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

FROZEN TO DEArrII. A grim tragedy of t-lie sea is disclosed in news received in London of the missing German steamer Soerabaya, which has been discovered completely encased in ice at Nikolaievsk, near the Amur River, with the irozen corpses of the crew on board. The Soerabaya, which was formerly a Dutch East India steamer, took a cargoe of coal out to I Japan during the Russo-Japanese war, but afterwards entered the service of the Russian Government. She took arms and ammunition ¡ intended for the defence of Vladivostok, but was ¡ unable to enter the port owing to the Japanese blockade, and took refuge in the Amur River. Here last October she received orders net to proceed to Vladivostok until after the ratifica- tion of the peace treaty, and accordingly waited her time. Shortly afterwards the vessel disap- • peared. The steamer Erna was despatched in | November last from Vladivostok in search of the I missing ship, but returned, having found no trace of either the steamer or her crew.

II-ELD -UP" BY A LADY. Captain C. E. Kitchen, South Wales Borderers, adjutant of the BreoonslJire Volunteers, latein the evening left his home at Brecon for a neighbouring town. The house is a detached villa, backing on to fields and woods, and while Mrs. Kitchen sa-t sew- ing in the study, awaiting her husband's return, she heard a slight but suspiciolls noise. Running upstairs she seized one of her husband's revolvers, and searched the study. As she pulled aside tho curtains which screened the french window open- ing on the lawn a man stepped out. "Move and I'll shoot you," cried Mrs. Kitchen, covering the man with the revolver. He slunk iback, Mrs. Kitchen ordered him to pull up the blinds and open the window, and at the point of the revolver marched him across the lawn to the road. Then the man fled. The revolver was un- loaded.

KING ALFONSO'S RETURN. ——— The Spanish Royal yacht Giralda, with King I Alfonso on board, after his visit to Princess Ena, entered San Sebastian bay at half-past nine on Sunday morning, and was greeted with a Royal salute from the citadel guns. The King landed I after hearing Mass on board the yacht, and pro- ceeded immediately to the station, where he took the express train for Madrid. I

STAGGERED BY A SENTENCE. I Thomas Carpenter, a motor driver, of Northfield- lane, Ealing, was sentenced to a month's imprison- ment at Guildford for driving to the common danger at Shalford, and failing to stop when called upon to do so by the police. His speed was stated to be tjiirty-seven and a half miles an hour. Carpenter, who seemed staggered at the sentence, gave notice of appeal. There were seven previous convic- tions.

STRANGE RAILWAY MISHAP. I A passenger train to Cathcart was slowing down to enter East Pollok shields Station, when the engine jumped some points, and the three first carriages were derailed. One of them went through a dividing wall and collided with a train from Cathcart for the city, but this train was for- tunately at a standstill. The whole side of one of the inbound carriages was smashed. Only one passenger was injured-a Miss Bessie Hill, aged '20. Other passengers in the compartment with her had narrow escapes.

KIDNAPPING CASE APPEAL, I Thomas Irving Duguid, who was convicted in March last of conspiring with Mrs. Florence Mary Chetwynd to kidnap Mrs. Chetwynd's daughter and remove her from the custody of Mr. Christo- pher John Leyland, her lawful guardian, who was sentenced to nine months'imprisonment and a fine of V.100, appealed on Saturday in the Court for the Consideration of Crown Cases Reserved against his sentence. Duguid based his appeal on the point of law that as a mother could not be charged with con- spiring to kidnap her own child, he could not be convicted of conspiring with her. The Lord Chief Justice held that the mother's immunity did not extend to any other person, and dismissed the appeal.

ATTACKED BY A BABOON. 1 On the Comrie Castfcle, which arrived at Ply- mouth en route from the Cape r o Loudon, was a large collection of zebras, baboons, and other animals. When a week ou,t from Capetown a large. baboon, standing 4ft. 6in. high, broke out of its cage, and although confined to the thold resided capture for 'three days, during which half a bottle of whisky and a quantity of opium were given to it without effect. Before it was re-captured the baboon savagely attacked and bit its owner, the keeper, and the boatswain of the liner.

