their own babies easily, and the authorities were tru- barrasaed not a little. The officer in charge, how- ever, has treated the babies on the umbrella and coat principle. He has provided each of the babies with a string and a ticket in duplicate, one being hung round the baby's neck, and the other given to the mother.
LENIENT JURORS.
LENIENT JURORS. French jurymen are proverbially lenient, even to malefactors of the worst type whose crimes- have been conclusively proved at Assize Courts. They often appear to irtiagine that if they return a verdict of Guilty they are practically doing the work of the executioner at the guillotine, forgetting that the sequel is no concern of theirs, and that they are simply called upon to declare in good faith whether they believe that the prisoner has, or has not, oommitted the deed which he is accused. Two instances of the consequences of this peculiar mode of reasoning are attracting considerable attention at the present motnent, and are giving rise to vehement protests on the part of persons who have, rightly enough, no sympathy for this mawkish sentimentality. The cases are worth noting as illustrations of the lengths to which some Gallic jurors will go in their odd anxiety to shift anything in the shape of responsi- bility off their own shoulders. The one has occurred in town, the other in the country, so that in every way they are thoroifghly typical and representative. The man who figured in the dock at the Seine Assize Court spent one of the days of last December in going from one public.. house to the other. He returned home about six o'clock, and found the table neatly laid for the evening meal. His wife, a steady, hard-working woman, having spilt a few drops of soup while pour- ing it into the tureen, he picked a quarrel with her, and, suddenly taking up a knife, stabbed her. Per- ceiving that he had wounded her seriously he called out for help, and a doctor, who had been promptly summoned, sent the poor woman to the hospital, where she soon died. The investigation which followed showed that this was by no means the first occasion on which Raymond had violently assaulted his wife. When the jury returned its verdict, it expressed the opiuion that prisoner had only wounded his victim, and then added that the injuries inflicted had been fatal, although he bad not intended to kill her. This extraordinary announcement led the presiding judge to remark that the-jurors must have made- a mistake, and to send them btek to their room to reconsider their "verdict. When they re- appeared, they gave diametrically opposit^nnswers to the questions addressed to them, saying that Raymond had wounded his wife, butrthat' the injuries had not been the cause of her death. The mad has thus got off with 10 months' inipriaonmftt. Now for the country case; which is feven more Startling, On New Year's Day as old coiifplo named Serignac, dwelling in th-e^itei&h'bburhood of Morlaix, invited their servant to share their festal meal. During the repast Francois Primet tooki more wine than was good f<5f" hiai, fend beirtg of a quarrelsome turn when in iMe oupst he pro- ceeded to attack the family. After be had half-killed the feldef* of --with blows from his, sabot, Jhe inflicted a terrible stab on the younger, who had gone to hisS brother's "succour, 'arid then droVe his knife successively into the thigh of the father and the leg'O#-the mother, a -V)rtby datne ?6 years of age. The yotMger Serignac expired that evening in horrible agony, and the sur- vivors of the drama are still suffering from the effects of the injuries which they have sustained. Primet has just been brought to trial at the Quimper Assize Court, and has been sentenced to four months' imprisonment for assault and bat- tery." Little wonder that an outcry should be raised, when men who have mortally stabbed a wife and a master's son are condemned to such ridi- culously triflling penalties, and that high authorities on legal matters should be asking whether it is not high time that persons of common-sense and experi- ence, who will Lot suffer themselves to be impressed by the sentimental appeals of eloquent barristers, should be substituted for jurors selected at hazard, many of whom are too evidently endowed with neither of these qualifications. It is argued that the opportunity should be seized, now that: the tremendous power wielded by the examining magis- trate is, owing to certain disclosures which have con- siderably excited public opinion, about to be cur- tailed but it need hardly be explained that any modification of the existing system of trial by jury would be stoutly resisted in many influential quarters, and that the suggested change would have little chance of adoption. At any rate, the mere fact that such a proposition should be seriously brought for- ward amply demonstrates the pass to which matters have come.
ABOUT BRAHMS.
