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PARISH COUNCILS.
PARISH COUNCILS. (Fwmt the Councils' Gazette.") YIDI INFLUENCE OF PARISH COUNCILS ON VILLAGE LIFE. The tendency to desert the country and crowd int.) towns is. says the Times, in the course of an interesting leading article, a conspicuous and, as many think. a regrettable feature of modern English life. We hear On all hands of a steady decline in village popula- tions. Labour becomes scarce for agricultural pur- poses. and those who employ it complain that the labourer is not what he used to be that he is more independent and less to be depended on; and that the best men go away, leaving only the incom- petent or ne er-do-weel. The blame is some- times laid by old-fashioned folk upon modern education, which they consider to be an unsettling process, filling young people's heads with useless knowledge, and making them disinclined for their proper work of following the plough or of domestic service. Mrs. Poyser, could that product of an older time be conceived of as contemporary with Board Schools and excursion trains, would have bad many a racy remark to make upon the labourers Mid servant-girls of to-day. But neither Mrs. Poyser's tongue nor Mrs. Partington's mop can check the advancing tide. Railways, and newspajiers, and the penny post. and the schoolmaster have broken down once and for all the sleepy stagnant isolation of villages like Kaveloe or country towns like Bt. Ogg's. The labouring classes are using the education that is now universal and compulsory. not perhaps to so much purpose as educational theorists desire, but to much more purpose than is sometimes supposed, so far as knowledge of what goes on outside their own village is concerned. They read weekly or even daily newspapers; they are alive to the possibilities of bettering themselves; and they no longer feel that leaving home in search of other I work is a leap in the dark," a plunge, so to speak, into an unknown and trackless desert. If they do not care much to emigrate, it is not because they have never heard or read about Canada or New Zealand, but more probably because they know enough about emigrant life to have a shrewd suspicion that it in- rolves much harder work and longer hours than they care for at home. The ambition, too. of the more active spirits who leave village life is tc get off the land into other employments. They want to be railway porters, policemen, prisor warders, even gasworkers—anything but agricultural labourers. And the most attractive posters issued by an emigration bureau, setting forth the demand foi agricultural labourers in the colonies, do not appeal j to the agricultural labourer, who, if he leaves home wants to be what he considers something better. He leaves the country and the farm to shake the dust of Ct, if he can, from his feet. But perhaps the most potent of all the influences that draw young men of the labouring classes from the country into towns is the desire for more life, not the dulness of a country village. Frequent ex- cursions familiarise them with London or other large towns, and they read in the newspapers of all that goes on there in the way of amusement. They see for themselves the brightness of the gas-lit streets, the crowd of people hurrying to and Fro. They sigh to leave the flaunting town," and long to get back to it. The quiet of the jountry has no charms for them in comparison with the noise of the town for, whatever be the case with persons of education and refinement, there is no ioubt that those of coarser fibre really like noise and crowds. They had rather travel in a railway car- riage full of people than in one half empty they prefer a noisy street to a quiet lane. It is this which more than anything else draws the more enterprising young men and young women from villages into towns. The village is dull, very dull; the town is dvel y- viola tout. The higher wages earned in towns ire also, no doubt, an attraction, especially before ilie higher expense of town life has been realised by painful experience. To the young man whose best prospect, if he remains on the land, is employ- ment at from 12s. to 15s. a week, wages ranging from 20s. to 25s. seem almost boundless wealth. He finds out in due course that, whereas in the country be could have a cottage with a garden for, say, 3s. 6d. a week, in the town he must pay double that sum for a couple of rooms in a long unlovely Street," and that the cost of living is in proportion. He also finds out in too many cases that work, if not always constant in the country, is still more inter- mittent and precarious in the town; and when em- ¡ ployment runs short and the exchequer is low there is no one to whom he can turn, as to the squire and parson at home in the village where everyone and everyone s affairs are known to everyone else. He is an unknown, unregarded unit in a seething, straggling mass of humanity; and as often as not lie goes under and swells the great army of the unemployed, the focus of discontent and disloyalty. This is not an invariably true picture, { but it is much too often true. Many of the pick of country labourers and their sons succeed well, par- ticularly in positions for which a strong healthy physique gives them an advantage over the puny, demoralised offspring of the London slums. The finest soldiers in our army, the stalwart policemen who direct the traffic of London streets, the muscular navvies at work upon our railways are generally country bred, and bring with them into other em- ployments the healthy vigour which, as in the old fable of Antreus, is produced by contact with mother earth. In this respect the loss of the country is the fain of the town. It has long been observed by those who are inte- rested in the agricultural labourer that, if he is to be kept on the land. village life must be rendered more attractive. To this end many well-meaning experi- ments have been tried. Village clubs and reading- rooms, cricket and footfall clubs, and frequent penny readings and other entertainments have been organised under the patronage of the clergy and gentry, and have to a certain extent succeedcd. But the element of patronage is often fatal to them. They are not. as a rule, institutions started by the people for the people, and managed by the people themselves. The motive force comes from above, not from below, and is sooner Bpent; and it is found in many cases that such inst.itutons do not long compete success- fully with the one established institution of village life-the public-house. The village inn is the poor man's club, the place where he can talk freely with his mates, the place which he patronises and which does not patronise him, and where he is free to come or go as he pleases and when he pleases. If the vil- lage inn itself could be reformed, as the Bishop of Chester and others wish if it could be more a place of general refreshment and not a mere beer-shop tied to a particular brewery, and discouraged from selling anything else but that brewery's beer; if it were possible for the labouring man and his wife to ait down there to a cup of tea or coffee or other light refreshment, as at a French cafe, it might be a more attractive and a less demoralising feature of Tillage life. The ratepayers, too, in country places, the upper and middle class inhabi- tants, might do more than they are generally willing to do in making those places more attractive. The Parish Councils Act has given them Eowersto i mprove drai nage and v* ater supply, to provide braries, to light and pave the streets, and in various other ways to improve the village as a place to live in. But too often they will have none of it. The fear ot a slight increase in the rates blinds them to the certain improvements in the value of property, and they prefer to go on as their fathers before them, unprogressive and unreformed. They cannot hope to neutralise all the influences that draw men from the country into towns; but if they will not even try to remove some of the disabilities of country life, and to give the dwellers in a village the elementary advantages of healthy homes-pure water and adequate drainage—they cannot be surprised if the superficial attractiveness of town life continues to depopulate the country. A DISTRICT COUNCIL'S DILEMMA. The Rural District Council at Birchington have bad under their consideration the question of dis- posing of the carease of the whale which stranded there recently, the nuisance from putrefaction having become intolerable. The Surveyor asked for instructions, as the question was of some urgency. He could get no one to cut the whale up. and the only means of disposal which suggested itself to him was to blow the carcase up with dynamite, and to eollect the flesh and destroy it after- wards. He had tried to burn the carcase, but the tide came up and put the fires out. He added that even the expedient of blowing the carcase up would damage the groynes. The Chairman, amid laughter, 3aid it was a sort of white elephant." Mr. Lamb suggested that the owner of the carcase should be served with a notice to abate the nuisance, but the Surveyor pointed out that the carcase is not on the owner's property. On the suggestion of the Chair- man. it was decided that the Chairman should go to the Natural History Museum in London for advice M to what should be done; the owner of the carcase to be asked in the meantime to relinquish his rights.
