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

ESCAPED IN A CAB, I CRIMINAL LUNATIC AT LARGE. A criminal lunatic escaped from vvirison Ureen Lunatic Asylum, Birmingham, on Saturday after- noon, and on Monday was still at large. His name is William Greaves Edwards, and is about 47 years of age. His conviction recalls a sensational crime. Edwards was sentenced to ten years' penal servitude in 1898 for attempting to murder his daughter by throwing her under a train at New- street station/He had been living apart from his wife, and fetched his daughter, who was then 10 years of age, from school and took her to the station. For some time they walked up and down the platform, and as a train was coming in he picked up the child in his arms and threw her in front of the engine. The child lost both arms tnd one leg, but nothwithstanding these mutilations she re- covered. A public subscription was opened on her behalf, and the child has been well educated. In spite of her terrible physical disadvantages, she has made great progress, and is said to bo an artist of considerable ability. At the trial of her father Dr. Whitcombe, the superintendent of Winson Green Lunatic Asylum, was called, and stated that in his opinion Edwards did not know what he was doing when he threw the child under the train. Almost immediately after his sentence Edwards had to be removed from prison to the asylum, where he has since remained. He is said to have shown signs of improvement lately. Notwithstanding the crime which he had committed, Edwards was allowed to be amongst other inmates in the day-room. Shortly before five o'clock on Saturday afternoon, as the inmates were assembling for dinner, he was missed, and a thorough search of the grounds was made but no trace of him could be found. I The asylum stands in the centre of spacious grounds, surrounded by a wall, but it would not I offer much difficulty to anyone in getting over, pro- vided he escaped the observation of the warders. That Edwards went over the wall there is not much doubt. So far as can be gathered the escape is I thought to have been premeditated. Recently one of the attendants, on returning from a holiday, found that access had been gained to his keys, which were missing. It is suggested that Edwards had somehow arranged to be met by someone outside the gates, for it is stated that a cab was seen to drive away at a furious pace late in the after- noon. Edwards's face was familiar to the inhabi- tants of Winson Green, where he had lived before his conviction. His wife and daughter still live in the neighbourhood, and the latter had visited her father many times.

I .1 CURSED SAXON SHILLING." I A SEDITIOUS PLACARD. I Afe the Dublin Commission Court on Monday two young men, named Thomas Atkins and Thomas O'Shea, were indicted for posting in the city a seditious placard. It contained the following sen- tences Irishmen, will you keep your country enslaved and under the heel of England by joining the English Army, Navy, or Police Force? Have you no love for the Motherland that boro you, the land that has been pauperised and denuded of population so that England might fatten while she gloats over the degradation that has been put upon our stricken and persecuted land ? The chains of bondage are fastened tightly around the wrists of your loving mother. Will you lend your aid in fastening them still tighter by joining the forces that are keeping her enslaved ? You can assist in the uplifting of the Irish nation by refraining from entering the English forces. If you are an Irishman, you will be true to Ireland, and, hy refusing to take the cursed Saxon shilling, you will lend a hand in restoring your mother Erin to nationhood." The hearing of the case occupied a considerable time, and eventually the jury found the prisoners not guilty, and they were discharged.

