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riFE LONDON CORRESPONDENT.
riFE LONDON CORRESPONDENT. All the life of the London season seems to have gone out of it since the termination of the German Emperor's visit. It had. indeed, never been bright from the beginning, for the dulness with which it opened became perfect gloom as the influenza appeared and claimed so many fashionable folk as victims. For, despite the continual complaint which is being raised that society is becoming too large and promiscuous a body, it is still within such compass that the effects of the mvsterious epidemic with which we were revisited in the spring were felt throughout. A temporary spurt was given by the Kaiser's appearance among us, and it was curious to note the different ways in which this showed itself. There was, of course, a great number of people who were virtually entitled by their position at Court or in society to be invited to the various important functions which were held during the Imperial visit; but equally, of course, there was a vastly larger number who were not so entitled, and the problem the latter set them- selves to solve was how to be thought by the outside world to be like the former. They ac- cordingly declined all ordinary invitations while the Kaiser was here, as if they had re- ceived others for the great ceremonies, and thus was practised one of the smaller expedients so necessary to those who just hang on to the skirts of the great world. Before the Emperor's stay among us is for- gotten-and nothing in these times is more than a nine days' wonder—it is interesting to recall different accounts of his first appearance at one of our State functions, given by no less distinguished folk than Thackeray, the greatest of then living English literary men, and Wilberforce, the C, greatest of then living Churchmen. In one among the last of his "Roundabout Papers," entitled On Alexandrines," in allusion to the name of the bride, Thackeray described the wedding at Windsor of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and observed "The young Princes were habited in kilts, and by the side of the Princess Royal trotted such a little wee solemn Highlander! He is the young heir and chief of the famous clan of Brandenburg. His eyrie is amongst the eagles, and I pray no harm may befall the dear little chieftain." This is what may be called a description from the out- side. Wilberforce supplied in a letter to a friend a description from within as follows: "The little Prince William of Prussia, between his two little uncles to keep him quiet, both of whom he-the Crown Princess told me-bit on the bare Highland legs whenever they touched him to keep him quiet." It is hardly necessary to explain that the Princess Royal and the Crown Princess were one and the same person, and that the present Kaiser's mother, the Empress Frederic. In the latter part of the last century, when sentimental systems for the education of chil- dren were being industriously elaborated by philosophers, one theorist held that the proper way to awaken them was by discoursing music by their bedside, and he himself was partial to playing a flute under those oircumstances. Probably no other presumably sane parent ever adopted the idea, but there is just now being solemnly discussed a notion which at the first blush does not seem far removed from the earlier. That notion is that music should be used as an anodyne in cases of illness, and it is claimed for this that it is both simple and obvious. For many years, it is said, music has been em- ployed largely in lunatic asylums in order to tranquilise the nerves of the inmates, and used with much success; and the inference is that it would equally soothe the sick. Whether the theory will work in practice has, of course, yet to be tried, but it has in its favour the fact that, like the proverbial chip in porridge, it could do no harm, even if it did no particular good. In another department of what may be called popular medicine, a diligent effort is just now being made in London to spread a knowledge of the easiest and most effective means by which domestic health may be preserved. By those who have systematically studied this matter, light in the house is given as the first desideratum; next water supply should be sedulously attended to; the third place is allotted to food, the fourth to pure air, and the fifth to clothing. The prominence given to light will surprise many, especially as r, such a large proportion of existing bedrooms, kitchens, sculleries, and other necessary apart- ments are imperfectly illuminated in the day- time but, if the economy of plant-life is studied, it will at once be seen why such emphasis should be laid upon the point. The importance of the others need not be dilated upon, for it is well known. Unfortunately, how- ever, it is not always recognised in practice, and yet it is certain that many valuable lives would be lengthened and others preserved if due heed were given to the simple points here suggested. 1 Preparations are already well under weigh for the efficient representation of this country at the World's Fair to be held at Chicago in 1893. The Council of the Society of Arts has been appointed as an English Royal Commission to superintend the arrangements and the secretary of that body, accompanied by a member of the Council, will shortly proceed to Chicago, in order to obtain all information likely to be useful in the preparation and fitting up of the British Section. Meanwhile, com- missioners from the United States are in London engaged in the endeavour to make the condi- tions of the World's Fair known to intending exhibitors both here and in the provinces and it is thus abundantly evident that no stone will be left unturned to make the exhibition a success. At first it hung fire a good deal in the United States themselves, largely because of a dispute between some of the greater cities over the site; but, now that that point has been settled, the Americans appear determined that, if a triumph is to be achieved by resolute effort. achieved it will be. Much talk has been aroused in many a locality by the publication of the preliminary report on this year's census of England and Wales. It had, of course, been known for several weeks that the result of the enumeration was to show that the population had not increased in the ratio expected by the official statisticians, and, indeed, that the rate of growth was less than in any previous decennial period in the century but the issue of the real figures under parlia- mentary sanction has served to re-arouso the discussion as to whether this makes for good or the reverse. Seeing, however, that the popula- tion of England and Wales has in the last ten years grown from twenty-six to twenty-nine millions, most folk will be inclined to think that it increases quite rapidly enough. Wearenotyet, to use the old phrase, too thick upon the ground; but if the ratio of growth had continued at the same rate as in some previous decennial periods, there would have seemed more than a suspicion of, danger that we might possibly become so. The strangest fact of all revealed by the census—that Liverpool is the only large town the population of which has declined, and that by no less than thirty-five thousand— remains unexplained, and the dwellers on the banks of the Mersey can be excused if they con- sider it so extraordinary as only to be accounted for by a bad blunder having been made either in 1881 or at the recent numbering of the people. Willina as most volunteers had come to feel to make wie best of Bisley, the impartial among them have to sorrowfully admit that this year's experience points dead against the permanent retention of the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association at that spot. Although there is less mirage than used to trouble marksmen at Wimbledon, there is more wind, and the presence of froar-" Bisley chickens as they have been waggishly termed-does not compensate for the absence of visitors. These latter supply by payment at the entrance a great portion of the sinews of war, and, if they cannot be attracted, the prospects of prosperity are dim indeed. It looks as if, after all, the suggestion that Cannock Chase should be chosen as the site for the annual meeting will have to be adopted. It is farther from London, but it is nearer all the great manufacturing and industrial centres; and, if Londoners cannot be tempted to Bisley, it remains possible that the Midlanders may be drawn to Cannock Chase. In any case, the meeting must not be allowedto perish. R.
