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

THE FRENCH EXECUTIONER. i M. Deibler, the French executioner, has accumo- lated a fortune of 500,000fr. by bis skill in working the guillotine. At an execution in Paris some time back he had his little son with him, from which it ii supposed that he intends him to follow sam< profession.

THH Queen has sent the London Hospital £ 100 in aid of the special appeal now being made. THE Postmaster-General has approved of a schema for increasing the salaries of sorting clerks and tele- graphists in the provinces similar to that dealing with the corresponding class of officers in London. IT has been decided that the late Bishop of Selwyn's work in Melanesia should be commemorated by the erection of a church at St. Luke's, Siota, in the Solomon Islands, and also by the provision of scholarships for the education of the natives. Tna International Miners' Congress, which is usually held at Whitsuntide, will not take place this year unbl August, the postponement being rendered nfintal417 P6''t'ca^ elections in many Conti- V1eEma. Un The of will t»

THE BLOOD TAX IN SPAIN. A foreigner travelling in Spain1 has published an interesting picture of the recent disorders in the province of Seville, of which the peasantry are literally dying 6f hunger, whilst all the mineral products are seized by the Government-at their own rates. Vigorous measures, however, have been taken to save the people from starvation. No grain is for the future to be sold outside the district where it is grown, and there is a statutory price enforced, ,r under eevere penalties. Now the population begins to feel" the blood tax. The provincial contingent of 1897 has been called up for the Philippines. Five thousand young men were embodied in five. new battalions during last week, and 5000 more were drafted from various regiments. Volunteers were miled for, and if they were not forthcoming detach- ments were told off for service.

.1 SOPHISTICATED JEWELS; The Appeal Court of Liege, Belgium, has just iecided a strange case of fraud on a large scale. So far back as 1893 a diamond-broker, -named De VVindt, and another person named Mlllaud, made a deposit of certain jewels upon which the mcnt-de- piete, or municipal pawning establishmentjadvanced £120, and shortly after a second sum of £ 200 upon a second lot of stones presented by Millaud alone. As the pledge was not redeemed within the legal period the jewels were sold for a large sum. Then trouble began.. It-was found that the stones were, in the language of the trade, only "stuffed "—that is to say, they had a.thin face of fine diamond ekilfullv fixed;upon a body of white sapphire. It was.one o*f those frauds which defy even trained eyes, and are the terror of the jeweller. I De Windt and Millaud were at once arrested as swindlers, and the former was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment and to pay £ 20 damages. Millaud was acquitted of the charge of complicity. Then De Windt appealed to the higher court, and was likewise acquitted. Finally the mont-de-piete appealed against the acquittal, which, however, the Appeal Court has confirmed. But De Windt has paid the amount for which the jewels were sold, and, the nidnt-de-piété has passed it on to the purchasers, who have returned the stones.

OUR KINDLY QUEEN. An instance of the Queen's kindly interest in all her subjects and her motherly care for the smallest members of the community comes from the Riviera. One afternoon during-her recent sojourn ia the South, while out driving, her Majesty noticed in the arms of a nurse a little girl who seemed rather pale and sickly. The Queen stopped the carriage, called the'nurse, and inquired all about the little one, who is the child of British visitors staying at Nice, and gave the woman a good deal of wise counsel respect- ing the treatment of the infant, particularly recom- in- mending ass's milk as one of the best medicines pos- sible. A few days afterwards the Queen again saw the child, who had greatly improved, in appearance, learned .that the Royal recommendations had been duly followed, and expressed her pleasure that the 9 little one was fast regaining strength.

A PONY'S INTELLIGENCE. A correspondent writes from Abbotsbury to Nature Notes: "The other day when we were having lunch we heard a strange scratching sound, and then as if someone were trying to turn the handle of the door. Our housemaid went and opened the ddor to see what it was, and there stood the baker's pony and cart; his master had left him in the road while lie went to the next house, and the pony had turned round and himself tried to open the door. Of course, we were much amused to hear what it was an'd this door was shut again. The next minute came one loud decided knock, evidently from the door knocker. 4 That can't be the pony,' we all cried, at the same time rushing to the door—but it was. He was standing with his front feet on the pavement quietly waiting, and very pleased at his success. Of course, we gave him sortie bread, bfecuits, and sugar as a reward for his cleverness. He must have taken the knocker in his teeth."

A LUCKY SNAPSHOT. The Princess of Wales, who continues to do a good deal of photography, is said to have averted a railway accident in course of pursuing that hobby, Having taken a snapshot at » goods train passing over the bridge at Wolferton, her Royal Highness noticed in the negative thaI. the bridge had a curve. Her first conjecture was that she had not held the kodak pro- perly but a second experiment gave the same result, and she thereupon drew the attention of the Prince of Wales tc the fault. He set on foot some inquiries, engine-drivers were found to have complained of alarming movements in the structure, and a thorough inspection by a civil engineer established that it was in immediate danger of collapsing. The bridge, of course, has been re-built. But it is surely significant of the times that even Royal pastimes turn to useful- ness.

WHY is a man, who has just carried his carpet-bag ashore from a steamboat, like an owner of the Boil ? —Berau'se he is possessed of landed property.

