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

THE CLOSE OP THE COWES WEEK. I Cowes Regatta was brilliant right up to the finish. The Thursday and Friday were socially busy days both ashore and afloat. The Victoria and Albert was the cynosure of many a marine glass, and it was with difficulty that King Ed. ward managed to elude the mob on the Parade and land somewhere within easy access of Egypt House, where he was enjoying a quiet game of croquet in the afternoon of Thursday. The ladies of the yachting world divided themselves between the lawns of the Squadron and the miniature lawn of the London Yacht Club, where another garden party was in progress. Out in the Solent the Sheila was cruising along, taking Princess Henry and Princess Christian and their daughters to and from a garden party at Yarmouth. Princess Victoria, like her father, managed to elude the crowd, and slipped off in a boat to East Cowes to have a spin on her bicycle. In the evening the crowd waited to see the King and Queen land to drive to Egypt House, where they were engaged to dine. There was disappointment for many when the pinnace from the Royal yacht put off in the direction of East Cowes and landed its Royal passengers there. Two carriages awaited them, and only a lightning glimpse could be got of the Queen and Princess Victoria as they flashed past the crowd near the R.Y.S. Those who had time and pa- tience to wait in the soft moonlit dusk, listening to the music in the Squadron grounds, were re- warded when, just before midnight, a pinnace from the Victoria and Albert glided up to the Squadron landing-stage and waited alongside till a closed carriage brought Queen Alexandra and Princess Victoria to the corner, where they got out and walked along to the landing-stage. Both Royal ladies looked surprised to see so many of their subjects of both sexes awaiting them, but, in accordance with Cowes custom, there was no cheering. The Queen looked very pale, but charming in her trailing dress of black-jetted lace nearly covered by a long grey cloak with fur- edged collar. A soft, cloudy scarf covered her hair. Not till half an hour later did the King and the Prince of Wales arrive with some of the men who had been dining at Egypt; and a nigger mountebank, who is a familiar figure at race-courses as well as at Henley and Cowes, got a smile from his Majesty by following up his performance of "God Save the King" on the banjo with "We won't go home till morning."

