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CURRENT &PORT< I
CURRENT &PORT< I WEEK-END CRICKET. 1 Kent continued their victorious career in the county cricket championship by winning the Hants match at Tonbridge on Friday of last week by eight wickets. Blythe was almost un- playable in both of the Hampshire innings, taking nine wickets for 30 runs in the first, and six for 46 in the second. At Lord's, on Satur- day, Middlesex beat Surrey, after an exciting match, by two wickets, G. W. Beldam and the home captain, G. McGregor, assisting materi- ally towards such a result. Leicestershire went down to Essex, at Leicester, the visitors bringing off a surprising victory by nine wic- kets. Of the 204 set them to win, Carpenter made 108, not out. As was expected, Sussex and Yorkshire played a drawn game at Brigh- ton. In the course of the three days only twenty-three wickets fell. C. B. Fry made his individual score on Saturday into 229, his highest this ,season. Worcestershire and Gloucestershire played a drawn game at Worcester, the batting throughout being stronger than the bowling. The game produced 1,111 runs for thirty-one wickets. Arnold scored 111 and 86 for the home team. The game at Old Traff-orcl between Lancashire and Notts ended in a draw, the feature of the con- cluding day's cricket being a steady innings of 100 not out by L. O. S. Poidevin, the London County representative. Notts had to get 239 in ninety minutes to win, and they made 36 for two wickets. SCOTTISH FOOTBALL BEGINS. The Scottish football season opened on Satur- day, the chief results being — Scottish League.—First Division.—Hiber- nians 1, Queen's Park 1; Kilmarnock 3, Hearts 2; Dundee 2, St. Mirren 0; Celtic 5, Partiok Thistle 0; Airdrieonians 3, Motherwell 2; Morton 1, Port Glasgow Athletic 0. Second Division.—East Stirlingshire 0, Leith Athletic 0; Falkirk 2, Aberdeen 1; Abercorn 3, Raith Rovers 1 Ayr 4, Arthurlie 0; Hamil- ton Acas. 4, St. Bernard's 0. THOUSAND YARDS NORTHERN COUNTIES SWIM- MING CHAMPIONSHIP. This annual race was decided in the sea at Blackpool on Saturday in beautiful weather before a large attendance. Six competitors started, and Billington, Bacup, led at the half distance by 50 yards from H. Herring, of Hyde, with N. Potter, Tyldesley, close up, third. On rounding the flag for home Billington was by himself, and won easily by two hundred yards, whilst, after a magnificent struggle, Herring and Potter dead-heated for second place. Time, 15min. 13 4-5sec. CROQUET CHAMPIONSHIP. At Wimbledon on Saturday the croquet cham- pionship meeting was concluded. The open championship was won by R. C. J. Beaton, who beat F. W. Croft in the final round by 2 and 18. The ladies' championship fell to Miss Rowley, who beat Mrs. J. A. Richards by 13 and 25 in the final. TANDEM RECORDS BEATEN. When winning the Anerley Club's 100 miles race at the Crystal Palace on Saturday, the brothers G. L. and O. J. Hopkins broke all amateur records from 51 miles (excepting at the sixty-sixth mile, where H. Purvis and P. F. Nosworthy led) to 100 miles, inclusive. The brothers Hopkins, on their tandem, won by five yards, in 3hr. 44min. 48 2-5sec. G. A. Olley, on a single, came next, in 3hr. 44min. 49 l-5sec. Purvis and Nosworthy were third, in 3hr. 47min. 14 2-5 sec., and E. V. Norman, on a bicycle, fourth, in 4hr. 6min. 59 1-5sec. Purvis and Nosworthy, with 17min. start, won the sealed handicap. AN UNUSUAL DOUBLE. At the King's Oak Cycling and Athletic Grounds, High Beech, on Saturday afternoon, in the Hornsey and Crouch End Wheelers' sports, C. V. Clark won the two miles bicycle handicap, from scratch, in 4min. 54 3-5sec., and afterwards also won the 100 yards foot-racing handicap, from scratch, in 12sec.—an unusual double event. In both events Clark conceded lengthy starts. BATH CLUB'S SPORTS. The Bath Cycling Club's sports were carried out on a big scale last Saturday. Prizes were given to the value of £ 400. Ernest Payne, of Worcester, won the three miles bicycle race for the Diamond Jubilee Gold Plate and Tempest Challenge Cup, beating S. W. Lack, the Eastern counties' champion, by a length, in 7min. 56 2-5see. Lack, however, in the five miles race for the Bath City Gold Vase, later on, beat Payne by a similar margin, in lomin. 15sec., with 80 yards start. Lack also won the half-mile handi- cap. Foot-racers were also busy at the same meeting, where J. Austin Miller, the 100 yards champion of Wales, as well as of Essex, won the 100 yards level race, beating L. F. Tremeer by 6in., in 10 2-5sec. SHRUBB SUCCESSFUL AT SOUTHEND. Alfred Shrubb was the main attraction at Saturday's land sports decided by the Southend Regatta Committee at the Marine Park. The little champion competed in the one mile open handicap (from scratch) and three miles invita- tion level race. In the former he retired at 600 yards, but in the three miles he beat his old opponent, A. Aldridge, Highgate B., by 60 yards in 14min. 51 l-5sec. A. Willingham, Railway Clearing House A.C. won the 300 yards handicap, and finished third in the 100 yards, won by J. Hursey, Highgate H. A. Capper, of Elstree, who finished second in the 100 yards, was first in the half-mile in the extraordinary fast time of Imin. 54sec. F. S. Wills, joint holder with his more famous brother, A. E. Wills, of the tandem championship, was the hero of the cycle events, winning the one mile scratch race and taking second prizes in the half-mile and mile handicaps. NEW GOLF COURSE. Thirty golfers, representative of Gullane, Dirleton Castle, Bass Rock, Luffness, and Dunbar, competed in the tournament for the Haldane challenge cup on Saturday over the Gallane new golf course. Mr. Hugh Watt (Dirleton Castle) proved successful with a score of 80. The next beet returns were: Mr. W. Black (Dirleton Castle), and Mr. Y. Brotherston (Dirleton Castle), 81. READING SPORTS. WALKING CHAMPION DISQUALIFIED. One of the most iateresting sports meeting3 of the season-the annual gathering of the Read- ing Athletic Club at Reading.