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

n,a > GOLD/MEDAL. TVSJK. DUBBINS Waterproofs, softens, and pre- serves the life of BOOTS and frag atfijpf HARNESS. Allows polish. Pleasant aroma. 22 Exhibition f& «||§ VI highest awards. Tins, 2d., 6d., JB1 EST I 1/- & 2/6 of Bootmakers, Sadd- AiWvtfl! lers, Ironmongers, &c. Manu- M:! .factory, East Dulwich, S.E.

THE SIMPL02f TUNNEL, I It is reported that the boring of the Simplon tunnel, which was commenced in 1898, will be completed by the end of the year. It will run through the Alps for a distance of 12J miles, and will therefore be pne-third longer than the St,Grothard tunnel, The scheme embraces the construction of I two tunnels which are to run parallel, 56 feet I apart, and to be connected at short intervals by galleries, but it is anticipated that for the present one bore, containing a single track railway, will be sufficient for the traffic. Provision is made for blowing up the tunnel at several points in the case of war, but the experience of the Russians in the Far East has shewn us that mines may sometimes be as dangerous to friends as foes, and it is to be hoped that there will not be any mistakes or accidents in the Simplon tunnel.

MERRYWEATHER ON I WATER SUPPLY AND FIRE PROTECTION of COUNTRY MANSIONS. EXPERTS SENT TO ALL PARTS TO Report on EXISTING Arrangements. WRITE FOR PAMPHLETS: MERRYWEATHER & SONS, 63, LONG ACRE, LONDON, W.C.

THE ARMSTRONG V. VAUGHAN VERDICT. I The verdict in the cause Armstrong v. Vaughan, in the High Court of Justice, is interesting on account of the emphasis which it gives to a rule of law of which some people are ignorant. In this instance the plaintiff's husband had pledged jewell- ery which belonged to the wife, and, the value being placed at X300, Mr Justice Darling gave judgment for that amount, to be reduced to a shilling on the jewellery being given up. It follows from this deci- sion, and many others before it, that wher- ever a person has pledged property which does not belong to him the owner may re- cover it by action in a Civil Court. Some people fall into the error of preferring their claim before a police magistrate, who has the power, which he sometimes exercises, of requiring the complainant to pay the amount for which the goods have been pawned. In the County Court or High Court no such order is made, and the com- plainant can always recover the goods in accordance with the legal maxim that no person can give to another a title which he does not himself possess.

FRAUDS. The number of devices for extracting money from unsuspicious people is iufinite, and among them is that of securing credit by the pretence that the person is heir to a great fortune. A case of that kind resulted at the London Sessions in the imposition of an exemplary sentence; but, no doubt, there are some instances in which the rogue escapes altogether, aud it may be well to repeat the caution that no such persons should be trusted. Another cruel fraud which is alway3 being resorted to by some- body, is that of advertising for people to do work in their spare time, a deposit being asked for as a guarantee of the worker's honesty, or a sum being charged for ma- terials. Any person who thinks of comply- ing with such terms may be tolerably certain that he or she will never receive a penny, the intention of the advertiser being either to change his address when he is satisfied with his haul, or else to send the invariable reply that the work is not satis- factory, until the person employed becomes med of writing further.

Ambidexterity. We have much pleasure (says The Hospi- tal) in calling attention to a very useful society for the promotion of ambidexterity, which is holding meetings and discussing papers at the house of the Medical Society of London, and which is calculated, we think, to be of much benefit to the commu- nity. A great many years have passed away since Benjamin Franklin first struck the note of common sense upon this subject in the humorous essay which he entitled, The Complaint of a Neglected Half- Brother." In this complaint THE LEFT HAND was made to say that he had been born with capabilities fully equal to those of the right, but that he had not only never been taught a trade, or assisted towards earning his own living, but that he had even been almost uniformly chidden and discouraged in his attempts. The truth of this is com- mon knowledge. A child at table who took his knife in his left hand and his fork in his right, or a child at school who took up his pen or pencil with his left hand, would be reproved by the great majority of both parents and teachers. The result is that the left hands of the majority of adults have grown up in a state I OF VERY LIMITED USEFULNESS I and of comparative weakness and awkward- ness, while the motor centres supplying them have been left in a partially-developed condition. That this state of things is purely artificial admits of easy proof from the ex- perience of all those who have educated the left hand systematically; and there can be no doubt that the consequently increased blood supply which is directed te the right motor centres of the brain has a beneficial effect upon the nutrition oi that organ gen- erally, and tends to the promotion of intel- ligence, as well as the establishment of ambidexterity.

