Abergavenny Chronicle

According to a Consular report, the use of cannon as a means of protecting vineyards against hailstorms is increasing in France. A convict named Hall suddenly went mad at Parkhurst Prison, and attacked another con- vict. named James, who was stated to be severely injured. Charged with the murder of his eight-year- old son and with the attempted murder of his wife, Ernest Blundell, of Addiscombe, "as sent for trial at Croydon. In broad daylight thieves smashed a window and broke into the residence of the Rev. T. D. Lloyd, vicar of St. Michael's Church, Crickle- wood. They made off with a number of old oin8.

BOW WAGS THE WORLD ? I I A NEW MAHDI. I Considerable stir has been caused in the Yemen (Arabia) by the appearance of a new Mahdi named Sevid Mehmed. He declares he has been entrusted with a Divine mission, and he preaches the regeneration of the world. All liars are to be punished by the pulling out of the tongue and thieves by the amputation of the hands. He already has over twenty-five thousand followers. 1 CANADIAN PETROLEUM. I The Canadian Government is doing very much to foster the growth of the petroleum industry. It is believed that in a flew years prolific and reliable oil sources will be worked in New Brunswick, all along the northern shore of Lake Erie, right up in the Hudson Bay territory, in quite a number of inland provinces, and in far northern parts. I A REMARKABLE CROWN. The Royal crown of Roumania is made of bronze, the metal having once seen service in war when in the shape of cannon. The crown is composed of pieces of sixty-two different cannon, each of which was captured from some enemy. I APPENDIX-LESS MEN. I One hundred and fifty appendix-less I citizens from all parts of the United States have formed themselves into a "Survivors' Association," and have announced a banquet in honour of Dr. John Deaver, Chief Surgeon of the German Hospital in Philadelphia. Dr. Deaver has removed more vermiform appen- dices than any other surgeon, his record last year being 4G0. At the dinner he will be toasted by some 200 patients who have ex- perienced his skill with the knife.  STORY. I TERRIBLE ALPINE STORY. » Ami von Almen, a Swiss alpinist, was found (says the "Chronicle") in a pitiable state in an Alpine hut on the summit of Mount Sulpice in the Jura Alps. He had left Neuchatel alone to make the ascent, had been overtaken by a snowstorm, spent the night under a ledge, and crawled into the hut next morning. He found that his feet had been frozen, and, suffering great agony, he cut off his ten toes with his penknife, wrapping his feet in straw and the linen of his shirt. For four days the unfortunate alpinist's only food was snow, and when dis- covered he was slightly delirious. I EXTERMINATING LOCUSTS. I An interesting report has been issued by Dr. Gunn, the Government entomologist at Johannesburg upon the work done in connec- tion with locust extermination. In the Pretoria district the insects were hatched in unoccupied parts of the bushveld, where water was scarce and the work of spraying difficult. Here alone 1,658 swarms were de- stroyed by the locust officers, farmers, and natives. A few swarms that escaped were efficiently dealt with by the locust birds. Very little, if any, damage was done to crops, and Dr. Gunn estimates that the value of the crops saved was fifty thousand pounds. I NOT A BAD IDEA. I When a Chinese bank happens to fail, all the clerks and managers have their heads struck off and thrown into a heap together with the books of the firm. For the last 500 years not a single bank in China has stopped payment. ROOM FOR MILLIONS. I It is considered a conservative estimate that Canada is capable of supporting in com- fort 100,000,000 people, though at the present it is only inhabited by 6,000,000, or less than the population of London. I WASTING GAS BUT SAVING MONEY. I Medicine Hat, in Canada, is