—was held on Satur- day. Palmer Park was th venue, and quite 5,000 spectators were present. The sensations of the day were the breaking of the mile relay race record and the disqualification of the British walking champion in the three miles walking handicap. The Berkshire champion- ships were as usual included in the programme. There was any amount of excitement over the one mile relay race, B. J. Blunden, the half-mile ex-champion, representing the Herne Hill Harriers, finished first, two yards ahead of the Surrey half-mile champion, E. H. Montague (South London Harriers). Blunden and this three club-fellows among them covered the mile in 2min. 31 2-5 sec., beating the previous British record' by four-fifths of a second. Montague ran splendidly, covering his quarter-mile in 51 3-5sec., and making up a lot of ground at the finish. Tite Herne, Hill Harriers won. An unpleasant feature of the meeting was the disqualification of the seven and two miles amateur champion walker of England, G. E. Larner (Brighton and County H.), who was at scratch in the three miles walking handicap. The officials, not being satisfied with his mode of progression, ruled him out in the first half-mile. Several of the other competitors met with the same fate, and the race was eventually won by T. J. Eaton, of the Kennington Harriers, with 500 yards start, in 20min. 57 4-5isec. J. C. Hall, of the Northampton Institute Harriers, was X J aecond, with 650 yards start, and H. A. Smith, of the Belgrave Harriers, 540, third. W. Ette (Bedford A.C.), 7t yards start, won the 100 yards open handicap, beating E. H. Montague (South London H.), 6! yards start, by a foot, in the fast time of 9 4-5sec. The 300 yards open handicap was won by H. Brady, of the Herne Hill Harriers, 20 yards start, a co-starter in T. Clark, of the London and North-Western A.C., finishing second, two yards behind. Time, 32sec. Fast time was accomplished in the half-mile open handicap, which was won in Imin. 55 4-5sec. by the quarter-mile ex-champion, C. McLachlan, of the Herne Hill Harriers, with 40 yards start. A. Hanlon (Reading A.C.), 59 yards start, was second, three yards behind. In the mile open handicap the winner, A. E. Combes, of the Portsmouth Harriers (128 yerds start), also did fast time. He beat G. F. Pepper, of the Bel- grave Harriers, 100 yards start, by a yard, in 4min. 17 2-5sec. E. P. Franklin, of the Railway Clearing House, was third, with 140 yards start. There were several spills in the cycle races. R. Janson (Polytechnic C.C.) was one of the victims in the half-mile scratch race, which the five and fifty miles champion, Leon Meredith, won by a wheel from C. Brooks (Royal Arsenal), in Imin. 9sec. Meredith afterwards won the mile bicycle handicap with 20 yards start, in 2min. 12 3-5sec., beating Janson by a wheel. Brooks was third. A half-mile bicycle handicap was won, with 60 yards start, by the Putney rider, C. C. Cole. RAIN-SPOILED CRICKET. At the Crystal Palace, on Monday, Warwick- shire scored 325 for the loss of nine wickets against London County, rain slightly curtailing shire scored 325 for the loss of nine wickets against London County, rain slightly curtailing the day's play. In the first match of the Chelten- ham week, Gloucestershire dismissed Yorkshire for 148 runs, rain then stopping play. Rather less than two hours' play was practicable at Lord's on Monday, and in that time Kent made a good start against Middlesex, scoring 139 (A. Hearne not out 52) for three wickets. At Brighton, against the South Africans, Sussex scored 141 for two wickets before rain came on and put a stop to further play. Owing to wet j weather, there was no cricket on Monday at Aigburgh in the match between Lancashire and I Leicestershire; and a similar state of things prevailed at Taunton, where Somerset were, opposed by Surrey. | VARIED PLAY. At Lord's, on Tuesday, Kent recorded 280 against Middlesex before closing their innings. Alec Hearne (100) and Mr. R. N. R. Blaker (53) batted very well. Middlesex replied with 125 for three wickets, Mr. P. F. Warner playing a fine not-out innings of 72. Some sensational bowling was seen at Cheltenham in the match between Gloucestershire and Yorkshire, and at the close Gloucestershire and Yorkshire, and at the close of the second day's play the visitors held the strong lead of 150 with two wickets still to fall. Yorkshire made 148 and 86 for eight wickets, and the home team 84. A brilliant innings of 178, not out, by K. S. Ranjitsinhji was the feature of Tuesday's contest at Brighton. With a score of 357 for three wickets Sussex declared, and when rain stopped play at twenty minutes past four, the South Africans had made 21 for and when rain stopped play at twenty minutes past four, the South Africans had made 21 for no wicket. At Taunton, Surrey did well against Somerset, as, after scoring 156, they on Tuesday dismissed the home team for 69, J. N. Crawford bowling with great success. The visitors, batting a second time, scored 64 without loss, and thus obtained a. lead of 151. At the Crystal Palace, London County played up wonderfully well against Warwickshire, on Tuesday, so much so that on Wednesday morning the game remained in quite an interesting condition. Warwickshire were 107 runs ahead, with eight wickets to fall.
