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

j LHASA'S PARALLEL. The only remaining parallel to Lhasa it Mecca, which still shrouds itself in a veil cf mystery. Buckhardt, and later Sir Richard Burton, carrying their lives in their hands, lived in this city, the latter intermingling un- observed with its inhabitants, and taking part in its most abstruse religious rites with its pil- grims. Both Mecca and Lhasa (says the "By- stander") have many points of interest in com- mon. Each respectively is a, point of pilgrimage for converts to the two great religions of the East-Mahometanism and Buddhism, the one as the birthplace of Mahomet receiving 100,000 pilgrims annually. Both contain wonderful temples—and both, behind their closed gates (to Europeans at least), have also been centres of indescribable filth, squalor, and vice. Lhasa now stands revealed. When will the turn of Mecca come?

PITY FOR THE POOR BACHELOR. Instead of putting a tax upon the bachelors, as M. Piot, a member of the Senate, would have them do, the public authorities of Paris, inspired by certain philanthropists, are about to provide a site for a Bachelors' Home, or Refuge, or Palace, on a grand scale. It is supposed that this palatial refuge will rescue the bachelors from the drinking-shop and stir them with an ambition to start a family home of their own. Nearly C500,000 will be spent upon the building of the Bachelors' Palace. It will contain room for nearly 900 residents. It will have reading and writing rooms, lavatories, bath rooms, and restaurants where food, unadulterated, and of the best quality, will be provided at the lowest possible price. The rent of a room is to beGd. a day, or 2s. lid. a week. "Messieurs 188 phil- anthropes," says the "Daily News" correspon- dent, who sends this statement, "what of the unmarried young girl of Paris, whose fate is more sad than that of the young man?" r^=t====-^====:«- —.—,—-■

A FISHY STORY. A remarkable story is told of a lady living near Ingestre Hall, who has made a pet of a trout. A correspondent writes to the "Daily News" that while walking round a pool in that neighbourhood he observed a lady throw a piece of bread on the water. Almost immediately the surface pool was ruffled, there was a glimpse of bright colour, and the bread had disappeared. Other- crumbs followed, thrown nearer and nearer to the bank, and gradually there swam into view a fine trout. Without the slightest trace of shyness, the trout came to the edge of the bank, to the very foot of the lady, and waited for more bread to be thrown. In reply to questions put by the visitor, the lady stated that the trout had been her pet for a long time, and had become so tame that it would even take a worm or a piece of meat from her fingers.

It i-s related of a clergyman, who was the happy father of a charming and beautiful daughter, that one day, while preparing his Sunday dis- course, he was suddenly called from his desk on a mission of mercy. The sentence at which he left off was this: "I never see a young man of splendid physique and the promise of a glorious manhood almost realised buklmy heart is filled with rapture and delight." His daughter, happening to enter the study, saw the sermon and read the words. Sitting down, she wrote underneath: "Them's my sentiments* Dapa, exactly."

