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

LONGEVITY AND WEALTH. I The executor of the will, which bears date October 18, 1893, of William David, fourth Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield, of Scone Palace, and of Kenwood House, Hampstead, Lord Lieutenant of Clack- mannan, who died on August 2, 1898, aged 91 years, is his grandson, WilHam David, now fifth Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield. The late earl's personal estate in England and Scotland has been valued at £ 137,1142, .including 949,698 as the value of the effects at Kenwood House and Scone Palace, £ 14,704 as the value of effects elsewhere, and £ 48,500 as the proceeds of life insurance policies for £ 25,000, with bonus additions thereto. Mr. Robert Cartwright, of Aynho Lodge, 51, Augusta-gardens, Folkestone, who died on April 7 last, aged nearly 94 years, left personal estate of the value of £ 25,439. The personal estate of Mr. John Kirk Hope, of Edinburgh, senior partner in the firm of John Kirk Hope and Sons", 22, Queensferry-street, Edinburgh, who died on March 27 last, aged 90 years, has been valued at 9106,930. Personal estate of the value of E40,746 has been left by Mr. Thomas Newland Allen, of The Vache, Chalfont St. Giles, Bucks, J.F. and D.L., High Sheriff 1841, who died on March 11 last, aged 87 years, and the gross value of the whole of the estate has been entered at £ 214,497.

A SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE. The school of Architecture which was opened in Liverpool Jive years ago with 50 students now has 175, and it will presently stand first among schools of its kind outside London. These are not many. Of all the greater branches of art, architecture is stili the worst provided for in this country. But it is to be remarked that the Liverpool school attracts a great many more working craftsmen than architects' apprentices,who are doubtless.used in Liverpool as else- where, by all but the best of their masters, in the half- educated way that is too common. Even, however, in such a large city there are probably not enough students of architecture to keep an important school going; and with that subject modelling, carving copper and iron work, designing for stained glass! &c., are very fitly associated under one roof.

THE death of Mr. Ernest Clay Ker Seymer, which took place on Sunday last, will be very deeply re- c gretted by a wide circle of friends. He was the eldest son of the late James Clay, M.P. for Hull, and a brother of the late Frederic Clay, the accom- plished musical composer. He was educated at Harrow and in Germany, and subsequently joined che Diplomatic Service, and was attached to several Legations in various European capital*. He served under Lord Lyons, both at Wasninypon and Paris; and, in 1864, married Gertrude, daughter of Mr. Henry Ker Sevmer, the well-known member for Dorset. I

HOME HINTS. SPRING CHICKENS, &C.—Roasting is decidedly the beat and most popular method to adopt for the cooking of young birds, such as spring chickens, ducklings, turkey poults, and goslings, though there are various other methods which are equallydainty, and often t« be preferred when dealing with older birds. In pre- paring the young birds fop- cooking, great care should be taken, as the flesh is sb very tiender, and therefore easily torn. They are not generally stuffed, as the natural flavour of the birds is so very, delicate and delicious that the majority:of people prater it without any addition whatever; in that case, just season the insides lightly with salt and pepper, and smear them well with cold stiff butter, then fasten the openings securely, truss firmly and neatly, and roast either before a clear hot fire or in a well-heatdi brisk oven. When done enough, serve on a very hot dish, garnished round about with a full close border of fresh crisp watercress, which has been properly prepared, slices of fresh lemon, and little rolls of crisply fried ham or prime bacon, omitting the latter in the case of ducklings or goslings. Send to table very hot, accompanied by some goo^ sauce or gravy, and skilfully cooked appropriate vegetables in hot tureens. Note To serve with spring chickens or turkey poults, the most favourite sauces are espagnol, tomato, oyster, mushroom, bechamel, or bread sauce, and rich brown gravy with ducklings and goslings, tomato, applet sorrel, soubise, green gooseberry, or bread sauce, and brown gravy. To ROAST FULLY-GROWN BIRDS.Mese, as a rule, are considered to be greatly improved when stuffed with a well-made, pleasantly-flavoured forcemeat directions for which are given below-and as the birds require so much longer to cook, it is necessary to cover the breasts first with slices of very fat bacon, then with thickly-greased paper hi order to prevent the skin becoming scorched or too dark coloured baste frequently, and a short time before the cooking is finished remove the paper and the bacon, so that