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

CURRENT SPORT. tr FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION- CHAL- LENGE CUP. ASTON VILLA'S VICTORY. I The thirty-fourth annual competition for the Association Challenge Cup was finished on Satur. day at the Crystal Palace in the presence of a vast crowd estimated at about 100,000, the finalists being Newcastle United, for the first time in the history of the club, and Aston Villa. The Villa had played in four previous finals, and had thrice won the Cup. Both sides had splendid records this season, but Newcastle United, in virtue of their consistent form, which has carried them to the verge of the League championship, were rather the favourites. The teams were at full strength. EARLY SCORING. I Losing the toss, the Villa started the game, with both wmd and sun facing them, promptly at half- past three. They got the ball out to Brawn, who made a ripping centre. Carr cleared, but in three minutes the Villa scored. Leake began the attack. and Hampton went through, and, getting the ball again from the left, got the first goal of the match. s Newcastle attacked strongly for a few moments, and George had some hard work to do, but the Villa's long kick and rush game again told well. The outside wings were well fed, and from the I long passes Hampton missed two chances, and in two other instances Lawrence saved magnificently. Aston Villa continued to have the run of the game, but Newcastle occasionally attacked, and Howie missed a great chance when, with an open goal, he shot over the bar. The Villa backs were good, but were twice in difficulties, and by sheer luck Spencer and Miles cleared when Gosnell and Appleyard were almost through. The Newcastle goal then had a marvellous escape. From a corner by Hall the ball hit the bar and fell at Brawn's feet, only for the latter to miss an easy goal, while Lawrence finally cleared. The play became even, and there was a shot at each end by Appleyard and (Jar- ratty. The Villa then had most of the play. Brawn was twice away in great style, but kicked behind, and then, in a strong attack from the left wing, Bache put in a terrific shot just outside the United posts. The United attacked, and looked to have a chance, but the off-side rule was broken. Then came half-time, the Villa leading by one goal to none. SECOND HALF. I When the sides settled down on resuming, New- castle were rather hard pressed. Brawn did good work on the left, and Bache steadied himself and put in a terrific shot that was just wide. Gosnell and Veitch broke away on Newcastle's left, and the ball coming across, Howie shot. The men were on George before he could clear, and he fell. There was a scrimmage, and when George found his feet he was penalised for carrying the ball. From the free kick close up to the posts the ball went to Aitken, who shot over. After this exciting incident the Villa paid a visit to the other end, and Bache sent in a stinging shot that was just wide of the posts. It was fast, strenuous foot- ball, lut Newcastle were now getting more of the play. Spencer and Miles did great work in defense, and Leake, too, was always strong at htlf. Newcastle were making a splendid fight in spite of the sun and wind. Then was a slight delay through an injury to L<ake. Newcastle continued to do most of the presiing, but Aston defended splendidly, and had mosl of the luck. In a break-away Hampton just heated over for the Villa, and for the moment Lavt-ence was hurt in the charge. The last tweity minutes was reached, and both sides were shoring signs that the pace was telling. Then Hatpton went down, and passed out to Hall; Hall eho and Lawrence saved, but Hampton got the bat from the rebound and put it through. Aston Via thus led by two goals to none. There was sefreely a quarter of an hour left for play. The Vila finished grandly, and almost scored again in twi instances. Then came Time," and Aston Vila had won a brilliant victory by two goals to ooie. They had played splendid football, and ther win- was quite merited. Teams; 8ton Villa.—George, goal; Spencer and Miles, oaks; Pearson, Leake, and Windmill, half-backs; Btwn and Garratty (right wing), Hampton (entre), and Bache and Hall (left wing), for- wrds. Newcastle United.