The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-11-16 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FORKIO%,

The life of Cardinal Cullen is to be written by his
nephew, Bishop Moran, who, it is stated, has received a
large number of letters and valuable documents for that
purpose.

It is said that it takes a Japanese girl thirteen hours
to dress tor a party.

- -
The report that the Czar is indisposed is denied
from St. Petersburg.

Advices from the Cape state that fighting has recom•
menced in the Transvaal. An overwhelming force cf Kai'firs
compelled a British detachment 500 strong to fall back, and
attacked it at night, but was repulsed with heavy loss.
An inquest has been held at Coventry on James
Platte, bricklayer, employed on the railway. It transpired
that, while the deceased was crossing the line between
Coventry and Brandon, an express train from Birmingham
came up, struck him, and precipitated the body into a ditch.
Death was instantaneous, his injuries being of a frightful
character. A verdict of "Accidental death ' was recorded
by the jury.

Eighteen of the iron firms of Ashton, Hyde, Staly-
bridge, Newton, and Guide Bridge have given uotiuu ui their
Intention to reduce the wages of skilled workmen 2s. per
week, and unskilled workmen Is. per week, on and after the
14th inst.

The Austrian Minister of War states that the losses
up to the present date in Bosnia amount to about 5,C00 dead,
wounded, and missing, and 20,000 sick. _ _

The Queen has directed that the old tapestries of
liolyrood Palace, which are in a very dilapidated condition,
should be restored at the Royal tapestry works, Old
Windsor.

The electric light is to be introduced into St. Peters-
burg, and the Municipality are considering the best scheme
for lighting the streets by that method.
The death is announced of Lieutenant• Colonel John
Brett, on the retired full-pay list, late of the Rifle Brigade.
The deceased was one of a number of non-commissioned
officers selected for promotion while on service in the
Crimea, and received his commision as ensign in 1854. As a
sergeant he had served with the Rifle Brigade in the Kaffir
war of 1846-7 and that of 1852-3, and received a severe wound
at the battle of Boem Plaats.

A Great Exhibition of National Industry will take
place at Brussels in 1880, on the occasion of the celebration
of the fiftieth anniversary of Belgian independence.
- - - -

Mr. Jacob Bright spoke at a meeting of the Moss-
side Liberal Club in Manchester on Monday, and supported
a resOlution condemnatory of the home and foreign policy of
the Government.

- -
Elks as beasts of burden have been tried across the
Atlantic. At a recent fair in Minnesota a splendid team of
elks was shown whizh could draw a buggy with two
passengers at the rate of sixteen miles an hour, and were
so well broken that a woman might drive them. The experi-
ment, however, has been made before, as in Sweden at one
time elks were used to convey couriers, being able to travel
over 200 miles per diem when attached to a sledge.

All Souls' Day in the Paris Cemeteries this year
Introduced a novelty in funeral decorations. Wealthy
mourners brought strings of pearls, which they draped
round the monument according to taste, the length of the
garland depending on the purse and affection of the relative.
The traditional fmmortelle wreaths with touching inscrip-
tions and the bead crowns were by no means abandoned,
while many persons contented themselves with leaving their
simple card and signature on the tombs of celebrities such
as Thiera and Raspail. The advertising mania, however,
disfigured many graves, for a number of energetic shop-
keepers wrote their names on their own bills and scattered
them on the tombs at Pere Lachaise.

The British Museum has lately acquired a small
fragment of a terra•cotta tablet containing part of the annals
of Nebuchadnezzar. The portion relates to his thirty-
seventh year and a war with Egypt.
In London, on Tuesday night, Mr. Fawcett, M.P.,
addressed a meeting at the Victoria Hall, Bethnal-green, on
the subject of the Government of India, and emphatically
condemned the course being pursued with regard to Afghan
istan.

rn reply to an address presented to him at Wies-
baden, the Emperor William said that besides bodily suffer-
ing he had experienced the pain of being forcibly withdrawn
from his usual sphere of activity. He hoped, however, that
after going through a course of waters at Wiesbaden he
should shortly be able to resume his former duties. A law
Lad now been passed to put an end to criminal tendencies,
and the example thus set would be followed in other
countries, because the danger was common to all.
Arevolution in dancing circles is promised in Paris this
winter. Quadrilles and cotillons are to disappear, and to be
replaced by stately ballets, such as were danced in the times
of the three last Louises, and which will be regularly torga-
nised and rehearsed by the guests. Indeed, dancing alto-
gether is to be far more general than usual, and short dresses
will be largely worn for balls as well as in the street.

