Abergavenny Chronicle

I BRITISH ADVANCE. I ENEMY TRENCHES CLEARED AND PRISONERS TAKEN. POSITION GREATLY IMPROVED I The following dispatches have been re- •ceived from Sir Douglas Haig:— Saturday (10.20 p.m.). In,local attacks to-day south of the Ancre Tve have appreciably improved our position in the neighbourhood of the Schwaben Re- doubt, and have taken about 200 prisoners. Elsewhere there is nothing to report, ex- cept considerable artillery and trench-mortar activity on both sides. Sunday (11.55 a.m.). Further reports show that the enterprises undertaken yesterday in the neighbourhood of Stuff Redoubt and Schwaben Redoubt were highly successful. North of Stuff Redoubt two lines of enemy communication trenches were cleared for a distance of nearly 200 yards. One officer and 100 other ranks were taken prisoners in the ccurse of this operation, which was carried out by a single company. At Schwaben Redoubt our gain was greater and our line advanced well to the north and west of the Redoubt. Heavy losses were inflicted on the enemy. J The total number of prisoners taken in both operations, including those reported last night, is two officers, 303 other ranks. The enemy blew a mine last night in the neighbourhood of Loos. No action followed. During the night the enemy's trenches were entered west of Serre, north of Rochn- court, north-east of Festiibert, and north of Ncuve Chapelle. Prisoners were taken and  considerable damage done to the enemy's J defencs. SUCCESSFUL OPERATION. I Sunday (9.55 p.m.). As a result of a succesful local operation -carried out this morning, our line has been advanced slightly north-east of Guedecourt. Enemy's artillery has been active between Lee Boeufs and Courcelette, and also in the neighbourhood of Schwaben Redoubt and the Ancre Valley. The enemy exploded a mine early this morning north of Neuve Chapelle. No damage was done. A further forty-seven prisoners, including two officers, have been taken during the last twenty-four hours. OUR POSITIONS ATTACKED. Monday (11.10 a.m). Heavy hostile shelling has been continued at intervals during the night on our Front south of the Ancre. A small hostile bombing attack on our trenches north of Courcelette was driven back without difficulty. At Schwaben Redoubt a more important -enemy attack, delivered after heavy artil- lery preparation and assisted by flammen- werfer, was also repulsed with heavy loss to the enemy. During the night the enemy's trenches were successfully entered by us north-east of Ypres. south-east of St. Eloi, and east of Ploegsteert. ( A number of the enemy were killed and I prisoners taken. REA. VY ENEMY LOSSES. ) Monday (9.59 pm.). It is confirmed that the losses inourred by the enemy in last night's attacks upon our positions at Schwaben Redoubt were exceed- ingly heavy. ixtyigb t prisoners, including one officer. were left in our hands. Our losses were very slight. In the neighbourhood of Neuvilk-St.- Vaast our heavy artillery and trench- miortars carried out an organised bombard- ment of the enemy's lines. Good results were seen to be obtained. I Muoh successful work was carried out by I our aeroplanes yesterday in conjunction with our artillery. One hostile battery posi- tion was completely destroyed and many others severely damaged. Bombs were dropped on an enemy raiiway station and upon transports moving behind, the enemy's lines with excellent effect. FIGHTS IN THE AIR. I Tuesday (11.19 a.m.). ) The enemy's trenches were entered by us -west of Serre. Otherwise there is nothing to I .report. Tuesday (10.26 p.m.). To-day we have bombarded enemy positions in the neighbourhood of Neiiville-St.-Vaast, Wytschaete, and north-east of Ypres. South of the Ancre there was considerable artillery activity on both sides. The clear weather of yesterday gave scope for o-reat aerial activity. Our machines made a taro-e number of reconnissanoes, and bombed enemy railway lines, stations, billets, factories, and depots. There are numerous fights in the air. three enemy machines being destroyed, another driven to earth, and many dispersed. Two enemy kite balloons were attacked and forced -down, one being afterwards seen in lfames. One of our machinea was brought down by mti-aireraft gunfire, and six others have not returned.