TOVVN TOPICS. j (From Our London Correspondent.) The Beck case has been a positive god-send to the London newspapers during the "silly season." It is well that it has occurred at a time when the public mind is not concen- trated upon any other home subject of the first importance, as it will thus obtain the attention which it deserves. Those who have been behind the scenes at the Old Bailey are not at all surprised at the scandal. There are probably othsrr unfortunate men enduring the horrors of penal servitude at the present moment who are quite as innocent as Mr. Beck. The fact has been forced upon thoughtful observers that, when once a man gets into the hands of the police authorities, he has very little chance of escape, whether he be innocent or not, unless he can afford to fee an eminent barrister. The police seem to consider it a point of honour to secure convictions, not to see that justice is done. The demand for a full and exhaustive in- quiry into the whole circumstances of the case cannot be ignored, and the public will not be satisfied until punishment has been meted out to those who are responsible for this grave miscarriage of justice. There can be little doubt that this deplorable case will lead to a renewal of the agitation for a Criminal Court of Appeal. As the chairman of the League of Criminal Appeal, Mr. R. D. Yelverton, 3, Pump- court, Temple, declares that Mr. Beck's case is only one of many. "It is sad but awful," he adds, that under our present administra- tion of the criminal law innocent persons are convicted and serve long sentences for crimes which have been committed by others. The shame of our country rests upon another fact, namely, that such persons have here no right of appeal, but must be tortured and writhe in silence. As for the power of petition to the Home Office, it is delusive and nugatory. When I was, as I am still, endeavouring to release George Edalji, who is now suffering at Portland, I was told by the Home Office officials: 'There is no appeal here. We sim- ply exercise the clemency of the Crown.' The position, if it were not so infamous, would be grotesque. Clemency of the Crown' to a man who is innocent—surely the conscience of every honest man rebels against such a farce." The great shortage in the American wheat crop has already had the effect of sending up the price of bread in several districts of London. This, coming at a time when work is scarce and wages low, will seriously affect mar.y poor families. The only satisfaction is that the long-suffering British farmer will be able to get a fair price for his corn, and may possibly be induced ito bring again into cultivation many acres that have long been given up to pasturage or have lain waste. Fortunately, the Cana- dian crops promise well, and Manitoba wheat will largely make up for the shortage in the States article. The London tramway system is spreading apace, and there is some prospect that, within the next ten years, we may have a system aJ- most equal to that of Glasgow or Man- tester. The northern suburbs of London are at present the worst off in this respect, 'but when the scheme now in pro- gress is completed tramway facilities will be provided over about fifty miles of the main roads of the county, where at present there are no means of cheap, easy, and rapid inter- communication. The routes chosen bring in four great radical roads-from Willesden to Wembley, Cricklewood to Edgware, Highgate to High Barnet, and Wood Green to Enfield, and there will be numerous cross routes in connection with these trunk lines. Three of the routes extend into the neighbouring county of Hertford, where the County Coun- cil has promoted a system of light rails. The London County boundary forms practically the southern frontier, and towards the north electric traction will be carried as far as Wat- ford on one side and Cheshunt on the other. These new lines will not be worked by the Middlesex County Council; they have been leased to the Metropolitan Electric Tram- ways Company, Limited, by whom they will ,be worked until 1930. The cost of construct- ing the track is borne by the Council, and the electrical equipment and rolling stock are provided by the company. There will be one scale of fares only, as distinct from the ordinary and workmen's fares which are com- mon on most tramway undertakings. It is claimed that the fares have been brought down so low that every car is qualified for the name, "workmen's car," and it is added, "the whole of the travelling public will be given the benefit of the cheap fare prescribed .by Parliament for the working man." Notwithstanding the increase of electric tramways, the horse omnibus continues to maintain its position as the most popular means of transit in the Metropolis, and the .public show, year by year, in the most tan- gible form, a greater appreciation of its ad- vantages over other forms of locomotion. The traffic receipts of the London General Omni- bus Company for the last six months show an increase of no fewer than 2,180,000 passen- gers over the previous half-year, and an in- crease