one of tha very few places in the world where lamps are kept alight day and night, month after month the year round. This is owing to the fact that underneath the town is a wonderful supply of natural gas. The reason the gases are burning all the time is explained as fol- lows There are 56 lamps in the streets of Medicine Hat, and they cost four 'cents, per day each burning all the time. If they under- took to save half that amount by hiring a man to turn them out and relight them they would certainly lose on, the transaction. They would save 7.84 dollars a week, and they could not get a man to work for this in that country. "JACK THE SLASHER." New York is greatly excited just now be- cause of the depredations of "Jack the Slasher." Jack, says the "Telegraph," fre- quents tubes and elevated railways, and his form of mania is to mutilate with a knife or other sharp instrument ladies' skirts and men's coats, new ones preferred. Dozens of cases are reported daily, all done by the same stealthy, cunning hand. In most cases the garments show gashes from six to sixteen inches long, the cuts having been made a little to the left of the centre of the back, and a foot or more from the bottom. Others were on the shoulder, or near the waist line. It has been suggested that an unscrupulous dressmaking or tailoring firm may have em- ployed Jack to brighten trade, but there is no proof of this, and monomania is generally accepted as the only reasonable explana- tion. TEA FOR SOLDIERS. I Tea-drinking in the German Army is to be encouraged in future, on the suggestion of the Emperor. In many canteens tea has been regularly served for some time. The new military instructions state that the serving of tea as well as of coffee on long marches is considered advisable. TAXED BACHELORS. I the Bulgarian Parliament has voted a tax on bachelors. Every unmarried man over thirty will pay an annual tax of 8s. 4d., in addition to all other imposts. The proceeds of the new tax will be devoted to the pur- poses of education. Twenty-seven thtfusand six hundred bachelors will be affected by the new tax. LICENCE REDUCTION IN VICTORIA. I in victoria the Licences Reduction Board has recently presented a report of two years' work. Over two hundred hotels have been closed at a compensation cost to the trade itself of nearly X100,000, the average amount paid per hotel being thus about .£500, The fund is provided by a three per cent. levy on the amount of liquor sold. The amount of liquor sold by the houses lately closed is valued at jB1,000 per week. INCENDIARIES AT THE CAPE. I A number of serious bush fires have caused great excitement in the Cape Town district, twelve having occurred in a short space of time. The most serious outbreak took plaoa on the Oranjezicht estate, and at one time the blaze was so great as to threaten the des- truction of the suburbs. It was only after a struggle of nine hours on the part of the fire- men that danger was averted. A fine old homestead was destroyed at Nooitgedacht, and only the most strenuous efforts saved others. At the fires are all attributed to in- cendiarism, the city council has offered a reward"

A VALUABLE "FARM." I New York is one of the wealthiest cities in the world to-day yet it was once sold for a £5 note. Two hundred and fifty years ago Manhattan Island, on whih New York now stands, was purchased by an Indian chief for E5. About the same time a farm on the island was granted by Royal charter for the support of the Church, and to-day the "farm" brings a revenue of E2,000,000 sterling a year, making Trinity Church, New York, the richest church in the world.

Despite his fifty years, Mr. Arthur Williams, the comedian, stopped a runaway horse oppo- site the Kennington Theatre. The Army Council has intimated that the age for the compulsory retirement of majors in the Army will shortly be raised from forty-eight to fifty years.