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TnE Paris Exhibition of 1900 will contain the largest theatre in the world. According to the report of M. Raulin, the architect who has been intrusted with its construction, it will surpass any other build- ing of the kind from the point of view of size and seating capacity. It will be erected within the well- know Galerie des Machines," and will accommodate from 12,000 to 15,000 persons. The auditorium will consist of five circular tiers rising one above the other and sloping backwards till the topmost reaches the rery roof of the Galerie," while these circles at the rear will present the appearance cf enormous arcade* I fupported by colossal columns. I
READINGS FOR THE YOUNG.
READINGS FOR THE YOUNG. (FfWlI the Christian Globe.") J CONFIDENTIAL. Mr little mistress Maud and me, We're dressed up every day for tea. We look so sweet, you ought to see! She has a frock all frills and things, Her hair is curled in shiny rings, And I've a 'normous yellow bow, And underneath my chin, you know, A silver bell. But—don't you tell! Although we look so very well, We're niis'rable as we etn be- My little mistress Maud and me When all the comp'ny's gone from tea. And there is no one left to see My little mistress Maud and me, They take our bows and frills away, And tell us we may go and play. We are not pretty any more, And stylish, as we were before. I have no bell! I. But-don't you tell! Although we don't look very well, We're just as glad as we can be- My little mistress Maud and me THE LITTLE IlliNDL7 GIRL MARTYR. In a city called Pilibhut, not far from Bareilly, in the north of India, is a school for Hindu girls. In this were 25 or 30 girls, and one whom I knew as Sundari (meaning beautiful "), a bright, pretty. high-caste girl, is the suoject of this story. Acccri- ing to Hindu custom she could not associate freely with girls of a lower caste, and especially with Chris- tians. But when we missionaries establish schools it is always with the stipulation that the Bible may be taught to them. The pastor's wife, whose name is Piyari (" be- loved "), visited this school regularly. She not only read the Bible to them, but taught them the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer and, strange to say, the parents, although strict Hindus, did not object to this. Nevertheless, they insisted upon their daughter worshipping the household gods and ob- serving caste customs. Sundari soon learned to read, and a Bible was pre- sented to her. This she read whenever she could find time to do so, in school and at home. I must not forget to tell you that according to Hindu customs she had been betrothed to a young man of the same caste, when a tiny little child, but had not yet gone to her father-in-law's to live. One night Piyari was surprised to receive a visit from Sundari, who had quietly left home and had bribed a servant to accompany her. What brought you here ?" asked the pastor's wife. Oh, I came to ask you to make me a Christian. I can't be a Hindu and worship idols," said she. But, child, you are not of age, and you are be- trothed. I should be imprisoned and the mission work spoiled if you were baptised," said the pastor. Oh," said she, why did you teach me the Ten Commandments, and give me a Bible ? I am very unhappy and must become a Christian." They told her to wait patiently till she became of age and went to live with her husband, and that she might, persuade him to become a Christian. She went home comforted, but refused to worship the household gods any more. Very soon after this she was sent to her bethrothed's home. The mother-in- law soon discovered that the little bride was not a strict Hindu—for she did not do puja," worship- and at once began to abuse her. She discovered her reading one day, and snatched the book from her, saying, Now I see why you do not revere our gods. You have been at school and have read the Christian books. I shall destroy all your books." So her box was searched and every book found was burned. She was beaten and fearfully abused, but refused to obey the mother-in-law. Once she managed to write a letter to Piyari, begging her in some way or other to get back to Pilibhut. Piyari could do nothing for her except to pray. No letter could reach her, for it would have been intercepted. She. no doubt, had given a servant a bribe to get her letter posted to Piyari. Even her parents must not interfere, though they had heard of her bad treat- ment. One day the sad news reached her parents, and her good friend, Piyari, that she had suddenly died, and had been buried the very night after. When they prepared the poor little body for burial, they found a Bible hidden next her heart. She died loving Him to the end. A RAZOR AND SOME COMMENTS. The old captain's eyes twinkled as he surveyed tho boys whom he had caught behind the barn shaving with an old razor the faces that as yet showed no sign of down. One of the boys shamefacedly confessed that they were trying to make their moustaches grow. Then the captain let loose the laugh that had been silently bubbling within, and he laughed so heartily that even the boys themselves joined him. I tell you what it is, boys," said the merry old man, when his face began to straighten out, you re starting to be men wrong side out.. It is not with the outside, but with the inside, that manliness begins. It takes more than a moustache to make a man. Now look at Clarence Beaufort across the way. He has a moustache that looks as if it were made to order, and his hair is always daintily parted in the middle; his trousers are never without the proper crease, and he carries that little cane of his as jauntily as my dog Jack carries his tail. And with it all, Clarence is, as you know, only a fop and a spend- thrift. He has neither brains nor morals under that nobby hat of his. and I tell you, boys "—here the captain brought his great palm down on his knee with a resounding whack—" Clarence Beaufort isn't even a decent counterfeit of a man, much less the genuine article. The town wouldn't lose by the bargain if it could exchange him for one of those wax dummies that you see in the store windows. The wax man is just as beautiful as Clarence, and just as much of a man. besides having none of his vices. Now, there's Joe Holt." and with the mention of this name the captain's face lost its look of severe displeasure. Joe Holt isn't 16 yet, but lie's more of a man than lots of people that have whiskers as long as Joe himself." (This with a side glance at f lie rtizor.) Joe takes care of his old mother, and does his own thinking, and is clean-hearted and brave, and if that doesn't make a man, I'd like to know what in the name of rusty razors does?" With that the captain whistled to Jack and was off, and five thoughtful boys gathered up the scattered shaving utensils in silence and returned them to the homes from which they had been borrowed." THE MOTII S CHEMISTRY. Our young people often wonder how moths escape from the cocoon and become winged insects. The cocoon is a tough, silken bag, which incloses them during their grub state. The question has been a puzzle to many older and wiser heads, even entomo- logists, for a long time. Recently Professor Leatter, of London, has made some experiments with the moth known as the Dicranium Vinula. It has long been suspected that this species of the long-tailed moth lifA-d some liquid to soften the cocoon when the propei time to emerge from it arrived, and Mr. Leatter's experi- ments have revealed the exact nature of the powerful solvent. In making his studies the professor opened up the cocoons spun by the insects and put imagoes in arti- ficial silk bags, with an opening at the end. When the time arrived for instinct to tell the imago to apply his solvent, the liquid escaped into little glass tubes instead. The professor made careful analysis of this, and found it to be pure solution of caustic potash! This discovery is a new one in entomology. Caustic potash will distroy the human skin. and it is at least passing curious that it should be distilled in an insect's mouth. il FISH STORIES. Fish have frequently been taught to come when called and to perform various tricks. A gentleman had two brook trout in a small aquarium in his private residence that would jump out of the water and take flies held between his fore finger and thumb, and would also ring a little bell when they required food. They would aiso leap over little bars of wood placed about two inches above the surface of the water. It was a very simple matter to teach the fish these and similar trirks. As to the bell, a little tower containing a tiny sweet-toned silver bell was fastened to the ironwork of the aquarium, while a piece of string attached to the tongue of it extended into the water where the trout, were. On the loose end of the string an insect or other tempting morsel was placed which the fish would at once seize, and pulling the cord, the bell in the tower tinkled. After this had been repeated several dtys, the fish were left, without food for some little time until they made the discovery that they could obtain it by pulling at the string to which the delicacies had been attached. This at once became their habit on feeling hungry, and as they were often so, the bell had not much rest afterwards.
