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

Yeast: "Why is a woman's pocket like the North Pole?" Crimsonbeak: "That's easy! because the man doesn't live who ever discovered it." It is a fact as yet unaccoia-,Ic,,d i^o,. that a man's alarm clock may allow him to sleep three morn- ing out of a week when he shocii go to work, imt never fails when ho to rise at three o'clock to go on a fishing expedition.

| GARDEN GOSSIP. I I (From Gardening Illustrated") Lime in the Garden.—In gardens where much I manure is employed in the cultivation of vege- tables and fruits there is occasionally need lor lime dressing, the object of which is to sweeten the soil and destroy slugs and other insects. This latter purpose is that for which lime is most com- monly used. Gas-lime is advocated by some and condemned by others, but there is no doubt that on some soils at any rate it is valuable both as a manurial agent and insect destroyer. It is com- monly applied to fallow or unoccupied land cleared of one crop and awaiting another. It is necessary for gas-lime to lie on the surface for some time when applied, so that the gases contained in it can evaporate before the digging and preparation of the soil are proceeded with. It is best to allow fresh kiln-lime to remain on the surface rather than dig it in, because, naturally, it gravitates below, andjthus its 4t action is lost to some extent, so far as its affects surface-rooting crops. It is said that lime gravitates to the subsoil, and can be brought to the surface again by trenching, and still serve its original purpose. It is not well to apply lime at the same time as decayed manure, as then there is a tendency to waste by evaporation of the elements contained in the manure. The fertility of heavy soils can be increased by the aid of lime, especially when, as before said, repeated applica- tions of rich manure have been given from time to time, and no lime as an alternative. In new gardens which have been recently broken up and laid out for vegetable or fruit culture, lime is of much advantage in hastening the decay of all vege- table matter present, and placing organic manures more,asily within reach of future crops. If stra.vv mauure must be used in trenching, a little lime used with this hastens its decay. Lime is necessary for stone fruits, such as Plums, Peaches, Apricots, Cherries, and Grapes. Light, porous soils do not require much lime, as any excess would tend to make them the poorer; but there are few gardens that would not derive benefit from a light dressing occasionally. Lime in a fresh state is very well known as a cure for slugs, which in showery time play Much havoc among small seedling plants. The best time to apply it is late in the evening or in the early morning while the slugs are at work. Hot lime applied then is very destructive, while if put on when the slugs have burrowed into the soil, it is almost useless if in the interval there has been raio- Sheltered Borders in Winter.—Borders having a south aspect are not always appreciated at the height of summer, but when we think of spring and the earliest blossoms we look to the sheltered borders to find them. Under a wall, screened from rough winds, there we find the first Snowdrops, the sweetly scented Iris reticulata, Violets, and Wallflowers. There, too, on the walls, the Pyrus reveals soonest its scarlet buds. There are many other things that do not always take kindly to our winters, and it is these that benefit by the shelter that such a position affords. I know once the idea prevailed that Tea Roses could not be grown out-of-doors, at all, and for many years outside a nursery where they were grown in pots, or some large establish- ment, these beautiful Roses were seldom seen. Times change, and we know now that Tea Roses may be grown out-of-doors, often in places where it might be considered bleak. How useful is a south border for them, especially if such is backed by a wall. I remember someone telling me years ago that Mar6chal Niel and some Tea Roses that were mentioned could only be grown under a greenhouse roof. The illustrations that have ap- peared in ;i Gardening Illustrated" from time to time have disproved that, and now we know that the merest provision in winter is all that is needed to have this beautiful section of Roses in one's garden. Other things occur to one. There is the Chrysanthemum, which as a purely garden flower has come to stay. Half-hardy annuals sown in autumn, and that sometimes have a difficult time in certain localities in winter, survive on a sheltered border and flower early in the spring. Conservatory.