Evening Express

THE CANALS ON MARS I Professor SohiapparetlH. the Italian astronomer, who wajs attached to the observa- tories of Berlin and Poulkowa, and was director of the Milan observatory from 1860 to 1900. is tb-o discoverer, as is well "known, of the "canals" of Mars, the dusky, regular streaks going from sea to sea and conneoti ng lake to lake, the nature of which has been many times discussed. On being shown news- paper reports of the lecture by Professor Maunder, assistant at the RQyal Observatory. Greenwich, alleging that the so-calletl oannas do not exist, aud that their pretended dis- oovery is due to the lack of power of the instruments used by former astronomers. Professor iSchiapparelli said that of the real existence of these canal-like markings there is no ,doubt.. He discovered them first in 1877, and saw'them again many time-

THINKIN' TO MAK' A MINISTER 0' HIM I A certain popular tedleber of the present day. tion of a worthy Perthshire farmer. was of a retired. studious disposition when a, young man. and preferred burning the midnight oil" to catching the proverbial worm in the eexly morning and assisting in the daily work on the farm. His father, though not, averse to learning, would rather his son had studied agriculture instead of polemics, and one day a. friend, knowing this, asked if he intended tbe lad to be a farmer like himself. NEL, na," replied the father seriofusly, it tai's a. man wi' a bead to be a. farmer, but. I was thinkin' to mak' a. minister o' him.'

I I'M DONE. I At Croydon tr,-d-j,-Y. Wallace Tenden. hIf Mifcoham-road. Oroydon, was charged witib. the manslaughter of Chajries Sadler at the same addre. The deceased was found last Sun-day on a kerb with (his mouth and back of head bleeding, and died yesterday in a. hospital. When arrested Jen-den said. "I'm done." and added he was sorry from the bottom of his heart. The prisoner, w'ho wept bitterly, wa.3 remanded.

WINDMILLS WANTED. I The market for windmills along the coast of Portuguese East Africa,, says the Ameri- can Consul at, Lorenzo Marques, is likely to prove an increasingly good one. The wind- mill is being popularised there, especially 1!8 a means of irrigation and for purposes connected with agriculture.

A FESTIVE TRAGEDY. Belated Guest (at door of hotel); Bootsh, I'm number seynt:v-hi-tw(). 1"('1, you ain't, I juet helped him up to his room! Belat.ed Guest: Yesh! That's—hio—me. I- nic-fell out of thyfindow.—"Bystander."

"LISSEED COMPOCXJD" witu warm wa.?a Ie I LI-VSZED witt watm)r is a& ? I. excoUej2t guile for *or- '?Izo#A, -C?'Ldt-, 911,??..

REALGHOSTAT LAST Prosaic Police Talk of Burglars ARE ASSAILED BY- HOT ASHES FUSILLADE-OF STONES, CANDLESTICKS, AND DOC CHAINS BEER CELLAR FITTINGS WALK UPSTAIRS. I WHOLE NEICHBOURHOOO ALARMED Llanarthney, in thu Vale of Towy, is possessed of a- real sensation. Yren iii this generation nothing can beat a ghost story for eerie oireepmess, and the latter has rhA merit just now of hdng quite in season. This is the time of t.he year Yhen, a,b-,P, all other times, one talks and thinks ghost lore. and. therefore, one greets the Llanart.bney spectre a-s being exceedingly a,propos. That speotre has been Hrrnmspect in other ways. fn1". i;. noring the prejudices of n SKadducea,i gene- rat-ion which will not believe in anything j which it cannot see or handle, the LI an* J arthney spook discards the devices of t.he ghoet of your old oaronial hall, and remain-s invisible, a, manifestation, merely evicieDced j by the agitation of art-icles of firrniture a.nd showers cf hot ashe- "Hot ashes" provide the finishing, albeit incongruous, touch to the whole story. Where in the world could a, wandering ghost obtain, and conceal till needed, hot, ashes? The scene of the manifestation is reported to be the Emlyn Arms, a, comfort- able hostelry in Llanarthney village, which is situate cr the main road from Carmar- t.he.n to Llandilo. with a oro^s-road directly in front leading to Portyrhyd. On the right ts the village post-office. ;¡ ni icv rlofte proxi- mity is the church cemetery. The inn is kept by an aged man, John Morgan Mere- dith. and hi wife. together with' a servant girl whom they have just, adopted. j On Wednesday night Mi-. Meredith and the girl were alone in the house, the husband having gone toyisit his relatives at his native place of Machynlleth. During the evenin,g Mrs. Meredith went out to fetch the cows, and when she- was crossing the yard stones were thrown at her. She did not take inueh notice, but when she was returning to t-be house the key of the cellar door was hurled towards her from the passage. A little later tha servant informed Mrs. Meredith t.hat someone was knooking at, the door out- side. whereupon the old lady told her Dot to open it. as it. wa sa,ft.eT- E,t,(op-ta.p and a. policeman niight. co-me. The knocking, -hc*,W- ever. continued, and Mrs. Meredith ulti- mately opened the doer, when she was start-led to see no one t.here. but a candle- stick flew pa-st her. having been t-hrown from outside. An unearthly noise was afterwards heard, and the local constable was called in. whilst Mrs. Meredith and her servant stayed for the night at a, neighbour's bcls,?. The policeman concluded that therc was a, barglar on the premises. and took steps to have the house surrounded, whilst he made a. search cf the building for the supposed intruder. He looked high and low, but could not find anything, and whiUt. he was kneeling down to look under the bed upstairs he narrowly escaped injury by the hurling of a heavy ornament from the bedroom mantel- piece. Various articles were thrown at him, and those who were with him in the house bad a moat- unpleasant experience l Constable's Narrative Wben our representative visited the dis- triot on Friday the inh?bita.nt? were excited wdbh the al 1 a b sorrbiiig topic of the incidents, a/t the Emlyn Arms. Although the people generally said that something very unusual had happened, they were loth to give pa;rticu- lars. The most authentic narrative was that I given by Police-constable Gwilym Jenkins, the resident officer in the village. It is a complete mystery," said the oonstahle, and be proceeded to describe his strange experiences, being confirmed by his wife and sister-in-law. "When Mrs. Meredith, he sajd, "was i attending the cows on Wednesday night, jutt after 'stop-tap' stones were pelted at heT. She r attaobed little importance to this, a.nd thought someone was Larking. When she was crossing the yard the key of the cellar door was hurled at her from the direction of the passage. After Ehe got inside the house there was some knocking et the front door. When the little girl went with her to open it no one could be seen, but, a, candle- stick oame whizzing along the entrance of the passage. The old larly wa.s not fright- ened, and proceeded to bed. but as ehe and the little girl were going upsfcafrs stones and clothes were thrown down. and the poc-r creatures soaroely knew what to do. On the landing the thing ca.me to «roh a crisis that the neighboura were called in. I was not. in the village at the time, and Mrs. Jenkins and her sister were summoned." "We were so frightened," interposed Mre. Jenkins, that we fetched Daniel Morgan, the postman, and his sister. Miss Jane Morgan. We did not venture inside the house uritil my husband ca.me. but whilst standing outside we heerrl stones coming from the back part of the house to the front." Search for Burglar I Police-constable Jenkins added that, when he oame back from hi6 rounds in the col- liery district on his bicycle there was a. group of persons outside the Emlyn Arms, and he was informed that there was a, burglar in the house. "T had the building surrounded," he said, "so that the intruder could not escape, and went into the house, but the first thing I saw were stones oomiiig down from upstairs. I then went npstair3 and searched all tho rooms, but failed to find anyone. I went up to the attic on a ladder, but there was no. ,)ne there. I made a. thorough search downstairs, and of the cellar and all the outhouses, with the same result, although stones were falling inside the build- ing from somewhere all the time. Eren heated cinders were flying about the place." "Hot coals' Where did they come from?" asked the reporter. Goodness knows." replied the constable; "I don't; but they came from somewhere." Quite true," confirmed Mrs. Jenkins; "they were actually jumping on to the table and were quite hot." And empty bottles and glasses were flying about, and fell smashing at our feet," added the officer- 1 "I saw a,11 this and muoh more," emphasised Mrs. Jenkins. I saw also old saucepan covers, old teapot covers, and corks coming down about us." Quite right." said the officer; I picked up a dog ohain, and we oould not see who was slinging these things. We were standing together, a.nd they were dropping in the middle of us. A polish box dropped from Mr. Meredith's waistcoat, which was hanging in the kitchen—the very waistcoat which Mrs. Meredith ironed that afternoon, and tnerc could not have been anything in it then or she would have seen it. A ta.blespoon fell from somewhere and struck the little girl and hurt her. This would be a.bout two o clock on Thursday morning, after consider- able watching for what we thought, first of all, to be a burglar." Neither Hoax Nor Lark I Police-con stable Jenkins added that it 1Pa.s a, complete mystery to him. He bad failed to find a-nyone in the house. He ridiculed the suggestion that someoce might be perpetrat- ing a hoax. "Yon don't think it was a lark on the part of the servant girl or of someone ""lse?" dear, no." "It could not 'have been the servant," em-phatically observed Mrs. Jenkins, "because she was in the kitchen where all theeo things were dropping about..She is only fhirteen years of age, and could not do such a thing." Police-constable Jenkins explained that MTS. Meredith and the gii-I were so frightened that, they lerr, the place about 3-30 in the morning and went to sleep at, Brynderwen, the house of a neighbour, David Jones, a mason employed on the estate of Earl Cawdor, who also owns the Emlyn Arms. "I should'have mentioned." added the constable, that the blocks attached to the wooden horses' which hold the b-er caska, were actually romihg tip from the cellar. Row they were pushed forward I can t say." "Do you really meaJi that?" Certainly. I picked them up. T also heard a smash, and I made a holt, in the direction of the noise, but I failed to see anything. Then a, tray was hurled from the bar into the kitchen." And yon made another bolt ? jJ Yes. but I could not see anybody." He added that he could hear people moving about upstairs as if someone were running bare-footed. Tba noi?? ?p?eared to be ca.?sed by one p€?&T, and war of an Tmearth? character. He called again about, eeven o'clook on Thursday morning, and stones were still coming down. Several people in the village entered the house and saw what hap- pened. I Covered with Lime I A dog oliam covered with lime, he adder., was thrown into the place. Strange to say. it did not belong to the house, and no one raw it thrown. All tlia stones thrown were j covered with lime, and seemed to correspond with some stone? outside. "About two o'oloek on Thursday morning I W38 upstairs making a sea-Teh and my wife was downstairs. I was crossing over the landing into another room when a mat tumbled downstairs and dropped on my wife's head. There was a 1 toa-Ming-tfork hanging by the fireplace, and tha.t, dropped in the passage, although the kitchen door was closed at. the time. A sbQrt, J time afterwards a pop-bottle fell by my cide, and smashed into bits." "You could not. i-ay where it came from?" j Xo, It is so etrange that I cannot, f11!!y describe it. If you were wa.tcbing for things to come yon could not see them. Whilst I was searching on my knees under the bed an j ornamented stone which was on the mantel- piece dropped alongside of me." The weird disturbances continued up to two o'clock on Thui'cday afternoon, and a. number of persons in the district witnessed the phenomena. The constable is convinced that it is a practical joke, but ho cannot olfer any explanation. Mr. a.nd Mrs. Mere- dith lived at the Emlyn Arms for over twenty yea.r?. ?nd are ab?ut, 65 ye?.r? of age. j i'riat. ? Fim?ilAv ii,?l I- u i*e has happened in the house hdore,