I TEA TABLE TALK. b some parts of Siberia a bridegroom on arriving home commands his wife to take off his boots. In one is a whip, and in the other a purse. The contents of the boot she first selects for removal presage whether he is to be generous or the reverse to her. A very kind husband will put a purse in each boot and omit the whip, to make her believe that her choice is auspicious. < Many quaint marriage customs still sur- Ma 'in old English and Scottish families. One notable tradition of this sort still kept green by the Dukes of Atholl and their heirs is that of the bridegroom carrying the bride across the threshold of Blair Castle, it being in accord with an ancient tradition that it is unlucky for a bride who enters the castle for the first time to walk in the ordinary way. This is only one of the many quaint old feudal customs that are observed upon this estate. < < Mrs. Charlotte Mansfield, who hopes to make her way from the Cape to Cairo, follows several members of her own sex who have gone journeys on African explorations intent. The first lady traveller, it is said, who sighted the Nyanza, was Lady Baker, then Miss Mary Kingsley. Another intrepid traveller is Mrs. French Sheldon, who has penetrated into the wildest parts of the in- terior of Africa, herself the only white person in the caravan. The Sultan of Zanzi- bar had allowed her to pick out porters in the Zanzibar market for her expedition. Whilst Madame Melba was at Boston in 1896 she had rooms in a big hotel, opposite to which were some apartments tenanted by a Chicago lady and her little daughter. One morning the famous singer was practising running up and down the scales. Her door was partly open, and in an interval of her exercising the little American girl was heard to call, Mamma! mamma! do come and hear the bird in the lady's parlour." < The most costly dress in Madame Sarah Bernhardt's wardrobe is one of ivory satin, lavishly adorned with diamonds and tur- quoises, and with a train lined with the fur from two hundred ermines. Apart from the jewels the dress is worth £ 1,500. • • Mrs. Hetty Green, the American million- airess, whose daughter was married recently, is very much opposed to American girls marrying foreigners for their titles. "Girls who go to Europe to get their hus- bands deserve what they get, and more," she has said. "If my son married a foreign woman because the union would bring him a title, I would disown him. The mother who will pay EI,000,000 for a title for her daughter should not expect to get a son-in- -law of any account. Further, the woman who pays EI,000,000 for a son-in-law should have a guardian appointed to take care of her. • Spanish and French women of the higher class are usually expert swordswomen. They are taught to fence as carefully as their brothers, and there are numerous schools in the two countries where young women are, taught to handle not only the foils, but the broadsword. It is considered one of the best forms of exercise. The Archduchess Clothilde of Austria is! claiming £1,000 damages from an Austrian fashion paper for having described her as "growing very stout and losing her delicacy of feature," and adding that "the red dresses she usually wears make her look stouter still." <* < It is a fact that perhaps three out of every five of the most successful actresses have been, as it may be said, born in the profes- sion. Either they are the daughters of stage folk, or else their lives have been mostly spent in a theatrical atmosphere. Needless to say, such a training gives them a great ad- vantage over aspirants who only take to the stage when well grown up. Miss Ashwell has a quaint superstition regarding first nights, and believes in a cer- tain sign which tells whether the new ven- ture will "go" or not. "If a hook in my dress catches in' the stuff while I am dress- ing," she says, "the play is sure to 'catch on. Never has the demand for women's hair in Europe been greater than it is now, and men are going from town to town in France, Ger- many, Switzerland, and Russia buying all they can get. It is said some enterprising dealers have sent agents to China for this purpose. The finest hair in Europe is fur- nished by Brittany, for the Breton women have very luxuriant tresses, which never fail to bring a high price. France furnishes more black and brown hair than a other country, and fair and golden hair is fur- nished, as a rule, by women of Germany and the north of Europe. • Madame Carvalhoe, the famous singer, was once singing in the opera "Lucia di Lammer- moor." She had ordered the proprietor of a neighbouring restaurant to send her in a, basin of soup at nine o'clock. The waiter brought it sharp to time, but finding no one at the stage door he walked straight on till he reached the wings. There his eyes fell upon madame, on the stage, just singing the finale to the first act. He walked on, set the soup tureen down on the mossy bank in front of the fountain, and remarked: "Beg your pardon, m'm, for interrupting you and the