in the receipts of L- 6,744. The com- pany, however, are quite alive to the signs of the times, and hope shortly to have both petrol and steam omnibuses running in the streets. The directors believe that a success- ful motor vehicle will shortly be found, which will replace the great cause of conges- tion of traffic-the cumbersome and immobile rail-fixed car. Advocates of municipal insurance have had an opportunity of testing the workability of their system by the late disastrous fire in Shoreditch, wherein the municipally-insured Shoreditch Town Hall was completely gutted. The damage caused by the fire is stated to be about £ 20,000, and it is quite impossible for the company to meet the claim out of its own resources. The company was registered in M-arch of last year, and has not, so far, been a brilliant success. According to the scheme it was not intended to retain a risk of more than £ 5,000 on any single policy, any excess above that amount being re-insured with non- tariff offices. Such a safeguard, however, is in itself an admission of weakness, and it is difficult to see how even the £5,000 can be provided. Possibly the whole amount of this particular risk may have been re-insured, in which case the municipal company will simply have acted as insurance agents for the very companies it was established to supersede. As a matter of fact, it must either so act or else it must cast a heavy liability upon the ratepayers for a very inadequate saving in premiums. Many rumours have been afloat lately re- garding a new opera house for London. It is -understood that the Duke of Bedford, who is the ground landlord of the present opera- bouse in Covent Garden, would be glad to throw in the present site with the market, "which would bring him in considerably more income. There are nearly fifty years more to run of the lease which Sir Augustus Harris took over, but it is thought that the Duke would be inclined to take it over on fair terms. The King has expressed, on more than one occasion, the opinion that London ought to have a new opera house worthy of the capital and of its musical traditions. IThe site of the new house, when it comes to be fixed upon, will undoubtedly be much I nearer Piccadilly than the present one, and j although every one must regret the severance I of the time-honoured name of Covent-garden from Italian opera, it must be admitted that the situation is an out-of-the-way and incon- venient one. There is no autumn drama at Drury-lane this year, owing to the theatre being closed for the many alterations and improvements insisted upon by the London County Coun- cil. The work has already been put in hand, and will probably not be completed until the preparations for the Christmas pantomime begin. Next month will see the opening of a beau- tiful new theatre in Tottenham-street, which occupies the site of the famous old Prince of Wales' Theatre, where so many of T. W. Robertson's plays were produced, and where Mr. and Mrs. (now Sir Squire and Lady) Bancroft made their fame and fortune. Another new theatre is about to be erected in Wardour-street by Mr. and Mrs. Seymour Hicks. They will not "run" it themselves, however, but will lease it to Mr. Charles Erohman, who, in turn, has engaged Mr. Hicks and his charming wife (Miss Ellaline Terriss) for a further term of years to be his leading man and leading lady. The name of the new theatre will probably be "The Mascot." ==========

NEWS NOTES In the midst of the gloom arising from a great war waged so far with ill-success by Russia, the Czar's first-born son Alexis is christened with all the splendid baptismal ceremonial of the national religion, his spon- sors being our King (represented in proxy by Prince Louis of Battenberg—who married the sister of the Imperial baby's mother), the King of Denmark (the child's great grand- father), the Dowager-Empress of Russia, Kaiser William of Germany, the Grand Duke of Hesse, and Princess Victoria of Great Britain; besides two Russian Grand Dukes and one Grand Duchess of the Imperial family. With such a galaxy of distinguisned godfathers and godmothers the august child should be well cared for in the days of his youth, at any rate. May the years on before him be brighter for Russia, and its ruler-ap- parent of the future than they are now; and may the boy he a joy to the hearts of his father and mother and sisters! The fast cruiser Novik, beached and bat- tered by Jap ships off the isle of Saghalien, had borne her part in the present war bravely. She was damaged on the water- line during the first bombardment of Port Arthur on February 9, but was repaired in time to take part in the ill-fated sortie of April 13, when the Petropavlovsk was sunk by a mine. In the great battle off Port Arthur on August 10 the Novik and the Askold suc- ceeded in a desperate attempt to break through the Japanese battle line. Japanese cruisers started in pursuit but were outpaced. The vessel was next sighed on August 16 between Shanghai and Nagasaki, making in the direction of Vladivostok. This probably enabled the Japanese cruisers to get on her