CENSUS CF WOOL AND LABOUR, j The Army Council require all persons en- gaged in the manufacture or repair of any inal-orials, wholly or partly manufactured from wool, to furnish to the Director of Army Contracts such particulars as to their labour, machinery, or output as may be re- quired on his behalf.

I THE DIFFERENCE. I "What strikes me as comical," remarked Alderman Pinkham, the chairman of the Willesden Tribunal, "is that, while it is a serious shock to a mother for her strapping, nineteen-year-old son to be taken, the 'old man can go, and welcome."

BRITISH IN LABOUR CAMPS. I Mr. James Hope, answering Mr. Malcolm in the House of Commons, said that the German Government had not yet permitted the inspection of camps containing British prisoners of war working on Russian terri- tory. The only report on their welfare in the I possession of the Foreign Office was by the Prussian Minister of War. It was not in accord with information received from I private soldiers.

NEW CLASSES OF RESERVE. I An Army Order gives details of the forma- tion of new classes of the Army Reserve nnil J cf the Territorial Force Reserve. I The Army Council have decided to (,51:a b- 1it:h two new classes of the former, and one of the latter, for skilled men whoso services | T" deemed, for the time being, to be more valuable to the country in civil than in mili- tary employment.

r BRITAIN'S 39.000 PRISONERS. It is announced by the War Office that the number of German prisoners in British 1130& is: MUitarv oncers, 729; other rank. ?16? Naval officrs. 150; other ranks, 1 <)76. The. appro?imate net number of "Rritish prisoners interned in G?rmanv is: ?itirv oncers, 923; other ranks, 23,770. Naval officers, 47; other ranks, 361. I

The Krupp firm have just completed the construction of a factory adjoining their -lines at RoIcnback-m-Siegerland for the liquefaction of air. The proce&j is used in connection with the manufacture of explo- sives. Further war bonuses, totalling £1,300 per annum were voted by Lambeth Poor-Law Guardians to those lower grades of non- resident poor-Law employees who are seriously affected by reason of increased food prices.

