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

Travers: "You have actually sent a bill with my clothes'. What tesultt What urfamy! Tailor: "It was all our new book-keeper's fault, j sir. He got you mixed up with those people who Tailor: "It was aU our new book-k,eepees fault, j sir. He got you mixed up with those people who QILV I,,

OUR SHORT STORY. I THE RUNNING OF NECKTON'S. "I hate him I hate him The girl looked up, alarmed. A moon, shining fitfully through dense, inky masses of cloud, re- vealed a look of anger on the young fellow's face. "What is wrong?" she asked nervously-never had she heard her lover speak so bitterly before. His face softened a little. "The old wound, darling," he answered. "The old sore—Denham." "Ah!" Nellie Price drew her arm through his, and instinctively t.heir eyes rested on the scene before them. The valley below, the silver streak of the narrow river winding its way through the hills, the toy-like railway that seemed to cling to every bend and turn, and then, scarcely mar- ring the beauty of the landscape-ihe mills. "It's all over," continued Dick Harding, his eyes fixed on the smoke that lazily ascended from the tall shaft. "I'm to leave in a week." The girl gave a convulsive sob; her arm gripped his tighter. "Oh, Dick, it's cruel!" "Cruel?—yes. Yet, perhaps, it's best after all; I'm only wasting my energies here. But t4 be trodden on by a man like that! "He gave you notice?" she whispered. "Yes. After what has happened I might have expected it. He's manager of the place: his word's paramount. I'm only one of the hands." Nellie Price sighed. "And he-Mr. Denham gave no reason?" "None. What reason would you expect him to give, Nell?" "Oh," she answered, trembling. "He's jealous of you, of your ability he knows you're more clever than he. And Dick!"—almost sobbing- "I ought to have told you before: it's through me you're leaving." 0 The man turned and faced her. "Through you? he repeated. "Yes," the girl faltered. "You lodge right away at Stroud Mr. Denham lives quite close to us. Last night he was talking to mother." "Yes?" queried Harding breathlessly. "He said he wanted to marry me." Dick was aghast. It was only natural that Nell, the belle of the village, should be generally admired; but he had neer expected this. "And your mother?—and you?" "Mother told him she appreciated the honour, but I was already as good as betrothed. And I-I wouldn't listen to him." "My good little Nell!" He took her to his arms and kissed her, and they ascended the steep rocky path towards her mother's house. But all the way there kept clanging persistently through his brain like one of their machines at the mills, the words, "I hate him! I hate him!" To Dick Harding the week that followed was a miserable one. An orphan, ever since leaving school he had worked at Neckton's mills quite happily until the previous year, when Neckton practically retiring from the business introduced the new manager. Somehow Mr. Denham had conceived a violent dislike for Harding, a feel- ing the latter entirely reciprocated. Of a mechanical turn of mind, Dick from time to time had suggested certain improvements in the ^machinery the proprietor had frequently adopted since Denham's advent any such ideas had been merely pooE-poohed. Nevertheless, later, they were in operation without any ac- knowledgment of their origin. Often had Dick discussed these grievances with Nell, and would have left Neckton's long since had it not been for his reluctance to be separ- ated from the one he loved. And now he was unemployed—discharged! The thought maddened him, and when, his notice having expired, he found himself unable to secure any position except inferior to his late one at Neckton's, he nursed his wrongs till they became strangely distorted. "There's no help for it, Dick," Nell murmured one day. "You must go to London. There are better opportunities for men with brains there. Some day, perhaps, you'll own Neckton's mills yourself." The young fellow smiled bitterly. "Not likelv," he answered, "while Denham's about. Do you want me to go? "Yes, for your good." "And leave you to Denham's mercy?" It was always Denham now; he could never get the name from his mind for many minutes together. The girl looked up reproachfully. "Can't you trust me?" she asked. "If not- "Think what a splendid position it would be for you," he insisted moodily. "Mrs. Denham -Denham's wife! You'll never get such a chance again." "I think you're not at all nice to-night," Nell answered, almost angrily. "If I were a man I'd be more' brave. What's the use of crying over spilt milk? All the brooding in the world won't get you back to Neckton's again. And Mr. Denham may not be so very bad after all." A warm reply came to Dick's lips, and then-a thing he had never done before-he left his sweet- heart abruptly, without even saying farewell. The next morning he half expected a note, but