I C300,000 A WEEK LOST. I
I C300,000 A WEEK LOST. I SCIENTISTS ARGUE IN FAVOUR OF EMPIRE- I GROWN COTTON. While the eleven sections of the British Asso- ciation were sitting at Cambridge in their several rooms and discussing hard scientific problems, on Monday, sixty members took a holiday and had tea in a marquee on the estate of the Garden i City at Letchworth, near Hitchin. The weather J was bad, but they were driven over the site, and chatted to the management over the tea-table afterwards, saying it was a, good and honestly con- ceived scheme. Meanwhile, at headquarters the cotton crisis was discussed under the aegis of Mr. Balfour, who occupied a seat on the platform. Mr. J. Arthur Hutton, vice-chairman of the British Cotton-Growing Association, deprecated the state of the cotton trade in this country. He said that while the supply of ra.w material was short and the trade on short time, the. loss to the whole country was nothing less than £ 300,000 a week, or at the rate of £ 15,000,000 per annum. The only way to prevent this loss was. to encourage and develop the growth of cotton in various parts of the Empire, and for this purpose an association with a guarantee fund of half a million sterling has been formed, with India as its first objective. A great supply, said Mr. Hutton, would destroy the destructive nature of the cotton corners and gambling in futures. Mr. Balfour agreed in the main with Mr. Hutton's arguments, but declared he spoke as president, not Premier.
I GIRL'S EXTRAORDINARY SWIM.
I GIRL'S EXTRAORDINARY SWIM. A girl, 16 years of age, on Monday swam across the Lake of Neuchatel. This is a very remark- able feat for so young a lady. The exact points of departure and landing are not mentioned, but the minimum width of the lake is about four miles, while at its broadest it is fully six miles across. Its length is about 25 miles. One factor which adds to the difficulty of swimming for any pro- longed period in the Swiss lakes is the intense coldness of their water, due to the fact that so many glaciers run into them, and although Neuchatel is not as had as others in this respect, its temperature is quite sufficiently low to handi- cap the best of swimmers.
I MYSTERIOUS WORKHOUSE FIRES.
I MYSTERIOUS WORKHOUSE FIRES. An alarming workhouse fire-the third within six weeks—came to light on Monday at a meeting of the Newcastle-under-Lyme Guardians. The master reported that early on Sunday morning fire broke out in the store-room, above which slept the women and children. Dense volumes of smoke filled the rooms, and the master and officers rushed to the scene with fire appliances, but so quickly did the fire spread that the women and children were compelled to escape down the fire staircase in their nightdresses. The master suggested that the fire was due to spontaneous combustion of matches in the store. Serious allegations were made in the discussion following this report. The chairman, in closing the discussion, suggested that in future safety matches should be used.
CRUELTY TO A WIFE.
CRUELTY TO A WIFE. SENSATIONAL CASE. A peculiarly revolting case of cruelty to & wife was investigated before the magistrates at Bromley, Kent, on Monday. The defendant was Otto Dorer, a jeweller's assistant, and it was proved that for four years he had kept his wife a prisoner in the house. Having possessed him- self of money coming to her under her father's will, he admitted to the house another woman as housekeeper, but afterwards cohabited with her, and became the father of three of her children. In defence, it was urged that the question was not one of morals, but of means." It was not considered necessary to call medical or other evidence, and the magistrates, having granted Mrs. Dorer a separation, with a certain weekly allowance, gave her the custody of her own two children—both born before the cruelly began-and ordered the defendant to pay the costs, including the fees of the solicitors .and of the medical man.
i WARSHIPS AT BRITISH PORTS.
WARSHIPS AT BRITISH PORTS. A proclamation has been issued by the Governor of Malta, which, it is understood, is also to be issued by the Governors of other British Colonies and dependencies, directing that belligerent ships proceeding either to the seat of war or to any position with the object of intercepting neutral ship on suspicion of carrying contraband of war, shall not be allowed to coal in any British port or harbour, either directly from the shore or from accompanying colliers.