—Borders intended for climbers should be well prepared, and some drainage placed in the bottom. Where a eonservatoryis raised on a terrace, as is sometimes done, the question of drainage is less important, but the deepening and improving of the beds and borders must be properly done or there will be trouble in the future. I once, a good many years ago, had to overhaul conservatory borders where the sweepings of a wood-shed had been placed in the bottom of the beds where Camellias, Oranges, and other things had been planted. I was not responsible for the stuff being placed there, but everything had to be lifted and the whole cleared out, as bits of old wood had filled the borders with fungus, which had poisoned the soil and seriously affected the health of the plants. If leaf-mould is used in borders it should first be screened. But for most things a large proportion of good loam should be used with a little two-year-old cow dung. Camel- lias will grow very well in^peat-and loam, bub theve are dangerous substances sometimes in tha slmpe of broken roots in peat, which should be takfn out. When fungus appears in soil it is gene- raliy a sign that the border ..as been permitted to get too dry, and it is possible to drown it out, but it is difficult to say when that has been accom- plished, as the water will not penetrate these dry spots if it can get round it, which it generally can. It is wonderful how well Tea and Noisette Roses thrive in the well-made borders of the conservatory. Where the plants have plenty of room they are seldom without flowers. We are now in the midst of the early Chrysanthemum season, and wonderfully bright they are. Of course, the late varieties are at present under cool treatment, and will remain so for the present, but there are heaps of other things to form groups in front of the Chrysanthemums. Very charming are the Tree Carnations, Bouvardias, Salvias, Zonal Geraniums, and since t'- j Oraoge-trees have been brought indoors blossom-buds are appearing, and the house will short!} be hi led with the fragrance of Orange-blossoms. itdy the weather has been very warm, ana o 1 nights tires should be allowed to go out. ié ft Outdoor Garden.—The principal work now IS clearing beds and borders, "ad planting bulbs and spring flowers. For the sake of neatness her- baceous plants are trimmed too soun and too close. Especially is this the case with Lilies. As long as there is green matter or Rap in tivj stums, if the well-doing of the plant is considered, the stems, or that part which contains sap, should be left;, so that the defending sap may feed and strengthen the roots. We are not always permitted to follow nature closely in its working, but it should not be ignored. A covering of living plants of creeping habit is effective in beds of bulbs. The rage now is for cheapness, and hardy annuals that were sown end of August will transplant now, and combine economy with effec- tiveness. Limnanthes Douglasi, Nemophila in- signis, and Silene compacta are low-growing things that may be used freely, are reliable, will last long enough, and may then be cleared to the rubbish heap. Among the more permanent things are Daisies, white and red; Arabis, double and single; and yellow, white, and coloured Primroses. When the beds are cleared in spring, the roots can be divided aud planted in the shade, where they can wait till the following autumn. Ifc is useless trying to keep newly potted-up Geraniums and other tender plants in cold frames. Though it may be possible to keep out frost by heavy cover- ings, the damp will be as destructive as the frost. They may be kept in a spare room, covered with paper in frosty weather. —1

Earthquakes occasionally profit mankind, as in the case of Ouzoun-Ada, a town on the Caspian, The port of the town wa3 visited by an earth- quake last year, and since then it has been found open to steamers which could not enter it be- fore, owing to the shallow water. An attempt on a large scale to introduce Eng- lish song-birds into British Columbia is at pre- sent being made. The Victoria (B.C.) Natural Historv Society is taking out a consignment of 500 birds, consisting of 100 pairs of goldfinches, | 100 pairs of larks, and fifty pairs of robins. Official information was received in Notting- ham of an arrangement for the amalgamation of the Midland Counties District Bank, Limited, of Nottingham, with the Birmingham District Coun- ties Banking Company.