A little boy named Pacia, eleven years old, hanged himself in his home, at Paris, because he had accidentally killed his brother, It is proposed that an Imperial Box," for the accommodation of the Mikado, shall be con- structed in the permanent wrestling house which is to be built in Tokio. Fred Coles, a Grimsby football player, has "been engaged to teach the game to a club com- posed of the sons of shipowners and merchants at Gothenburg, Sweden. The Congregational Total Abstinence Associa- tion reports 2650 out of 3000 Congregational tninisters are total abstainers. Forty years ago Duly 400 were teetotalers. A motor-car firm at Dundee has made an offer to purchase one of the city churches for the pur- pose of turning it into a garage. The offer will "be laid before a full meeting of the congrega- tion. A motor road between Bankkok, Siam, and Tenang, Straits Settlements, is under considera- tion. The distance will be 700 miles, and the object is quicker postal communication with JPurojae. A man who answered a. summons for causing ft horse to be worked in an unfit state told the Guildhall magistrates that one of the horses was his, but 1110 was buying the other on the hire system, and had paid over £6 out of about X21. "If you pay no more, the alderman, re- marked, "the seller may take his horse back. I shall adjourn the case to see if he will con- sent to have it destroyed." A pair of large pearl earrings, in diamond mounts, with pearl-shaped pearl drops and fcouton pearl tops, which once belonged to .Marie Antoinette, were sold at Christie's to Mr. Lindenbaum for £ 550. They were given by the unfortunate French Queen to it,he Duchess of Angoulenie, who left them to her daughter, the Grand Dlichees Alix of Tuscany. The Grand Duchess gave them to the present vendor. Having completed saccessful trials on the a, "Firth of Clyde, the new Japanese, battleship Katori was taken to Glasgow for finishing touches-

A MAN OF THE MOMENT. j Sir Nicholas O'Conor, who is looking after British interests during the present crisis be- tween this country and Turkey, is 63 years of &ge, having been born in Ireland in 1843. SiT SIR NICHOLAS O'CONOB. Nicholas has completed forty years in the dip- lomatic service, and has been his Majesty's representative since 1895. He has also held positions at Berlin, The Hague, Rio de Janerio, Paris, Pekin, Washington, St. Petersburg, and in Bulgaria.

"TRUE WOMANHOOD." In the course of an address on True Woman, hood and the downward grade in the present day," the Rev. E. Husband, vicar of St. Michael's Church, Folkestone, said that every advancing year told the tale that people by crowds were giving up God for the world. One of the worst instances of this downward grade was the yearly- increasing number of women who were turning their backs upon their true and noble position in the world, and trying to figure, by their con- duct and demeanour, as men. Look, for instance, at the golf links, and see the daily increase of women who were forsaking home to play a game only suitable for men. After condemning cycling as unfit for women, the rev. gentleman strongly criticised smoking by women on the railways. A guard told him a few weeks ago that often of late he had noticed ladies puffing cigarettes in the carriages as he passed up and down the platforms at different stations. The disgraceful scene in the Ladies' Gallery of the House of Commons recently was only another evidence that matters were going from bad to worse. True womanhood was one of the most beautiful creations of God, and we looked to the home for it.

LORD CHARLES BERESFORD. Lord Charles William de la Poer Beresford, commanding the Mediterranean Fleet, which has just set off to the East, presumably to teach the Sultan a lesson if he does not give way promptly, is one of the most popular men ia LORD CHARLES BERESFORD. I the Navy, and out of it. He entered the eer* vice as a cadet on board the Britannia in 1859. He was in command of the Condor at the bom- bardment of Alexandria, and was mentioned in despatches for conspicuous gallantry. From 1903 to 1905 he was in command of the Channel Squadron.

TO DO HIS BEST FOR HER. Mr. Herbert Maurice Bevis, aged fifty-two, for thirty years manager of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank at Shanghai, committed suicide by shooting himself at a club in St. James's- street. At the inquest at Westminster a letter from Mr. Bevis to Mrs. Bevis was read, in which he said he was going to do his best for her, and had asked the bank to put the £5,000 Japanese loan in her name." He explained that he was wrong in his income-tax returns, but he hoped the bank would remember her well. A verdict of Suicide during temporary in- sanity was given.

