County Observer and Monmouthshire Central Advertiser Abergavenny and Raglan Herald Usk and Pontypool Messenger and Chepstow Argus

OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT. The review of metropolitan vokinfeSrs in Hyde park by the Prince of Wales willpro ve an event of unusual interest. Nominally it will be the centenary of a similar function held by George III.; but actually it will be one further recog- nition on the part of the Royal house of the great services which our citizen soldiers have rendered and are rendering to the country. Hyde-park is especially fitted for the holding ot such a review, not only because of its size and accessibility, but because it was therein that the Queen witnessed her first volunteer review dose upon forty years ago, soon after the 'formation of the present force. The volunteers of old days, such as those whom George III. reviewed, had faded into nothingnesslduring the protracted period of peace which followed the long French war: but they were more than replaced by those who sprang into being at the time that Tennyson's Riflemen, formT' resounded through the land. Not ^ven the most sanguine supporter of the new system, however, imagined that it pos- sessed all the vitality it has proved to have, for now after four decades it is stronger than ever and, although it requires 7 t, no stimulus other than patriotic feeling, to make it still powerful, this new proof of interest by the Prince of Wales will be welcome to every volunteer. Mention of Hyde-park reminds one of a grumble which is just now to be heard in fashionable London as to the condition of its paths. These are roundly declared in some quarters to be entirely neglected, to be never rolled and rarely watered. That is a complaint which teaches our country friends as well as dwellers in town, for a stroll in Hyde-park is very fre- quently a portion of the visitors' pro- gramme while staying in town, and the more especially as it interferes with the success of what every reader of the "society papers knows as the Church parade." It is averred that during several Sundays of the present summer, the fashionable folk who then take their stroll in the park have been well-nigh suffocated with dust, which also covers the seats to such an extent that light dresses coming into contact with them are spoiled. Thus had begins, but worse remains behind, for it is further solemnly stated that it is owing to the condition of the Hyde-park paths at this present that walking there has ceased to be fashionable, for the simple but sufficient reason that well-dressed women find their thin summer shoes cut to pieces by the sharp gravel. After so 'serious a complaint as this, the Duke of Cambridge, as Ranger of Hyde-park, will assuredly take measures to reform its ways. So essentially national an institution is the great library of the British Museum that what- ever concerns it has its interest for every edu- cated person, and, therefore, there will be a very general approval of the testimonial, which, mamly in the form of his own portrait, has been presented to Dr. Richard Garnett, upon his retirement from the position of Keeper of the Printed Books. Dr. Garnett's long services to literature by the assistance he gave to students at the British Museum, could not have been more happily recognised. It was always suffi- cient for him that an inquirer was a genuine student, and he was always ready and even eager to assist him from the stress of his vast knowledge of the world of books. That know- ledge seemed, indeed, well-nigh phenomenal: and there seems a humorous touch, to those who are acquainted with Dr. Garrett, about the fact that a portion of the testimonial was a set of forty-seven works of reference, relating chiefly to classical literature, which he had selected—as if he did not know all such works by heart. The old saying that one has to go abroad to learn news about home is never more strikingly illustrated than in the case of foreign observers who profess to describe what they have seen in England. The ludicrous exaggerations of the French have often been exposed, but not a Jess singular one than any of the boulevards has just been made public in a leading New York paper. A lady who has just returned to the United States* from a visit to us gravely informs her compatriots who have not travelled to Europe that in London theatres billiard-rooms are regularly attached, to which visitors flock between the acts. The absurdity of this, of course, is apparent to all who know the case: but, even if the narrator is to be ex- cused on the ground that she may have recorded only what she had heard, there can be no excuse for her further statement that it is the custom for young men, when they leave their places in the stalls, to return by climbing over all the intervening seats. The General Council of the Bar is once more trying its hand at the reform of the ancient and much-abused circuit system and it is likely to have the more support from the public, because it gives no countenance to the old idea of grouping a number of the smaller counties together, so as to save the time of the judges and the Bar, and waste the substance of the litigants or the prisoners. The new idea is to have local courts established on the model of the Central Criminal Court, presided over by special commissioners, at which cases could be tried, and there would thus be avoided the scandal which, under the present system, only too frequently is to be witnessed of unbailed prisoners remaining in gaol several months before being tried. As every man in this country is presumed to be innocent until he is proved to be guilty, this is a point never to be lost sight of, and the General Council of the Bar is to be commended for not forgetting it. Once more the voice of the Antarctic ex- plorer is heard in the land, for all who are tnterested in this particular matter are greatly cheered by the virtual promise of the Govern- ment to materially assist them. The ordinary outsider has no idea of what a very large and expensive enterprise is such an Antarctic Expedition as that which is just now contemplated. An official estimate of the cost of sending out a scientific party in one ship puts it at not far short of one hundred and ten thousand pounds; and even that vast sum would scarcely be found to suffice if the expedi- tion were not admirably commanded. This point of the commander, indeed, is almost as difficult to sett'e as the money has been hard to secure; but there appears to be no disposition in geographical circles in London to credit a rumour that Dr. Nansen may be asked to take the charge. We have men among us who have already done splendid work in the Arctic regions, and who require the chance to show that they can do equally well in the Antarctic; and, when we are fitting out a national expedition for the purpose of penetrating the ice-bound mysteries of the uttermost South, it is naturally to Englishmen that we look to lead the way. The holding of huge bazaars as a means of raising money for our hospitals has long been a favourite expedient in London, but within the last two years it has been earried to a point never before reached. A year ago the Press Bazaar, organised by working journalists in aid of the London Hospital, realised zCI3,000 in its two days' existence, that being the largest sum ever realised up to that time in any such fashion; but this record has been beaten by the bazaar of a few., days since at the Albert Hall in aid of, Charing Cross Hospital, at which no less tharr £13,300 was taken. The average man may not love this particular form of assailing his pockets in the cause of charity, but he has to smile atjid bear it when bazaars are made as attractives at present. In the -ll'test instance, literature^rt, and music were called m to aid the total result } and the manafer in which the call was responded to proved how thoroughly the public heart is in the right place when the hospitals are con- cerned. — R.