gentleman, but here's the soup! Miss Decima Moore, the latest recruit to the variety stage, has, with her husband, Major Guggisberg, Director of Surveys on the Gold Coast, penetrated many miles in- land in West Africa, where no white woman has ever been seen before. Just to be out in the open air; that's my especial hobby," she says. Riding, driving, and golf—she is passionately fond of them all. » When Miss Annie Hughes, the well-known actress, was a little girl, she was sent one evening to the library to change some books. As she was running along the street she col- lided heavily with an old gentleman, and was knocked down. The old gentleman was the late Mr. Gladstone, who carefully picked her up and apologised, saying: "Well, many persons have tried to upset me and you've nearly succeeded." "My voice is my fortune!" So, assuredly, might speak Madame Adelina Patti. It is estimated that her birdlike throat has earned for her, altogether, a round million pounds. Her amazing salaries have been the talk of continents. Day after day, during one part of her career, she earned over 91,000 for two or three hours' work; in America she re- ceived as much as £ 1,200 a night; in one year she has netted as much as £ 70,000! < During the recent terrible earthquake Queen Elena, despairing of finding a feeding bottle for a baby discovered beside its dead parents in the ruins, applied to a British ship. Twenty minutes later the ship's car- penter produced a "soda water bottle fitted with a piece of indiarubber tubing and the top of a fountain pen filler. < One of the oddest mascots in the world belongs to Miss Constance Collier, the famous actress. Upon her pincushion is pinned a little black bogey made of rags. Its owner vows that when she is to make a suc- cess in a new part the impish face bears a cheerful grin, but if failure is to be her lot the creature scowls. < » A lady friend of Captain Sinclair, whose promotion to the House of Lords has been the cause of many congratulations, volun- teered to secure votes for him. She knocked at the door of a prospective voter, and was :!harmed with her cordial reception. Come in, my dear," said the buxom, hearty old lady who answered her knock, "you must be hot and tired, and ready for a cup of tea. Jim'11 be here in a minute. The old lady ran on in a flood of eloquence until she had to pause to take breath. This was the can- vasser's opportunity, and she explained the purpose of her call. "Come about the voting," exclaimed the elder lady, dis- appointedly. "Why, I thought you were Jim's noo young woman!" The feminine element is very much in excess in Germany, the women exceeding the men by more than 1,000,000, according to recent statistics.

IN THE PUBLIC EYE. I j A JOURNALISTIC KNIGHT. j j One of the most interesting of the Colonial newspaper men to attend the forthcoming Imperial Press Conference will be Sir Hugh, Graham, of the Montreal "Star," the -first Canadian journalistic knight. He started in the newspaper world as an office boy, and has worked his way to the top of the ladder by his own abilities only. Forty years ago he started the "Star." He had only a hundred dollars as capital, and he had soon piled up a great load of debt. He had to buy his coals by the bucketful, and he paid for his paper day by day with the money from the street sales of the day before. To add to his troubles he was continually being involved in libel actions and other lawsuits. He had more than ninety of the former on his hands, and lost only three., He pushed ahead, how- ever, and had the joy of seeing his paper be- come in time the most widely-read paper in Canada n • I A DEMOCRAT AT OXFORD. I Mr. Denis Hird, whose resignation from the j post of Principal of Ruskin College, the working- tnen's hostel at Oxford, has come .about in con- sequence of a dispute with the Council, is a j remarkable man. He joined the Social Democrats some time ago. ilie war at one time Secretary of the London Diocesan Temperance Society, but gave up that position because of a difficulty created, he says, by Dr. Temple, who was Bishop of London at the time. Mr. Bird afterwards ac- cepted a living in the Church of England, which he held for a time and then vacated it in consequence of writing a book called A Chris- tian with Two Wives." It is a novel, and Mr. Hird holds that there is nothing objectionable in it. Since he has been Principal of Kuskin College he has won the affection of the students in a remark- I able degree, as the present dispute clearly shows. -:0:- I A POPULAR PREACHER. I There is no more popular preacher in London than Canon Henley Henson, whose action in preaching at a Nonconformist insti- tute in Birmingham in despite of the Bishop's inhibition is now being widely dis- cussed. Canon Henson is Rector of St. Mar- garet's, and when he is preaching there it is seldom that there are any vacant seats in the church. Forty-five years of age, Canon Hen- son has been at Westminster since 1900. He had a brilliant career at Oxford, and was a Fellow of