J TIBET MISSION. |
J TIBET MISSION. I MONKS AND PEOPLE TIRED OF FIGHTING. "The Times" special correspondent, in a message dated from Lhasa on August 14, says the Tibetans have had enough of fighting. The common people have been impressed by the humanity with which their wounded have been treated and the punctuality with which payment has been made for requisitioned supplies. With the arrival of the force at LhaBa the monks them- selves have largely lost their reasons for hos- tility. They know that their monasteries and temples are at the mercy of the British, and their assertion that they desire peace may be fully credited but they have not lost faith in their old tactics of evasion and delay. Still there is a perceptibly growing tendency to come to an agreement. I TIBETANS CAPTURED. Lord Ampthill, in a telegram to the Secre- tary of State for India, says some of the Mounted Infantry of the Tibet Expedition, whilst out reconnoitring about eight miles from the camp, surprised one hundred of the enemy, who were armed. Sixty-four of the Tibetans were captured without opposition. "The Times" special correspondent at Lhasa says that nego- tiations are now inevitable. At present the object of Tibetan diplomacy is simply to induce the Amban, the Tsonga Penlop, and the Ne- palese Resident to secure for them better terms by mediation. When the Tibetans recognise that not one of the three is willing to jeopar- dise his position with us by doing so the end will come speedily. Supplies are coming in very freely to the British camp. I CAPTIVES RELEASED. The Tibetans have agreed to one out of the nine Articles of the proposed Convention. They have released two Sikkimese, British subjects, captured over a year ago near Chamba Jong, and since kept in prison at Lhasa on the plea, that they were spies. The two men did not complain of bad treatment, and a medical examination revealed no marks of ill-usage. The political officers state that the negotiations re- proceeding smoothly. The Tibetan officials now say that they do not know where the Dalai Lama is, though he has been asked to return. M. Dorjieii is with the Dalai Lama.
I 25 YEARS IN A TREE.
I 25 YEARS IN A TREE. William Tough, alias Navvy," the eighty-year- old hermit of Windsor Park, has given up the romance of twenty-five years in a hollow tree for the stern realities of Windsor Workhouse. William Tough acted the part of a hermit so tho- roughly that his loss will ever be mourned. Born at Nursery Cottage, he has never left the Forest and Park; he has never entered a railway train in his life. His hollow tree near Cranbourne Tower has stood him in good stead for a home. People took great interest in the strange old man, whose long hair, shaggy beard, and strange attire made him a most noticeable figure. Like most hermits, he hated women. Not for any romantic reason, but on the solid grounds that one once stole his rum. But he always showed deep respect to the late Queen, prostrating himself as she passed, and received her recognition-for she knew his story— with great satisfaction.
NATURE NOTES. ]
NATURE NOTES. ] A FAVOURITE FLOWER. Next to the charming edelweiss, the gentian is the most popular of Alpine blooms. The Garden" calls to mind an interesting fact in floral nomenclature. Gentius, King of lllyricum, the eastern boundary of the Adriatic, was taken prisoner by the Romans about a century and a half before the Christian era for encouraging pirates, and died in custody. He discovered that a certain plant was a very good tonic, and that plant has ever since been called Gentiani, after him. This plant is generally supposed to have been the tall, coarse alpine common m mountainous districts in Central Europe, and known to botanists as G. latea, a preparation of which is still in high repute as a medicine. All tourists know what charm the gentian gives to the mountain land- scape. MI RINGED SNAKE BITE. It is commonly believed that the ringed snake is quite harmless. One, however, says a corres- pondent of the Field," recently escaped from my greenhouse, and after being at large for some weeks I recaptured it, when it turned and struck at my hand, inllicting a distinct bite. The wound was, of course, minute (like that produced by a fine needle), but it bled freely. I may say I have handled this snake constantly, both before and since this occurrence, and it shows no disposition to attack. It gave sign, however, by hissing and raising its nead, of such extreme irritation at the curtailment of its holiday that I was tempted to test the accuracy of this popular view by placing my hand tantalisingly near it. jPROSPECTS FOR STALKERS. Never, says "Country Life," has there been better feed for red deer than during the present season. Grass has grown almost up to the moun- tain tops, and what there is is both sweet and nourishing. Consequently, large heads and fat venison may be expected. It is noticed that the calves have also done exceptionally well this year. Hardly any have been lost, and they have grown at a great pace. It will probably be a record stalking season, if only the weather is favourable when stalking begins in earnest. A FOUR-FOOTED STOWAWAY. In a consignment of bananas which reached Shudehill Market, Manchester, the other day, was found a little animal that at first was taken to be a rat. It narrowly escaped slaughter, but its ap- pearance soon revealed that it was one of the fauna of Jamaica. The little immigrant had journeyed via the Ship Canal, and it was even- tually identified as a species of small opossum. It has been sent to Belle Vue to lead a life of more publicity and ease than was probably its lot in the banana crate. The incident shows how easily immigrants of an undesirable kind, creeping or four-footed, may be imported. I' ANIMALS AND POISON. Wolves, tigers, leopards, and other carnivora are difficult to poison because of the power which they have of rapidly getting rid of the drug. Lions on the other hand, are very frequently poisoned, as they eat voraciously and quickly, more like a dog than the other large felidse. It is said that a good many lion skins, especially those brought back by foreign counts and others from Somaliland before the regrettable misunderstanding between whites and blacks had begun in that region famous for z, large game, were obtained by the unsportsmanlike method of poisoning carcasses and leaving them for the lions to devour. Cattle, which have no less than four stomachs, are hopelessly poisoned if once they have swallowed a dose, whether in a toxic plant or otherwise. It is this curious arrangement of their interiors which makes it such a difficult matter to give cattle medicine at all. GOLDEN EAGLES ADORN THEIR NESTS. In the Highlands, we will not tell the precise place, a naturalist has found