DISASTER ON THE MANCHESTER…
DISASTER ON THE MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL. Since the beginning of the Manchester Ship Canal the work, like all other gigantic engineering opera- tions, has been attended by considerable loss of life and injury to limb; but on Saturday a disaster occurred beside which all previous accidents sink into insignificance. At about one o'clock in the morning two engines, named the Northwich and the Altrin- cham, were attached to a number of wagons loaded with soil or rock dibris. The train was running along the line of rails above the rook cutting on the Ince section, about six miles from Chester, when it became the duty of George Pratt, a lad of 17, to pull a lever turning the train from one line to another. Pratt—probably tired out witli his midnight duties—turned the points in the wrong direc- tion, and the entire train of two engines and 24 coaches was precipitated down an embankment 60 feet deep into the watting below. Here there was a gang of men at wort, as a spectator described it, as thick as bees." It is conjectured that they were eating their supper when the laden train fell upon them. The drivers and firemen of the Northwich and Altrincham escaped destruction by taking a flying leap from their engines, but sustained injuries consisting of cuts and broken limbs. The scene in the cutting, as the rescuers got to work, was horrible. As the wrecked engines and shattered trucks were tediously removed the corpses were discovered, one by one, so horribly mutilated in many cases as to defy recognition, while one man's body was actually severed at the waist. Altogether, ten men were re- covered dead, and six others, suffering from injuries, have been removed to the Ship Canal Hospital. The names of the deceased are not yet fully known, and even had their "booked names been obtained this would probably have afforded the means of merely local recognition, as most of the names entered are either nicknames or fictitious. They were known, how- ever, as an exceptionally steady set of men. The Cheshire police have been engaged in the work of identification. So far the dead recognised are Patrick Doyle, J. Jones, J. Crawford, C. Mercer, J. Welsh, and W. Willis. The injured are Lee, Doyle (whose brother was killed), Smith, and Firth. Pratt, on seeing the awful consequences of his blunder, at once absconded, but was arrested five hours later at the coffee tavern, Ellesmere Port, by Sergeants Brewster and Ennion, and taken in custody to Chester. Among the workmen employed on the canal and the residents at Ellesmere Port there is general condemnation of the system under which young and inexperienced lads are employed at the points. On Saturday afternoon Pratt was brought up at the Chester County Police-court, charged with man- slaughter. The police-sergeant said that when arrested the prisoner exclaimed, I thought they were empty waggons." The chairman, Mr. Trelawney, haying commented on the fact of so small a boy being in charge of the points, the prisoner was re- manded. The accounts furnished officially to the Press by the Ship Canal Company states that a train of loaded waggons and two engines were making for the over- land incline on to the Ince rocks when, so far as can be ascertained, the accident was caused by the points having been turned for the wrong road. The train made for what is known as the Dead-end Incline, leading down at this point to the rock cutting, and I the waggons and engines fell over the side of the cutting into the bottom, among a gang of men, as described above. At the point where the calamity happened, day and night shifts are employed for the rapid prosecu- tion of the work. The accident occurred in the darkness between one and two o'clock in the morning, when the operations were being conducted by the light of oil and gas lamps, and a train of 23 tip- waggons loaded with stone and soil excavated from the cutting was being pushed—not drawn-by two locomotives up an incline on the temporary railway which runs along the canal bank. This platform is approached by a decline of slightly easier gradient, and just at the bottom of the dip is a switch by means of which waggons running on the main line are turned off on to a I' siding to enable any train coming in the opposite direction to pass along. This siding is 225 yards long, and at the end there was a -dead wall, so to t speak, of earth and rock, the siding as a matter of fact being constructed on a decline in the side of the cutting, the rails running from the surface Co a point about 35 feet above the base of the canal. The sole cause of the catastrophe was undoubtedly the act of Pratt, the lad in charge of this switch. The ill- fated train came down the decline and along the in- cline, passing the points all right, Pratt holding the switch across at the time by sitting upon the handle. The speed attained was not sufficient to push the heavily-laden train up the steep gradient, so that it was brought back and taken away up the other incline again, so that the speed might be increased; and now Pratt—because, as he says, he thought a train of empty waggons was coming along, and that they required to be shunted into the siding out of the way —turned the switch. The train came along at full speed, which increased as the downward siding, inslead of the upward main line, was reached, and then the whole train and locomotives, tearing away with terrific force the dead wall, were precipitated over the embankment and fell upon the gang of men working in the cutting 35ft. below. The majority of the men who were killed must havü met with a mercifully instantaneous death, though three of them were simply suffocated by the debris. Sixty- two men were working in this part of the cutting at the time, and they were all congregated in this par- ticular spot, as some blasting operations were in pro- gress, and they had left the place at which they were working until the dynamite exploded. The official list of the 10 navvies killed is as follows T. Craw- ford, Stapleford, near Tarvin; C. Mercer, Frodsham- bridge; J. Price, 59 Hut, Ince, friends supposed to be in America; J. Hinton, nothing known W. Willis, supposed to be from Leaton; J. Jones, nothing known; J. Heaton, known only as coming from Liverpool; W. Doyle, Sweetman's-avenue, Blackrock, near Dublin; J. Welsh, known only as coming from Liverpool; and C. Cook, supposed to be from Crosby, near Liverpool. There were three men on each of the two locomotives-a driver, a fire- man, and a rope-runner. All six were fortunate enough to escape by jumping off the engines when the fatal mistake was seen. John Swan, the driver of the engine Northwich, as =soon as he saw the mistake shouted to the others to jump fcr it. The fireman, who was on his left, hesitated, whereupon he seized him and threw him bodily off. Swan, to use his own words, simply fell off anyhow," escaping with cuts. The waggons were smashed to bits and the debris was piled up in an indescribable mass, the two engines standing upright one upon the other, the funnel of the last one showing above the top of the embank- ment.