NEWS NOTES. THE QUEEN, on her public appearances since her return from Scotland to Windsor, has given the impression of being remarkably well. Her Majesty enjoys most, excellent health for one of her years, and gets through the work attendant upon her many engagements in a way which would be difficult for many much her junior. And the Queen is always most gracious and tactful in the performance of the varied functions which engage her energies, whether 9 it be a visit to a rose show or the more formal reviewing of a vast body of troops at Alder- shot. WEST KENSINGTON was quite astir on Satur- day, for the foundation-stone laying of the new headquarters of the Post Office Savings Bank. The Duke of Norfolk aptly expounded the virtues of this particular Department of the great State institution which he at present con- trols; and the Prince of Wales, having "well and truly placed the memorial stone in posi- tion, expressed felicitously the Queen's plea- sure that the scheme of Savings Bank had proven such a splendid stimulus to national thrift. SIR THOMAS LIPTON'S new yacht, the Sham- rock, has been privately launched at Millwall, after careful inspection by the Prince of Wales, and has gone to Southampton to be finished, in order eventually to do battle for England in a great international race. It is generally thought that if any craft can capture the trophy from America, this beautiful and remarkable yacht will do it. The Shamrock is to undergo a series of trials with the Prince of Wales's famous racer, the Britannia. THE tall talk between Boer and Uitlander enthusiasts can scarcely be said yet to have quite come to an end; but the steadier diplo- matic heads of both the British and Transvaal Governmental heads have been able to steer matters out of the critical channel. There is prospect now of calmer negotiations, which one may hope will end in an amicable settlement; but it would have been far otherwise had cer- tain interested firebrands had all their own way. FRANCE'S selection, after very considerable trouble, of a strangely composite Cabinet- united, however, on the point of goodwill to Dreyfus-leaves room for much political specu- lation as to what the future may have in store. It is not safe to prophecy as to coming hap- penings in France but if the Waldeck-Rous- seau Government can only manage to dispose of the Dreyfus scandal judicially, it will indeed have wrought France lasting good. THE Newfoundland fisheries still continue to furnish a bone of contention between Britain, France, and the United States. The latest de- velopment is the enforcement by Commodore Giffard, of our navy, of the American rights to take bait along the French shore; and the Washington Government have demanded an immediate cessation from interference on the part of the French authorities. It is high time that the matters between the nations at issue regarding these fisheries should be finally arranged on a satisfactory basis. Surely the diplomacy of the three great countries con- cerned is equal to the task THE Khalifa remains in evidence in the Soudan. In quest of supplies in the Khorbnda district he is reported to be surrounded by hostile tribes and we may shortly hear of his capture. But the Khalifa manifests so much alacrity in escaping from perilous positions that we shall have difficulty in believing him to be done with until he gets into the safe keeping of the Sirdar, and that is not yet." THE Federation ideal in Australasia makes distinct advancement by the substantial majority recorded in its favour in New South Wales. Those who long to see the bonds of our great Empire drawn closer as glad to note the hopeful trend of events. A VERY interesting ceremonial was the un- veiling of a striking statue on Saturday at Rugby to Judge Hughes, the genial creator of immortal Tom Brown." The famous school has done well to honour the memory of one who has cast such world-wide lustre upon, and exercised an abiding influence for good upon, successive generation s. We have many selections of best books nowadays, but any English library without "Tom Brown's Schooldays" would be lamentably lacking and unrepresentative indeed. Hughes, in his own way, was a dis- tinctly great man, and, better than that, he was a good man. Our land will do well to cherish for dly his pleasant precepts. THE way of transgressors is hard. The lady who thought to get a large quantity of jewellery and lingerie into New York harbour and land it on American soil without paying proper Customs duty, has subjected herself to heavy inconvenience, and her troubles are not yet over. There is reason to believe that a good many well-to-do fair ones are not above attempting audacities in the smuggling way but every now and again they get found out," and then comes the reckon- ing. One wonders why these fair sinners care to run the risk of getting into a tight place; for the chance of saving money momed women as well as monied men will adventure much. WE gather from a Home Office blue book just issued that our trade in explosives is growing considerably, as many as seven new factories having been started last year. This does not look quite like the ultimate triumph of pacific principles.