a golden eagle's nest that contained a rubber ring, carried thither by the birds as an adornment. An observer in California has reported that a pair of golden eagles there decorated their nest with sacks. When the kite builds look to lesser linen," says Shakespeare, alluding to the robberies committed by those birds from the hedges where linen was put to dry. The late Mr. Booth described a kind of bower made by some aesthetic eagles in Scot- land. THE EDIBLE SNAIL. Parisians are cultivating the snail for the table. The snail of commerce, like the silkworm, is fed and nurtured with care and discrimination. He is a beast of seasons, unless artificial feeding has changed his nature. His habit is to go to sleep when there are no more tender plants for him to destroy. Quite a laborious piece of engineering is the making of his winter fortification. By the secretion of a very viscous fluid he attaches earth or dead leaf to his foot, and manipulates it into the requisite shape he puts that aside, and con- tinues the process with more earth, repeating the operation until he has completely roofed himself in. MOSQUITO BROODS. Regarding mosquito broods and the number of specimens that develop within a limited area, few persons recognise the fact that breeding is inten- sive rather than extensive. It is not that there is a scattering of insects over a large area. There is, on the contrary, a concentration of specimens within a limited space. The best illustration of that was seen last year in one of the New Jersey resorts, where a small pond, with an area of 1891 square feet, produced in one brood over ten million six hundred thousand specimens. A MOVING MOUNTAIN. A travelling mountain is found at the Cascades of the Columbia. It is a triple-peaked mass of dark brown basalt, six or eight miles in length where it fronts the river, and rises to a height of almost 2000 feet above the water. That it is in motion is the last thought which would be likely to suggest itself to the mind of anyone pass- ing it, yet it is a well-established fact that this entire mountain is moving slowly but steadily down the river, as if it had a deliberate purpose sometime in the future to dam the Columbia and form a great lake from the Cascades to the Dalles. The Indian traditions indicate immense move- ments of the mountains in that region long before white men came to Oregon, and the early settlers gave the above described mountainous ridge the name of "travelling" or sliding mountain." In its forward and downward movement the forests along the base of the ridge have become sub- merged in the river. Large tree stumps can be seen standing deep in the water on this shore. The railway engineers and the brake- men find that the line of the railway which skirts the foot of the mountain, is being continually forced out of place. At certain points the per- manent way and rails have been pushed eight or ten feet out of line in a few hours. Geologists attribute this strange phenomenon to the fact that the basalt, which constitutes the bulk of the mountain, rests on a substratum of soft sandstone, which the deep, swift current of the mighty river is constantly wearing away, or that this softer sub- rock is of itself yielding at great depths to the enormous weight of the harder mineral above. DEPORTMENT FOR MONKEYS. An experiment in the training of chimpanzees at the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London is in progress. Recently the authorities obtained two young examples of the West African species, and since their arrival at the menagerie they have undergone daily lessons in deportment and manners. Both these apes are as well behaved as could be wished, they readily allow themselves to be clothed, and they may occasionally be seen in the Fellows' tea-room taking afternoon tea with the superintendent of the gardens.
[No title]
Mabel: "Clara says her face is her fortune." Maud "Poor Clara! She always was unlucky"" Judge "Have you anything to say, prisoner?" The Prisoner: "No, your honour. I expect what you say'll be plenty." P
ART AND LITERATURE.
ART AND LITERATURE. The announcement that the Director of the National Gallery has just purchased the por- trait, supposed to be of Ariosto, by Titian, which: has long been one of the glories of of the Cob- ham Hall collection, will be received with; general satisfaction. This picture, described) by Crowe and Calvalcaselle as the finest creation of Titian in that period of his career which: showed itself pregnant with the influence of Palma and Giorgione," is one of the most not- able examples of the master which could b& fcund in any private gallery in this country, and we may account ourselves fortunate to have been able to retain it here. Another great work by Titian went some years ago from Cobham Hall to America, and but for the judgment of the Director and Trustees of the National Gallery this famous portrait might also have found its way across the Atlantic. Happily such a loss is not now to be feared. j_ In the "Monthly Review" is a full and interest- ing account of "Galignani's Messenger." now no more. It was not the first English paper to be published in Paris that distinction belongs to Sampson Perry's "Argus," which founded about 1809, enjoyed the favour of Napoleon. It was: not the favour, but the fall, of that monarch. which brought "Galignani" into being, for it was founded by Giovanni Antonio Galignani in 1814, to meet the needs of the thousands of | English visitors to Paris. Its second editor was the loquacious Cyrus Redding, of "Wines fame. Galignani died in 1822, and was capably suc- ceeded by his sons, but the best days of the paper ended in 1848. Thenceforward it met with rivalry and obstacles, and it has just died at ninety. Whether the recommendation that the prin- cipal artistic societies in England and Scotland should be invited regularly to report the exist- ence of important works of art. would be of any great utility may be questioned, but at least it would prevent the Academy from pleading ignor- ance as an excuse for not acquiring the best things for the collection. The one other, that there should be greater flexibility in the njethod of purchase, by selection from studios, by pur- chase from private owners, or even at auction or from dealers, is partly good and partly bad. Buy- ing from studios, or at sales in which an artist's works are dispersed by his family after his death, would be quite in accordance with what seem to have been Chantrey's intentions but it is very questionable whether he ever contemplated the enrichment of private owners or dealers out of the Fund. Such an application of the money should be made in very exceptional circum- stances, and certainly ought not to become habitual. In the effort to nationalise what is in