THB BISLEY RIFLE MEETING.
THB BISLEY RIFLE MEETING. QCBBft's PUM, REST AND SBCOIW eTAGBN. Towards the close of the shooting on Saturday in the second stage of the Queen's Hundred the com- petition became exciting. Two men were found to be racing almost neck and neck tor premier honours, These were Private Muirhead, of the 3rd Lanark, and Sergeant Milner, 2nd V.B. Derby, the latter of whom had increased his 87 by 46 at the first range, and thus started two points behind the Scot at the cond. In this he just managed to rub off the lead ? r- t1.1g on 67 to the 65 of Muirhead. The result We at both stood braeketed at the head of the poirb4Wh 200 points apiece, and that, in accordance with the rules, a tie shoot was necessary." A tie for the silver medal has not occurred since 1886, when Captain Cortis, of the 2nd V.B. Sussex, snatched it from Jackson, of the 1st V.B. Lincoln, who however found ample compensa- tion in the shape of the more important golden trophy. Hence so unwonted an event drew a large number of spectators to the firing point at which it was to be shot off at half-past six in the evening. Interest, too, was heightened by the international cha- racter of the coming struggle. Oddly enough, too, each man presented a widely differing type to which the word national might be applied. Towering in height above almost every other man in the crowd, with manly frame and open ruddy counte- nance, clean shaven save for a small side whisker, Milner represented to perfection the sturdy English yeoman ready to rival with the rifle the feats accom- plished by his forefathers at Cressy and Poitiers with the long bow. In contrast, the wiry Muirhead, with his keen dark features, looked all over the Scottish forager. They lay down on their mats and got off their sighting shots, Milner firing first, and being only able to make an innerlwhich his opponent topped by a bull. The Derbyshire man's first shot in the tie was an eleven o'cloclf mag- pie, a poor beginning, but the hopes of his partisans revived when Muirhead replied with a four o'clock outer. Then Milner, who shot with a stolid compo- sure throughout, lodged a shot low down on the bullseye. Strange to say, Muirhead's next was not far off it, »o that they now stood eight points to seven, and it was at once apparent that a second bull would win the Englishman the match. He was not found wanting, this time placing his shot near the top edge of the bull. A loud cheer broke forth, and no doubt discomposed Muir- head to some extent. He really had no call to shoot, as the Silver Medal was already beyond his grasp, but he did so, and made an inner. Simultaneously 14 men who had scored aggregates of 181 shot a tie for the last place in the 100. Sergeant Hall, 1st Roxburgh ana Selkirk, secured this by putting on a bull, a magpie, and another bull, so that the men left in to shoot in the third stage of the Queen's were the following: TUB QUBBX'S JIUNDITED. Total 1st Gnd. Tieshots. Stage. 500600 Tl. '— Sgt, Milner, 2 V.B. Derby 3 5 5-13 87—46.67—200 Pte. Muirhead, 3 Lanark 2 5 2— 9 89.46.65—200 Sergeant Davidson, Canada 88 43 66-107 Sgt. Fenwick, 4th V.B. Royal Hrs. 83.44.68—195 Corpl. Pape, lst V. B. Border Regt. 93 45 56-194 Private Ritchie, 1st Dumbarton 87 44 62-193 Sergt.-Bugler Hill, 19th Middlesex 85.45.62—192 Private Mackenzie. Q. Vol. R. Brg. 84.45.63—192 Sgt. M'Cockindale, 3V.B.A.&S.H. 83.44.65-192 Sergeant Gibbons, 5th Middlesex. 91.45.56—192 L.-Sgt. C. Calway, 2nd V. B. Somst. 88.44.63—192 Pte. J. Paterson, 1st. V.B.R. Hsrs 84 44 63-191 Corp. Lemaistre, Guernsey Militia 85.45.61—191 C.-Sgt. Smith, 3rd V.B. Cheshire 85.43.63—191 Sergt. W. Law, Galloway R.V. 86.44.60-190 Corp. J. Roscamp,2ndV.B.Northd. 90.37.63—190 Sergt. J. Munro, 7th Middlesex 82.44.64—190 Cl.-Srgt. Raggett, 3rd Glamorgan 90.43.57—190 Surg. Elliott, I V.B. Nrthmbrland 86.42.61—189 Pte. W. Clark,3rd V.B. Royal Hrs. 83.42.64—189 Pte. M. Gilbert, H.A.C. 89.39.61—189 Pte. C. W. Wattleworth, 2 V.B. Lpl. 88.43.58—189 Pte. T. Roddick, 3 V.B. K.O.S.B. 82 48 58-188 Pte. H. Powis, let Shopshire 88.46.54—188 Si^t. J. Fraser, 6th Gordon Hrs 87.45.56—188 Pte. D. Dear, Queen's Edinburgh 84.39.65-—188 Cpl. D. H. Hewitson, 1 Bord Regt. 83.44.6l-i 188 Pte. A. Urquhart, 2 R1 Scots Fusis. 87.41.60—188 Sgt. W. Leghorne, 7 Middlesex 86.41.61—188 Q.-Sgt. D. Fraser, Queen's Edin. 84.45.59—188 Pte. J. Davies, 1 V.B., Liverpool 83.45.60—188 Cpl. G. Sturmer, I Northamptonsh. 