-
Shakespeare is greatly relished by the Chinese in
California, and Othello has lately been played at a fi,longolian
rtieatre in San Francisco. Some slight innovations, however,
were introduced to suit local tastes. For instance, the plot
of the tragedy was made to turn entire 3, upon the identifica-
tion of Desdemona's handkerchief, which is recognised to
slow music in the last act by a four-bittee laundryman.
A curious return, just issued (in compliance with an
order of the House of Commons),shows that inquests were held
on 2,140 males and 522 females whose death was caused by
drowning in inland waters during the year 1877. In the cate
of 901 males and 165 females above, and 286 males and 71
females under, twelve years of age, death occurred by drown-
ing in rivers of running waters; 346 males and 101 females
above, and 150 males and 40 females under 12 years of age,
lost their lives in canals ; and 264 males and 80 females
above, and 193 males and 65 females under 12 years of age,
were drowned in lakes or ponds.

The German papers quote some statistics comparing
the proportion of married persons in the populations of the
different countries of Europe. Germany ranks.only seventh
on the list. To 10,000 souls in each country there are in
Hungary, 6,475; in France, 5,566; in England and Wales,.
5303; in Austria, 5 271; in Italy, 5,270; in Denmark, 5,191;
in Germany, 5,107; in Norway, 5,065; in Sweden, 4952: in
the Netherlands. 4,948; in Scotland, 4,678 ; in Belgium,
4,631; in Switzerland, 4,582; audio Ireland, 4,313.

On Tuesday the fund for the relief of the share-
holders or the City of Glasgow Bank amounted k Glasgow
City to £,117,012; in Edinburgh, to £30,000; in Paisley, to
close on £10,100: and in Dundee. to £3,600.

In London on SAturd ay evening, on the arrival of the
continental train at the main line platform of the Charing-
cross terminus, Mr. George Clarke, a retired lace merchant,
just arrived form Paris, stepped on the platform from the
carriage, with two friends, but had not proceededmauv steps
when he suddenly uttered an exclamation, and, throwing up
his hands, appeared to fall down lifeless. His friends had
him conveyed at once to Charing-cross hospital, where life
was found to be extin&.

The use of the whistle in military operations, in pre-
ference to the trumpet or bugle, is advocated by Brevet
Lieut.-Colonel Twentyman, of the lihh Llussars, who has pub-
lished a pamphlet containing some brief instructions on the
subject. Lieut.-Colonal Twentyman alleges that when in
close proximity with the enemy, or in night surprises, a
trumpet or bugle-call frequently gives the alarm, while the
whistle is quite as effective, and far less noticeable.

On Tuesday morning an accident, resulting in the
total destruction of a plate mill, occurred at the ironworks
at Consett A terrific snowstorm, accompanied by lightning,
raged all night, and between five and six, when the storm
was at its worst, the roof of No. 4 plate mill fell and buried
the workmen. Portions of the roof fell on the furnaces and
hot iron, and in a few minutes were in flames. The steam
pipes were smashed, and the escaping steam added to the
confusion. Some time elapsed before all the men were got
out, those most severely injured being carried on stretchers
to the Iron Company's Infirmary, where they were attended
by several medical gentlemen. One man, wilt) had his skull
fractured, died soon afterwards. Most of the night shift
men had left the place a few mimiles before the aCcident
happened.

Daring the whole of Monday afternoon there was a
very heavy fall of snow at Preston, and the town was
enveloped in dense gloom. While the mow was falling there
were sevrsral peals of thunder, accompanied by flashe sf
lightning.

It has long been held that the diamond for its size
Is about the moat costly thing that can be funrid. Young
men, however, who go to fancy fairs, and find thetuselves on
ccming home utterly impoverished as to money, and at the
SAMe time the posseEsor of a two-penny necktie or pen-
wiper are very often inclined to dtubt the statement—
Court Journal.