"I look in dust-bins for cloth cuttings, out seldom find any," was the mournful plea of a tramp charged at Marlborough-street. Mr. Plowden: Ah, life is full of disappointments. You don't find your cloth, others get all the dust, and you run the risk of imprisonment. You may go." If the Workmen's Compensation, Bill is passed in its present form, it will be the death-knell of the British sailing ship. In the first fight in Zululand for the capture of the rebel Bamfeaata, one hundred natives armed with 'knobkerries attacked a force of Mounted Rifles. Four of -the enemy wero killed.

I A RACING AGE. I Two fatalities due to motor-buses were inves- tigated by Coroner Wyatt. In one case the driver said his pace at the time of the accident was five miles an hour. The Coroner I do not suggest that you were travelling fast, but the pace I see some of these motors travel, whirling and banging about the streets, it looks to me more like 25 miles an hour. The roads are positively unsafe for pedes- trians as well as cyclists. Railway level crossings are a playground to them. Just tell the jury what you can do in the way of speed when you have got a good opportunity. Witness Twelve miles an hour is our limit. I suppose you get up races now and then?— The police siee to that; there is no benefit in racing. The Coroner This is a racing age, you know. Where I live-Brixtoll-hill-the motors come whirling along in clouds of dust at 20 and 25 miles an hour, and the police take no notice. Verdicts of "Accidental death were returned.

MONDAY. THE EDUCATION BILL., An interesting discussion took place in the HOUSE OF LORDS regarding a recent order of the War Office prohibiting the sale of spirituous liquors in the canteens of Yeomanry camps. By several speakers the order was denounced as a piece of grandmotherly legislation that was both annoying and irritating. The Earl of Ports- mouth, who replied for the Government, inti- mated that the only relaxation the Army Council were prepared to admit was that, subject to the sanction of the General Officer Commanding, Yeomen might, at their midday meal only, have such class of drink as they desired. The battle over the Education Bill of the Government commenced in the HOUSE OF COM- MONS, Mr. Wyndham moving its rejection in a speech in which he argued that it violated the principles of religious liberty, and demonstrated that the Government had abandoned the position of neutrality which had always been maintained in reference to the religious instruction, if any, which parents desired for their children. Sir Henry Fowler defended the Bill as just and necessary, and thereafter the attitude of the Roman Catholics, the Nonconformists, and the Jews towards the Bill was presented by the hon. members representative of these and other bodies.

STRUGGLE IN A CHURCH. Miss Lucy Gardiner, the organist at Carrick- macroes Protestant Church, summoned James Ambersley, the sexton, for assault, and a story of a, struggle in the church was told. Miss Gardin.e,r went to the vestry for some music. Ambersley wais, there, and he caught -her by the wrists, pushed her down the aisle, and; carried her into another vestry. She managed to free herself, and she then threw over him a bucketful of water, which had been placed in the vestry in readiness for a baptism. It was stated that Amherslev had been drink- ing, and had since been discharged from hie position by the church officials. He was sen- tenced to three months' imprisonment, and- ordered to find bail for his subsequent good: behaviour, or undergo an additional month in; gaol.

RUNNING UP THE DEBTS. "It is perfectly absurd for you to have treated this, debt of 8B. 6d. in the way you have done," said the Bow County-court judge to a woman. On coming into Court the debt rose to 10s. 6d.; no notice being t'aken of it it was now 14e. 9d. and, if a. warrant wast issued it would be 16s. 3d. "The money would have* been paid long ago if the plaintiff foact not a&ked me for it in the street," said the wife of a defendant. in another- case. His Honour: You owed 3ts. Id. now i;. is tti. IW. and! to-morrow it will be 8s. lOd. Your pride has 'become very expensive.

íf Snyw fell heavily in many parts of the. Mid- lands, accompanied by a keen wind. Much damage to crops and flowers is reported. An Edgware-road tramway, which was he- fore the House of Commons Committee, will,, if sanctioned, be promptly constructed from the Marble-arch to Crioklewood by the Londoo Ccuinfy Council*.