none came. His pride wounded, he only hugged his grievances the more that anyone should have a considerate word for Denham-his Nell especially—was an unpardonable sin. He loathed the very name. And all that day he longed to see Nellie Price a single word would have put matters right, but his pride forbade. Instead, he hovered near the by-paths of the village in the hope by chance to encounter -her. He lingered on till the sun dipped below the Cotswolds and the moon had risen, but his heart-hunger still remained un- appeased. What could Nell be doing? At length, by one of the uneven circuitous tracks, he made for the direction of Mrs. Price's cottage, and passing Denham's house observed the door about to open. Quickly he hid himself behind the loose stone garden wall, and peering forth saw Denham emerge-with Nell! The cry that came to his throat was choked with rage. He could see the calm, clean-shaven face of the manager with its'eternal smile; he appeared pleased. Nell's lips, too, were parted with pleasure. She was false then; his sweet- heart had deserted him only to attach her affec- tion to the man he detested most! It was more than human nature could bear. The couple brushed close by; the man's foot- steps and the very rustle of Nell's dress irritated him. Springing up, without premeditation, he gave Denham a swinging blow on the back of the head. The man turned and, seeing Dick, quickly retaliated. Nell ga.ve a cry, and thrust herself between the antagonists. "Don't, Dick," she implored tearfully. "You're forgetting!" Harding clenched his fists in anger; the other still remained calm. "You see, Miss Price," the latter remarked, in his suave, well-modulated voice, "you see the man we've to deal with. One not ashamed to deliver a blow in the dark." "He—he didn't mean it!" sobbed Nell, the tears flooding her eyes. "I'll retire," muttered Dick, with a wrathful look at tfce couple his hands were itching to settle the matter once for all. "As for you, Denham, one day I'll ruin you!" With face ashen pale, every nerve quivering, he strode off. And Dick Harding was not seen in the village for many a long day. The village of Harlford remained much as it had five years since. The river flowed smoothly and peacefully as ever; the cottages, whose occupants principally depended upon the mills for existence, were tenanted by much the same people; only a few extra trains rushed and snorted through the valley on their way to the coast-that was all. The woirld at many an old country village stands still. But though apparently tranquil, there was a deep undercurrent stirring the plaeidnesc of Harlford. A large tract of land opposite Neck- ton's had been bought up, gangs of men were building walls with incredible speed and every- one knew that the old-established mills were to possess a rival at last. And the villagers, every operative at Neck- ton's, wondered. Only a few months since rumour had whispered their occupation would soon be gone, that a wonderful new invention would revolutionise their particular industry; touch that was thought could only be performed by hand would henceforth be executed exclu- sively by machinery. Every man, woman, and childd trembled at the news, but seeing the walls oi the new factory being erected they felt reassured. The invention they had heard of must be a fallacy, or people, strangers to thniii, would not risk capital in starting, to all ap- pearances, a very similar establishment to Neckton's. The villagers, in their slow, lethargic way, wondered, and whilst they wondered the new mill rapidly approached completion. Much curiosity was expressed as to the machinery to be employed, but it arrived secretly in the dead of one night. A special set of men from Lon- don came to fix it; not a breath was heard out- side as to its nature. The mystery deepened, till at length the secret came out with the first smoke from the shaft, taller by half than that of Neckton's. The rumour had been correct; not only was the wOlMJerftù invention an accomplished fact, but the inventor, whoever he was, instead of dis- posing of his patent, was working it himself. And he had chosen to start operations in the vicinity of Neckton's. Neckton's, therefore, was doomed. A few weeks proved it. The new mills in a given time turned out treble the produce of Neckton's at half the cost-Neckton's was being undersold. The older inhabitants felt sorrow being added to their years, the younger ones knew that they must soon seek fresh occupa- tion. One evening a brougham drove up direct from Stroud to the new mills. A man, young and prosperous-looking, alighted, remaining Z, closeted with the manager for over an hour. Everything, he learned, was going on satisfac- torily-more than satisfactorily. He gave a sigh of relief, and then, as though longing for the open air, left the hills and started on foot towards the village. The few solitary pedes- trians