REFUSING TO MARRY DRUNKARDS. Ie Waldeck, a little German principality, a decret has been proclaimed that a licence to marry will not be granted to any individual who has been in th habit of getting drunk. If anyone who has been e drunkard applies for Such a licence he must produJI sufficient proof of reformation to warrant his receiv* ing it.

THB PORT OF LONDON. The report of the Medical Officer of Health tor the Port of London, which has just been issued, is an interesting document. It states that 14,795 vessels were'inspected during the last eix months. Of these 7322 were foreign," and the remainder were cOafit'ers?" DK CofRngridge drawn attention to the necessity of dealing more thoroughly with the sani- tary condition of lighters trading on the river. Although these crafts are not actual dwellings, he suggests that the. authority should be enabled to order he cabins to be kept clean, free from offensive mses, and to be provided with proper ventilating apparatus. During the eix months covered bv this report a total of 6927 persons were medically in- spected. Since the -institution of medical inspec- uori, the average number thus inspected has been 3050 per annum. In the past six months 30 cases af infectious diseases were discovered and dealt ivith. A good deal Jof attention has been paid to the condition of the water in the London Dock, with the satisfactory result that considerable tmprovement has taken place. The quantity of un- sound food destroyed was larger than usual. It con- sisted of 1351 carcases, 868 pieces of mutton, 208 piaces of, beef, 60 casks of horse flesh, 437 bags of kidneys, 44 crates and 302 loose rabbits, 72 cases and 241 loose tins of meat, and 695 casks of condensed milk. As to canal boats, we are informed that 597 of ;his description have been inspected—a decrease com- pared with the previous year. The medical officer states that there is an absence of general overcrpwd- nc, no single boat having, been met with carrying more oersons than she was registered for. All the infringe- ments of the Acts and regulations were of an unim- portant character, and were all satisfactorily dealt with without recourse to legal proceedings. Only one case 3f infectious disease was met with on these boats-a aase of typhus fever. After ten years' working he believes that" the influence of the Canal Boats Acts in -be Port of London lias been good.

WILLS AND BEQUESTS. The value has now been sworna t £ 656,26810s. 4d., including £ 160,371 12B. in England, of the personal sstate of Sir'' John A rnott, of Woodlands,- in the County ofh Cork, and' of South' Mell, Cork, first Baronet/and of Arnott and Co. (Limited), ofiCork and Dublin, and of Gask and Co. (Limited), of London, silk mercers and drapers, chief proprietor of the Irish Times, who died on March 28 last, aged 83 years, and on whose estate duty amounting to £ 55,225 10s. 7d. at the rate of 72 per cent, has now been paid. Codicils to Sir John Arnott's will vary to some extent 3ie provisions made by the will, of which some particulars were published in anticipation of pro- bate. He increased the legacy of £ 30,000 to his son David to 940,000, in addition to his said ,on's one fiftieth share in the Irish Times, uid he increased the legacy of £ 25,000 given by the will to his son Mangerton Arnott to £ 40,000, He bequeathed, as already stated, 960,000 each to his wife Dame Emily Jane Arnott (who is to have the ase and enjoyment of Woodlands and its furniture luring her widowhood) and to his son Sir John Alexander Amott, now second Baronet. He be- queathed to his son Loftus XW,000, to his eon .Max- well £ 40,000, to his daughter Mary MabeU £ 40,000, his daughters Jessie, Lily,: and Florence 940,000 jach to his daughter Rosina Johnson £ 40,000, to jach' of her children £ 2000, to Thomas Weeks of Monkstown £2000, and to the Rev. Canon; C. B. Harley £ 1000 for himself and £1000 for the poor of Holy Trinity, Cork. He bequeathedtothe Representa- tive Body of the Church of Ireland B1000 for St. Luke's, Cork, and 1:500 to St. Finn Barre, Cork, and he bequeathed to Trinity Presbyterian Church, Summerhill, Cork, L500. By the codicil Sir John Arnott substituted the Rev. Canon Harley for the Protestant Bishop of Cork as one of the trustees of his religious and charitable bequests. He bequeathed 910,000 for charitable institutions in or connected with the City or County of Cork, £ 10,000 for charit- iblig institutions in the couirty- and City of Diublin, nd £20,000 to apply the income for such religious purposes as the trustees in their uncontrolled discre- ion may think fit. And a codicil of the 21st of February last is as follows; "With regard to the I provisions for charities dad religious purposes in my last will and codicils, I hereby declare that I wish it to be understood in relation to religious matters, I strongly disapprove of proselytism, my opinion being that a shifty, bad Roman Catholic is asj bad, if not worse, than a shifty, bad Protestant." The testator bequeathed to the. Prwosi attd «3e £ gy of all religious denominations ef Ms aoflfot plate at Auchbermuchty, Scotland, lor the deeenririg poor, £ 2000. and he left his residuary estate in trust as to «fie-tiilrd thereof not, as has been stated, fbr Lady Arnott absolutely, but to pay the Income thereof to her durinjg her widowhood, and subject to her widowhood interest in trust for such one or more of his children as she may during her widowhood appoint, or in default of ntment for all of his children. He left one- third of his residuary estate to his eldest son abso- lutely, and the remaining one-third in trust for all of his children, excepting his said eldest son. Th6 deed Of trust disposition and settlement bears flate November 26, 1894, with a codicil of March 19, 3f Sir William James Montgomery Cuninghanie, of Corsfebill and Kirtonholm, N.B., and of Kirtoij Lodge, Ayrshire, ninth barbiiet, V.C., formerly' in the Crimean Campaign of.I854-55, and M.P. for the Ayr Burghsifrom 1874 to 1880, who died on November 11 last Gunton Old 'Hall, Lowestoft, aged 63 years, leaving ^personal estate" valued at £ 13,281 13Jr.' 8d., in- jluding life assurance policies for E8", with bonus ",dditions of £3060. The executors of Sir William Montgomery Cuninghame's will are his widow, Dame 'Elizabeth Hartopp or Montgomery Cuninghame 'daughter of Mr. Edward Bourchier Hartopp, of balby Hall, near Melton Mowbray), and the testa- tor's son, Sir Thomas Andrew Alexander Montgomery Cuninghame, nowtpnth baronet. < The personal estate has been valued at E187,345 9s. Sd., of Mr. Frederick Hotham Hirst, of Great Ropers, South Weald, Brentwood, Essex, and 6f 51. Brunswick-square, Brighton, who died on March 3 last, aged 83 years, son of the late Captain John Hirst, of Great Ropers. The executors of Mr. P. H. Hirst's will are Mr. Henry Attlee, of 10, Bidliter- square, solicitor, and Mr. Sydney Alers 4 Hankey, of Locks Barm, Wokingham. I The personalty of Mr. Richard Barnwell, Manag- ing Director of the Fairfield Shipbuilding and (Engi- neering Company (Limited), who died on March 7, is sworn at £ 82,538. His executors are his sister, Elizabeth Anne Barnwell, Sir W. Arrol, Mr. George Strachan, and Mr. G. Findlay.