I "READING TRASHY LITERATURE.* "Reading trashy literature" was the theory advanced in the Brentford Police-court on Mon- day by the mother of Laura Macnamara, an ingenuous-faced servant-maid of seventeen years, to explain the girl's remarkable conduct. The charge against the girl was one of stealing 5s. 6d. from her employer, Mr. Joseph Turner, of Houns- low. During the last ten days, it was stated, no fewer than 63 windows had been broken in Mr. Turner's house. Extra police were put on to investigate the matter, but they could find no clue to the mystery. On Sunday morning Mr. Turner, his family, and the servant went to church together. At the end of the service the girl, as was customary, was sent home in advance to replenish the fire and prepare the dinner. When Mr. Turner reached the house he was met by the servant-girl, who, apparently in a state of much excitement, cried. Oh, sir, burglars have been here!" Cabinets and cupboards had been broken open and articles thrown about. In the course of a closer examination of the premises, however, a bag containing 5s. 6d. was found concealed between the mattresses of Mac- namara's bed. She was ultimately given into charge on an accusation of stealing the money, and she then confessed that she had broken the 63 windows by throwing stones at them from the inside of the house. A remand was ordered. -<q

REVERIE. Alone and sad upon the grass I lay Watching the crimson clouds that show the day Has done its work; the sun had gone to rest, And crimson, gold and purple, decked the west. The birds were hushed, the very brook was mute, And all was still save Pan's most magic flute, I And as its doleful harmonies did change The world swept slowly past, so soft, so strange, That I did think I dreamed and heard it not; And cast not sad reflections on my lot. But as I list it suddenly did cease As tho' Pan's flute were troubled in its peace And sullen silence greeted every breath. The earth was still and solemn as in death; Then once again fresh harmonies did sound- I And elfin fancies floated round and round, But still the world went on, and people died, And still I felt alone and sad, and sighed. But Pan's sad time, it ceased from time to time, As tho' he sought fresh rhythm and fresh rhyme. And tried his dismal solitude to end. Ah Pan, thy flute is ever thy choicest friend. Seek not with mortal man a friend to make, Be warned in time, seek not thy heart to break, But play thy tunes; crave comfort not from man, And let thy friend be e're thy flute, oh! Pan. GLADYS EMANUEI*

At the resumed inquest on the victims of the South Stoneham Workhouse tragedy (whereby four inmates lost their lives through an escape of gas during the night), the jury returned a ver- dlC-t of "Accidental death." They exonerated the officials from blame, but recoromended that the control of gas in the dormitories should not 00 left in the hands of occupants. "Trade is very slack," said an undertaker in the Shoreditch County-court, "but I expect, it to be a bit brisker later on."

BOOKS AND MAGAZINES. I ON A LINER IN THE RED SEA.—It was con. sidered to be a cool passage, for there was a head wind nearly all the way, while a benevo- lent thunderstorm with heavy rain came out of the sky one morning. Notwithstanding these blessings the heat was trying. In the words of the German manager of an Egyptian hotel, the weather was, in fact, "enormous 'ot." It was a moist heat, like that of a rich man's greenhouse. It made everyone limp, sticky, and irritable. The nights were little better than the days. Children declined to sleep and were very fretful, while some of the ladies were moved to tears. There was a disposition to do nothing but foster the art of lying about. After lunch every chair on the shady side of the ship was occupied by sleeping passengers or by people at least with closed eyes and dropped books. The long row of recumbent figures made the deck look like a hospital ward filled with anaesthetised patients. It was the ambition of everyone to lie or sit in what is called a "complete draught," so that wherever any wind could be found there would be little groups gathered together drinking it in. In England there is a desire to get out of a draught, in the Red Sea to get into one; and at night the most fortunate were those who slept in such a, blast as made their scanty garments flutter like a flag. Many of the passengers slept on deck—a few ladies in the music saloon, a few men in the smoking-room, but the greater number of both sexes in the open. It was neces- sary only to have a mattress and a pillow placed on the floor, and the sleeping arrangements were complete. The ladies took possession of the for- ward deck, where they built themselves a kind of zareba out of deck chairs and other loose barricades. They did not, however, diffuse around themselves either the blests-ings of peaoo or the charm of repose. They talked more or less all night, and, according to the impressions of some, the zareba might have enclosed a parrot house. On one morning, about 4 a.m., the occupants of the ladies' laager had fallen upon sleep, to the joy of all. But at that hour a thunderstorm arose, and on the first flash of lightning the more timid burst out of the corral, and, trampling on the bodies of prostrate men, rushed screaming down the companion. After this, the suburbs of the ladies' quarter were re- garded as unsiafe to sleep in. At 6 a.m. each morning the ladies went below, and then for one hour the deck was given up to the men, who paraded luxuriantly in pyjamas. Military officers, learned judges, and responsible mer- chants were brought down to one level—that of pyjamas. In these simple garments they walked the ship, while the decks were being washed down with that lavish use of water and noise which is peculiar to the mariner.