87.44.57—188 Pte. W. Tallow, 2 Warwick. 86.44.57—187 Lt. Dalglish, 3 Lanark 87.40.60—187 Sgt. Hewitson, 15 Middlesex 89.38.60—187 Sgt. Lee, 2 West Riding 85.40.62—187 Set. Red, 2 Cheshire 85.41.61—187 Pte. Anscombe, 2nd Sussex 88.39.60—187 Col.-Sgt. Henderson, 6th R. High. 86.42.59—187 Col.-Sgt. Tayton, 1st London 89.39.58—186 Sgt. M'Kenzie, 4th S. Rifles 83.43.60—186 Sgt. Garner, 1st Border Regt. 83 46 57-186 C.-Sgt. Reid, 1st Lanark,Egrs 87.42.57—186 Lt. Robertson, Qn's Edinbro 88.45.53—186 Major Woolley, 2nd Cheshire 83.42.61—186 Private Mosley, 1st Leicester 89.45.61—186 Cpl. Caldwell, 1st A&SHndrs 87.44.55—186 A.-Sgt.West,2ndS.Lncnshre 86.38.62—186 Sgt. Houghton, 2nd Lincoln 92.38.56—186 Sgt. Pollock, 3rd A &S Hlndrs 82.44.60—186 Sergeant Horsey, Canada 83.45.58—186 Lieut. Craig, 4th West Surrey 85 40 61-186 Private Cherley, 2nd BderRgt 88.38.59—185 Capt. Tillie 4th Scottish Rifles 89.36.60—185 Sgt. Parry, 2nd Cheshire 86.40.59—185 Sgt. Atkins, 3 S. Staffordshire 84.38.63—185 Colour-Sergt. Henderson, Canada 83.46.56—185 Sergt. Aldridge, Guernsey Militia 86.41.58—185 Sergt. Bethune, 5th Royal Scots. 82.40.63—185 Pvt. J. Wilson, 1st Dumbarton. 84.43.58—185 Lieut. Francis, 1st Welsh Regt. 83.43.59—185 Sergt. Peat, 2nd West Surrey. 87.40.57—184 Sergt. Barrett, 2nd Norfolk. 87.42.55—184 Cpl. Walker, 2nd Durham. 85.41.58 184 Pvt. J. M'Kie, 1 Rox. and Sell. 88.43.53—184 Pvt. Roxburgh, 7th Middlesex. 86.43.55—184 A.-Sergt. Jones, 1st Welsh Regt. 83.44.57—184 Pvt. Shilling, 3rd East Surrey. 84.47.53—184 Cpt. Foster, 4th V.B. W. Surrey. 84.40.60—184 Pvt. Malcolm, 1st Rox. and Sell. 84 39 61-184 Pvt. Lattey, 1st London 83.41.59—183 B. Sgt.-Mj. Woodhouse, 2 Hants Ar. 82 41 60-183 Private Hunter, 7th Middlesex. 83 42 58-183 Corpl. Murdoch, Galloway R. 84.45.54 183 Sergt. Dvmond, 1st V.B. Devon 83""43.57 183 Private Smith, Guernsey Militia 83.42.58 183 Corpl. Kirkland, 2nd V.B. Chester 85.36 ..62 183 Pte. M'Gill, 2 V.B. S. Lancashire. 82.41.60-183 Sergt. Fletcher, 3rd V.B.Hants 84.45.54—183 Pte. Anderson, 2 A. & S. Highldrs. 82'44.17-183 Srgt. Thomson, Queen's Edinburgh 83.43-••57—183 Corpl. Webb, 2nd Middlesex. 83.43.57—183 Pte. M'Cullum, 5th V.B. A. and S. Highlanders 83.41.59—183 Pte. J. Telfer, 1st Rox. and Sel. 86.38.59—183 Pte. J. Love, 1 V.B. Royal Scots R. 85.39.59—183 Pte. Hayhurst, I V.B. M. Lane. 82.41.60—183 Corp. Lock, Queen's Edinburgh 89.45.49—183 Sergt. Pullman, 2nd Middlesex 82.42.59—183 Pte. Graham, Q. Royal V. Brigade 85.42.56—183 Sergt. Woods, 3rd V.B. Hants. 91.40.52—183 Lnce.-Srgt. Macfie, I A. and S. Hrs. 82.42.59—183 Surgeon Thomas, 4th Devon 86.38.59—183 Pte. Campbell, let Lanes 86.41.55—182 Pte. M. S. Rennie, 3rd Lanark 82.43.57—182 Major Heap. 2nd Manchester 83.42.57—182 Col.-Sergt. Tiddesley, 3rd Beds 82.38.62—182 Sergt. Howe, 1st Bucks 89.42.51—182 Pte. Howland, 2nd Beds 86.40.56—182 Lnce.-Cpl. Smith, 1st Derbv 83.41.58—182 Col.-Sergt. Hall, 1st Rox. and Sel. 84.41.55—181 On the 20th inst., as is generally the case with the second Monday of the rifle meeting, was a somewhat quiet day at Bisley. Captain Mellish, 4th Notts, made 65 out of a possible 75 at 1100 yards, and stands at the head of the competitors for the Any Rifle Wimbledon Cup. A team of the London Scottish won a match against a team of the Victorian Mounted Rifles for a shield, scoring 486 to the visitors' 409.
SUSPENSION OF THE ENGLISH…
SUSPENSION OF THE ENGLISH RIVER PLATE BANK. The announcement of the suspension of payments on Saturday by the English Bank of the River Plate caused no surprise in the London Money Market, having been discounted for some days past. It is because the matter has been so freely discussed throughout the present week, the top and bottom of it having been well probed, that the actual announce- ment has bad little effect on credit as a whole. Last September the English Bank had acceptances out- standing to the amount of F-2,396,130, which has since been greatly reduced. It is believed that, besides a block of these held in Paris and another sum of E176,000 held by a strong kindred institution here, the London market holds about £ 600,000. The hope is expressed, with better grounds than usual in such cases, that the liquidation will be favourable to creditors, as uncalled capital is esti- mated to produce nearly the whole of the E750,000 payable by shareholders. There is, in short, nothing approaching catastrophe or disaster so far as the money market is concerned.