principle a private bequest there must not be too great a departure from the purpose of the tes- tator. The connection of the Brownings with their American publishers and readers has chaiacteris- tically been made the subject of a. volume issued I by the Poet-Lore Company of Boston. From the "Nation's" review of this book we pick this curious fact:—What pleased Browning most. in all the appreciation that was lavished on him by the New World at a time when it was withheld or given grudgingly by the Old, was the fact that 'i it was the "Official Guide" of the Chicago and Alton Railroad that first published a complete edition of his poems, in monthly issues, from 18/4 to 1874, a copy of which is preserved in the British Museum. How many English railway companies can claim an official connection with literature? Multatuli is not a name familiar to English readers, but some particulars which have just appeared of this Dutch poet, who was born in 1820, are quaintly interesting. His chief char- acteristic was a horror of writing. He began, in- deed, by being prolific; then "the feeling of shame was born in him and he gave up rhyming." That is to say he gave it up as much as he could, and he explains his principal poem, "Havelaar," bis a lapse or a compulsion. "It is incredible," he wrote, "how many beautiful verses I have rot written." If we are to believe him, Multa- tuli struggled for obscurity as other poets struggle for fame like them. he failed! The report issued with commendable promptitude by the Chantrey Committee is, on the whole (remarks "The Globe"), decidedly disappointing. It amounts, as many people expected it would, to a practical whitewashing of the Academy, which has been proved to have committed no breach of trust, and to have merely interpreted the provisions of the will with the narrowness of opinion that was to be expected: from a body with its particular traditions. The- inquiry, ill-advised and mis-managed, has done nothing except to show that Chantrey made & will of which certain critics and certain members of the House of Lords disapprove. The position of the Academy has been strengthened by the damaging admission that there is no remedy for the existing state of affairs save in a complete reconstruction of the trust by Parliamentary interference, to which dangerous expedient the committee proposes to resort with the idea of revising what may fairly be presumed to have been Chantrey's intentions. The most annoying thing about the whole inquiry is the manner in which all investigation into their evasion of their duties has been suppressed by the Government officials who are responsible for the admission into the Tate Gallery of a collection which contains "too many pictures of a purely popular character, and too few which reach the degree of artistic distinction evidently aimed at by Sir Francis Chantrey." Some of the recommenda- tions which the Committee makes for the rearrangement of the Trust are commendable, but others are practically useless. The most useless of all is the suggestion that the purchas- ing of works of art should be entrusted to the President of ilie Academy, an Academician, and an Associate. This is simply an ingenious device for perpetuating the present Academic point of view, and would almost certainly result in a. further narrowing of the existing management of the Fund. The Committee, in advising this change, have simply fallen into a trap cleverly laid for them by the Academy, which would naturally appoint as its representatives the men most likely to support the Burlington House tradition. The present clumsy process, which nominally allows to all members of the Council a chance of giving an opinion on projected pur- chases, is far preferable to such a dangerous reform. It would have been far better if the Committee had been bold enough to recommend that the Academy should be compelled to choose an official buyer, preferably not an artist, and certainly not a member of the Academy, and had insisted that the appointment of this buyer should be ratified by some public authority. Of the other suggestions, the best are that works by deceased artists should only be purchased in exceptional circumstances that works by artists permanently residing in Great Britain should be bought, even if some portion of these works should have been executed abroad that an effort should be made to acquire a worthy specimen of the work of a foreign artist- who has regularly resided in Great Britain, if he has notably influenced art in this country; and that some modification should be made in the provision which forbids the purchase of incomplete works of sculpture. This last provision, of course, never ought to have existed; it was introduced merely in consequence of the inability of the lawyers to understand what is obvious to all artists, that the conversion of a finished model into marble or bronze is chiefly a mechanical process with which the sculptor himself is but little concerned. In a few days will be issued a new book by Mr. William Andrews, of the Hull Royal In- stitution, entitled "At the Sign of the Barber's Pole." It will embrace a, series of illustrated studies of hirsute history and deal wife such topics as "From Barber to Surgeon," "The Origin of the Barber's Pole. "The Barber's Shop in the Olden Time," "Sunday Shaving," "Bygone Beards," "Taxing the Beard," "Pow- dering the Hair," "The Age of Wigs," "The Moustache Movement," and cognate subjects.
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"The mulberry trees of the Charterhouse," says the "City Frees," "form a conspicuous- feature of the old world garden of that historic institution. This year the sixteen trees are bear- ing an xcepÜonally large crop of beautiful fruit. A better harvest' has not been recorded for many years past."
I BRITISH ASSOCIATION. I
I BRITISH ASSOCIATION. Mr. Balfour attended the meeting of the Physical Science Section of the British Associa- tion at Cambridge on the 23rd inst., when Professor Thomson described the latest results of the radio- activity of ordinary matter. Lord Rayleigh, Professor Geitel, and Lord Kelvin took part in the discussion. In the Economic Section, several Papers on the Housing Question were read. The increase of suburban populations was dealt with by Mr. Sidney Low, who urged that one of the social questions of the future was to find an administrative system elastic enough to adapt itself to the new and complex conditions which have been created by the extensions of loosely de- fined, inhabited areas, in which so many millions of persons find their place of residence. A discus- sion took place in the Education Section upon manual training, upon which a paper was read by Sir Philip Magnus, and conditions of health essen- tial for school work.