he passed, bidding him "Good-night," looked curiously, for a well-dressed stranger was almost a rarity in the neighbourhood. But he had not proceeded far, having just reached the top of a rocky slope, out of breath, when a figure confronted him. Older, sadder, but just as sweet, he recognised her at once. They both stopped, staring at each other. "You!" the man cried, a note of triumph in his voice. The girl looked at him, her mouth trembling. His prosperous appearance brought tears to her eyes. "Mr. Harding?'" e said. "Ah, you recognise me," he observed. "Yes," she answered wearily. "It's a long while since you were at Harlford." "A long while," he repeated, "so long that I keenly, ruminating on many things. He had longed to make inquiries about her—and another -but his courage had hitherto failed him. He must learn the truth at first hand. "A long while," he responded. He eyed her feel a stranger. I was about to call you Nell just now, but wondered whether you'd be offended." "Why should I? she asked listlessly. Another might not like it," he answered. "There is no another.' "Then you're still unmarried, Nell!" he cried eagerly, the old love overwhelming him. "Yes." "And Denham?" "He's dead." Dick Harding reeled like a man who had received a blow. For five years he had been plotting this man's ruin, the man whom he had heard had become sole proprietor of Neckton s mills in the hour when triumph was assured his plans had been in vain. He almost groaned. "You're sorry?" she asked. "You hated him once. "Hated him cried Dick. "Nell, you know I did. I said I'd ruin him to-day I came here to gloat over its accomplishment. Now you tell me he's dead." "To gloat over his ruin? I don't understand." "No," said the man, dazed. "The secret's been well kept." He took her hand, and knelt humbly on the ground before her. He felt the mea-nest creature on earth. "Nell," he murmured, "can you forgive me for what happened five years since? Can you care a little bit for me now? I see what a. brute I've been, yet I've always loved you." The girl's eyes filled with tears, her mouth quivered, but she looked happier. "I've never altered," she said simply. He rose to his feet and drew her to his arms passionately. "Dearest! he cried, "after all, this is better than revenge. And we needn't wait now that I'm wealthy." "Wealthy!" Nell's eyes drooped. "Do you know, Dick, I was hoping you would have come back to me poor." "Why?" "Presently. Tell me all—how you've become rich? "I'm the proprietor of the new mills," he dSiswered, but there was no pride in his tone now. "I'm the patentee of the new invention I intended should ruin Neckton's." "Ruin Neckton's!" The girl thought of the past few bitter weeks. "Dick," she said, "this is a time for explanations. You remember that night you met me with Denham? I was plead- ing with him to take you back." Harding bowed his head, ashamed. "My darling!" he said. "Denham died two years ago, just before some money was left me by a, relative. With it I bought the mills I said you might be the pro- prietor one day." Dick gasped in astonishment. "Then it's you I've been trying to crush," he said, "instead of Denham." "And you were doing it," she answered with a half-humorous look. Never would she care to live those anxious days over again. "My darling! he said once more. "But it's all over now, isn't it? We're going to amal- gamate." And they did.

PRECIOUS RELIQUES. A Russian general has offered 1,000,000 roubles (about £ 105,500) for the reputed bones of St. Nicholas at the Cathedral of Bari. It appears that he was visiting Bari when he saw the relics, which are at the bottom of a species of well, the bones being crossed and water springing from them continually. He wants to take the saintly relics to Russia, but his offer has, not been ac- cepted.

A STORY FROM NUREMBERG. In illustration of official neglect of trade in this country Mr. Sidebotham, a Manchester gentle- man, gives an instance from his own experience. "I have been in the habit of visiting Nuremberg —an important trading centre in Germany. A large merchant in that town drew my attention to the fact that, almost alone among the nations, we had no representative there. In the interests of British trade he had offered to fill the post without payment, but our Government had de- clined his offer, and he asked me if I could do anything. I saw the heads of the Foreign Office. They admitted it would be a good thing to have a representative in Nuremberg, and, moreover, that my friend would be a most suitable man for the post, but they could not see their way to appoint him. What was their excuse? They said, 'Mr. E. might die, and we might not be able to get anyone else to do the work for nothing, and might have to pay someone!' By persistent efforts Mr. E. was eventually ap- pointed, but it was twenty years too late. In- stead of being first in the field, we were a bad last."