A TERRIBLE INSTRUMENT OF WAX, I At Keyport, New Jersey, there is a dynamite gun in process of preparation, for which the inventor makes strong claims. Its bore is 3in. and it is lift. long. A 5ft. carriage has been constructed for it. The gun is known s a low-pressure weapon. It throws a projectile 2ft. long and 161b. in weight, of which 35 per cent. is explosive. It is stated that the gun will throw 51b. of dynamite a mile with enough force to pierce a jin. steel plate. The inventor believes that a projectile from this gun striking at the water-line will blow up a battleship or other large war vessel. Satisfactory private tests of the gqn are said to have been made.

— | A GKEAT MAGNETIC STORM, In November, 1882, says the Leisure Hour, a great spot was seen on the sun, covering an area of more than three thousand millions of square miles. The weather in London happened to be somewhat foggy, and the sun loomed, a dull red ball, through tne haze, a ball it was perfectly easy to look at without shading the eyes. So large a spot under such circumstances was quite visible to the naked eye, and it caught the attention of a great number of people, many of whom knew nothing about the existence of spots on the surface of the sun. This great disturbance, evidently something of the nature of a storm in the solar atmosphere, stretched over one hundred thousand miles on the surface of the sun. The disturbance extended further still, even to nearly one hundred millions of miles. For simul- taneously with the appearance of the spot the magnetic needles at Greenwich bt gan to suffer from a strange excitement, an excitement which grew from day to day until it had passed half-way across the sun's disc. As the twitchings of the magnetic needles increased in frequency and violence, other symptoms were noticed throughout the length of the British Isles. Telegraphic communication was greatly interfered with. The telegraph lines had other messages to carry, more urgent than those of men. The needles in the telegraph instruments twitched to and fro. The signal bells on many of the railways were rung, and some of the operators received shocks from their instruments. Lastly, on November 17th, a superb aurora was witnessed, the culminating feature of which was the appearance, at about six o'clock in the evening, of a mysterious beam of greenish light, in shape something like a cigar, and many degrees in length, which rose in the east and crossed the sky at a pace much quicker but nearly as even as that of sun, moon, or stars, till it set in the west two minutes after its rising. +

A LAKE THAT KEEPS ITS DEAD. I An interesting and very strange thing about Lake Superior is that it never gives up its dead. Whoever encounters terrible disaster-happily infrequent in the tourist season-and goes down in the angry, beautiful blue waters, never comes up again. From those earliest days when the daring French voyageurs, in their trim birch bark canoes, skirted the picturesque shores of this noble but relentless lake, down to this present moment, those who have met thair deaths in mid-Superior still lie at the stone-paved bottom. It may be that, so very cold is the water, some of the bodies may have been pre- served through the centuries. Sometimes, not far from the shore, the bodies of people who have been wrecked from fishing smacks or fiom pleasure-boats overtaken by a cruel squall have been recovered, but only after the most heroic efforts with drag net or by the diver, I ♦

SOME AUSTRALIAN STATISTICS. I The present area under wheat in New South Wales is 940,000 acres, which are estimated to produce 9,750,000 bushels. During 1897 New South Wales imported, chiefly from the United Kingdom, apparel and drapery to the value of ^11 ^fil_ The mineral exports of New South Wales during 1897 included 50,513 tin ingots, 380,658 copper ingots, and 19,784 tons of shale. Nearly six million dozen oranges were produced in New South Wales during the year 1896-7; also 2,885 tons of table grl es. The value of the coined and uncoined gold exported from New South Wales during 1897 was 94,786,890; and of the silver £ 44,551. No less than 25,874,2771b. of butter, 4,0191b. of cheese, and 5,303,7631b. of ham and bacon were produced in New South Wales during the year 1896-7.. Among the food exports of New South Wales during 1897 were 140,772 cases of meat, 800,710 carcases of frozen mutton, 19,529 pieces of frozen beef, and 101,740 boxes of butter. Among exports from New South Wales during 1897 were 595,600 bales of wool, 21,040 packages of skins, 370,837 hides, 68,145 casks of tallow, 14.568 packages of leather, 1,084,809 horns, and 1,317 tons of hoofs and bones. In 1897, Broken Hill, the great silver producing district of New South Wales, yielded silver bullion to the value of £ 615,874, and ore unconcentrated valued at £ 1,038,363. But for the destructive effects of the great fire in the leading mine, the output would have been greater. During 1897 the gold received at the Sydney Mint for coinage amounted to 756,964oz., as against 712,809oz. during 1896, an increase of 44,155oz. for the year just closed. The new silver coin issued by the Sydney Mint during the past year amounted in value to £ 17,250. The new bronze coin issued was valued at iCl,890 r 1897. ♦