ABOUT BRAHMS. The Viennese papers abound with anecdotes of the departed Maestro Brahms, most of them revealing the less genial aspect of his character, for he possessed a mordant wit. As a performer he had a very hard touch, and this led an artist who was accompanying him on the 'cello to exclaim: "I can't hear my- self." "Ah," replied Brahms, "you are a lucky fellow." When he left the room after a lively evening among friends, he used to remark, If there is anyone present whose feelings I have not hurt, I trust he will receive my humble apology," He never could bring himself to produce an opera. If I composed a first one which failed, I should cer- tainly have a second try," he said to pressing friends, but I cannot make up my mind to the first. To me the undertaking seems much the same as marriage." The latter institution found no favour in his eyes, and he lived an isolated existence, recognising no kinsfolk.
A PHANTOM FEAST. '
A PHANTOM FEAST. A contributor to the Birmingham Daily Mail teIIs1 the following story A man employed in abig factory at Aston recently resumed duty after two or three days' illness. His fellow-workers were doubtful as to the plea of indisposition, and convinced themselves eventually that the man had absented himself in order to get married. The operatives taxed him with endeavouring to conceal the real facts, but he pro- tested that they were mistaken. Nothing, how- ever, would shake their belief, and they con- tinued the chaff so long that eventually the man said, Well, it's no use carrying it on any further. I may as well admit that I have been and got married, and as you have found me out I'll stand the shop a little supper." The day and place were appointed and the men assembled. A couple of hours went by without any sign of the host. An inquiry was made as to whether any provision bad been made for the catering. The landlord knew nothing of the affair, and the men, who had left work an hour earlier than usual in order to be punctual, came to the conclusion that they had been fooled. The author of the hoax has felt it expedient to leave the district.
WAGNER'S "DREADFULS."
WAGNER'S "DREADFULS." A fragment of an opera begun by Wagner in 1833 and never finished, called Die Hochzeit," has been bought by an English lady for E100. Wagner wrote the libretto and composed an introduction, a chorus, and a septet, but stopped, as his sister did not like tho plot. It is a bride's wedding night, and a friend of the bridegroom, mad with jealousy, climbs to the bed- room window of the lady. There is a struggle, and the atalwart bride hurls the maniac into the courtyard below, with his head battered in. At his funeral the lady falla dead over his corpse. This cheerful story was Wagner's first operatic libretto, when he was barely 20. But an even still more bloodthirsty effort, in the form of a drama, was written when he was a school- boy of 14. In this extraordinary work no fewer than 42 of the speaking characters were killed in the course of the first four acts, and in order to bring the atory to a conclusion at all, some of them in the form of ghosts had to be revived in the fifth act.
[No title]
THB French countryman is nothing if not prac- tical. It is said that the Rochefort horsebreeders have resolved to present President Faure with a superb horse on the occasion of his approaching visit -provided the Qovernmeat grants the local training college a substaatial subvention. Hardly flattering for M. Faure 1
I''''', - ETHEL SMYTHE: I
I' ETHEL SMYTHE: A DIAMOND STORY. Something made Ethel look up when she was nearing their dismal lodgings in Mitchel-street. She bad been brooding. She had often brooded of late. Life had become a hard business for her. Then she almost fainted. It was a sudden pain at the heart. But though she held her hand to her breast and panted, she kept her eyes on the square- shouldered, black-coated form in front of her. It had come out of No. 17, too, where she and her father lodged dismally. I How like it was to him Just his walk, with the defiant carriage of the head He had left her five years ago in just such an attitude, though she knew then that she- had cut him to the quick by her con- temptuous rejection of his band. She had been eighteen then. Things had changed during those five years. She was now obliged to earn her daily bread. Worse still, her father had got on the wroDg road. The prospect of supporting a drunken parent to the last hour of his ljfe was one she had to face, whet her she liked it or not. She staggered into the house and encountered Betsy, the slatternly maid-of-all-work. \Vho was that, Betsy ?" she aaked. Which, miss ?" retorted the girl, with the blush of obvious deceit on her besmirched cheeks. The gentleman who just left the house." Was there one, miss ?" I-I thought so," murmured Ethel. Depression again bad her for its own. She went up the stairs, with their worn oil-cloth covering, glanced into the poor sitting-room she shared with her father (when he was not elsewhere), and then, with tears in her eyes, entered her bed- room. She threw herself upon the bed and cried quietly seeing the past in many mind-pictures, and some- thing of the future as it might have been if But Ethel was