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TO NEPHEWS AND NIECES.
TO NEPHEWS AND NIECES. The value of the fortune left by the late Mr. Thomas H. Woods, from 1859 to 1903 a. partner the firm of Christie, Manson, and Woods, of King-street, St. James, has been sworn at £ 530,718. lIe left the bulk of his fortune to five nephews itld six nieces, subject to a few minor legacies, including £ 5,000 to his managing clerk, Mr. Nathaniel Gibbs; £ 100 each to his nurse and two gardeners, and a life annuity of £ 25 to Alfred Leggatt, the porter at the King-street rooms. In the event of the death oj one of his Pieces without issue, a sum of E30,000 becomes Available for charitable bequests.
STBANGE & WONDERFUL I ''<
STBANGE & WONDERFUL < A Cannibal" Tree. One of the most wonderful forest trees in the world is the "cannibal tree" of Australia, which grows up in the shape of a huge pine- apple and seldom attains a height of more than eleven feet. It has, a series of broad, board- like leaves, growing in a fringe at the apex, which remind one of a gigantic Central Ameri- can agave. When standing erect, these broad, thick leaves ride a curious-looking arrangement, which appears to perform the same functions as those of the pistils in flowers. Naturally these boardlike leaves, which are from ten to twelve feet long in the smaller specimens and from 15 to 20 in the larger, hang to the ground and are strong enough to bear a man's weight. In old aboriginal times the natives worshipped the cannibal tree under the name of the "devil tree," Curious Relic* The sea frequently brings to light curious mementoes of past events, just as it holds in its bosom many others which it never surrenders. At first sight this object would puzzle the ordi- nary mind to determine just what it might have been. It was recently washed out of a crumbling cliff at Southwold, It is a cannon, which must AN ANCIENT CANNON. have seen active service in its day. Compared with modern ordnance it shows how far the world has progressed in the science of military slaughter. The best authorities think it was one of the pieces of artillery used in the great Sole Bay fight, Tree-Climbing Crab. In some of the Malay-Islands the cocoanut is obtained an a curious manner. An enormous crab is found there that lives on the fruit, climbing the trees and tearing the nuts off, either hurling them down or breaking them by tearing off the husk, and then beating them against the rocks with its huge claws. The husk that the crabs take from the fruit they carry to their holes at the foot of the trees, and make a bed of it, and, knowing this, the Malays visit and rob the crabs once or twice a year, using the husk to weave into mats. Old Norse Festival. An old Norse Festival still survives in Shet- land. January 5 is always observed as Yule day. There is little doubt that this is a relic of the Jul-feast of their Viking ancestors, a pagan festival of joy at the prospect of the renewal of life in the spring. The rejoicings began on January 5 and lasted 24 days, when it finished up with a great feast, wilh dancing, eating, and drinking on a huge scale. A survival of the festival is to be seen in the remarkable and quaint ceremony which takes place on January 29 ever year at Lerwick, and is known as Up Helli A "-a torchlight procession of masque- raders, headed by imitation war-galley. This is pulled by willing hands all round the town, IMITATION WAR GALLEY. and a finish up is made at the Market Cross. Here the uizers," as the masquerading torch- bearers are called, form a circle with the galley in the centre. The chief Guizer then steps for- ward and throws his burning torch into the galley, and the rest of the guizers follow his lead, soon converting the galley into a huge bon- fire. The Hardy Norseman" is then sung, and the revellers disperse to pay a house-to- house visitation in the locality, where ample food and refreshment is provided. Foretold by a Stone. There exists a stone which is said to un- failingly foretell changes in the weather. This stone was found in Finland many years ago by an explorer, and has since been watched by scientists with great interest. It presents a white, mottled appearance, in sunshine, gradually turning from grey to black as a rain- storm approaches. The stone is composed of clay, nitre, and rock salt. In dry weather the salt in the stone is prominent, but when the air is filled with moisture the salt absrobs the mois- ture and turns black, thus forming the baro- meter. A Fallen Giant. The tree yuccas of the Southern United States are among the most striking of the plants of that country. In the dry desert region west of the Rocky Mountains is found the tallest of them, namely, Y. elata, which grows to the height of twenty feet, does not branch except near the top and lives to a great age. The specimen shown in the illustration appears to have been bent over by wind. Usually, how- ever, the trunks are erect and clothed partly with the dead leaves, and at the top with pale green rigid sword-like filiferous leaves from one I A. STRANGE TREE. foot to two feet long. Out from the centre of the terminal tuft of leaves is developed annually a long flower scape seven feet to ten feet high, branched and covered with long star-shaped, waxy-white flowers which are deliciously frag- rant. Young plants bloom when only a few feet high; there was one in bloom in the Winter Garden at Kew in 1896; this had a stem a yard long, a flower spike six feet long and was an object of great beauty. A Remarkable Lake In America is a lake in which fish can be both caught and cooked. It lies in America's great recreation ground, the Yellowstone-park, where there are various hot springs. Situ- ated twenty feet from the margin of one sheet of cold water is a limestone cone, and in the centre of this is an inactive geyser, a spring constantly bubbling with hot water. By stand- ing on the edge of the cone a fisherman may catch a trout and land it in the hot spring, where it is cooked in a few minutes. The cone rises several feet above the surface of the lake, and encloses the hot spring like a wall.