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HE: "I'm afraid I couldn't make you happy, darling, on only £200. a year." She: "Ob, it's plenty! With economy I can dress on £ 150; and, just think, dear, we can have all the rest for house- hold expenses 1 JUSTICE (to negro prisoner): You are charged i with stealing chickens. Do you want a lawyer?" Prisoner: "No, yer Honour." Justice: "Why sl not?" Prisoner: If it pleases de Co't, I'd like, if yer Honour pleases, ter keep dem chickens myself, liter habbin' aU de trubble er gittia' W
LITERARY EXTRACTS.
LITERARY EXTRACTS. Tug CAPTURE OF CFTEWAYO.L--Tlie fi-iiards began to lead their horses by tin* bridle down die steep and perilous slope, and by time o'clock they had reached the bottom of the valley, but with the greatest difficulty. They crossed the rocky bed of a stream and remounted in a hollow out of sight: of the kraal. Next they had to circumvent the barrier of a snake fence, a marsh, some long grass and rocks, but iifter a two miles' gallop they succeeded in completely surrounding the place, while the Native Contingent dashed across from their hiding-place, and formed up on some open ground to the south of it. In reality they were the first men on the ground, as they were on foot, and could move over natural obstacles more quickly than the horses. They rushed into the kraal, shouting to the startled followers of the king, "The white men are here—you are taken!" Major Marter rode directly up to the entrance of the kraal, and called upon Cetewayo to yield. Enter—I am your prisoner," Cetewayo was heard to reply. As I Ie, I ight have to encounter a snare or some madness born of savage desperation, the major prudently de- clined this invitation, and again summoned the king to come forth. Then the unfortunate Cetewayo. looking weak, weary, footsore, and very sick at heart, came out of the humble little kraal. With a certain amount of dignity, he repelled a Drasoon Guardsman who was about to seize him. "White soldier," he exclaimed, touch me not—I surrender to your chief!" The few occupants of the kraal. being taken completely by surprise, made no resist- ance. and were all captured. They consisted only of the king, a chief named Umkosana, nine men and a boy. live women ard a girl. One of the men who. was too infirm to travel was left behind. The rest were removed as prisoners of war. As they were all on foot their progress was necessarily slow, and thus it was dark when the party, which left the scene of this important capture at four p.m., arrived at another kraal, five miles lower down the valley, and overlooking the Ngome Forest, where the king and his companions—strictly guarded—were placed for the night; and next morning the whole party again moved forward.-British Battles on Lau/l and Sea. DOROTHY VERNON.—Every great English home—as we shall find in our gradual progress-is chiefly memorable, is surpassingly dear to the imagination, for the sake of one person, or of some one romantic incident; and "all Haddon is fragrant with the memory of one fair woman—Dorothy Vernon. You have her postern, her walk, her room, her terrace. Her beauty beautifies the whole beautiful place. Men love women, and women love Love hence the charm and the romance of the fair heiress linger yet round every part of Haddon. She was the daughter of that Sir George Vernon, the King of the Peak," who died in 1565, the year in which Mary Queen of Scots married the ill-fated lout, Darnley. In the fulness of time Dorothy loved, but her father did not approve. She determined to elope; and now we must fill, in fancy, the Long Gallery with the splen- dour of a revel and the stately joy of a great ball in the time of Elizabeth. In the midst of the noise and excitement the fair young daughter of the house steals unobserved 'away. She issues from her door, and her light feet fly with tremulous speed along the darkling Terrace, flecked with light from the blazing ball-room, till they reach a postern in the wall, which opens upon the void of night outside dancing Haddon. At that postern someone is waiting eagerly for her; waiting with swift horses. That someone is young Sir John Manners, second son of the House of Rutland, and her own true love. The anxious lovers mount, and ride rapidly and silently away; and sc Dorothy Vernon transfers Haddon to the owners of Belvoir; and the boar's head of Vernon become? mingled, at Haddon, with the peacock of Manners We fancy with sympathetic pleasure that night-ride and the hurried marriage and—forgetting that the thing happened "ages long agone "-we wish, with full hearts, all happiness to the dear and charming Dorothy! Of all the dwellers in Haddon it is not my hint to speak. Enough for us. and for the romance of the dear and quaint old Hall, is the romance of one fair woman. Haddon has long been uninhabited—because it passed to the lords of Belvoir-and, being uninhabited, our fancy is more strongly tempted to re-people its halls and gardens with the olden inhabitants, to see again the figures and faces of some of those who have so long ago re- turned to dust.'Elizabeth was at Haddon. Then- In the morning, horn of huntsman, hoof of steed. and laugh of rider, Spread out cheery from the courtjard till we lost them in the hills," as Bluff Harry's Man-minded offset rose To chase the deer, at five," and Haddon was alive and glorious with a regal visit. In one room you are still shown the mirror which Elizabeth used and it is a strange, eeire feel- ing, as you see your own face in the glass, to think that its unretentive surface has also reflected back to her the features of the monarch who was the Queen of Shakespeare.-Picture.squc Europe. CHANGES IN RIVERS.—Semi-circular lakes, which are deserted river bends, are scattered all over the alluvial tract of the lower Mississippi. At high water the river flows into these lakes—the Aigues- Mortes or Dead Waters of the French geologists— when the low country around is entirely submerged (9 and looks like some vast lake with wooded islands rising out of the flood. In other cases these aignes-mortes get gradually silted up, choked with vegetation, and in time become swamps, or marshy land. The river has more than once by bursting through one of these cut-offs shortened its course by 30 miles, and, by piling up sand-bars and forests in front of them, forced several towns which were formerly on the banks into the country. The village of Delta, built three miles below Vicksburg. is now. by a comparatively recent cut-off, two miles above Viaksburg—a change in the reverse course, which has also shut off both of these places—like Osceola, St. Genevieve, and others—from communication with the river. The boundaries of parishes, counties, and even States have in this manner been altered. In the morning a man might go to bed in the State of Mississippi and by dawn find himself and his farm Ississl PPI m Louisiania; while, as a well-known American writer facetiously—though not less truthfully—re- marks, such a thing happening in the Upper River in former days