The funds subscribed for the Union Jack Club now amount to £ 22,700. Mr. Carnegie has offered the Dublin Corpora- tion £ 28,000 for a free public library. The death is announced from Vienna of Herr Onno Klopp, the well-known historian and a Privy Councillor. In announcing the opening of an Alien Res- taurant in Whitechapel, the proprietor hopes to receive the support of the London aris- tocracy." At the Dublin Commission Court on Saturday Patrick Kernan, a labourer, was sentenced to twelve' years' penal servitude for killing his wife by kicking her. The Rev. J. M. Bacon made a balloon ascent from the Crystal Palace grounds on Saturday night in order to make further experiments with detonating signals. Charles Bailey, aged about sixty-five, who for the past twenty years has acted as housekeeper at the "Sportsman" office, was seized with a fit on Saturday morning, and died in a few minutes. The dead body of a middle-aged cyclist was found at Eastbourne on Saturday. He had evidently been riding along Paradise drive, and had gone over a bank into a field and suffered fatal injuries. Colour-Sergeant William Milton, King's Own Scottish Borderers, shot himself in the head with a revolver in his own room at the barracks, Berwick. He was much denressed by his wife's recent death. Marie Olive Perraud, a Paris woman, who for years had been in receipt of outdoor relief, re- cently died. It now has been found that she left behind £ 6,500 in French Consols. Egypt exported last year 536 tons of cigarettes manufactured from imported tobacco. Of 231 tons which went from Port Said the United Kingdom received 48, India 53, and Germany 107. J 1 The inmates of Warwick workhouse and chil- dren's scattered homes were on Saturday the guests of Lady Warwick. A case of smallpox was on Saturday reported to have been found in the village of Weybourne, near Holt, Norfolk. For killing his wife by kicking her Patrick Kernan was sentenced to 12 years' penal servi- tude at Dublin on Saturday. Though by no means lacking in business in- stincts, Mme. Adelina, Patti is not at all nig- gardl.-f when it comes to spending money. That she is as big-hearted as she is famous was demon- strated by her courtesy to a fellow-artist in San Francisco, Mme. Inez Fabbri-Muller, who at one time was in very straitened circumstances, with a mortgage about to be foreclosed on her home. Mme. Patti heard about the troubles that beset her old comrade of the operatic stage and at once arranged for a benefit. For some reason or other it was impossible to prepare for such an event, and the famous, prima donna sent Mme. Fabbri-Muller a cheque for an amount more than sufficient to cancel the mortgage that shadowed her home.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. SUGAR CONVENTION. In the House of Lords, on the 10th inst., the Marquess of Lansdowne moved the Second Reading of the Sugar Convention Bill. Lord Spencer moved its rejection, declaring that its passage would inflict a loss on this country which had been estimated to range from seven to fifteen millions sterling. On a division, Lord Spencer's motion was negatived by 108 votes to 16, and the Bill was then read a second time and passed through all its remaining stages. GOVERNMENT MAJORITY—1. The Irish Land Bill occupied most of Monday evening in the House of Lords after the debate on the Sugar Convention Bill. The Government narrowly escaped defeat on one division on an amendment by Lord Mounteagle, the figures being:—For the Government 63; against, 62— Government majority, 1. WINDING UP. Mr. Balfour announced in the Commons that it would not be practicable to proceed with the discussion of the Port of London Bill in the closing Session but he would put down a motion which would carry it over until next Session, and enable the Government to resume its stages at z;1 the point now broken off. MACEDONIA. The Report of Supply was proceeded with, and on the Report of the Diplomatic Votes the Premier, replying to a question on the subject of the Macedonian situation, said he was unable to give any satisfactory assurances. He believed, however, that the interests of truth required them to say that the balance of criminality lay with the revolutionary bands rather than the Turkish troops. The Porte, he was convinced, was sincerely anxious to carry out a policy of humanity and wisdom. WORKMEN'S TRAINS. Mr. Crooks asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention Lctd been called to the fact that the South-Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies were not carrying out the obligations imposed upon them by the Act of 1899 to run an efficient service of trains. Mr. G. Balfour Representations in this matter have been made to the Board of Trade, who have communicated with the managing committee of the railway companies. The committee take the view that there is no reasonable necessity for the issue of workmen's tickets at those stations (within a radius of twenty miles) at which they are not already issued. If representations are made to the Board I will cause a hearing to be held. THE ROYAL ASSENT. In the House of Lords on the 11th inst., a large number of Bills received the Royal Assent. Some discussion arose on the Motion for the Third Reading of the Irish Land Bill. The Duke of Devonshire appealed to those who had put down amendments not to press them, in return for which the Government would make various concessions, which he indicated. The Government had been somewhat disap- pointed by. the extent to which the very large concessions by this Bill were deemed to be in- sufficient by those who would benefit by the change. He hoped that on a calm review of these concessions the landowners would be dis- posed to admit that the Measure had been con- ceived in no unworthy spirit. The Duke of Abercorn described the Bill as a great Measure which had originated in the mind of a great man. The Bill was then read a third time and afterwards passed. The Employment of Chil- dren Bill was also read a third time and passed. Their Lordships agreed to hold a Special Sitting on Wednesday. THE FISCAL INQUIRY. In the Commons, on Tuesday, on the Motion for the Second Reading of the Appropriation Bill, Mr. Robson attempted to discuss the ques- tion of Fiscal Inquiry, but the Speaker ruled that neither the Fiscal policy nor the merits of the Inquiry were relevant to anything in the Bill, and, therefore, they could not be discussed. Subsequently, Mr. Balfour said he hoped that, in four weeks, a large instalment of the infor- mation which was being collected would be pub- lished. With reference to a question whether any Government official had reported against the proposals, he stated that he had not the smallest idea of the opinion of any single official at the Board of Trade on this eon- troversial question. He had never asked their opinion, and had never put a leading question to them; and they had never offered an opinion, and that was the principle on which the Govern- ment meant to work. Lord Hugh Cecil, with great vehemence, attacked both the Prime Minister and Mr. Chamberlain on the suppres- sion of the right of the House to debate the Fiscal proposals. Of Mr. Balfour, he said, "His was. the policy of silence, and let him also have the discredit of it." He declared that the Colonial Secretary's conduct amounted to a "Constitutional scandal." Eventually the Bill was read a second time. MOTOR CARS, The Report stage of the Motor-cars Bill was then proceeded with. Several Amendments by Mr. Long were agreed to, and the Bill was read a third time.