—Lawrence, goal; Carr and UcCombie, backs; MacWilliam, Aitken, and Grdner, half-backs Howie and Rutherford 0*ht whig), Appleyard (centre), and Veitch and Gbnell (left wing), forwards. leferee: Mr. P. R. Harrower. THE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP. I iy their victory over Small Heath on Saturday Erton greatly increased their chances of winning tt championship. This enabled them to lead tl First League table with 45 points in 31 matches, Nvcastle United, with 42 in 30 games, being sond, and Manchester City, with 42 in 31 games, bug third. Middlesbrough accomplished a gd performance in winning by two goals at Eckburn, and they are now practically safe from rtgation to the Second Division at the end of t1 season. Notts County at last managed to a game, just beating Woolwich Arsenal on the Iter's ground, The results were: Everton beat Sail Heath, at Everton, by two goals to one. JSdlesbrough beat Blackburn Rovers, at Black- bn, by two goals to none. Stoke beat Bury, at Eke, by two goals to none. Notts County beat ^olwich Arsenal, at Plumstead, by two goals to 0. Manchester City and Sheffield Wednesday CiW, at Manchester, one goal all. LEAGUE—DIVISION II. I lanchester United v. Burton United: At fochester, Manchester United won by five goals fione. Bolton Wanderers v. Burslem Port Vale: 4 Bolton, the Wanderers won by three goals lone. -Barnsley v. West Bromwich Albion: JBarnsley, the game ended in a draw, each fc scoring once. Lincoln City v. Grimsby wn: Played at Lincoln and left drawn, ihing being scored. Leicester Fosse v. rnley: At Leicester, a good game ended a draw—two goals each. Bradford City v. ickpool: At Bradford, Bradford City won by "•ee goals to one. Glossop v. Gainsborough tnity At Glossop, Glossop won by three goals one. Chesterfield v. Doncaster Rovers At lesterfield, Chesterfield won by four goals to e. Bristol City v. Liverpool: At Bristol, a bd game ended in a win for Liverpool by one al to none. THE SOUTHERN LEAGUE. I Bristol Rovers had a hard task on Saturday in e Southern League in meeting' Reading, on e latter's ground, but they managed to draw the atch, while Southampton, who had the advan- ge of playing at home, failed against Millwall, iing beaten by two goals. The result of these vo games left Bristol Rovers at the head of the Ible, three points ahead of Reading and outhampton, all three clubs having played le same number of matches. The re- alts were Millwall beat Southampton, at Southampton, by three goals to one. West Jam United beat Northampton, at Upton-park, by .'I've goals to one. Queen's Park Rangers beat Ful- ham, at Fulham, by two goals to one. Tottenham otspur beat Wellingborough, at Wellingborough, Wftt?eJQaI fc0 none* Watford beat Brentford, at beat °o ky one goal to none. Plymouth Argyle one R°rtamouth, at Plymouth, by two goals to Town and Hove Albion beat Swindon Bromntnr. ^"Shton, by two goals to none. New goals to oneeaT? i°n' at.BromPton< by two at Reading, on^oa!*?!! Bnsto1 Rovers drew> TIiEMIDEX CUP. I 4- Ealing and the London (wlf8-6* P' at Shepherd's-bueh on satlf^nS,i.WaS d«Clded dose game, in which, however ^e foJtbLn reach a high standard, Ealfcg'^n^^Vbl two goals to one. The London Caledonians had the better £ the first half, but they missed °evS chances. They led at the interval by one goal to none, but in the second half Ealing scored twice won as stated. THE SCOTTISH CUP. Third Lanark won the replayed final tie of the competition for the Scottish Cup, at Glasgow, on Saturday, beating Glasgow Rangers by three goals to one. EAST OF SCOTLAND SHIELD. Heart of Midlothian v. Hibernians.—This final tie in the East of Scotland Shield competition ended at Edinburgh in a draw of two goals each. RUGBY. NORTHERN UNION CUP. Two matches in the Semi-final were played as follows on Saturday. Hull Kingston Rovers, 10; Broughton Rangers, 6. Warrington, 7 Bradford, 2. NORTHERN UNION LBAGUE. First Division: Wigan, 20 points; Oldham, 2. Salford, 21; Wakefield Trinity, 0. Swinton, 10; Runcorn, 3. Batley, 14; Hull, 5. Leigh, 6 Widnes, 2. Halifax, 14 Hunslet, 5. Leeds 10; St. Helens, 5. Second Division: Lancaster, 2; Normanton, 0. Dewsbury, 12; Pontefract, 2. Huddersfield, 21; Bramley, 13. DURHAM CUP. Hartlepool Rovers v. Durham City: In this final tie at South Shields the Hartlepool Rovers were successful by four goals (one dropped) to a dropped goal. CLUB MATCHES. Newport v. London Welsh: In this game at Newport the home team were[ successful by two goals and four tries to a goal. Northampton v. Nuneaton: Playing on their own ground, Northampton won by seven goals (kicked by Cocking) and two tries to nothing. Neath v. Aberavon: A good game at Neath ended in a victory for the home club by a try to nothing. Exeter v. Cinderford: After a keen struggle, this match at Exeter ended in a draw of a try each. Coventry v. Bedford: At Coventry, the home side winning by a goal and a try to a try. Bath v. Clifton: A" draw of a try each was the result of this game at Bath. Leicester v. Old Edwardians: On their own ground, Leicester won by a goal and four tries to a goal. Stroud v. Gloucester: The Gloucester team won at Stroud by a dropped goal and four tries to two tries. Bristol v. Swansea: Bristol were beaten at home by three goals (one dropped) and a try to nothing. Bridgwater Albion v. Penarth: At Bridgwater, the home club winning by four tries to a dropped goal. Torquay Athletic v. Devonport Albion At Torquay, the home club being success- ful by a goal and three tries to a penalty goal and a try. Llanelly v. Cardiff After a hard game at Llanelly, the Cardiff team won by a try to nothing.