could (without either the serfs or their master having any voice in the matter), by transferring in estate from Missouri into Illinois, have manumitted the human chattels of a slave-holder. The Missouri, though not quite so wayward ,is also rapidly wearing down the bank on its southern mouth, and altering its course accordingly. The rivers of the Punjab act in an almost identical fashion. Not one of them is a.t any time exactly where it was the year before. The town of Mittan Kot, just before the common conflu- ence of all the rivers, has twice (according to the ordinary way of speaking of it) been carried away." In reality, though many buildings and much property on the banks of all these rivers are annually swept into the river, this is seldom done without warning. When the people see what is inevitable they move farther back, or to some part of the river side that seems more secure. General Maclagan tells us that when surveying in Upper Sind, and engaged in re- covering positions he had mapped the year before, he missed a village that was on his books, and on inquiry it was pointed out to him on the other side of the river. The people, warned of what was coming. had migrated over the water. The river had'cut in more than half a mile from its bank of the year before. Something similar, though on a much smaller scale, has more than once happened with the Tweed, which, by altering its course, has transferred portions of a farm from Northumberland into Berwickshire, or. in other words, from England into Scotland.—Our Earth and Its Story. WISDOM is the knowledge of other people's inistakes. WHO depends upon another man's table, often dines late. ROUGH EIDERS.—The regiment is a peculiar coin- Oination of plainsmen and recruits from the society ranks of New York city, so-called dudes who were polo experts and cross-country riders, representing well known, wealthy, and illustrious families of the Empire State. There are also in the ranks college graduates from Yale and Princeton and ten men from the Havard class of 1898 It has been Lieutenant- colonel Roosevelt's idea that the former leaders of 'he cotillon could learn more readily the use of the aabre and revolver and become better horsemen by association with the cowboys who have lived in the saddle and slept on their firearms nearly all their years, while the latter might benefit from contact with the former men of leisure and derive from the companionship some of the good characteristics of "the pampered darling of society." This command has two rapid fire Colt guns and a dynamite gun, artillery auxiliaries which the two other similar ] organisations do not possess. In addition to the t murderous knife, or machete, the regiment is armed J with six shooters and either the "45 calibre carbines, | Winchester rifles, or the Mausers, the last named | being the weapon used almost entirely by the Spanish regulars in Cuba. It is a strange fact that the machete —pronounce "ma-kay-tay"—is not manufactured in either Cuba or Spain, but principally in Hartford, chough Gomez has a small one that was put together In Santo Domingo. It is well known that the drill of ooth men and horses of Roosevelt's Rough Riders oefore leaving the United States was perfect, the men oeing able to charge standing in the stirrups. The ponies would stop like automatons at the word of command, and in the wheeling, circling, yelling, and | riding with a fearless abandon the men showed how 3 practically impossible it would would be for a foot I soldier to defend himself from a machete charge. .J' GW:, BEHAVIOUR.—" Perhaps one of the best rules ever laid down for universal good behaviour is. li'lleii i ii Rome do as the Romans do. It was a ^rey-haired woman who uttered the sentence. Her young daughter looked up quickly. "But, mamma, suppose I don't want to do as the Romans do?" Then, my dear, don't go to Rome It was during one summer my good fortune to have as fellow- boarder at a farm-horse a college boy, who, having studied too hard all winter, had been sent to the country to recuperate. He completely won the hearts of his kind host and hostess by the manner in which he adapted himself to his simple surroundings. T. who had known the manner of his life in his own home, watched him with admiration as at the hot noon- day dinners and early country teas he listened with apparent interest to the farmer's talk of crops stock, and poultry. In short, he was a gentleman. sind proved it. Had it been impossible for him tc make himself one with his environment, he would have gone away sooner than wound those who enter- tained him to the best of their ability. The mother I have quoted was wise. If one cannot behave with ordinary courtesy amid certain surroundings, he should avoid those surroundings. If forced into 'hem, he should be too well-bred to destroy the com- fort of others for the sake of humouring a prrsona1 whim. He may inwardly determine never to be ) caught in Rome again, but while he is there his actions should be in accordance with those of the Romans. The man of thorough breeding is he who adapts himself to his surroundings, whatever they chance to be. Among social lessons few are more important or should be more thoroughly taught than this one, important as it is to all. A LADY ACADEMICIAN.—Mary Moser was the only rhild of George Michael Moser. who had been draw- ing-master to George III. during his boyhood, and to whose zeal and energy the founding of the Academy was largely due. In associa- tion with Chambers, West, and Cotes, he framed the constitution of the new:body, andjon November 28. 17G8, presented the memorial to the King, asking for his patronage. The first meeting of the newly- constituted body was beld in December of the same year, at which Sir Joshua Reynolds, who had been elected president, delivered an appropriate address. This accounts for Mary's election as a foundation member of the Royal Academy, for Michael Moser was the first keeper of the newly incorporated Academy, and on his death, in 1783, a notice of him from the pen of Sir Joshua Reynolds was published, in which he was described as the first gold-chaser in the kingdom, possessed of a universal knowledge of all branches of painting and sculpture, and in every sense the father of the present race of artists." Mary, being his only child, would have enjoyed many privileges, both in art training as well as social intercourse, for her father's circle of friends in- cluded Hogarth, Garrick, Johnson, Goldsmith, and other artistic celebrities of the day; and she may have been present when Moser, in his broken English, greatly mortified Goldsmith by stopping him in the middle of a vivacious harangue with the exclamation, Stay, stay Toctor Shonson's going to say some- thing I" Mary received premiums of five guineas from the Society of Arts in 1758 and again in 1759, and exhibited with the Society of Artists from 1760 to 1768, and sent to the Academy until 1802. She was so near-sighted that her nose when she was painting was within an inch of the canvas, and an amusing account has come down to us of a small dis- play of tongue Jwarfare between Mary and a Mrs. Paradice at a tea party at Mrs. Nollekins'. Mrs. Paradice's figure was so neat and small that Mary called her a sylph. "Better be so," rejoined Mrs. Paradice, than to be as dull-looking as a mole.' Fie, fie! my dears," exclaimed Dr. Johnson, who was one of the company, no sparring; off with your mufflers and fight it fairly out." It is astonishing with such an infirmity that she could display such harmony in her performances. Her pictures of flowers, for which she 'was so deservedly famed, possess an elegance of composition, a clearness of colouring, and, in most instances, exquisite finishing. She was remarkably choice in the colour she used, preferring ultramarine upon all occasions whenever blue was required. Queen Charlotte employed her at Frogmore to decorate a room for her, which she called after her name, and for which Miss Moser received over £ 900.