THE RINKER'S CHIN j u Rinkiu::o; chin is the very latest facial eccentricity of fashion! According to a dis- j' tinguished Wigmorestreet physician, it has ousted eren the motor fro<wnand the aerop!aire peck." ■ "Whether it is." he I' remarked to a, Press representative yester- day, 'that. motorists are better protected or more suitahly dresised now than formerly,! you see very of the hideous frown that j was so common a yea.r o rt,wo a-go, and migfrC justly be ascribed to motoring. "But row Tie have the 'rinking ohin' spreading through every class, and it is so character- istic- of the Tinker that you can pick out, f from a dozen per.-on,- w.JkiD g along the I street those who are rinking aglepts—-by the ¡ way they hold their chins. The:-e is a. I touch of vanity about it, but a great dead more of wariness. It is the habit of balano ing and of looking a good distance ahead, while moving swiftly, that gives the peculiar method of holding the ohin—slightly elevated and projected—wich is associate^ with this j sport. Except tat it makei conceited people appear sueix-ilions, and does not go at ait I well with a ti-tllted nose, I do not think the 'rinking obin is to be deplored." I

STREET FIGHT SEQUEL I The mysterious death of a window cleaner, j named George White, in Birmingham, was yesterday explained. White was found in I Severn-street, Birmingham, on Tuesday, in ) what the constable supposed was a drunken condition. He was taken to the Queen's Hos- pital, and late rto the lock-up, but there he became, so ill that he was removed to the hospital, where he died. Death was due to concussion of te brain, and it wa-s believed that, it occurred when he fell down in the street. Yesterday, at Birmingham, how- ¡ ever. another windowcleaner, named Hoae, was -charged with causing White's dooth. The prosecuting solicitor said t'he men Fought, and apparently after the fight was over, Hoare struck White in the face, caus- ing him to fall with his head on the, pave- ment. His skull was fractured. Hoare: I wish to 6s7 that I did :not strike him after the fight was over. The clerk sotid that if in the course of the fight White was knocked down And b-illed it vra& still majislaugter. Hoa-re "was remanded..

-1 AMUSING STORY I Ae everybody knows, Mr. Wells has his own ideas of Utopia, ond he relates an amusing story of a gentle-ma n nest to whom he once ,-at at a, public dinner. The conservation had turned upon one of his own books, and Mr. Wells had said some- time to the effect that "were there no self- seekers, the world would be a very Utopia." This neighbour promptly observed,* "I motiTit-a.in that, all water used for drinking and culinary purposes-. should be boiled at least an hour." "You are a physician, I presume," sug- gested the novelist. sir," was the unexpected reply, "I am in the coarl line."—"AfA-P."

EXCITING STREET CHASE I Walking into a corndealer's shop in Walking into a oorndealer's shop in Brighton-road, Croydon, yesterday afternoon, a man made a small purchase, tendering a sovereign in payment. The assistant went to an adjoining room to get change, and on returning saw the customer leaving the shop with something bulky under his coat. He followed the man, who jumped on to a pass- ing tramoar, and a hne-and-cry was raised. Finding he was closely pursued, the man jumped off the car and bolted up a side street, dropping a cashbox and throwing another over a garden fence. One of his pursuers closed with him, but was tripped up, and the fugitive got clear away. The cash- boxes contained a considerable amount in gold.

KILLED BY DYNAMITE I The coroner's inquest concerning William I Allen (35) and WiiIiam Flamank (19), who were killed on Thursday in the Tenfdra l China. Stone Quarry, near St. Austell, con- cluded yesterday wit-h the verdict "Death from injuries caused hy an explosion." The Coroner said there was -no eyidenec of negli- gence. The men were- working on a ledge nea'r the surface where blasting operations had been carried out a week, earlier. It was suspected that one charge had not exploded, and the men were acting carefully when suddenly a terrible explosion occurred, of which they received the full force. They were greatly mutilated.