CYCLONE AT DOVER. Dover, in the early hours of Monday morning, was struck by a storm of cyclonic violence, which in the course of a few minutes caused great destruc- tion in, the area over which it travelled. The Weather had been brilliantly fine for some days, and up to midnight on Sunday there was no sign of a storm. But about three o'clock on Monday morning there was heavy thunder, accompanied by very vivid lightning and a deluge of rain. In the midst of this a terrific gust of wind struck the town, carrying everything before it. Roofs were wrecked, scores of windows were blown in. chimney-pots hurled down, and large trees over- borne that had withstood the gales of many years. A peculiarity of the cyclonic disturbance was the narrow path within which it travelled. Between 60ft. and 70ft. was the width of the area devas- tated, and the length about two miles. The storm came south-west from the Channel over the heights. It swept from this direction for about a mile, then as suddenly turned, and passed away over the Buckland end of the town. The roof of St. James's Church was struck by the wind and a great deal of damage wrought. Half the roof of some stables was carried from Prince's-street into a van factory in Market-street —a considerable distance. In Albany-place, Prince's-street, Market-street, and other thorough-, fares in the vicinity scarcely a roof was left whole. The streets were strewn with chimney pots and tiles. The Market-square was a scene of much destruction. Huge signboards were torn from their fastenings and hurled to the ground. At the Carlton Club and various other buildings shimney pots fell through the roofs. A long range of glass for lighting and ventilation on Messrs. Dickeson's extensive premises were smashed as if by volleys of missiles. Prince's-street Schools suffered similarly, scarcely a whole window being left. In the churchyards at Cowgate-hill, St. Mary's, St. James's, and Buckland large trees were blown down, split, or had branches torn off. Smaller branches and leaves littered the ground to an extraordinary degree. The grand old elm at Buckland, which is known to be several hundreds of years old, escaped, but two other trees of great age hard by were blown down. Large numbers of men were quickly put on to clear the wreckage from the streets. The combined noise of the furiously rushing wind, the crashing in of roofs and windows, falling sky- signs and chimneys, with the roar of the thunder, is stated by the residents in the cyclone-swept district to have been of a terrifying character. Happily, no case of personal injury is reported. The oldest inhabitants remember fiothing equalling the destructive character of th& storm.

The late Mr. William Joseph Richards, of Torquay, who was an associate with the late Sir John Bucknill in the starting, fifty-one years ago, of the Volunteer movement, receiving a commission in the first R.V. in 1860, left property of the total value of £15,609 8s. 6d. grQsa.

PARIS TUBE CALAMITY. I Paris has been excited, almost panic-stricken, by an event which has over-shadowed even the J sensation of the Humbert trial-a disaster on the Paris Metropolitan Railway (underground electric line). The tragedy centres round the tunnel connect- ing the stations of Menilmontant and Due des Couronnes. At eight o'clock on Monday evening an empty carriage of a train was discovered to be on fire in the tunnel. Trains following, crowded with an unknown number of passengers, ran into the fire-blocked tunnel, and were unable to pull up in time to avoid the flames. From these trains passengers alighted and com- menced to fly for their lives. A number were rescued in a state of partial suffocation and the first intimation of the serious nature of the tragedy was given by a rescued woman, who alleged that she had stepped over the bodies of other persons in her flight. The smoke in the tunnels was then intense, and poured in great volumes into the stations at the ends of the tunnels, where numbers of anxious people assembled. As the smoke and heat continued to fill the tunnel little could be done in the way of rescue. The fire seizing on the electric wires in the tunnel caused the light to fail, and it was feared that the roof of the tunnel would fall in. Beset by these difficulties, the firemen were able to approach the train in the tunnel but slowly, and it was fully midnight before they got the hose in play upon it. Three hours later the worst fears began to be realised, when within an hour 11 dead bodies were found. And then the panic in the crowds, which had been gathering round the stations all night, was redoubled, as the whisper went round that, in addition to three empty trains burning in the tunnel, there was a fourth crowded with vic- tims. Before eight o'clock on Tuesday morning 80 dead bodies had been brought out of the tunnel, which was even then filled with fire and smoke, concealing a further unknown number of bodies. HOW THE CATASTROPHE OCCURRED. I Details of the disaster on the Paris Metro- politan Railway, received during Tuesday, officially set forth that it was attended with an appalling loss of life, no less than eighty-four bodies having been recovered and identified. They were mainly French folk of the working class. A correspondent, who visited the scene of the disaster, says that owing to the electric motor of a train from the Porte Dauphine being out of order, the passengers had to alight and walk to the next station. Another train coming along pushed the carriages of the first before it, and an explosion followed, and the trains were soon ablaze. A third train was approaching the scene, when it stopped but many of the pas- sengers in that, as well as in the burning carriages of the preceding trains, were suffocated in their attempts to escape. King Edward, on hearing of the calamity, sent a message of sym- pathy. C) THE DRIVER'S STORY. I The driver of the middle train, which stopped in the Couronnes station, in an interview says "I had 350 passengers, most of them those who had got out of the train four station earlier when the fire was first discovered. I wanted my pas- sengers to alight when we saw smoke coming from the tunnel ahead of us. I tried to telephone a warning, too, to the station behind us, but the wire would not work. "The smoke rolled out of the tunnel in fright- ful volumes, but the people persisted in remain- ing in the carriages. At last I actually got down and dragged them out. The passengers turned round and indignantly demanded to have their money repaid. "'For God's sake, save yourselves!' I cried. Then several of them actually thumped me with their fists. After this the lights went out, and the shrieks on all hands became deafening. How- ever, the smoke soon made shouting an impossibility. I lit candles, but the smoke from whatever cause extinguished them. With the utmost difficulty I made my way through the exit, knowing the way out, and dragging one half-fainting woman over whom I had tumbled along with me."