—" The Other Side of the Lantern," by Sir Frederick Treves. WHES THE ICE GIVES UP ITS DEAD.— Glaciers are very old—centenarians every one of them. The young ice which is forming daily and hourly, for instance, at the uppermost sources of the Mer-de-Glace, Mont Blanc's most famous glacier, will be between 179 and 180 years old when it finally reaches the Vale of Chamonix. And many glaciers can boast of a far longer life-span even than this. In 1860, a very slowly-moving glacier in the Austrian Alps, which flows in the Abreuthal, threw out a well-preserved corpse, still clad in a dress of a fashion which had been abandoned by the mountaineers for over three hundred years. It is conjectured that this unlucky individual must have fallen into some crevasse high up near the glacier's source; as, of course, the nearer the accident happens to the place where the ice- river comes to an end, the more speedily will the body be delivered up, and vice versa. Only the other day, for example, a Grindelwald glacier disgorged a body which was identified as that of a man named Guebel, who tumbled int6- a crevasse as late as 1901. having only just started on his upward journey at the time the accident happened. On the other hand, another body delivered up by the ice this season, that of a guide named Nagi, of Aosta, Italy, has been in the grip of the glacier ever since the summer of 1877. But in this case the fatality took place near the summit of Monte Rosa, so that the remains may be said to have made a quick passage down. The corpse was, as is usually the case, in an almost perfect state of preserva- tion, and easily recognisable. Tho above by no means exhausts the list of bodies delivered up by glaciers during late years, but the one for which every Alpine guide is eagerly on the look-out has -,o far not been found. This is that of the intrepid Lord Francis Douglas, who fell four thousand feet from near the summit of the Matterh-orn on the Zmut Glacier, on July 14, 1865; and which is "due," if we may say so without irreverence, at the ice river's tongue about this time. The occasion was the first ascent of the mountain, which had up till then been deemed absolutely inaccessible, and the tragedy caused at the time a tremendous sensation. Three other members of the party fell with Lord Bougies, but their bodies were recovered soon afterwards.— "T.A.T." HER CRUEL PAST.—"No," said the theatrical manager to the Society woman-who-has-adopted- the-stage-as-a-career, "I fear that you have not the temperament to essay the very exacting role you are so anxious to portray. Properly to present the character, a woman must have fathomed the height and depth of human emotion." The-Society-woman-who-has-reeently- adopted-thc-etage-as-a-career looked fixedly at him a moment before replying, an almost pity- ing wonder in her beautiful eyes. "Do you, then, doubt that I have drunk deep of the waters of Marah, and have been tried in the furnace?" she asked, in a low, pained tone. "I do," he remarked, with brutal frankness; "you have always been a, petted daughter of wealth. with every wish gratified since your earliest years. You may have known some little trials, but—■—" he threw out his hands with a gesture of finality and turned on his heel as if about to end the interview. "One moment," she cried in ringing tones; "you will admit that the fame of my beauty is world-wide." "Yes," he answered grudgingly; "your picture appears constantly in the magazines and newspapers you are certainly valuable; but I do not con- sider you equal to the part. On that point, I must insist." "Alas!" she. moaned, covering her eyes with her white jewelled hands, "your taunts show me that I midst reveal the terrible secrets of my cruel past." At these words the manager .turned again, the light of joyous hope in his eyes. "Secrets! Past!" he cried eagerly. "Aye, man!" sternly. "Secrets, indeed, and a past. Listen!" she hissed. "Do you see this rose-leaf complexion? To secure it I had three layers of cuticle removed and for weeks after suffered the torments of the lost. To achieve this classic nose, paraffin was injected beneath the skin, and I endured the agonies of necrosis of the bone. To gain these delicately arching brows my scalp was cut and drawn back. These long, sweeping lashes were sewn through my eyelids, and to attain this rare, Titian shade of hair, I almost lest my eight. And yet you say I have not suffered Great tears were running down the hardened manager's cheeks. "And in order to secure temperament," he exclaimed, "I might have decided on an actress who has known the petty griefs of being jilted twenty or thirty times, or run over by an automobile, or starved while waiting for an engagement; might have selected some mere, ordinary woman, content to remain as God made her, instead of one who has sacri- ficed aill for Art."—"Life."