[No title]
A primer of Pitman's shorthand adapted to Esperanto has been published. Esperanto has been published.
EXCURSION STEAMER SINKS. t
EXCURSION STEAMER SINKS. t A message was received on Tuesday morning from Lloyd's agent at Guernsey, that the steamer Courier, of Guernsey, struck a rock off fthe south end of the island of Jethou and sank immediately. The Courier had on board a crew of nine and about twenty passengers, and she foundered soon after leaving Sark on the return to Guernsey after a day's excursion. The majority of the passengers and crew succeeded in clambering on to the rocks, whence, they were rescued' by steamers which put out from Guernsey. A man named Thorburn, of Edinburgh, was drowned and' several were reported missing. The weather was quite clear, and no explana- tion of the disaster is available. The rocks on which the steamer struck are well known to local navigators, and are visible from Guernsey. There are two Guernsey vessels named Courier. One of them, built in 1883, is of 151 tons and belongs to Messrs. T. N. Barbemeon and Co. The other boat is of 105 tons, was ibuilt in 1876, and belongs to the Alderney Steam Packet Company, of which Mr. N. Bar- benson is the manager. Jethou lies three an4 a. quarter milpis east of Guernsey. The island, which is private property, is half a mile in diameter, and contains but one house.
! THE PRINCE AT "GIB."I
THE PRINCE AT "GIB." I Amid Royal salutes from the Atlantic Fleet, fol- lowed by salutes from the land battery, H.M. bat- tleship Renown, flying the Royal Standard, entered the harbour at a quarter past two on Monday afternoon, escorted by H.M.S. Terrible. The ships in the harbour were dressed with bunting, and the Royal Standard was hoisted on the Rock, Mon- tague, Cavalier and Europa batteries and at Flag- staff Signal Station. The Governor went on board the Renown to welcome the Prince and Princess. General Espinoso Monteros, Governor of Alge- ciras, crossed over in the afternoon in a Spanish gunboat to pay his respects to the Prince and Princess. Their Royal Highnesses received him on board the Renown. After a brief but cordial interview, the:General returned to AIgeciras. The Prince and Princess did not land in the afternoon.
DEFENDED BY MR. KEIR HARDIE.
DEFENDED BY MR. KEIR HARDIE. Lord de Ramsey, who has been accused of giving 1,100 allotment holders om his estate notice to quit becatise of the defeat of his brother, Mr. Fellowee, at the recent general election, w-a-s warmly defended: by Mr. Keir Hardie, M.P., at a meeting of the allotment holders at Ramsey (Hunts). Mr. Hardie said he had carefully investigated the charge, and found it to be totally unfounded. The notice to quit was given because of bickerilDgs land dissensions among the allotment holders, he said, and he advised them to form an association to co-operate with the district council, to which Lord de Ramsey was willing to transter the land.
I COLLIERS KILLED BY TRAMS.
I COLLIERS KILLED BY TRAMS. A serious accident, which caused the death of five men and injuries to sixteen others, occurred at the Dowlais Collieries, Abeycynon, South Wales. When the day shift were about to leave the pit, and the men were at the bottom of the shaft, waiting their turn to enter the cage, a full H journey of twenty-eight trams dashed among them. The men were confined in a narrow space, and before they could make their escape were caught by the vehicles. The trams passed over the bodies of many, while others were buried under the coal and timbers unloosened by their passage. Two men were killed outright, and when the rescue party, headed by Mr. Bruce Jones, the manager, arrived at the bottom of the shaft, they found that nineteen men had been injured, many seriously. Some were suffering from broken legs and arms, and others from injured spines. One of the injured men died almost immediately, while the fourth and fifth deaths occurred later. The accident was caused by one link of the chain by which the trams are drawn to the top giving way. I
I INTERESTING ITEMS.