SIR WILFRID LAUBIER has announced that Mr. Tarte, Minister of Public Works, and Lord Strath- cona will represent Canada at the Pacific Cable Con- ference. THE Antwerp municipality have decided to give an imposing reception to members of the De Gerlache Antarctic expedition, who are expected to arrive with the Belgica in August. THE announcement is made of the promotion of Mr. Spencer Eddy, Third Secretary of the American Embassy, London, to be Second Secretary of the American Embassy, Paris. LIEUTENANT-COLONEL AND BREVET-COLONEL C. J. LONG, R.A., has received permission to wear the Order of the Medjidieh of the Third Class in recog- nition of services in Egypt. MR. GEORGE BUCHANAN, Charge d'Affairee at Darm- stadt, and British Agent attending the Venezuela arbitration tribunal in Paris, haa been promoted to the rank of Secretary of Embassy. The vacancy was caused by the death of Mr. Godfrey Bland, recently at Washington. THE Cherbourg Correctional Court has sentenced a Belgian named Clayes to two years' imprisonment and a fine of lOOOf. for spying. Clayes was alleged to be paid by the British Government. THE King of the Belgians, who is building himself a new yacht, has sold the Clementine to Baron Edmond de Rothschild, who has renamed her the Atmah. The Baron will start shortly on a voyage to Bio de Janeiro, accompanied by his wife. LIEUTENJMPT-COLONHL BaocKLEHtrHstf, M.V.O., com- manding the Royal Horse Guards, who has been selected by the Queen to replace Colonel the Earl of Strafford, K.C.V.O,, as Equerry in Ordinary to her Majesty, will be on duty at Balmoral from September 1 to 15, and at Windsor past during the first three weeks of December, 1