I IN LIGHTER VEIN ] BY I THOMAS JAY. I ILLUSTRATED BY J. H. LUNN. I You have all, no doubt, read a statement that the average w-eight of Germans has de- creased !;y from "12ib. to 161b. as a result of the shortage of foud. You have read it and passed on just as if nothing really serious had happened; road it dry-eyed, with no trace oi tears, no sympathy for the disap- pearing Hun in his sad plight. Think of him if you can, the fast diminishing Ger- man think of the one-time 12-stone German being assisted by the hausfrau to put on his overcoat; think of him now that he is per- haps 11-stone or evon 10-stone, and the over- coat so well envelopes him as to make him look like a Spitzbergen policeman going on nightwork. It has been said by an eminent American writer that stout men are always happiest, but I decline to accept this state- ment unchallenged. The German stomach has been the curse of civilisation. When a man is thin he does not realise that he has a "tummy" at all, and when he is fat he can realise nothing else. Stoutness steals on one as it were like a thief in the night. Gradually the man realises that his waistcoat fits him better, and later on it does not fit at all. But the stout German, like most other stout people, is just something to laugh at. When a stout man comes in at the door, love jumps out of LOVB LAUGH3. the top 6torey t h e t o ?'t the window. Let the poor German housewife mourn for her husband fast wearing him- self to a shadow, for when he was stout she knew full well that a man with a double chin would find it impossible to lead a double life. Be- sides, a stout man could never wear the clothes he would like. The thought of a stout German encourag- ing his wife's mad fancy for red waistcoats would set a world laughing. Oh, it is sad for the poor German! A glass of water and one ounce of bread for breakfast, half a glass of water and another piece of black bread for dinner, is no way for a German of poise to keep up his avoirdupois, and he longs for the time when he will be able to drop into a cafe and order everything on the bill except the band music. There are some unknown heroes walking about. I have just been reading about that man who before a London Tribunal pleaded that his religion would not allow him to fight. Neither would it allow him to shave or cut his hair. I do not know, but I sup- pose the fact that a man allows his beard to grow fshows moral courage. I should like to see his beard, because I am interested in beards, and I feW convinced the nice gentle- man must have a nice full set with ear-flaps. Ho could not take part in war, or inflict in- juries on people like the Germans, but he goes about daily flouting a set of side- whiskers in frout of people It is, to say the least of it, flying in the face of good for- tune, for one of these days Mr. Frank Richardson will rush out at him and there ,jl1 he trouble. I have a friend who is so patriotic that early in the war he said he would wear a tie of the national colour of tho Allies, and each time a new country butts into this war he adorns himself with a tie of its colours. At present, as far as colour scheme goes, he looks lik* a Futurist paintiMg of Pidchngton Station leaning up against an artist's palette. But now he waits brsathlcssly for Greece, and then I shall strike him off my visiting list, for while on-) can sttind a few colours, too much of a mixture is not good for us. From all parts there come reports of the wonderful hlacklrrv crop. Blackberries ha?e many uses, but the clief UC-(' to be for the decoration of the childhood fVoo. TVir> <x>l?ection of blaekbp-rr-iofl has Song been an industry to which the jaded City man, bored to death by bunny- hugOgS ing an aggre- gate 0 of several tons of girl round the danoe room, flies. Given a day off, a stick I with a crook, one basket, and one girl, a very enjoyable day can be obtained in the country. While hay mak- ing demands much energy, there is a 1 ways something more artistic about the blaok- BLACKBERHYING. I berry grabber, whose clothing, face and hands will be found beautifully etched and illustrated by many funny cuts. It has been said that there is nothing like black- berrying to bring a man up to the scratch. 1 W«? are a dissatisfied race. It appears that, despite the war, there is a greater demand than ever for cosmetics. To come of us our faces are a sore affliction, for modern times and stress compel us to carry them about with us all corrugated by troubles, upholstered in a few days' growth of beard. There are men not satisfied with their real faces, who go about whistling. I feel I would like to brain the whistling fiend. You ask him to settle that little loan you handed to him weeks and weeks ago, and he merely whistles and passes along. It appears that Messrs. McNab and (;0. are sending out more cosmetics now than ever, and the shame is that any member of the premier clan of Scotland, the clan which put the McTavishes to flight, should ever be mixed up in this sort of thing. These are days when, given sufficient money, and a journey to the chemist, you can get yourself up that your own mother wouldn't know vou. Nothing pieces the modern, girl more than to get herself up so that tihe does not look natural. i We are advised by the authorities to be economical and get back to the old-fashioned style of living of our forefathers. We should all be prepared to live on half the monev we alreadv borrow. Personally I am not able to say exactly how my forefathers lived. A careful perusal of "Whos Zoo, Debrett, Crock ford, and Foxe's Book of Martyrs, as well as the "Police Pictorial," has not enabled me to trace the mode of living adopted by my ancestors. However, economy being the mother of invention, I have invented a few things which I hope will assist me to be economical, and I shall throw out a few hints in the hope that they will be caught by the reader. Let us take the case of reading. Personally, my choice is in the direction of light litera- ture, and this I get in plenty when the local electricity monger fiends in the electric light bill. Here is another little economy. Should the gas meter be out of order and fair to register the full amount of gas used, never send for a plumber, and don't pay the gas bill before it is due. I knew a man who did this once, and they sent a plumber to look at the meter. To remove grease stains in the carpet don't go to the expense of sending to the cleaners. Heat the garden Toller to a white heat in the kitchen fire and roll the carpet.

Justin Wilhelm Kdh, under-brewer at the Wrexham Lager Brewery, has been given exemption as "indispensable" until Novem- ber 30. Two "conscientious objectors" who were employed as gravediggers by the Sheffield Ccrpoiation left after two days work. They obiected to death in any form. The Rev. Arthur Stafford Crawley, vicar of Bishopthorpe, York, chaplain to the Arch- bishop of York, has been awarded the Mili- tary Cross for devotion to duty while acting as stretchcr-bearer under heavy fire. The Victorian branch of the Red Cross Society haa collected X330,000 during tha war.