a brave girl. She pulled herself together at length, and wiped her eyes. Then it was that she discovered the diamond. It lay on her dressing-table, with-« piece of paper by it. The faint sunshine made it sparkle. Frowning with perplexity, Ethel approached the stone, and read what was on the paper: I value this stone at 500 guineas. JACOB VAN HEIMEE, Hatton-garden." What did it mean ? Troubled afresh, Ethel rang the bell. "How did this come here?" she asked the per- turbed Betsy, when the damsel reappeared. Ob, miss, what a beauty!" Betsy ejaculated. Then, after some persuasion, the maid was induced to confess. He had been such a pleasant-spoken young gentle- man so brown, and generous, too When he had pleaded to be allowed to see the rooms occupied by Miss Smythe and her father, and had put a sovereign into Betsy's delighted hand, what could she do but yield to his simple desire ? I hadn't no idea he was leaving nothing, miss," pleaded the girl. He begged that hard to peep in here, and I didn't see much harm in it." "Thank you," said Ethel, "I think, perhaps, it's all right, and you needn't say anything to Mrs. Brown." Mrs. Brown was her mistress-an exacting, mean person. Then Ethel lay down and thought afresh. For one thing, it meant, she hoped, an end to the piano-strumming at sixpence an hour by which she maintained herself and her father. With anything like E500 she could qualify for a nurse and have no anxiety about ways and means until she was able to earn a livelihood by private nursing. In the midst of her meditations, bitter-sweet I though they were, in came her father. She knew his step only too well. It was so often a dot-and-carry-one sort of step. This time, how- ever, it sounded steady enough. Look," she cried, what has come for us." She flashed the diamond before his bleared, dis- reputable eyes. Drink had so muddled Mr. Smythe's once respect- able intelligence that some time elapsed before he grasped the situation. When he did, he was as elated 8S a boy. "That Donald of lours is a trump, my lass!" he said joyfully. Your poor old father won't have to go to the workhouse, after all." Father r' murmured Ethel, reproachfully. No, that he won't. I know the look of diamonds, and there's no paste about this one. I'll take it right off to the Jew fellow whose name's on the paper and ask him about it." Mr. Smythe's hat was still on his head (well at the back of it), and he had long ago abandoned all care for his toilet in general. His red nose seemed to excuse him from such annoying trivialities. You will be very, very careful, father Y" I'm likely to be, ain't I ?" was the retort. He tied the jewel into a corner of his handkerchief and departed. He was in a great hurry. Already lie saw a noble debauch in prospect that very evening. He could also wipe off his score at. the Bod Lion and begin a new one. But Mr. Smythe argued on inadequate grounds. Mr. Jacob van Heimer recognised the ptone and his own note of valuation. But he did not know ant- thing about Mr. Smythe, whose personal appearance did not prepossess. To his anger, Mr. Smythe found that he was to be detained in custody until he could give a much more satisfactory explanation of his apparent owner- ship of the diamond than he had given Mr. van Heimer. The constable who was summoned to view Mr. Smythe agreed that it looked quite fishy. Confound you both," cried Mr. Smythe, for a pair of fools I tell you the man who left it wants to marry my daughter. It's a little present of his to her." „ "That," said the diamond merchant, "is a very nice story, but it will not wash." No, that it won't," echoed the constable. I'll trouble you to tell it over again at the station." "Doyou mean- Yes, that you are arrested on suspicion." Mr. Smythe was taken away. The diamond re- mained temporarily with Mr. van Heimer. But ^Ethel's father was not destined to have his character long beclouded on this account. Mr. van Heimer got into telephonic communicatioa.with his client, Mr. Jerram, and was peremptorily bidden to dear Mr. Smythe, and also to give him £ 500 for the diamond if Mr. Smvthe wanted to seM it. There, my girl," said the outraged father that evening, as.he cast a roll of notes on the table before Ethel I've had a deal to go through, and must have a little proper refreshment to atone for it all." If only I knew where he livecll" sighedethel. .You're not to know that, it seemp. Never mind, though. This money is uncommon useful. You'll give your poor old father a fiver ? The other 395 you must put in the bank." Mr. Smythe had explained that valuing and pur- e^aaiog ware f^o very ,cjifferept things. That was why Mr. van Heimer, he said, bad only given £ 40b for a jewel worth EBW or more. Not without a sinking heart did Ethel let her father have the note he asked for. She spent th.p ejening.thinking, thinking. No man could have behaved more nobly. But there was more than gratitude towards Donald in her heart. She had loved him even when, in the pride of her youth and beauty, she had said he might, for all she,cared, go off to South Africa. And now she knew that she loved Donald Jerram as she could never love another man. And she knew, top (chilling knowledge), that she was not in the least likely