WHITAKER-WRIGHT CASE. I CONTEMPT OF COURT. I In the King's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice on Tuesday arguments were heard by the Lord Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Darling on the rule granted in the case of the King v. Mackew and White. I Mr. R. D. Muir (who is defending Mr. Whitaker Wright in the proceedings taken against him at the London Guildhall) moved on behalf of Mr. Whitaker Wright, for a rule nisi calling upon Dr. Mackew and Mr. Arnold White, the writer of an article appearing in the issue of the "Sunday Sun" of August 2, to show cause why they should not answer for con- tempt of Court in publishing the article in ques- tion. Mr. Muir said that the article, which was likely to prejudice the trial of Mr. Whitaker Wright, was published whilst he was on the high seas, and he saw it on his arrival in this country. It started with two alleged quotations from the daily papers referring to the cases of two persons, Henry Golding and Clara Walkley, who were recently convicted of felony. Mr. Eldon Bankes, K.C., asked to show cause against the rule. Dr. Mackew, he said, was not the editor, but the manager of the "Sunday Sun." As such general manager he had a general control. He did not know the article Mr. Wfclte was contributing, as it was sent in on the Saturday after he had left the office. The affidavit of Mr. Francis H. Far- thing, the editor,, corroborated this, and ex- pressed regret that the article was allowed to appear in the form it did. The article, it was said, was published in good faith, without the intention of doing anything unfair. Mr. Arnold White, who appeared in person, apologised and explained that he did not wish to say a word to prejudice the trial. After hearing further statements by counsel, the Court ordered Mr. Farthing and Dr. Mackew to pay the costs of the motion, and Mr. Arnold White to pay a fine of £100 and costs, or to go to prison.

GIFT TO THE ROYAL HORTICUL- TURAL SOCIETY. In the "Times" Sir Trevor Lawrence, Presi- dent of the Royal Horticultural Society an- nounces that Sir Thomas Hanbury has pur- chased for presentation to the society the estate and garden of the late Mr. G. F. Wilson, at Wisley, near Woking. Mr. Wilson's garden has long been celebrated. The total area of the estate is 60 acres, part of which is used for agricultural purposes. There is a small resid- ence, farmhouse, and other suitable buildings on it.

I THE DITTON MURDER. I William J. Tuffin, the twenty-three year old carman, who murdered his wife on April 23 at Thames Ditton, was hanged at Wandsworth Prison on Tuesday morning. The condemned man went to his doom with apparent coolness, and spent his last night in a quiet and even sleep. The crime was of a most brutal and sordid nature. Tuffin and his wife lived for some time in a small house in "The Clump," Thames Ditton, where they were frequently visited by a single woman named Mary Stone. The wife disappeared, and for a fortnight Tuffin and Stone lived in the house, where, on the police forcing an entrance, Catherine Tuffin was found brutally murdered. When arrested Mary Stone remarked, "She must have done it her- self." At the trial at Guildford both prisoners were sentenced to death, but the sentence on the woman Stone was commuted to penal servi- tude for life.'