I INTERESTING ITEMS. Dr. John Scott, one of the oldest medical practitioners in England, died at New Maldon in his ninety-fifth year. He was one of the founders of 'the Women's Hospital in Boho- Bquare. Mr. Samuel Sandem&n, solicitor, of A-cering. ton, was awarded C400 damages at Manchester against Major Thomas Sampson Young, of tlfe Indian Army, who slandered htim at a public auction sale. M. Cambon itihe French Ambassador, who wae the principal speaker at the Easter banquet at the Mansion House, said that frankness would always bring about the desired result in negotiating with the English people. The Lord Mayor, in his capacity a.s treasurer of Christ's Hospital, reeedved, on behalf of the governors, the picture painted by Mr, Samuel J. Hodson of the ancient historical oeremony. of "Bowing round," at Christ's Hospital. The Liverpool barque Dunfermline arrived at Belfast from California considerably overdue. During the voyage Captain Woodward was drowned, and ttfhe third officer, John Cutter, Newcastle, fell overboard, but was rescued. The body of a man, aged about forty-five yeans, was found in the Lea a £ Hackney Wick. The legs were tied together wiifch a piece "of cord, which led up to the left hand and then passed round the waist. The right hand, however, was free. The, Army Council liao oroored that in all cases of theft, or -presumed theft, of Govern- ment stores, clothing, or supplies the circum- stances are to be reported at once to the civil police, so as to obtain their assistance for the recovery of the stolen articles. Major-General D. Hadg, C.V.O., C.B., In- spec-tor-General of Cavalry in India, has beenj appointed Director of Mifttary Training e<i Army Headquarters in succession to Major- General, the Honourable Sir. F. W. StopfordT; K.C.M.G., C.B., who will assume the command of the London district on August 9. The King has been pleased to approve the appointmentt of Sir Edward Albert Stone, the Chief Justice, to be Lieutenant-Governor of the of the State of Western Ausfxaliia in the Com- monwealth of Australia. Sir Edward Sbone succeeds Admiral Sir F. G. D. Bedford. The salary is £ 4000 per atinum. I Mr. Sidney H. Godfrey, of Otter, Devon, ihas won the world's championship for speed at the 'international shorthand comresSt at Balti- more. He is credited with the ability to write comtinuously at the rate of 250 words per minute. American writers were qUILte ouit classed. A theatre for children only is to be estab- lished by the municipality of Rio de Janeiro. It has been decided to form a rifle club, to be known as the Press Rifle Club, open to all journalists. It is announced that part of the new Vic- toria Station of the L.B. and S.C. Railway will be opened to the public in the first week in June. Captain John Byron Coulson, a well-known Tibetan explorer, and grandson of the seventh Lord Byron, has just died at Norha-m-on-Trenu The South African importations of iron- mongery for domestic uses last year exceeded in value kl,500,000, and British manufacturers supplied 79 per cent. On the shore of Morecambe Bay was found the body of Mr. H. B. Hodgson, a Lancashire farmer, who had been missing since the general election. Having served fifteen sentences of imprison- ment, for stealing horsee, carts, and Immerse, James Macdonald has just been sent to prison for six months at Manchester for anarher lapse. Despite the fact that he has not attended a p meeting for six months, Lord Wimborne has besn re-elected chairman of the Canford (Dor- set) Parish Council. Soujhwark Guardians have to pull down the old house in Quilp-street known as Jack Sheppard's House" for the purpose of erectJlLg a labour shed on its site. The house to be demolished was one in which, according to local tradition, the notorious prison-breaker resided. Caught in the act of eSinxbing some ra'linga at Westminster, and arrested as a would-be bur- glar, James Horgan remarked frankly to the policeman, "If you knew as much as I do you. would have had me long ago." He was cei tenced (after evidence as to previous convic- tions) to a year's hard labour. Charged at Willetsden with hgging, James SnlQ,¡h fi-a d he was a hard-working man, and had fallen upon evil days. Examine his hands," said the magd'strate". The. gaoler did so, and reported thaft they were hard and horny, as though they were used to hard work. "You are discharged, "said the magistrate, "but don't beg." Alleged long-firm frauds, in which several London and other English business houses are involved, were investigated at Belfast, the ac- cused, John H. Caldwell, commission agent, being, remanded. The Guildhall Corpora ton have succeeded in inducing the Local Government Board to grant their appLication for the restriction of "he Gpeert of motor-cars in passing