The Corporation of Liverpool has determined to
PPly to Parliament for powers to enable it to supply electric
lighting to the town, and with that view Mr. G. F. Deacon,
the engineer to the corporation, has visited Paris, with the
view of reporting on the different systems now in use in
that capital,

"The Moscow Gazette has set one of its reporters to
work to gather from the regiments arriving from the seat of
war the songs improvised by the soldiers on the march,
and now popular with the Russian army —Mayfair.
•
The Rev. C. A. Belli, who was for 53 tears vicar of
South Weald, near Brentwood, and who resigned the living
a short time ago, has given a sum of £12,000 towards the
building of a church and its endowment, and for the erec-
tion of a parsonage-house, at Bentley, an outlying district
of South Weald parish. Mr. 0. E. Coope, M.P., who resides
In the neighbourhood, has subscribed £2,000 for the same
objects, and a site for the buildings has been plysented by
Mr. C. J. Mane Tower The ner, church will e,;A about
£8,009, and the remainder of the money subscribed will be
devoted to the endowment.

California is chipping honey to Europe, one vessel
recently taking out eighty seven and a-half tons, valued at
13,069 dols.
At the annual mooting of the Walsall Town Council
on Saturday the profit of the gas works was represented as
£4,000. After all charges were paid three-fourths of this
sum, or an equivalent to a reduction of 7d. in the pound on
the borough rate, was carried to the credit of the borough
fund.

The Electrician says that Dr. Wall, about the year
1670, first observed the existence of electric light, and sug-
gested the resemblance between electricity and lightning.
The annual return just sent to the War Office as to
the state of the 36th Middlesex (Paddington) Rifles shows
that of its entire strength (974) no less than 972 are efficients,
and the two non-efficients are so by reason of illness. The
return includes 91 officers and sergeants holding certificates
of proficiency.

The thirty-seventh birthday of the Prince of Wales
was observed on last Saturday (Nov. 9) with the usual loyal
demonstrations. At Sandringham the Prince and Princess
of Wales received company, and a dinner was given to the
labourers on the estate. In London there were illuminations
at night.
There is no cessation to the torpedo activity of
Russia say. *l.---
or marine warfare have Just been ordered, I hear, at Odessa,
together with five more torpedo cutters, for the Black Sea
Fleet. And this is what the Czar calls placing the Russian
seaboard defences on a peace footing.

Sir Lawrence Palk, M.P., has offered to the Tor-
quay Board of Health a beautifully-situated piece of land
as a recreation ground for the nominal rent of half-a-crown
per annum.

The fashion used to be to collect old coins, then to
collect old china, and now it is to collect autographs. But
Ike old fashion of book collecting seems to be coming
on us again. The meetings of librarians have revived the old
notion.

Mr. Edward Burnham, of Cambridgeport, has pm-
sented to the Historical Society of Massachusetts the manu-
script orderly-book of Colonel Hutchinson, which contains
the general orders of the Continental army from the 13th of
August, 1775, to the Bth of July, 1776. It is a curious
coincidence that the parole on the 3rd of July, 1776, was
"Independence," and the countersign "Prosperity," and
that on the 4th July, the day of Declaration of Independence,
the parole was "Colonies," and the countersign "Free."
"I am informed that Russia is accumulating vast
quantities of medical stores in Bulgaria, more, indeed than
the army of occupation could ever require for pacific pur-
poses. Among the items sent a few days ago from Odessa
was a consignment of one thousand pounds weight of
quinine."—Mayfair.

Forty-three— British and foreign wrecks were re-
ported during the past week, making a total for the pre-
sent year of 1,300, which, compared with the corresponding
period of last year, shows a decrease of 217. The approxi-
mate value of property lost was £500,000, including British,
£210,000. The tonnage amounted in the aggregate to about
10,450 tons.

British travellers on French railways have long
chafed at the objectional Continental custom of keeping
passengers cooped up in waiting-rooms to stare angrily at
the empty train outside and only letting them out at the
last moment to struggle for their seats. The Chemin de Per
de l'Est, however, has reformed its ways, and now allows
passengers on the platform as soon as they have taken their
tickets. It is to be hoped that the other lines will follow
this good example .—Graphic.
A Russian letter informs us that the Turkestan army
Is in " a raging mood" for fighting, and that General
Kauffman has declared that an outlet must soon be found
for their ardour. A large number of officers have applied
for permission to proceed to Afghanistan; but, with the ex-
ception of two or three staff officers, all have been refused,
on the plea that they may be shortly required for service in
Turkestan. The army is discontented that 20,000 decorations
should have fallen to the European forces during the late
war, while many corps have been debarred from earning any
laurels whatever.— Whitehall Review.