—English Illustrated Magazine. THE FRIENDSHIP OF MR. GLADSTONE.—On the whole, the self-denying ordinance which I am inclined to im- pose on myself is this, that I should in general not presume to sit in judgment on Mr. Gladstone, except in cases where my intercourse with him serves to throw light on some misunderstood parts of his character or where, on the other hand, some remarks on his character are needed to throw light on my intercourse with him. On neither of these two accounts do I feel called upon to say much about him as a statesman. Being forced to spend three- quarters of a year on the continent in a sort of valetudinarian exile, I have come to regard myself, not certainly as an outlaw, but as what I may call an "ontpolitics "-as one who can look on party politics only from the stand point of a philosophical outsider, so that, for this as well as for other reasons, I abstain from acting the part of a political censor. And this abstinence is, in the present case, made easier by the fact that the tie which bound him to me and mine was not political, but personal. He was a county neighbour of my Conservative father, and of my more Conservative father-in-law (the late Lord Egerton of Tatton). When he and they were in the House of Commons together, he met them on a foot- ing of friendly opposition, and, although the political antagonism went on increasing, the friendly relations were perhaps not lessened down to the end of the chapter. The result of all this was that, when he extended his friendship to my wife and me, he showed a manifest disinclination to discuss the politics of the day. He seldom approached burning questions in my presence, and hardly ever in the presence of my wife. I could have wished that he had been less scrupulous but perhaps, after all, the loss was not very serious. The political Gladstone has long been, and will long continue to be in everybody's mouth. It is of the non political Gladstone that people in general need to learn something. THE INFLUENCE OF THE UNIVERSITIES.—All the head masters of the leading public schools, nearly all the head masters of the metropolitan and provin- cial grammar schools and high schools, and most of the classical assistant masters in these schools are graduates of Oxford or Cambridge, while the acade- mical element largely preponderates among the masters of private schools and private tutors of the superior class. If a university education is no longer the one avenue of approach to the two learned pro- fessions which contribute most powerfully to fix the general standard of culture in society, still the great body of clergymen and of barristers, nearly all the English bishops, and a large majority of the judges, are alumni of Oxford or Cambridge. By virtue of their connection with the Established Church, these universities are especially responsible for the guid- ance of national education to an extent which it is hardly possible to exaggerate. It is clergymen there educated who are not only the sole representatives of learning in thousands of country parishes, but chiefly manage the great mass of parochial schools which are not under School Boards, and where School Boards have been established, are frequently among the most active and influential members of them. The predominance of the older universities in the directionof national education is still more conspicu- ous in the personnel of the Education Office itself. The whole in-door staff of thwi, office, consisting of secretaries and examiners, has been recruited from Oxford and Cambridge, the form n having a certain pre- ponderance. More than half of the school inspectors for England and Wales are drawn from Oxford, and the rest, from Cambridge, with the exception of a few who have been promoted from the rank of sub-in- spectors. Not less marked is the prevalence of Oxford and Cambridge graduates on the staff of the Civil Service Commission, which now superintends the ex- aminations for every branch of the public service. All the commissioners, secretaries, and examiners, with rare exceptions, have been selected from one or other of the older Universities. It was Oxford and Cambridge men who originated and shaped the open competitions for the Civil Service of India, and the head masters of the great public schools, all Oxford or Cambridge men, have been consulted at every turn in constructing the scheme of Army examinations. It may be added that of the last 11 Governor-Generals of India, seven have been Oxford men and if we could follow the same line of enquiry into the whole administrative and political service of the State, we should find graduates < f our two older LTniver- sities filling high positions in a ratio out of all proportion to their numbers, even as compared with the wealthierclasses of the population. For instance of the last nine Prime Ministers, five were educated at Oxford and one at Cambridge. In the present Cabinet 11 Ministers out of 19 are Oxford men and three Cambridge men in the last Cabinet, seven Ministers out of 16 were Oxford men and six Cambridge men. The House of Commons perhaps contains less of academical culture than it did in former days, as it contains more of the ability represented by success in business; yet above one-fifth of its present members are known to have been educated at Oxford, and above one-eighth at Cambridge, besides many who have graduated in other universities. But per- haps the most potent of all agencies in a country like our own is what is known as the press, with its infinite varieties oi daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly publications. If the secrets of annoymous journalism could be unlocked-if it could be ascer- tained how largely newspapers as well as periodical literature are indebted to Oxford and Cambridge men for their special characteristics, and how largely English habits of thought are moulded by English newspapers:and periodicals-it would furnish a crown- ing proof of the all-pervading influence exercised by those universities on national life.Yindeeosik Century. t
THE WOMAN'S WORLD.