HEROIC SAILOR. f Roused by cries of distress proceeding from the sea, the daughter of a farmer namer Sheret, living near the shore, at Roome Bay, on the East Coast of Scotland, saw in the early light of Saturday morning a small vessel dashing about on the rocks. Her father hastily waved a Ian- tern to reassure the crew, and summoned the coastguard, but meanwhile one of the crew braved the suri carrying a line with him. After being half-killed on the rocks he landed, and wanted to swim back to his comrades' aid, but the rocket brigade got their line aboard and saved all the crew but one. The vessel was the French lugger Beaumanar. 0

COMMITTEE ON GROUSE DISEASE. The President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries has appointed a committee to in- quire into the nature and causes of grouse dis- ease, and to report whether any and, if so, what preventive or remedial measures can with advantage be taken with respect to it. The committee will be constituted as follows: — The Marquis of Tullibardine, M.V.O., D.S.O., Earl de Grey, K.C.V.O., Lord Henry Montague Douglas-Scott, the Lord Lovat, C.V.O., C.B., D.S.O., Mr. Dudley W. Drummond, Mr. James Graham, the Mackintosh of Mackintosh, Mr. Ronald Craufurcl Munro-Ferguson, M.P., Mr. Reginald Henry Kimington-Wikon, Dr. William Somerville, an Assistant-Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. The chairman of the committee will be Lord Lovat, and Mr. A. S. Leslie secretary. The cost of the inquiry will be defrayed by subscription and guarantees, and no charge in respect of it will fall upon public funds.

"SPOTTED FEVER." I A man named: Thomas Henry Allen, residing at the Mid-Surrey Golf Club, Old Deer Park, Richmond, has been admitted to King's College Hospital suffering from what the medical staff v d, have diagnosed as the first case of "Spotted Fever" in England. The technical term for this is ce-rebro-spinal meningitis. The disease differs from ordinary meningitis by the addition of inflammation of the covering of the spinal column. In its initial stages the disease is similar to influenza, and is first detected by little red spots appearing all over the body. In the fluid drawn from Allen's brain the surgeons discovered a distinctive microbe. A representa- tive was informed on inquiry at the hospital on Sunday night that the patient, who had been under treatment a fortnight, was making a slow recovery. No further cases have been notified in the metropolis. "Spotted Fever" is successfully treated, according to a physician of the Beaujon Hospital, in the Faubourge Saint-Honore, by a new method in that estab- lishment. Injections of a metallic solution, either into the muscular tissue or into the veins, are given. The metals employed are silver or manganese. It is stated that the beneficial results of the treatment are produced in less than a week.

POISON IN THE CHALICE. I The Alexandria correspondent of "Le Petit Journal" says that the vicar of the little village of Carpaneto (Italy) has been the object of an awful plot. He was just finishing mass when lie was seized with terrible pains and fainted. A doctor who was in the church hurried to the altar and rendered first aid, and succeeded in saving the priest's life. The seizure was caused, it is said, by the presence of strychnine in the chalice from which the priest had drunk during mass. He has indicated the person whom he suspects.

A TIGER ADVENTURE. I News has arrived by the latest mail of a bad accident to Mr. G. Ricketts, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Mysore Service, who is well-known in Bangalore, while out tiger shooting near Arsikere, Mysore Province, with the British Resident, Sir James Bourdillon. The party comprised Sir James, Captain R. F. Standage, I.M.S., and Mr. G. Ricketts, and several others, Mr. Ricketts being on foot with the beaters throughout. The rest of the party were in machans in trees. Captain Standage had the luck of first shot, but only wounded the tiger, of which there were three in the beat. Mr. Ricketts then followed up the wounded animal, a foolhardy action, which has before this lost many valuable lives in India, Coming upon the-as he thought-dead animal, he threw a stone at it, whereupon it promptly charged him, and knocked him down. Captain Standage, who, apparently, had also followed, then shot the tiger through the head. Mr. Ricketts was picked up unconscious, and it was decided on his being j brought in to Bangalore to amputate his arm from the shoulder. Blood poisoning was still feared, however, when the mail left, although the sufferer was free from fever.

In view of the proposed exhumation or tne remains of Pocahontas, the Red Indian girl, it may not be generally known that the famous Captain John Smith, whose life was saved hv the beautiful Virginian girl, lies buried in the Metropolis. The general public are not aware that memorials to Charles Dickens are scatterpd through the streets of every town in England. The street fire-alarm, with its glass front, which can be broken when an alarm is to be given, originated in his fertile ferain. The author of a book which has just bean published tells how Dickens, always afraid of fire, had a glazed box in the wall made for his office. keys, so that they could be easily found if an outbreak oc- curred. This key-box grew into the street fire- alarms.