OUR ARTILLERY VOLUNTEERS I
OUR ARTILLERY VOLUNTEERS I I THE COMING SHOEBURYNESS MEETING. I The revival of the annual competition by volun- teer artillery at the ranges of the School of Gunnery, Shoeburyness, will take place on September 7 and 8. The competitions, which began on July 29, 1865, were held regularly every subse- quent year until August, 1899, after which time the South African War rendered Shoeburyness too busy to allow of the necessary detail of Royal Artillery officers, non-coms., and men of the School of Gunnery assisting in the working of the contests and the camp. Representations, how- ever, have baen made by the executive of the National Artillery Association, which have led to a resuscitation on a small scale of the annual meet- ing, and this year the winning group of Artillery Volunteers, who have done the best work by win- ning at the competitions in their own districts, will go to Shoeburyness to fire over the sands with 5in. breechloader guns at moving targets, at 2500 yards, with shot or plugged common shell, and with 15-pounder breechloaders laid over sights, with common shell and D. A. fuse or T. and P. No. 60 fuse. The competitors who will be engaged are the winning groups of Districts 2 (Lancashire, Cumberland, Cheshire, and Carnarvon), 5 (Hampshire and Dorset), 6 (London, 1st Cinque Ports, 2nd Middlesex, 1st Sussex, and 1st Kent), and 7 (Norfolk, Essex, and Suffolk). Three sections of 9, Heavy Artillery (2nd and 3rd Kent and 1st Norfolk) will also take part in the contests, and each corps' representatives will journey to and from Shoeburyness on the days named. There will be no camp, as hitherto has been the rule, but the volunteer non-coms, and men will find that arrangements have been made for their day's messing free of charge. The National Artillery Association is still in possession of a long list of prizes, including Queen Victoria's prize, his Majesty's (formerly the Prince of Wales's) prize, the present Prince of Wales's prize, and the Lords and Commons prize; and information has just been given that the Secretary of State for War has agreed to offer a prize of £ 25. A meeting of the Council of the National Artillery Association will be held on the 31st inst., to decide what prizes shall be awarded for the forthcoming competitions.
I THE CZAREWITCH'S CHRISTENING.
I THE CZAREWITCH'S CHRISTENING. I AN AMNESTY TO OFFENDERS. I The Czar's Manifesto on the occasion of the baptism of the infant Crown Prince, abolishes corporal punishment among the rural classes and for first offences among the sea and land forces. It remits arrears of sums payable for the purchase of land and other direct imposts, and sets apart three million roubles from the State funds for forming an inalienable fund for the benefit of people in Finland without land. Further, the Manifesto grants an amnesty to those Fin- landers who have emigrated without authorisation, and remits the fines imposed on the rural and urban Communes of Finland which refused to submit to the Military Conscription in 1902 and 1903. The Manifesto also remits the fines imposed on Jewish Communes in the case of Jews avoiding Military service, and provides for an ail round reduction of sentences for common law olfYnees. A general amnesty is accorded to all political offences with the exception of murder.
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The Halifax Corporation has for disposal two tons of pennies and halfpennies, representing E2500. Most of the coins are from the tram- ways. A Californian clergyman who has married a. thousand couples has invited them all to Los Angeles this week to discuss the question, "Is marriage a failure?" Stirring times are ex- pected. Z, An Indiana man, who paid £ 120 for an auto- mobile and then spent £ 400 in repairs, has filed a petition in bankruptcy, and asks the courts tn relieve him of one of the white man's new I burdens.
I A CANON'S GENEROSITY.|
I A CANON'S GENEROSITY. I The successful revival of the Birmingham bishopric scheme was largely due to the condi- tional benefaction of £ 10,000 by an anonymous friend of Dr. Gore. Only during the last few months, and upon the occasion of his death, was it made known that the unknown benefac- tor was the late Canon Freer, of Sudbury. V e now learn, unofficially, upon good authority, fiavs the "Birmingham Post," tnat the late Canon Freer was so satisfied with the prospect of the coming realisation of his desires that he made testamentary dispositions by which the bishopric fund will be even more largely bene- fited. The will has yet to be proved, but if we are correctly informed Canon Freer has left a further handsome bequest to the bishopric i fund in addition to which he has made its trustees his residuary legatees, by which pro- vision it is believed that the fund will be ulti- mately enriched to the extent of something ap- proaching £ 30,000.
I THE KING ON THE CONTINENT.…
THE KING ON THE CONTINENT. VENTURES OUT AT MARIENBAD IN A HEAVY SHOWER. The King on Monday experienced the first un- pleasant weather sinse his arrival at, Marienbad. The morning was wet and chilly. But in spite of a heavy shower his Majesty, who was wearing a heavy overcoat, took his usual early walk to the springs. At eleven o'clock the King, ac- companied by Mr. Chaplin and Sir Stanley Clarke, started on his motor-car for a visit to Prince Trautmannsdorff at his country seat at Bischofsteinitz, forty miles away. His Majesty lunched with the Prince, and returned to Marienbad early in the evening. Before dinner the King visited Count Mensdorff, the Austro- Hungarian Ambassador to Great Britain, who is slightly indisposed.