through the principal Sia'eete of the town to ten miles an hour. Two Hull labourers called an Egyptian sea- man into a house, and after giving him tea, one took up a knife and ordered him to strip. Being frightened, he did so, and was given old clothes in exchange. The alleged offenders were re- manded). When the Bristol Trams way Company was summoned of; the instance of the Watch" Com- mittee for carrying one or two passengers in excess on motor 'buses, the chairman said th-sv action was most frivolous, and the Waich Com- mittee ought to show more commcnsenee. o Bernard Rourke, who struck Miss Cecilia Comeley, a. Leeds school teacher, in a Midland Railway train, and so terrified her that ehe sought refuge on the foo; board whilst the tmin. was travelling at 50 mile-s an hour, was at Tam- worth sent to prison for Blx weeks. Damage to the amount of £ 30,000 was done by a fire which broke ouit. whilst the were at work at 'the woollen mills of Mallinson and Barraciough, Yeadon, near Bradford. Con- siderable difficulty was. experienced- in getting some of the workpeople clear of the building. Vanda Spencer, 15, and Kate nixon, 13, the Noltingham schoolgirls who ran away from home and cam to London, appeared, on remand, at Tower-bridge Court, charged with the theft of clothes at Blackfriars-road. The, Notting- ham police, said both had good characters. They were further remanded. Meiradog, the olde&t. Welsh bard, has cele- brated her ninety-third biirthday. A white-crested sparrow can be seen in \h vicinity of Victory-row, Sowerby,^ Thirslc, fre- quently in company with others of the common brown species. A ladies golf club has been formed for Dorse* and Lady Wimborne his been elected president! and has offered a challenge cup for competition Already fifity have joined. In the Norfolk County-court, on Judge Willis remarking that the ;udgmer,'t debtor was a young lady, the plain tig's solicitor corrected him by saying, Not very young, you know." But she is a. widow," retotf.ed th Judge, "and Ell widows have perpetuai youth." After refusing three applications for vaccina- tion exemption at the Dorchester (Dorset) ioiioe-eourt. Captain Gravener, the chairman of the Bench, dismissed the fourth with th-a re. mark "I know the benefits of vaccination, and have seen them all over the world. I will never grant a certificate of exemption from vacci- nation." It was urged at a meeti-ng of the Cookhami Rural District Council that the cost of motor- car licenses should be largely increased to assist in paying for the greatly increased cost of the upkeep of the roads.
THE BUDGET. ]
THE BUDGET. Tlffe chief points of the Budget introduced by Mr. Asquith in the House o £ Commons on Mon- day art: that there is a realised credit balance of 43,466,000 on the financial year 1905-6 and an estimated surplus for 1906-7 of .23,074,000. The former sum passes automatically to the reduc- tion of the National Debt, and only affects the Budget proposals in this sense-that if there had been no realised surplus, Mr. Asquith Would have had to draw upon other resources for reducing the debt. With the latter sum Mr. Asquith proposes to Abolish the export duty on coal, reduce the tax on tea by a penny and that on stripped tobacco by twopence-halfpenny a pound, add half a mil- lion to the Sinking Fund, make a grant of *135,000 to n-ecesisitous school districts, and im- prove the postal and telegraphic services. The position may be clearly demonstrated in tabular FINANCIAL YEAR 1905-6. ESTIMATED. Revenue X142,454,000 Expenditure m 142,204,000 Surplus 4250,000 ACTUAL. Revenue Hilt X143,978,000 Expenditure 140,512,000 Surplus .£3,466,000 FINANCIAL TEAR 1906-7. ESTIMATED. Revenue £ 144,860,000 *^xj> £ udituro ••• ••• ••• 141,786,000 Gross Surplus v. X3,074,000 This Prospective Surplus of < £ 3,074,000 is to oe disposed of aa follows: w Por the Reduction of Debt 500,000 necessitous School Districts 135,000 postal Reforms 105,000 ^bolition of Coal Duty • 1,000,000 Reduction of Tea Duty • 920,000 balance for Contingencies 414,000 £ 03,074,000. Income Tax.-No change; inquiry into gradu- ated and differential income tax promised. The practice of raising money by loans, Ex- chequer bonds, and Treasury bills to be abolished. Licence taxation to be reviewed by legislation. The Chancellor does not consider it worth his while to make a separate deduction in the case of the tobacco duties, the proposed change in- volving only a trifling sum of money. Great stress was laid by Mr. Asquith en the prosperous trade of the country, to which he attributed the Unexpected expansion of the revenue. In his calculations for the current year he takes into Account the decline in the consumption of alco- hol, and the fact that 1906-7 will include fifty- ttiree Sundays and two Good Fridays. Allowing *or these circumstances, he budgets for a further 'ailing off in the receipts from Customs and Ex- cise. On the present basis of taxation, his esti- mated receipts are as given below, where in each case the increase or decrease, as compared with last year's revenue, is also shown ESTIMATED RECEIPTS, 1906-7. Inc. or Dec. on 1905-6 r-teceipts. £ £ Customs 84,230,000 245,000 Excise 30,200,000 30,000 Estate Duties 13,200,000 •+■ 230 000 Stamps; 8,150,000 30X)00 Land Tax 700,000 20 000 House Duty 1,950,000 No change Property and Income r>T?