A fortune of the gross value of E378,819 2s. 2d. was left by the late Mr. George Hall Schofield, of Oaklands, Greenfield, and of the Wellington Mills, Oldham. He left a number of legacies to employees and servants. I.-

MILLIONAIRE HERMIT. I Mr. John Vanderbilt, a member of the I wealthy New York Vanderbilt family, is called among his own people the "Hermit of Hexen- kopt, by reason of his strange mode of life. He is seldom (says an "Express" correspon- dent) seen anywhere; he never travels, nor He is seldom (says an "Express" correspon- dent) seen anywhere; he never travels, nor works, nor writes, nor does anything in fact. Being a misogamist, he has never married, and though reputed to be enormously rich, he lives in a tiny creeper-covered hut on the summit of a Pennsylvanian mountain, in the midst of the most beautiful scenery. He is quite alone from year's end to year's end. He does his own cooking and housework, washes his own linen in a neighbouring moun- tain stream, catches his own trout, shoots his cwn game, cultivates his own strawberries and vegetables, milks his own goat, and makes his own bread. The only person with whom he ever holds intercourse is a young farmer, who lives a few miles away, and who is kind enough to bring him flour, eggs, meat, etc., and who does any odd commissions he may wish executed in the outside world. Mr. John Vanderbilt never receives or sends letters, he objects to newspapers and periodi- cals, and reads only a few favourite books that he took with him into his solitude but some people think that he is engaged in writing a great work on an abstruse subject. It is said that he has no opinion of humanity, male or female, and that he thoroughly despises money and money-makers.

SWING-BOAT PERILS. I The peril associated with swing-boats on fair grounds was thrown into prominence at the inquest held in Manchester on Monday in re- gard to the death of Jonathan Deakin, a Man- chester youth. Two girls annoyed him while he was swinging on a fair ground, and, when he alighted he ran after them. While he was in pursuit another swing-boat struck him on the head, hio dSull was frac- tured, and he died. In returning a verdict of "Accidental death," the jury recommended that there should be greater safeguards in regard to swing boats.

DYNAMITE AND BURGLARY. I During the early hours of Monday morning, the booking office at Wyke Station, Yorkshire, was broken into and attempts were made to force the safe with dynamite. Although three explosions were made, the thieves failed to open the safe. Drawers were then ransacked, and even the automatic ma- chines on the platforms were tried, but the total spoil amounted to only a few shillings.

THE BALKAN PERIL. I AUSSIA'S PEREMPTORY DEMAND FOB, SATISFAC- TION. The news of the murder of the Russian Consul at Monastir caused profound indignation in the Turkish capital, this being the second murder of a Russian Consul within a year. The Sultan at once sent the Grand Vizier and the Minister of Foreign Affairs to make apologies to M. Zinovieff, the Russian Ambas- sador. The murderer has been arrested. In reply to the notification by the Russian Ambassador in Constantinople of the murder of the Consul at Monastir, Count Larasdorff telegraphs that the Ambassador should make the most energetic demands to the Turkish Government for full satisfaction and the im- mediate and exemplary punishment both of the murderer and also of all the military and civil officials on whom responsibility for the crime may fall. The Bulgarian Government has decided to increase the number of troops keeping watch cn the frontier. The Minister of Foreign Affairs has declared to the representatives of the Powers that Bul- garia will endeavour to remain calm in the face of events in Macedonia, but that the Powers must take measures to prevent the Porte from persecuting innocent persons and from employ- ing Bashi-Bazouks to suppress the revolution, as massacres might provoke a movement in the Principality which would force the hand of the Government. It is believed in Sofia that the Turkish Go- vernment has provoked the present insurrection in Macedonia. The Macedonian Committee in Sofia has presented to the representatives of the Powers a declaration stating the reasons for the rising and demanding the appointment of a Christian Governor-General who must be in- dependent of the Porte and the establishment of an International permanent body of control. The Porte has ordered up 24 "battalions of troops from Anatolia. Further fighting is re- ported from the neighbourhood of Sorovitch.

SOMALI CAMPAIGN. I ADVANCE TO BEGIN AGAIN IN SEPTEMBER. I A telegram from Berbera, via Aden, says the { advance is expected to begin in September, moving from Burao through Olesan and Shem- ber Berris, both small posts hitherto employed for heliographic purposes. Burao will become the base of supplies for the operations in the Nogal Valley, Bohotle being too remote from the scene of action. The Mullah is now beating up adherents in the Mijertain country. One camel per man is the future estimate of the needs of the force. Nine thousand camels have been ordered from India, Egypt, and Aden. A general advance is quite impossible at pre- sent for lack of transport.