I FIGHT WITH A RAT.
FIGHT WITH A RAT. Mrs. Skinner, the wife of a Sunderland laundry van man, is suffering severely from shock after an exciting fight with a rat. She was engaged in her housework when a very large rat sprang at her. She beat it to the ground, but it sprang again, this time at her throat. With a struggle she was able to secure it and throw it through an open window into a yard, where the rodent was killed by some workmen, who had been attracted to the spot by her screams.
I I THE PRINCE AT TULCHAN.…
THE PRINCE AT TULCHAN. MR. ARTHUR SASSOON BREAKS HIS COLLAR- BONE. The Prince of Wales arrived on Monday at Tulchan Lodge, in Strathspey, as a guest of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Sassoon, but his first day was marred by an unfortunate accident to his host. Mr. Arthur Sassoon fell from his shoot- ing pony in the afternoon, breaking his collar- bone. Fortunately there was a doctor close at hand, and the bone was soon set. Tulchan Lodge belongs to the Dowager Countess of Sea- field. It was built by the late Earl of Seafield for the benefit of the tenant renting the Tulchan moors. The lodge is a handsome shooting-box, two storeys high, and has been greatly added to and improved by a former tenant, the late Mr. Michael Bass, father of Lord Burton. Per- haps the greatest attraction of Tulchan is the fine stretch of salmon fishing in the Spey, which is particularly appreciated by the Prince of Wales, who is a very keen fisherman. Many noted men have fished in its waters, including the late Mr. John Bright, M.P.
ROWDY BEANFEASTERS. I
ROWDY BEANFEASTERS. At the Spelthorne Petty Sessions, at Sunbury, on Monday, a. bricklayer, named Ames, was charged with disorderly conduct at Hampton- court, and with assaulting the police. A soli- citor, who appeared on his behalf, said that the defendant was a respectable man, with a wife and family, but on this occasion he went down to Hampton-court with a beanfeast. The party got enjoying themselves by dancing about, and no doubt there was a lot of silly bravado that led to this unfortunate occurrence. He hoped the Magistrate would take' into considera- tion the fact that the prisoner had been in custody a. week. The Chairman (Mr. John Ashby) said it was deplorable that when people went out with a beanfeast they should behave themselves, not like men, but like beasts. They were a nuisance and a disgrace to everybody they came across. It was a question with the Bench whether the prisoner should not be sent to prison, but they had decided to fine him 20s. for the disorderly conduct, and 40s. for assaulting the police.
I - RELIGION AND VIOLENCE.
RELIGION AND VIOLENCE. .four persons were prosecuted at Liverpool, on Monday, in connection with scenes arising from religious disturbances. Alexander Green was stated to have invited a band of his followers to "wipe the street" with a crowd of passers-by. When spoken to by the police, he violently assaulted two officers. The Stipendiary com- mitted him to prison for two months for the assaults, and fined him 40s. and costs, or a month's imprisonment, for the disorderly behaviour. In the case of Margaret Darcy, it was proved that she had thrown a brick at a band who passed her door. The crowd revenged the insult by breaking her windows. She was fined 40s. and costs, or a month; as also were William Morgan and James Flynn, the latter of whom was brandishing a hammer and threaten- ing to knock out the brains of a large and dis- orderly crowd in Great Homer-street. ==
KILLED BY A MOTOR-CAR.
KILLED BY A MOTOR-CAR. Meopham, a village situated on the high road between Gravesend and Wrotham, Kent, was on Sunday afternoon the scene of a shocking road accident. As the children were returning home from service in the parish church, a little bov named Cecil Zimer, the son of one of the villagers, having just attended the children's service with his brother and sister, crossed the road while a heavy motor-car, travelling down the hill, turned the corner. The car, it attempt- ing to avoid what seemed like an inevitable collision, skidded across the road and drew up a few seconds too late, the child being knocked down and instantly killed. The car belonged to a gentleman named Arnold, who was travelling with his wife and children. One of the party fainted at the sight of the accident, and the others were greatly distressed. Herbert Russell and George Zimer, who ran to save the deceased, Had a. narrow escape.
RECKLESS DRIVING. I
RECKLESS DRIVING. Thomas Evans, of Garston, was charged, at Crewe, on Monday, with driving a motor-car recklessly, and also with not stopping when required. The evidence showed that on Bank Holiday the defendant, when driving his car between Haelington and Crewe, dashed into a cow and caused its death. The front of the car was smashed, but the defendant, although requested, refused to stop, and proceeded to Crewe, where he was overtaken. It was urged that the defendant was travelling between eighteen and twenty miles an hour, which, con- sidering the dangerous curve and incline where the smash took place, was extremely dangerous. Mr. Feltham, for the defence, took exception to the wording of the summons relating to not stopping, arguing that the word "cow" was not mentioned in Section 6 of the Act. The magis- crates agreed, and dismissed the summons. In regard to the other summons, the defence was that the occurrence was accidental, but on this charge the defendant was convicted, the pen- alty, with costs, amounting to C3 4s.
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Lobbylounger: "How was the play last night? Firstnighter: "Wonderful! Most artistic and dramatic production seen for years. Held the audience spellbound from first to last. Why, sir, in some of the thrilling situations there were times when not a sound couict be heard but the hard breathing of Othello, the sup- pressed sobs of Desdemona, and the conversation in the boxes."