[No title]
TUB Prince of Naples is an excellent English scholar. A MEETING of the congregation of the Congregational Chapel at Brixton has been called for to determine upon the selection for the pastorate (held successively by the late Rev. J. Baldwin Brown and the late Rev. Dr. J. F. Stevenson) of one or two gentlemen who have among others preached in the chapel. The gentlemen in question are (writes the London correspondent of the Manchester Guardian) the Rev. K. C. Anderson, D.D., of Bradford, and the the Rev. B. J. Snell, of Richmond Chapel, Salford.
EPITOME OF NEWS.
EPITOME OF NEWS. Two deaf mute sisters in Texas edit a paper. CnicAGo is to have a twenty-four storey steel building. WHETHER we like or not, power," says L^rd Salis- bury, is with the tongue." LORD RANDOLPH would not, so society rumour has it, be sorry to abandon his Mashonaland expedi- tion. WnJlAT is now lis. per quarter dearer than it was two years ago, when the price was 28s. 9d. per quarter. THE Germans regard the 27th of Jnly-Ahe Day of the Seven Sleepers--as the critical date for harvest weather. AN appeal for 920,000 is likely to be made through- out Wesleyan Methodism next year for special work in the circuits. OVER three-quarters of a million of tons of mer- chant shipping are now building in the shipyards of the United Kingdom. TIlE gross value of the articles of merchandise ex- ported from and imported to New York last year amounted to £ 207,151,700. SAMUEL WINGBR, who has just died in Pittsburg from burns, makes the seventh member of his family who has met a violent death. MR. HENRY MOORE, R.A., is reported to have met with a serious accident, having fallen from an omnibus and broken both his wrists. CIIARLKS HUFFMAN, a Monticello (Illinois) bride- groom, dropped dead of heart disease at the altar on the conclusion of the wedding ceremony. PROFESSOR TYNDALL is now able to take constant carriage exercise. Mlt DILLON, it is now averred, will decline to lead the Irish Party unless it is united, but he has ome Dopes of effecting a union during the recess. LORD TENNYSON is at present almost daily seen driving through. the picturesque district of Hasle- mere, in the neighbourhood of Aldworth, his Surrey seat. IJORD WBMYSS regards it as a scandal and a dis- grace in a free civilised country that men willing to work should be prevented from doing so by Trades Unions." AN Anti-Slang Club, of Grand Rapids (Michigan), has so prospered that the total from fines for using slang amounts to enough to give the members a big picnic. GEORGE JONES and William Newton, well-known farmers of East Tennessee, resolved to settle a dis- pute about some property by a duel. Both men were shot dead. AN extra train has been put on between Edinburgh and London during the summer season, leaving King's- cross at 9.30 p.m., and arriving at the Waverley Station at 6'45 a.m. DURING a fight over a jng of whisky at Dallas, a Pennsyhanian town, George Spencer struck Jacob Smith on the head with a stone, fatally fracturing his skull. The men were brothers-in-law. TUB cable brings word of the deaths of Hannah Smith, of Paris, Kentucky, and Mrs. Ann Doherty, of Aver, Massachusetts. The first had reached her 110th year, the second her 108th. TOUCHING the question of fees, a north country vicar writes to point out that he was recently admitted to a perpetual curacy worth nothing a year and no house. Before he could be inducted into this valuable benefice he had to pay £ 18 19s. 4d. to the Diocesan Registrar. PHINCE GEORGE OF WALES, who is now returning to Great Britain from Halifax (N.S.), in the Thrush, is spoken of by the London correspondent of the Birmingham Post as a probable visitor to India during, the cold season. J. OSCAR MCCOE was shot dead by Robert Th,et- ford, near Port Gibson, Louisiana. Thetford mistook him for an escaped convict, and hailed him. McCoe failed to halt, whereupon Thetford fired. The men were close friends and neighbours. MORE British ships enter the port of Dunkirk tqt.n French ones. As a fact, a somewhat widely-adopted system of discharging our crews obtains there. Upwards of E37,000 wages were paid to above 2000 seamen paid off there last year, or nearly £20 each. To the Conservatives of the future," says Sir R. Webster, I would address the line,4 of the American poet: Look not mournfully back to the past;' it comes not again. Improve wisely the present, fot it is thine; and prepare to meet the shadowy futlire without fear, and with a manly heart.' SOME idea of the volume and dominance of New York trade may possibly be gathered when it is mentioned that the total clearings in 1890 at the Clearing House amounted to £ 7,716,473,168. This sum exceeded by a thousand millions sterling the t6tal clearings of all the other commercial centros in the States. A PARAGRAPH stating that the Tichborne claimant was serving as a waiter in aN ottingham restaurant was recently published in the Philadelphia Ledger, The secretary of the Tichborne Defence Association writes to the Ledger to saithit he is "instructed by'Sir Arthur, the claimant, to say that he never has served as a waiter." THE publication of the Ruskin poems has again been deferred. They were promised early in the year then it was announced that they would be kept back till July in order to secure the American copy- right and now the 1st of October has been fixed definitely for their appearance. This last delay is caused entirely by the conditions of the American Copyright Act. SOME doubt is cast upon the authority of the Zulus, Hulululu and Umfette, who were recently presented to her Majesty at Windsor as Envoys of King Gungunhana. It is stated that the King denies having sent any Envoys to this country. Mr. Labou- chero has given Sir James Fergusson notice of his intention to ask whether the Envoys have produced any credentials, and who pays for their maintenance whilst residing in this country. THE importance of observation of fire i.e., watch- ing the result of each round so as to check the laying rr u of the following one, has much engrossed the atten- tion of artillerists of all nations of late years. In the Belgian artillery observation ladders" are now carried on a waggon with each battery. They are the invention of Lieutenant de Castres of the Belgian School of Gunnery. Made of oak with iron fittings, the two portions are unstrapped and put together in 30 seconds, and enable the observer to stand at a height of iOl feet above the ground. The Italia, 2 Militaire, in furnishing these details, does not add that such a contrivance, excellent as it may be, would greatly simplify for an opposing range-finder the difficult task of ranging on a battery in action. TIIB outlook with