track, and they must have followed her up through the Tsushima Straits. They did a brilliant thing, but there are many who re- gret that the Novik's Russian record has ended disastrously, for she was "A gallant ship, with a crew as brave As ever launched on the heaving wave." The hungry sea eats off the land alarm- ingly at places along the East Anglian coast. The latest shore slip is at Sidestrand, by Cromer, where many thousands of tons of farm ground have given way, and grave fears are expressed that there is more to follow. It was hereabout that the famous "Garden of Sleep"—so well-known to Overstrand visi- tors-half disappeared a couple of years back, and the shore estates are continually crum- bling. If it be not feasible to effectually sea-wall this part of our coast it must in the natural order of things be gradually effaced as the port and parliamentary town of Ravenspurne was in the long ago farther north. The matter is one needing national attention. What would John Ruskin have said in the days of his fiery strength had he seen the Lakeland he loved invaded by the motor- car ? A steam motor 'bus is commencing excursions in the lovely district which Words- worth and Coleridge sang so sweetly of and in, and which all to whom grandly-rugged Nature is dear would leave inviolate. No railway has hitherto been permitted to run a line beyond Windermere, and as the old- fashioned horse vehicles were expensive and slow, and made a tour round the lakes impos- sible to the majority of the visitors, the 'ead- ing townspeople have inaugurated a motor- bus service. The new car is geared for hill climbing, and is fitted with three powerful brakes, 1:1 capable of holding it up dead when going thirteen miles an hour down a gradient of one in nine. But there are many to whom the innovation will be anathema. Meanwhile the scheme to save a beautiful I bit of the border of Ullswater as a national I park proceeds slowly. A little over a quarter of the money requisite for ensuring the pre- I servation of Gowbarrow Fell and the charm- ing glen and force" of Aira; and Canon I Rawnsley and his co-workers are deeply an- xious to secure the remainder, some nine thousand pounds. It ought to be easily forth- coming. At the opening of the public library at I Keighley the other day, towards the cost of which the ever-munificent Andrew Car- ¡ negie gave ten thousand pounds, the Duke of Devonshire made a notable speech on national education. His Grace said that while never professing to be an educational expert, he had done what he could to assist those who aroused the country's attention to our neglect of technical and secondary education as vita.1 to the maintenance of our commercial and in- dustrial supremacy, and now it was becom ag j recognised that cultivated brains were as essential to industrial efficiency as the strongest arms and the most willing hearts. The majority of our people could not realise that the duty of imparting this instruction could no longer be safely left to the bene- volent and philanthropic, and that it was as much a duty of the State as was national defence. His part in the work was nearly, perhaps, completely done, but he had had the satisfaction in having tried to do something for bringing under one single authority the two or three departments which had hitherto parcelled out our educational control. The Duke spoke hopefully of the future, when poli- tical and religious controversy would be likely less to complicate this highly important ques- tion.

There is one stately chamber in Stafford House, the Duke of Sutherland's splendid London man- sion, which they never open save when the Sovereign visits or when a bride departs. Excluding Egypt and the Soudan, we own 2,585,000 square miles of Africa, an area equal to more than fifty Englands, and inhabited by about 45,000,000 people.

CHANGE OF AIR NOT ENOUGH WHEN CHANGE OF BLOOD IS NEEDED. DB. WILLIAMS' PINK PILLS GIVE NEW BLOOD FOB OLD. Change of air is a good remedy for the tired, worn-out feeling that hot weather leaves. But it is not always enough. Sometimes we need a change of Blood-new blood for old, pure blood for blood that is impoverished, thin, and impure. Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People have cured all sorts of disorders arising directly or indirectly from want of new blood, and the Dr. Williams' Medicine Co. can refer to persons who have been thus cured in all parts of the country. Mrs. Etherington, wife of a well-known and prosperous tradesman at 1, Grand-parade, Brighton, had change of air and lives in the finest air of the kingdom—Brighton sea-front. Yet she went from bad to worse, and was thought to be dying, until Dr. Williams' Pink Pills were given her. Her story is intelligent and conclusive. Well knowing that her words were to be published in the local newspaper, the Sussex Evening Times, she said In 1902 we were living near Maidstone, and during the summer I suffered greatly from Indi- gestion and Neuralgia. The doctor ordered change of air, but a visit to Hastings did no good in fact I became worse there. I contracted Bronchitis