the surface of the birds may acquire just a nice, dainty crispness; then, when done enough, serve fowls, capons, poulardes, or turkeys on a very hot dish garnished round with a ring of very small sausages, plenty of daintily-fried, curled bacon, tiny forcemeat balls, and sprigs of fresh green parsley, and accompanied by bread sauce and a good brown gravy; or, if preferred, by any of the other sauces mentioned in connection with the younger birds. Ducks and geese should be garnished with a border of fresh, ciisp watercress, properly prepared, and slices or quarters of fresh lemon. Any of the sauces suitable for ducklings and goslings may be served if desired, but as a rule apple sauce and good brown gravy are preferred. When served cold, the dish should be tastefully garnished with sprigs of parsley and fancifully cut slices of fresh lemon and bright red boiled beetroot, and be accompanied by a well-made salad. A piece of boiled ham, bacon, or pickled pork should also be served with fowls, capons, poulardes, and turkeys. Ducks and geese are generally stuffed with sage and onion stuffing, a good recipe for which is as follows: Peel, blanch, and boil six or eight large onions, then chop them, drain thoroughly, and put them in a basin; add a rather high seasoning of salt, Sjepper, and powdered sage—or a few fresh sage eaves very finely minced—4oz. of breadcrumbs, the liver of the bird parboiled and chopped small, and about 2oz. of fat bacon cut into very tiny dice. Mix well and use. Or sometimes for a change apple, potato, or chestnut stuffing is preferred. To make a good forcemeat for chickens, &c., mix together tho- roughly with lOoz. of fine breadcrumbs, 8oz. of beef suet, the livers of the birds parboiled, 4oz. of lean cooked ham or bacon, and two tablespoonfuls of parsley, all very finely chopped, then season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and lemon juice, bind with beaten eggs and use. Or, if preferred, use a stuffing of ordinary sausage-meat seasoned and flavoured according to taste. A FRICASSEE of RABBIT.-Prepare, cut up, and soak, as already directed, either one large plump rabbit or two small ones, then after drying the joints —which for a fricassés should be rather tmaller than usual-and seasoning them pleasantly, fry them in pure beef dripping for two or three minutes over a quick fire until the meat is just slightly browned and quite firm, then take them up, drain carefully, and set on one side until required. Fry in the same fat adding little more, of course, if' necessary-first some slices of prime streaky bacon cut about three inches long. then a cucum- ber cut and prepared as below, and last of all three or four medium-sized oniona cut into small dice. Set the bacon and cucumber aside for the present, but put the rabbit and the onions, with a bunch of herbs, into a stewpan and just barely cover them with hot stock or water which has been thickened to a smooth creamy consistency with flour or ground rice, and rather highly flavoured with mushroom ketchup, then bring to the boil, after which draw the pan on one side and simmer gently until the rabbit is quite three-parts cooked, when the bacon and cucumber should be added; add also a little more thickening, colouring, or seasoning if required, as the sauce should be very thick, highly seasoned, of a rich brown colour, and not too plentiful. When done enough, remove the herbs, dish up the fricassee in the centre of a firm potato border, garnish the edge of the dish with Freneh beans cut in lozenge shapes, which have been coeked in readiness, and nicely seasoned, and serve very hot. To prepare the cucumber, first peel it, then cut it in pieces about an inch and a half long; divide these in quarters and shape the pieces neatly, then sprinkle them well with salt and set them in a cool place for an hour, after which drain and dry them well, coat them with fine flour, and fry until coloured a nice brown. To THE MISTRESS.-Unlimited advice has been freely offered to the lady domina of our households as to the care she should bestow on the various de- partments under her charge. The parlour, the guest chamber, the kitchen, the pantry, the scullery, have all in turn been passed under review, and her duties, towards each and all, been severally pointed out to her. But it has been left to an Idle fellow full of Idle thoughts to say to the women of our homes, House keep thyself! Is not the hint a timely one ? My dear lady," he says, you may polish your furniture till it shines again, but the most valuable piece of furniture in the whole house is going to rack and ruin for want of being seen to. Pause and look within. Do you not see that while your house is in apple-pie order, you are making everybody wretched ?" It is indeed too true. Are there not thousands of women in the world who are willing to spend and be' spent toiling in the kitchen from morn- ing to night, and yet, as our author says, render the