FRUIT SKINS IN THE STREET. I The Local Government Committee of the London County Council propose to ask the Council to extend the by-law now in force forbidding, under a penalty of 40s., the throwing down in the streets of waste paper, refuse, advertising bills, broken glass, &c., by making it apply to orange and banana peel. The additional clause reads No person shall deposit in any street or public place to the danger of any passenger the rind of any orange, banana or I other fruit, or the leaves or refuse of any vege- table." I

BODY FOUND IN A BROOK. I A terrible discovery was made at Carrick- fergus, near Belfast, when the body of a young farmer named William Martin, was found lying in a stream which feeds the Belfast water supply reservoir. On the head were four wounds, any of which was sufficient to cause death, and the body bore traces of other injuries. The police are investigating the case.

CONSERVATIVE ORGANISATION. I U uèLer the, presidency of Sir Alexander Acland Hood, M.P., the chief Conservative Whip, an adjourned meeting of a joint committee com- poeedi of members appointed) by the National Union of Conservative Associations (who have been sifting for two months under the chair- manship of Mr. Imbert Terry) and, of members appointed by (the Chief Conservative Whip, was held at Westminster on Tuesday evening. The committee unanimously agreed to the transfer of most important functions from the Conserva- tive Central Offices to the National Union, and also to the appointment of a, standing committee to advise and confer on masters concerning the intereslts of the party. Mr. Balfour attended' Tuesday's committee meeting, and after thank- ing its members for what they had5 already done to give effect (to the resolution passed! at the Newcastle Conference, he urged1 the committee to take immediate action to bring the National Union into closer relatione with the party in the constituencies throughout the tountry.

WORK OF SUNDAY SCHOOLS. ——=— Mr. Augustine Birrell, President of the Board of Education, speaking at a meeting of the Sunday School Union, Gaid he supposed that all men agreed that the best atmosphere for religious instruction was in the Sunday school rather .than in the elementary school, devoted to secular knowledge. No doubt a religious education needed a religious atmo- sphere, but lie should have thought. that the redigioue atmosphere was to 'he found in Sunday schools which, receiving, a3 they did, little recognition or none a4, all from t.h.e State, were for tha purports of the present controversy ignored altogether, until it seemed, to be held tuafc only in public elementary State-aided 6choole could religion be properly imparted.

DAMAGES FOR ARREST. A gardener, George Limm-er, of New Brighton, was at Birkenhead awarded £15 damages and costs, against Police-inspector Button for illegal arr-est, assault, and false imprisonment. The officer suspected Limmer of betting in the street, and asked him to go to the police station, where he was searcEfeS. Two informations which were laid against Limmer by the police for frequenting the street for betting purposes were dismissed, and an assize jury returned a verlict of not guilty against him on a charge of perjury preferred by the police. The judge said he was satisfied the police had no right to arrest or imprison Lirn-mer.

COUNT'S ADVENTURE. I As a, result of a charge of suicide brough-, 1 against Count Gosta Euetron, a Finnish noble- man unable, to c-peak English, and how lying in Brixton Gaol Infirmary, a remarkable story of robbery with violence is being investigated by the police. The Count left his hotel on April 23, and after walking about for some time had his boots cleaned by a bootblack. By sighs he made it understood that he wanted something to eat, and was taken to a public-house, wnere he met two men—one a short man and the other tall and powerful, and carrying a guitar. They mads him drunk, robbed him of £ 200, which he had in his pockets, and finally kicked him into the gutter. Another £ 150 in sovereigns was found among the Count's be- longings.

NON-COM." AND COLONEL. Colonel McGregor, president of the court- martial which triedl Quartermaster Sergeant Grainger, of the School of Army Signalling, on a charge of having made false statements against Colonel O'Leary, oonin-iaiidaiat of the school, announced thait the Court had found the; prisoner not guilty, and he was honourably acquitted. Amongst other things, Grainger was credited with the. statement ttet Colonel O'Le-axv had given instructions that Grainger's life should be made, a misery. Counsel for the defence urged that the prosecution had to prove that the accusations were false, and! that GrairigTr knew them to be false. This they had quite failed to do.