I NATURE NOTES. OUR FEATHERED VISITORS. Sir Herbert Maxwell has pointed out that Great Britain, despite its dense population, con- tains a larger bird population than any country in Europe in proportion to its area. From about the middle of March until the middle of May 36 species of birds from across the seas reach our shores. Amongst the earliest birds which visit us are the ring ouzel from Africa and Asia Minor; the wheatear, from Western and Northern Africa, Persia, and India; the chiff-chaff from the Mediterranean; and the yellow wagtail, from Africa. April sees a great influx of feathered visitors; the smallest member of the swallow family (the sand martin) usually precedes by a few days its two near relatives, the swallow and the house martin. The first-named winters in India and Africa, the second in Ethiopia and India, and the third south of Abyssinia. These three harbingers of summer, which so please our sight by their graceful evolu- tions, are soon followed by the red-start, from Northern Africa, and the ventriloquial grass- hopper warbler from Northern Africa and Southern Europe. Some seasons the winchat arrives from Northern Africa during March, but at others defers its visit until as late as May. It usually, however, makes its appearance during April. QUEER NESTING-PLACES. Three instances of queer nesting-places are reported in East Anglia. At Thetford a robin has taken possession of a vacant opening in a chest of drawers. In an unused water-can lying in a garden at March another redbreast has built a nest and laid four eggs. A third bird of the same species is using an old kettle at Charteris for nidification. DANCING BIRDS. Sailors visiting the island of Laysan, in the Hawaiian group, are greatly amused by the curious antics of the Laysan albatross, or gony. These birds sometimes perform, in pairs, a kind of dance, or, as the sailors call it, "cake-walk." Two albatrosses approach each other, nodding and making profound bows, cross their billsl produca snapping and groaning sounds, rise on their toes, puff out their breasts, and finally part with more nodding and bowing, only to come together again and repeat the performance. Occasionally three engage at once in this singular amusement. THE YOUNG FLAMINGO. When the young flamingo emerges from the egg he appears to be covered with stringy white hairs, which, in drying, release downy plumules, and at the end of a few hours he is thickly covered with soft, dense down. A curious habit of some of the young birds, writes Mr. Chapman, in Bird Lore," is their attempts to feed one another. The young flamingo remains in the nest three to four days. Should he be forced to leave it during this period, he evidently can find his way back, and climb into the nest with the aid of bill and wings. It is an exceedingly interesting fact that the bill of the young flamingo is straight and wholly unlike the singular, bent bill of the adult. Signs of a Roman nose, so to speak, first appear when the chick is about two weeks old, and at this time he begins to feed after the manner of adults. That is, the upper mandible is held almost parallel with the ground, and even pressed into the muddy bottom on which the birds feed. It is then moved rapidly, and sends a jet of water through the bill, which washes away the sand or mud taken in with the food. Like the old bird, the young one now often treads water or dances when feeding, to float its food off the bottom, so that it can be more readily secured. The note of the very young birds is a puppy-like barking; This is soon followed by a kind of squealing whistle, and this, in turn, by a chirrup- ing crow, which persists until the bird is at least two months old. The whistling note was the characteristic one at the time of which I write, and under proper conditions, the chorus of young birds could be plainly heard day or night at my tent a mile away from their nesting-grounds. SINGING INSECTS. Among the natural curiosities of Japan are its singing insects. The most prized of these tiny musicians is a black beetle named susumushi," which means "insect bell." The sound that it emits resembles that of a little silver bell of the sweetest and most delicate tone. HOW FISHES FEED. Fishes swallow their food hastily and without mastication because they are obliged unceasingly to open and close the jaws for the purpose of respiration and cannot long retain food in the mouth when quite shut. RABBIT WARRENS. The great headquarters of the natural warren of England is (the County Gentleman says) in Norfolk, and more especially in the neighbourhood of Thetford. There, for mile after mile rabbits are the main crop of the country, and a paying one, for the only labour involved is that of catching them. You can walk for miles, and see nothing but rabbit warrens on every side. The woods and parks are warrens, and so are the heaths. The only houses in sight are warreners* cottages; and, instead of ploughmen at work, or men sowing corn, or shepherds and their collies, the only workmen visible are all warreners. RICH SAP. India rubber trees which are tapped every other day continue to yield sap for more than 20 years; and it is a curious fact that the oldest and most frequently tapped trees produce the richest sap. QUICK GROWTH. To people of the temperate zone the rapid growth of tropical vegetation seems almost in- credible. In many parts of the tropics the climate is so favourable and the soil so fertile and con- ducive to rapid growth that almost any stick placed upright in the earth will spring to life. In some portions of Central America one may see mile after mile of fences apparently composed of growing trees which, upon examination, prove to have once been barbed wire fences, the posts having branched out and grown into good sized trees. Many a Central American telegraph pole will be seen with a crown of leaves at the top, which have sprouted since the last visit of the line- man. In the tropical countries they have as much trouble to keep the trees from growing as we have in our northern latitude to make them grow, and one of the greatest difficulties encountered in that country in railroad work has been to keep the rail- road ties from sprouting. ABOUT TULIPS. It was not till the sixteenth oentury that tulips were seen in Western Europe. According to one story, they were first brought to public notice by an ambassador sent by the German Emperor to the Sublime Porte. It is related that as he was travelling in mid-winter from Adrianople to Con- stantinople he saw the most wonderful sight he had ever beheld. There, growing among the reeds and grasses by the roadside, were thou- sands of stately goblet shaped flowers, blazing with all the colours of the rain- bow. He immediately ordered a consignment of bulbs to be sent to Germany, whence, in the year 1577, they were imported into England. Another story tells us that in the year 1560 a few bulbs were sent from Constantinople to Amsterdam; they immediately became the rage, and Dutchmen went mad over tulips. The craze affected all classes; everybody who had any money specu- lated in tulips by importing bulbs into Holland and then disposing of them to the best advantage; ladies even sold their jewels to buy bulbs. Some people made their fortunes, but many were ruined. The most fabulous prices were paid for a single bulb. The Semper Augustus fetched five thousand five hundred florins, or more than five hundred guineas in our money; while it is said that as much as ten thousand pounds was given for a collection of forty bulbs. A writer in the Tatler." nearly two hundred years ago, gives us some idea of the riches that accrued from the cultivation of this flower, when he makes a tulip grower say that his Dutch tulip bed, only twenty yards long, brings him more money than would a hundred acres of the best land in England,