OUR SHORT STORY. I THE MOUJIK. I A STORY FROM A FRENCHWOMAN'S DIARY. I i do not know if the world has formed any I false ideas as to why I married Count Ogaref cherl,a,iof; I had none. I took him for his title and his immence fortune, and also because he saved me from a life of poverty and expedients. Young, ardent, proud and beautiful, wishing for a life of luxury and pleasure, and hoping to satisfy my imperious caprices, at twenty I accepted a husband of sixty without repulsion, but without love. After travelling six months, we took up our abode for the summer in a manor in Brittany There Tcnerkanof treated1 me with the tendev admiration of the first days, tempered with the discretion that was consequent on the difference of our ages. Almost an invalid, too proud to suspect me, he gave me full liberty. I availed myself of my freedom quelling my ambition in activity, and the unhappiness which must attend such a state by wild scampers across the woods and lands. I was always accompanied by a man brought from Ukraine. He was of gigantic stature, and ugly, with pale blue eyes set in a swathy face. Hia name was Youchka; but his fellow servants never having been able to teach him a single word of French, called him the Moujik, in derision. Docile and silent, clean, and unde- monstrative, he was one of those serfs whose very soul is his master's, with a sheltered dog's devotion and gratitude. And, in truth, he followed me like a dog. I never looked at him, I never spoke to him I commanded him with a sign. I do not know what orders of passive submission he had received from Tcherkanof, but at the slightest movement of my riding-whip he would pull his horse erect on his haunches and throw him into the ravines, or would force him through the thickest of cruel thorn-growths. I I:J never tnanked him he would not have understood. Besides, he did it for his master, not for me- without pleasure, and coldly, as one performs an inevitable duty. The Count liked society. We entertained frequently, inviting some of the officers from the neighbouring garrison. The men made love to me. That amused me sometimes, but I was oppressed by dreams of follies, at which I trembled, as one trembles in a nightmare over some yawning chasm. But the Count's calm, proud eye resting on me would master my mind; my wild gallops in the strong breeze would keep me to duty. So long as several men among our guests pleased me I was not alarmed. When there was only one I was afraid. He was Francis Turain, a lieutenant in the cavalry. His manners were less distinguished than those of his comrades- his features less refined. But by the very vigour with which he pressed my hand I left that he loved me. I was troubled. I never looked at him, yet I saw but him. When he spoke all was void around' me. I had treated him from the first with coldnow with an accentuated disdain. That did not che-h him. He affected either instinctively or d,. designecslv that rapcllanfc familiarity 'which is authorised by encouragement. Indifference took possession of me, a fenr of the men and ofhls presence Then I could no lont-er disen- tangle my thoughts. ° And vvben he came I would not appear. I would call Youchka to saddle the honoi- and w# would go off at full gallon. But ?ar away in the woods a weariness would seize me, and, lowering my riding-whip, I would let my horse go slowly, eating the leaves as he went along the wild paths wherever his fancy led him. Sometimes, turning in my saddle, I would surprise the blue eyes of the Moujik fixed upon me. Did he guess iriy trouble? Was he uneasy at the strangeness of my conduct? But what did the confused thoughts of that silent brute matter to me, his chatelaine, his mistress? One evening, during an absence of the Count's I found an envelope with a strange handwriting upon my table. A name came to my lips—Thu- rain's. The letter was from him. It was a short one, not begging but almost commanding me to meet him the next morning at daybreak in the forest by the Saint Cernin Cross, wild, rock-encumbered spot. I threw the letter from me and laughed aloud. But my laugh frightened me. All night, in my feverish sleeplessness, I told myself that Thurain was wrong. I evoked my pride, I revolted and next morning at daybreak I called for my horse. I was indig- nant to see Youchka holding two horses before tha steps. "I shall not take you," I said irritably. "I am going alone." He did not, or he would not, understand; he held my stirrup, then leaped into his saddle. T saw the absurdity and the danger of an alterca- tion under my windows before my servants. I spurred on my horse, and once within the skirts of the forest I turned to Youchka, and with my whip pointed trembling towards the chateau. I said, "Go." The Moujik. his head bowed, listened without moving. I (lid not wish to seem doubtful of his obedience. I urged my horse to a gallop. But I could hear that he had regu- lated his pace by my own, keeping a distance between us. My heart beat fast and my cheeks burned with anger. I wheeled' round, and, urg- ing my horse towards him, facing his, I cried in a hissing voice. "Go, go, go He v'as deadly pale, and with tuch an amount of agony in his eyes that I hesitated a second. But his rigidity enraged ire. Seeing that his re- sistance exasperated me, he turned tail, slowly at first, then quickly, with