to be anything pore to him than a recipient of his charity. She deserved, too, in the circumstances, to be nothing more. It was hard, yet inevitable. Mr. van Heimer had conveyed to the Sinythes an intimation that his client did not wish to be thanked for the diamond. This naturally deterred Ethel from giving way, by letter, to her emotion. She felt, nevertheless, she could not help writing a few lines, in which she showed more of her heart than she knew. Unfortunately, the diamond merchant, acting on hia own responsibility, kept the letter. He entirely misconstrued the relationship between Ethel and Mr. Jerram. He flattered himself he was doing the latter a good turn by not leading him into temp- tation that might result in the bestowal of more diamonds. And so Ethel sorrowed. on in secret, and hid no comfort of any kind outside her new work. This, however, was, at least, a noble distraction. She had a natural gift of nursing. They soon said so at St. Stephen's, and she realised it in the happi- ness of a sort which came upon her when she was engrossed in her hospital duties* The one chief active trouble of her life was still her father. Mr. Smythe seemed bent.on hurrying to the grave <as quickly as spirituous liquor could carry him I thither, He wat) spending bishundredlttinfto right rovally— from the Red Lion's point of view. ^There were times wbea Ethel reproached herself for thus neglecting her father. But in the main she trusted to her prayers and the rather vain hope that Mr. Smythe would Boon drink himself out of all credit, and become tolerably sober perforce. Donald was constantly in her thoughts, in spite of all her endeavours to the contrary. Why, she asked henelf, should she think of him so much when it was clear as could be that he wished to be nothing more than her benefactor? That, of course, was much but one does not dream of one's benefactors unless these are something even nearer and dearer. So a year passed. Then one evening she came home —for good. I shall take care of you now, father—whenever I am not '.bViged to be out," she said to her besotted sire. No need, my child. I can take care of myself," was the reply which he illustrated by shambling out to drink himself drunk. This was, perhaps, the most miserable evening Ethel bad ever lived through. She sat in a state of supreme depression. Everything looked so black. She had no future that she could see and her father's disgraceful progress gravewards was now so terricly patent to her. Mrs. Brown came in to cheer her with some heated remarks about her father's conduct. She even hinted that she could endure such a lodger only a little lenger. At ten o'clock Ethel was putting on her hat to fetch her parent (it had come to that more than ouce), when she heard the door-bell ring loudly. "Miss Smythe 1" cried Betsy from the bottom of the stairs almost the same instant. Yer poor father's bin run over!" Hold your tongue, you idiot!" said someone. Ethel was seized with that old heart trouble at the sound of these words. The-voice was as familiar to her (and as dear) as the memory of the church bells in the Gloucestershire village where she had spent Jier youth. She hurried downstairs—to mee, a procession of four men labouring with her father's body. Behind them was Donald Jerram-no other. -They held each other's hands with strange dis- regard for the accident which had resulted (really, as it happened) in the death of Ethel's father. How I wish," he said, we could have met under happier circumstances! It was the merest chance that brought me in the street when he was knocked down. You have suffered a great deal, I am afraid." That is nothing," she replied, blushing, yet with a joyous light in her eyes that gave her back much of her earlier beauty. Then she remembered things and withdrew her hand. Do you think he is seriously hurt ?" she asked. Please send for a doctor." I have already done set Yes, I fear he has had a very bad knock. He seemed quite unconscious." Then Ethel gave all her attention to her father. But it was wasted solicitude. Mr. Smythe had drunk his last glass of whisky and water. The doctor soon said his say on the subject, Stone dead," he remarked to Donald Jerram, away from Ethel's hearing. "An inebriate, I fancy?" It remained to break the news to Ethel. This was no such difficult matter. The poor girl had already learnt much at St. Stephen's. And, besides, she had long steeled herself to expect a tragic ending to her father's life. Donald Jerram was loth to leave her that evening. Hitherto, he had never doubted that the dismissal Ethel had given him years ago had been final. He was not deeply versed in the mysteries of a- maiden's heart. But suddenly he had come to think dif- ferently. I am bitterly sorry," he said at parting. If only I had the right to help you—Ethel!" He said this last word tremulously and in doubt. Would she resent the familiarity at such a time ? But, instead of that, tears stole down her cheeks. Ethel!" he continued, in a solemn whisper, is it possible that I am dearer to you than I was ?" She looked up at him, but said nothing. That sufficed, however. My darling!" he said, as he took her in his arms, MI shall never be content until you are mine."