A Lambeth potman named Henry Maltby was summarily dismissed by his employer because he was late in the morning. The potman's excuse was that he worked from 8 a.m. till 12.30 a.m. Judge Emden held that in view of these long hours it was only reasonable to expect that the man should oversleep himself, and awarded him a month's wages. From grocer-boy to scientist is the honourable record of Dr. John James, head of the Physics Department, High School, Middlesbrough, who was recently appointed Director of Education for the county of Glamorgan. He began life as a grocer's apprentice, but subsequently went to Oxford, where he obtained his B.A. and B.Sc. degrees.

FIELD AND FARM. THE FARM LABOURER IN WEI WEATHER. In such a season as we have passed through the farm labourer's lot is not (remarks the" Agri. cultural Gazette ") a happy one. Day after day he went out to some work in the sodden fields or brushing dripping fences, and down came the rain, wetting him more or less before he could deaide that it had set in for long enough to justify him in returning to the homestead. Possibly there was nothing for him to do under cover in the summer or the autumn, and in that case he could only shelter until the rain was over. On many a day this season he has been driven from field to shelter time after time, and at the end of the day he has gone home, perhaps, wet to the skin. Any work on the land has been thoroughly unpleasant, as anyone who has tried to use a tool on mud must know. The plough- man has gone out with his horses to find the land poach badly, even after a comparatively dry day or two, and he has been driven home before he has done much, to stand about in the stable in damp clothes, waiting until he can start out again in some kind of horse-work. In fine weather field work is pleasant enough; but in such a. season as that of 1903 it has been almost constantly disagreeable. WHEAT SOWING. I No crop can be sown over a longer period (observes Professor John Wrightson, in his "Agricultural Gazette" current notes) than wheat. Early-sown crops are generally placed at an advantage, but this is not always the case. Last year, for example, some of the best pieces of wheat were sown late in November. Much depends upon the character of the winter; and wheat which is very forward at Christmas is often left behind in the spring by later sowings. So far, the area, under wheat for next year must be extremely small, but shortage may yet be considerably reduced before Christmas. The problem of wheat growing at present prices is a difficult one, but it is impos- sible to farm without it as long as there are extensive tracts of arable land. To farm without corn seems to be impossible, and in comparing the three cereals wheat seems to be as profitable as either of the others. Wheat-straw is always worth growing, and there is a prospect of its soon being as valuable per ton as hay. There are also economic reasons for continuing to grow wheat on large farms. The larger the area sown with wheat the less will be the pressure of work in the spring; and on this account alone it is to be regretted that the present season has been so unfavourable for the necessary tillage operations. Now that the weather is better, it would be well to resume sow- ing with as little delay as possible. Wheat is no worse for going in dirty. Spring corn requires dry weather for sowing, but wheat may be muddled in, as long as it is well covered. November is not a bad wheat-sowing month, and the weak may be pushed on through December, and even into January. It is indeed difficult to fix any limit to the time in which it may be sown. Spring wheat has never been regarded with much favour, but it is a recognised crop, and certain varieties, such as Nursery and "April" wheat, may be sown up to the time indicated by the name. It is a curious fact that wheat may be sown in ten months out of the twelve. It has frequently been sown on summer fallows during August, and spring wheat has been as often sown in April. In searching through C' records of spring wheat growing (continues Pro- fessor Wrightson) I have even met with cases of sowing in May. Such cases are more curious Mian practical, but there is nothing extreme in fixing* the time of wheat-sowing as extending between September and March. LEAVING CLOVER-LAND DOWN. The season has been particularly favourable for the development of grass. Judging from the large amount of self-seeding