L I ITALY'S CAMPAIGN. CAPTURE OF AN ENEMY BATTERY. On Saturday the Press Bureau issued the following Italian official communique: Trentino: There were artillery duels in the area of Mount Pasubio. At the head of the Vanoi Valley during the night of Octo- ber 13 an attempted attack against our posi- tions on Busa Alta (Point 2,456) was checked. In the Upper But Valley enemy artillery was very active. Our batteries re- plied by shelling hutments on the reverse slopes of Pal Piccolo. South-East of Gorizia: Our troops ex- tended their occupation on the sober Ridge northwards os far as the road from San Pietro to Prebacina. Some prisoners were taken, together with a large quantity of arms and ammunition abandoned by the enemy. On the Carso: The day was comparatively calm, and we took advantage of this to strengthen and consolidate the positions re- cently occupied. Our reconnoitring parties captured about 100 prisoners — mostly wounded. Our aeroplanes dropped bombs on enemy hutments in the Sugana Valley and returned safely. In the evening enemy aircraft made the usual raid on the Lower Isonzo without doing any damage. The following communique was issued on Sunday: Trentino: On the slopes of Mount Pasubio further enemy attacks were driven off by our troops, who in their turn, as a result of a vigorous counter-attack, were able again to progress towards Mount Roite. In t:> the Cosmagnon area a whole enemy lottery, composed of four mountain-guns, as well as a large quantity of ammunition, fell into our hands. In the Posin Valley: Enemy forces sur- prised one of our advanced posts west of Tovo, but as soon as reinforcements arrived the enemy were completely driven out. Along the remainder of the Front there were only artillery actions. Our batteries bombarded billets at Predazzo (Avisio Valley). The enemy fired a few shells into Gorizia. GERMAN ALARM FOR TRIESTE. In a dispatch from Milan to the "Daily Telegraph," Mr. A. Beaumont Bays:- The German military command, which vir- tually directs operations at the Italian Front, as it does on the other Austrian Fronts, is known' to be alarmed at tie pro- gress achieved by the Italians within the last two months, and is taking very serious measures for the safety of Trieste. In their first big attack in August the Italian troops obtained possession of Gorizia and a large slice of the western area of the Carso, which they extended notably in the second big attack in September, taking San Grado and the Vallone. The ground so conquered was along a front of about twelve miles, and was four and a half miles deep. This has been materially enlarged by the third big attack of last weex, when fortified positions nearly as large as those of the original fortified r camp of Gorizia were conquered. The total number of prisoners taken by the Italian army in these three battles amounts to 30,881, including 728 officers.

I NORTH AYR ELECTION. The result of the North Ayrshire election was declared as follows: Lieut.-General Sir A. G. Hunter Weston (Coalition) 7,149 Rev. H. Chalmers (Independent) 1,300 Majority. 5,849 The vacancy was caused by the death of Colonel D. Campbell, Unionist M.P., who, at tlie by-election in 1911, defeated Mr. Andersen, K.C., Solicitor-General for Scot- land. Mr. Chalmers is a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. He demanded "a frank declaration of the Government's aims in the war-so that peace by negotia- tion might be possible."

A MUNITIONER'S EXCUSES. A young fitter, summoned before the Lois-, don Munitions Tribunal for losing time on many occasions, mnds some interesting ex- cuses for his various absences, the best- being s That he went to see a wrecked Zeppelin. That it was just before the holiday period. Went to see a doctor in the evening be- cause he was ill in the morning. He had sore feet. ft was pointed out that he had been pre- viously fined the maximum amount for bad time-keeping, and he was ordered to pay 42 at once.

OPPOSED TO WAR WORK. Stephen Hobhouse, a well-known Quaker, and the son of the Right Hon. Henrv Hob- house, was arrested two days after he had received his calling-up notice, and charged at Shorcditch as an absentee under tly 1 Military Service Act. He had been referred to work of national importance by his tri- bunal. In court he acknowledged that he was technically a soldier, but said he could take no part in work for war or work im- posed by a Military Service Act. He was fined £5 and handed over to the military authorities.