and MES. ETHEBIKGTON, IDhose life was despaired of. Dr. Williams' Pink tills for Pale People cured her in a month. Pneumonia with inflam- mation of the bowels. I was attended by two doctors, but became so ill that I was unable to take their medicine." Yes," said Mr. Ether- ington, and I said 1 Don't give her any more medicine.' She had then been laid up four months, and was like a skeleton. We thought her dying, and wired for her relatives to come and say good-bye. All at once I thought of Dr. Williams' Pink Pills, and remembering that I had myself taken them with most satisfactory re- sults. I sent for a box. At first I gave my wife but one pill a day, but in two or three days there was a marked improve- ment. The pains became less severe, and she began to take nourishment. Then I gave her one pill after each meal, and slowly increased the dose until she took nine pills a day. The improvement became more apparent every day, and within a month of first taking the pills she began to go out. In a very short time she was able to resume her domestic duties." What is your state of health now, Mrs. Ether- ington ?" the reporter asked. Perfect," was the reply. My friends say my cure is marvellous. I frequently recommend Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People to customers who complain of indisposition." Change of air failed to cure. Change of blood cured. It was purely a case of blood-making, and Dr. Williams' Pink Pills have, in the same way, cured Anaemia, (which is simply bloodlessness), Consumption, Decline, Eczema, and all other dis- eases of the blood, as well as Rheumatism, Paralysis, Gout, Sciatica, and the ailments women endure in silence. The genuine pills bear Dr. Williams' name, and substitutes should,"be avoided, as they never cured anyone. Dr. Williams' Medi- cine Co., Hoi born-viaduct, London, will send a box post free for 2s. 9d., or six for 13s. 9d., but they can be had at all medicine shops, if purchasers insist on having the genuine. Sufferers should write to the Correspondence Dept., giving parti- culars of their case.

MODERN DICK TURPINS. The modern highwayman, says "The Auto- car," is not only enterprising but really up to date in his methods, if a report which comes from America is to be believed. A New York resident, whilst giving three ladies a run out on his automobile, was "held up" by a masked and armed robber, who after relieving the party of money and jewels to the value of £700, also deflated the tyres of their car, dis- connected the batteries, and emptied the petrol tank into the tank of his speedy motor bicycle, after which he decamped on his machine, leaving no trace as to his identity.

IMPORTANGE OF PROPER FOOD. The rising, and not a few of the risen genera- tion have much to be thankful for in the prac- tical attention which has been given to the rear- ing of Infants, and particularly to their nourish- ment, during the last third of a century. It is just thirty-six years since Mellin, of Infant Food celebrity started his life-saving industry, and it is not too much to say that through its agency the rearing of infants has been simpli- fied, their mortality lessened, and their develop- ment in physical and intellectual vigour im- ? roved to a marked extent during this period, 'his "Food," from more than one centre of manufacture, has spread itself throughout the civilised world, and imitations of it more or less crude, and under different names, have lent their testimony to its value and its fame. Mel- on's Food is the standard adjunct, unimprov- able, and without a rival, which rt-nders the milk of domesticated animals suitable for nourishing human offspring. It is-an interesting and instructive study to examine the vast collection of baby and other portraits, and the descriptive matter which ac- companies them, now in possession of the Company in London. Babies, children, and adolescents of both sexes seem to cover every variety of civilised humanity; and the burden of their song is Mellin's Food; the foundling deposited on a door-step- a few hours after birth; the skin and skefeton starveling of a slum; the mite of premature birth, too feeble to draw the maternal sustenance the little one who draws in vain from the enfeebled mother; the inheritor of disease; in a word, the child of every condition and every degree, to whom nature has denied her promised aliment; all transformed into rudely, robust, muscular lumps of laughing humanity. Then there are the young people of another order, who, having graduated, so to speak, at the maternal breasC have by "qualifying" on Mellin's Food, steered safely through all the periods of childhood, and are entering their period of adolescence, mens sana in corpore sano. Of such as these should a nation be made. There is another class of cases which cannot be represented by portraiture. They are not those of children, but of grown and aged people who, stricken in health have well nigh suc- cumbed in the battle of life. From their door& the Dark Angel has been warned off by Mellin's Food, and the milk of babes has proved better than a banquet.