I SUNK BY AN ICEBERG. I The captain and crew, numbering 37, of the London steaaner Anglo-Peruvian, picked up by the ISH. Mohawk, of Bristol, and landed at YVeymoi* h, had an exciting experience. This vessel left the Tyne on April 10, and ten days later, when off Newfoundland, ran into the track of icebergs. Throughout the day the dangerous floating ice-masses were avoided, but towards evening, and) in rather thick weather, the steamer came irto violent coLlision with a ber.g. She sustained extensive damage to 3n>e.r hull, With the result, that tine fore-hold filled rapidly. For some three or four hours- the crew worked desperately to save the steamer, but their efforts were unavailing. With great suddenness she listed over, aia4 so as not to ex- pose his crew to unnecessary danger the capitain ordered the ship's boats to be launched and pro. visioned. Scarcely had! the crew left the vessel when she foundered. The Mohawk, having ob- served the Anglo-Peruvian's distress, stood by, and after the vessel sank took fcihe crew on board.

I FOR NOT GOING TO CHURCH. At the opening of the new chancel in Brough- ton parish church, Preston, the Bishop of Man- chester (Dr. Knox) said sbme people excused themselves for not attending church because it was too hot, others because it was too cold, while others had a friend come to stay with them, and from such excuses it would be imagined that service in church was a kind of political meeting or a place of entertainment, where people might go or stop away, just as they felt disposed. Whoever went to church with the desire to be alone with God would not be kept away by such trifling excuses.

I A RAILWAY MYSTERY. I An open verdict was returned! at Southamp- ton at the inquest on Mr. Stephen Sewiardl Pearce, an ex-sheriff of the borough, whose dead body, terribly mutilated, was found on the line near Millbrook. How deceased got on the rail- way is a mystery, Mr. Pearce was for many a member of the Southampton T,own Council, and later filled ,the office of sheriff of the borough. He was Past High Chief Ranger of the Ancient Order of Foresters, and was years ago a well-known patron of the sport, promoting many rowing matches.

F —- The prize in a competition at Hildenborough, Kent, was won by a piece of needlework made on her deathbed by a girl of fourteen. Jane Sowerby, ninety-one years old, of Leeds, was found on the fender in front of the fire with her dress in flames. She was burned to death. The representatives of the Powers will meet at Geneva on June 11 to reconsider the clauses of the Red Cross Convention in the light of modern methods of warfare. A volume of Moore's Melodies will be pre- sented to Princess Ena as a wedding gift by the members of the Moy Mell Children's Guild attached to the Children's Hospital, Temple- street, Dublin. It was stated at the meeting of the Knares- Dorough Beard of Guardians that there had been a great many changes in the nursing staff during the last few years, and that it cost 920 a year to advertise for nurses.

TUESDAY. THE EDUCATION DEBATE. The Earl of Denbigh initiated an interest- ing debate in the HOUSE OF LORDS on the subject of local taxation. Speaking for the Government, the Marquis of Ripon gave the assurance that they were daterniined to deal with the subject in a comprehensive spirit, and taking valuation: as lying at the root of the whole problem. Mr. Lloyd-George resumed in the HOUSE OF COMMONS the debate on the second reading of the Education Bill, declaring that it was- the only logical settlement of the educational problem. Sir W. Anson, on the other hand, insisted that the minority, however small, would try to bring to the knowledge of every home in England the injustice and the tyranny which the measure proposed to inflict. The debate WaIS continued until, at eLeven o'clock, it was automatically adjourned.