'9 LORD BUCKMASTER'S HOPE. Following ancient custom the Lord Mayor Elect, Sir William Dunn, visited West- minster, and was received by the Lord Chan- cellor, who conveyed the King's approval of the City's choice. Lord Buckmaster ex- pressed the hope that before the new Lord Mayor's duties were over peace would have returned to this country-a peace that would prove a lasting and worthy memorial to the heroism displayed by those who guard this great Empire by land and sea.

M P. BREAKS HIS LEG. While the Right lIon. Laurence Hardy, Unionist M.P. for the Ashford Division of Kent, was waiting for a train at Lymingo Station, he stumbled against some pipes and foil, with the result that his leg was frac- tured in two places. He was taken to his country residence at Sandling Park, near Hythe. Mr. Hardy, who became a Privy Coun- cillor in 1911, is sixty-two years of age. •

BISHOP LOSES THREE SONS. The Bishop of Buckingham has received information that his son, Lieutenant E. A. Shaw, of the Oxfordshire and Bucks Light Infantry, had been killed in France. Lien- t-enant v Shaw was a well-known cricketer, and played twice for Oxford against Cam- bridge. The Bishop of Buckingham, who was also a cricket Blue at Oxford, has lost two other sens in the war. His only sur- viving son is a cadet in the Navy.

LIMITATION OF EXPORTS. 1 No further export licences will be issued until further notice for the export of fish oil, canned fish, starches, and talc to Nor- way, talc to Sweden and Denmark, or of talc, hemp, graphite, plumbago, or black lead to Holland. Holders of unexhausted licences should communicate with the War Trade Department. The restrictions on the importation of gum into Holland are now cancelled.

Major (temp. Lieut.-Colonel) E. R. Fitz- pntrick has been gazetted temp. brigadier- general while employed as Provost-Marshal. Children attending the village school at Espvick (Tylde) have collected 21,276 eggs for the wounded soldiers and sailors at -tie Front, and those of Weeton School, 9,987. > Major-General Sir A. Wilson has been gazetted to command the troops in Jersey, in the place of General Sir A. N. Rochfort. Major General (temp. Lieut. General) Henry Sinclair Home, C.B., has been pro- moted K.C.B. for distinguished service in the field.

I SKEFFINGTON INQUIRY. REPORT OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION. I The report of the Royal Commission on the arrest and subsequent treatment of Messrs. Sheehv Skeffington, Thomas Dickson, and Patrick Mclntyre was issued on Monday as a White Paper. After setting forth the circumstances lead- ing up to the 0 arrest of the parties concerned and the conduct of the officers involved in the arrests and subsequent treatment of the deceased, the report adds general obser- vations, of which the following are the principal points: The garrison at Portobello Barracks dur- inO" Easter week had been reinforced by a medley of soldiers from different regiments and some sailors. The officers also came from different units, and were in many cases unknown to one another. It is not to be wondered at that this state of things produced a considerable laxity of control and cohesion within the barracks. Its commanding officer, Colonel McCam- mond, was seriously ill, and Captain Bowen- Colthurst was the senior captain, and although not equally ranked was of longer standing and of greater experience in the Army than Major Rc^jsboroagh, who, with the Adjutant, Lieut. Moran, was fully occu- pied with the many important duties to which the emergency had given rise. The officers in charge of the guard were young men who had recently left school, and of necessity without military experience, and this fact, combined with Captain Colt- hurst's masterful character and superior rank, does much to excuse their failure to offer any effective opposition to his treat- ment of the prisoners. Major Rossborough denied having given any orders for the raid on Mrs. Skeffington's house, a statement which we accept. A large number of soldiers took part in the Taid, and it is impossible to suppose that the facts remained unknown to all not actu- ally engaged in it, though we cannot be- lieve the methods employed were either authorised or approved. It is highly regrettable and most surpris- ing that after the events of the Wednesday Captain Colthurst should have found himself free to act in company with a body of soldiers as he did on the following Friday. Discussing the question of martial law, the report says that such a proclamation does not in itself confer upon officers or soldiers any new powers. It operates solely as a warning, and as long as forcible mea- sures are necessary, they might equally be taken without any proclamation at all. Captain Colthurst in his second report on the shootings claimed to have acted under the belief that he was exercising powers con- ferred on him by martial law, and it would appear that the young officer who was left with Mr. Skeffington at Portobello Bridge while Captain Colthurst went forward to Alderman Kelly's house saw nothing strange in the order that he was to shoot Mr. Sfeeffington in the event of anything happen- ing to Captain Colthurst's party 300 yards off. The shooting of unarmed and unresisting civilians without trial constitutes the offence of murder, whether martial law has been proclaimed or not. It should have been superfluous to point this out were it not that the failure to realise and apply this elementary principle seems to explain the free hand which Captain Bowen-Colthurst was not restrained from exercising through- out the period of crisis.