A WOODPECKER'S SAGACITY. I Down in Mexico there lives a woodpecker who stores his nuts and acorns in the hollow stalks of the yuccas and magueys. These hollow stalks are separated by joints into several cavities, and the sagacious bird has somehow found this out, and bores a hole at the upper end of eaoh joint, and another at the lower, through which to extract the acorns when wanted. Then it fills up the stalks solidly and leaves its stores there until needed, safe from the depredations of any other thievish bird or four-footed animal.

I CHEPSTOW. PETTY SESSIONS, TUESDAY. SEQUEL TO AN AucTION'-Ellen Brown, of Trelleck, was summoned for stealing a picture, valued at Is 6d, the property of Albert Lewis, of Trelleck, at Tintern. There was an auction sale on November 7th, 1902, at Tinteru, and prosecutor alleged that he bought the picture, but afterwards found it gone. Defendant said she bought the picture at the sale, and her daughter bore out her evidence. The auctioneer showed the payment to be a each transaction.—The Bench said there had been a mistake, and that there was no felonious intent, and dismissed the case, the picture to be returned to Mrs Brown. THBFT FROM A NEIGHBOUR.—Harriet Tuckwell was charged with stealing a gold gem ring, the property of Mary Harris, at Caldicot Pill, on December 30th last.-Prisoner pleaded guilty.— The parties were neighbours. Prisoner went to prosecutor's house for some soft water, and whilst there assisted prosecutrix to remove some things from a manteslhelf to dust, and took the ring from a vase. Although told of the loss, she said nothing about having the ring, which she was recently found wearing.—Prisoner was fined j61 and .£1 12s 6d costs.

TREDEGAR. I PETTY SESSIONS, TUESDAY. I QUARTER SESSIONS CASE.—An important case under the Bankruptcy Act was heard, in which Alfred James Thomas, 27, grocer, Ebbw Vale, was summoned for obtaining credit for X20 17s 4d from Henry Flook, Market-street, Newport, and from the Wall Paper Manufacturers (Limited) Pendleton Manchester, on various dates without informing them that he was an undischarged bankrupt. The proceedings were taken under Section 31 of the Bankruptcy Act, of 1883,-Evidence in support of the charge having been given by a number cf witnesses, Police Inspector John Price, Ebbw Vale, said that when the warrant was read to defendant be replied. I had the paper, but the traveller knew how it was with me." He made no reply to the charge in Henry Flook's caiie.- Defendant was committed for trial at the Quarter Sessions on the 6th prox., bail being accepted in defendant's own recognisances of ig.&O and two sureties of dE25 each. I

PONTYPOOL. I POLICE COURT, SATURDAY. I COMMANBBEBING GROCERIES. William Davies, I who works at the Llanerch Colliery, on Friday night, near Snatchwood Park, met two boys deliv- ering groceries for the India-China Tea Company, Abersychan, and, commandeering the gooi's, threw them all about the place. The boys ran off for assistance. Subsequently, Davies coolly told P.S. Jonee, I thought they were mine." Now charged with stealing the groceries, value lis 3d, he pleaded that he was guilty of taking, but not of stealing, them, adding that he had had a drop of beer.— Fined 20s. THREATS. James Morris was summoned for threatening Charles Sewell, at TalywaiD, on March 19th, and throwing a huge stone at him.—Bound over to keep the peace fo: six months.