regard to young pheasants and partridges, which during the last few days have emerged in countless numbers from the shelter of their shells, is at present very good. Should the warm and not too wet weather continue, the young birds will thrive, and we may not expect many losses. It will be remembered that last year the hatching season was attended by cold winds and drenching rains, xhich killed the poor chicks in thousands. THE German Emperor is credited with an early morning incognito visit to Covent Garden Market during his stay in London, perhaps amusing enough and very original, if not a show as important or on as grand -a scale as Les Halles of Paris; still curious and even in advance of the French market, as regard the rush and vigour of business doings, beginning with the first blush of aurora, and roaring on till the milk puts in a creamy appearance, and bids all market nature retire to breakfast. This market population, while at the height of its doings, is exceptional fierce in action and sparkling in dialect, yet, n)t without gaiety and relieved by frequent Hurrahs as every incident is turned to advantage. The race of market men, those who wear large knots round their heads to suppress incipient headache, and the race of flower girls are quite exceptional to ought else thnt is English. His Majesty must have contemplated the muscularity of the much becalved and biceped men with admiring wishes for a dozen regiments composed of such sturdy fellows—while the girls could not have been unpleasant to look at-frequently quite Nell Gwynish and piquante, being arrayed with as In much high colour trimming on gay costume as ;)s. can accomplish. But some one of the suite of the Emperor may have got credit for being his Majesty. Thanks to the doubt that numerous cheap illustra- tions, each widely differing, have engendered. A CURIOUS wedding has just taken place at Cold Ashley, Northamptonshire, the contracting parties being a man aged 76 and a woman aged 77. Their banns were published in church 56 years ago, but from some cause or other they were separated, marry- j ing different persons. The wife of the one and the husband of the other dying, they found themselves at liberty once more, and have now married. j ALEXANDER CAMPBBLL MACKIB, an Edinburgh oab- man who had been drinking heavily, ended his life by cutting his throat with a razor. BANK of England notes are never re-issued, but when paid in for gold are at once cancelled. They are then preserved for seven years, so that inquiries relative to forgeries or frauds on which the notes may throw light may be answered. The stock of paid notes for seven years numbers 94,000,000, and fills 18,000 boxes, which, if placed side by side, would reach three miles. Pile the notes one on the other and the pile will be eight miles high. Join them end to end and you will have a ribbon 15,000 miles long. Arrange them side by side and you may more than cover Hyde-park with them. Finally, their original value was over £ 3,000,000,000 sterling, and their weight more than 112 tons. TUB value of church property held by the Primitive Methodist denomination has been increased by £ 38,456 in the year, and the debt upon the property has been reduced by £ 38,018. A COpy of the celebrated picture of Geese, in the Ghizeh Museum, stated by Egyptologists to be the most ancient specimen of painting yet discovered, is now on exhibition at South Kensington Museum. INFLUENZA still hangs in the air, the deaths primarily ascribed to it in London last week number- ing 40. This is the lowest number recorded in any week since the recent visitation of the plague. WIIILB Mr. Gladstone was confined to his bed during his recent illness, constant inquiries were made for his health by working men in the vicinity as well as by his titled neighbours. Mrs. Gladstone gave orders that the men should, in every case, receive oourteous attention, and that the fullest information of the patient's condition should be given them. AN old lady named Martin, who lived at Vin- cennes and had a reputation of being very wealthy, in her will specially provided that she is to be buried as far as possible from the grave of her late husband." THIS country has 1,000,000 miles of telegraph wires; enough to reach 40 times around the globe. NINBTY-TWO locomotives which the South Aus- tralian Government have ordered from an Australian firm are each to cost about £ 840 more than they would have done if a tender by a British firm had been accepted. PATRIOTIC Dr. Tanner has been astounded at the discovery that the lead pencils supplied to the Post Office Telegraph Department are of German manu- facture. He is going to demand an explanation irk the House of Commons. THE corrected census return informs us that the total number of persons living in England and Wales at midnight on April 5th last was 29,001,018. This is an excess of 11'65 per cent. over the enumeration made in 1881; in other words, for every 10,000 persons then living there are now 11,165. THE 46 continuation and technical schools in Berlin were attended in 1890-1 by 16,463 students, of whom 11,956 were apprentices. There were also 1437 women students in 11 schools in two grades—elemen- tary and advanced-special to them, in which not only writing, arithmetic, German, drawing, and singing, but bookkeeping, shorthand, French, English, hand and machine sewing, cutting out millinery, embroidery, and ironing are taught. THIS is the story of an Iowa tragedy: Albert Par- nitake, of Utica, entered the room of a young woman named Warner and made improper proposals. She refused, and he shot and wounded her in the cheek. The girl's brother, James, then drove the ruffian from the house, whereupon he got a rifle and shot Warner dead. MANY New York millionaires are adept performers on musical instruments. John D. Rockefeller is an enthusiast on the flute, and William W. Astor plays classical melodies on the piano and organ. Erastus Wiman, Creighton Webb, and the Standard Oil mag- nate, Henry M. Flagler, prefer the organ. Frederick Vanderbilt finds charms in the banjo, and Colonel De Lancey Kane is one of the best amateur cornet players in the country. A CHILDREN'S "Healtheries is now open in Paris. The exhibition has been promoted by the Hygienic Society for Children. Its exhibits include cradles, chairs, and go carts, some of them dating from very remote periods. A GERMAN biologist says that the two sides of a face are never alike in two cases out of five the eyes are out of line one eye is stronger than the other in seven persons out of 10, and the right ear is generally higher than the left EVERY year a layer of the entire sea, 14 feet thick, is taken up into the