I HOW COLLIERS WORK. I Life in the collieries is acoompaified by many curious experiences and dangers. Volumes have been written descriptive of the collier's life, and we need not turn to works of fiction for remarkable and unusual experiences. The people of the black country have lately been seriously impressed with certain remarkable circumstances in the life of a collier named Ernest Thomas Newman, who lives with his parents in Chapel-street, Halesowen, and is twenty-two years of age. Some two years ago, while working in a damp and unhealthy colliery, he con- tracted a severe cold, which resulted in rheumatic fever. When the fever left him he found himself afflicted wih St. Vitus' dance. He lost entire control over his limbs; his face was covered with disfiguring blotches, gradually extending to his body. Every- thing he took failed to relieve him of the painful complaint. A month or two ago, however, he was advised to try Dr. Williams' pink pills for pale people. They were quite casually recommended, but a box was purchased. He was induced to persevere, and when the first box was finished a second was bought, when the wonderful effects commenced. Before about half the second box had gone he felt the power over his limbs returning, and when the third box had been emptied the blotches had disappeared, his appetite had returned, and he realised the pleasure of returning health. Altogether, he took six boxes of Dr. Williams' pink pills, and to-day is as strong and hearty as any collier in the land. The circumstances of this remarkable cure have been personally investigated by a representative of the Birmingham Weekly Mercury, who was cour- teously received by Mr. Newman's mother. At her call a strong, healthy young man came into the room, and the proud mother introduced him to the pressman ae the almost helpless invalid of a few months before. The reporter suggested that his appearance now did not indicate a very delicate disposition. No," replied Mr. Newman, Pin all right now, although before I took Dp. Williamr pink pills I was ab helpless as a baby. I had no strength, my appetite was dean gone, and my arms and legs were jerking about in all directions. They called it St. Vitus' dance, and it was an uncommonly unpleasant dance. I felt awfully ill, could do no work, and took no interest in anything. As I used the pills, how- ever, I felt stronger, and seemed to get more control over my limbs. My appetite returned, and now I feel as well and strong as ever, working between twelve and fourteen hours a day." Rheumatic fever, like influenza, almost always leaves some other disorder behind it—too often heart- weakness. The remedy best fitted to counteract these dangerous after-effects is Dr. Williams' pink pills which, by their strengthening effect on the nerves and their unique power of enriching the blood, fortify the system against attack by disease. They are unrivalled as a tonic, and as a remedy for the debilitating effects of hot, relaxing summer weather.

I MR. TOM NICKALLS'S WILL. I Mr. Tom Nickalls, of Patteson-court, Nutfield, and of the London Stock Exchange, for many years Master of the Surrey Staghounds, who died on May 10 last, aged 70 years, left personal estate of the value of S:82,331 15s. 4d., and the gross value of the whole of his estate has been entered at £ 141,219 4s. 9d. The testator bequeathed to Mrs. Nickalls E,7,000, his household effects, horses and carriages, the use and enjoyment of Patteson-court for one year, and the income during her life of a sum of £ 30,000. He confirmed the gift of £ 16,000 to his son Norman, and bequeathed to him E4000. He left to his son Hugh the Lone Oak property at Redhill and £8000, he confirmed the gift of E2000 to his son Guy, and bequeathed to him EFOOO, and he bequeathed to his son Vivian £ 10,000. Mr. Nickalls confirmed the gift of £10,000 to his daughter, Mrs. Baillie Grohman, and bequeathed to her £500. To his daughter Nina, wife of Mr. Percy Simpson, E5000, and to his daughters, Grace, Beatrix, Maud, Clara, and Una Gertrude, £ 5000 each. The residue of Mr. Nickalls's estate is to be in trust to pay the income thereof to Mrs. Nickalls during her life, and to pay, after her death, further £20,000 to the testator's lion Norman, and further, E13,500 each to his sonr, Hugh and Guy and Vivian, and to hold further £ 5000 each in trust for his seven daughters, and to hold the ultimate residue in trust in equal shares for all of his children.

GOLD-SEEKERS' TERRIBLE FATE. I A terrible story, suggesting cannibalism, comes from Alaska. According to a New York correspon- dent three men from New England lost the trail to Klondyke on the 12th of the month and perished miserably. Their bodies were discovered recently. One of the corpses was partly eaten, suggesting that the other two before they also succumbed had vainly resorted to cannibalism to prolong life. The pockets of the three victims were full of gold.

I A FARMER was complaining to some bystanders that he did not know what was the matter with his horses. He had tried everything he oould think of, condition powder and all other specifics, but to no purpose. They would not improve in flesh. A stable boy, whose sympathies were aroused by the story, comprehended the situation, and modestly asked: Did you ever try corn ?" INSPECTOR-GENERAL HENBY MACDONNEL, G.B., who has been placed on the retired list, joined the Royal Naval Medical Service in 1861. He attained his pre- sent rank after 38 years of effective and assiduous service. He will be recalled as having been Fleet Surgeon of the Invincible at the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882. The Inspector-General was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath on thl occasion of the Diamond Jubilee in 1897. MR. CLEM EDWABDS, well known in conneocicm with the labour movement, has been called to the Bar at the Middle Temple. AT Burr Oak, Michigan, Mr. John Holmes, a millionaire banker, poisoned himself after attempting to kill his wife. THERE has just been laid to rest at Koeffen, near Inspruck the remains of a man named Johann Schwaighofer, who for 57 years had acted as school- master and organist in various districts in the Southern Tyrol. His teaching and his organ-play- ing did not suffice to keep him, so a correspondent writes, and in his leisure time Schwaighofer was successively day labourer, wood-cutter, mason, car- penter, painter, thatcher, shepherd &c. He was a learned man, and kept up correspondence with savants, poets, and artists of distinction. He wrote his own epitaph, which sets forth the simple facts that. he was a schoolmaster born at Bethenschoss in 1817, and that he died at Koeffen in 1899