PEASANT'S ACT OF REVENGE I A fa-mily tragedy is reported from Xlsci- rtola, near Naples. A peasant named Ficretti had a fight -witih his brother, in which he was blinded in one eye. Ha;rdly had the wound healed when yesterday he shot his brother dead, and mortally wounded the wife who attenipte to defend her husband. Subse- quently he attacke hisotilier brother and serkraely wounded him. Then he fled the country, ioe police isusT^ot that the mur- derer sacceeded in embarking on a, steamer bound for America, as he had planned his act, of revenge and inade all necessary arrangements to eecape.

FEED THE BIRDS EARLY I It is the long fast which kills the birds. In the course of some hints as to the feeding of the hungry songsters, a correspondent recom- mends hanging fat or bone on clothes-line or hook; crnmbs on the ground or window-sill; nuts in bark or cleft sticks: turning fresh 'earth. The fat will inevitably bring the tite; the nuts are the surest method of attracting the hut-hatchers. The crumbs will draw robins, tbe thrush tribe, and sparrow. A greaKseoret is to feed early in the morning,

SURE OF THE SEEDS I One morning Jenkins looked over his garden wall and said to his neighbour "Hey, what are you biirying in that, hole?" "Oh." he s-aid. ''I'm just re-planting some of ?y s?eds. that's all." I "Sd! ?hout?d Jenkins angrily. "It I ? looks fm?re hID one of my hens." 'Tha.t'??????TJ??ee?are.iMj,)?'

A Missed Chance 0. RECRET OF A WIFE MURDERER The story of a. man who regretted a miesed chalice of suicide was told at the Croydon Coroner'ss-cr>urt yesterday, when an inquest wa" held on Oeorge Allen; (51), a wood carver, a.nd Annie Allen, his wife, of Selhurst-road, who both died from the effects of 'nudaivum poisomu-g. Three wefloi ago Mrs. Allen told her sister that, "George was in the same mood and wanted her to do away with her- self." He had asknd her to take something so that they could die together. Before this the man had told his sister-in-law that he had "missed n. splendid chance when they w-pre looking after a houise at Beck en ham." "We could have turned on the gas," he said, "-and all would have been over. The owner of the house won Id have gone back and found us all cold." The landlord cf the deceased's rooms heard a. knocking, end on entering their room heard the woman say, "Sonny j has given me something to drink to m'akê me le-er." A cup coutaining laudanum was found. The jury returned a verdict of wit- ful nrard"- against the man, end found thatj he had committed snicide whilst of unsound 111 i nil.

ABOUT BLACK PUDDINGS A,, Bristol yer-terday John and £ arah Baker, j of Redminsier. wero sent 10 prison for a month each for neglecting their children. On behalf of iii,, National Society for the Pre- vention of Crueliy to Children, it was stated that en a previous occasion the magistrates dea-lt leniently with the defendants, who were given time to improve their home conditions, One of the children h.,ri died since, and the coroner's jury found that- if,-was llffocated in bed. The male defendant, was a black- pudding manufacturer, and tho filthy coudi- tion in which his delicacies were made reminded Que, it was aid. cf the old Lanca- shire song. "God help people who eat black pot." Anything more horrible than the sur- roundings in which the puddings were made no one could imagine. Despite the society's warnings, the children housed amidst; stench and filth. Matilda Latham, tho vrife I of a labourer, of Whiteboase-place, Red- minster, was ent. to prison by the same 1 bench for two months, for a similar offence. after a previous conviction.

JUDGE AND SHEPHERD BOY i An amusing st.ry concerning the la.te Lord j Field was related by Mr. Just-ice Gran rhini in his evidence before the Joint Select Com- mittee on the High Court of Justice. It had reference to an occasion when Kent and I Sussex were grouped as one assize COUll ty. and ail the cases were tried at Lewes. "I remember very particularly," he said, the Kent prisoners coming t-o Lewes a.nd the rolv made by the jurymen who had to be there week after week to try the Kent. ca,ses. Lord Ficld. unfortunately, ha.d not. the best of tempers, and it was said thafl,' be used to offend people, very much. "He went for a walk while sitting at Lewes and lost his way. and having got a shepherd boy to direct him he said to the boy, 'Would you like to come into court to hear a trial?" 'Lor' said the boy, to see that judge' (I will not use the expression that he did a,hout the judge), 'who is sitting there, setting eyery body by the

A BLAKENEY BLAZE The premises of Mr. Haddon. in Millend. Blakeney, were this morning found in flames, a.nd by the time assistance wa-3 forthcoming one-half the structure was destroyed. As a.n ample water sup-ply was immediately obtained the second s-hop was saved. The building was of wood. The property destroyed includes ÐÓ v?u?Me Bniahed marble tombs, a con- aliiej?.bl? number o? modela.and a quantity of expensive tools, padnts. oil, etc- Everything was saJe at midn,"h but later attention was drawn by lend reporte. whioh prosed to be the burst-ing of marble slabs. The pioperty of partially insured.

NEW YEAR DRINKS James Merrett (39). a, well-dressed young man, who was diefendedby Mr. Evan Davies. appeared at Cardiff Pol ioe-court to-day on a charge of assaulting Victor .Mends, a tram conductor, in Clare-roa.d on December 31. Mr. Evan DaYles exPITained 4hat defCTIdnt got l excited after 'ha,VM? a, few year Year's Eve drinks, a-nd then went on a oar, where The seemed to have an altercation with the con- ductor. The conductor in evidence stated that the defendant declared he ha paid his fare, and after being asked to show his ticket, -be punched witness. Mr. E. Beiavan fchairman) fined defendant 5s. and costs.

CHANGES IN NAVAL COMMAND I Several important naral changes came into 'I operation to-day (telegraphs a Sheerness cor- respondent). Captain G. Oaytey, one of the I a>.«siet)ant, directors of the newly-formed! "Naval Mobilisation Department, vacated his appoint- ment, at the Admiralty to reewmmissian the I armoured cruiser Menotan-r at Chatham for I service as flagship of 'Vice-admiral Sir A- Winsloe, who succeeds Vice-admiral the Hoy. 6-1 r H. Lamhton as commander-in-chief of the Olriua station. Captain Freemantle, com- manding the Laneaete-r. of the Mediterranean C'ruieer Squadron. succeeds Captain Cayley.

I P.C.'S MYSTERIOUS DEATH ] An inquest nvas held laet night on the body of Police-constable Martin Laffan, which was found earlier in the day in the Avoca river at Woodenbridge, County Wickkcw. The evidence of a man who discovered the body wag that it. was lying face downwards in I a-bout fo-ur inches of water, and that on the bank over the spot there were signs of a struggle and fottprint impressions, Laffan II was returning .from his holidays. A verdict of "Foiind drowned was returned. v

PREFERRED SLEEP TO WORK! Described as the laziest man in the king- dom, a Bed worth miner, named James Giles, again app-ea-red before the magistrates at c.oventry yesterday foT neglecting his two children. Since his wife's death three years ago he has refused to work and has lain in bed a-ll day. The Bench had previously adjojirned t-he case for a; month, a farmer having promised to give Giles employment, but, he did not like exertion, and returned to his home and his former habits. He was now sent to prison for a month.

A SERMON STOLEN I While the Ber. C. H. Viae, pastor of Ilford Congregational Church, wa" delivering an ao-ldrees in the church parlour yesterday, his overcoat containing the manuscript of a sermon for to-morrow was stolen from the vestry. The text was "Do unto others as ye would they should do unto you."

A SYMPATHETIC ACT I The sad case of Horkuse Greenslade, the respectable young woman who through stress of circumstances was on Tuesday before the Cardiff .magistrates, who discharged her, has caused miKh commiseration, and Mr. Joseph Gillett has coil-ettei amongst, his friends the sum of 1& 6d., to be handed to the poor woman.