THE PRINCE'S WELCOME. I England gave the Prince and Princess ol Wales a great and stirring welcome home on Tuesday. Brilliant weather prevailed at Portsmouth, and early in the morning the Channel Fleet at Spithead and the .ships in harbour were dressed with bunting. At half-past eight the Royal children embarked! in the Admiral's barge., and proceeded on board the, Renown to meet their parents, with whom they remained until landing. At eleven o'clock, at a, signal from the Ex. mouth, all the warships were manned, and cheers were raised and Royal sakitea fired as the Renown left to enter Portsmouth Harbour, with the Prince and Princess and their family standing on the bridge. Further salutes were fired by the garrison batteries and the iships in harbour as the Renown approached the South Railway Jetty, where the principal officers of the port and garrison and naval and Marine guards of honour were, assembled. The band on the jetty played the National Anthem, and then the escorting cruiser Terrible passed1 close to the Renown on the way to her own moorings, the Terrible's crew manning ship and singing, "God bless the Prince ol Wales," wliicYi they followed with, ringing cheers. The local commanding officers accom- panied the Duke and Duchess of Teck, Prince Francis, and Prince and! Princess Alexander of Teck, on board the Renown. Landing at three, o'clock, the Prince and Princoas was presented with an addirtesis on the dockyard jat.tv by the Mayor and Corporation, to which the Prince replied: — "The Princess, and I desire to thank you sin- cerely for the kind! words, with which you, in the name of the inhabitants of Portsmouth, welcome us to-day on our return to England. We earnestly trust- that the good results which you anticipate from our visit to India may be realised. We are, thankful to God that we have returned in safety to our beloved country and in the enjoyment of that good health, with which we have been blessed during our travels." After taking leave of .prominent officials their Royal Highnesses, with their children and the rest of the Royal party, entered a special train and left for Victoria, amid Royal salutes from the warships and garrison. Among those, who waited on the crimson carpet at Victoria Station to greet the Prince were Lord and Lady Roberts, and their daughters, Lord Amphill, Lord Curzon, Lord Tweedmouth, the Chief Commissioner of Police, Mr. John Morliey, the Duke of Fife, tand nearly every other "relative or connection of the Prince, and Princess in London, including Prince and Prin- cess Christian and Princess Louise Augusta of Selites wig-Holetein, Princess. Henry of Baitten- foerg, and Princess Ena, the Duke. and Duchess of Connaught, and Princess Patricia. By the time the King arrived, a specially hearty cheer heralding the approach of the familiar figure in naval uniform, a throng of nearly a hundred people musit have been wait- ing to take official or formal, part in the recep- tion. When the Prince appeared at the window the King immediately grasped both hie hands, and next moment had stepped quickly into the carriage, 'and kissed, his son on both cheeks. After itlhe, Royal family had exchanged1 their warm and 'affectionate greetings, the King and the Prince acknowledged the salutations of their subjects, and talked or laughed with a score of them for a space of nearly a quarter of an hour. Then the guard of honour was inspected by the King and the Prince, and lastly Prince and Princess and their three elder children (squeezed into the prettiest group on the front seat. of the. landiau--se,afecl themselves in their carriage. They drove off first, escorted by the squadron of Horse Guards, and the moment that they left the and emerged into the opem air they were greeted by a storm of cheers. The King gave his. son plenty of law, and waited two or three minutec, before following him, without escort. But the crowd was waltang for the King, too., and he did not escape without a similar cheer as he, too, came into sight on the way to Buckingham Palace.

PROPHETIC CURATE. The Rev. Meredith Morris, curate of Grath Church, Maesteg, conducted a service 2iD memory of the young man whose death- he had foreseen in a vision. The church was crowded, and a high degree of excitement was aroused by te urate's frequent pauses to overcome hie sobbing, and by his dramatic singling out of various members of the congregation,' and charging them with sin. "I can see through you all," he cried again and again. He demanded that all should pray for the young men whose sins were, a special burden on his his soul; and dfectared that he would' know by ten o'clock how many had prayed as he re- quested. Incidentally, he prophesied his own death in the near future. At the close of his address the curate said that he would not make public reference to his vision again.

Noticing a collie dog covered with blood, a gardener employed at the Regent's-park Theo- logical College, went to a potting shed, where ie discovered Samuel Earney, 46, a fellow work- man, with his throat cut. I was tempt6d by the devil, and could not overcome it," said Ejarney, who expired in hospital. Suicide while temporarily insane," was the jury's ver- diet.