A RUSSIAN ROMANCE. The following romance, lately reported in the St. Petersburg Press, is worthy the attention of the dra- matist. A young lady of that city had by some means fallen into one of the canals, and was rescued by a tramp, who plunged boldly into the water and brought her to land. Thereupon the vagrant refused to accept any reward, and at once disappeared intc the ërowd, without revealing his name. But on the girl's part it had been a case of love at first sight. After nursing her passion for some time, she at last confessed to her parents that she ntvist go in search of her unknown rescuer, and then suddenly disappeared in quest of him. The search lasted two years, until at last the trafap was run to earth in a Russian night refuge. He was wearing the usual nondescript garments of the Russian vagrant, and had tramped many miles as a beggar since he rescued the young lady. On finding the object of her search the girl confessed her love, and the vagrant promptly returning the affection, they were at once married. But with marriage the good fortune of the tmmp was not te come to an end. On presenting himself before the police in order to obtain his passport and <»rd of residence," he learned that one of his relatives, 8 Polish Count, had died intestate three years before and that ho himself was the sole heir of a goodly estate.

Wuy does a gentleman's own servant going up Vesuvius present one of the greatest phenomena ir naturb ?--Because it is the valley (Val") asmndino the mountain. MAUD: I have heard people say she sings like 8 bird." Madge: ,She doa siur incesmutly.

HSABTHY DWELLINGS AND SANITARY TOWNS. At the request of the Organising Committee of the International Congress of Hygiene and Demography, held at Budapest in 1894, Professor Corfield prepared i series of resolutions relating to the sanitary condi- tions of towns and dwellings. These resolutions were submitted to a special joint meeting of three of the sections of the congress, and were the subject of a very animated debate. They were ultimately referred to an international committee, consisting of the following members:— Professor Corfield, London (proposer), Dr. Pistor, Berlin (seconder); Her Andreas Meijer, chief engineer af Hamburg; M. G. Bechman, ingénHmr en chef des ponts et chauss £ es, Paris; Professor Fodor, Budapest; Mr. Arthur Cates, architect, London Herr Berger, chief architect, Vienna; Herr Lindley, engineer, Frankfurt-on-Main; and Dr. A. J. Martin, member of the Consultative Committee of Public Hygiene of France. The resolutions were revised by this committee and were submitted to the international congress recently held in Madrid, where they were adopted as resolutions of the congress.* They may be taken to re- present the maximum amount of agreement possible at the present moment among sanitarians of different European countries. They are as follows (1.) That the general health of the population is improved and the spread of diseases prevented in towns and dwellings by the immediate removal of all foul matters, andby a copious supply of pure water. (2.) That the paving of streets should be smooth, and, as far as practicable, impervious, to faciBtate cleansing and also to prevent contamination of the subsoil. i (3.) Special measures should be taken in the icon- struction of houses to prevent the access of groiund- air and moisture to the floors and walls.. (4.) House drains should be arranged so is to avoid stagnation of their contents and to secure a rapid flow to the street sewer. They should bet iní pervious to liquids and gases, freely and continuously ventilated, and provided with syphoh-traps to pre- vent the access of foul air to the houses. (5.) The public sewers should be so constructed as to secure the rapid and uninterrupted flow of the sewage to their outlets. They should always be freely ventilated. (6.) The streets should be as wide as possible in proportion to the height of the houses this propor- tion should be fixed in each locality, regard being had to local circumstances and to climate. Every inhabited building should be well lighted throughout its whole depth, and arranged so as to have an access of air from at least two sides. (7.) Special regulations should be made in each locality by the public authorities with the view of en- forcing the practical application of the principles herein laid down. Governments and municipalities should resolutely and energetically carry out the preceding recom- mendations, especially those concerning the healthi- ness of dwellings.