The Alliance News publishes a list of 264 members
and electors of the Convocation of the University of London
who have signed the declaration which not only contains an
approval of the Permissive Bill in principle, but also conveys
to the representative of the University in Parliament—the
Right Hon R. Lowe—a request to support the second read-
ing of that measure when next introduced.
At Mr, Murray's annual trade sale dinner held at
the Albion, Aldersgate-street, London, Mr. Smiles's "Life
of Robert Dick" (the Baker of Thurso) was exhibited, and,
the whole of the edition, consisting of 5,000 copies, sold
and orders for 2,000 extra copies.

The question respecting the adoption of a word•rate
for telegrams between England and Germany has been
finally settled. Telegrams from Berlin to England will be
charged from January next at the rate of SO pfennige per
words, which is as near as can be to 3s. for the ten words.

Speaking on Monday night at Birkenhead, on the
occasion of the distribution of prizes to the let Cheshire
Volunte.ra. Mr David Maclvpr ,Theratniatp,i the country
on the Premiei- having been able to speak words of peace on
Saturday night at the Mansion-house. If we have to fight
the Ameer of Afghanistan, it was satisfactory to know that
we ehonld not also have to fight Russia. It c.uld not be
said, however, that Russia had had nothing to do with our
Indian trouble, and the Atneer of Afghanistan had been
looking for help from Russia, but he would look for it in
vain. Russia knew that help to Shere Ali meant war with
England, an event which she wished to avoid, and the result
would be peace.

Native signatures in Mysore frequently illustrate
the occupation of the writer. Thus a cultivator will make a
mark resembling a plough with two dots for bullocks, a
cartdriver the mark of a wheel, a barber that of a razor, &c.
Women make a round mark, supposed to represent a bangle

I heard the other day that when Lord Napier was last
on the coutment he spent several days in visiting the fortifl-
cattors of Belgium incognito, but accompanied by several
members of the Belgian st4ff. Will the campaigns of the
future be once more on the old fighting ground 1—" The
Tatler "in Pictorial World.

The Times of Monday publishes a telegram from
Constantinople which states that the current rumours about
the return of the Russian troops are wholly without founda-
tion. The rumours that the Russians had reoccupied
Tchataldja arose, perhaps, from confounding that place with
Tchatal Burgas. As to the cause of the sudden stoppage
there seems (the telegram says) to be some confusion, not
only in the public mind, but also in the official communica-
tions of the Russian Government.

Lord Derby, writing to Mr. Lewis Appleton as to
the Afghan meeting at Bristol, says he cordially sympathises
with the object in view—the termination of the Afghan
difficulty without war—but it seemed to him impossible to
form any judgment respecting the conduct of the Govern-
ment in the matter without more knowledge than they
at present possess of the negotiations which had taken
place.
An American contemporary writes :—More cut
flowers are said to be sold in New York than in any city On
the globe, and the statement is undoubtedly true. Every-
body knows about the Covent Garden and the Madeline
flower markets, and they are well enough; but neither in
London nor Paris is there anything like the amount of cut
flowers for sale. On all social occasions, at weddings and
funerals, they are in profusion, hundreds and sometimes
thousands of dollars being expended for flowers alone.

Some correspondents are writing in favour of the
removal of the horns of young cattle, on the plea that the
horns are dangerous when the animals are placed in feeding
courts or yards.

At a dinner given last Saturday evening to the re-
tiring mayor of Birmingham, Mr. Chamberlain, M.P. re-
sponded as one of the borough members. He said there
were persons who proposed a radical change in the tradi-
tional Alley of this country in connection with its Indian
Empire, and they had so far given effect to their views that
at this moment they had brought us to the brink of war,
from which he defied any reasonable man to anticipate the
possibility of honour, but from which we might possibly
derive dishonour and humiliation. Nearly forty years ago
we invaded Afghanistan, we dethroned its acknowled ruler,
and placed a puppet upon the throne. It was not to be
wondered at that Shere All should hold himself aloof from us
in sulky irritation, and decline to receive an armed mission.
It was the duty of every Englishman to protest against the
carrying of such a policy further.