^r — 31,500,000 + 150,000 Poat Office 17,600,000 + 620 000 Telegraph Service 4,350,000 + 220,000 Crown Lands. 480,000 Suez Canal, &c. 1,100,000 + 1,000 Miscellaneous. 1,500,000 14,000 Total 144,860,000 + 882,000 The income from Tax Revenue—Customs, Ex- cise, Estate Duties, Stamps, Land Tax, House Duty, and Income Tax-is thus £ 119,930,000, Jvhile that from non-Tax Revenue—Post Office, Telegraphs, Crown Lands, Suez Canal shares, and Miscellaneous-is £ 24,930,000. The estimated expenditure of 9-141,786,000 is Blade up as follows — National Deht- £ Interest and Management. 19,195,000 Repayment of Capital 8,805,000 Other Consolidated Fund Services. 1,685,000 In aid of Local Taxation 1,160,000 Army 29,796,000 Navy 31,869,000 Civil Services 29,317,000 Ilevenue Collection 3,212,000 J?oet Office Services. 16,747,000 Total Exchequer Expenditure. £ 141,786,000 POSTAL REFORMS. The postal reforms provided for are:- (a) Reduction of parcel post rates on large preels. For the future parcels weighing 51be. "WIll be carried for 6d.; 71bs., 7d.; and so on ai the rate of Id. per lb. up to lllbs. (b) Reduction of commissions on postal and tnoney orders. Commission on postal orders of 2s. and 2s. 6d. to be reduced from Id. to. td. j and on orders of lis. to 15s. to be reduced from lid. to ld. Commission on foreign money orders Under £1 to be reduced from 4d. to 3d. (c) Extension of the halfpenny rate to docu- ments now charged at the penny rate. (d) Improved postal facilities in rural districts. Three deliveries a day are promised to most parte of the country. THE NATIONAL DEBT. The National Debt on March 31 last stood at £ 788,990,000. The reduction effected during the previous twelve months was £ 7,746,000. It is estimated that in the current year the net reduc- tion of debt will be about £ 9,000,000. Of this total the sum of £ 500,000 is to be provided out of the indemnity payable by China to this country on account of the Boxer rebellion, and there will be the groposed addition to the Sinking Fund of R500,000 from surplus.
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When John Short, an iron fitter, of Leigh, Lancashire, returned from work the other day, "e discovered the dead body of hie wife, hanc- Ing from the clothes-rail in the kitchen. & Elsie Bean, aged three, -was crossing St. Aubyn-street, Devonport, recently, when she knocked down by an electric tram. The ^y was dragged from under the car, and when extricated the child wae dead. At Yeovil on Tuesday, John Reyland, a publi- wag committed for trial charged with the Manslaughter of a master painter named Fol- ett, with whom, it da alleged, he quarrelled "out a pony. ^r- Pierpont Morgan has purchased the Op. j^hbeim collection of ivories and carvings, said be the finest of its kind in Europe, ha Management Committee of the Birming- ci<WiLiberal Unionist Association formally de- in i °,n as the day for the demonstration celebration of Mr. Chamberlain's 70th birth- y.
I PABLIAMENT. I
I PABLIAMENT. I MONDAY. GIPSIESr IN SCOTLAND. I Lord Balfour of Burleigh, in the HOUSE Of LORDS, appealed to the Government to do some- things to rid Scotland of. a band of German gipsies, who not only had committed gipsy-like depredations in various countries, but had actu- ally encamped on the field of Bannockburn. Lord Tweedmouth, in reply, pointed out that these wanderers could not be dealt with under the Aliens Act, and as they were mere birds of passage, who were well able to maintain themselves, there was no reason why action should be taken against them. In the HOUSE OF COMMONS the Chancellor oi the Exchequer made his Budget statement, A House of Commons committee considered the Bill of the City of London Corporation foi the widening of Blackfriars-bridge in connec- tion with the scheme of the London County Council for tramways across that and West- minster bridges and along the Victoria-em- bankment. It was stated that it was proposed to widen the bridge by 30ft. at an estimated cost of £ 230,000. The committee found the preamble proved, but reserved their decision with regard to the tramway scheme until they had a full financial statement in regard to the tramway accounts of the London County Coun- cil.