I AN IDEAL DRINK. I TJmder this heading the West End states that barley water made with Robinson's patent barley is obtain- able at the leading London clubs gratuitously, and this authority argues that if aristocratic clubmen can call for barley water it is good enough for anyone. Hitherto barley water took hours to make, but by using Robinson's patent barley it is made in five minutes, hence its popularity. It has always been known as a splendid nutritious drink for invalids, but tbs great army of cyclists recognise it as the most cooling drink, hence it is equally acceptable for lawn tennis parties, golf meetings, cricket, matches, &e. Messrs. Keen, Robinson and Co. having ascer- tained that barley water made with Robinson's patent barley is a specific for stone have presented a quan- tity of their preparation to the Stone Hospital, which has been thankfully accepted. Considering that it is pleasant, nutritious and cooling, it should be the drink for general adoption in summer and after.

I PEERS' OFFICIAL'S DEBTS. I Sir Alfred Marten, county-court judge at Windsor, on Saturday issued three judgment summonses against Horace West, of Clewer Lodge, Windsor, respecting debts owing to Messrs. Hedges and Keep, dairymen ( £ 48 14s. 3a.), Messrs. Slack and Company ( £ 10 16s. 2d.), and the well-known firm of Benoist (am 18s.). Mr. P. Lovegrove, who appeared on behalf of the first-named firm, stated that the defendant held an official appointment in the House of Lords and rented a house at Clewer at £ 355 a year. He also kept horses and carriages. Mr. Ridout, representing Messrs. Slack and Com- pany, said that the defendant had a salary of 9500 a year. His Honour made an order for commitment in 42 days, to be suspended if defendant paid half the amount in 28 days and the balance 28 days later.

DUKE OF WESTMINSTER OJS BETTING. | On Saturday the Duke of Westminster laid the foundation-stones of three covered racing-stands on Chester Roodee. His Grace, m the course of his speech, referred to the vastly improved conduct of the crowds since the present company was formed, and said that the Prince of Wales was much struck with the great order ob- served when he was there in May. He hoped his Royal Highness would come again. He only wished there could be a little less betting. As far as he was concerned, he had plenty of excitement without betting, having horses to run, and occasion- ally winning a race. He thought there was no great harm in betting itself-no great harm in the fact that money should pass from one to another, but the objectionable feature was that young men, and sometimes, he feared, young women, too, would bet when they had not the means to pay for what they I might, unfortunately, lose. It was there where the evil came in. ■

I u OLDHAM ELECTION. < Mr. Winston S. Churchill, in his address to the electors of Oldham, states that he is first a Conserva- tive, and secondly a Tory Democrat. The improve- ment of the condition of the British people he re- gards as the main end of modern government, and he will promote to the best of his ability legislation which may raise the standard of happiness and com- fort in English homes. For many years the Conser- vative party, he claims, has guarded the interests of labour, and its efforts have not been without reward, for the Tory democracy has now.become the stoutest bulwark of the Constitution.

THE CASE OF MRS. DRUCE, I Mrs. Anna Maria Druce promises some startling developments in connection with the strange and bewildering case, with which her name has been so prominently associated. In the course of an inter- view on Saturday afternoon, Mrs. Druce announced tier intention of instituting criminal proceedings igainst the chairman of the Highgate Cemetery Company, as the official responsible for the alleged illegal erasure of her son Sydney George Druce's name from the company's register at the head offices in New Bridget-street, Ludgate- sircus, as the owner of the disputed vault at Highgate. Mrs. Druce further declared that active steps were being taken with a view to facilitating the long-threatened proceeding against the Duke of Portland in the House of Lords. This week she has to meet three financiers of prominence, and hopes that between them they will find the £ 20,000 or P.30,000 necessary to bring matters to a final issue before the highest tribunal in the land; It was further stated by Mrs. Druce that her efforts have resulted in securing some extraordinary evidence by persons still living as to the real character of the much-debated funeral of the Charles Thomas Druce whose identity has, through recent events, been enveloped in so much mystery. The lady evidently takes a very hopeful view of the general outlook, and promises many surprises for the public.