By a fire at Cape May, a watering place in Dela-
ware, six hotels and anumber of private cottages and bath
houses were destroyed. The loss is estimated at 60,000 dols.
It is stated from Geneva that the health of M. Raoul
Motet, the discoverer of tho process for the liquefaction of
oxygen, is so seriously impaired by overwork that his re-
covery is almost beyond hope. The sight of one eye is quite
gone, he will probably lose the power of the other, and he is
suffering besides from incipient softening of the brain.
On Saturday night, at the mayor's banquet at
Folkestone, Sir Edward W. Watkin, M.P., spoke of the pro-
bability of war in India, and said that much as he hated war
—norrible as it must always be—yet there were a few things
even worse. Slavery was worse than war. The ruling of a
public mind in a dogmatic and tyrannical way was worse
than war. The approach of a barbarous rower clouding over
the liberties of mankind was worse than war, and whilst he
would not undertake war except in discharge of a sacred
duty to mankind, there were occasions when a great country
like England should put its foot down and say what it
believed to be right in the interesta of Christianity and
civilization.

The total number of "Indians" existing in the
United States is about 278,000, excluding those in Alaska.
Of this number 113,000 are returned by the United States
°ill:his as wearing European dress. There are 11.515
pupils regularly attending school, and altogether 40,400 in-
dividuals are able to read. The settled tribes last year pro-
duced six million bushels of grain, and they possessed about
a million head of cattle, sheep, and pigs.

- -
The animals at the New York Menagerie in Central
Park had a narrow escape from drowning during a recent
storm, the menagerie, which lies in a hollow, being flooded
by the water from the higher lands. The bears foxes,
wolves, and jackals all had to swim for their lives, the water
rising high in their dens, while the giraffe stood quietly
feeding as the water gradually crept up to its back. The
other animals kept up a mournful chorus of howls and
grunts, but the seadions heartily enjoyed their impromptu
bath. Their tank was broken by the flood, and the
creatures escaped into the enclosure, where they paddled
about' cleverly evading their keepers, who were several
times knocked down in the water by a sudden dash of their
lively charges.

It is stated that twenty-four meetings have been
held in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Iltrmingham, Ntw-
castle, and other towns in the country to consider the new
Weights and Measures Act. Ten of these were of Chambers
of Agriculture, three of Chambers cf Commerce, and eleven
of millers and corn merchants. Twenty-two meetings voted
for weight and the "cental," one voted for weight as In the
Act, and one for weight and 1121 b.

The Duchess of Edinburgh and her children are at
Coburg, and are in the enjoyment of excellent health.
At a meeting of the master joiners of Dundee (held
on Tuesday), it wss resolved to intimate to the men that on
and after Monday next their wages will be reduced from 7ici.
to 7d. per hour, in consequence of the dullness of trade.
Working hours in several shops will be reduced from nine
to eight per week..

The Paris Exhibition Lottery Commission has re-
solved that the small prizes shall be divided into 12 groups,
each of about the same aggregate value, while the large prizes
shall form a special category, for which all the tickets shall
compete. In the latter case a duodecagonal
wheel will be
used, each face being numbered 1 to 12, and this wheel will
indicate the winning series, while a 51x-wheeled decagonal
apparatus will then show the winning number—each of the
six wheels furnishing one digit of it. The six-wheeled
aPParatus will also be used for the minor prizes, and the
anwnlinnggstmwmillbbere
Winning
and, ills calCulated, can in this way
to for each of the 12 series. The
wpuiliblcirPe
be gotthrough in eight or ten days.

Lord Beaconsfield has granted a donation of £75
from the Royal Bounty nind to the widow of John Luce,
lately an outdoor officer of Customs at the port ot Bristol,
Whose death was caused by irijary rUstained in the puhlk
serri re .

'A Lloyd's telegram, dated Amsterdam, Nov. 12,
states that hundreds of deals and a life buoy painted white,
marked " Ctirybolite, Liverpool," in black letters, have
Nve.shed ashore at Vlieland.

Mr. Jehn Mathieson, jun., sole partner of the firm
of William Stirling and Sons, Turkey red dyers, a prominent
citizen of Glasgow, felt dead in Smichiehall-street, Glas-
gow, on Tuesday afternoon, lie spoke on Monday night at
the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, and was to have pre
sided at a concert on Tuesday evening in aid of the share-
holders of the City Bank.