I FAMILY GOES MAD! I From the remote district of Drumgonnelly, co. Fermanagh, comes intelligence of an extraordinary outbreak of madness, the victims being an aged woman, named Carroll a rut her son and daughter. The police we,re informed on Monday^ morning of the affair, and, accom- panied by the, local doctor, went to the Car- rolls' bfouse. They found 'the dwelling strongly c barricaded, and only after considerable' effort the. officers succeeded in effecting an entrance. The inmates at ance showed fight, and attacked the police and several of the neighbours, ulti- mately ejecting .them from the house. This accomplished, they bolted the door. Reinforcements of police arrived soon after, and the door was smashed in. The Carrolls retreated to a room, armed- with It hay fork and a steel graip. A terrible scene of violence ensued, and it was only strength of numbers that enabled the police eventually to secure the frenzied occupants. Their weapons: were t'aken away, and the mother, son, and daughter were conveyed to the police barracks. Two local magistrates attended subsequently, and held a special court,, and on the information of the doctor the unfortunate trio were committed to the nearest, asylum, which is at Omagh, co. Tyrone. The head of the household is an old man bor- dering on 90 years of age, and no reason can be assigned for the visitation of insanity.

I PRESIDENT OF THE R.A. I The President of the Royal Academy, Sir Edward John Poynter, who took the place of honour at the annual banquet, has no subject picture at the exhibition this year. However, he is seen to great advantage in his portrait of the Duchess of Northumberland, while his Be- linda," in the water-colour room, recalls some SIR E. J. POYNTER. I of the best work of his early days. Sir Edward, who has been President of the Royal Academy since 1896, was born in Paris in 1836. He was educated at Westminster and Ipswich Grammar School, and studied art in English schools from 1854 to 1856, and in Paris, under Gleyn, from 1856 to 1859. He became an Associate of the Royal Academy in IB69.

SAVED BY A COUGH. I A boy's cough prevented what might have been a, serious fire at the Essex Industrial School at Chelmsford. Early in the morning the night nurse heard the cough, and going to the sick ward, saw smoke rising from the floor. The patients were removed to a place of safety and the floor was ripped up, and the joists under the fireplace were found to be on fire. A few buckets of water put an end to all danger. There are about 150 boys in the school.

OLD LADY WANTS ADVICE. I An old woman, neatly dressed in black, entered the Court of Appeal and asked the advice of the judges. She said that several years ago she bought a valuable etching by Rubens for a small sum, and that in the year that Queen Victoria died it was sold for JZII,000, but that she had never received a penny of the money. Lord Justice Vaughan Williams having explained that the court was not one of first instance, and had no power to help her, the old lady retired.

A GENEROUS DONOR. I Sir William Dunn, Bart., of Kensington, hal given the magnificent sum of £ 50,000 to the given the magnificent sum of £ 50,000 to the Presbyterian Church of England. One of the trustees of the gift is the Rev. C. S. Scott, of St. John's Presbyterian Church, Kensington, where Sir William attends. The conditions, he says, include the devoting of a part of the money to Church extension work, and to estab. lishing an additional chair of theology at W-efilt- SIR WILLIAM DUNN. I minster College, Cambridge. This is not the first gift that Sir William Dunn has made to the Presbyterian Church in England and South Africa. He was created a baronet in 1895, and represented his native town, Paisley, in Par- liament from 1891 until the recent general elec- tion, when he retired. He is the senior partner in the banking and mercantile firm of William Dunn and Co., Broad-street-avenue and South Africa.

MOTOR-CAR TURNS SOMERSAULT. A motor-car, containing Mr. W. Bansted, of Westfield, Wimbledon-common, and Miss Harne, was descending a steep hill at Titsey, near Limps- field, when the brakes failed to act, and the car rushed down the hill at a tremendous speed. At the bottom it crashed into a park fence, and turned a complete somersault, throwing the occu- pants out. The lady was terribly injured, and the car was wrecked. s=

The wife of a Blackburn traveller named Houghton administered oxalic acid to herself and her boy, aged four. Both have since died. Presiding at the annual conference of the Sunday School Union, the Lord Mayor of Bris- tol remarked that he started the Sunday School Union more than 34 years ae-o.