I SHOPS TO CLOSE AT 7 P.M. I The Home Secretary announced on Tuesday that in view of the .restriction of lighting and to economise coal the Government are propos- ing to make an order for the closing of all shops subject to a few exceptions during the winter at 7 p.m. on days other than Satur- day or the weekly half-holiday, and at 9 p.m. on Saturday. The chief exceptions allowed will be for the sale of meals of newly-cooked provisions for consumption off the premises, of medicines and articles required in the case of illness, and of newspapers; and an extension of time to 8 p.m. will be allowed barbers and hair- dressers. —■ —

 ALARMIST SENT TO PRISON. I "? — For imakin- false statements on a tramcar oout Zeppelin raids, William Jackson, a raIlwaywù.u, was on Tuesday sent to prison for a month. The proceedings were under the Defence of the Realm Act. A detective said he heard Jackson say to another passenger, "-NVell, the Zeppelins are out again to-night. We have chased them back into the North Sea." Jackson then made statenunts as to the number of persons killed in a recent Zeppelin raid. A staff officer said all the statements were incorrect. Jackson pleaded that he merely repeated what a woman had said. The magistrate said such mischievous gossip might have a serious effect and must be stopped.

GIFTS FOR ZEPPELIN DESTROYERS. I I Mr. Lloyd George, replying to Mr. Billing in the House of Commons on Tuesday, said that a regulation by which the Army Council was empowered to forbid an officer to accept a gift offered for bringing down a Zeppelin was about to be issued. Mr. Billing asked if a special distinction for airmen would be created. Mr. Lloyd George In war time the awardtf open to officers and men of the Army are con- sidered by the Army Council to be adequate for services of any nature.

FORGED REJECTION PAPERS. I Alfred Beresford, the music-hall artist dlO, while employed as a clerk under t.h Army Medical Board at Lambeth Baths, w rged two medical rejection certificates, re- ceiving for one of them a payment of .£5, was sentenced to twelve months' hard b iiour at Lambeth Police-court. lleresford, who, as assistant to Majoi Ljr, the medical officer, had access to the deification certificates, pleaded that Cook and Wilson, the men to whom he supplied i< rged rejection certificates, both understood that the cards which they received were not intended to be permanent, but were only iriven to them to tide them over for a few weeks while they were arranging their busi- ness affairs. It was stated that Beresford, in addition to the X5 which he received from Cook, bor- rowed £ 2 from him, and failed to repay it. "You made a trade of it, and I cannot imagine a worse offence," said Mr. Biron, the magistrate, who sentenced Beresford tc six months' hard labour on each charge, th<! ■sentences to run consecutively.