a gesture of despair. Trembling with rage, I reasoned no more, and with mad bravado I set my horse towards the Saint Cernin Cross. Little by little the road became narrower, till it was but a winding footpath between the high, tree-grown rocks. At a hundred paces from the spot where the stone moss-CTown crocs could be seen in the distance through a gap hewn in the solid granite, I perceived a man on foot barring z, the entrance to the narrow way. That man was not Thurain but the Mouiik, Youchka. He had followed me noiselessly into the wood, and had then outpaced me. His horse attached to a distant tree, he awaited me, his eyes fixed on the ground, his face more deadly pale than before. An unreason- ing fury seized me. I spurred my horse upon him. He seized the bridle and stopped him. Then T lost consciousness of what I did. I was blind- I was mad. I raised my riding-why and with nil the force of my maddening rage I slashed Hm n. the face. He raised his head, offering his to my blow as a fevered man bares his brow to the cooling freshness of the rain. His blind—I was mad. I raised my riding-whip and avenged his fidelity. He stood there motionless, his lips drawn tight without flinching. Suddenly, with the blood flowing from his face, he raised his eyes towards me with a look so full of reproach, of mildness, of forgiven ess, that remorse came to my heart. Stupefied, frozen with horror at the blood, I turned bridle like a coward and fled. Back at the manor on my bed, I lay all day, mv head buried in my arms, shaken by sobs of" distress, abased' in my shame. I thought no longer of the Saint Cernin Cross, nor of the rocks, nor of the lieutenant. I thought only of the look of infinite sweetness on that blood- stained' face. I thought of the man who with a turn of his wrist could have thrown me from my horse, and who yet let his flesh he torn by my merciless whip for his master'3 sake. That evening I went up to the attic where the Moujik lay, and on my knees I wept forth incoherent words of remorse. I do not know if he understood me. I only know now that the doctor has cured his wounds, and that the scarB are dying away—I know that I shall always see the bleeding wounds of the first cut from my whip.. t When I am angry and restless and violent, the Moujik, who never speaks, raises his finger smilingly and places it lightly on the scar that marks his cheek. All my anger goes. I become as meek as he. And Youchka has not touched his cheek for six months.

HAMLET'S GRAVE. I The threatened destruction of Hiimlcfc's grave at Marienlysfc by the North Zealand Railway has called forth great indignation at Elsinore. "The place is risitod annually by thousands of tourists, and several writers assert" that to destroy what is hallowed by trndition and romance is as great an act of vandalism as the removal of a historical monument. Unfortunately, the railway will pass right across the site, and at present the autho- rities do not seem inclined to yield to the popular I outcry. JIt"T

MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT ALDER8HOT. During Thursciay night of last week a mysterious outbreak of sickness occurred among the 1st Yorkshire Light Infantry at Aldershot which reached alarming proportions. Medical officers were summoned, and they discovered that the men were suffering from a form of poisoning, probably from ptomaine. Over 100 men were attacked, several so seriously that they had to be removed to hospital.

CABINETS DUIUN G KECESS. ■ The fact that this country's destinies during the recent crisis have been directed by a Ministry acting without the consent or advice of the Houses of Parliament is, in the opinion of the "Law Times," due to the circumstance that the King in the literal theory of the Constitution, in the words of Edmund Eurke, represents the whole contract- ing capacity of the nation. He acts as the national procurator." This power, which was formerly really lodged in the Crown, is now no longer in the Sovereign, but in the hands of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, who may be re- garded as a, committee on foreign relations ap- pointed by Parliament and enabled to commit the country to the greatest internatronal obligations without consulting either Parliament or the country. M

PROSPEROUS FARM LABOURERS. Mr. Rider Haggard, in an article on The Small Farmer in England," says "In the neighbourhood of the town of Epworth, where the famous Wesley was born, and where may be seer, the parsonage whence he was rescued from the fire as a boy, there are hundreds of acres of small holdings. In summer they pre- sent a beautiful picture, covered as they are with crops of various hue. None of these small- holders seem to be afraid of the winter, when the ordinary labourer is sometimes thrown out of work, or of having to come upon the parish for relief. Indeed, many of them prosper well, even in these days of narrow agricultural profits. Thus, near Epworth alone, I was told of twenty-three men now farming from five to a hundred and twenty acres, each of whom had begun life as a labourer." "Throughout the most of England," Mr. Haggard adds, "the individual who begins as a labourer must expect to end as a labourer, and is fortunate if he escapes the workhouse or some other form of charitable relief in hig old age." But why should it be so ?