MICRO-BIOLOGY AS APPLIED TO HYGIENE. At the Congress of Hygiene and Demography re- cently held in Madrid, Dr. Behring announced that, as the result of experimental work with the toxin and anti-toxin of tuberculosis, he had isolated a substance from the tubercle bacillus 100 times more powerful than Koch's tuberculin, and had obtained, by passing the virus through a horse, an anti-toxin which is be- lieved to be an efficient cure for the disease. Experi- ments on a large scale are to be carried out at the Berlin Veterinary University. Dr. A. Calmette, of the Pasteur Institute of Lille, demonstrated in a highly successful manner the prophylactic effect on snake-bitten patients of serum of the blood of horses subjected to small doses of the venom. For this pur- pose a rabbit was injected with a large dose of a mix- ture of venom of the cobra, naja, ani bothrops this proved fatal in 20 minutes. Two mbbits were then injected with the protective serum, and in 10 minutes each received a dose of the mixture equal in amount to that which killed the first rabbit. These rabbits appeared to suffer no ill effects. Further experi- ments gave unquestionable evidence as to the prophylactic property of the serum, which is easily prepared and retains its protective power for an in- definite period. Great interest was evinoed in the paper read by M. Noeard, of the Alfort Veterinary School, and delegate of the French Academy of Medi- cine, describing a method of cultivating the microbe of pleuro-pneumonia of cattle, the demonstration of which had baffled the efforts of bacteriologists for nearly half a century. It is hoped that the discovery of the specific microbe and the power of cultivating it for indefinite periods, independent of animals suffering from the disease, will afford the means of providing an effectual, protective vaccine at all times available when necessity for preventive inoculation may occur. Among the most novel suggestions for the S,plication of bacteriological science were those of r. E. VaMin, of the French Academy of Medicine, who drew attention to the existence of saltpetre on the walls of dwelling-houses, and its ill-effect on the health of the dwellers therein. Dr. Vallin states that the salt is produced by nitrifying bacilli, and indi- cates that the prevention and cure are to be effected by removal of conditions favourable to their life and development. Mortar should be mixed with germi- cides, as coal-tar, sulphate of copper, &c., and where disease of the walls exist, the cure should be effected by inoculation of the walls with anti-nitrifying bacilli, -.Yat,ure.

GENERAL WEYLER'S WEDDING. The romantic story of General Weyler's marriage is told by a correspondent of the Daily Telegraph. The famous Spanish officer had attained the rank ot lieutenajit-coloael, and was in command of a crack infantry regiment, when he fell deeply in love with a singularly beautiful girl—like himself, a native of the Balearic Isles—of humble Origin, being the daughter of respectable, hardworking peasants. She had not even been taught to read or write. Weyler did not dinclose his matrimonial projects to his family and friends while making every preparation for carrying them into execution. Twenty-fourhours, however, before the time fixed for the celebration of the wedding ceremony, the officers of his regiment received from him written requests to meet him at a certain church-door early on the following morning. At the hour indicated they found him awaiting them near the main entrance, and when they had gathered round him in a respectful semicircle he addressed them as follows: "Brother-oiffcers, none of my people know that I am to be married this morning. I did not tell them for reasons of my own, mainly because I detest use- less discussion. But I was not going to the altar on my wedding-day unless accompanied thither by my good comrades. So I asked you to stand by me as witnesses and friends. And I want you to take note of what I shall do when the officiating priest shall have united me to my young bride." This terse speech was hailed with cordial acclama- tions, and the military cortege filed into the church at the heels of their commanding officer, eager to give him their full support and countenance, and not a little curious as to the eventual denouement of the Colonel's mystery. At the conclusion of the religious ceremony, and after all the military witnesses had signed the register, Weyler left the church with his wife on his arm and, followed by his officers, marched her off to a neigh- bouring convent, where he delivered her into the charge of the lady abbess and took leave of her with soldierly abruptness, displaying no emotion wliatso- ever. Then, turning to his comrades, he said, Queridos hermanos, I have married this maiden because I love her and she loves me. She has had no education, and therefore is not at present fit to associate on equal terms with your mothers, wives, and sisters, or to figure in society as the wife of your 0 colonel; so I have arranged that she shall remain for two years under the care of these worthy nuns, whe will teach her all she ought to learn and eventually torn her out a credit to the regiment. During the interim I shall not disturb her studies by my visits, though she ie mine and I am hers. Have I done right? (The answer may be taken for granted. Then come along, and let us all go to breakfast." This is a no less true than pretty story, and its sequel hat been all that Weyler could have wished it to be.

1 WIN write a poem," exclaimed the poet, that on, be immortal. But he missed again. By tE time it had been sent out and returned eleven times » was worn out completely. MKB. STBAIOIXT: "My daughter £ Carefully brojght up." Colonel Blunt. withstanding, madam, I find her a VW inter-tini companion."