I CONVICTS' RELIGION. 'I By the desire of Mr. Hay Morgan, M.P., a return as to the religious creed of every convict in prisone outside Ireland, has been issued by the Home Office. This document reveals the fact that there is one solitary Spiritualist at present in prison, in Aylesbury Gaol. There are also in English and Welsh prisons ono Quaker, one Plymouth Brother, one Christian Brother, and one Wa-ldensian. Twenty-six prisoners in. English and Welsh prisons have no religion at all, and the religion of one could not be ascertained. The rest-, however, are distributed at follows, :-Churcn, of England, 16,089; Roman Catholic, 4,397 Jews, 257; Wesleyans, 352; Methodist New Connexion., 8; Primitive Methodists, 65; Bible Christians, 5; United Methodists, 8; Methodist Free Church, 2; Calvanistic Methodists, ,29; Congregationalists, 53; Presbyterians, 79; Bap- tists, 132 Salvation Army, 11; Unitarians, 13 ;j Greek Church, 4; Lutheran, 19; Mahometan and Buddhist, 3; and Atheists, 22. In Scottish prisons: there are 1,724 Presby- terians, 981 Roman Catholics, 146 Episcopa- lians, 1 Lutheran, and 5 Jews.

"SOME SORT OF BUSINESS." The trial of the two men, Charles Henry Houghton and Hedley Howard, alias Gay, who were alleged to have run a bogus theatrical agency in the Strand, was concluded at the Old Bailey on Saturday. The jury returned a ver- dict of guilty against both prisoners. Detective-inspector Dew informed the Re- corder that the prisoner Houghton had been carrying on "some' sort of a businesa" in the- theatrical agency line for the past twenty years.. Although he might have done some genuine business, he (Dew) believed he was correct- in. saying that he, had made a practice of swind- ling ■stage-etruck girls. In 1900 he obtained premiums from a number of girls, who were afterwards left stranded at Dorking. lIe sent another party to Wolverhampton, and they too, were, stranded'. In September, 1903, he obtained Z163 from. ,a girl under the pretence that he could secure.- for her star" engagements at West-end music- halls. The only post he .obtained for her, how- ever, was a situation at a South London music- hall at thirty ,shillings a week. One woman who left her husband to go on the stage had; been ruined by the prisoner Houghton, and was now in the workhouse. The prisoner Iloward; had been advertising for a partner for the "Royal Fisheries" at Sunibury. The place consisted only of ia small cottage, with hoiles. in the back garden, which the prisoner called fish-ponds. The Recorder sentenced' each man to twelve monthst hard labour.

FAINTED ON THE STAGE. There was a painful incident during the last act of A Girl on the Stage," the new version. of the Little Cherub," at the Prince of vV ale," Theatre on Saturday evening. Miss Ruth Vin- cent, who played Molly Montrose, the heroine, and who had been very warmly received on her London re-appearance, was about to sing a new song-" Laughter and Love." The singer was alone on the stage, the orches- tra was playing the opening ba,rs of the song" when Miss Vincent suddenly swayed and fell in, a dead faint. The attendants hurried to her assistance and carried her into the wings, and the actress was able to appear again for the finale. Miss Vincent's charming singing had given a note of real artistic distinction to the first two acts of'the play, and her illness was particularly unlucky.

BREACH OF PROMISE TRAGEDY. Shortly after Oliver John Hine committed suicide at. Longton, by nearly cutting his head off with a circular saw, his brothers found ffim. dead, with a writ for breach of promise bv bis- side, and also a letter addressed to his father, The letter ran:—"Dear Father,—Before you. get this letter I shall be gone. The reason. I have sacrificed my life is because I cannot bear the disgrace that will come out in time. Remember me to all that are near and dear to me, especially to the girl I have been engnged) to. Hoping she will tliink well of me, may- Lord have mercy on my soul. I am mot afraid; to meet death. I have known about this for some. time." Deceased's father, on going into the box at the inquest, sobbed bitterly, and said Oliver- was his favourite iS-on. The engagement of hiss son was broken off when his young lady left; the Potteries district for Yorkshire. The jury" found that deceased cut his throat with a saw- wliile of unsound mind.