All Souls' from 1884 to 1891, being re-elected in 1896. In 1887 and the following year he was head of Oxford House, at Beth- nal Green. Then he had a few years as Vicar of Barking, in Essex, and five as In- cumbent of St. Mary's Hospital, Ilford, dur- ing the last three of which he was Chaplain to the Bishop of St. Alban's. -— LORD KITCHENER'S SUCCESSOR. I General Sir O'Moore Creagh, who has been chosen to succeed Lord Kitchener as Commander- in-Chief in India, is an Irishman in his 62nd year, with nearly forty-three years' service in the Army to his credit, nearly all the time in India. He won the Victoria Cross thirty years ago at the engage- went or Jiam ijakics, in the Afghan war, when he was a captain. The official record states that Captain Creagh having been forced to retire from the village by an overwhelming force of Mohmunds took up a position in a cemetery, which he held against all the efforts of the enemy until he was relieved. Sir Frederick Paul Haines, who was then Com- mander-in-Chief, expressed the opinion that, but for the coolness, determination, and gallantry of the highest order, and the admirable conduct which Captain Creagh displayed on this occasion, the detachment under his command would, in all probability, have been cut off and destroyed." A DOCTOR'S SON. I Sir William Allchin, the consulting physician I and vice-president of the Westminster Hots l pital, vho was presented with his portrait the other day, is himself the son of a doctor, and was born rather more than sixty-two years ago. His association with Westminster Hospital began in 1871, when he was appointed medical registrar. In 1874 he became assistant physi- cian, and physician in 1877, while he has held his present position since 1905. Last year he received the honour of knighthood, and the pre- sentation was made by the staff and a large number of past students in order to show their satisfaction at that event. Sir William All- chin's name is a household word in the medical profession, and he has rendered valuable medi- cal services to the Navy and to the Army. o THE VICTOR OF CROYDON. I Sir Robert Hermon-Hodge had had considerable personal experience of elections before he took part in the recent remarkable contest at Croydon. The new member has been through nine elections, and has been elected four times. He first ap- peared as Conservative candidate for Wallingford in 1884, but was unsuccessful, as he was also in the Accrington division in the following "ear. Accrington elected him, however, in 1886, only to reject him at the General Election of 1892, confirming its re- jection at a by-election in the next year. Sir Robert (then untitled) went to Oxfordshire and represented the Henley division from 1895 till the last General Elec- tion, which left him once more without a sent. Sir Robert is the eldest son of a New- r castle solicitor, Mr. George William Hodge, and assumed the name of Hermon on his marriage with the eldest daughter of Mr. Edward Hermon, formerly M.P. for Preston. He is still two or three years on the right side of sixty, and much interested in horse-breeding and all sports. He commands the Oxfordshire Territorial Yeomanry. i n A DISTINGUISHED SOLDIER. Many notable soldiers have entered the Army by way of the Militia, and Brigadier-General Edward A. W. S. Grove, C.B., who will shortly retire from the active list, is one of them. He was gazetted from the Militia in 1873, becoming a lieutenant in the 97th Foot. Twenty-three years later he was appointed to the command of the regiment, which is now the 2nd Battalion Royal West Kent. In the meantime he had seen a good deal of active service, his first taste of real soldiering being obtained in the opera- tions against the Boers in 1881. In the years following he fought with Arabi Pasha's Expedi- tion, and went through the Soudan War. In the recent South African campaign he com- manded his regiment in several engagements, and afterwards had charge of a column opera- ting in the Orange Free State. He was men- tioned in despatches, and made a C.B. From 1902-8 he was Assistant Adjutant-General of the Scottish District, and afterwards com- manded the 8th Infantry Brigade, Southern Command. A GREAT THROAT DOCTOR. I The retirement is announced of Sir Felix Semon, who is acknowledged to be the greatest specialist in Europe in diseases of the throat. Although of German birth-he was born in Dantzic a little more than fifty-nine years ago-Sir Fclix has made his home in this country for thirty five years. Since 1901 he has been Physician Extraordinary bo the King, and has had among his patients many members of the Royal Family. He began his medical studies in his native Germany, but the war with France inter- rupted them, and he took part as a volunteer with the 2nd Uhlans of the Prussian Guards. He took part in several en- gagements with distinction, War over, he resumed  his studies, and eventually came to London. He ) Is now physician for diseases of the throat to the National Hospital for Epilepsy and Paralysis.