THAT wicked flea kept me awake all night, simply because I forgot to get a tin of Keating's Powder," the unrivalled Killer of Fleas, Beetles, Moths, which is sold everywhere in 3d., 6d., and ls. tins. Harmless to everything but Insects

CAMDEN JtiousE, unisieiiurst, lias Deen acquired D, a syndicate for P-36,000, and a new golf club and4- grounds were inaugurated on Saturday. A PAUPER named Watts appeared at North London. on Saturday, charged with refractory conduct while- in the workhouse. He objected tq being shaved, b. the workhouse barber with a hard brush.

FRY'S MAINTAINS ITS pRE-EW"NENOE as a LIGHT and NOURISHING »kiwk. ?hufn;ghrbr^

TUB average duration of human life is about u years. One-fourth of the inhabitants die before they reach their seventh year, one-half before their 17th year. Of every 1000 persons, only one reaches the: age of 100 years of every 100, only six reach th& age of 65, and not more than one in 500 lives to see; the 80th year. There are about 1,500,000,000 inhabi- tants on the globe. Of these 50,000,000 die every year, 137,736 per day, 5595 per hour, about 90 per ifeinute, or three in every two seconds. KILAUEA, the "volcano in Hawaii which has just burst forth into fresh activity, Ja not a volcano in the accepted sense of the word.. It is rather a great lake of lava, situated on a plateau on one of the lower slopes of the great Mauna-Loa, or White Mountain, which rises nearly 14,000ft. into the sky. Kilauea is about three miles across, and with its seething erup- tions playing away all oyerjit it presents one of the grandest sights of the kind in the world. The walla of this black pit are nearly 600ft. high, but thjere is a depression on the east side througS which the lava, flows away to the sea, a distance of about 40 miles. Hilo, the chief town on Hawaii, lie. to the east, and may have suffered from this last UDheavftL

S To Avoid Substitutes I 1 ask distinctly for I I Dr. Williams' | and pay no attention to any substitute, m 1!JR:1V;f.i1.Ll:1f.'MS'" 8t ISl^qIIEE. HP Have cured In many thousands of casts Paralysis, Consumption, Rheumatism, Indigestion, Sciatica, Ladies' Allmtnu, St. Titus' Dance, Neuralgia. SUBSTITUTES never cured anything and if they are offered you can always send ■ direct tO-Dr. Williams' Medicine Company, 8 46, Hoi born Viaduct, London, E.C., and ■ obtain the Genuine Pills that effect Genuine 5 Cures. Price, 2.r. gil.; six boxes, 13s, gil.

I THE SUICIDE SEASON. I A writer in the Lmnement (Paris) gives the result of his study of suicide statistics. He says that in France, Italy, Roumania, Prussia, and Denmark the number of suicides is highest in the months of May, June, and July. In Spain and Sweden April, May, and June are the fatal months. In Norway May, June, and September are the suioide months, while in Germany July and August constitute the season. In China and Japan, June, July, and August produce more suicides than in any other three months of the vear.

A CHEQUE THAT STRAYED. I Mr. Justice Ridley, in the Queen's Bench Division, on Saturday, heard the case of Baker v. Lipton, Limited. It was an action by Mrs. Baker, widow of the late Mr. George B. Baker, formerly of the Pall Mall Gazette, to recover £112 10s. in connection with the allotment of Lipton shares, Mr. Baker applied for 1000 shares in Lipton, Limited, forwarding a cheque for £ 125. Only 25 shares were allotted to him. Mr. Baker died on March 29, and two days after a cheque for £ 11210s., the amount not applied to shares allotted was for- warded by the defendants to the Pall Mall Gazette office, but it never reached the plaintit, though it was duly cashed. It appeared to have been collected by a man named Coward, a friend of Mr. Baker, and deposited with Mr. Edward Beall, solicitor, Copthall-avenue, as against costs in an action he was conducting. The defence was that there was an implied request on the part of deceased to make payment by post. His lordship held that there was no such request, and the cheque was sent at the responsibility of the sender. He gave judgment for the plaintiff for E112 10s.. with costs.