CANNIBAL COMMONS. MR. WINSTON CHURCHILL ON THE DECADENCE OF FREE SPEECH. The principal difference between the civilised man and the cannibal, said Mr. Winston Churchill at Coatbridge, on Friday of last week, is the willingness of the former to hear the other side. Mr. Churchill was opening a new Liberal club, and he made no secret of his belief that as regarded free speech the House of Commons had lately adopted the attitude of the cannibal. One of the cardinal principles of Liberalism, as h understood it, was the tolera- tion of opinions which they detested. Clues were useful, through the exercise of free speech, for the dissipation of delusions, of which many were going about just now. A distinguished statesman, who came to Glasgow thirteen months ago, brought a regular cargo of the very latest, newly varnished, newly decorated, and fashionably served up fallacies and absurdities which had ever been seen. Take the delusion that the revenue of the country ,u could be raised by taxing the foreigner. Did Mr. Chamberlain believe that himself? They would remember how at Glasgow he proposed to exempt maize and bacon from the list of articles which he proposed to tax, because they were consumed by the poor. If the foreigner paid the tax on corn, why would he not pay on maize, too? If the foreigner paid it on beef, why did he refuse to pay it on bacon? It was a great confession, and Mr. Chamberlain quite clearly realised that the idea of taxing the foreigner was an ideal founded upon a quick- y foreigner was an ideal founded upon a quick- sand. Mr. Churchill concluded with a defence of individualism as against Socialism. The work- ing-classes, he said, should have liberty to strike. Under Socialism the State would be the only employer, and the majority of the people would have the deciding of the conditions of labour. No strike could be tolerated, for labour would then be in revolt against the sovereign authority of the people. The lot of the masses should be improved through the existing structure of society rather than by the building up of an entirely new system. But, added Mr. Churchill, if he lived in Germany he should be a Socialist himself. He should be against militarism, conscription, the high protective tariff, and the despotic form of Government, which made Germany a most miserable place for a poor man in a plain coat and a stove-pipe hat to live.

THE BROTHERHOOD OF SCIENCE, MR. BALFOUR'S PIOUS WISH. A second edition of the German varsion of Mr. Balfour's presidential address to the British Association is about to be issued, and the trans- lator, Dr. M. Ernst, has received the following letter from the Prime Minister: My Dear Sir,- I am much gratified to learn that there has been a sufficient demand for the German translation of my address to the British Association to make it worth while to issue a second edition; and all the more because the address touches on a middle region between physical science and philosophy, in which, as a rule, neither men of science nor philosophers are greatly interested. At Cambridge, where the address was delivered, I had the honour of meeting some most distin- guished German men of science, who took an im- portant part in the various discussions with which the British Association busied itself. I would that the disinterested community of aim which thus binds together the scientific men throughout the world into one international brotherhood could ex- tends its healing influence through all classes and all inte,.ests.-I remain, yours faithfully, ÂltTHUJl James BALFOUR." ——————

BISHOP'S CURSE. STERN KEPKOOF FROM THE KAISER. Details of the quarrel between the Kaiser and the Bishop of Metz, who declared a cemetery desecrated because of the burial of a Protestant in it, have now been published. The Bishop sought audience of the Emperor, who addressed him in terms of strong reproof. You have cursed a cemetery situated on German soil, the German soil over which I rnle. Do not forget, your reverence, that I, as German Emperor, will never tolerate that even one inch of German soil should be cursed (verfluchfc) —no, not one inch. It is a Bishop's duty to bless, and the moment you begin to curse you cease to be fit for your high position." When the Bishop, in confusion, stammered that he had withdrawn his curse, the Emperor went on: That was the best thing you could do for yourself. I should not have received you again. Do not try to make excuses. Serve God to tho best of your knowledge, but do not forget that you have also to serve your country and your King."

Few people passing through Love-lane, East- cheap, are aware that an old mansion stands there. It was originally the home of Sir Chris- topher Wren, t'he great architect, and was built by him in 1670. There are still many paintings and much handsome carving.