ILIFELONG SWEETHEARTS. !
I LIFELONG SWEETHEARTS. There's a love tragedy for you. They are not very common nowadays. We generally have money tragedies." Such was Dr. Westeott's com- ment at an inquest conducted by him at Hackney on Saturday. The tragedy concerned William Tullett, a middle-aged man, of West Ham, who drowned himself in the Lea. The curious part of the affair was that Tullett, knowing that he was a strong swimmer, tied his legs together, and also bound his left arm to his side. Tullet's sister said he had been much upset by the death on the previous Sunday of his sweet- heart. Coroner: How old was the lady ? "Witness: Forty-two. Coroner: How long had he been engaged ? Witness: From childhood. My mother and her mother were left widows, and the two children went to school together and grew up together. They became engaged, but never married. Verdict of Suicide during temporary insanity.'
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The efforts" of the Swindon Education Com- tnittee, in encouraging thrift among the school children have been thoroughly appreciated. During the past twelve months 2944 children in the, Swind'on schools have made deposits in the Psst Office Savings Bank amountiing to £ 569. During the last ten years no less than £ 4576 hae been invested, the average number of investors per year being 2290. The latest society formed in Wycombe (Bucks) is a "Cradle Roll." Wlith the advent of addi- tions to families allited with the Baptist Church, mettloora of its congregation are told off to vlisi-t the parents, and the names are addled' to the roll, a watch being kept over the children with a view to their jofinifcig the Sun- day school. President Fallieree gave a luncheon in honour of the Chinese Reform Mission TOW in France studying the political, economic, and military organisation of the country.
CLUB WINDOW.
CLUB WINDOW. t The German Emperor is said to speak French like a Parisian. He is also an excellent English and Italian scholar. Mr. Camilla Flammarion, the celebrated French astronomer, is quite of opinion that in time to come we shall have universal aerial navigation, < < Mattresses made of paper shavings are in two in Germany for soldiers' beds. The shavings are eaid to be more oomfortable than straw, and need changing only once in three years. < < < Mr. Harry Hems, go long known nn an RCCOTYU plished church carver, has jast offered as a gift to St. Sidwell's, Exeter, hisparish church, the great rood which is, he says, his finest work. Exhibited at Chicago in 1893, and at Antwerp in 1894, it was twice awarded the highest attainable honours. King Edward has played many parte in his time, one of them being that of a brickmaker and builder, At Osborne there still stands a small fort which was erected by the King and his brothers many years ago, even the bricks being manufactured by the young Princes. At Balmoral there is a tool- shed, which was entirely constructed by Prince Albert and his sons. 0 0 0 Speaking at Blackburn a few days ago, Bishop Taylor Smith, Chaplain-General to the Forces, said he had often been asked when he was going to begin to smoke. He gave his reply that after- noon When I am cremated." « The Khedive of Egypt has a curious hobby. He possesses a large aquarium of gold-fish, which he endeavours to train into habits of obedience: It is declared that he has succeeded- in inducing a large German carp to rise to the top of its tank on being called by its Royal master. In Nagasaki, Japan, there is a firework maker who manufactures pyrotechnic birds of great size that, when exploded, sail in a life-like manner through the air, and perform many movements exactly like those of living birds. The secret of making these wonderful things has been in the possession of the eldest male child of the family of each generation for more than 400 yeara. <* # Archbishop Davidson, on one occasion, when addressing the members of a. Chess Club, said that though he was not a distinguished chess player, he could claim to be a representative of chess in an unusual degree, for he had seen a good deal of Kings and Queens, had lived in two Castles, and was about the only living man who was both a Knight and a Bishop, so that he represented all the pieces except the Pawn." Of personal insurances, that -,ef Mr. Rodman Wanamaker, of Philadelphia, is the largest in the world— £ 400,000. In the same company are four men, one of them Mr. G. W. Vanderbilt, insured for E250,000 each. These are the biggest things ever done in personal insurance. There has been one other 9400,000 policy. That, ;.however, was a syndicate matter, taken out by the New York Rapid Transit Tunnel Syndicate, upon the life of Mr. John Macdonald, the contractor engaged to carry out their £6)000)000 scheme of railway building. • • The Earl of Harrington has decided to reopen Harrington House at Charing-cross, which has been closed for the past four years, and to use it henceforth as his town residence. The last occupant of the famous mansion in Craig's Court was the Dowager Lady Harrington, who is now a very old lady, having been married as long ago as the year 1839, and who passes the whole of her time in the Isle of Wight. Harrington House, which is being redecorated, possesses a remarkably beautiful interior, with a magnificent ball-room, and a choice collection of pictures. Sarasate, the world-renowned violinist, has taken his instrument all over the world. 