whole feast tasteless for want of a h, orth of salt; for want of a soupcon of amiability; for want of a handful of kindly words a pinch of courtesy ?" Truly in labouring much for the tfieat that perisheth we forget to look after the things that endure. In studying to please the senses, as if the world were made up of eating and drinking, and bodily comfort, we forget to appeal to sentiment, and fail to remember that a dinner of herbs where peace is is better than a stalled ox and hatred therewith." The true home, where "the children rise up and call the mother blessed and the husband, with a grateful heat, declares that a good wife is from the Lord," is not entirely made up of food and raiment and a never-ending sweeping and dusting, but in the brightness shed around her, who has its happiness in her hands, to mar or make-to frown on every pleasure or with kindly, sympathetic heart to seek to sooth every sorrow and make the bitter sweet. And this is no small task. It has been well said that it is easier to die a martyr than to live a saint, and the woman who manages to live above the petty cares and daily annoyances of a household, to endure patiently the contradictiou of sinners, in the shape of unruly children and careless servants, with perhaps a cantankerous lord and master to study and keep in tune, would need to be a saint indeed, and be con- tinually exercising restraint over herself and guard- ing against those too ready ebullitions of temper that leave°8uch a sting behind bridling the tongue, and ruling the spirit "as one that keepeth a city. A. L. O. S. in the Agricutural Gazette.

IT'S risky tr, r,n in debt. but many people are will- ing to run tlY, risk. AN American portable folding beat, recently in- vented, comprises two middle and two end sections. The two middle sections are hinged together so that one folds over the other, thus forming^ a cover. The two end sections are bolted to the middle sections, within which they are placed when not in use. Bolts lock the middle sections together when they are ex- tended, and are provided with washers to prevent leakage. The seats are so hung that they swing out of the way when the parts are folded. The oars are made in detachable sections.

THE WOMAN'S WORLD. ) THE embroidering of monograms on gloves (eayt the Evening News) cannot be called a pretty fashion. Gloves made to order with monograms are devoid of stitching, and the monogram is embroidered in the centre of the back of the hand. Those which are purchased from stock and then embroidered have the monogram set between the thumb seam and first row of stitching, and others have it placed on the wrist below the stitching. The most popular, if the new fad may be said to be popular so soon, are the self-coloured embroidered, monograms. These deco- rations are so striking, even in self-colotiring, that few will be brave enough to hazard so striking a con- trast as white on black, or vice versa. IN an interview in the new number of the Young Woman, Gertrude Atherton says that English girls take life more seriously than American girls do, and they are brought up differently. One thing I notice specially is that if the married English girl has not got just everything she wants in her husband, she falls back on the traditions of duty that have been planted in her. She just sits down, and makes the best of her life. Having been always taught that she is secondary to man, ana that she has certain duties to him, she keeps her own counsel when things go wrong. She is reticent and reserved, and will do any- thing before she will tell the world. The American girl, on the other hand, does not give finality to things in this way. She geta a divorce if her husband is not as she would have him, and so begins her life over again. Of course, this is free generalising. There are much-enduring wives in the United States as well as in England, and many tyrants. I have met some Englishwomen I like immensely. The type I like best is the type that has seen most of the world. The others are apt to be a little stodgy. The English woman of the upper classes who has had all the ad- vantages of that class is perfectly charming, because she has the animation of the American women on the top of a more solid education. The American woman is such a consummate talker that she can delude you for a good while and cover up what she doesn't know." IT is rumoured (remarks a writer in the Morning Herald) that the odious practice of scenting pocket handkerchiefs will shortly be reintroduced. As yet all the perfuming that a woman of taste and refine- ment desires is obtained by sachets of her favourite perfume placed among the articles of attire in her wardrobe. When we take to spraying our handker- chiefs again we shall have gone back a step in the scale of civilisation and refinement. THE very smartest, if not the most ornate of new parasols, are those covered with real hand-made lace stretched tightly over