EPITOME OF NEWS. I A Paris burglar, in trying to escape from a flhop, fell into a barrel of lard, in which he sank up to the neck. Married couples in Norway are privileged to travel on railways at a fare and a half. All return railway tickets ia Prussia are good for at least forty-five days. No person under sixteen years of age is per- mitted to enter a theatre or tavern m Heligo- land. The Pope is anxious to be represented at the second Peace Congress which President Roose- velt is promoting. Madrid is the most elevated city in Europe. It is built on a mountain plain or plateau 2,Ul)Uit. above the level of the sea. Norway's coast line-1,70 sniles in a straight line-becomes 12,000 miles if followed round me fjords. In these fjords are over 150,000 islands. The Earl and Countess of March have left Gordon Castle, Fochabers, where they have spent two months, and are now visiting the Duke and Duchess of Buccksuch at Drumianrig Castle. According to the monks of the hospice of St. Bernard, tneir famous dogs save on an average twenty lives every year on the mountain. Proceedings have been instituted by the Ger- man Public Prosecutor against Herr Kulerski, a member of the Reichstag and publisher of a Polish journal, for an article entitled "Will Poland iriise Again?" In the Arctic regions there are 762 kinds of flowers, fifty of which are peculiar to the Arctic regions. Tney are all either white or yellow. A labourer who has been fined at Menai-bridgs 0 said that he only knew sufficient of the English language to call for beer. 0 The commander of a torpedo-boat, two army officers, seven sailors, and a lady have been bitten at Oran by a mad dog and conveyed to the Pasteur Institute at Algiers. Germany exported 34,717 tons of toys, valued at sterling, in 1903, says the "Board of Trade Journal." The Prince of Wales has sent a donation of zL26 to the funds of the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen. In every 1,000 marriages in this country twenty-one are solemnised oetween first cousins. Among tne nobility the rate is mucn higner, amounting to forty-five in 1,000. Cats are taxed in Dresden and other German towns. When the tax was first imposed thous- ands of the animals were destroyed by owners desirous to avoid payment. It is the custom in the Belgian Parliament, when a member is making a long speech, for him 0 to be supplied with refreshment at the expense of the Government. A chicken with four legs was hatched the othei day at Brooklyn. An huur later, in spite of its additional leg's, the bird leil out of its nest and died. The Duke of Portland, who presented a mayoral chain to the borough of Mansfield to commemorate the Coronation, has now oifered to extend the number of links so that the names of future mayors may foe included. Egypt is the only country in the world where there are more men than women. The male sex in the dominions of the Khedive exceeds the female by 160,000. In Holland, when there is any infectious disease in a house, it is the custom to notify in- tending visitors or the fact by tying a piece of white cloth over the bell-hanuie. Cyclists in France must not only carry a bell and a lamp, but must have a name-plate some- where affixed to the machine bearing their full name and address. Some people suppose that Gretna Green is no longer in existence. It has simply changed its latitude and longitude. Its name is now Wind- sor, and it is a Canadian town in the province of Ontario, close to the United States border. It was recently stated in the Provincial Legislature of Ontario that no fewer than 800 marriages were celebrated in Windsor during the past year. The great majority of the happy couples had hastily crossed tne border from the adjoining Republic. Archbishop Croke made a great impression on the Maoris of New Zealand by his athletic prowess. He was Bishop of Auckland, a diocese that contains most of the Maori tribes, before he became Archbishop of Cashel. The Protestant missionaries used to say they were heavily handi- capped by Dr. Croke's jumping feats. He thought nothing of jumping five-railed fences, and his fame as a runner was widespread. The new War Office building in Whitehall, London, which will cover three and three-quarter acres and will cost Z650,000, will be ready in about two years, the work having already been in progress two and a half years. The general style of the elevation is that of the Italian Re- naissance. Nine miles of chimney flues, 26,500,000 bricks, and 26,000 tons of Portland stone will go to the making of seven floors and the provision of 670 rooms. Some idea of the vast quantities of discarded war material thrown upon the general market by the successive changes in armament adopted by the various Great Powers may be gathered from the lists of arms now offered for sale from this cause by the Italian Government. The list in- cludes 600,000 rifles, adopted so recently as 1887, with 48,000,000 cartridges 1,200 9-pounders and 500 7-pounder guns, with 200,000 shells and 170 7-pounder mountain guns, with 17,000 shells. The traveller in India is surprised to see that men wear combs in their hair much more than women do. A Cingalese gentleman wears what we know as a circular comb and a very orna- mental back comb of tortoiseshell to gather his curly locks together. He wears a full beard also, but his servant must trim his own, and is only allowed to wear the circular