clouds the winds bear their burden into the land, and the water comes down in rain upon the fields, to flow back through rivers. IN eight countries of the Old World there is an addition of over 76,000,000 of the population to be sustained by food got from the ground, without any- thing like a corresponding increase in the cultivable area, or in its productiveness. GREAT BRITAIN is now one of the minor contri- butors to the population of the States. Last year English and Scottish emigrants formed only eight. per cent. of the immigrants landed at New York; in 1889 they contributed 12 per cent. WELLESLEY, Massachusetts, the home of Wellesley College, was so named in honour of Miss Welles, the daughter of a Paris banker, who married Mr. Hollis H. Hunnewell, of the town that bears her name. The Hunnewell estate is by some considered the finest in the country, and the famous rose garden is one of the suburban sights of Boston. Mr. Hunnewell is a Boston banker, and has given the town not only a name but also a town hall and an excellent library. A NEW, or at least hitherto unnoticed, disease is attacking the oyster-beds of the Thames estuary. It consists in the shells becoming so rotten that they will not bear the pressure necessary to open them. Theoysters themselves are not directly affected by it, but their round shells are completely tunnelled in all directions and covered with mud, while the flat valves which are clean remain uninjured—facta which point to the ravages being caused by some enemy working from below. HERE is a new story of Sir John Macdonald: Lord Dufferin delivered an address before the Greek class of the M'Gill University about which a reporter wrote His lordship spoke to the class in the purest ancient Greek, without mispronouncing a word, or making the slightest grammatical solecism." "Good heavens!" remarked Sir Hector Langevin to Sir John; "how did the reporter know that?" "I told him," was the answer. But you don't know Greek." True but I know a lictle about politics." ENGLAND is at present on friendly terms with all the world but unfortunately it is only too probable that some day we shall have to face upon the seas some formidable foe whose ships may closely re- seriible our own in construction, power of manoeuvring, armament, and all such essential points of offence and defence as will render the task of our seamen a difficult one indeed, when personal valour must in a great measure give way to perfection in machinery. It is, therefore, rather curious to note that at the present moment there are assembled at Greenwich a class of 50 naval oOicers which, in addition to the representatives of our own navy, includes representa- tives of France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and America. By a recent agreement, it ap- pears England courteously extends to all Govern- ments with which she is on friendly terms the privi- lege of sending once in two years to Greenwich two representative young men. At Greenwich is given a special course in naval architecture, and a course in mathematics not handled by any other institution of learning in the world. So that practically we are teaching the whole world how to successfully meet us in the very direction where hitherto we have reigned supreme. This is stated to be by agreement. There should be some very substantial quid on the other side of that agreement in return for such a very large quo on our side. THE special promotion of Captain H. A. M'Donald, Gordon Highlanders, to a majority in the Royal Fusiliers is in well-deserved acknowledgment of much good service in the field and otherwise. Major M'Donald is a "ranker." having enlisted in the Gordon Highlanders, with which regiment he took part, as a sergeant, in the Afghan War of 1879-80 in a number of minor operations, and finally, in General Roberts s march from Cabul to Candahar. During the campaign he was recommended by the general for promotion, and gazetted to a commission in his own regiment itself an unusual thing in promotion from the ranks. In 1881 he went with his regiment to the Transvaal, and fought at Majuba Hill, and was men- tioned in despatches. He took part in the Suakiin campaign of 1888, having obtained his company at the beginning of that veiir, find remained in the service of the Egyptian Government in command of the 11th Soudanese Battalion. He now obtains his majority after only 11 years' commissioned service, and about 20 years' service in all, so that even with the extra weight of service in the ranks, he has caught up many I field officers who obtained commissions at th^ com- mencement of their service. Tna North Metropolitan Tramways Company last week carried 1,632,203 passengers. BESIDHS his title of Prince of Wales, the Heir- Apparent is a Duke three times over, holding the dukedoms of Cornwall, Rothesay, and Saxe-Coourg- Gotha. He is a triple Earl-of Chester, Carrick, and Dublin, and is also Baron of Renfrew. In addition to these titles, he may if he likes call himself Prince of Saxony and Lord of the Isles of Scotland. Beside* the revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall, he has an annuity of Y.40,000 and the Princess of Wale* £10,000, to be increased to C30,000 in case of her widowhood. In 1889 an additional annual grant of £ 36,000 was made for behoof of the children of the Prince of Wales. A mazi 50 years of age sleeps away an aggregrabe of 6000 days, works away the same period, sate away 2,000 days, walks away 800 days, and is ill 500 days. IN the year 1870, when the telegraphs were taken over by the Government, the total revenue was £ 612,391. Five years later it had risen to £ 1,533,982 in 1880 it was £ 1,459,795; in 1885, £ 1,820,764; and last year it was £ 2,304,098. TUB Council of Hygiene of Austria have been con- sidering the advantages of erect as compared with slanting writing. In straight writing, they say, the scholar faces his work, and is spared the twist of the body and neck which is always observable in those who write slantwise. IT is a matter for satisfaction that at the recent Volunteer Review at Wimbledon the volunteer officers who commanded brigades were styled colonel and not brigadier-general. Lord Wantage was one of these, and commanded the 8th Brigade, consisting of infantry volunteers from the home counties, and of artillery and engineer corps. It was a curiou* coincidence that its commander who led it past saluting point should wear the V.C. and that the officer who commanded its rearmost corps-Colonel Hope, of the City of London Artillery-should like- wiíJe possess that coveted distinction. THB human heart is six inches in length, four inches in diameter, and beats an average of 70 times per