THE WOMAN'S WORLD. FOR a bride who does not wish to carry a bouquet of flowers, I would suggest (says a writer in the kvenu'iq News) in its place a white ivory prayer-Look with a tiny cluster of orange-blossoms tied on its side. During an engagement it is not supposed a young girl should refuse all courtesies from gentlemen, or that she should immure herself like a nun but she is expected to show proper respect to the wishes of her betrothed, and not to make herself conspicuous by being seen in public with other men. NEW dresses show flounces placed lengthwise of the skirt in the seams. They are much narrower at the top than the foot, and are so arranged that they fall in jabot fashion. They are cut off at the hem of the skirt even with the braid, and simply hemmed. They are rather odd-looking, but not atall objection- able. Indeed, they are somewhat interesting ano graceful, if the style and the wearer agree. A MATTER OF NAMES. This way of naming children doth greatly me dis- please, Because 'tis done regardless of all the unities. Take a fellow that's deceitful, now, and don't you think it rank That, through his parents' foolishness, we yet must say he's Frank ? I know a man who'd die before he'd tell a false- hood low, Yet I call him Elijah, for his pa would have it so. And don't we think it strange about our black cook's little girl, When we're told by her fond mamma that her name is Blanche or Pearl ? A stout girl will be Lena ? Now, isn't that a shame ? And think of an ordained old maid with Marie foi a name And can one expect a man to know much joy upon this earth WThen a Paul clings to him from almost thE moment of his birth ? RIBBONS as trimming materials are employed in the greatest profusion. They are gathered at one edge and used as ruffles, or, if wider, are made into Bouncings. Gauze ribbons and those of the thickest firmest texture are gathered in the middle and made into ruchings, and even the old-fashioned, double and triple box plait has returned to us. A SOMEWHAT striking effect is produced by the use of white linen duck skirts and black satin or brocaded jackets. There is a blouse front, preferably of white India silk, with a bit of lace and a collar that is much less voluminous than any of those heretofore seen. FASHIONS for dressing the hair have undergone but little change within the past few years, merely modifications to adapt them to individual use being tolerated. THE eccentricities of society are (says the Daily Chronicle) always amusing, andthe social philosopher might write a volume on the changing method of greeting and of handshaking adopted by the beau monde. A new bow has made its appearance among the most fashionable members of New York society, which differs amazingly from the old. Instead of a movement forward, the man turns his head sharply llt an angle, bends his body sideways, and in saluting the lady takes his hat off at the same angle as that in which he moves his head, so that the hat is carried over to a line rather below the level of the shoulder. Ihe woman bows in a somewhat similar fashion, but in a very nonchalant manner. Both parties to the salute incline the body to the right in passing, so that :here is no danger of collision in close quarters, wh ieh there certainly would be if there were no rule of the road." IT is always like writing in the dark to lay down ;he law with respect to what is going to be worn. and ivhat is not at such a juncture as this, for all the feminine world is occupied enjoying itself, and has not an eye of any great critical value for the mode Iiat is to come. So if I tell you (says a charming contributor to the Woman's Weekly) that, brown is to De the colour of the autumn, and it should not be, alease do not blame me; all I know is that the sowers that decide such matters declare that it is to De a very favourite colour. Only the few can wear it ft ith safety it is trying to the sallow, and absolutely leadly to the woman of nondescript complexion. iged over 50, though many, believing it to be "a lice suitable colour,' and so good at wearing," idopt, it to their own detriment. I know a man who cold his wife when first they married never to let him ;ee her in black, grey, or brown, and she never has. Consequently, she has always gone about in bright lues, and I am sure has made her home the cheerful place it is in some measure by so doing. Had I been :hat man's wife, though, I should have foresworn browns cheerfully. I should have regretted greys. and positively refused to abjure black, which, with the addition of a colour, can always be made bril- liantly becoming. We might have compromised. perhaps, on this point. I HAVE seen some of the loveliest autumn parasols, and feel I must just give myself over to a hearty rave on the subject. They were made of shaded silk, and whereas one looked like a mass of field poppies, another was the image of a forest tree in the glory of autumnal colourings. All this splendour was brought about simply by cleverly-shaded silk, the petals of the flowers and leaves being stitched on the background of self colour with marvellous skill. Very bizarre sticks are not so modish as they were. These were enamelled wood, with guarded knob handles ?ncrusted with gems in the rough. My friends in Paris say they are tired of enamels, but we have not yet had enough time to weary of their beauties. SACQUE COATS are holding their own well, even Against the counter attractions of the coatee," and particularly among girl cyclists and golfers. Hunter's is a good colour for a cycling sacque, and the skirt it accompanies need not be a match, for we have once more entered upon that delightful era, thf* amiable condescension of the coloured skirt to agree j with the black coat, and vice versa. The golf girl wears scarlet naturally. I suppose because this is x colour, as the soldiers of old days knew to heir cost, that shows up well on the links. Every sport and game has its colour. No one would go angling in a scarlet coat; a tan or dirty grey is better; for yachting dark blue serge crowns all other shades for shooting there is heather mixture; for archery (an old-world pastime that, I hear rumours, will return), forester green is the ob- vious choice while for lawn-tennis nothing beats white, nor for croquet either. There is just one drawback that is pronouncedly against the sacque coat. It utterly refuses to suit any but the slim. Hanging as it does from a yoke, and no further down than the hips, it is extremely trying to any figure save the moderately tall and decidedly lean one. Hand- some ideas in big coachman's horn buttons can be carried out in double-breasted form upon the fronts. THE veil that wears best is called Russian net. I find the fine mesh even hardier that the coarse, and very much more becoming. Dark blue is a pretty colour for the autumn, and one that suits some women remarkably well, the mistake some make of choosing too bright a blue being the only pitfall to be avoided. Ask for navy blue, and see that you get it. should be the maxim of the purchaser of a veil. We may be returning soon to the short fall," as it used to be called, leaving our mouths free andour chins uncovered, and then our veils will be a less ex- pensive item than they have been in the very wide width so long necessary. Throat ruffles of black net with cream lace flounce edgings seem to be enjoying a season of popularity, and are easily made at home. The ruffle, made to end in front with long satin ribbons hanging from a choux or in cascade form, may flow to the waist, as do the feather boa; there to be caught into the belt. Flower ruffles are pretty for evening wear, and little ones made of tulle and tiny flowers are actnally worn as necklets, either with or without an elaborate gem necklace, or a simple string of pearls. One of hare- bells and pale blue tulle is very charming, and white and pink heather with pink tulle its points. Few brides choose to have their wedding dresses fashioned with the trying high neck and long sleeves that used to be inevitable, though it is wonderful to think the beauties of transparent yokes and sleeves could have remained unknown so long. These ruffles are desirable for many brides, unless their throats are sufficiently round and full and white to bear day- light exposure. I have noticed lately that only such jewels as bear a sentimental significance are worn by up-to-date brides at the altar. One newly-married girl of last season, who had about half-a-dozen tiaras of the more superb gems, elected only to wear a tl'aniond pin that had belonged to her dead father on this solemn occasion. Women wear pins in their ties and hats so very much now that quite an appro- priate wedding or birthday gift bikes fcliis form. Sets of six in one case, lying side by side, arc lovely.