EPITOME OF NEWS. TirE Consul-General at Panama has a paragraph- in his last report advising British traders in Latin America to advertise. TIIE tomb of Mohammed is covered with dianiowd4 sapphires, and rubies valued at £ 2,500,000. THE Mexican Minister to Brussels om returning from a French fete at Charleroi, was injuried by a stone thrown at the train in which he was travel- ling. THE Chateau Garibondy, Cannes, tho property of Lady Alfred Paget, has been broken into and a quan- tity of plate, jewellery, and other valuables carried off. REINDEER are a failure in Alaska for want of proper forage. Many of those sent are dead, but some may be saved, as enough reindeer-moss has- been found at Dyea to support life. Dr. Sheldon Jackson is about to return home. MR. BUCHANAN, the American Minister to the Argentine Republic, is at present in London, on his way to the seat of his duties. He held the post under President Cleveland, and was re-appointed to it Ijy President McKinley. DuniNG 1897, 38,246 men enlisted in the militia; J76Q_.re-enlisted, and 902 rejoined from desertion 412 died; 19,647 were discharged; and 8417 were struck off the rolls as deserters and absentees; 14,052 joined the regular army, and 699 the Royal Navy arid marines. THE tuition fees taken at the London Guildhall School of Music during 1897 amounted to E33,000, the average payment being £ 9 per student. Since the opening of the school in 1880 the total has been ),(W. The average number of students is 8650. THE visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury to Edinburgh for the meeting of the General Assembly of the Established Church of Scotland is understood to be connected with some proposals he has in his .mind for English Church reform. IN connection with the increase of the daily pay of our troops, it is worthy of mention that the rate of pay in the French Army is about the lowest of any in Europe. A private receives slightly more than 2Jd. a day; a drummer, pioneer, or bandsman, 3d. corporal and bandsman of 10 years' service, 4id. sergeant, 9d. colour-sergeant, Is. sergeant drummer, Is. id. and sergeant-major, 2s. 2d. THE Queen will return from her Balmoral stay to- Windsor on June 22 or 23 for a period of about three weeks before going to Osborne for the usual long summer residence. The Queen will be accom- panied to Balmoral by Princess Christian and Princess Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein andPrincees Henry of Prussia. THE trains in Spain are certainly the slowest in all creation. A rate of 10 or 12 miles an hour is con- sidered a good average of speed for every-day travellers. When the Spanish ofhcials wish to put on style, and show visiting foreigners what they really can accomplish in the way of rapidity, they offer express trains, which dash madly across the land- scape at an average rate of 1.5 or 18 miles an hour. In one way this proves an advantage, for the traveller sees a great deal more scenery for his money than if he were rushed past it more swiftly. THE Philippine Islands are very rich in bird life. The later Marquis of Tweeddale went out to Manila and elsewhere to study the ornithology of the islands, and several United States naturalists have paid much attention to the subject. The Philippines are likely by the present war to be opened up to the naturalist as well as the sportsman. AN old man, named George Russel, who has died in Aberdeen, has left property valued at E13,000. The interest is to be distributed yearly among the police- men and scavengers of the city, in recognition of kindness done by a local constable to the testator's sister 50 years ago. DESPITE the high wages offered to citizens of the United States to enlist, they are apparently not at all eager to do so. Men of any nationality are accepted provided they are physically fit and ready to take the oath of allegiance. An American soldier get £2 12s. a month during the first two years of service, E2 16s. a month during the third year, £3 the fourth year, and R3 4s. the fifth. If he then chooses to join for another period of five years he gets E4 a month, with no deductions. TIIE Secretary for War has approved of non-com- missioned officers and men of the Reserve (Sections B and C) of the Royal Artillery being permitted to rejoin the colours to complete 12 years' service, pro- vided they have at least two years to serve. Men re- joining will receive free kit, but no gratuity. On discharge they will each receive a gratuity of JE12, in place of deferred pay or any other gratuity on dis- charge. IN the Zoologist Mr. Salter says that the little colony of kites in Mid-Wales is gradually dwindling away to the extinction point. Dealers visit the too well-known nesting trees regularly every spring, and with the aid of climbing-irons reach the nests and extract the clutches of eggs. The raven is still found breeding in certain spots in wild Wales. WE spend E26,000,000 on our navy and £ 37,500,000 on our army—a total amount of £ 63,500,000. France spends F.11,485,000 on her navy and £ 24,902,000 on her army—a total of £ 36,387,000. Germany spends on her navy £ 6,083,000 and on her army E29,143,000-a total of 05.226,000. Russia spends on her navy E7,990,060 and on her army E30,579,000-a total of £ 38,569,000. M. V AllICLE, of the French Geographical Society, has arrived in New Ifork with a balloon, in which be intends to travel to Klondike. It is cylindrical in shape, equipped with the electric light, and has a small steering sail underneath. Carrier pigeons will be taken, and a complete set of traveller's apparatus. Photographs of the country will be secured on the way. OUR troops in the Soudan, now preparing for their final rush to Khartoum, are obliged to make exten- sive use of the heliograph for signalling purposes. rhe heliograph is especially suitable for sunny climes, as it is merely a small circular mirror, so mounted that it can be made by a motion of the finger to flash the sun's rays to a given point in the distance. The well-known Morse code of dots and dashes is generally used, a short flash representing the dot and a long one the dash. THE very rich of American society are establishing game preserves, and are trying to rival the English in iuch field sports as hunting, shooting, and fishing. One American lady, Mrs. McCready by name, is so enthusiastic a sportswoman that she runs a joint pack of 100 boarhounds. She lives in New York, md hunts in Brittany, wearing the old French hunt- mg dress of red and green. BETHLEHKM is not a name usually associated with the arts of war, but at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a 16in. gun is being cast- for coast defence. The striking energy of the projectile with a 10001b. charge of powder will be 60,000 foot tons, and the range is over 16 miles. The monster piece of ord- nance will be placed in New York Harbour, which ia eventually to be protected by 14 similar guns. TURNER'S old house in Cheyne-walk is now under- going extensive repairs and restoration. It and the neighbouring house have been connected by an open- ing, the windows have been raised, and the brickwork pointed. The railed-in portion of the roof is, of course, retained. It was here that Turner used to sit and study some of those wonderful river-effects which his genius transmitted to the canvas. THE newest thing in naval warfare is the sub- marine searchlight. It is being fitted up for some of the American ships of war. The beam of light is projected, in a nearly horizontal, but slightly upward, direction, from a glass lantern far below water leveL It illuminates the surface of the water only at the place where it emerges," so that the battleship may light up .the movements of the enemy while remain- ing in the uttermost obscurity herself. ONE would imagine that a blind person could fina 10 pleasure in cycling,, since its greatest charm is he ever-changing scenes it affords in the whirl along through the country. That such is far from being the case is apparent from the fact that the sightW students of the Royal Normal College Norwood, find in cycling, according to tho Rambler, one of their most pleasant diversions, and that both mala and female students indulge in it daily. NOT one of the European Governments dares to. entrust to the ordinary mails anv of its foreign despatches or letters that are of the least importance. They invariably make use of highly-paid special mes- sengers, usually retired army officers, for the pur- pose, who in England are known as Queen's Mes- sengers," while on the Continent they go by the name of Courriers de Cabinet." They carry their despatches about their person or in their hand, and are not permitted to let them out of their possession- for a single instant throughout the entire journey,, which has to be accomplished without a break any- where.