PREMIER AND FOOD RATIONS. I In answer to a question in the House of Commons by Captain Batharst as to whether, in view of the current high price of foodstuffs, and the impossibility of the (Jrnment control of such prices when so small a proportion of the nation's food is produced in the United Kingdom, he would r -insider the desirability during the coming winter of rationing the whole population, Tke Prime Minister save in Parliamentary papers: We are not, I think, in sight of any such general shortage of supplies as would render necessary the measures suggested by the hon. gentleman. I hope and believe that the voluntary avoidance of superfluous consumption, which has now become the urgent duty of all patriotic citizens, will make it possible to escape the grave diffi- cnlties and disadvantages, and the immense administrative labour and expenditure in- volved, in any system of official rationin g of food supplies. 0

Civilians on the Belgian frontier north or Wachtobeke have been ordered to make a second line of wire entanglements 200 yards distant from the first line, in order to stop German deserters. Recently a 20-stone man appealed at Lam- beth for exemption because he was too big. Now a man appealed because he was too 6mall, saying he only weirhed six and a- half stone, and would be soon worn out in the army. As with the big man, the Tribunal ordered the email man to join up.

Supervision by women police of a play- ground in one of the London boroughs, and kept closed by the local authority for economical reasons, is advocated bv the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association. Kent Coal Concessions, applying at Dover for the exemption of an employee, said the Tian was the only one conversant with papers to be used in ccming law suite. It would need a motor lorry to take the papers to •ourt, and it would be impossible for any  r-ible or ?nv man unconnected with the books to "unravel tho mysteries." Four months' exemption, was allowed.