SUNDAY MUSIC. I MILITARY BANDS PERMITTED TO PLAY. I The War Office authorities have changed the I Attitude they recently took up in regard to the performances by military bands on Sundays. Attention has been called in the Press to the sudden and inexplicable action of the War Office in forbidding the Grenadier Guards' band to perform at Eastbourne on Sunday, July 19. Naturally, visitors not only to that popular resort but to all other seaside places where Sun- day music is a great attraction were anxious to know where all this would end. The sequel is the issue of the subjoined official communication The Commander-in-Chief has recently had under consideration the subject of military bands playing in public on Sundays, and has decided to leave the matter to the discretion of general officers commanding, subject to the following rules— "(a) A concert is not to begin before 2 p.m., and is to be completed by 7.30 p.m., unless it takes place in a public park, etc., where no en- trance charge is made, in which case the pro- gramme is to be finished by 9.30 p.m. II (b) When the concert takes place on a pier, in a pavilion, or other enclosure, where a charge is usually made for entrance by the public, no increased charge is to be made on account of the band playing, unless the perform- ance is for a bona-fide charity, or for the benefit of a public institution. "(c) During or immediately after the concert no alcoholic drinks of any kind are to be sold within the enclosure. "(d) The commanding officer of the unit to which the band belongs is to supervise the draw- ing up of the programme of music. The enter- tainment is be purely a concert of an elevat- ing character, and the music, vocal or instru- mental, should be, as far as possible, sacred. (e) A band is not to play through the streets in going to, or returning from, the concert."

The dead body ot a cyclist was tound on Sun- day at Eastbourne. Deceased, believed to be a butler who had been staying at the place, had evidently gone over a bank into a field, sus- taining fatal injuries. The end carriage of an empty train became uncoupled at Scarborough on Saturday, and col- liding with two others caused one to break the buffers and mount on to the platform, where a child was knocked over and iniured.