f I J, 1; r', UR LONDON CORRESPONDENT. i £$he determination ofthe two HVraseis of Par- {lament to offer, in the case of Mr. Gladstone, me crowning honour that this nation can |»y departed -statesman-interment in. West- n^nster Abbey—has aroused the utmost inte- rest in London, for it is certain that this State luneralVill be attended not merely by the com- jparative few who on this occasion will be able SO enter the sacred fane, but by tens, if not pundreds, of thousands in the streets. Mr. Gladstone, will be laid^tQ rest xiefer 'Chatham, irao, as Maeaulay wrote, sleeps near the. nor- tjjhftm door} ina spot which has ever since been impropriated -to statesmen, as the other end of tna same transept has long been, to poets. Mansfield rests there, and the second William fitt, and Fox, and Grattan, and Canning, 4pjnd Wilberforce. In no other cemetery do to many great citizens lie within so nar- row a space." Palmerston has been added to the -number since Macaulay wrote, and Peel and Russell and Beaconsfield Would have been but for their strongly-ex- pressed wish before decease to dwell even in aeath among their own people. It is the happy fortune of this country that, in the presence of a life's close of a statesman, however Jnuop of Contention there had been during his existence, the voice of discord is hushed with his death. &nd it is this spectacle presented to the world Of a united nation grieving for the death of her most illustrious son with which foreign countries are powerfully impressed just now. It is so long since a "State funeral," in the frill of the1 term, "has taken place in London, that keen interest is being displayed in;every detail of the arragements. There have, Of course, been interments in Westminster &bbey, and that of Lord Tennyson, namely, six years ago—to take the latest instance^—was in a high degree impressive and the same could cer- tainly be said of Lord Palnaerston'e,.which was a,(serai-State function. The_Duke of Welling- ton's funeral at St. Paul's in 1852 was the last great pàgeant of the kind, but' that, of course, iargely partook of a military chhfdctei,which wbuhLbeinaippropriate on the present* occasion, The fpniy true antecedents for Mr. Gladstone's internment are furnished; by Chatham ^.nd his «on, the younger Pitt, for thejy alone have pre-1 óuly received the final honour of Toeing voted, 'tili as statesmen, a public funeml by P,titnent- though in their case by the House of Commons only, while' in regard to-Air. Gladstone, both Lprcis and Commons have for. the first time iwned., If the order gf cerer&onial" drawn up by the Earl Marsfcalr for the earlier functions be X&w followed, such a display will be furnished as the present generation has not witnessed and is hot likely to aee again. i, Those who, without much study of the matter, sometimes talk as if the House of Commons in'tHesO days had Ibst the art of rising to, a striking occasion would have been tmdeceived had' tney lieeri at Westminster during the two sittings immediately succeeding -Mr.Gladstono'g -oloa-th, d :Everyone, of cQurse, "has by this time heard, or read of. wheit-passel at thosa .sittings; but only those who "were present-and who had, for years been accus- tomed to be present—at Westminster could fully realise the striking nature ofthe tribute that was paid. It was not even so much what feas dope, as what .was spontaneously left jin- iiose, that impressed the regular attendant at the House. of Commons; On the 'day of Mr. Gladstone's death, for, instance, the Chamber- was t adjourned -even before private business was taken—a probably uppre- cedented proceeding WlDle,,gp next after- noon members unanimously insisted thit no questions, should be put in order that the tributes of the national mourning should at once be paid. These were the incidents vfhich, ■far more than.;the.Dece88ary;iorati,()ns., brought home the .gravity of the scene to the privileged looker-on. London, happily for her citizens, is steadily —it might almost be said rapidly—increasing the number of her parks. Waterlow, Brock- well Dulwich, Cawberwell, and Peckham- parks have; been added within the last few years to her possessions in this particular fahd now the Ranger's-park at Greenwichi has been epeMed. This is small, of course, when otfmparad with the splendid Crown parks we It its fifteen acres have been well laid out. It has a history of its own, for these grounds, as long ago as 1806, were shut off from the rest of Greenwich-park, in order to form a private pteasaunce for the Ranger's Lodge. Experience has shown that it is far more easy for property to be taken from the public than for it to be restored; and there have been the usual diffi- culties in the way of this restoration. But it has come at last, and the people of Greenwich 1 are -to be congratulated -npofr the fact that the London County Council will now havi it in 1 hand, and will preserve it "for the popular use "lor evet. h When the Commons resume after Whitsun- tide it will be found that the "tea on the 'terrace season has begnn. This function may .not be as fashionable as it -was five years ago, when it may be held to have touched its very apogee, but its popularity seems greater pvery fittmmeK Members of an economical turn of mind grumble, indeed, at having tp pay for 80 many teas, while the misanthropic 9,mong them groanot purely in spirit "but aloud as. they see their favourite outdoor promenade-invaded by armies of ladies, and hear. the. frm Jrou of their skirts in every corridor. But the economist and the ..misanthrope alike must have learned by this; time to grin and bear -it, for the Amazonian invasion has obviously "come to stay." The river terrace at Westminster is, in bet, not only a pleasant and even a picturesque lounge, but it is attached to one of the most interesting public buildings in London. And the ladies who visit it, and sip their tea and nibble, their cake as the Thames flows by, feel flattered at the notion that they are mingling with senators, and that even some of the gravest of our statesmen have been known to band around the cups and pass the bread-and- • feutter when' the supply of waiters ran short. The motor car so far is flourishing in' the r land t44t the Automobile Club, which has its headquarters in London, has determined to add to the triumph of its Easter ,tour by having & Whitsuntide run." At Easter the members explored the south-eastern.portion of England; at Whitsuntide they are careering around East Anglia. It is pleasant to know that they are of such a sociable turn of mmd that: they have welcomed the company of ladies on the way; and it may be hoped that the- com- parative freedom from breakdown they have titherto enjoyed will attend them to the end. Meanwhile, the motor cabs plying in the streets of London are increasing both in number and popularity; and, although the prophecies of those who eighteen months ago were talking sg if the horse was at once to become an extinct animal now sound more than a little absurd, no .observant person is likely at this date to "deny a future for the motor car.