THE WAR I ANOTHER RUSSIAN GUNBOAT LOST. An official telegram received at the Japanese Legation states that a Russian gunboat was sunk off Port Arthur by a mine on the 18th: I irsl. THE PORT ARTHUR SIEGE.—ENORMOUS LOSSES. Details of the Japanese attack on Port Arthur, which was renewed on the 17th inst., are sullied by the last batch of refugees who have reached Chifu. On the Russian left important positions have been captured near Pigeon Bay, and on the right the inner forts numbered 3 and 4 The Japanese losses are said to have been enormous, one account estimating them at 5,000 and another at 20,000. The terms of surrender offered to General Stoessel are" said to have provided that the garrison of Port Arthur should march out with the honours of war and join General Kuropatkin, on condition that the Russian ships in the harbour were not destroyed. I WITHOEFT'S LAST SIGNAL. Admiral Reitzenstein confirms the statement that the object of the sortie from Port Arthur was to escape to Vladivostok. His report, how- ever, carries the account of the battle no further than his own escape on the Askold from the circle of Japanese warships. In breaking through be was accompanied by the Pallada, Diana, and Novik, but lost sight of them in the darkness. The Askold had one officer and ten men killed, and four officers and forty-four wounded. Admiral Withoeft's last signal before his death was "Remember the Emperor's order not to return to Port Arthur." I THE SEA FIGHT IN THE KOREAN STRAITS. The report on the battle in the Korean Straits transmitted by Admiral Alexeieff gives a. stirring account of the gallant struggle made by the Russian cruisers. In its main lines it does not differ from Admiral Kamimura's report. The Rossia and Gromoboi, which are now safe at Vladivostok, suffered serious damage, the former having eleven holes below the water- line and tno latter six. The casualties amount to 50 per cent. of the officers and 25 per cent. of the men. Thus weakened the vessels were compelled to leave the Rurik to its fate. The captain of the Rossia was killed and five of his officers wounded. Four officers of the Gromoboi were killed and six, including the cantain wounded. Of the sailors 135 were killed and 30-7 wounded. I JAP DESTROYERS ACTIVE. I Japanese destroyers are still watching the entrance to Chifu Harbour. On the 19th inst. they captured an unknown vessel in, it is believed, territorial waters. There is much perturbation in Washington at the incident. According to a telegram from Mukden, the Japanese army Wp-¡" on the 20th inst. only twenty miles from Liao-yang, and a battle is expected every day. RUSSIA'S FAST CRUISER NOVIK SUNK AT SAGHALIEN. The fleet Russian cruiser Novik has been beached in a sinking condition after a severe engagement with the Chitose and Tsushima, the greyhounds of the Japanese navy. The Novik ran ashore at Korsakoff Harbour, in Sag- halian Island on Sunday. The Chitose and Tsushima caught up with the Nov-ik on Satur- day, and a running fight occurred. The con- test was resumed and ended early on Sunday. Captain Takagi, commanding the Chitose, states that he attacked the Novik, and inflicted heavy damage. The Novik was nearly sunk and was beached at Korsakoff. He says that a shell from the Novik hit the Tsushima's bunkers, but temporary repairs were made, and the fight- ing continued. The Japanese suffered no casualties. The Tsushima is seaworthy. The Imperial Prince Higashifushima was second in command of the -Chitose and Captain Sento commanded the Tsushima. The fate of the crew of the Novik < was, at the time of telegraphing, unknown. It was thought they abandoned the ship and landed at Korsakoff. For sentimental reasons much regret is ex- pressed in Tokio at the destruction of the fast Russian cruiser, as the Novik has been splen- didly handled and bravely fought throughout the war. Japanese naval officers have fre- quently expressed their admiration for her com- mander and crew. I ANSHANCHAN OCCUPIED. The Japanese have occupied Anshanchan, south of Liaoyang, and the Dapendushan Pass. In the former case the Russians are reported to have retreated towards Mukden. General Kuropatkin is constantly informed of the situa- tion at Port Arthur. It is stated that junks are the means of communication. All junks approaching the harbour are punished by having their masts broken by the Japanese. A St. Petersburg despatch says that a new army ex- pedition is being formed by Japan, destined for the attack of Vladivostok. I THE CZAR AND PORT ARTHUR. The Czar has sent the following telegram to General Stoessel:— "I direct you to congratulate the troops, eailors, and inhabitants of Port Arthur in my