comb. Switzerland contemplates a curious object- lesson in municipal socialism. The city of Zurich is making an experiment in the commu- nising of the medical services of the town. The conditions of the experiment are that each in- habitant pays a yearly tax of 3s. 7-id., and that the product of £ 20,000 is divided in salaries of £ 500 a year among forty medical men, who will tend the inhabitants gratuitously. To write stenographically at the rate of 150 words a minute involves hearing on an average 750 distinct sounds—consonants and vowels—in the course of every minute, and managing to re- present or indicate 12l of them every second. Writing at 200 words per minute means hearing about 1,000 sounds in sixty seconds, and repre- senting or indicating rather more than sixteen of ,them in every single second. Twenty thousand miles, or nearly the circum- ference of the earth at the Equator, is the dis- tance the average 'busman drives lin the course of a year. The pay is 6s. 6d. a day. Each driver pays 2d. a day and the conductors Id. to a com- pensation fund, out of which is paid the damage a 'bus inflicts on other vehicles or lamp-posts, the breakage of the latter being assessed at £ 5. The earnings of a 'bus range from £ 2 10s. to £4 a day. The only European monarch who can boast bf having a woman's regiment raised in his honour is the German EmjJeror. Some years ago, when the Kaiser was hunting in Prussia, 800 Lithu- lanian girls, tall and strong, formed themselves into a mounted bodyguard and oifered their ser- into a mounted bodyguard and offered their ser- vices as his escort. Their offer was accepted,,but the number of the escort was reduced to 200. The uniform of the regiment was of navy-blue cloth trimmed with gold, and the effect was de- cidedly picturesque. One of the handsomest Royalties in Europe is Prince Nicholas of Montenegro, who was born sixty-three years ago, and' has lived to see his daughters make remarkable matrimonial alli- ances. They are almost the only dark-complex- ioned Royalties in Europe. The Prince of Montenegro leads an ideal existence, and is to be seen walking in the streets of his tiny capital every day. His responsibility is not great, for his whole population is under 250,000. In tho little town of Forlimpopoli, neat Bologna, a memorial tablet is about to be un- veiled in the Municipal Theatre to the memory of a famous robber chieftain named Passat ore. The reason why the theatre is chosen for the home of his memorial is that in it was performed his most famous exploit. In September, 1854, while one of Rossini's operas was being per- formed in the presence of all the local beauty and fashion, Passatore and his band "held up" the audience and robbed them of all their valuables to the last penny. The total number of all known varieties of pos- tage-stamps issued hy all the Govenrments of the world up to the present time is 19,242. Of this number 205 have been issued in Great Britain and 5,711 in the various British Colonies and Protectorates, leaving 13,326 for the rest of the world. Dividing the totals amongst the con- tinents, Europe issued 4,089, Asia 3,628, Africa 4,005, America, including the West Indies, 6,095, and Oceania 1,425. Salvador has issued more varieties of postage-stamps than any other country, the number being 450. Floors Castle, originally called Fleurs, the residence at Broxmouth of the Dowager-Duchess of Boxburghe, which has had so narrow an escaue from fire, was designed by Sir John Van- brugh in 1718. It is a magnificent pile, and com- bines, as Sir Walter Scott put it, "the ideas of ancient grandeur with those of modern taste." Although it stands a mile from Kelso, the old gardens run right down to the town, and one of the main streets had to be demolished to allow room for their expansion. The Duke of Sutherland has left Stafford House, St. James's, for Lilleshall, his Shrop- shire seat. Lilleshall is a stately Tudor house with fine terraced gardens overlooking the ruins of the Augustinian Abbey which was granted to a Leveson by Henry VIII. at the Dissolution. Rich coalfields extend under almost every part of the estate, which is the oldest possession of the ducal house, having been brought into the Gower family in the seventeenth century by the marriage of Sir Thomas Gower to the daughter and heiress of Sir John Leveson. The Japanese women have certain methods of arranging their hair whereby a person can tell at once whether any woman whom he sees is a maiden who desires to get married, or a widow who is inconsolable or one who is willing to be consoled if the proper suitor presents himself. Young girls arrange the hair in front in the form of a fan or butteriiy, and adorn it with silver or coloured ornaments. Widows who are looking for second husbands fasten their hair at the back of the head by means of tortoiseshell pins, and widows who are resolved to remain for ever faithful to their departed spouses cut their hair short and wear no ornaments in it. The topsy-turvy methods of China are curi- ously illustrated in the case of the Pekin barber, who, instead of waiting for customer, goes out to seek them. He carries his shaving apparatus and a stool with him, and, like an English muffin man, rings a bell to attract the attention of likely customers. The man who wishes to be shaved hails the barber, who places his stool on the ground for the customer's use, puts