As interesting historical exhibition relating to the county of Shropshire is now being held at Shrews- bury. Among the portraits and relics are those of General Lord Hill, who so ably seconded Lord Wellington in the Peninsular War. There are also portraits of Cromwell and Charles I., and a letter of the former to the town of Qsrwestry, and portraits of Queen Elizabeth and Sir Philip Sydney. The latter was a pupil at Shrewsbury School. THH six richest women m the world, according to |he Lady's Realm, are chiefly foreigners. Senora Coastal a South American wineowner, tops the list with forty millions. The Baroness Burdett-Coutts is credited with about four millions. Senora Cousino • dailv income is £ 4931!

QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY HONOURS. The Queen has been pleasea to approve the grant- ing of numerous honours on the occasion of her birthday. The following are the principal names fn the list. d. ow PHBRS. The dignity of a Peerage has been conferred upon Lord Muncaster, and a similar dignity upon 13it Arthur Haliburton, G.C.B. PRIVY COUNCILLORS. Sir George Taubman Goldie, K.C.M.G. Mr. James Alexander Campbell, M.P. Mr. James William Lowther, M.P. Mr. Edmond Robert Wodehouse, M.P. NBW BARONETS. Mr. Thomas Andros de la Rue. Mr. Robert Dundas, of Arniston. Mr. James Rankin, M.P. Mr. Henry Tate. NHW KNIGHTS. ■ (,1; Mr. Henry Charles Fischer, C.M.G.; Mr. John Gunn; Colonel Arthur Wellington Marshall; Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Mus. Doc., Director of the Royal College of Music; Alderman Marcus Samuel; Mr. Swire Smith Mr. Edward .Knox, late member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales; Mr. James Reading Fairfax (also of New South Wales); Mr. John Langdon Bonython (of South Australia); and Mr. Armond Drimmie Malcolm; Q.C., Chief Justice of the Bahama Islands. ORDER Of THB BATH. To be KC.B.'s (Civil Division): Hon. Hamilton Cuffe, C.B., Solicitor to the Treasury: and Director of Public Prosecutions; Mr. Kenelm Digby, Under Secretary of State at the Home Office; Mr. Kenneth ftluir Mackenzie, C.B., Clerk of the Crown Colonel Sir Richard Rowley Martin, K.C.M.G.; Dr. John Murray, F.R.S., LL.D.; and Mr. Edward Leigh Pemberton, C.B.