which has J taken place owing to the plethora of keep, and from the extension of grass and clover roots corresponding to the upward growth, it is prob- able that over-year seeds will produce a good return next season in hay or green fodder. Few vetches have been sown, and the prospect of catch crops for next spring is unusually bad. Both considerations point to the advisability of allowing old seeds to lie another year. Hay j may be dearer, as no market fluctuates more, and the farmer who possesses a good stock of Z, old hay is always in an enviable position. MANGEL-WURZEL. One of the tasks now before us is the secur- ing of the mangel crop. Frosty nights warn us that this work should be completed as soon as possible. The crop is not so generally grown as might be wished, as it is very valuable, and comes into use at a time of year when keep is often scarce. It is not too much to say that for feeding purposes on the farm mangel is worth from 7s. 6d. to 10s. per ton, and, as thirty tons can easily be produced, the crop is worth from P.11 to £ 15 per acre. This cer- tainly is profitable. Another feature is that the crop is consumed upon the farm, so that its manurial value is retained. It is a cleaning crop, and although it is, no doubt exhausting to the land upon which it is grown, it is not so to the farm as a whole. During the last two months the crop has greatly increased in bulk and now bids fair to be an average one, al- though the quality of the rods may not be up to the ordinary standard. Mangel should be carefully stored and well protected from frosts. We generally place it in heaps about twelve feet wide at the base, and cover it first with refuse straw, called "muckle." We then lay on loose earth about six inches thick, carrying it up to within about one foot of the apex, and thatch the whole with straw. These heaps will stand any frost, and in the month of March they should be stripped of the thatch and earth to prevent sprouting. CROSS-BRED PIGS. In several of the South-western counties of England ("W. G." writes) a variety of pigs is bred that proves of great value to the many bacon-curing establishments that exist in those parts. These pigs have apparently resulted from a cross between the small boned, small framed pigs, at one time largely known as the improved Essex, and the medium sized Black Suffolk pig. Both are black, the former sparsely covered with fine hair, the latter much stronger and denser in coat. The cross-breds retain the superior quality indicative of Essex blood, and at the same time the freer growth and fattening properties of the others, yielding, when properly cured, bacon and hams of' the choicest quality. Many curers kill them when about 1001b. weight, and cure the whole side, from shoulder to ham, only removing the back- bone together with the flesh and top of the ribs adjoining them. After being duly salted, a number of the sides are hung up in the smoking house, and a large trade is done in these home- fed and home-cured sides, alike in the pale cured ones and in the smoked. The pigs for the most part of their lives run about the fields, and get the greater portion of their own living, while on many farms, what trough food is sup- plied to them is supplemented by an hour or two of grazing in a rape field, or sometimes the still better adapted for the purpose, the Jersey sprouting cattle cabbage. Miany are killed in the autumn without having been at all confined, just as the, great bulk of the American and Canadian pigs, that have been running in the corn stubbles, and these, as may be anticipated, are fuH of the lean flesh so much appreciated. This systefm of pig-keeping cannot fail to prove prQfitable, and for this purpose these active cross-bred blacks answer admirably, being for the most part good breeders and mothers, and thrive fast considering the small amount of food they require. A few years ago, great numbers of them were brought up the country to the more northerly parts. North Shropshire is where several truck loads were disposed of by auction at each eattle market day. They soon met with a brisk demand, the local farmers pur- chasing them freely. When turned out upon the farm ooIds, notwithstanding the colder cli- mate, they did well, and soon made nice ripe baconers of nine or ten scores each, just the size at which a bacon pig makes most per pound. Unfortunately, the swine-fever regula- tions put a stop to this trade.