THE GREAT REMEDY. tooAl GOUT PILLS GOUT, RHEUMATISM, SCIATICA Ir TT LUMBAGO, Is quickly relieved and cured wit out 'restraint from diet, by these celebrated Pills. All Chemists and Stores at Is. I -id. and 2s. 9d per box. 2

Markets. I MONMOUTH, CATTLE, Monday.—Fair attendance. Large supply of beef, with quiet trade. Veal in good supply, and brisk demand. Mutton trade better. Fat lambs scarce, and making fancy prices. Moderate supply of pork and small pigs trade dragging. The supply of store cattle was unusually large, and changed hands slowly. CHBPSTOW, CATTLE, Tuesday.—There was a fair supply of cattle, but lambs were scarce and dear. Quotations :-Best beef made Gld per lb, with 6d per lb for second quality; wether mutton 8!d, 2 ewe 7d, lamb Is to Is Id per lb; porkers realised from 8s 6d to 9s 6d per score, and baconers 7a 6d to 8s 6d. NBWPOET, CATTLE, Wednesday.—The supply of cattle and calves was large, but that of sheep and lambs small to-day. The attendance was large, and trade very good all round. Quotations:— Best beef. 6id per lb; seconds, 5!d to 6d; cows, 5d to 5-ffld; best wether mutton, Sid to 9d; ewes, 6-ld to 7d; veal, 8d to lOd; lamb, Is per lb. Porker pigs were from 9s to 95 6d, and bacon pigs 8s per score. NBWPORT, CORN, Wednesday.—It was reported here to-day that wheat was firm, with prices in favour of sellers.. Maize firm no change. Barley and oats no change. Flour (fines) was at 26s 6d per sack. NEWPORT, CHEBSE, Wadnesday,-There was a good supply at the cheese market here to-day, the attendance being an average and the business quiet. Quotations :-Caerphillys, 44s to 50s per cwt; fancy dairies, 52s to 54s; Derbys, 61s to 65s ditto, doubles, 58s to 60s; truckles, 63s to 68s; ditto, singles, 45s to 50s.

Retirement of Superintendent James. Police-superintendent William James. of Ponty- pool, is about to retire upon superannuation from the Monmouthshire Constabulary after 34 years meritorious service. The son of a timber merchant formerly trading at Abergavenny, Mr James joined the Monmouthshire Police Force at 22 years of age, when Major Edmund Herbert was chief constable, and the constabulary offices were located at Usk. He was moved successively from Usk to Blaina, Machen, and Blaenavon. In 1886, he was raised to the rank of inspector and detailed to Tredegar, remaining there until 1888, when he was appointed superintendent at Pontypool in succession to Mr Bosanquet, the pre- sent chief-constable of Monmouthshire. One of the most exciting experiences Superinten- dent James had during his sixteen years' residence at Pontypool was in connection with the South Monmouthshire election of 1892, the Parliamentary combatants being Colonel the Hon F. C. Morgan and Baron Profumo. During the riots he was struck on the head by a stone, and felt the effects of it for years. It is stated that in all probability Superintendent James will be succeeded at Pontypool by Inspector James James, of Abertillery.

MARIE ANTOINETTE'S MISSIWO NECKLACE.—Msria Antoinette's missing necklace, valued at £30,000, has been found in the Paris Pawnbroking Adminis- tration central office, where it had been pledged, and the Belgian engineer Despas, who withdrew it from the jewellers, has been arrested.

I Parliamentary. I In the House of Commons, on Tuesday, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman attacked the Government, severely criticised Lord Milner, and called upon Mr Balfour to re- sign. When the Premier rose to reply, he was greeted by a chorus of cheers from the solid phalanx of his supporters He characterised "C.B.'s" speech as spirited rather than fiery," and asked whose fault it was that so few Government Bills had been introduced. It was not the fault of the Government," he declared, amid cheers and counter-cheers. Did we move votes of censure and amendments to this and that. and generally stop the pro- gress of substantial business ?" On Mr Winston Churchill rising to speak Mr Bolfour rose, and, followed by all the other occupants of the Treasury Bench and the great majority of the Unionist party, left the House. I THE ALIENS' BILL. I The Home Secretary introduced a Bill for the regulation and restriction of alien immigration, and it was read without a division. The House adjourned until April 12th. Sir Michael Hicks Beach has decided that he will not again seek re-election for Bristol 0 West. I

The War. I Martial law has been proclaimed at Niu chwang by the Russians Another smart skirmish has occurred be- tween outposts in Northern Korea, in which the Russians admit a loss of three killed and fifteen wounded The Japanese are said to have lost heavily. I

Monmouthshire Cricket Club. The annual meeting of the Monmouth- shire County Cricket Club was held at the King's Head Hotel, Newport, on Wednes- day, the Mayor of Newport, Colonel Clifford Phillips, presiding, The membership was reported to be 135. There was a deficit on the year's working of P,29 Os. 3d., but this was a little less than that of the previous year. The total debt of the Club stood at £59 3s Id. Lord Tredegar was re-elected President, and Mr A. R. Butler hon. secretary. A resolution was passed strongly pressing for half of the proceeds of the East v. West football match at Cardiff being devoted to t he claims of Monmouthshire cricket.