NATURE NOTES. DOG V. FISH. A remarkable angling incident is reported top- lisve occurred in the River Weaver. Two an. glers were fishing on Sunday,, and the bait of one of them was seized by a pike irith such voracity that float, line, rod, and all were dragged into- the water. Just then a fox-terrier came along and dived in after the vanishing rod. A tug-of-war—dog v. fisJl-foll, ¡wed, but ultimately the dbg reached th6 bani with the' rod, and the pike was landed. APES AT THE ZOO, One of the scientific readers of the "Daily Chronicle" has been going the round of the' Zoo at Regent's Park, of which the new Ape House, now beginning, the second year of its existence, is still by far the most interesting section. These monkeys are relatively large and strong, even though the ferocious gorilla, whose discoverer, Paul du Chaillu, recently died, is not represented. The public soes them through a glass screen, which prevents the playing of monkey tricks on either side. A young male- chimpanzee (Anthropopithecus Troglodytes) is- perhaps the most interesting animal in the gar- dens, as he not only comes nearest to man in structure, but has a countenance remarkably human, and a sense of humour-exercised at the expense of his mate-which would do credit to a small boy. Large crowds have been watching his antics this week. UTILISING SOLAR ENERGY. Although solar radiation is tie great ultimate fountain of terrestrial energy, it is not altogether easy to utilise directly. John Ericsson (says "Cas- sier's Magazine ") was the first engineer to take up seriously as a practical problem the task of utilising this enormous store. With his cus- tomary dogged persistence he did not rest until he had produced a solar engine that would do serious work. The result he attained was the production of one horse-power per hundred square feet of exposed normal reflector surface— a figure that has since been reached by other in- vestigators, and which may, therefore, be taken as a safe basis of reckoning. The method used by Ericsson, and by those who have followed him, was to concentrate the solar rays upon the boiler of an engine by means of a huge concave mirror, thus compelling the sun to furni6h the fuel and serve as a stoker. And the process worked well, both with the great inventor's hot air engine and with the ordinary steam engine. ROSES AND LILIES. The extraordinary manner in which high prices have been maintained for lilies of the valley all through the season has been a matter of surprise to everyone in the trade. Even now they are selling at the following values Medium quality in sprays of twelve blooms, from 8s. to 10s. a dozen bunches; best, 10s. to 15s.; specials, 15s. to 18s. On the other hand, roses are cheap. Fine white Cochet blooms are on sale from 11. to Is. 6d. a dozen only. Mermets, La France, and Falcot are priced at the same rates. The famous crimson Liberty rose can be had from Is. 6d. to 2s., and the popular Red General as low as 6d. and 9d. Never were roses and lilies more plentiful, and though the prices of the former are falling with the advance of the season, the demand and value of lilies are as firm and as good as ever. The lily of the valley is with- out doubt the most popular flower that the modern florist handles. NOT A FISH STORY. "Vulp" writes to the "Times" :-1 was a witness this morning of an extraordinary battle between a large black sow and a stoat (by no means a large one of its kind). I was walking down a lane in Somerset, across which there is a gate. When I came to within fifteen yards of the gate I was struck by the curious behaviour of the sow at the gate, and I quickly noticed she was being attacked by a small stoat, who again and again flew at the sow's legs to bite them, which she avoided by trying to trample on the stoat. The stoat, with lightning quickness, escaped this, and kept returning to the attack, after retreating perhaps a yard from the pig. At last the stoat made a rush at the sow, and jumped clean on her back, where it held on for a few seconds. The sow then, with a twist of her body, threw the stoat 2ft. or 3ft. into) the air, and it fell on its back on the ground, probably hurt, for it gave up the combat and disappeared. When fishing some hours after the above event, and half a mile from the scent of the occurrence, I came upon a stoat, in a dazed condition, and hardly able to move, on the banks of the ri. er Barle. Possibly it was the same stoat. CROW WITH MANY LIVES. A distinguished Indian civilian said to a legal friend (writes a correspondent of the "Daily Graphic") :—"I have shot that crow 94 times. Here is an explanation of the curious remark. Wherever the aforesaid "distinguished civilian" went, in Western India, a grey crow appeared* Occasionally the civilian went to places where those birds were not commonly (if ever) found, but at least one bird then made his appearance unfailingly. It has happened that the bird has perched just outside the window of the new- comer. The crow has even robbed that new- comer of his chota hazri, or first breakfast To make the haunting by a grey crow a rounded and perfect story I ought to be able to add that there had been a feud between some Parsee and the civilian but I am told that he never incurred tbe hatred of anyone. He was clever, attractive, respected, and even beloved in India-and, happily, is so still in the Western hemisphere. His mental training made for accurate thought. He was eminently sane and 4'l'ee from illusions; vet he stuck to it—the crow followed him, and had fallen to his gun 94 times The very morn- ing that he made the statement he got up from tiffin to fetch a saloon pistol, which he said he had bought on purpose to make an end of that carrion crow,' adding, but it's no use. I shoot him, and he comes back again just the same.' That particular morning the grey crow did not wait to be shot, but flew off before the civilian rejoined his legal friend, pistol in hand." THE FLY PLAGUE. The presence of flies in the house is a reproach. It is, says "The Lancet," a falling away from a high hygenic standard, for the fly is a pestilent fellow. It must be admitted, however, that it it very difficult to keep habitable places free from flies. Poisonous fly-papers are unsightly, and glutinous cords and traps are not very pleasant accessories in the household. Yet it is a matter not only of comfort but also of health that the fly should be excluded. The fly mav easilv be a pathogenic agent owing to the fact of its choice of environment being oftentimes of the most disgusting character. When a fly walks across a suitable^ culture medium it leaves infection behind it, as shown in the colonies of organisms which develop on the points with which the insect's legs have been in contact. The fly therefore should be driven out of our haunts. At this season of the year, when flies are beginning to infest our houses, it is an excellent precaution to cover the window opening with wire gauze. It is a curious fact that flies will not pass through netting, even though the meshes be quite large, unless there be a source of light as from a window behind it. Thus, in rooms with windows only on one side a net over the window will absolutely keep the flies out, although the meshes of the net may be an inch apart. It is surprising that in railway carriages a sliding frame fitted with wire gauze is not provided as well as the window. Such a sliding screen coul5 be used when ventilation is wanted, while dust and rain would be excluded at the same time. The gauze frame would certainly keep flies out. We have seen carriages on certain of the Continental lines provided with a gauze screen of this kind. There is no reason why a similar arrangement should not be fitted to the ordinary window sash. This would do much to mitigate the great nuisance of flies in the house.

At a certain night school in London the teacher asked his class the following question uIf I had 1,000 green gooseberries and ate 999, what would I have left?" After a moment's pause, one of the pupils holding up his hand was asked by the teacher for his answer, when in a brisk manner the lad replied: "One gooseberry and the stomach-ache."