I EPITOME OF NEWS. m A project is afoot for supplying New York with fish caught off the Scottish coast. A movement is being organised in Johannes- burg to help the ex-Irregulars, numbers of whom are in a state of extreme destitution. Four Transvaal natives have been sentenced to death for murdering a Boer in the course of the South African War. A Protectionist movement has been started in Holland, and an Anti-Free Trade periodical has made its appearance. The St. Louis Exposition offers Z30,000 as prizes for an aeronautical competition and ex- hibition. The "City Press" states that as a result of the frequency of London street robberies, one of the largest banks has decided to arm all its messengers with revolvers. A telegram from India announces the sudden death, at Bareilly, of Lieutenant Guy Woodfull, of the 4th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, attached to the 1st Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment. The President of the Board of Education has appointed Mr. R. M. Tabor and Mr. H. W. Simpkinson, C.B., to be assistant secretaries in that branch of the Board which deals with elementary education. Mr. F. E. Kitchener, a cousin of Lord Kitchener, is to be presented with an illu- minated address for his services in organising a scheme of education for Staffordshire under the new Act. Surgeon-Major-General James Davies, Army Medical Staff, who has died suddenly at Southsea, at the age of sixty-eight, served with the 57th Regiment in the New Zealand War in 1861. I' The Earl of Rosebery will visit Edinburgh on December 2 to unveil a monument erected in St. Giles's Cathedral to the memory of the men of the Royal Scots who fell in South Africa. Ten thousand pounds is offered by the State of Texas for something that will exterminate the boll weevil pest, which is destroying the cotton crop. Lord Curzon will, while in London, stay at his house in Carlton House-terrace. The pre- sent tenant is the United States Ambassador, who, to make room for the owner, will remove before long to Mr. Balfour's house in Carlton- gardens. The King presented each of his guests at Balm,oral this autumn with ateuvenir in the form of a walking-stick. The design on the mounting is a rose, thistle, and shamrock, with the royal arms and "E.R. while on the crutch, handle is the name "Balmoral." An ounce of onion seed was sown in the garden of Miss Cawithen, at Springfield, Newton Abbot, last March. Recently the gardenei gathered 4601b. of onions. A single leaf of an apple tree has 100,000 pores, and throagh every one of these water is constantly passing off into the surrounding atmosphere. Air has an enormous appetite for water, and the drier the atmosphere the more moisture it takes. Automatic post-offices are the latest novelty in the Berlin streets. Several of these boxes have been placed on trial in busy centres. By dropping a penny in a slot either five two- pfennig postcards or two five-pfennig cards may be obtained. The Bulletin de la Societe d'Acclimatation, France, advocates the rehabilitation of goats. It is remarkable that in Switzerland, America, and Mexico the number of goats has increased of late years. In the United States, the goat is valued not only for its milk, butter, and cheese, but its leather. The goat, in fact, is taking the place of sheep and cows in some countries. The "Family Doctor" says that while the outside of books may be thoroughly disinfected germs may easily remain within—between the leaves—unharmed, unless the leaves, one by one, be subjected to the most careful fumiga- tion. This process is so slow and expensive that it would be cheaper to buy a new book than to sterilise an old one. Calendar makers are busy at this time of the year. Already some millions of 1904 calendars have been printed, and by the middle of Decem- ber the task, which is truly an immense one, oi addressing them to their destination will be well on the way to completion. Some of the big insurance companies put out from 3,'JOO.OOO to 4,000,000 calendars annually, and it is said that one patent medicine firm alone contributed 7,000,000 last year. It is difficult to form an estimate of the number issued, but it is cer- tainly a gigantic total, 0 The most beautiful and costly fishes in the world come from China, and the rarest and most expensive of all is the brush-tail goldfish. Specimens of these have sold for as high as 9140 each and in Europe the prices range from E60 to IZ100. The brush-tail goldfish is so small that an American silver dollar will cover it, and probably there is no living thing of its size and weight that is worth so much money. "Buffalo Bill," having announced his retire- ment from the ranks of exhibition proprietors, is now starting another venture. He says that there are many young Englishmen and others who, if opportunity offered, would- take up rough riding. He is about to open an academy for these aspirants in Wyoming, and General Miles may possibly take charge of it. Mr. Everard Hambro has restored the little chapel of St. Catherine in the woods above his seat, Milton Abbey, Dorset. The chapel was, according to tradition, built by King Athelstan to mark his great victory at Brunanburh. It contains Saxon and early Norman work, bul since the Reformation the "chapel in the wood," as it is called, has