[No title]
THE most promising of all occupations is that of a bill-collector—he gets mOFe, promises than pay. "How many times are you going to pass by ms before jou bring me that steak ?" asked an. indignant diii*-r » passing waiter. Count them yoursslf, air l u; GUiIIJ."
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AMERICAN HUMOUR.
AMERICAN HUMOUR. FAT CITIZEN You're a pretty small chap to be nmnin' an elevator, ain't you, bub?" The Small Chap: Yes, I guess I be. They hired me 'cause the darned rope broke so many times with the heavier elevator boys." And the fat man walked. HB: "A woman, you know, is as old as she looks." She: "How dreadful!" DIGGS Smawley has just been telling me some of his family troubles." Briggs: "He has, eh? Well, what's your opinion of them ?" Diggs "I think l a prefer to hear his wife's side of the case before handing down an opinion." JONES: I met Howard to-day. He was surprised to know we were married. Says you told him once you wouldn't marry the best man living." Mrs. Jones: Well, the fact is, I did." Jones: "How did you come to change your mind?" Mrs. Jones: Well, the fact is, I didn't." "DID you say the man was shot in the woods. doctor ?" No, I didn't. I said he was shot in the lumbar region." BYSTANDER: Should you say that picture was taken from life ?" Critic I don't know, but the world wouldn't suffer if the artist was." TUE man I marry," said the Blonde W idow must be a hero." He will be," remarked the Savage Bachelor." "THAT politician is a 'has been,' isn't he?" re- marked the observer. No," replied the captious friend, he isn't even that. He's merely a used-to- think-he-was." FLORIDA NATIVE: "They say that rich gent fum the Nawth has got a half-grown alligatuh." Second Florida Native Ya-as an' bimeby they'll say thai a full-grown alligatuh has 6ot that thah rich gent fum the Nawth." LIZZIE: "I had my fortune told yesterday, anc what do you think ?" George: You're going to be married within a year and will be very rich anc happy." Lizzie: Why, George, how on earth did you guess it? I haven't told a soul." FATHER: "What makes you think you can earn enough to support my daughter?" Suitor: "Well I've been engaged to her for six months." WITNESS," asked the attorney for the defence who was trying to prove the temporary insanity ot the prisoner, was it this man's habit to talk to him- self when alone?" "Jest at this time," came the answer, I don't recolleck ever bein' with him wher he was alone." Mils. WAKEI.EIGII How did you come to lose your girl ? I thought you liked her so much ?" Mis- Flatleigh: Oh. she got above her place and I just insisted on having mamma discharge her." Mrs Wakeleigh What did she do ? Want to set up a grand piano in the kitchen ?" Miss Flatleigh "No. but she boasted around that she had a bigger string of soldier buttons and belts than I could show." EmviN "You would not take that uncle of mine to be a sensitive plant at all, would you ?" Reginald He certainly does not look it." Edwin Well, he is. Attempt to touch him and he closes up imme- diately." WON'T they let you stop at our boarding-house I anv more?" asked the Circassian. "No," answered the living skeleton. It isn't my fault, either. 'lilt last time I was there one of the boarders told ihe landlady I looked like he felt after one of her break- fasts." CASEY: "Shure, begob, these winds remind me of O'Hulinan. Maloney Phwye ?" Casey: They strike one so suddenly." IT takes an exceedingly brilliant man to know just what to do at a critical moment," remarked the student of history. "Yes," replied the man with a number of impecunious friends. "It sometimes takes me five or ten minutes to decide whether or not to receive a telegram marked collect. "TELL what you know about the arctic region," commanded a St. Louis teacher of a pupil in one of the lower grades." It's north of Canada." responded the little miss; "and it's used princip'ly for explora- tions." KITTY: "Yes, there's no denying that Charley Touter is a fascinating fellow; but don't Nuii know they say he is inclined to be fast?" Xetty:" Non- sense! It took him a good hour last night to get out of the house from the time he started." Ci;n.\ When I was out on my wheel this morning I cracked my enamel quite badly." Maud: "You must learn not to smile." WIIAT is the consumption of beer per head in this State? "asked the man with a passion for statistics. It varies," said the uncompromising realist. "What will give one man a head will only make another thirsty" NEitvors PASSENGER Captain, what would be the result if the steamer should strike an iceberg while we are plunging through this fog ?" Captain of Steamship: "The iceberg would move right along, madam, just as if nothing had happened." WOMEN," said the Sweet Young Thing, do quarrel a little easier than men, but then they make y it up quicker." So," said the Savage Bachelor, they can have the pleasure of another quarrel." MY husband is plain-spoken he calls a spade a spade." So docs mine but I must decline to repeat what he calls the lawn-mower." HE This is the last time I will ever ask you to marry me." She: "Do you swear it, Itudolpli ?" He I swear it by all I hold sacred." She: Then I accept." 8m; Have you forgotten how you once said' you would give the world for me ?" He: What if I Jid ?" Oh, nothing, particularly but it seems very strange now that you won't even sell that little old ill burban lot so that I can have a nev wheel." FARMER HONK: Your nephew that went to college ians kinder got cured of his retirin' disposition, ai.t he?" Farmer Grayneck: "Waal, he is at least cured of all disposition to retire at a reasonable hour at night, but, on the other hand, he is a good deal more retirin', as you might call it in the morr in' than before-in fact, he usually stays retired till about ten o'clock." I HAVE noticed," said the Cumminsville sage. "that the man with the narrowest mind is prone to make the broadest assertions." SIIIFF: "What caused Grinkham to renounce theosophy ? The last time I saw him he was claim- ing to be the reincarnation of his grandfather. Jonesmith Yes: he firmly believed that he was the reincarnation of his grandfather; but people began dunning him for money they had loaned the old gentleman fifty years ago, and Grinkham discarded the t heory in short order." BUT yours is such a narrow life," said the summer boarder. 0, I dunno," said the farmer. It's spread out over three hundred and twenty acres." A GOOD story is related at the expense of Bob Ingersoll. The colonel was recently talking to an old coloured woman in Washington concerning re- ligious matters. "Do you really believe, auntie." I said he. that people are made out of dust?" Yes, sali The Bible says dey is, and so I b'lieves it." But what is done in wet weather, when there is nothing but mud ?" Den I s'pects dey made infidels an' si(-,Ii truck." HCLLO, Dobson, you're looking better than I've seen you look for a year." Yes, I feet better. My wife has sent all our canned fruit to the front." KIRBY tells me he walks in his sleep." How remarkable J He doesn't do anything but sit around while he is awake." FOKGKT the heat. It won't be long Before this year is through, There'll be some idiot asking, Is it cold enough for you ?" THE only lines I get accepted," said the aspiring poet, are those I drop in to the water to the fish." Perhaps," suggested the candid friend, they're the only ones that hare any point to them,"
EPITOME OF NEWS.