silk foundations, supported by enamelled sticks precisely matching the shade of the silk itself. Some of the more fanciful are covered with fluted chiffon or gauze, shaded by hand to simulate a gigantic poppy or rose as the case may be. SUNSHINE is (the Morning Herald insists) as neces- sary to health as food and raiment. The house with constantly lowered blinds is never good to live in, though the carpets and chairs may be as bright and unfaded as when they were first bought. Don't keep the sun from your living and sleeping rooms. It is absolutely necessary for health's sake, and faded carpets are preferable to fretful invalids. There is an old proverb that says where the sun does not enter the doctor must. This is also true of fresh air. During the summer the windows should always be open a little at the top, even throughout the night. If children are accustomed to sleep with the bed- room window a tiny bit open at the top, they are not only less susceptible to colds, but they grow up stronger of lung and with little tendency to head- aches. A WOMAN who studies economy, but not at the expense of good appearance, says that a most satis- factory petticoat for general wear is made from an old serge dress skirt. It should be of the wiry sort of that material, and have the smooth, hard finish rather than the rough surface. Washed and made up with bias ruffles, it is light, durable, and holds out the dress admirably. THBSE is now a fad to have floors of bedrooms treated with paint and enamel finish of the colour prevailing in the furniture. The wall covering should match the floor, and the woodwork should be white. Sometimes the wall has a dado of matting or denim that matches the floor in colour, while the upper part of the wall is covered with flowered paper. IF furniture is dirty, it should be washed in water nd vinegar, equal parts, using a flannel rag, and -hen, after perfect drying, rubbed with a clean flannel and a little linseed oil before using any liquid or cream polish. If a table bears the tell-tale mark left by a hot plate, rub it well with lamp oil and Rannel, finishing off with a clean cloth slightly wet with spirits of wine. A notable housewife restores the original polish, when it has been removed by a warm dish, with linseed oil rubbedin with a piece of linen, changing the linen until the table top is perfectly dry. White spots are removed by rubbing them with a piece of flannel and turpentine, repeating the application if necessary, and in any case rubbing with a good will until patience and strength are about exhausted. Unsightly finger-marks disappear from varnished furniture when rubbed with sweet oil. THE newest and smartest little trinket with which to deck the feminine person (says the Sun) is a short gold chain, very fine and delicate, and about 12in. long. At the ends are crystal pendants, pear-shaped, heart-shaped, or made to represent four-leaf clovers. They are coloured like the costly gems, and will suit the COIOlW of all gows. They are to be knotted around a four-in-hand tie, to fasten a lace scarf, or to drape the froy.. Cj h- norsage to the right or left, and, prettiest of all, th-sj fasten the open fronts of fancy bodices. WHEN advanced ideas came into vogue and were applied to the upbringing of babies, the first act of the reformers was to discard the old-fashioned cradle. It was said not to be healthy for the young child to be subjected to the see-saw motion of the rockers. Now, a lady doctor announces her belief that baby needs a cradle to get a little exercise and to ensure a healthy circulation of the blood. She discarded the cradle for herown children, but for her grandchildren she has grown wiser. She declares the cradle is not an addler of infantile brains, but only sends the necessary amount of blood to all parts of the body. NEW arrangements for the neck trimmings (re- marks Lady Jane" in the London Journal) of summer frocks are without number; the most popular are the stocks of silk covered with and edged with lace having long loose ends; the stock is sometimes held in place by a band of velvet ribbon fastened with a crescent brooch. Large collars and revers of embroidery and tucking combined are very much used. The bow which holds the revers together is of satin ribbon. Stocks of hem-stitched linen, with revers and front pieces of the same, are worn with combination belts and bews of satin ribbon. Three shades of ribbon tied in front will make a pretty stock to wear with a turn-over lace collar. THE tailor-made girl who wishes to do the real smart thing nowadays no longer carries a handsome purse in her hand, nor does she wear it strung about her neck on one of the long chains so lately fashion- able. She keeps her change carefully tucked away in some of the many tiny pockets with which her tailor suit is so plentifully. supplied. All she is supposed to want in the way of money for cab-fares, ice-cream. &c., can be carried in this way.