been sadly dese- crated, having been used in succession au a pigeon-house, a labourer's cottage, and a car- penter's workshop. The reopening is fixed for the 25th inst., when Bishop Webb, Dean of Salisbury, will preach. Some magnificent specimens of old Brussels Gobelin tapestry have been recently discovered by accident under the carpet of a room in a palace built by Prince Batthyany, at Pressburg, in Hungary, and sold a year ago to the town. They date from the sixteenth or seventeenth century, are most artistically worked, and valued at 100,000 kronen. Fruit-growers in Kent are anxious with regard io the prospect of next year's black currant crop owing to the continued ravages of the pest Phytoptus ribis, known to farmers as the bud mite. It attacks the wood as well as the buds of the plants, and acres of plantations have been affected. The pest has been spreading in the hop country for the past seven years, and so far no cure has been found, although several methods of treatment check it to some extent. Count Turati, an Italian. naturalist, has just made a gift of singular scientific interest to the museum of Milan. After 14 years of zealous labour, the Count has amassed a collection of the birds of Lombardy under almost unique con- ditions of actual life. The birds, with their nests, eggs, and young are presented among their characteristic surroundings. Altogether 200 different species are represented by 1,000 pairs of parent birds, 980 young, and 1,900 figgS; There are also 5,000 eggs of miscellaneous species of birds. j Experiments in the smelting of steel by elec- tricity, carried on since 1900 at Gysinge, Sweden, have resulted in the erection of a steel plant at that place, in which electricity is to be the only smelting agent employed. It is said that steel made by this process is superior in strength, density, toughness, and uniformitv, as well as in the ease with which it can be worked in the cold, unhardened state. Tung- sten steel of electrical make gives stronger magnets than other similar steel, and does not warp in hardening. The microscopic appear- ance of electrically made steel resen&les that of crucible steel. Over 40,000 men are employed by Krupp's- with 4,046 officials. Of these 22,970 were at the Essen Works, where ordnance and armour plate are made; 3,062 at the Germania Shipyard; 5,710 at tho blast furnaces, where 1,782 tons of ore are smelted per day; and 6,620 at the ooal mines, where. the output is one and a half million tons per annum. The largest hydraulic press it only of 7,000 tons there are 8,000 and 10,000 ton presses at Sheffield. Illness, accident, and pensions cost the firm 9150,OW per annum. The power of speech can be retained after a complete, as well as after partial, removal of the tongue. Mr. W. H. A. Jacobson, writing in the "Practitioner," cites one of his own cases. A former army surgeon had his entire tongue removed, and some few months after the opera- tion was able to speak so distinctly as to give a most interesting account of one of the most striking episodes of the Indian Mutiny. He had been one of the sargeons in the force with which Sir Colin Campbell relieved the garrison of Lucknow. Society is taking to queer pets. According to "Cassell's Saturday Journal, among the quaint animals which have been introduced into the best circles recently is the mongoose. This importa- tion, which is known as the Indian snake killer, is generally sold for introduction to rats, into which it instils the fear of death a mile off. A friend of the writer had a mongoose on board ship, and on two separate occasions a rat was so terrified by it that it jumped on the man's knee in a vain endeavour to escape from its implacable enemy. But the mongoose can be tamed and made a good pet. Lord Radstock, who is now in his seventy-first year, is a man of strong religious convictions, whose sermons are much more eloquent than his speeches in the House of Lords. So daring has he been in his missionary enterprise that thirty years ago he invaded Russia and founded a sect after his own heart-the Pashkoffski. The price he paid for his daring was that he was forbidden to enter Russia again, so alarmed were the authorities at the possibilities of his zeal. The diet of a singer has to be as carefully con- sidered and limited as that of an athlete in train- ing. Mme. Melba is devoted to sweets, but she never allows herself one. Mme. Nordica con- fesses to sometimes having a perfectly childish craving for an abundant feast of sweets and pasties, yet she denies herself both. Mme. Patti ha-; sacrificed practically everything to her voice, and she says that she owes its preserva- tion to the fact that she never for one moment forgets that she is a singer. The most precious wine in the world is said to be that contained in a cask named the Rose, in the Bremen Town Hall cellars. This Rudesheim, of the vintage of the year 1653, is of the colour of old ale, and has a wonderful aroma, though a rather hard taste. It is never sold, but is used exclusively for the sick at Bremen, the only exceptions having been when a small bottle was presented to the Emperor William I., another to Frederick III., and one to Prince Bismarck. The supposed money value of this wine is something beyond credence, but, as it is never sold, this detail