minute, 4200 an hour, 100,800 times per day, and 3,681,720 times per year. So, in a life of 80 years the heart beats 300,000,000 times. FOR many years the Prince of Wales has been accustomed to visit Homburg at the end of the season, going through the full process of the cure." His Royal Highness has been advised this year to try Carlsbad. Tiim Earl of Dudley is to be married to the only daughter of Mr. Charles Gurney. Two Louis XVI. mahogany console tables, mounted with masks, friezes, and wreaths of chased ormolu, with marble tops, fetched respectively 1450gs. and 1420gs. at the Cavendish-Bentinck sale. MDLLB. SICAIID was the queen of the annual pro- cession of laundresses in Paris, this year. She is a tall, statuesque woman with a classic profile, and she nobly supports a large family of little brothers and sisters by laundry work. Her dress on the important occasion was a rich, creamy white satin overspread with gold fern-leaves, and the material was the sam. as that of a gown recently designed for the Czarina, while the style of the gown was copied from one one* worn by Anne of Austria. The gown was on exhibi- tion in Paris at a laundry-shop some time before the celebration. Mdlle. Sicard is much beloved by her associates, and as she rode through the city streets in a handsome chariot decked with roses and camellias, she was loudly applauded. COLONBL A. G. FIFE, late 5th Lancers and 6th Dragoon Guards, succeeds Colonel Oldham at Adjutant and Clerk of the Cheque of the Royal Body Guard. Colonel Fife toollpart in the Afghan campaign of 1879-80, and was present at several en- gagements.. LoRD ABERDEEN when in Canada last year pur- chased a section, or square mile, of land, about 400 miles east of Vancouver. Thither he and the countess intend to retire from time to time to ruralise, to study nature, and enjoy life quietly. MR. A. C. MORTON has the admiration of France. The member for Peterborough's observations as to the attitude of the British Government towards France have elicited from a French Deputy the mes- sage by telegraph: Nous sommes tres touches do vos paroles." TIIE proportion of the population of England and Wales to that of the United Kingdom has steadily in- creased. In 1821 it was 54"4 per cent. of the whole; in 1831, 57'9 per cent; in 1841, 595 per cent; in 1851, 65-5; in 1861, 69-4; in 1871, 721 i in 1881, 74*5 and in 1891, 76'8 per cent. THE mother of the French Ambassador to the Court of St. James's, Mdme. Janet Macintosh Waddington, net Chisholm, was born in Scotland in 1800, and married Thomas Waddington, one of the sons of William Waddington, a London merchant, born in Nottinghamshire, in 1751, who settled in France after Waterloo. William Waddington's wife was the only child of Svkes, an Englishman, born in Hollaed, and a lineal descendant of the sister of the Richard Penderel who sheltered Charles II. after the battle of Worcester. Sykes settled in Paris about 1780 as a jeweller, in the Palais Royal, but in 1792 he erected a cotton mill at St. Remy, and his great- grandson, M. Richard Waddington, has now a cotton mill near Rouen. MR. J. D. SHAW, editor of the Bishopville Eagle, was stabbed to death by one Dallas Kelley, at a picnic near Camden, South Carolina. IT is said in a Winnipeg exchange that a son of the late Henrv J. Byron, the dramatist, has been killed under the Rocky Mountains, either by his own hand or by that of someone else. Mr. Alfred Byron joined the Nortli-West Mounted Police Force five years ago. This force is to all intents and purposes a Dragoon Regiment, the men wearing a red shell jacket, and being armed with sabre and carbine. Their duty is to preserve order on the frontier, to keep down the Redskins, capture horse-stealers, and pre- vent smuggling into the colony. It is a hard, wild, adventurous life-one suited to men of spirit, and fitted for the making of enemies. The Half-breeds are more treacherous than the Redskins, and no faces could possibly be lined with deeper villainy than these thugs of the North-Western prairies. Not improbably Byron was tracked down by some liberated convict whose capture he may have effected. The Byrons claim indirect descent from the great poet. LOCUSTS are a source of much trouble to farmers in Morocco, as, in addition to eating the green crops, they do much damage to the olive and almond-trees. In 'some places farmers have to hurriedly gather their olives before they are ripe, to save them from the voracious insects. No gee oral and continued measures are taken, as in Algeria and Australia, against the pests, the only way in which their numbers seem to be materially reduced being the collection of large quantities for sale as food among the natives. They are not" unclean" to either Jew or Mohammedan. Taken into the town in camel- loads, in heaving sackfuls of ruddy brown or greenish- yellow insects (the first colour in autumn, the latter in spring), they are first boiled in salt and water, then fried or parched. MARGARET BLYTH WALKER, 21 months old, daughter of a miner living at Crossgates, in Fife, fell into a tub of rain water while her mother was wash- ing, and was drowned. TWENTY-FOUR miles in an hour was the distance which the amateur champion cyclist, F. J. Osmond, attempted to cover on the new track at Herne-hill. The distance actually covered in the time was 23 miles 1260 yards. OUT of 593 loans in operation by the Wesley*s Chapel Committee, amounting in all to £ 52,336, so punctual have been the repayments by trustees that only El 3s. 2d. has been paid during the past 12 months as interest on instalments in arre; r. Mn. AND MRS. J OIl SPBNCE, of Monikie, in Forfarshire, have just celebrated their golden wedding. They have a family of nme sons, three daughters, three sons-in-law, six daughters-in-law, forty-four grandchildren, and five great-grand- children. THE Czar is very fond of wood-chopping, and the nther day he was taking exercise in this fashion at Peterhof, when the head of his axe new off, and struck a servant who was standing by. The very next day there was a widespread rumour in the capital that a man had tried to murder his Majesty with an axe! QUEEN POMARE, the copper-coloured Monarch of Tahiti, became an inveterate gambler, and by piercing he cards of her opponents with a pin according to the value of each card was enabled for a time to con- siderably a-gment her Privy Purse. Her Majesty's triumph lasted until a Yankee sea-captain, discover- ing the trick, marked her pack of cards while she was absent, and increased all the marks on those she had From him to play with. The Queen lost Y-40, and, what was worse, her Royal cloak, which she in de- speration staked on a card. She gambled no more.