A RIVAL TO ROWLAND HILL. From time to time we get fresh light upon the extent of Rowland Hill's services to posterity. There is a general concensus that his was the merit of hav- ing introduced uniform inland penny postage. But the French now claim to have been first in the field with postage stamps and stamped envelopes or wrappers. A French collector possesses a "billet de port pave," which enclosed a letter from PellissoD to Mlle. de Scudery, and in the French archives there is the text of a royal instruction, dated 1623, regulating the distribution of letters in Paris, and arranging for prompt replies by means of stamped papers, which are to be forwarded by the sender, ana which may be used to enclose or adhere to the written answers. The billets de porte paye," how- ever, soon disappeared, and it was not until the year 1848 that a law was passed making the use of stamps obliestorv.

ART AND LITERATURE. SIR ARCHIBALD HAMILTON DUNBAR has prepared ft revised chronology of Scottish History frem 1005 to 1625, with notices of the principal events, pedigrees, Church calendars, and dther information highly useful to students. Over 5000 references to authori- ties are added, there are four. maps and an index. The book will be called Scottish Kings," and will be issued by Mr. David Douglas. A FEW weeks ago a Leeds policeman got a painting accepted (though not hung) at the Royal Academy. Now it is announced that Mr. Balfour has granted a pension of E40. per annum out of the Civil List Fund to Charles Assheton, ex-policeman. Assheton was a policeman in the Merionethshire force. During his spare time he turned his attention to literature, taught himself Latin and kindred subjects, and pub- lished many books of exceptional merit. He won numerous prizes at the Eisteddfodau, wrote an ex- cellent history of Welsh literature, and is now en- gaged on a Welsh bibliograph. He retired from the force some time ago. THE panel which has been painted by Mr. Ernest Crofts as one of the series of mural decorations in the Royal Exchange in London has just been fixed in the place it is to occupy permanently. It represents The Opening of the First Royal Exchange by Queen Elizabeth," and is a gift from the Mercers- Company. This is the seventh of the paintings that have been commissioned, and an eight is still in pro- gress. It is to be hoped that opportunity may soon be given for the completion of the remaining panel*. MR. G. F. WATTS, who is now in his 83rd year, constantly exposes his canvases to the full rays of the sun, to let the light burn into the wet paint and dry with it. He believes there need be no fear of fading after a process that so severely tests the colours. Mr. Watts uses no maulstick, his brushes are of a great size and hardness, and he has always been more fond of stippling than of delicate brush work, often pounding the colour into his canvas to insure permanence. He has rarely worked directly from the living model, but modelled fragmentary studies in wax and clay for the particular parts of the figure required in hii picture. MUSICALLY, at least, Massenet is the man of the hour, by reason of his new opera, Ceadrillon," just produced in Paris. It is of the romantic school, or, as the French prefer to call it, a fairy tale." The composer himself is a bit of a fairy tale. He is the son of an old engineer officer of Napoleon's, who would have nothing to do with:a Bourbon, but Bet up as a blacksmith at St. Etienne. and in the wholesome atmosphere of the forge became the father of 21 children, of whom the author of Cendrillon is the youngest. With Massenet music was a vocation from infancy. At 21 he carried off the Prix de Rome, began composing out of hand, and has gone on ever since. FOR the first number of the Anglo-Saxon mamzine, Lady Randolph Churchill has been able to Secure some distinguished contributors. Lord Rosebery is represented by an essay, the Duchess of Devonshii* is to edit a selection from the letters of Georgians Duchess of Devonshire, a poetical drama is pro- mised from John Oliver Hobbes, a poem from Mr. Swinburne, and contributions are also to come from Slatin Pasha and Mr. Whitelaw Reid. Portrait illustrations, including the Queen, Lady Mary Wortley Montague, and Mary Sidney Countess oi Pembroke will be a feature of the number. THE summer exhibition of the Dudley Gallery Art Society is not marked by any narticular originality, and has no novel features by which it can be distin- guished from the previous shows under the same management. As a collection that includes a fail amount of sincere effort, mixed with a great deal that is futile and incompetent it deserves credit for a certain degree of good intention; but it is hardly of a character to awake enthusiasm. The best contri- butions are those of Miss Bernard, Mr. Donne, Mr. George Marks, Mr. Albert Stevens, and Mr. W. Nichols, who, in their various ways, work with excellent capacity, and with real appreciation