is of slight importance. Among the considerable number of tram-con- ductors who have just been discharged by the London County Council owing to the decrease of traffic that always occurs at this season of the year, is a Scotsman, about thirty-five years old, who is a Master of Arts of Edinburgh University and a Bachelor of Divinity. After he graduated he was for some years minister of a small parish in the south of Scotland. His health then broke down, and he was medically advised to emigrate to Canada. There he worked as a farm labourer, and although the colony suited him physically, it did not agree with his tempera- ment. He drifted to London, and for several months was a tram-conductor. Now he is one of the unemployed. Many of the London fire stations possess pets in the shape of living creatures that have been snatched from awfal fires and that have under- gone ordeals seemingly beyond the power of flesh and blood. One station has a handsome cat that was found sheltering in an angle of a wall when a vast publishing place was like an inferno. The spot whence the cat was rescued was seemingly in the very centre of a seething mass of flame, and the animal was seen nearly twelve hours before the firemen got to it. A hedgehog was brought, in connection with an Islington fire, out of a very furnace, and from an Old Kent-road blaze a canary was rescued in a cage that was apparently red-hot as to the metal wrok. China is undoubtedly the greatest slave country in the world. Of a population of 400,000,000, over one-fortieth are slaves. Every family of means Keeps its girl slaves, and a. man's position is gauged by the number of slaves he keeps. At any age from three to fifteen girls are sold, seven or eight being the age at which most change hands. The Unfortunate slaves vary in price. The average is about £ 2, but much depends on the girl's appearance. A good-looking girl will fetch P,4 or even C8. The girls are mostly pur- chased to do housework, it being cheaper to buy than hire. At Scarborough an ill-clad man named Good- ricke was charged with the theft of a turnip from a field. When the farmer accosted him he was hungrily eating half the turnip and carrying the other half under his arm. He pleaded to the magistrates that he took the turnip because he was very hungry, but the Bench ordered him to pay 7s. 6d. or go to gaol for a week. Time was refused, and he went to the cells. He was at one time a prosperous tradesman in Scarborough. The Official Receiver for Norfolk has issued notices to the creditors of the estate of Messrs. Harvey and Hudson, formerly bankers in Norfolk, who suspended payment several years ago, stating that a supplemental and final dividend of 6 2-5d. in the pound has been declared. This makes the total dividend paid 14s. 9 9-10d. in the pound. There remains a sum of over 93,000, which is required for printing and further costs and charges in the course of settlement. The estate has taken years to wind up in consequence of protracted litigation. Dr. Pentacost, the famous preacher, is a picturesque personality. Born sixty-one years ago, in Illinois, the lad, through the failure of his father, had a rough life as a labourer on the high roads, wood-chopper in the forests, and hotel servant. At nineteen he became deputy- clerk to the United States Supreme Court at Kansas, studied law, then entered a theolgoical training college, enlisted for the Civil War, resumed his profession of the law, and at length became a Baptist minister. That a shop should possess a beer license on condition that no beer is sold sounds extra- ordinary, but several places of this kind exist. A firm of cider manufacturers have a little shop in Lincoln which possesses such a license, though if you went in and asked for beer you 0 could not obtain it. The explanation of the paradox is that there is no license for cider alone, while a beer license cover both cider and perry. Everybody knows all about Mr. Chamberlain and the fondness which he has for his orchids;, but it may be news to most people (says "Men and Women") that wherever he is, when away from home, whether in London or the country, he has two fresh orchid blooms sent to him from Highbury every day, and he has not made a big speech for years without having one in his buttonhole. Yet, strangely enough, on two of the most memorable occasions in his life, and on those only, he has bedecked himself with another flower, and each time it was the violet. One of them was when he married his present wife, and the other was when he stood up in the House of Commons to explain the reasons for his separation from Mr. Gladstone. Sir Reginald Hart is the happy possessor of many decorations, of which five are for personal bravery. First and foremost comes the V.C., which he won in 1879 by saving a trooper of the 13th Bengal Lancers in the Afghan campaign; then there is the Royal Humane Society's silver medal, together with a clasp which was added for saving the life of a native in India; while the fourth and fifth dcorations are medals presented to him by the French President and the Mayor of Boulogne for saving life in that town: Besides these, General Hart wears the medals for several Indian campaigns, as well as for Egypt and, of course, South Africa, where he was with General Buller on the Tugela.