Bleeker: Hello, oM man! I see you are operating the typewriter yourself now." What became of that pretty stenographer you used to hivo? Meeker: Oh, she quit her job to get married, I'm sorry to say." Bleeker: dee(I Who is her husband?" Meeker: I am. The Bow-street magistrate Alfred Brooks, alias James George Craik, described as a, commission agent, of St. Johns-wood, who had been accused of forgery and fraud at one of Messrs. Lyons's restaurants. The Duchess of AJbercorn and Lady Alexandra Hamilton were present at Marliborough-street I when two men were charged with breaking into J the stables of the Duke of Afcercorn's house in j North-row, Park-lane. The men were re- m&nded.

INTERESTIISTCr ITJiMS. South London admirers are presenting a fulZI aet of episcopal robes to Canon Laeke, Bishop- designate of Woolwich. Not only were Filicides buried with the usual rites nowadays, said the Ardwick coroner, but the Bishop of Manchester had authorised a special burial service for them. Despite all precautions taken by the Cheshire' county authorities to prevent the spread of" anthrax, another case, making the eixth within two or three weeks, 'has broken out at Sidding- ton. If the gentleman who missed some bank- notes on board a British and Irish Coinpany's- steamer many/years ago applies to he may recover them," runa an advertisement in one of the daily papers.. There were 8-45 applicants for a clerkship worth 35s. per week under the Saliord Corpo- ration. So heavy was the catch (150,000) of hrringsi of a Yarmouth boat that she had to share her' haul with another vessel. The Paris, Lyons, and Mediterranean Railway coal contract of 90.000 tons has been secured by Messrs. Pyman, Watson, and Co., of Cardiff, at about 17s. 6d. per ton. Although a Swymbridge (Devon) dairymaid, named Annie Smale, died a few minute3 after being kicked by a cow, the autopsy showed that her death was a purely natural one, due to heart disease. Contracts for two new steamers have been placed with Clyde shipbuilders' by the Anchor Line. One of the vesselst, which will have a gross tonnage of 9,000, is for the Glasgow and) New York trade, and the other is for the India, trade. Sentence of two years' hard labour for horse- stealing at Mitcham was passed upon a mam named Stevens at the Old Bailey. For the first time in nine years the Black Maria" attending the Stratford Police-court has made its return journey to Brixton Gaol! without a prisoner. Because his boot hurt his corns a West Ham pauper cut the leather, and he was sent to gaol for seven days for wilfully damaging the guar- dians' property. After lasting ten week, the strike of rivet and stud-trade workers in South Staffordshire ..nd Worcestershire ended, the -employers con- ceding the advance of 10 per cent, in wages asked for. A new class of offence, made possible bv the new regulation allowing Post Office Savings Bank depositors to withdraw sums uo to £ 1 on de-mand, was mentioned at the Old Bailey. Beatrice Shannon was bound over on a charge- that she had altered an entry in her pass-book and thus obtained 9s. 9d. by fraud. Mr. Pickford, K.C., Recorder of Liverpool, and Mr. Leslie Scott have been appointed to represent the British Government at tli.,e Inter- national Maritime Conference. Thirty-flvle, anti-vaccinationists were each com- mitted to prison for seven days at Derby for failing to pay either costs or fines imposed upon them at previous hearings. In opening a shooting range at Penrith, the Speaker (Mr. Lowther) said that- rifle clubs were essential for training those upon whom the country might have eventually to rely for the, defence of our shores. The suggested erection of an ocean wharf, whereby it is hoped to .save £ 120,000 in distri- bution and £ 244,000 in loading annually, was referred by the London City Corporation to the special committee on the Port of London. For having embezzled