A GIPSY QUEEN.
A GIPSY QUEEN. New York society is just now, we gather from the London American, very much interested in a real live gipsy queen. She did not come in a canvas-covered waggon, nor does she sell baskets for a livelihood. Her husband is a wealthy American physician whom she met and married several years ago in Phila- delphia. Queen Stella, as she is called, is the queen ef the Gonzales tribe of gipsies, and was made such because she claims to be of Royal blood and can prove that her ancestors sat on the Moorish throne. Recently it has become quite the fad for fashionable folks to frequent her parlours and attend her entertain- ments. She is highly educated,and thoroughly versed in Arabian literature. All this has made her extremely popular with the New York society people, who are always pleased to find something fresh and original. At every function she may be seen seated in a corner, with admirers three deep around her. The, men are charmed with her, for she is young and beautiful. The women like her because she entertains them. She tells their fortunes and makes their fiesh creep. She is a deep student of palmistry, and has examined the hands of some of the most prominent men in the country. Every mail brings her in dozens of invita- tions, and the doors of the finest houses in the land are thrown open to her.
FUNNY ENGLISH.
FUNNY ENGLISH. A book has beon printed in Paris under the title Nos Ac,rices Chez Elles," which is devoted to illus- trations, of French actresses in their homes. Under each illustration something is said about the actress represented in rather flamboyant French, which is accompanied by a translation into what purports to be English. Never, perhaps, was there such English printed since the famous Portuguese text book astonished the world with English as She is Spoke." This is the translation of what is said of Mme. Jane Hading: This exquisite Parisian is a Marseille's native. Her correct beauty as much as her right talent, which the modern playing and classic taste are thrilling in, prove that some blood of Phocean emigrants from old and artful lonia is flowing into her veins. Then, as an hereditary consequence, she is fond of emigra- tion. Mme. Hading alternately glittered on our.most greatest theatres. Even she reached the Francais, but the Boulevard without her seemed to be sky without sun. Yvette Guilbert ia spoken of in this strain She is more than a glory, she is all idol. Happy idol; she conquered the World before her thirtieth years of age-as Alexander did. But, indeed, what a perfect incarnation of the to-day song!" Mme. Rejane is thus described: When she appears on the stage the audience utters Ah Let us bow at this Ah J* it is Glory going along. She gives life to every thing she is touching on." Mile. Sherna renders the writer poetical: This adorable Narbonian, who italian name is but an additional cleverness, has her seat appointed in the spangled heavens the name of which is, at Paris, Dauce-Room, the only true saloon where one can see ministers passing through and Kings stopping at. "Already, whith a nimble foot, Mile. Sbema springs towards the aim, taken away by the rhythmical rapture of dance, and so prodigiously she turns round that she looks as if she will fly away or vanish in a gauze cloud-and, in order to keep her, the spectators hold their arms out."
[No title]
IT is estimated that there are 1,300,000 Irish people in Australia. VARBONT, a noted Sardinian brigand, has been killed in a fight with carabineers, who were pursuing him. IT is said, but at present no exact information seems to be obtainable, that the income of the Church Missionary Society for the past year will not fall very far short of £ 300,000. This society, which is the peculiar pride and joy of Evangelical Churchmen, will keep its centenary in two years' time. The in- come of the Churih Pastoral Aid Society, the corres- ponding agency for heme missions, is said to he under £ 60,000 this year. MR. ATHBLSTAN BILBY has resolved not to offer himself in November next as a candidate for election on the London School Board. Mr. Riley, in the course of a letter to one of his supporters in Chelsea, says: I am convinced that the special work I set myself to accomplish on the School Board is done. and that what I can do in the future for the cause we have at heart can be just as well done from an inde- pendent position."