Russia's Dreadful State I GRAND DUKE ALEXANDER DOMINANT. With the consent of the Czar, his brother-in- law, Grand Duke Alexander Michaelovitch, has assumed definitely the guidance of the Emperor's internal policy. This news means that much of the administrative confusion between the Palace at Tsarskoe Selo and the Government departments has been removed. This confusion resulted from the Emperor's seclusion which, it is evident, is to be as permanent as that of the Sultan in the Yildiz Kiosk. The Grand Duke, who is known to be a strong man and an independent thinker, is credited with a programme having for its supreme aim the encouragement of the spirit of patriotic nationalism. He wishes to adjust the Russian system of land tenure, and he favours the redemption by the pea- Bantry of Government lands and the estates of the Imperial apanage. Despite this, however, his appointment is not regarded with excessive opti- mism. Meanwhile, Russia is in a state of seething confusion, if not of almost complete anarchy. I PEASANTRY THREATENING. All round Moscow the peasants are so threatening that property has to be guarded by troops, and the only reply to memorials for reform by the Czar seems to be that he cannot undertake the task in these disturbed times. A plot to assassinate the Governor-General of Warsaw has been discovered, and in St. Petersburg on Sunday M. Kisseng, manager of some metal works, was stabbed by a workman. From Tiflis it is reported that the disturbances at Elizabetpol continue, the workmen now threatening to throw bombs instead of stones. I PUTILOFF WORKS CLOSED. The Putiloff Works at St. Petersburg are again closed. The police attempted to bury secretly, by night, the bodies of the victims of the crane dis- aster. Great crowds prevented them, and insisted on a public burial. Six thousand factory hands have forsworn alcohol to decrease the State re- venues by such means as are in their power. More police officers have been shot and stabbed in Poland, and at Warsaw three men have been condemned to strangulation for a crime of this kind. When General Maximovitch, the Governor- General, left Warsaw for St. Petersburg on Saturday he was strongly guarded by Cossacks, in consequence of the discovery of a plot against his life.

WELSH REVIVALIST'S BREAK- DOWN. OVERWORKED, BUT SOUND. Mr. Evan Roberts closed his Revival Mission in Liverpool on Saturday evening, and after a final meeting at Birkenhead on Monday he proceeded to a secluded part of the country for rest. His subsequent engagements will depend on circum- stances. At the opening of Saturday's meeting the Rev. John Williams read a certificate from four doctors who had that day examined the evangelist, testifying that he was physically and mentally quite sound, but suffering from overwork, and counselling a short period of rest. Mr. Roberts gave two short fervent addresses and 72 converts was announced.

REPRIEVE. The Home Secretary has granted a commuta- tion of the sentence of death pronounced upon Frank Percy Kingham for the murder of his wife, Nellie Gwendoline Kingham, on February 8 at Shouldam-street, Edgware-road, to one of penal servitude for life.

SUNK IN MOTOR-BOAT RACE. The Panhard-Levassor motor-boat, which its makers believed would sweep all before it in the races at Monaco, came to a sensational end on Saturday. It started scratch at a furious speed, and was rapidly overhauling its eight rivals when, far out at sea, the stern and propeller were seen to be straight up in the air. The next instant it had vanished, and the Piouit and official boats were seen to be making their way to the spot. Nothing could be seen by telescopes of either the boat or its occupants, and it was feared that the Comte de Vogii6 and his two chauffeurs had lost their lives. There was a wild scene among the thousands of spec- tators ashore. Women screamed, and the men rushed hither and thither in excitement until the report was received that no lives had been lost. The Comte de Vogii6 afterwards stated that the boat, which was worth £ 2500, was going magnifi- cently until he heard a sudden tearing sound, and saw a huge rent appear in the hull. The water poured in," said the Count, and I shouted to the men, Jump for your lives!' At the same moment the boat plunged to the bottom of the sea, and the three of us were floating about, supported by our life-saving jackets, until the judges' boat picked us up." The race was annulled owing to the mishap.