sums totalling C214, after being sixte,en years in the service of the- Southwark Council, W. Pottinger, a rate col- lector, was, at the Old Bailey, gent to prison for twelve, months in the second division. Rate- payers gave evidence in his favour. The King went to the races at Newmarket. and inspected his own racing stable at Sgertoc iHouse. Mr. Balfour was made an honorary freeman of the City of Edinburgh, and Mr. John Morley and Mr. Andrew Carnegie received like. honours at Montro6e. The Prince of Wales has sent strict orders that the Sabbath is to be observed carefully during his tour. In return for the release of the captured. British officers the Moorish brigands are now demanding a ransom and an appointment for a, bandit chief. The Bishop of London, in his annual charaa. at St. Paul's Cathedral, condemned smalr,, families and religious apathy. The boycott of Andover by motorists is having; a serious effect upon the prosperity of the town. The feeling against the local magistrates, who- support the police, is very bitter. In an imperial manifesto the Czar declares that the eastern portion of his Empire will de- velop itself in peace with the now become our friend." A gentleman buigiiir appeared at the New- ington Sessions to plead for his vatat, who was acquitted of a guilty knowledge of his thefts. The late Lord Grimthorpe left personal estate sworn at L- 1,562,500, in addition to real estate. Two of the new London tubes in course of construction by the Underground Electric Railways Company will probably be opened next year. The three-weeks married life of two faithful lovers, who waited for each other for forty years,, was brought to a tragic close by the death of the aged bride. Mr. Charles Warner made a. flying visit to Paris, leaving London at nine in the morning and playing Hamlet at the Opera Comique in the afternoon. He made up as Hamlet in the train. One hundred and sixty-five accidents, involv- ing sixty-five deaths, have occurred, says the "Echo de Paris," on the Alps since January last. By a. majority of twelve votes the Australian Federal House of Representatives has adopted, a motion to petition the King in favour of Home- Rule in Ireland. Pope Pius X. recently received. Mr. Patrick Cahill, of Dublin, who was the optician to the late Pope Le6 XIII., and was fitted with a. new pair of spectacles. As a result of the special appeal made by the Vicar of Braintree, the collection at the parish church last Sunday constituted a record for thm present year. Owing to a fire which broke Out in the drying; kiln, the brewery of Messrs. 1 aine and Co., at St. Neots, Huntingdonshire was destined as well as a flour mill belonging to the same firm. Swallowing a fish bone. while. at dinner, Dr. Lucy Alexander, the assistant medical officer of the Liverpool Medical Mission, was afterwards. operated on for its removal, but she died. 'Although we have an Empire of gi*eat re- sponsibility what really matters is the work which is done m England," said the Archbishop of Canterbury at a meeting of the Church of England Mens Society at the Church House, Westminster. Claiming to he the only woman steeplejack in the world, Mrs. Charles Corbett has recently been painting the flagstaff of the Broad-street Bank Building, eays the "New York American," which ig more than a hundred and twenty f.uet from, the ground. While working in a pottery manufactory at Stoke-on-Trent, Edith Pye, a young woman, got her hair entangled in a revolving shaft, and her scalp was torn off. She was removed to the infirmary, where an operation was performed. In order to discuss a numiber of questions of common interest to the British West African' Colonies, a meeting of the Governors is now being held in London, of whom the Governors of Gambria, Lagos and Southern Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, and Northern Nigeria are now home on leave.