name and on behalf of the whole of Russia on the successes gained in the fighting on the 26th, 27th, and 28th of July. I am fully convinced of their absolute readiness to uphold the glory of our arms by their unbounded bravery. our arms by their unbounded bravery. "I warmly thank all. May the Most High bless their heroic deeds, which entailed such heavy sacrifices, and may He protect the fortress of Port Arthur from the attacks of the enemy. (Signed) NICHOLAS." I THREE DAYS' GRAND ASSAULT. According to telegrams from Chifu a grand assault on Port Arthur, preceded by a heavy bombardment, was begun on Saturday. It was reported to have been repulsed, but the Japanese intended to continue it for three days, and had sufficient forces at their disposal to maintain the assaulting columns at 60,000 throughout the attack. The strength of the Russian garrison has been estimated at 23,000 men, holding a line twelve miles long. The various military and naval attaches in Port Arthur have now left the place. I RUSSIAN SHIPS AT SHANGHAI. The Taotai of Shanghai has notified the Russian Consul that if the orders given for the Russian warships to disarm or to leave are not immediately obeyed, China herself will effect the disarmament of the vessels, and their crews will be detained till the end of the war. The Russian Consul-General declines to discuss this intima- tion, which he considers unreasonable. A Japanese squadron is reported off the Elliot Islands. The Japanese Government has issued a statement with regard to the seizure of the Reshitelni, and also in reference to its position on the general question of Chinese neutrality. j RUSSIAN RESERVES CALLED OUT.—THE BALTIC FLEET. An Imperial Ukase was issued on Saturday in St. Petersburg caJling out the reservists in about sixty districts, and summoning to the colours all reserve officers throughout the Empire. A St. Petersburg telegram in a Paris journal says it is now absolutely certain that the Baltic fleet will go to the Far East. JAPANESE CAPTURE POSITIONS BUT ARE DRIVEN BACK. Still, according to all the accounts to hand up J to the 23rd inst., the whole force of the Japan- ese is being hurled against the stubborn walls of Port Arthur. For three days the great as- sault, which is to decide whether the Russian flag or the standard of the Rising Sun is to float over the fortress, has been going on, and still the gallant Russian defenders hold out. Victory is hanging in the balance. The Japanese have gained important positions, but have been unable in some cases to maintain them. If the assault does not succeed, the as- sailants will probably resort to the surer plan of starving out the garrison. The Japanese have swept the Russians from Pigeon Bay, and have captured the northernmost fort of the western line of the inner defences at Port Arthur. The besiegers are, however, prevented by the Russian artillery fire from occupying either the bay or the fort. GARRISON'S HEROIC SPIRIT. Of the 45,000 originally forming the garrison, 10,000 have been killed or wounded. The spirit of the garrison, however, is dogged and deter- mined. General Stoessel rides incessantly from point to point, and his chargers are showing the strain, although the General changes his mount frequently. The Russian officers and soldiers have grown indifferent to the shells which fall in the town. Recently the Chinese theatre was struck by a shell, and a score of spectators were killed and wounded. Another siiell landed in a Chinaman's paddock, killing five donkeys. Civilians are allowed to leave the bomb-proof shelters during lulls in the artillery fire, but these intervals are rare. An unusually large proportion of young company officers have been killed. This is partially due to the dan- gerous nature of their duties, but they are extremely reckless and daring in accepting risks. Japanese guns are mounted on nearly all the hills which were formerly the Russian out- posts, and the Japanese fire is accurate. The hospitals and Chinese houses are full of Rus- sian wounded. The dsad are taken to ware- houses until they can be removed for burial. They are then buried in the outskirts of the town, quicklime being freely used to prevent infection. Reliable information has reached Chifu that the Japanese have received reinforce- r,ae-,its numbering 30,000 men. CONVICT ISLAND ATTACKED. I he Japanese have created a diversion by at- tacking the famed convict island of Saghalien, to which Russia ships her most desperate scoun- drels. An official telegram received at St. Pe- tersburg, dated August 21, says:—"The Com- mandant of the troops at Korsakovsk (Sagha- lien), telegraphing at seven o'clock this morn- ing, states