"FOB VALOUR." The Queen has been graciously pleased to signify her intention to confer the decoration of the Victoria Cross on the undermentioned officers and soldiers, whose claim ft have-been submitted for- her Majesty's approval, for their gallant conduct d^g fche recent operations on the North-West Frontier of India, as recorded against their names Lieutenant Thomas Colclough Watson, Royal Engi- neers.—This officer, on September 16, 1897" at the village of Bilot-.in the Mamund Valley, collected a few men of the Buffs (East Kent Regiment) and of No. 4 Company, Bengal Sappers and Miners, and led them into the dark and burning village to dislodge some of the enemy who were inflicting loss on our troops. After being wounded and driven back, he made a second attempt to clear the village, and only desisted after a second repulse and being again hit and severely wounded. 0 Lieutenant James Morris Colquhoun Colvin, Royal Engineers.—On the same occasion, after Lieutenant Watson had been incapacitated by his wounds from further effort, Lieutenant Colvin con- tinued the fight and persisted in two more attempts to clear the enemy out of the dark and still burning village. He was conspicuous during the whole night for his devotion to his men in the most exposed posi- tions under a heavy fire from the enemy. Lieutenant Henry Singleton Pennell, the Sherwood Foresters -(Derbyshire Regiment.).- This officer, during the attack on the Dargai Heights on October 20, 1897, when Captain W. E. G. Smith, Derbyshire Regiment, was struck down, ran to his assistance and made two distinct attempts, under "a perfect hail -of bullets," to carry and drag him back to cover, and only desisted when he found that he was dead. Piper G. P.Adlater, the Gordon Highlanders.—' During the attack on the Dargai Heights on Octpbwr 20, 1897, Piper Findlater, after being shot though both feet and unable to stand, sat up, under a heavy fire, playing the Regimental March to encourage the charge of the Gordon Highlanders. Private E. Lawson, the Gordon Highlanders.— During the attack on the Dargai Heights on October 20, 1897, Private Lawson carried Lieutenant K. Dingwall, the Gordon Highlanders (who was wounded and unable to move), out of a heavy firev and subsequently returned and brought in Private McMillan, being himself wounded in two places. Private S. Vickery, the Dorsetshire Regiment.— During the attack on the Dargai Heights on October 20, 1897, Private Vickery ran down the slope and rescued a wounded comrade under a heavy flre, bringing him back to, coyer. He subsequently dis- tinguished himself with Brigadier-General Kempster's Column in the Waran Valley, killing three of the enemy who attacked him when separated from his companJ.,

THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY AND THE BRITISH MUSEUM. The ancient .Celtic gold ornaments recently dis* covered in the North of Ireland, near the town of Limavady; and now in the possession of the British Mueeum,'formed the subject of a warm discussion at the last meeting of the Royal Irish Academy. Al that meeting Mr. Robert Day, a gentleman who Has rendered great service to the cause of anti- quarian study in Ireland, presented for exhibitior in the academy's collection an ancient bell known as the Bell of Ballymena. Mr. Edward Perceval Wright, secretary of the academy, proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Day, which was strongly opposed by Dr. Atkinson, secretary of the council, on the ground that Mr. Day had sold the Limavady ornaments to the British Museum without having previously offered them for sale to the academy. The vote of thanks was carried, but Dr. Atkinson continued to discuss the matter, and the debate presently became so animated that the mem- bers of the Press were requested to withdraw. It was subsequently ascertained that the discussion led to no definite conclusion, and will be resumed next Monday at- the ordinary meeting of the academy. As the whole question connected with the ornaments forms the subject of a short Parliamentary Bill, introduced by Mr. William Redmond, M.P,it may be well to explain how the matter at present stand?. The ornaments were discovered by a ploughman, and obtained from him by Mr. Day. Mr. Day sold them to the trustees of the British Museum, who maintain that they have no power, under their present constitution, to part with property once acquired. The academy, however, contends that the objects are treasure trove found in Ireland, and are legally the property of the Crown, so that neither Mr. Day nor anybody else had any right to sell them. The ornaments were, therefore, illegally sold, and, according to the terms of ah agreement existing between the Government and the Royal Irish Academy, should be brought back to Ireland, and preserved in the Irish National Museum. A lengthy memorial has been addressed by the council of the academy to the Lord-Lieutenant on the sub- ject. The memorial states that in 1868 the famous Tara Brooch and the entire Petrie collection, in 1874 the Ardagh Chalice," and in 1884 the reliquary of St. Lachtin were deposited in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, and it urges that these gold objects should also be placed in the collection. The council further complains that contrary to the regulations laid down in a letter which Was sent to the President of the academy in 1861 by Sir Thomas Larcom, Under-Secretary of State for Ireland, these objects of treasure trove found in Ireland have been acquired by a museum in England without having been submitted to the Chief Secretary directly or to the Royal Irish Academy, and they go on to call upon the Treasury to take steps for the transfer of these objects to a museum in Dublin. In making the appeal the council state that they are not only actuated by their sense of dvty with regard to the interost of the Itational col- lection, but also feel strongly that the interests of arclneology Will' be best served by placing these antiquities in what is admitted to be the most im- portant collection of kindred objects, which it is desirable to render as complete as possible for the purpose of comparative study.