CLUB WINDOW. I Many stories are told of Lord Charlei Beresfcrd's younger days, and one of the best relates to an invitation to dinner which he received from an old college friend. For some reason or other Lord Charles was un- able to keep the appointment, and at the last moment his waiting host received from him a telegram. "Sorry cannot come," it read. "Lie follows to-morrow." < The Rev. R. J. Campbell regards motoring as one of the greatest reliefs from the strain of hard work. < London is about to receive an interesting guest in the person of Count Kapnist, a Wussian nobleman who has been deputed to visit England to investigate the clifim of six hundred and fifteen descendants of a certain Polubotko, a former hetman of Cossacks, against the Bank of England, for a sum of eighty million pounds, which is alleged to have accumulated with the Bank. < A man of curious ideas is Sir Tatton Sykes. When some years ago he built some cottages at Sledmere, he forbade the tenants to use their front doors because he objected to the women gossiping in public. < Mr. Tree's daughter Viola early displayed talents out of the usual. He was riding in the park one morning when he happened to meet her. At once she began to demand a pony, so that she might accompany him on his rides. Mr. Tree pointed out to her that she must not expect such things—that she was only "the child of a poor actor," and that he couldn't afford a pony for her. "Oh, well," was the reply; "but if you were to bb- come a very good actor, couldn't you afford it then?" it Prior to his appearance at a concert, Paderewski would not thank one for a piece of the finest turkey or for the most tooth- some pudding ever made. On a concert day he eats nothing until it is concluded except one soft-boiled egg. When it is over he takes a hearty meal, which he enjoys thoroughly, as his appetite is excellent, though he is so abstemious. During a concert he drinks a soda-lemonade made without sugar. < King Leopold of Belgium is an uncrowned King; that is to say, there is no precise coronation ceremony, but the mere swearing in of the monarch to preserve the constitu- tion and laws of a country carved out of North-Western Europe in very recent times. The Sultan of Turkey has no crown, for coronation is unknown at the Sublime Porte. Nor did Spain in early days have any crown. Here, too, the Sovereign takes an oath like the Belgian King. # The Emperor of Austria has an extra- ordinary gift for languages, and not only can he speak fluently those used in every part of his rhlm, but he has a perfect command of French and English. The genealogical tree of the new Lord Hardwicke furnishes a story of remarkable triumph and tragedy. The first earl was a distinguished lawyer and Lord High Chan- cellor. He became Solicitor-General when he was only twenty-nine. His second son, Charles, was also a famous lawyer, and in due course he too, became Lord Chancellor. At first the son declined the Great Seal, on account of the pledge he had given to his political frifehds not to accept it. But ambi- tion triumphed. Three days later, however, in an agony of remorse, he destroyed himself. it • A bit of a wag is Mr. William O'Malley, who represents Connemara in the House of Commons. He mentioned the Chaplain, the Venerable Archdeacon Wilberforce, the other day to a friend whom he was showing over St. Stephen's. "Oh, he prays for the House, doesn't he?" asked the friend. "No," re- plied the member for Connemara, "he gets up and takes a look at the House, and then prays for the country." Mr. Rider Haggard was once a lieutenant in a Volunteer corps which was raised for service in Zululand. In Edinburgh Castle may be seen the ancient crown of Scotland, as old as the four- teenth century. James V. added two arches to it, and Mary Queen of Scots was crowned with it as a baby of nine months. This crown is nine inches in diameter, and is com- posed of diamonds, pearls, and imitation sup- phires. < King Alfonso is most securely and care- fully guarded during the hours, of darkness. For four centuries the slumbers of success- sive Sovereigns of Spain have'been watched all night by the "Monteras de Espinosa"—a body of men to whom is relegated the exclu- sive privilege of guarding their monarch from sunset to sunrise. They must all be natives of the town of Espinosa. Many well-known people have had nick- names conferred upon them