a bowl of water on the little stove he carries, and having lathered his brush sets to work. The charge is not high. For a sum equivalent to a halfpenny he shaves the customer's head and smooths out his eyebrows. A good story is being told concerning Mr. Beerbohm Tree. He had just descended the steps of the Garriek Club when two men—well dressed, but rather vulgar-looking—were seen to whisper hastily to one another and laugh heartily. Immediately after the younger of the two stepped up to Mr. Tree, and taking off his hat with an air he put to him Theodore Hook's old joking question:—"Pray, sir, are you some- body of importance?" Mr. Tree looked at the man with a cynical smile, and replied :—"I don't think I can be, or I should hardly be seen talking to you." The Earl of Harewood'-s mansion in Yorkshire is in keeping with the greatness of e Lascelles family through several centuries. Erected during the reign of King George III., it boasts some of the finest ceilings in England, and more than, seventy wonderful mahogany doors, made from wood grown on the Earl's estates in the West Indies. Harewood House also contains an al- most unrivalled collection of china, surpassed probably only by that at Windsor. The present peer's father once refused £ 12,000 for three vases from his collection. It is not by any means widely known that the Chesapeake, famous for her historic encounter with the British ship Shannon in 1813, is in exis- tence to-day, but is used in the somewhat in- glorious capacity of a flour-mill, and is making money for a Hampshire miller in the little parish of Wickham. After her capture by Sir Philip B. V. Broke, she was taken to England in 1814, and in 1820 her timbers were sold to Mr. John Prior, miller, of Wickham, Hants. Mr. Prior pulled down his old mill at Wickham and erected a new one from the Chesapeake timbers, which he found admirably adapted for the purpose. Many of these timbers still have the marks of the Shannon's grape-shot, and in some places the shot are to be seen deeply embedded in the pitch- pine. The Hon. Charles Parsons, to whom we owa the steam turbine, as not the only member of his family skilled in science and dowered with inven- tive genius. His brother, the Earl of Rosse (who has lately received the degree of Doctor of Science from the University cf Leeds), is, like himself, an F.R.S., and, besides being a consider- able astronomer, is a brilliant electrician. Lord Rosse is the inventor of several useful mechani- cal contrivances which are in working order at Birr Castle, his seat in King's County, and both his sons-Lord Oxmantown, who is in the Irish Guards, 'and the Hon. Geoffrey Parsons—took honours in the science school at Oxford. Indeed, the latter is his uncle's right-hand man at the works near Newcastle-on.-Tyne where the tur- bines are manufactured. There is an excellent story of the German Em- peror's brother, Henry. The French professor of the Prince read to him the following exercise for translation:—"Sovereign ladies have not merely an air of majesty, but a gracious deport- ment peculiar to them." Prince Henry laid down his pen and raised his head. "Have you any remark to make?" asked his tutor. "Only this," said the young Prince. "I have known sovereign ladies all my life, and I have never noticed any particular majesty or grace of de- portment. Ought we not, therefore, to omit tho phrase you have just read?" The professor ac- knowledged that he respected the scruples of his pupil, but the exercise book had been carefully inspected, and possibly the young Prince migF.t, in later life, see majesty and grace where at that time he saw none. Prince Henry took up his pen again and wrote out the phrase in French but he sighed and said "It's an awful sham,3 to foist such books on us." There are few romances of the peerage more touching than that Which is recalled by the denial of Anne Countess of Seafield—who has just joined the Auxiliary League of the Salva- tion Army—that her late husband, the tentli earl, was at one time a bailiff in New Zealand. F atic-is William Ogilvie-Grant followed many callings in the course of a career full of pathetic straggles, but he was certainly never a bailiff. Borii in the year 1847, he went to seek fortune in Nmv Zea- land at a period when there was exceedingly re- mote probability of his ever succeeding to tha title. The eighth Earl of Seafield died unmar- ried, and thus his uncle, the third son of the sixth earl, came unexpectedly into the title, and the toiler of Oamaru—then, as times were hard, working as a navvy—became Viscount Reid- haven. In 1888 his father died, antf Francis, still no better off than before, became ellth earl, and six months later he was dead. Thie present Lord Seafield is eight-and-twenty, and fs married to the daughter of a prominent and popular New Zealand doctor. It is reported of a German Rhodes scholar at Oxford that on being told to back water and in- structed that it meant using his oar in the op- posite way, he carefully lifted that instrument from the rowlock and inserted the handle in the water. The "Manchester Guardian" 4tlso gives the tale of the American who brought for the inspection of the head of his college, a fastidious and delicate scholar, a single testimonial. It I was from his trainer, and stated that the bearer had "for the past three years undergone la course of body culture under my direction."