The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-09-29 00:00:00

CUTTINGS FROM AMERICAN PAPERS.

A gentleman at an evening-party in the Far West,
observing another gentleman eyeing his umbrella,
stopped the proceeding thus— "You handle that um.
brella, you touch that umbrella, you even look at that
umbrella, and I'll cram it down your throat and then
spread It?"
A Wyoming schoolmistress, while taking down tbe
names of her pupils and of their parents, at the begin.
!sing of the term, spiced one little fellow, "What's
your father's name?" "Oh, you needn't take down
his name; he's too old to go to school to a woman!"
was the innocent reply.
An American lady studied French three years and
than went to Paris and made use of the words :
"When does the omnibus start?" "We have no such
street in Paris," was the prompt reply.
Two ladies from Madison county were re2ently seen
pricing gingham in a shop at Bel, it. One remarked
to the other on the label to the goods :—" See the
American eagle and the motto E piuribus unum—
that's the French for In time of peace prepare for

"I say, Jim, what are you doing there with those
cards ? " observed a gent-4EIIIRn to his coloured gar-
dener. " dojo' some tricks." " Give me a little
evidenee of your ability," said the gentleman There-
upon the coloured men shuffled up the ors in true
magician style, and performed some very clever work
with them. The gentleman dropped a Quarter into
the man's hand, and said to him—" Jim, you are
quite a juggler." "Oh, no, mauve, lam only a negro
man, air." _

"What peculiar shade is that I What could you
call it?" broke in the young lady opportunely turn.
log to a passing costume of dark red, which emitted
spasmodic gleams of indetioite white as it 4 wearer
moved on. "That," replied the elderly lady criti.
callyi as o,ear.t, I should say, to repreeent crushed
r...spoerry upon which the cream had soured."
The reporter of a Now York daily paper went to
see the panorama of " Bunyan's Progress."
On being refused admittance without pa3ing, he said,
"Let me see Mr. Bunyan then ; he will let me in."

THE ENCOUNTER WITH A BURGLAR
NEAR ST. ALBANS.

At the St. Albare County Petty Sessions, on Satur-
day, Thomas Murphy was charired, on remand, with
breaking and entering the dwelling•house of Samuel
Grimwood, at St. Stephen's, near St. Alban'', on the
16th Inst., with intent to commit a felony. Prisoner
was also charged with wounding Samuel Grimwood
with a knife; and he was further charged with
breaking into and entering the house of Walter
Crook, at Elstree, on the night of the 14th September,
and stealing various articles value £1 10s.—On
Sunday morning, September 16, about two o'clock,
Grimwood, hearing a noise downstairs, got up,
and found prisoner in his kitchen. A struggle be-
tween the two ensued, and Mrs. Grimwood, startled
by the noise, rushed downstairs. Prisoner was stab-
bing her husband with a pocket knife, and she caught
hold of the poker and hit prisoner on the hand with it,
to make him loose the knife; as he stuck to the knife
Mrs. Grimwood struck a heavier blow on the hand,
and as this was not effectual she hit him on the head,
which brought him down and nearly stunned him.—
Prisoner: I used the knife to save my own life; I did
not take out the knife till I had been hit on the head
with a poker.—Grimwood: You used the knife before
you were touched with a poker.—Prisoner made a
statement to the effect that he might have used the
knife, but he did not until he had been nearly
stunned by the poker. He did not want to hurt
the prosecutor, but only to save himself.—Grimwood
said the prisoner stabbed him on the head, on
the arm, and on the hand.—Mrs. Grimwood said
that when she went downstairs she heard prisoner say
he would murder her husband; be was stabbing him
at the time.—Mr. Henry James Penny, surgeon, of
Shenley, described the nature of prosecutor's wounds,
and said there was a wound on the bead, one on the
arm, and one on the left hand—a very serious wound,
his thumb being nearly cut off. Prosecutor would not be
able to use his hand for several weeks to come.—Pri-
soner : Is that a knife (produced) for stabbing ?—WU-
nese : I do not think so.—Prisoner: Any one getting a
stab with it the blade of the knife would close, wouldn't
it Y—Witness : I do not think so—Prisoner: Could
the wounds of the prosecutor have been made by
stabs ?—Witness: Yes.—Prisoner: A wound with a
knife must be a clean cut ?—Witness: Sometimes.—
Prisoner was committed for trial at the Assizes, on the
ehargee of burglary at the house of Samuel Grimwood
and of stabbing Grim wood. The other charge of
burglary against him was then taken.—Walter Cronk,
gardener, of Eletree, said that on the night of the 14th
September his house was breken into, and a coat, a
clock, and other articles were stolen, value 30s, in all.
—Constable William Sparkes, stationed at Park.
street, near St. Albans, deposed to finding Cronk's
property on prisoner when he took him into custody
on the previous charge.—Detective Walter Alexander,
of the Metropolitan Police, also gave evidence.—Pri-
soner said he bad bought the things from a tramp he
had been drinking with,—He was co' mitted for trial
also on this charge.