PAUPERS IN TEARS It W<tITeportd to the Rochford Guardians yesterday tjliat when certain oil inmates of the workhouse were approached with a new to their removal to another workhouse, so as to relieve overcrowding, they burst into tea rs.

"OOA.GULnïE." "KLr-X." "nSA.SE'1 CesMni? tor msudlu <JI thing& 6& MOh. uq"?og AUXS«E«&G8T. cMb?? 

1910. .1 IWelcomingthe « Welcomingthe NewYear STREET SCENES AT MIDNIGHTj Ring out the old, ring in the new. Ping, happy bells, across the snow; The yea)-is going, let him go; King out the false, ring jl1 the true. In Cardiff, .Swansea, Newport, and the other towns and villages of South Wales the New Year was ushered in with much fervour. Unusually large crowds paraded the streets of Cardiff to await the hour of midnight, and animated scenes were wit- nessed in the centre of the city when the New Year arrived. The watch-night, services at the various churches and chapels were much more largely attended than in past years. Parties of youths marched through the main streets beating tins and utilising othoT- chance instruments in order to create a din. Works and locomotive hooters were tootled. Church bells rung, and detonators exploded on the railways. At many a private party "An)d Lang yne" was sung with mufdi feclincr. At midnight on N ,v Year's Eve a, solitary figure stood outsida St. David's Soman Catholic Church. Charles-street, Cardiff. A Maltese, of mature years, and possessed of a spiritual understanding, he seemed annoyed ¡ thai no service was going on. as ordered everywhere, ;-in far as he understood. He represented that members of his family had heen connected with the Dominican Order11 "d that, he should "report it to Sarto,' i.e., 1 Pius X., 1910 in the Metropolis i UP. > ew Year was ushered in as usual with religious observances at many London churches and chapels, and on the stroke of j midnight the change from 19M to 1910 was heralded hy the ringing of bens, and on the rirer by the hoofing of sirens. The pantomimes and all the theatres were packed to overflowing last- night, and most of the people in the boxes and the stalls went; on to the hotels afterwards for supper and the midnight jubilations. From eleven o'clock onwards it was almost impossible to cross the Strand owing to the long lines of motor-cars and taxicabs and carriages and hansoms, taking people to one party or another; and passers-by were almost as much interested in the display of rich costumes and the twinkling of dainty slippers at the doorways of the hotels as they used to be in the Mall in the old days of Queen Victorias Drawing Rooms. 2,000 Guests at the Savoy I The growth of the Xew Year celebrations j in London has been one of the most remark- able features of recent- times. It. i" scarcely I half a dozen years since the first enterprising uianager tried the Idea, of a New Year's J party. It. was so brilliant a success that the! pother hotels quickly followed suit, and last ] night, there was scarcely a hotel or even a restaurant, in the West End which did not hail the birth of 1910 with joyous feast and! song. Nor did the parties consist only of people who are in the habit of dining in | hotels. Scores of well-known people, who a,s 'I a rule dine only in their own homes or those of their friends, joined the happy New Year throngs. T'he crush was enonnous at t?M ?avo?. Two th'cu?and guests were present. Ma,uy bad ?'?OMe on. from the Savoy Theatre. La.t?- comers had some difficulty in passing through the cloa k-rooms to reach the restaurant, in time for the solemn moment of the New Year's birth. A cheery bustle, merry greet- ings from taible to table, music that was hopele^iy drowned by the talk a.nd tlhe I laughter, and then, as midnight approached, a solemn hush. Au. enormous clock-face was thrown on a transparent screen at the arcthway of the res.t,a,ura.mt- The minute hand swung round ,Nritb marvellous rapidity, It touched mid- night. and electric gongs struck the hour of twelve. Hands were c'asped, the ba,nd Klayed "Auld Lang Syne," a.? ev?Eybody C?se %I)d ?ang it, Mio-?ng up the T?CTse and chorus with three ringing oheers for 1910. Crackers were burst, men and women put the paper caps on and blew with juvenile gusto little horns end whistles. It was TerT noisy—and T'ery joLJy. Dance After Supper Meanwhile, though the face of the clock stole an army of Commander Peary's Eski- mos, all Turti and gloves, who went the round of the tables and gave to each Lady a. hajid- soane gilt, powder-box w^th. enalmolled face depending from a small gilt chain. After suthere was a dance. Eight hundred guests made merry at the Carlton, and the only reason why there were not more was because ijieri-e W"8,s no more room. The tables were decorated with miniature Ximroda. in compliment, to Sir Ernest Shackleton. and icebergs, up which climbed tiny Teddy bears carrying the Union -Ta^vk. There was mistletoe and there wa,s red-berired holly. At the stroke of mid- night, the figures of 1910 flashed out,, in the form of Northern Lights, over an Antarctic, scene, and three transparencies showed pic- tures of the King. A- fanfare wa.s piayed by the PoyaJ Artillery band, and on even- table was placed a, box of crackers containing a workable captive aeroplane. The ladies' souvenirs consisted of dainty Louise XL opera bag. There were similar gaieties a.t the Ritz and Hotel Cecil. Woe betide the house whose first, visitor after midnight had not a black head! For peo-ple with dark hair are supposed to bring good hmk. and are in great, demand on New Yea r s Eve to let the New Year in for their friends. The snelI is improved if the visitor takes a. Iiimp of coal with him to signify that, there shall be plenty of that cominorlity for the family during the year. More Noise, More Luck. The .Lord Mayor of London and Head Burgomaster Kirschner of Bedlin exchanged mose coadial New Year's wishes by telegraph yesterday. New Year's Eve was celebrated in the cus- tomary hilarious manner at midnight. All Berlin went mad. and the principal thorough- fares were blocked by crowd* Tiumberiingj hundreds of thousands shouting "Prosit Neu Jahr" till they were hoarse. This is the one night in the year when the police, though vigilant, exercise leniency. Supper-tables at a,11 the restaurants were engaged weeks ago. The organ-grinders, never otherwise tolerated, reaped a golden harvest; the theatres were crowded, and many fancy balls were given. The traditional dish, from the Kaiser's downwards, last, night was. carp stewed in beer with spices. Over thirtenn thousand tons of living carp were brought from Silesia. Galicia, and France for Berliners' Silvester supper. Boisterous mirth prevailed in the homes, the Christmas trees were lighted up for the last time, songs were sung, jokes perpetrated, punch and dough- nuts consumed, and from balcony to balcony neighbourly shouts of "Prosit Neu Jahr!" were exchanged. "The more noise the more luck" is Berlins motto on Silvester Eve. Trains, trams, and 'buses ran all night with a few minutes' interval. The streets this morning were strewn with confetti, shavings, and 3. few battered silk ha ts, the bete noire of the BerTin IiilTecter crowd. Festivities in New York NEW YORK. Saturday. The arrival, of the New Year was celebra-ted in New York with all the customary jubila- tion a.nd enthusiasm, hotels and restaurants being aiM thronged last evening with a. ga-y crowd of festive guests waiting to usher in New Year's Day. It, is estimated that. over a.1 million •persons were actually assembled in the streets to greet the New Year at. mid night last night,, and within the la-st few hours of the old year a. sum of something like 5,000,000 dollars was taken by restau- rateuj's and hotel-keepers as payment for food and drink. Signs o-f prosperity were everywhere evident, and New York is confi- dently anticipating a really successful and prosperous New Year. One sad incident marked the celebration, the dress of a lady guest, at one of the most prominent cafes catching fire owing to An 'accident, with a lighted match. The unfor- tunate lady was so terribly burned before the flames could l e extinguished that it is feared j-rhevcannot possibly recover.