A CLERGYMAN AND HIS DEnTs.-The Rev Jame" Barnes Brearley, late rector of Willoughby, Lutterworth, passed his examination in bankruptcy at Leicester. Hia liabilities were over £ 10,000 and the assets £ 1,900. Mr Brearley bad held livings in Lancashire and Somerset, and said that during the last ten years be had borrowed L9,400 from 27 moneylenders, with which he purchased advowsons, and rebuilt and repaired vicarages. The Official Receiver said that his difficulties bad grown in snowball fashion by borrowing money to pay off previous loans.

THE WANING REPUTE OF BROWN BREAD. I The old-fashioned brown bread, which, in its day, had a hygenic as well as dietetic repute, is unequivocally condemned in the report of two German scientists to their Government. The kind of brown bread specified is a mixture of rye and wheat. The conclusions reached are that a sound rye-flour is nearly as digestible as a sound wheat flour. The digestibility of rye flour is, however, enhanced in proportion to its freedom from the husks of the grain. The bran of rye contains no nutritive element assimilable by the human digestion, no matter how finely that part of the grain may be triturated. According to the report, the aim of a rational milling process should be to obtain the most perfect elimination of the husks. The bread served out to German soldiers is con- demned as being incapable of complete assimilation.

ANGLO-SAXON UNITY. I In considering the question of a closer understand- ing among Anglo-Saxon peoples for the better fulfil. ment of Anglo-Saxon methods of popular government, for the extension of commercial freedom, and for firmer security of the liberty of the individual man, not everyone understands, says the Philadelphia Record, how broad a basis there is for such an inter- national undertaking. In a late address before the Colonial Section of the Society of Arts in London it was shewn that "the British Empire is 53 times the size of France, 52 times the size of Germany, 3i times that of the United States, thrice the size of Europe, with treble the population of all the Russias. It extends over 11,000,000 square miles, occupies one-fifth of the globe, contains one-fifth of the human race, or 350,000,000 people; it embraces four continents, 10,000 islandu, 500 promontories, and 2,000 rivers. It is estimated that the Empire possesses one-third of the sheep of the world, one- fourth of the cattle, and one-twelfth of the horses. The total shipping under the British flag is 10,420,000 ton." This is a potential aggregate, the like of which the world has never before seen, whether considered with reference to population of territory. But it is so great that it is unwieldy. Though the Anglo-Saxon has conquered this space on the earth's surface and this domination of a large part of mankind, he holds place and power by the force of racial superiority, and not by reason of numerical strength. Half the English-speaking people of the world are in the United States. The territory of the United States is one of the fairest and most fruitful portions of the earth's surface. The United States in point of war power are strongest where Great Britain is weakest, and the weakest where Great Britain is strongest. Suppose that, for purposes of common defence and of common interest, the United States and the British Empire should stand together, what combination of the Powers could resist them ? Anglo-Saxon unity is self- suggestive-not for purposes of aggression, not to make war, but to make future wars impossible by commanding the peace with power to enforce it. &

FOOD-GROWING IN THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT I BRITAIN. J The aggregate area under wheat, oats, and barley in the United States in 1897 was 67,914,557 acres, against 6,958,053 in Great Britain. The area under potatoes in the States was 2,534,577 acres, which produced 164.015.964" Winchester" bushels (slightly under our Imperial bushel) of a total value of 89,643,059dols. (about 918,490,000). There was a decrease in the acreage under potatoes in the States last year of 232,888, equal to 8 -4 per cent. The acreage in Great Britain was about one-fifth that of the American. The measurement of potatoes by bushels is a practice followed both in the States and Canada, and renders the comparative yield of American and British potatoes difficult.

A FATAL BED. I In a ward in one of our hospitals a singular fatality is believed by many patients and their friends to belong to a particular bed. It is the second bed in the row in one of the wards, and it is popularly believed that no patient who i3 ever placed on it recovers. In spite of all the efforts of doctors and nurses to kill the superstition, it exists, and cannot be got rid of. No sooner is a patient laid on this bed than everyone in the ward watches the case with the closest attention. If the patient has the use of his faculties he is not long in observing the curious looks with which he is regarded by his fellow-inmates, and ultimately learns the cause. If the patient is at all superstitious or nervous, his case becomes worse, ana the authorities are obliged to r»raove him to a bed.