TOWN TOPICS. I (From our London Correspondent,) Seldom has London had so busy and eventful a week as last week. We have had two State visits by the King and Queen-the first to lay the foundation stone of the General Post Office extension, and the other to open the new thoroughfare of Kingsway-while the members of the Paris Municipal Council have been the guests of their confreres of the London County Council, Nelson's Centenary has been cele- brated with great enthusiasm, and the remains of the greatest actor of modern times have been laid to rest in Westminster Abbey. Any one of these events, standing alone, wouid have made the week a memorable one, but, coming together as they have done, there can be no doubt that the one which has over-shadowed all the others has been the centenary of Trafalgar. It aroused an amount of public interest and enthusiasm such as has been rarely witnessed in the present generation. The Mecca of all pilgrims last Saturday was Trafalgar-square, where Jselson's monument proudly rears its head high above all other buildings in the vicinity. With the Union Jack and ensign floating from the top of the column, with two lines of gay signal flags spelling out Nelson's famous message to tho fleet, England expects that every man will do his duty," and with its wealth of wreaths and festoons of laurel, the Nelson monument in Trafalgar-square presented a brilliant spectacle. During the day it was visited by thousands of people, and so dense did the throng become eventually that the police formed a cordon about the statue and suffered the spectators to pass around it in orderly procession only. The visit of the Paris Municipal Council to London was in every way a great success. The sun shone brightly every day, and agreeably disappointed those Frenchmen who had been taught to believe that London in October was a place of constant rain and fog. The visit, of course, has far more than a municipal signi- ficance. It sets the final seal on the great compact of friendship between ourselves and the gifted nation across the Channel. While the French legislators who were entertained in London last summer represented the legislative and governing classes, the visitors of thepast week may be said to have come on behalf of the people. In a sense, they are a more important body than those who preceded them, for it is precisely amongst the great mass of the French nation-the bourgeoisie and the ouvrier class— that it is most desirable that there should pre- vail a better knowledge of British institutions and British sentiments. For this reason the brilliantly successful functions which London has just witnessed may well be regarded as of quite national importance. They will, we may be sure, even without the assurances of our guests, have a permanent and beneficent influ- ence on the relations of the two countries. Some surprise was occasioned recently when it was announced that the Hon. William Walsh, son of Lord Ormathwaite, had been appointed private secretary to Mr. Whitelaw Reid, the American Ambassador. The way in which it came about is. interesting and peculiar. When the engagement of Mr. Walsh and Lady Norah Spencer-Churchill, sister of the Duke of Marlborough, was first announced it was under- stood that the Earl of Derby, on whose staff Mr. Walsh was when the Earl was Viceroy of Canada, would help the young couple. The Duchess of Marlborough was naturally interested in the welfare of her sister-in-law, and the earl, with a little pressure, offered Mr. Walsh the post of sub-agent with a good house on his Lancashire estates. But the Countess of Derby, on think- ing over the matter, discovered that, as daughter of a duke, the wife of her husband's steward would go in to dinner before herself at any party they might attend together. The posi- tion would, of course, have been impossible, and so Mr. Walsh was informed that the proposed provision for him was impracticable. The Duchess of Marlborough set to work to find something better for the young couple. Eventu- ally, by clever management and the work of influential friends, Mr. Whitelaw Reid was persuaded that Mr. Walsh was just the sort of man to suit his purpose. The suite of rooms occupied by Mr. Walsh and his bride at Dor- chester House is very comfortable, and includes a private study for the secretary and a chaim- ing boudoir for Lady Norah. Mr. Winston Churchill has now comploted th9 life of his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, and it will shortly be