I BOOKS AND MAGAZINES. I "SMOKY BILL" AND "PERCY." In an article entitled "The Voice of the Guns in the "Cornhill Magazine," Mr. F. J. Saljnon says: One of the most encouraging sounds is the dull thud of a German "blind" shell, especi- ally if, as often happens, they are coming over in appreciable numbers. We are sometimes treated to furious "strafes" with shells of the "toy-shop" quality, of which only a small per- centage detonate properly, while a somewhat larger proportion go off with an impotent pop, and the majority fail to explode at all. "Smoky Bill" used to fire such shells. "Smoky Bill" was a funny old thing dating back from the 'seventies. A vast column of smoke rising from behind a certain wood in the German lines was the first signal that he had fired, and this was followed by a fearsome whirr in the air, and then, five times out of six, by a dull thud and nothing more! We knew where "Smoky Bill" was, but nobody ever fired at him—he was one of the side-shows of that sector and never did anyone any harm. Now "Percy" is another fellow altogether. "Percy" is the "long 13-centimetre high-velocity German gun. At most ranges Percy" comes quicker than sound, and there is no warning of his approach. He goes off with a mighty bang. and his shell, when you do hear it, comes along with a terrific shriek. The only encouraging thought about "Percy" is that he is not very common down the line, whereas we have many guns that must give the enemy similar thrills. t i I ON AN INDIAN RAILWAY. The Indian locomotive is always taking water (says Thornton Oakley, in "Harper's Magazine "). At every station there is a tank and while the train is standing at the platform, above the noises and cries of the people, you hear the gush of water, and, if you look forward, you see the betivrbaned engineer busy with a dripping water-pipe. The tanks are usually supplied from a well or near- by river, but in the desert lands rivers are few and wells are not always to be trusted. At one village where we stopped the tank was empty. Its well had gone dry. The engineer and the station-master consulted to- gether. There was another well, the station- master said, a mile farther down the road. It belonged to a farmer, and still had water in it There was yet steam enough in the engine's boiler to carry the train a mile or so, ( and soon we had drawn up in a sandy stretch I of country where only a few yellow patches of grass were to be seen, and where a lean, black Hindu was rhythmically bending and rising above a well, pouring out little bucketfuis of water upon the parched surface of his field. The lean Hindu was the farmer, and for one rupee he agreed to sell enough water to carrv • the train on to the next station. The engineer came down along the train, calling upon the < passengers for help, and soon was formed a line of dark-skinned figures stretching from the = engine to the well. The farmer had two shallow pails. These went back and forth along the line, and little by little, drop by • drop, the water of the well passed into the tank of the locomotive. When the tram re- 1 sumed its journey we were three hours late. I TEARS. j It's funny about tears! [ Once, accidentally, I broke a cup That I had kept a long while, because it pleased my eyes With its delicate peaeock-blue colour- And I sobbed and sobbed As I looked at the scattered pieces. And thought how they never could be quite the same again. And the other day my heart broke— Just broke—all of a sudden—like that! And I hadn't a tear Not one There was only a slightly dazed feeling. As though my soul were suffering from con- cussion And then, after a Moment, A territvisg thought flashed through me Of all the long, dreary years L should probably live— For broken hearts don't kill. But there wasn't a tear ) Not one It s funny about tears! —Florence Van Cleve, in the "New York Times." 1- I GENERAL JOFFRS. f For more than two years General JofTi e ba been fulfilling the formidable ta^k which the Government and the country Lave entrUoted to  him; for -two years all the work, all the cares and responsibilities of the war have been borne by him without respite. And during those long, hard months he has not aged one day (says a writer in "Cassell'e Magazine"). No trace of fatigue is apparent in his face or in his bearing. The same physical endur- ance, the same intellectual vigour, the same unfaltering spirit. The brightness of his eye is a reflection of his mind. Judgments and de- cisions with him are not the result of intui- tion, but of calculation. By temperament he is not imaginative, but reflective. He leaves nothing to chance. His working powers are unequalled, and he v does not abuse them. He sees ail that is goinjj- I on, knows and decides everything himself, and at the right time. The slightest want of method, the least little disorder introduced into this minutely constructed machine, would make his task an impossible one. But the method is impeccable. General Joffre is never overwhelmed by the rC5 of his responsi- •' bilitK.s, or oveqx,wNed with work, he is never b in a hurry. But every in?taat all his powers ti of thought ahd determination are concentrated f on an object of which he, in turn, sees the most different aspects, according to the hour and its need. The programme of one of his laborious days, so well regulated, gives a picture of his method and a reflection of his character. There is no haste and no confusion; every- where there is order-a perfect balance of physical and moral forces, which is a neces- sarv condition for work which is continual and heavy; a profound calmness and invariably good humour; simplicity in thought and ex- pression, as in manner; and finally, dominat- ing' all, a most resolute will. He who speaks of confidence does not say enough; it is cer- taintv, a certainty of final victory, of final success, which animates General Joffre, main, tains his vigour, his energy, and his most sur- prising youthfulness. I TEA-PICKING IN JAPAN. Tea-picking in Japan seems to be done almost entirely by women and children (says "Home Counties" in "The World's Work" ). The pickers are supposed to take only the tips, consisting of three leaves. As a matter 01 fact, they pick much bigger pieces, for they are paid by weight. The somewhat higher price gifor well-picked stuff is evi- dently not enu to secure three-leaf picking. The rows of neatly clipped tea plants are- like nothing in our Western agriculture. Sometimes the plants are cut in the shape 01 giant green toadstools. Occasionally, .how- ever, they are cut .roof shape. After the tea. has been growing some years the different clumps of bushes approach one another till tbw, tea is in long unbroken rows. The other characteristic feature c-f a tea dis- trict is the chimney piping of the farmhouses which prepare their own tea. In a country where the houses are chimneyless the smoke from these galvanised iron chimneys attracts attention. Ihe chimneys mark the tea dis- trict just as the second storeys or ventilators c)f the faxm h outies of a of the farmhouses of a bilk district betray the presence of silkworm cultivation. Tea-picking seems often to be well paid, and women and girls come from a distance to do it. The good pay is due for one thing to the fact, as was explained to me, that pick- in is regarded as polite "labour by the higher middle-class of farmers' daughters." Also farmers' sons seem to have a way of inspecting the tea-picking, and then "pick up wives." (Compare, for the difference in point of view, the Western phrase, "picking up a husband!") The girls certainly give would-be husbands every chance of seeing what they can do, for they are at work at their picking for a very long day. Twelve to fourteen hours was the time given me. In such a day it is possible. I was told, to pick fifty, eighty, even one hun- dred pounds of leaves. One man put the rate as from fifty to one hundred and twenty bits a minute. Four pounds of kavcs are required to make a rof tea.

Mr. J. H. Milestone, a Hull magistrate, tj cliOO oudden1 V in the otreet at died suddenly in the street at Cottiogham, I