PRINCE OF WALES'S INDIAN TOUR. Arrangements are being rapidly pushed forward for the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to India next October. Their cabins on board His Majesty's battleship Renown, which will take them to India, under the command of Captain the Hon. Hugh Tyrwhitt, will soon be in readiness for final inspection. The Renown, it will be remembered, was formerly the flagship of Sir John Fisher on the Mediterranean and West Indian stations. She conveyed the Duke and Duchess of Connaught to India in 1902 for the Great Durbar, and is one of the fastest battleships in the British Navy. Early in her career she established a record which has not yet been beaten by a battleship — running home from Bermuda to Plymouth at a sustained sea speed of over fifteen knots. Following the precedent of the troopship Serapis, which carried King Edward to India in 1875, the Renown will probably be repainted white, with a broad band of Royal blue stretching from bow to stern. Her spacious cabins are to be redecorated throughout, and the steel decks of the Royal apartments will be covered with layers of cork and soft carpets. Preparations for the entertainment of the Prince and Princess of Wales next winter are being pushed forward at Calcutta with all speed. Elaborate arrangements are being made, and some of the fetes are to be phenomenally gorgeous, even allowing for all the Oriental faculty for splendour. Some of the ruling native Princes are discussing the organisation of tiger "shoots with elephants. It is not unlikely that the Prince may also be shown some rhinoceros shooting in Assam.

A RARE FLOWER. A Mr. Burbank, of San Francisco, is the envied producer of a new carnation, the peculiarity of which is that on the first day the colour is snow- white on the second day pink-white; and there- after a peep red until the blossom fades.

WIGS ON THE BENCH. Writing to a correspopdent in North London concerning the abolitipn of judges' wigs in British Columbia, as announced in e, recent cablegram, Mr. Justice Darling says: "I don't think we judges in England are hkely to give up our wigs because those of British Columbia are forbidden to wear them. With us it is a custom, of over centuries old, but there is no statute on the subject."

I FUN AND FANCY. "What ia love?" asked the sweet girl, who was looking for a chance to leap. "Love," replied the old bachelor, "is a kind of insanity that makes a man call a two-hundred-pound female his little turtle-dove." "Are you the head waiter?" asked an hotel patron of a pompous individual who was posing near the dining-room. "Well, sir, I sene in that capacity but my official title, if you please, is dining-room superintendent." Minister: "So you saw some boys fishing on the Sabbath, my young man. Did you do any- thing to discourage them?" Small Boy: "Yes, sir I stole their bait." Towne: "There goes Slopsy. He must be in debt again." Browne: "Why, he looks quite prosperous. That suit of his is quite new." Towne: "Yes, that's why I say he must be in debt." Mrs. Deepdigger: You never said a word about our wedding anniversary last Tuesday- not a word." Professor Deepdigger: "My dear, how can you expect me to take any interest in anything so ridiculously recent?" "Now," said the pert salesman, sarcastically, as he started to put back the rolls of silk, "can't you think of something more I might show you, ma'am?" "Yes," replied the shopper, "but I don't think you have it." "What is it?" "More courtesy. Wife (finding a grey hair) "I do so hate to grow old." Husband "You can avoid that, my dear." Wife: "How?" Husband: "Dye young." A local paper prints the following singular card of thanks:—"Mr. and Mrs. Heays hereby wish to express their thanks to the friends aid neighbours who so kindly assisted at the burn- ing of their house last Monday evening." He: Dearest, I want you to know that I hold you tenderly in my heart of hearts." She "But what are you doing with your arms?" "Whv. Harry, how much you look like your father," remarked a visitor to a four-year-old. "Yes'm," answered Harry, with an air of resig- nation "that's what everybody says, but I can't help it." First Boy: "iE's six o'clock. Let's 50 home." oecond Boy: "No. If we go home now we'll get licked fer stayin' out so late. If we stay till eight o'clock we'll git hugged an' kissed fer not bein' drowned." Briggs: "Are you fond of golf?" Griggs: Fond of it? Why, when I first began to play people asked me how I could find time to devote to it, and now they ask me how I can find time to devote to my business." "Yes, sir," said the man with the frayed collar, "that land is now worth 9369 a foot, and only a year ago I could have bought it for a mere song." "But you couldn't sing, eh?" crackled the funny maa. The man with the frayed collar eyed him distantly and haughtily, and replied in qmck, cutting tone.s: O. I could sing, but I couldn't get the right notes." Gramer "I understand that old maid married a struggling young man." Parke: "Yes, he struggled right enough, but he couldn't set away." "Mary," her father called downstairs, "just ask your young man if he doesn't think it's pretty near bedtime." "Yes, papa," replied the sweet girl. After a pause: "George says if you're sleepy, go to bed by all means." "It never pays to hurt people's feelings," re- marked the Humane Chap. "Oh, I don't know," replied the Wise Guy. "Friend of mine makes a pretty good living at it." "Who is he?" "A dentist." Mamma (to a friend who is lunching with her): "I don't know why it is, but I always eat more when we have company than when we're alone." Tommy (helping himself to a third piece of cake) "I know why it is. 