A SECOND CROP .I Gregson; Why are yoll following that young men at the plough with a, vhip ? Fenraer Heyson: Stranger, that's my son. He kem from college with his hair parted in th' middle an' a-smoking a ci?ornet. They sent me a. whoppm big bill an' sed be'd b'n a, Mowing of his wi)d oats. I'm maJ?n' him s?w &nm tame ()nS now.

GAKPE.ts BFAIEN—I, Minny-etreet, Cathay*. E'rery box of GrLOtRY MATCHES WIiWt Ineem MOsBB W-QBR for British, workpeople, j C,I

I Wife Feigned Death TO ESCAPE HUSBAND'S MAD ATTACK | A weird description of a- midnight tragedy was given yesterday by the widow of Walter James Moffatt, of Balsall Heath, Birming- ham. who. after a, frenzied attack on his wife. cut his throat and died. Detailing the circumstances at the inquest. Mrs. Moffatt said she went to bed, leaving her husband reading in the bedroom. She had not been a-sleep long when she woke with a. strange sensation, as though someone had hit her. The next instant she received a violent blow and was knocked out of bed. Her husband struck her again and aga.in with a stick. Her arm was shattered, and she feigned death. She then saw her husband creep to the tight and put it out,, He then made towards the door, and she thought if he went to kill the children she would crawl out to try and save them. She then squealed. aDd as her husband returned she crawled for safety under the bed. He dragged her out. and said affectionately, "Don't squeal again, dear, I will staunch the blood." This he did. and then, going to the dressing-table, picked up his razor and went downstairs- Witness followed, and when she got down i her husband was hacking at his throat with the rzjzor. She ran out into the street in her night clothes and screamed wildly for help, but people were afraid of her a.nd no one would come near. Deceased's little daughter, who was a.n eye- witness of the gruesome finish of the struggle, also gave evidence. A verdict, of "Suicide whilst of unsound mind" was returned.

1 PRESIDENT AND ACTOR President Taft attc-ndefl a, matinee at Elliott's Theatre, New York, to see Mr. Forbes Robertson in The Passing of the Third-Floor Back." On his arrival at New York the President was immediately recog- nised, and at the station was greeted with American heartiness. A happy New Year, Bill." was the usual form of salutation, aud the President responded smilingly, The same to you, friends." At t-he theatre door way was made for the motor-cars of the Presidential party, and Mr. Taft was escorted to the ertage-box- In the orchestra, a few seate away, were three plain- clothes detectives; in the balcony sat half a dozen others, and in the gallery three more. At the end of the second act the President! expressed a desire to meet, Mr. Forbes Robertson. The actor was esoortedt o the President's box, where he and Mr Taft talked for about, ten minutes. Mr. Bobertson said he had never before played in the presence of the President of the United States, and that he greatly appreciated the honour. Mr. Ta.ft said he was very much pleased with the work of the star and his company. At the close of the play the audience remained seated-until the President's party had passed out.

LABOUR EXCHANGE DELAY The date of the openiug of the Labour Exchanges, to be worked by the Board of Trade, according to the recent Act, of Parlia- mpnt--whieh, it was expected, would be in operation by January 1-is still uncertain. The taking over by the Government of the eighteen exchanges, central CICA,ring-house, a,nd City office wbioh have been run under the auspices of the Central (Unemployed) Body for London was originally fixed for November 1. then for December t. and after- wards January 1 wa„s mentioned. The latent information, whioh is given in the current agenda of the Central Body, is that the date of the transfer is now fixed for February t. 1210." As the CentraJ Body bad only made financial arrangements to ca.rry on their exohajiges until January 1. a I application has had to be made to the Treasurv for a money grant to cover the working e xpenses until February 1. The announcement that Mr. Richard, Bell has been offered a post under the Labour Exeha.nges Act is now stated to be substantially correct. The appointment will shortly be announced officially.

GROCER'S PORTER FINED George Little, -r,,cex, porter, employed by Mr. Richard Ernest, We^ta.way, grocer. Cinder- ford. was summoned at Littledean Sessions yesterday for ill-treating a gelding by work- ing it when suffe-ring from lameness and a sore back, on the 16th of December. Mr. West- away was summoned foe allowing the horse toO be worked whilst in an unfit. state. The prosecutor Was John Berry, inspector under the'Gloucestershire and West Gloucestershire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animate. Little wa,s fined £ 1 and costs, the case against Mr. Westaway being dismissed.

HELD BUT NOT KISSED Ooartrinspeotor Bingham hart the distinc- tion of being the first, to take the new form of oath at Cardiff Police-court to-day. The 03.t,h came il. operation with the oirth of the New Year, and there bad been consider- able curiosity, not, only to see how it was taken, but also to see who would be the first to use it. Without the slightest hesitation the officer showed that, he).12 rl mastered the phrase, and he was the recipient of many congratulatory smiles. The Testament, under thQnew regulation is simply held in the right hand, but is not kissed.

LONG LIVE ANARCHY King Alphonso has arrived at Granada, i Before his Majesty's departure from San Luoar the police arrested six foreigners of suspicious appearance, who could not speak any Spanish beyond the words Long livp. anarchy in ,&p.a"in! J" They had no pa-ssrorts or other documents of identity, and their explanations were found to be false when the police investigated them. Three of tho men are Germans, two French, aud lone a,n Italian. The police have Dot yet been able to elicit from ,them a positive statement as to their purpose in coming to Kan Lucar.

THE ETHEL RAISED The Chatham dockyard launch. Ethel, which foundered near Chat am oil Thursday evening after a collision,, with the loss of onemal1 and injuries to others, was success- fully raised to-day from the bed of the Med- way and towed ashore at Folly Point. She will he pumped out and, taken to Chatham Dockyard for examination and revairs,tl

LATE COL. LEWIS'S FUNERAL In deference to R, generally-ex-preened desire, the funeral of the late Colonel D. Rees Lewis, V.D., on Wednesday next wall, be public as well as military- The time for the cortege to tea Te Pla.s Pendarren has been altered from 2 p.m. to 2-50 p.m

WANTED A DRY BATH Nurse (to casual); Now, you must have a. bath. Casual (aghast): Wha.t. a wet bath? Nurse; Yes, certainly. Casual (appealingly): Say. miss, can't I have it done by one of them vaouuin cleaners?—"Sydney Bulletin."

CHRISTENED BY THE COURT A woman charged at4 Willesden yesterday with being disorderly refused to give her name, so she was officially styled "jaiio Kilburn." because she was arrested in the north-west suburb-

PEARS AT FIVEPENCE EACH A second shipment, of giant Russian pears was received at, Covent Garden yesterday, and the boxes of sixty were quoted" at 24s. 6d. each.

.Tohr l/ock. a well-known Taunton inn- keeper (who died w-ortb £ 12.694), bequeathed £ ?, ?-s. to the bell ringers of four Taunton churcihes "to ring a miorry peal within four -weeim of his-burial." ffl rt H || I1MI ill III jl -[-M ..Jl !■ Ill MB 1MB