at one time or other. For instance, it is difficult to imagine the Rev. Lord William Cecil being referred to as "Fish," or Lord Alington being called "Trotters." Other nicknames are "Tatters," borne by the Duchess of Newcastle, and "Cuckoo," which serves for both Lady Shaftesbury and Lady Lucan; whilst Lord Heneage is "Smike," Lord Raglan "Chalks," Lord Winchester "Tim," the Duke of Marl- borough "Sonny," Lord Londonderry "C. and Lord Yarmouth "The Bloater." The career of President Obaldia, head of the Panama Republic, has been full of ad- venture. A brakesman on the Panama Rail- road, in the days when the fever and the scorpions of the jungle were piling up an annual death-list of one man in every five from the company's pay-roll; a cowboy on a Mexican ranch-these were the early step- ping-stones of his career, leading finally through the fortunes of revolution to the Governorship of the Province of Panama. » Mr. John D. Rockefeller, the man of many millions, has been in the habit of keeping an account of his expenses down to the most trifling detail ever since the days when a five- dollar note meant a small fortune to him. Some time ago Mr. Rudyard Kipling was a guest at a literary dinner at which one of the guests started a discussion concerning the spelling and pronunciation of the English language. "Have you ever noticed, Mr. Kipling," he said, "that in the entire Eng- lish language there are only two words be- ginning with su' that are pronounced as though beginning with sh' ? Those two are sumach and sugar. Having made an ex- haustive study of the subject, you may take it from me that this is so." Assuming an ex- pression of interest, although his eyes twinkled behind his glasses, Mr. Kipling asked, "Are you sure?" < Among the ornamental pieces of gold plate' used when King Edward entertains in State are many costly curiosities. The principal pieces, perhaps are six huge gold salvers, all the work of Flaxman for George IV. The biggest represents the shield of Achilles. A conspicuous object is a tall vase about a yard high, which was presented to Queen Victoria by the German Emperor at the Diamond j Jubilee. There are two large centre-pieces— one representing a fountain (for scent) sur- rounded by palm trees, at which several Arabs are watering their horses, all in gold and enamel; and another consisting of a group of favourite dogs of Queen Victoria and Prince Consort. One of the oldest pieces is a huge flagon, which was taken from the Armada. » Mr. W. P. Frith, the veteran artist, was commissioned to paint the wedding cere- mony of our present King and Queen, and desiring to include the portrait of a certain famous Duke who was present at the mar- riage, he wrote to him, asking for the favour of a sitting. After waiting for some time, he received the following curious answer: "Dear Sir,—My engagements for the next few months will not give me any leisure to comply with your request. If it is absolutely necessary that my form should be portrayed by you, I would suggest, in re- gard to my face, that you represent it as buried in my hat, acceding to the manner of most people when they go to church. » Mr. Pete Curran, M.P., began to earn his i living at the age of ten. His duties at this Eeriod consisted in looking after a steam ammer. [

HORSES WRECK HOUSE. A pair of panic-stricken horses, harnessed to- ft heavily-laden brewer's dray, bolted down a. steep hill at Birmingham, dashed at breakneck speed into a house, and wrecked the front por- tion of the building, burying a family in the ruins. The force- of the impact fatally injured the horses, two fine animals of great size and strength. The dray was shattered, the wheels being broken off, and the load, consisting of four huge barrels of beer, weighing more than two tons, was hurled over. Rescuers promptly set to work to remove the wreckage, so as to reach the inmates of the house. Luckily none of them were seriously hurt, although, of course, they had received a great shock. The horses had been startled by the snapping, of the pole, the jagged end of which had goaded one of them to madness. One of the horses rebounded several feet from the brick wall and collapsed in the gutter. The other was half buried under the wreckage. The front of the house was battered to frag- ments up to the second storey, the masonry being driven into the front room, where the family were seated.