that the enemy is bombarding the port of Korsakovsk. Many houses have already been damaged." A second telegram, dispatched three hours later, says :— "One of the enemy's ships appeared on the horizon of the Port of Korsakovsk about six o'clock in the morning. Approaching to within about seven kilometres of the shore she bombarded the port until 8.15 a.m., and then withdrew slowly to sea and disappeared. The damage caused to the town by the enemy's projectiles was insignifi- cant. We had no casualties." STOESSEL'S DESPERATION. "Fort Arthur will be my tomb." So General Stoessel, the gallant leader of the garrison which has no nobly upheld the tradition of Russian bravery, has telegraphed to an intimate friend. The General's words indicate the desperate character of the situation. The Japanese, it ie stated, have captured important positions near Golden Hill, an eminence less than a mile from the town on the southern side. On the west they have taken Yetsishan, known as the "chain" fort. This means that the Russian centre has been taken. The defenders have been driven from one of their strongest points, and it is difficult to see that the utmost heroism will enable them to keep the flag flying many more days. "ALL BUT FALLEN." "All but fallen" is the expression used by Chinese who have just arrived at Chifu from Port Arthur. They state that the Japanese have penetrated as far as General Stoessel's own residence, a mile from the town, and this news has made the Japanese at Chifu so confident of Port Arthur's impending fall that they are already subscribing money and preparing to celebrate the great event. Eight hundred shells fail int-o the fortress daily, and death and destruc- tion rage oil every hand. The Japanese declare that they will fight till the place is captured, cost what it may. Little leaks out as to the scenes of terror of which Port Arthur is full. The gar- rison are said to be still full of fight, and the few women who remain are working incessantly in nursing the wounded. TORPEDOED WITHOUT WARRANT. The finding of the Naval Court at Shanghai in regard to the sinking of the British steamer Hipsang by a Russian destroyer is to the effect that the vessel was torpedoed and sunk without any just cause or reason. She had no contra- band of war on board, and carried no Japanese. CRISIS AT SHANGHAI. Neither of the Russian warships, the Askold and the Grozovoi, now at Shanghai, have com- plied with the order to disarm or leave the port. With a Japanese fleet lying just outside the harbour the situation is critical. The Chinese Governor has again requested Sir Pelham Warren, the British Consul-General, to order the repairs on the Askold to be stopped but Sir Pelham Warren has as yet taken no action. In view of the circumstances some prominent American firms have requested protection for cargo on the wharves close to. the Askold. This request has been forwarded to Admiral Stirling by Mr. Goodnow, the American Consul-General, and the former has the matter under considera- tion.

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HARVEST FIELD TRAGEDY. A little child named Hilda Batty was burnt to death on Monday in a harvest field at Market Deeping, in Lincolnshire, before the eyes of her parents. She had been left sitting by some work- men's clothes by her father and mother, who were working a few yards away. While their attention was turned awn,y from the child, she took some matches from the pocket of a coat that lay beside her, and started to play with them. Absorbed still in their work, the parents took no notice till suddenly the father saw his little girl enveloped in flames. She had set her clothes alight with the matches. The flames were quickly extinguished, but not before the child had received such serious burns that she died soon after.

The Czar is the owner of over 100 estates, ell of which supply him with private revenues, but he is also the possessor of 100 palaces and castles, which have to be maintained in imperial style at a great expense to the owner. The Czar has more servants than anyone else in the world, for a veritable army of over 30,000 do- mestics—cooks, pages, butlers, grooms, gar- deners, and so forth—is employed on his 100 odd estates. He possesses over forty residences which he has never seen, a score of homes which he has viewed externally, but never in- habited, even for one night, and another score in each of which he has slept on only one occasion. The Czar's private stables contain over 5,000 horses belonging to him, and the herds of cattle feeding on his own lands are estimated to number over 50,000 head. •

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