THB smallest salary paid to the head of a civilised itovernment is R3 a year to the President of the Republic of Andorra, In the Pyrenees. OVER 69 per cent. of the total membership of trade unions in the United Kin m is found in the building, mining and quarrying, metal engineering, shipbuilding, and textile trades.

AMUSEMENTS OF JAPANKSI? CHILDREN. For centuries Japanese children have been playing games which our boys ,ad girls indulge in to-day and consider strictly modern. Indeed, many of our pastimes have come to us from Oriental lands, though they have been modified to suit our needs, and perhaps called by different names. Blindman's Buff and Puss in the Comer are as old as Japan itself, but as played across the sea they are far superior to our games, of which they are counterparts. For instance, in the latter, pussy is represented as an oni or demon, the corners of the room standing for the four safe harbours of Truth, with certain shelters from all harm; a beautiful idea as carried out by those quaint little people. In fact, the majority of their games are instructive as well as amusing, though the children are blissfully ignorant of the fact when at their play. They have no idea that their amusements are a self-imposed form of instruction taken like sugar- coated pills. Even full-grown people take part in games which our fathers and mothers would con- sider childish. Playing cards are an important factor with Japanese children, and nearly every little tot one meets carries a pack in his or her kimono sleeve. These cards are dainty affairs, the average size being two inches long by one inch wide, something after the order of a pack of solitaire cards. A geographical game is played by the youngsters with great enthusiasm. It consists of a small board, some liliputian blocks, a tiny dice-box, and three baby dice. The board is in three colours, and scattered over it are bright-coloured pictures of the stations between Tokio and Kioto, all arranged in correct local sequence, each with the name printed above, and the number of miles between each station printed beneath. Tokio is at the head of the board, Kioto at the foot; on the latter's square is a little pile of confectionery, sugared fruit, or cake, the reward of the one, whose successful throws bring him first to the sugary goal. #>

EVOLUTION OF THE KEY. I The first keys in use were strips of hard wood with wooden pegs on them. When thrust into the wooden lock the pegs, which were stationary, pushed into their holes a corresponding number of loose wooden pegs in the lock, and thus the door was opened. A century later brought us the old Roman iron key, plain in form and simple in design, with wards instead of pegs, the equivalent for pegs in the iron lock consisting of ridges of iron arranged in circles or parts of circles. We next come to the keys of the Gothic period, which were made of bronze and iron, the lip being curiously wrought to baffle any attempt to pick the lock. Passing on to the Renaissance and Rococo periods, we find that the bows and shafts of the keys were elegant speci- mens of the locksmith's art. The Italian keys to the Venetian caskets were of iron, inlaid with silver, the coronet, figures, and vine-like tracery displaying the most elegant workmanship.

I r w I A QUAINT CELESTIAL CUSTOM. The saying that there's method in madness is demonstrated by a remarkable custom prevalent in the cities of the Celestial Empire. One is par- ticularly struck by the numbers of pairs of boots hung in separate wooden cages in the archway of the main west gate of Hsuan-hua, the valedictory gifts of beneficent prefects. It is an attractive custom in China to invite a departing magistrate, whose rule has been popular, to leave a pair of old boots for suspension in a prominent place as a hint to his successor to follow in his footsteps. It is a considerable honour to be asked to leave these boots, and the ruled make the request all the more eagerly because they believe in the efficacy of the hint.

SOME CURIOUS BEQUESTS. Nearly two hundred years ago William Slanville, of Wotton, left by will 42 each for five boys who should successfully pass a certain test in religious instruction. The test, which is still annually applied, consists of repeating the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, of reading the fifteenth chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, and of writing out two verses of the same. Another custom which still survives, and of which the tomb of the originator is the centre, is annually carried out in the grim old burial- ground of St. Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield. Hither every Good Friday twenty-one widows "of good repute," and belonging to the parish if possible, resort, and each picks a new sixpence from a certain tomb. Far more remarkable is the custom instituted by Henry Raine, of St. George's-in-the-East, who directed that a marriage portion of Z100 should be given every year to one of six girls, aged twenty- two, who had been educated at his schools, and who should draw lots for the prize. His only con- ditions were that their husbands should be men of good character, approved by the trustees, members of the Church of England, and neither soldiers nor sailors. The strict observance of a very curious bequest is still kept at the little Kentish village of Biddenden. Many years ago two Biddenden ladies left a piece of land the rental of which was to be devoted to the distribution on Easter Sunday morn- ing, to all who come, of cheese, ale, and flout cakes stamped with the images of the testatrices.