I A Literary Mystery ISTR AN 0 E TALE OF POETS LOVE LETTERS-, On. Monday next a literary secret whicitf has been kept for over seventy ye airs will c- in part revealed. On March 19, 1880. M. Jule61 Troubat, who was secretary to Sainte-Beuve* deposited in the National Library of Paris 4, sea-led packet, on behalf of a, le-di whose name he was not at, liberty to disclose. The p arcel was not to bo opened until the beginning of 1910. It contains autograph letters of Alfred de Museet, to the Lady in question, and, per- ha-ps. other writings of his. The romantic <•-ond.it,ions of her gift well suit the memory" of the most romantic of poets. Her namle,, by her express wish, is never to be made" public, and onJy two or three persons know' it. or even know whether she is dead or1 still lives. Before entrusting de Musset's letters to M. Troubat she deleted all thei passages that oould have led to the revets t-ion of her identity. Readers at the manu\ script department oif the National Library- may thus, after Monday, be able to peruse the letters, but they will never know to whom Alfred de Musset wrote them. "Mussetists" have tried to circumvent ami draw" M. Troaihat, but he has answered once and for all that, "If ever the secret. el tbe beautiful unknown lady be revealed i it, will not be by me." )1. Paul Maneton, who is a. Mussetist, a» well as a, "felibre," also knows who the lady wag or is, but his lipft are sealed likewise. T. _h_" Inspired by Love ji, settm that, the poet met her i | long after the stornnest period of his tovft affa,irs with George Sand, that is to rsay, t-ho period inelliding the mad romance at Venice., described in Elle et Lui," as well as im l^li et Elle." The belle inconnne had. HL. Marieton thinks. /Lt. once a, soothing influencer upon de Musset.'s heart and a. stiraulxtino effrot upon the mind. -He believes that it was* through the lady, who was an unmarried: young woman of the world and well known, in society, that de Musket, after a time -4 idle despair, set, his mind to work agairui Perhaps it was even due to her that he wrcte: many of his comedies and proverb^ -which! show signs of outliving his romantic lyrip-f verse, even the famous four Nuits." Marieton thinks she may have inspired tv-d well-known sonnets contained in a otocrv. "Le fils du Titien." one of which, et least*, beginning "Beatrix Donato fut le do ax now de eelle Bont la forme terrestre eut ce divim contour is one of the, happiest things Alfred de Musset, ever wrote.

= "ARRESTED JUST IN TIME. It looks as if Guileviiei, the Bussian whd-i committed suicide at. the Criminal Detective Department of Fra,noo, was only arrested just in time. It will be remembered that. he had; on two separate occa sionsadvertised forl secretaries, one of whom he had tried to., poison, while he killed the other outright, his object being to ma,ke it appea.r that he himself was dead, so that, he might. obtain the insurance on bis own life. Now it is learnt that on the very day on which Guile- vitcb was taken, into custody in Paris he had oalTed at two uewspaper offices with m view to tbe insertion of the following advertisement;— Brilliant, situa.tion is offered to a young man with guarantee. Mention the amount, of guarantee. Good references required. One of these newspapers inserted this advertisement in Wednesday's number, but t.he other, owing to information r eoeived from the defective department, which had found the receipts in Guilevitch's pocket, naturally refrained from doing so. It is, of course, concluded' that the criminal was at his old Same; The. autopsy took place yester- day, and Dr. Balthaisard, the medical expert, has sent in his report. The oorpee is now to be embalmed and seijit, to &t. Petersburg, as the Russian police wish to show it to persons who were acquainted with C-uilevitch. so that., I the murderer's identity map be fully e«tab-.i listed.

"HE'S GREASE"! I A sequel to the smart work of Detecting | Pugsley and DeteVive-sergeant Little cama before the Cardiff mogistrates to-day. when James Machni C24 > was charged, as a sus- pecte dperson. with loitering in Custom House-street, Penarth-road, Tresillian- terrace, and Wet, Wharf. Detective Pugsley related how he and his. colleague shadowed prisoner and another man about midnight on Tuesday. They saw prisoner climb the, wall at the rear of Vine's Commercial Hotel a,nd apparently reconnoitre, after which the two men elimbed into a, truck and now and again peeped around. They were followed through several streets by t.he detectives, B,nd Machni was a rrested, hut, his companion ^ot away, a, fact prophesied by Machni, who remarked You will never capture him, You might as well look for a needle in a hayftack- He's grease!" On Machni a new candle, and two knives, one in a sheath. were found. Inspector Oulton. of Burton-on-Trenfi, now proved convictions for burglary in Staffordshire, and Mr. E- Beava.n ga,e th prisoner six months' hard labour.

I TO FARTHER CRISMAS" i ) A touching letter reached Brighton Post-, office during a Christmas delivery. It^, was addressed "Farther Ci'ismas. Post-office. Brighton." The letter, on a sheet, ot "paper; from a.n exercise book, was as follows-.— "Dear Farther Cri-mn.—You haven't been to see us for a very long time. Perhaps you do not know our new address. I have put it on the top of the letter. We-bave not had any nice things for rotir or five years. Little Elsie lores a Teddy Be re.' There are nine of I us altogether." The address indicated one of I the poorest streets of Brighton. At the, tottom of the letter was a'list of the chil- dren's names 'th ilmr ag?s. Among them a.pppsr?d. Gordon, as?d eight, that's nw.- !80ill(': employes at, the post-o6&ca ?Tsit?d the address given, and EJ?i? got Mr Teddy bear a?nd (jo?on and the Tt of them had theiB stockings Ctled as weH.

I POLICE-COURT BETROTHAL During the hearing of a- charge agamst, a* young man a.t Walsall yesterday the magis- trate suggested that the prisouer and a girL of seventeen concerned in the case should marry and, lead a better life. The coupie. corsented to marry, the ma-gistrs-te under- taking to defray the expenses of the -veddins. Tbc court missionary promised to make arrangements at the Registry office. The case against the young man was accordingly adjourned, and an effort is to be made and employment.

[REFUSAL OFOLDAGE PENSIONS. I An ex-artilleryman named Henry Fowkes* who went, through the Crimen n War aud Indian Mutiny, has died in North ante Work- tou, Infirmary. He could never be 'nd'XYHL to speak of his war nor be photo- graphed- He refused to a-pplj: for an old^g/v, pension because he thought it seemed tooq much like begging.

I PARK-HALL SERVICES j The address to-morrow afternoon is to to given by the Rev. Canon J. R. Buckley. B.D.. of Llandaff, and Mr. F. de Courcy Hamilton* will occupy the chair. The Cardiff Blue, Ribbon Choir (W- Jenkyn Morris) will rendem4 choruses.

I REV J. H. J0WETT & NEW YORK" I The ifev. J. H..Towett, who has been pastor of Cart's-lahe Congregational Church, Birm- ingham. for fourteen years, has been invited j to become the minister- of the Fifth-avenue I Church, New York, the leading Presbyterian Church in America. He has not yet decided whether he will accept the invitation.

"LINSEEP C/VMPOTJKB" for Coughs aM Golds. Of proven efficacy., S" & Vli, Of ChemlatB onHy. BoLDS. and Mattressm Renovated,— I, Cathiys. ?*LIN6BBD (Aniseed, Sene?? gtogL TolU, &o.) TOM* IM=mm -746,.