published. His book is looked forward to with the keenest interest by all classes of society. A competent judge who has read the proofs of the first volume tells me that he has been eminently dignified, thoughtful, and almost judicial in treatment of his father's career. The domestic- relations of Lord Randolph are necessarily only glanced at. the son concerning himself wholly with his father's public career. The rumour is revived that Mr. Churchill has become engaged to Miss Muriel Wilson, the reiguuig beauty of many London seasons, but is name has been coupled with so many eligible and beautiful young ladies that I give the report with all reserve. A new sort of enterprise has been started in London through the incorporation of a com- pany which undertakes to personally conduct hunting parties to the wild forests of West Africa. Parties are made up consisting of three, five, and ten persons, and each expedi- tion is to be absent three months. Each of the ( persons joining the hunts will pay his travelling expenses and £500, which amount is reduced when large parties can be made up. There is no limit placed on the number of wild animals each hunter is permitted to kill, but the num- ber of elephants, zebras, rhinoceros and gazelles will be limited to two of each for each man. Sir Hiram Maxim, the inventor of the Maxim gun, has of late turned his attention to more peaceful and amusing contrivances, such as merry-go-rounds and flying machines. He has just completed a model "magic sphere," which nas been patented in this country and in America, and will probably be seen at Earl's- court Exhibition next year. Sir Hiram declares that he believes it will prove one of the most amusing illusions of modern times. It will make people imagine that they are walking or standing, not "right end up," but with their feet against the wall, and their » bodies leaning outward in mid-air. The sphere will be 50 feet in diameter, which means that it will be a globe as high as a tall dwelling-house, and it will be raised 20 feet above the ground on a pedestal or shaft, on which the sphere will revolve. Outside it will resemble a small earth, with the oceans and lands painted upon it, like the geographical globe used in the schools. Inside the earth the weirdest of illusions will be produced by the simple process of making the sphere revolve on its pedestal. The door having been shut on the people who have been admitted inside the "earth" will begin to revolve, gradually gaining in speed until every one is being whizzed around at 15 or 20 miles an hour. "This will give the necessary centrifugal A force to counteract the law of gravity," Sir Hiram explained. It will illustrate a new law of nature which, I believe, I have been the first to discover. Five years ago at Boston, I began to wonder why we always see things right side up,' as, of course, on our earth they never are. The only reason is the law of gravity. We have no sense which would enable us to tell whether a thing is vertical or horizontal except through the law of gravity. If we divert the pull of gravity by another force-centrifugal force—the effect is that, instead of seeing things horizontal, we see them vertical, which produces the most amusing illusionary effect. That is what the I rasgic sphere' does. But the strange and amusing thing is that they will not know that they ate revolving," said Sir Hiram. It is the sphere that will revolve, and they with it, like people on the surface of the earth, and consequently they will think they are stationary. The cen- trifugal force of the revolution of the sphere will enable them to stand on the wall, as it were, with their bodies leaning horizontally. Each will appear to all the others to be walking like a fly, while every person in the globe will be convinced that he is standing perfectly erect and will constantly change his position to feel ;■ the effect of the strange positions apparently adopted by all the others, yet will apparently never adopt those positions." Some idea of the arduous apprenticeship to which the old school of actors had to submit may be gleaned from the summary of parts played by the late Sir Henry Irving, which appears in the current issue of the 11 Stage." The list extends to three columns, but no fewer than 428 of the parts were played during his three years' engagement at Edinburgh. Exclud- ing Sundays and the periods during which the theatre was closed, the young actor had, on an average, to take a new part every other day. T.