of the obligations imposed upon them by the pursuit of the artist's profession; but the bulk of the exhibits betray the tentativeness of the amateur. PROFESSOR SAINSBURY, whose critical methods art once more being discussed apropos of his newly- published monograph on Matthew Arnold, has had rather a varied career. He was born 54 years ago in Southampton. He received his education at King's College, London, and Merton College, Oxford. Aftw leaving the University he received a post as junior assistant master at the Manchester Grammar gSchoot He remained three two terms, and then took the Senior ^Classical Mastership at the Elizabethan College, Guernsey, and a few years later he became headmaster of the Elgin Educational Institute. In 1876 he joined the ranks of the London journalists, and for a number of years he was a Saturday Re- viewer in the old slashing days. He was appointed Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature at Edino burgh in 1895. Two new serial stories-viz., "The Three Witchea," by Mrs. Molesworth, and "River and Forest" by Edward S. EllIs-are commenced in the July parfc of Little Folks. A painting-book containing numerous pictures in colours and copies for painting is pre- sented with this part. Mrs. Clement K. Shorler-);lu written a short story for Cas&elCs Magazine. It is called The Other Woman's Child," and appears in the July part. A NEW serial-story commences in the July number of the Quiver from the pen of Miss Cornwall Legh, the author of A Hard Master," The Steep Ascent," and other well-known works. The story is entitled Love-Light," and is illustrated by Mr. Fred Pegram. MR. HAL HURST'S collection of pictures and draw- ings, which is being shown at the Modern Gallery in London, would be astonishing simply as a record of indefatigable industry, even if it were without artistic interest. But it happens to be very attrac- tive in its technical qualities, and shows an extraordinary amount of resource and inge- nuity on the artist's part. He appears as a man of many styles and methods, an accomplished executant afraid of no task that gives the promise of pleasant results, and with an imagination so fertile tnat he can treat freshly and quaintly almost any subject that presents itself to him. More than 200 of his productions are hung in the gallery; and among these are drawings for. illustration, de- corative designs, fanciful notes of colour or incident, studies of dramatic motives, portraits, and somt posters with particular charm of manner. All art in one way or another worthy of praise and of thf respect of everyone who enjoys true versatility. THE news that the Council of the Royal Academy has (says the Globe) decided on an enlargement of its galleries is calculated to excite rather qualified satis- faction. The intention to provide better accommoda- tion for sculpture is entirely to be commended, for at present the space allotted to the display of examples of this branch of art practice is both inadequate and unsuitable; but few people will be pleased to heai that the lecture-room, in which sculpture is now housed, is to be once again given up to pictures, No one of average judgment wants to see more can rases hung on the Academy walls, as already there is an evident difficulty in finding enough good work to fill the galleries; and the addition of another room will only have the effect of still further lowering the average merit of the annual Shows It would be more to the purpose to surrender to sculpture one of the rooms which are now assigned to pictures, and to reduce by a little 'more careful selection the number of inefficient pictorial efforts that are given a degree of publicity to which they are not entitled. In this way justice could be done to the one branch of our art which is advancing steadily and creditably, without affecting injuriously the chances of the painters whom the public want to see. But some share of the added space must be allotted to the variations on the sculptor's practice, which properly come under the heading of decora- tive design. The Academy has hitherto shown no particular sympathy for the craftsman; and it might fairly begin now to recognise hie existence it the right way.

——- rIlE New York Journal tells the story ofMr. Miltoo Rathburn's fast of 28 days. It says he has achieved a 421b. victory of mind over idatter. That is what his total loss in weight amounted to after the fast, during which he not only successfully resisted the cravings of hunger and protests of anxious friends, but continued his daily routine of life and regularly transacted his business as though nothing tfnasual was happening. Mr. Rathburn is a man of wealth, i dealer in hay and grain at No. 453, Fourth-avenue, with a home in Mount Vernon. To reduce his weight, wnich at the time he began his fast, on April 24; was 2101b., and build up his general health was the sole motive which actuated this feat of perseverance and self-denial.