W. P. CARYL, The Qualified Eyesight, Specialist, for SIGHT-TESTING a.n41 SPECTACLES, L6, H IGII STREET A RCADE, CARDIFF. el351 roo LATE FOR CLASSfFICA TION 1910. N E W Y EA-Y JEWELLERY BARGAINS AT 41 ST. MARY-ST.. CARDIFF. (NearIT opposite Theatre Royal). ABSOLUTELY THE LOWEST PRICES IN CARDIFF. 2-5 Guinea?, 1-0/6 Monthly.—A 36-giii.oea Piano; £ & re-polishod Uke lIew; Si, C,lv.rNld. Cardiff. 3'-O-O'.llDe.a.:>. Redl?Ild from 45 OnA very Sne 30 P' by well-known maker; ter?-? to eM cl:roID"'1'¡;jdin<L:l, 31, City-read. C3.rdiff. -« o -Guineas.—Beautiful Rœewood Piaro? n-arly J o terms to suit customer.-—VVaddiHSton's, ;l, City- road. CaidiB. i 4: Guineas.—Good Walnut Piano; bargain for ôome- one.—Waddinsfton'e, 31. City-read, Cardiff CALi. and SEE oiir Stoci of Pianos and O:rgaJiS; ac enft nreesed to buv..> a, HAVE THE PIAXO YOTT vvaXT 11; STOCK.—Waddingtoa'o, 29 and 51, City-road, r'arGilf. £ 1'1' lCs. Ca-sh,-W;¡,ddmgton. Piano; a unique oppor- tun,ty of getting a, good Piano for litfie rroaey; tees dat a few concerts only; call and fee l- MiddmstQii and SODS, 13 and 51, City-road, Cardiff. C~i OX> protect, Mrs. and AA eveT near yi>n, dearest, T d^pemng, increasing: all your joy? thr^ijhoiit, this a-nd every comino; year. Aha/11 be with von In Y.L.n.?3 and prayers. IK — l:. n64i1 RJEVED roar tmh?ppijiM.; XM?td*swee?- vT heart. if my fauit,. forgive? drctd understanding-, intruding! Is't possible you disapprove tyl.4 ? preferring me write aaiD direct as used to address written, and sent by yourself? oil "'?WEET'ESTFr?nd??'"747?r-al?ht?-dbevomd O measure" your Goodhir.k 'Dd health! aeart- "it", loving congratulations and 1747?, and increwing jvrosprntv a?d prMt?otion. ?.6M.' ]?<?. 17467..??!;<. '• A.I." but why 1?366? 18033. 15458. Evsr faithful. A,I. b li y 11 ???66 ? I P-0 ?i. IP4 SB. E -?,j fa it;'If.4. irTWO' yfmn? Ladies dmine n¡t require Sittm?roam i- a.iMl?BcdMDm: b3th; ri3m; modfra.ta—Apph- E S3, E""Dmg Exor?zz, (:'ardLJ. e41ftAi4 N VT,7- for Pledg4 Ttck?t, of G?ntlemnn'? 9ot. r' Gold Si?Mt. RLnv and Oct. Gdd Ball-marker! I?dy'-? DTm3 ?m? ?'?Mins' present ? p;??'ed for 7,. CI- last month?—E 40, Evening ExPr-F?% Cardiff. 4167,4 WANTED, your? Coo?-GeneraL: imr?e-h?j?mafd kept.; fl'reIPe3 rjfential.—Apply Mrs. T,tHte-j J.oJw, Becking Stone Lodge, Pontypridd. e4163i4 RESPECTABLE yo'iji^ Couple '?qutT*. Tw<T Fur- JLY n\hed F.Mmc, permanent; nn att?danM require! Cm tn ,r Catha 5; t,rms 6s—E 41" EVeming E,Xprr Ca r(]:ff? -4 1 ?4 WASTED, Girl, about 16 years, for 'Hotse?wF. —Apply Mrs. Evan,. Bf?chd?ne. Whmhurr.h- T'laA, ■road. G-i.balfa, Cardiff. e4170i+ '\Tt7'A?TED. good. strong Gir! ? General; mttst5av« W g-?od jet'ej?nc?-.—Appty -Lmmediatdy 'Mr? RoMrs C<¥!tr1.all \V'YJrjdd e4163U T?COKBIXDI?G. a!! Pscr4?,otions, at ,J"M', 'WtMr'?n- i3 ht,rc?t. C?Tdta; trade wt-k done; send for pr'??s. C4177TT GEK>E Breeding-—Pen Monster Birds; priz U'inn ?jr Aherda.re. Risc.? sho,?i, HM.—EvaBs? Gwaanrbaia I'ajrm, Caerphiily. e4176i7 Ti'OR- few Tmcics weekiy Vo! ? Ehondda X. 'hrougb a.?.1 S?nal CoaL-Apply CT¡an C"n¡ry Company, TOnyrefa.il. e4175i7 W A VIED, btroQg Girl, 17 to 13, Help Houso and W Kitchen Work; must have had experience; :,('hwoU1au.Irs.. Dunn, the Cro?^, Cowbridge. e;7 WA.VTED. Housemaid; ab? help wa?t table; Church-woman; :;nd reference.—Mrs. Dunn, the Cross, Cowbridge. e4173iv WANTED, good Plain Cook; help given"; ChuJnh? 1't' womatl; good r?-f?renc,?.-XTs. Dujan, The Cross, Cow-bridge. e4172i7 BI:ArTLFUL-Reilt-alnutDi;ing-rOom ?'7:t?'n Bt, Lnd,Dle k?;ralu?t?T bags, L5; Ma^nificefit Wal. nut; Bedroom'Suite, £ 3 TCs.; Smaller Suite, C5 10s,; Mas-ivo Walirut Sideboard, £5; quantity useful Kitchen I"Tn.:t.12re. cheap; raus; e1t.-Ap¡>ly. after 5 p.m., U, Sno!n3-itT«et, Cathedra 1-road. e4170il TC?CR?'IaHEb Apartments to L?t. C'ani?;,). t F'ith,ut bw?d; b GI. aid eki bath; g-.d '(,ality; vwrrc C-pl,), no children,—E 42, Evening Expiress. Cardiff. e417Si4 A-'k Dmin^-iable, Bedroom SlÜte. 6ft. Si^l A board. rD1antel. B.k:ad. ard Dining-room ,rite, &c" to be dispœed of cheaply.—155, Mackintosh- 1'1a. Roath Park. e41êH rrwo Large Well-furnished Rooms, in best district ..1 In Cardiff: terms moderate.—Appiy E 43, Evening F;xPTeHS, ('3 r<J1..ff. ei £ £ 3 VIED, experienced. General; ;) in fa.m.- VV Apply, 7 to 9, a. Th-e Walk. c4335 WANTED, Colliery Firemen for steam Coal CollieryV must have second-cla^s certificate; age not «xc £ i=dmg -ID.-Ap:ply E 45, Eveaing Express, Cardiff. c4K6

DECLARES HERSELF A GENIUS W-:rtb her dress rather fantastically déOOratetl with holly and mistletoe, Agnes Wakefield, who describes herself its the divorced wife of. a millionaire, was charged on remand at Westminste ryesterday with dofrandins taiicah drivers by giving I.O.U.'s which remain unpaid. Mr. Horace Smith (magistrate): If you can satisfy me that the claims will be met I may deal with yon in a. lenient way. It was a most improper thing wicked thing-to impose on poor cabmen as you h-i-ve-. Mrs. Wakefield (excitedly): I waia justice. This is a conspiracy. I am a gmiju-s-one of the most clever women on earth. I shall apply to the Home Office" and so win several of my friends. Mr. Horace Smith remanded her for a doctor to report on the state of her. minrf.

THIS FARM FOR SAIL I Smith was riding, and saw a, board nailed np on a post in the yard of a farmhouse, with a sign painted on it;—"This farm for sail." Always ready for a little pleasantry, a.nd se-eing a woman picking np chips at the wood pile in front of the house, he stopped and asked her verl, politely when the fa.rm i wa to sail. She went on with her work. but replied to his question instanter—"Just aa soon as the' man comes along who can raise the wind!"

WOMAN IN MAN'S CLOTHES At Cardiff Foiice-corart to-day Cieede Sevan I 133) was charged with being disorderly in Bridge^at-reet la«t night, A po-Uce-condtablo I Etat,efl that the woman was dressed in a man's suit and was merrily dancing on the footway. To-day she was in con-ventional drees, and she said, it was sfem-ply a. bit. of fan on per part. Although she had a long reocrd, she was only fined iss., cr serpen days.

THE WELSH LADIES' CHOIR j The Allan Line passenger stpa-mer Tunisian in expeoteft to arrive a* the Prince's Jancling- ptagc, ',Liv-el'pool, to-morrow, with Madame Hughes Thomaa uiad her choir on board. They are expected to reach Cardiff to-morrow, evening at 8.50, and Mr. iEdward Thomas, J.P. (Coohfarf) is leaving Cardiff foT Liver- pool today.