I DEATH OF A PEER'S SON. Lord Crewe, Secretary for the Colonies, made a remarkable and unusual statement in the House of Lords regarding the death of the Hon. Audley Blyth, Lord Blyth's son, in East Africa last year. It was in answer to a question regard- ing the circumstances under which Lieut.- Colonel Patterson, D.S.O., late Game Warden in British East Africa, had ceased to hold that position in the Colony. Last summer Colonel Patterson returned in- valided from his post, and sinco that time, said Lord Crewe, rumours of a damaging character had been prevalent regarding him. These arose, to a certain extent, out of the unfortunate death of a son of Lord Blyth. In the course of an expedition with Colonel Patterson Mr. Blyth died by a revolver shot, undoubtedly eelf- inflicted either by accident or in a fit of delirium. The rumours concerning Colonel Patterson in some cases actually took the form that he had been responsible for Mr. Blyth's death, con- tinued his lordship, but there was not a scrap of evidence to connect Colonel Patterson in any way with having caused Mr. Blyth's death.

I BANANA CAUSES TROUBLE. A vicar, a member of the unemployed, and a banana, form the chief elements of a drama un- folded in the North London Police-court, when Joseph Hills, a carman out of work, was charged with assaulting the Rev. Edward Keighley Bot- wood, vicar of St. Mark's, Victoria Park. The evidence showed that when Hills called on the vicar one day and said he was starving, the vicar's wife ordered bread and butter and! tea, and while it was being prepared offered him a banana. Hills became abusive, and when Mr. Botwood, tried to pilot him out of his doorway he struck him in the face, throat, and side, and ran away. The magistrate bound Hills over to keep tie- peace for three months.

I GIRL'S SIGHT RESTORED. Blind for 21 of the 28 years of her life. Miss; Mary Moon, of the little Derbyshire village of Mapperley, has had her sight restored. The last thing she can remember seeing before going blind was the village procession at Queen. Victoria's Jubilee in 1887. Soon after she lofifc her sight through sunstroke and congestion of. the brain. After spending nine years in a blind institu- tion at Nottingham, she returned to her native village. Many doctors failed to cure her, but last September she was taken to a specialist,. and he treated her, with the result that just before Christmas she began to see glimpses of light. Gradually they increased, and now she can walk without assistance, and tell whether paper is black or printed.

I SUFFRAGETTES SENTENCED. As a result of Suffragette disturbances out- side the Houses of Parliament, nine women were charged at Bow-street Police-court with wil- fully obstructing the police. They were Norah Binnie, London Winifred-, Reinold, London Ada Braughton, Liverpool;1 Mary Wiseman, Manchester; Cecilia Hilton,. Liverpool; Florence Feek, Pershore Catherine Streatfield, Sydenham; Louisa Mary Eates, Willesden and Selina Martin, Lancaster. Refusing to be bound over, each defendant! was ordered to find one surety in JS10 for three months, or to go to prison for one month in the second division. They all elected to go to prison.

Asked by King's Norton Board of Guar- dians, Worcester, whether the Treasury wouki pay one-half the old-age pensions, if the guar- dians paid the other, to persons disqualified through having been in receipt of relief, Mr. Llovd-George replied that the question of dis- qualification of paupers is receiving his careful consideration. Four more bodieJ of the victims of the Birken.. head Dock disaster have been recovered.

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