'It has been the companion of the forty years of his manhood. Sarasate, my son, wed thy violin, but never a woman," is said to have been the advice which was given him with his first prize at the Paris Con- servatoire, and Sarasate has been true to it. < Among artistic people and those who lean to- wards ritual of all kinds it is suggested that medi- cal men on duty should class themselves with the soldier, sailor, or barrister on duty. Why should the barrister walk about in the heart of London in wig and gown unashamed of his .calling, while the Doctor of Medicine leaves his gown packed up from year's end to year's end. The gown is noi only becolLng, but it lends dignity. < It is stated by the secretary of the Weston- super-Mare Club that when playing on that course a few days ago Mr. Douglas Robinson accomplished an extraordinary drive. The distance from the sixteenth tee to the green is 305yds., and there is a bunker just guarding the green, but Mr. Robin- son is said to have carried the bunker with his drive—that is, to have driven his ball so that it went over the bunker before it touched the ground. In the ordinary way 160yds. or 170yds. represents the carry of a very fine drive. The longest drive (carry and run combined) on record is generally understood to be one done by Mr. Edward Black- well at St. Andrews some years ago, when ho drove his ball 366yds. An interesting story is told of Sam Horrocks, who did so much to build up the Lancashire cotton-prints industry. Once a young gentleman came from London to take up a position in Mr. HorroelKs' office. He was a very genteel youngman and most superior. Alighting from a cab, he espied a carelessly dressed, homely featured man, who was striding along with what looked suspiciously like his dinner tied up in a red pocket handker- chief. "Ah, my man, if you'll carry my bag to Horrocks' place, and walk behind me, I'll give you a shilling," said the new arrival. The man with the red handkerchief picked up the bag and strode off with it—to the railway station. He was Mr. Horrocks. He didn't in the least mind the insult to himself, but he was convinced that no young man was likely to be of any use in his business who was so stuck-up that he was ashamed to be seen carrying a bag in the streets of a strange town. There is in the Art Gallery of the Manchester Corporation one of the most remarkable and characteristic examples of Mr. Holman Hunt's work which is known alternatively as Christ the Carpenter,, and "The Shaddow of Death." The donors were Sir William Agnew and his brother, and the price they paid to Holman Hunt for the picture was £ 10,500. This amount, it is stated, is the largest ever paid for any single work of a living painter, and is in striking contrast with, for instance, the sums received by Reynolds and Romney for some of the masterpieces which now command huge sums when they appear in the auction-room. oK. The London shopkeeper is threatened with a new and'formidable competitor. He has suffered a good deal from the different co-operative stores but these institutions are beginning to lose their charm, and the tradesman has got back some of his custom which he had lost. Now it is reported that a Yankee syndicate is about to establish a number of stores in this country, which are to be run on the most approved Transatlantic principles. Their headquarters Will be in London, but there will be branches in all the great towns of the country. 0 0 Lord Charles Beresford is probably the wittiest man in the Fleet. He has a dose of repartee always ready whenever anyone tries to take a rise out of him, and over and over again he convulsed the House during the Sessions he sat on the Government benches. On one occasion he brought; home from China a Chinese servant named Tom Fat, and who ended by forging the Admiral's name to a number of cheques, for which he was duly punished. Shortly afterwards Beresford was arguing religion With a friend, and he asserted that he a Buddhist has as good a chance I as a Protestant of getting into Heaven. But what about Tom Fat then?" asked the friend. Oh, the fat will certainly be on the fire," was Charlie B.'s trite answer.