0 LUCKY THIRTEEN I On New Yearns Day, 1853, Lord Roberts was one of thirteen who sat down to dinner at Peshawar. Eleven years later all thirteen were alive, though most of them had taken pert, in t.h-e suppression of the Indian Mutiny and five or six had been wounded.

SHOTS FROM A WARSHIP The ( captain of the steamboat Quaysider, which arrived at Ipswich on Friday evening from Colchester, reported a startling experi- ence. He discovered through the searchlight of a. warship that he was Hearing a floating target, and immediately afterwards the warship opened fire, several of the shots entering the water near the Qtjaysider. One passed so close over the captain's head that he jumped down from the bridge in alarm. The steamboat was then sighted by the war- vessel, which approached and asked by megaphone if it were all right. Ton just missed me," the captain replied.

COUNTY SCHOOL OLD BOYS The annual re-nnion a.nd dinner of the Old Boys of tAr, Mertbyr County School was hfid a.t fast Hotel, Merthyr. Tbo ehief gaest was Mr. A. J. Permati, M.A., headmaster of tie school After the toast list, which included "Alma )ra.ter," The Borough and Trad« of Merthyr." and Our Visitors," there was a. very enjoyable smoking concert, con- tributed to entirely by old boys.

REVENUE APPOINTMENT The of Inland Revenue have appointed Mr. 15. H. Bowers to be Chief In- spector of Stamps and Taxes, in jfucoeesioa M Sir J. F:, Thrift, who retires under the age rule at the end of January, 1910.

ZOMERZET SPEECH At a. T*>nt audit, m Somersetshire, the oldest tenajn-t on the esufcate bed to propose the health of the landlord. He did so in tbe<!e teeps. After rising, looking helplessly around, ¡Mtd scratching hts head, be sewi; Wuil. znr, all I can Mr it;. Yer's to yer pood 6ee.Ir.il, end if all the land-lards 'nd do as you do, tenant varmcra 'ud do better then ■^hejp <k» 4o."

I 11 ALBATROSS Self-Raising Flour. ONCE TBIBD-ALWAYS USED From all Grocers. I

The Man in the StreeC I 11 I T- i It would hp a. (hfficuh task to and any- 1 one within a. hundred milos of Llandaff I who had not bpa4d of Ca.non Buckley. But nowhere is he better known than at the; Ely Homos for Children, where ho is a. ( frequent, visitor as the chairman of the governing committer. Howover, before j the cannii became a guardian he had mado himself known at the old Ely Schools, whore tho children were Incüed before the pr-oseut .scattered homes were I r"ctN1. ?rtd?pd. on Christmas D?y be j made his thirtieth annual ::tr?pann ;:¡.t.! the vonnsster?' dinr?r of roast beef and. plum pudding, and last. night thp ?ent. I was ce l ebrated bv a. pr??ntation organ- ,1 wa cclebrate,rl bv ;:¡, pr.s.e.ntatlO n organ- ised by Mr. and Mrs. Watt on and their colleagues. The gift, was a silver ink- stand, but the canon knew that belimd this was the esteem which is inspired in all who come into contact, with his genial I personality. And, to add to the value of the occasion, the presentation was a great, surprise, almost, as big as that wbich gripped him one fine, morning when < he discovered by his "Western Mail" that I he had been advanced as a candi- date for a. seat on t-he board of guardians. How he got to the top of the poll, and how none have been sorry in conse- quence, is now almost ancient history. In his speaoh last night Canon Buckley referred to the bad old times when chil- dren were herded in workhouses and I-b f., rs?siilt of branded with pauperism. The result, of the improved system wa-s before his eyes in the apple-cheeked young women who were "home" for the New Year s re- union. These happy-looking girls, having I been in the homos, had been sent out to service in all directions, and were glad to return, to show their interest in the old place which had made for them a. good start in the world possible. It was not surprising that these young people ] looked almost as joyous as the canon him- self, and the pioture presented was one that every ratepayer should see, if only to learn that the extra cost incurred in thus bringing up forsaken children paid in the real sense. In the old times the little ones ran a considerable risk of settling down as paupers for life. Now they are able to go out from these homes and begin life's bat-do with no bigger handicap than that experienced by almost every other girl. Canon Buckley, Mr. Richard Williams (who was present to warmly eulogise his colleague), and others are doing a magnificent, work in this direction, and it is nice to have this encoara ge-menfc &long an otherwise some- wha.t dr-eary roawL In evw-v communtty ttbere are a. few people who take an exceptional interest in the neighbourhood of their residence. They get into the thick of social lite, ) they wield a great influence in public affairs, and hardly anything caD happen unless they get "a finger in the pie." In life they *are considered irtdisponsable in a variety of directions. When the last, post" is sounded, and they go the way of all flesh, people wake up to discover what a great, almost irreparable loss has fallen upon the district. Such is the feel- ing in Merthyr to-day, where the late Coonel Lewis was universally esteemed for very many good qualities and much downright hard work on belialf of the general good. Colonel Lewis was one of the busiest of men, but always found time to do more, and it would be exceedingly difficult to pick out ,another public man who would be missed as much. In the Volunteer movement he was a particularly enthusiastic worker, and his example in working up from the lowly but respected rank of private to commander of bis regi- ment should be a lesson to the young men of the present day. His influence in and round Merthyr will be felt for many years to come. While other departments of the cor- poration are still in the midst of their holiday-making, the Cardiff Distress Committee find that they must continue to meet in their pathetic task to alleviate the suireriugs of the unemployed poor. Sir William Crossman and his colleagues found yesterday that an enormous amount of work is waiting to be done, and if ,they had not been long hardened to affairs of the kind they must have been considerably distressed by thef awful tales of woe which continue to be poured into their sympathetic ears. On all hands charitable organisations are exhausting their meaois of relief, and still the cry goes up for more assistance. Of yesterday's applicants 79 wera described married and of frood character." Seventy-nine dramas in actual I -it%! It seems like mockery to wish them a happy r.ew year. Hope must be nearly dead in many of these despairing breasts. The response to the recent appeal by the Lord Mayor headed with his lordship's own was but poor in comparison with this appalling distress. But,, surely, in this present season of goodwill, peace, and hope, a few more will think of the distress evident, on all hands, and help with money or employment the uphill tk of this handicapped committee. There can be no doubt- that the New Year has been duly a,nd thoroughly let in." Last night the male members of families were to be observed at the wifrh- ing hour going to the front door to give free access to the newcomer. Pos- sibly every other front door in the conn- try was opened .just after midnight—and, lo, the New Year has arrived! Whether it is a weakness or an attribute of humaul nature, there can be no doubt that the charm of t hese proceedings consists mostly in the ra-et that very many of us regard the arrival ofeadlyear in a per- sonal light. As I heard it put yesterday to a favoured few. twins may be sent, but. we all receive the New Year. It is bound up with all our hopes and expec- I tations, and as the future cannot deal worse with us than the past we are an hoping for happiness, health, prosperity, and all the other good things that may be given away during this newly-started year. May we get all we expect, at the sa-me time remembering, 'iBle&sed is he who-expectecfh -nothing

STOP PRESS I ■ 4' Latest Telegrams. < I :1.- I I CUfwriei Bndtfa.—2.4s—«.-u;u tin: a/ue-field aud Independence, Aleo ran Kind's Colour, Tcung I Lee" "H, c-lH-ch.; oed Fanny Bake. WELvSH COATJ BOARD. MEX TEJSDEi; THrn;H MONTHS' N01'P"E. J' .1.; .1_ ,)J Mr. DalziH, FCCrotary d tbe Coak'?n?r"' Aseociafkm. t<>-<lay received from Air. Tom ¡ Richards. )L.P" secretory (of ¡J.t(! \incTé'! Fcilera-non. three nwnths' notice to termi<Ki-t« vl1 C-MiCiliat-ion B< -ax</ agreement. ¡ I I f j I | | M I