OLD AGE PENSIONS. A conference of guardians, county councillors, town councillors, chairmen of parish councils and members of urban district councils, with representa- tives of friendly societies and trade organisations, was held at the Northampton Town Hall, on Saturday, to consider the question of old age pen- sions. It was first decided that old age pensions were desirable, and, after some discussion, that they should be universal. The chair was occupied by the ex-Mayor-Mr. Councillor W. Hanzen.

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A GREAT ACTRESS'S SECRET. What is Sarah Bernhardt s secret ? what is it that keeps her up ? what makes her the wonder of her sex, her profession, and the world (asks M.A.P.) ? Here she is well past her prime, a youthful grand- mother, and still an inexhaustible force. She is always playing; never rests, never tires, and does the- eternal round of her repertoire without ennui or fatigue. How does she do it? Well, to begin with,. La Bernhardt is an enormous eater. She will sup en prince with her friends, but when they have gone, and the lights are out, and she had at last got to, her own room, she will set to work feeding again, and will cook four or five eggs hard, and de- vour them before the retires for the night! Dejeuner, again, is a regal meal, and everybody is welcome to that actolrs in want of a hint, authors in want of a helping hand', and poverty-stricken poets :in want of a meal. Sarah keeps open house to the music of knives and forks. She was once asked why 'it was she didn't get old, and her reply was that she never thought I Sarah makes her life a continual progress to cheering crowds, [contented merely with the insense of the moment. She is utterly oblivious of the future, so far as money goes. She makes piles and she spendg piles. A walk down Regent-street would mean the purchase of every bonnet that suited her head, and every knick-knack that took her fancy. Jealousies never trouble her. She will teach Cissie Loftus how to make "game of her antics and telegraph her bravos to Mrs. Bernard Beere when she plays her own parts. She is not exactly a mere actress, or, for that matter, a mere woman-but a wonderful Oriental idol, set in the midst of peoplo who for ever genuflect at her shrine.

BAND will be used to extinguish fire, if there should be one in the New Telephone Company's exchange at Indianapolis. It is used because it is less ^injurious to the electrical apparatus than water or chemicals, would be. The sand is stored ia a large tank above the exchange room, and is sifted automatically to any or all parts of the building in such a manner as to smother fire very effectivelv. LORD KITCHENER is the fourth bachelor who has been raised- to the peerage in recent years. Sir Henry James, now Lord James of Hereford, Mr. Henry Matthews, now Viscount Llandaff, and Mr. David Plunket, now Lord Rathmore, are all unmar- ried. Previously to the election of the peerage of Lord James of Hereford and Lord Landnff in 1892 followed by Mr. Plunket's peerage in 1898, no bachelor had been created a peer for upwards of 12 years-since May, 1880 when Mr. Montague Corry, Lord Beaconsfield's private secretary, was, raised to the peerage as Lord liowton. WHEN a man pays a bill he has a right to take the Credit himself.

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AMID BONES AND SKULLS. The savage Papuans of New Guinea appear (say., the Gardener) to have considerably more respect for their dead than they have for the living, and it was, not without a good deal of persuasion and bribery that Mr. Sander's collectors were allowed to search the native burial grounds in quest of a beautiful Dendrobium, which seems to have a gruesome taste for graveyard company. Brass wire and beads at length did the trick, and the collectors began their search among the honeycombed limestone rocks, where the Papuans deposit their dead in wicker- baskets. The burial ground teemed with orchids which, sending out their long tendrils, encircled and grasped the decaying bones of the departed Papuans. One plant had grown through and over a skull, but the collector had no scruples; he brought it away,, skull as well, and the latter was sold with the plant when it arrived in England. Once the native aver- sion to disturbing the dead had been got over, the, Papuans showed little further sentiment, for they helped the collectors to root up every dendrobium, that could be found. They stipulated, however, that. one of their native idols with golden eyes should' accompany the plants, partly as a precaution- against; the souls of the departed coming back to worry, them, for the desecration of their resting-place and partly to ensure the safety and welfare of the plants. When, the dendrobiums arrived in London the idol was with. them, and it was purchased at the Mile by a Reigate gentleman.