NUMBER OF JEWS IN THE WORLD. I Professor Haman, of Bale, has taken a rough census of the Jews of the world, and comes to the conclusion that the children of Israel now number nearly 11,000,000. Of these a good two-thirds are found in Europe. Russia comes first with 5,500,000 (40,000 in Asiatic Russia), then Austria-Hungary with 1,860,000, Germany with 568,000, Roumania with 300,000, Great Britain 200,000, Turkey 120,000, Holland 97,000, France 77,000, Italy 50,000, Bulgaria 31,000, Switzerland 12,500, Greece 5,800, Servia 4,700, Denmark 4,000, Sweden 3,400, Belgium 3,000, Spain 2,500, and Portugal with only 300. The total for Europe is about 8,000,000, of which by far the larger proportion is confined to the Eastern countries. Outside Europe the country which contains most Jews is the United States with a round million.

CURIOUS EYES OF ANIMALS. I Many animals possess more than two eyes which do not act together. A leech, for example, has ten eyes on the top of its head which do not work in concert; and a kind of marine worm has two eyes on the head and a row down each side of the body. Some lizards have an extra eye on the top of the head which does not act with the other two. A bee or wasp has two large compound eyes, which possibly help each other and are used for near vision, and also three little simple eyes on the top of the head which are employed for seeing things a long way off.

STRANGE ANNUAL SERMONS. t In the old City of London a favourite form of bequest was for the preaching of particular sermons upon particular occasions, and in the City churches these sermons are still preached. Such are those prescribed at St. Sepulchre's on St. Paul's Day, in accordance with the will of Paul Jervis, who died in 1717, on the excellence of the Liturgy of the Church of England; the Three Hours' Service on Good Friday at St. Margaret's, Lothbury; the Flower Sermon at St. Catherine Cree; the "Gar- deners Sermon" at St. Leonard's, Shoreditch, dating from 1728; the "Kenton Sermon" at Stepney Church the "Coriwainers' Sermon" at St. Dun- stan's-in-the-West; the "Armada Sermon" at St. Martin's, Ironmonger-lane, until the church was pulled down the Lion Sermon at St. Catherine Cree the Guy Fawkes Sermon at St. Mary-lo- Low. and others.

THE PROBABILITIES OF LIFE. I An American doctor, speaking of the probabilities of life, says that out of 1,000,000 babies 150,000 die before they are a year old, 53, COO before the end of the second year, and 28,000 at the thirteenth, and by twos and threes others would succumb until at the forty-fifth year there would he but 500,000 left. At sixty years'there would be 370,000 grey-headed veterans, but at the end of eighty years there would be but 17,000. At ninety-five "there would be but 223 to continue the race, and the winner would leach the age of 108.

The Far East. 1 ;i A General's Narrow Escape. Rome, Thursday. A Telegram from Seoul published: here, states that General Mischenko narrowly escaped capture after the engagement at Chonju. -0

I A City of the Dead. St. Petersburg, Thursday. Port Arthur correspondent of Novosti says the place is like a city of the dead. Shops are closed and! all but the military have left the- place.

I Sanitarium for the Russians. St. Petersburg, Thursday. Subscriptions are coming in for the establishment of a Sanatorium for the Russian wounded at Y altain. Crimea.

I Plot against the Kaiser. Rome, Thursday. It is stated that the police are- searching for an anarchist namedl Arthur Pretti, suspected of com- plicity in the plot against the Kaiser. ———————

A Mountain Disappears L Lake is Formed. New York, Thursday. Bald Mountain, in New Bruns- wick, has disappeared; the former- site is occupied by a lake of muddy-- water. The mountain's disappearance is supposed to be connected with the" recent earthquake.

I A Centenarian Voter. A voter at Bixley District Council election was 102 years old.

I Bank Rate. Bank rate unaltered.

I Stocks. Stocks quiet, steady. Printed and Published by "THE COUNTY OBSBRVBB,^ NEWSPAPER and PBINTINO COMPANY, Linaitad, by JAMES HBNBY CLARIC, at their OSces, Bridger Street, Usk, in the County of Monmouth, Saturday April 2nd, 1904.