EPITOME OF NEWS. RUSSIA has spent over V.51,000,000 sterling in naval armaments during the past seven years. FIFTY rotrsns a year is devoted to dusting She books in the library of the House of Lords. NEW club-rooms at Jamestown, N.B., just opened, are built of red sandstone, and comprise reading, recreation, billiard, and committee rooms. They have cost CSOO. THE law court records show that the defendant wins his case in 47 out of every ft)0 cases tried. ETC fIT churches have stood on the site of St. Paul's Cathedral in Londbn. The first one was built in the year 232. As an effect of the South Wales coal strike, the Great Western Railway has sustained a direct loss upon carriage of minerals of 1:138,000. PIPE founding in Glasgow, where the industry gives employment to about 3000 workpeople, is now extremely busy. Various parts of the world are being supplied, at an output rate of about 500 tons daily. FOR preserving old landmarks in Paris there are many societies, such as the Old Paris Commission," The Archaeological Society of Auteuil," and The Friends of the Louvre," who work together with the one common object in view. SWISS emigrants nearly all go to the United States eight out of 10 do so. The whole emigration from Switzerland during the past five years amounted to a total of 20,132 persons. THE largest painting in the world, exclusive of panoramas and cycloramas, is Paradise," by Tin- toretto, in the grand salon of the Doge's palace at Venice, being 84ft. wide by 34ft. high. THE Crown Prince of Siam is among the boy authors of the world; he has written several stories for English children's magazines, and can write fluently in three European languages. STEPHENSON MEMORIAL HALL, Chesterfield, has been reopened after having been closed for some months, during which time extensive structural additions and alterations have been made from the plans of Mr. Wagstaff, architect, Chesterfield. TiiE value of building materials imported into Egypt, including wood, lime, cement, plaster, hewn marble, stone, bricks, tiles, and glass, during 1895-7, is given in a consular report as follows: 1895, £ 15,311; 1896, E20,114; 1897, £ 17,274. THE world's record for kite-flying has been beaten at Boston, in America, when an altitude of 12,124ft. was reached by the upper of two kites flown tandem fashion. This is 277ft. higher than has ever been attained before. THE small town of Werda, in the kingdom of Dahomey, is celebrated for its temple of serpents, a long building in which the priests keep upwards of 1000 serpents of all sizes, which they feed with birds and frogs brought to them as offerings by the natives. A SECTION of railway 30 miles long, between Ghent and Antwerp, was recently widened from narrow tc standard gauge in 65 hours during night-time. The sleepers already down were not removed, having been originally cut long enough for the intended alteration. PRIZES offered by the Royal Agricultural Society for award at the 16th annual exhibition, which is announced to be held at Maidstone from June 19 to 23,1899, include one of £ 50 for the most successful hop-washing apparatus, and another of JE30 for the best fruit and vegetable evaporator. THE provision of Rowton houses in New York is at present receiving considerable attention from the municipal authorities, who have appointed a special commission to inquire into the organisation and ad- ministration of the Rowton House (Ltd.), with the object, of establishing a similar class of cheap hotels, providing working men with lodgings at low rates, in that city. PYHCOMBE CIIURCH, Sussex, has been restored at a cost of £ 650, a portion of the tower having been re-roofed, the vestry enlarged, the belfry restored, the wtndows renovated, the interior painted, new heat- ing apparatus introduced, and new pews and carved oak choir stalls provided. The inside of the roof of the chancel and nave has been also painted and sec- tioned with oak. THE writing of Mr. B. D. Blackmore, the novelist, is like tha' of Sardou, the French playwright. It is so fine and small, and the letters are so detached, that a magnifying glass sometimes is brought into use, otherwise it would be almost unreadable to the naked eye. THE 12 largest landowners, as regards area, in England are the following: Duke of Northumber- land. Duke of Devonshire, Duke of Cleveland, Sir W. W. Wynn, Duke of Bedford, Earl of Carlisle, Duke of Rutland, Earl of Lonsdale, Lord Leconfield. Earl of Powis, Earl Brownlow, and the Earl of Derby. THERE are 672 known volcanoes in the world, of which 270 are active 80 in America, 24 in Asia, 20 in Africa Java has 109, 28 active. In New Zealand, within an area of 127 miles, there are 63, ranging from 196ft. to 900ft. in height. THE Duke of Cambridge, who is fond of collecting swords, always wears on State occasions the diamond- hilted weapon which was presented to him by the Shah of Persia. He dislikes donning a military uniform, believing that his stoutness is not so ap- parent in evening dress. CHINESE immigrants to the United States have recently been arriving via Canada, concealed in boxes supposed to contain dry goods." At a town on the eastern border of the New York State the Customs officials recently came upon a contraband package coataining six Celestials, who were promptly sent back again. THE only man known who is obliged to take his own bed with him wherever he travels is the Grand Duke Paul of Russia. He is so very tall that it is impossible for him to obtain a comfortable night's rest unless he can sleep in his own bed, which was made specially for him. The bed itself is constructed so that it can be packed into a small trunk. THERE are now 34 centenarians in Europe, of whom 23 are women. Statistics show that for every two male centenarians living during the last 10 years, there have always been three females over 100 years of age. AN Italian engineer has calculated that there must be by this time as many as 10,000,000 cyclists in the world. If only half of them were to mount their machines on the same day, each traversing about 12 miles, their combined journeys would represent a distance equal to 2500 times the circumference of the earth. These startling figures help us to form some idea of the importance of the cycle as a factor in modern civilisation. NEARLY everybody is aware that at one time it was the custom in many churches to regulate the length of the sermon by an hour-glass, which stood on the. pulpit immediately fronting the preacher. Quite & number of these curious relics are preserved in various ecclesiastical edifices throughout the land; but the British and Foreign Sailors' Church, situated in what was formerly Ratcliffe-highway, is the only one possessing four. They are in perfect preserva- tion, and are fixed all together in a framework of solid brass. ACCOMMODATION for cycles at the British Museum has been lately provided in a roam in the basement of the building, where visitors and students who arrive on wheels can place their machines in safety. The arrangements for holding the cycles are simple aad ingenious. The back wheels are let into iron frames so fitted that each machine will stand separ- ately, and can be removed without disturbing the others. Locks are provided, and a separate key isr given to each cyclist. If the experiment should prove successful, the present somewhat limited arrangements will be considerably extended. 4 i*' •