'Cause we have better things to eat." "Well," said the young lawyer, after he had heard his new client's story, "your claim appears to be good. I think can secure a verdict without much trouble." "That's what I told my wife, and yet she insisted at first that we ought to engage a first-class lawyer." A plumber was sent to the house of a wealthy stockbroker to make repairs. He was taken by the butler into the dining-room, and was begin- ning his work when the lady of the house entered. "John," said she, with a suspicious glance towards the plumber, "remove the silver from the sideboard at once and lock it up." But the man of lead was in no wise disconcerted* "Tom," said he to his assistant, who accom- panied him, "take my watch and chain and these few coppers home to my missus at once." "My dear," said Mrs. Henpeck, "I'm positive that our George is thinking seriously of matri- mony." "Well, I only hope so, returned Hen- peck, with unusual spirit. "I wouldn't want any boy of mine to be so unfortunate as to regard it as a joke." Willie: "I met our new minister on my way to Sunday-school, mamma, and he asked me if I ever played marbles on Sunday." Mother: "H'm! And what did you say to that?" Willie "I said, Get thee behind me, Satan!' and walked right off and left him. Flipp: "I hear that they use all sorts of materials in the manufacture of illuminating gas nowadays." Flopp: "True. They even make, light of the consumers' complaints." Lawyer: "Then, too, there will be the court crier's fee." Fair Litigant (breach of promise) "Oh, I shall do my own crying. I should never think of trusting anybody else to do that." Mrs. De Neat: "It seems to me that, for a man who claims to deserve charity, you have a very red nose." Moldy Mike: "Yes, mum; the cheap soaps that us poor people use is very hard on the complexion, mum." "Strangs," said he to his partner during the waltz, "I remember when I was about sixteen I solemnly promised my Sunday-school teacher that I would never learn to dance." "And vet they say," she replied, "that a boy at that age can never make a promise and stick to it." Counsel: "Do you drink?" Witness: "Well, that depends what you call drink." Counsel: "I call drink drink j what else do you expect^" Witness: "Well, in that case I do drink." Counsel: "Do you drink heavily?" Witness: "Well, that again is a question as to what you call heavily." Counsel: "Do you ever more than is good for you? Witness "I drink until I am satisfied." Counsel: "Does that take long?" Witness: "No." Counsel: "Do you ever take too much?" Witness: "No; unless you consider one cup of tea in the morning and another in the afternoon too much." Counsel: JCome, come, I am speaking of intoxicating liquors." Witness "Oh, I am a teetotaler!" Mrs. T.: "What are you making those grim- I aces in the glass for, my dear?" Mr. T.: "I'm trying to practise a look of astonishment. Some of my friends are going to make me a present to-night, and I am supposed to know nothing about it." fc Elderly Belle: "Now, tell me, Baron, really and truly, who was the greatest beauty at our ball last night? "Oh, my dear madam, I beg you kindly to excuse me from answering. "Ah, I understand—you flatterer Mrs. Parvenu (patronisinglv): "Were any of your ancestors men of note?" Mr. Flippant: "Yes, madam, I should say so. One of them was the most famous admiral of his day and I commanded the allied forces of the world." Mrs. Parvenu (with altered tone of deep re- spect) "Is it possible, Mr. Flippant? And what was his name?" Mr. Flippant: "Noah, madam." "There's Perkins-you know Perkins?— entered into an agreement with his wife soon after their marriage, twenty years ago, that whenever either lost temper, or stormed, the other was to keep silence." "And the scheme worked?" "Admirably. Perkins has kept silence for twenty years." It is told of an American millionaire who bought a castle on the Rhine that one cold day his daughter found him warming his hands at a fire which he had kindled in a suit of plate armour. "Oh. papa, what have you been doing?" she cried. "The feller that patented that stove," replied the lord of the castle, "must have been crazy, but rve made the old thing heat up at last. First Caddie Boy: "I've been si-k all the afternoon, sonny. Second Caddie Bov "What's the matter!" First Caddie Boy: "I've been caddyma for a couple that's only been married » week.