= NEWS NOTES. The Nelson celebration on Saturday was of a national character. In London and in almost every town in the country something was done to commemorate the great deeds of Britain's naval hero. On Trafalgar-square an immense concourse of people took part in the celebration, which took the form of a religious service conducted by Bishop Welldon. Hundreds of beautiful wreaths were laid at the base of the Nelson Statue, which was entwined with ever- greens and flags. Towards the end of the afternoon the crowds were dispersed by the heavy downpour of rain. On Sunday refer- ences to this great national event was made in over 30,000 churches. The King unveiled on Sunday a memorial at the Royal Military chapel, Wellington Barracks, to the late Duke of Cambridge. The memorial —a beautiful representation of the Ascension in Italian mosaic-was marred by some unfortunate mistakes in names and spelling. For example, the first Christian name of his late Royal Highness, George," was entirely omitted from the inscription, though the King partly amended this error, by laying emphasis on the word George," when in the art of un- veiling the memorial. The word division was spelt "divison," and other words were omitted from the inscription. These mistakes will necessitate the substitution of another slab of marble. It is reported that the German Navy is to be increased enormously without delay. Eighty new torpedo craft are to be built forthwith. The size of the new battleships is to be increased to 16,000 or 17,000 tons, and votes are to be obtained for six new armoured cruisers of the most powerful type. Prince Henry of Prussia is to be placed in supreme command of the fleet. The German papers combine their attack on Great Britain and are calling for Lord Lansdowne's resignation, owing to the part which that statesman is alleged to have taken in the recent "revelations" respecting Anglo-French policy. King Edward, too, appears to be the object of a great deal of animosity on the part of the Anglophobe section of the German Press. Admiral Togo made his formal entry into Tokio on Sunday to report to the Emperor the return of the fleet from war. Needless to say, the gallant hero had an enthusiastic welcome from the people. All Tokio was in the streets, and the firing of salutes and playing of bands made the day memorable in the annals of Japan. The Mikado warmly praised the services of admirals, officers and men. The character of Togo's reception will be appreciated when we state that five Imperial carriages were placed at his disposal. It is reported that the Australian Board of Control will invite the Hon. F. S. Jackson to take out a team of English cricketers to Australia during the winter, the M.C.C. having declined a similar invitation. As the Austra- lians are naturally anxious to wipe out the results of their recent defeats in the English test matches, it would be unwise to take out any talent of an inferior character. Mr. Jackson, who captained the English team at each test match last season, would be sure to decline the invitation if he cannot captain the best possible team. It is stated that the Australians netted 4:900 apiece as the result of the tour this year. If the figures are correct the maiden trip of the big steamer Amerika was exceedingly profit- able from a financial point of view. The recepts were R30,000, and the cost of the trip £ 11,000, leaving 4:19,000 profit. The trip was notable for the first attempt made on a liner to provide a, la carte restaurants. The prices on board were similar to those of the first-class restaurants in London and Paris. It appears that the refrigerating machinery worked per- fectly, enabling a service of fresh game, poultry, fruit, and vegetables to be maintained throughout the voyage. Of the 411 saloon passengers 120 depended entirely on the restaurant for their meals. The Prince and Princess of Wales are now fairly on their way to India. They had a warm reception at Genoa, where they went on board the Renown, which is to take them to Bombay. The British Mediterranean Fleet escorted their Royal Highnesses through the Straits of Messina, and on Monday a naval review took place off Sicily. The King of Italy telegraphed his greeting to the Prince and Princess of Wales on their entering Italy, and expressed the hope that the ties uniting the two Royal houses would long continue. Mr. Choate, the late United States Ambas- sador to Great Britain, is being entertained in various cities in America with record magni- ficence. He has made an important discovery since he left us. He has found that the strain on nerve, mind, and body is greater than ever in the United States, and he advises his countrymen to imitate the repose and relaxation that prevail in other countries. "You were going at a tremendous pace when I went away," said Mr. Choate at a recent banquet in New York, but now, if I can judge, you have set upon the pace that kills." Let us take warning from these wise words. The Daily Telegraph publishes some extra- ordinary details as to the state of things in the seminaries in which the students for the Russian priesthood are prepared. The writer states that in the higher classes in those schools the pupils who are wholly Atheistic or totally indifferent to religion, number in some cases over 90 per cent. of the total. Others leave these seminaries totally unequipped for their future office, even in many of the rudiments of knowledge. Im- morality is rife among all classes, and disorders are constantly breaking out. It seems that in every corner of Russia the seeds of national decay are being sown, if they are not already ripening to harvest.