ICOUNTRY NOTES.J
I COUNTRY NOTES. OF IMMENSE ENDURANCE. "In the matter of sheer enduranoo who can beat the stormy petcel I" remarks a naturalist. "I once captured ow of these birds shortly after the ship I was in had left the Irish coast for America. Others were captured at the same time, but I tied a piece of red! flannel round the leg of my bird audi, let htm go. The bit of red made it very conspicuous, and it could be easily identified. The bird, wth others that could not be BO readily recognised, followed the vessel right across the Atlantic. Rarely durOhg the daytime was It out of sight, and if for an hour or two at was lost to view whale feeding on the refuse cast overboard, it soon reappeared, and the last seen of it was within a few miles of Sandy Hook, when fit vanished. When the fact is considered that the ship, day and night, went at an average speed of nearly twenty nailes an hour, the feat performed by the dialing "traveller can be appreciated." THE PRIMROSE BEETLE. The Rev. Theodore Wood, a well known authority on beetles, makes an interesting ob- I servation on a little beetle found frequently in the flowers of the plimrooo, and nowhere else. It is a small, brown, flat beetle, and Mr. Wood remarks of it, "How its life is lived nobody knows. Where its eggs are laid, what the grribs feed upon, where the chrysalis be hidden, nobody knows1. Nobody knows, even, why the perfedfc beetle gets (into the pitmre&e blossom. THE jVRITETHROAT. The whitethroat is decidedly the commonest of the warbler tribe, and may be found more or less pLentifully throughout England, espe- cially towards the south. These beautiful and elegant birdfe frequent gardens, thickets, hedge- rows, or the outskirts of woods. From a habit of frequen:tipg, and even build:.ng, amidst nettles, this bird is known in many d'etricte as the "nettle-creeper." The whiitethroat is I WHITETHROAT. I about 5}in. in length; the head and neck are grey; the back, too, is grey, but tinged deeply with brown. The tail is dark brown, the feathers being edgedwJth ru6t-colour, the two outer feaithers, however, are greyish-white, which lis most distinctly perceptible in flight. Like the tail, the wings ase dark brown, each feather being edged! with a light ruety brown the "throat and) belly are white; the breast, sidies, and vent are very pale gray, tinted in a beautiful manner with a dekcate rosy flesh- colour. The male bards arrive in England several days before the females, and they are generally here by the second week in April. The whitethroats at c-ertaiin seasons are real friends to the gardener, as their food, and that of their young, as then almost entirely insecti- vorous. They live principally upoE. caterpillars, small bootloo, and winged insects, catch'ng the latter, in an adroit manner whilst upon the 1 wing; but as summer advances the white- throat takes toll of currants, raspberries, straw- berries, and green figs, and in autumn elder- berries are the staple food. The young, do not obtain the bluish-grey upon the head until the succeedi ng spring, the feathers meanwhile being brown; neither have they the beautiful deli- cate shadie of pink upon the breast until we see them again an England in the succeeding spring, upon their return migration. THE SUICIDE OF ANIMALS. Mania not the only animal that commits sui- cide. Herrings and other fishes have sought death by rushing ashore in myriads regiments of ants, by deliberately marching into streams; swarms of rats, by migrating in the face of their .r -n deadly foes; and even butterflies by flying in immense clouds, straight out to sea. It would be interesting to learn the causes of this appa- rent wholesale and deliberate self-destruction. THE WONDERFUL SPIDER. The universal dislike to Epiders is not really justifiable for various reasons. Take in the first instance their great value to the gardener in destroying many pests. In one case as many as 36 decomposed bodies and skins were found in one web. Again, in their activity, intelli- gence, beauty of workmanship, intrigue in courtship, and last of all their maternal anxiety ItS to the safety of their eggs. All these attributes are in their favour, entitling them to come under the heading of wonders of Nature. The strength of the spider's web is best gauged by the amount of dew that it can hold, and again by its resistance to a strong wind. The globules on the one strand are .the trap whereby the victim is secured until pounced upon by the spider. Not only in spinning webs and snares is the SPIDER'S COMB-LIKE CLAWS. I thread used by the spiders, but trailing behind I them is seen a drag line, which ie of service when the footing is dangerous or insecure, and is of great uste should they fall from & height. I Again, the thread enables spiders to turn them- selves into a sort of balloon should occasion arise. It is noted that young spiders- in par- ticular are enamoured of the proceeding. They raise themselves with abdomen upturned, and allow strands of web to float in the breeze, audi when a sufficiently strong current of air is felt, away the spiders sail over considerable sheets of water. There is a variety cf spider known as the raft spider, who spin together leaves, and thus form rafts on which they embark. The comb-like claws of the foot are useful in drawing out the silken strand in forming the web. MIGRATORY BIRDS. In Spring the thoughts of ornithologiste iupn naturally to the subject of migration. The following are given as the dates of arrival of a few of our summer bird visitors for the present year Wh:eafuar ,-Eastbourne, March 18 chiff- chaff, Mitcham, March H; willow-wren, East- bourne, March 21; house martin, Tenby, March 1; sand martin, Wickham2 Hants, March 23.