ART AND LITERATURE. In the Vatican library there is a treatise on dragons, a manuscript in a single roll 300 feet long and a foot wide, the material of which is said to be the tanned intestine of a great dragon. Dr. Richard Strauss is probably the richest composer in Europe. He sold the publishing rights of one of his works for RI,750, and every time it is performed he receives a royalty of 50s. But when he conducts a concert of his own compositions he generally foregoes the royalties due and accepts instead an honorarium of £ 100, the largest fee yet paid to a composer for direct- ing the rendering of his own works. A contemporary, in commenting on Mr. Lewis Melville's "The Thackeray Country," points out that an interesting sketch is given of the great Victorian author as a "house agent." "Thackeray, the novelist of the upper classes, housed many of his characters in the exclusive area bounded by Bond-street, Oxford-street, Park-lane, and Piccadilly, known as Mayfair." "Since the treasures of Pekin have twice been looted by the civilised peoples of the West," says a learned professor, "many Chinese works of art of one kind or another have passed into the possessi n of European and American col- lectors. Among these works of art Chinese paintings, perhaps, hold the first rank, and those who have any study of them are already realising that, from an aesthetic point of view, the Chinese, painters were far in advance of the artists of Europe." It is announced in the "Bookman" to be an understood thing that there is considerable pro- bability of an American concession on the Copy- right question. There is a strong party inclined to give three months' grace to the English pub- lisher and author. At present simultaneous publication is necessary in order to secure copy- right. If the suggested amendment is carried out, the term of three months will be given. This would have been quite sufficient to save the American copyright of such works as "An Englishwoman's Love Letters," and would be hailed with thankfulness by the literary world on this side. Count Tolstoy, says the "Academy," appar- ently aspires to be the Slav Carnegie. He has started two shops for the sale of cheap books, one in St. Petersburg and the other in Moscow, and has also promised to give cheap books to any village in Russia that will ask for them. The British Museum has just been enriched by a present from the Viceroy of India of a beautifully bound volume containing all the particulars relating to the Delhi Durbar. As it includes not only a record of the Durbar itself but of all the official notices and proclamations relating to it, it amounts to a document of no little historical interest and value. "My calling," Mr. Quiller Couch, the nove. list, says, "ties me to no office stool, makes me no man's slave, compels me to no action that my soul condemns. It sets me free from town life, which I loathe, and allows me to breathe clean air, to exercise limbs as well as brain, to tread good turf, and wake up every morning to the sound and smell of the sea and that wide prospect which, to my eyes, is the dearest on eartk. All happiness must be purchased with a price, though people seldom recognise this and part of the price is that, thus living, a man can never amass a fortune. But as it is ex- tremely unlikely that I could have done this in any pursuit, I may claim to have the better of the bargain." Coventry Patmore was a charming host, and both at Hastings and Lymington an air of great distinction characterised his household. Ab- sence of pretentiousness and conventionality here accompanied refined tastes and high cui- ture. The ;sual dinner-hour was at midday, the evening meal being high tea or supper! After supper the poet would invite his guest into his study "for a pipe and a glass of beer," and would talk delightfully—all the more delight- fully, perhaps, because he had a single listener. Then the inner nature of this strange genius would be revealed a mediaeval spirit moving among us nineteenth-century commonplace folks, but a mediasval spirit informed with start- lmg modernities. He was an omnivorous and catholic-minded devourer of the novel of the day The revival of "Princess Ida," and the cordia] greeting accorded it, makes it interesting to remember that the bright little opera was com- posed during days among the darkest in Sul- livan s life. "lolanthe" was on the eve of production, and <APrincess Ida." already taking musical form in his mind, when a, heavy blow descended upon him. It was the silver 'jubilee year of his career, and his operas and other compositions had brought him a. handsome fortune. On the very night that he was to conduct the first performance of "lolanthe" there came the doleful tidings that the firm with whom all his money was deposited had failed, and every penny he possessed had dis- appeared. It was courageous of him to conduct his new opera that night, more remarkable still that with his worries still upon him he should throw off the music of the greatest. cf all I the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, "The Mikado." To the delightful Biju volumes issued by Mr. Henry Frowde, the four Gospels, the Prayer Book version of the Psalms, and Morning and Evening Prayer, have now been added in seven separate volumes. The type is large and clear, but thanks to the use of Oxford India paper the printed page does not exceed 2 inches by It inches. These little books, which cost 'Is. each, would prove a. welcome present to many. especially if enclosed in a leather wallet. Nothing more satisfactory in the way of diminutive volumes has beer issued. Archdeacon Sinclair, in his recent address at the meeting of the Kyre Society, called1 attention to the absence among the other art institutions in London of a properly-equipped gallery of sculpture. He suggested," too, that this deficiency was one which an artist! cally- minded millionaire might well supply. That there is a real opportunity here for anyone who has both the inclination and, the means to supply a building which could easily be filled with good things no one can deny, but the millionaire who would consider the needs of the art loving public rather than the satisfaction of his own fads has yet to be- discovered. Of fine original sculpture and casts there is an ample collection already in the possession of the nation, but its interest is greatly diminished by the impossibility of seeing it under proper conditions. If instead of being hidden away, part at the British Museum, part at South Kensington, and part in the Tate Gallery, its could be brought together in a central azo properly-arranged building, the im-jwrtanee of this great national asset would, as "The Giofje" remarks, be very evident. At present, for want of proper chances of comparison, toe educa- tional value of the sculpture whicn has been u, gathered in our museums through successive generations is almost entirely lest. The evidence for the attribution of the lamous "Edinburgh" attack on Colerioge s Ghristabel" bo Hazlitt is referred to, and supple- mented. but the "Athenbeum." It is suggested that even the political animosity which was so strong in Hazlitt will not account for 00 much ferocity, .and the reviewer suggests a further explanation in following words from Hazlitt's pen. Whether they had reference to Colridgie or not, they are certainly a striking and unlovely example cf critical venom. "I care little what anyone says, particularly behind my back, and in the way of critical and analy- tical discussion—it is looks of dislike and scorn that I answer with the worst venom of my pen. The expression of the face wounds me more than the expressions of the tongue. If I have in one instance mistaken this expres- sion, or resorted to the remedy where I ought not, I am sorry for it. But the face was too fine over which it mantled, and I am too old to have misunderstood it." Such a passage points not only to the disappearance of a certain type of critic, "but surelv, also, of the type, of reader to whom such words could be offered. Yet they express self-torture more than any- thing else, and remind us, not unpitifully, that HSi-zlitt had always to deal with Hazlitt,