The Paris Correspondent of The Times says that on
Tuesday a French millionaire, M. Darblay, a noted corn
merchant and miller at Cnrbeil, died suddenly, at the age of
84. In 1861 he was deprived of a poEtmlstership for Bona-
partism, to which pat ty he adhered through life, being for
some .ears a Deputy. Ills property is estimated at
70,000,( 00f.

From reports received at the central offices of the
Kent and Sussex Labourers' Union it appears that several
more farmers have given their labourers notice of reduction
of wages or lock-out, and the dispute Is gradually assuming
larger proportion&

There were 2,07 births and 1,590 deaths registered
in London last week. Allowing for increase of population,
the births exceeded by 87, whereas the deaths were 25 below
the average numbers in the corresponding week of the last
ten years. The amrial death-rate from all causes, which in
the two preceding weeks had been equal to 21 1 and 20 2,
rose to 232. The deaths included nine from small-pox, is
from measles, 60 from scarlet fever, 11 from diphtheria, 83
from whooping-cough, 36 from different forms of lever, and
26 from diarrhoea.
A serious flood has taken place at Bath. Rain
fell almost continuously for twenty-four hours on Sunday,
and on Monday caused the River Avon to overflow its banks.
Roads were flooded, and surrounding fields were completely
covered. Several mills and manufactories were also in-
undated. The greatest sufferers were the inhabitants of the
Dolemeads and outlying districts, the water entering their
dwellings and causing considerable damage.

The oldest pensioner in the Hotel des Invalides in
Paris, has recently died. His name was Darrey, and he was
the soldier who stood as sentinel in the public square at
Cairo when Soleiman, the assassin of ICl6ber, was dying
impaled and with his right hand and wrist burnt to the bone.
Darrey had pity on him and gave him a glass of water.
Soleiman drank it and expired almost immediately.

The Times of India of the 21st ult. says it is believed
the Viceroy requires the Ameer's personal attendance at
Peshawar, and will not accept a mere written apology.
According to the same paper the Atneer is believed to hold
to his intention to refuse to receive a mission, or to apologise
for the All Musjid incident.
New England students from some of the Eastern .
colleges, possessed or more ambition than means' have been
hiring themselves out this season as waiters and maids at
the hotels in the White Mountain region, in order to obtain
sufficient money during the vacation to finish their edu-
cation.—Granhic.
At a meeting of power-loom manufacturers in the
cotton trade, in Glatgow, it was resolved to reduce work-
ing hours to two-thirds time, owing to extreme depression
and unprofitable nature of trade at present Notice to this
effect will be posted on Saturday, and it is expected will
affect from six to eight thousand workers in and around
Glasgow. Several mills are already running short time.
The Middle Ward of Lanarkshire Master Joiners' Association
have resolved at a meeting at Hamilton to reduce wages in
the district to 60. per hour.

The Emperor of Brazil is, it is stated, taking much
Interest in the prospects of the numerous free-born children
of slaves who will be thrown on the hands of the Govern-
ment twelve months hence, in accordance with the Free
Birth Law of the 28th of September, 1871.

Thu Bishop of Worcester presided on Tuesday at a
conference in connection with the Church Missionary Society,
held at the Pump-rooms, Leamington. His lorship said the
Divine command to go into all the world and preach the
Gospel to every creature was as fresh and as binding now
as when first delivered, and no true Christian could bet n.
sensible to the imperative duty of engaging in missionary
work. Several speeches were delivered, and the genera
secretary stated that £200,000 would be required this year

"The Emperor Yuang-su, of China, who, by the
bye, is now 20 years of age, has given orders that three
Chinese temples be built in the town of Kashgar, recently
reconquered by the Chinese. One is to be consecrated to
Confucius, the second to the Chinese God of War, Ta-Yunu,
who is also the patron saint of the Imperial family cf China,
and the third to the God of rain and anow."—Mayfair.
The Cologne Gazette says that at Zabrze, in Upper
Silesia, a letter directed to a man named Pelka, to be
delivered into his own hands, was given up to his wife.
Being very large and thick and fastened with tape, it excited
her curiosity. On pulling one of the ends of the tape for
the purpose of opening the letter there was a frightful
explosion. Frau Pelka was thrown down and severely
injured, and all the windows in the house were broken. As
far as has been discovered from the fragments afterwards
picked up, it appears that the letter contained some
explosive substance, either dynamite or nitro-glyoerine, and
a cap and needle for its ignition, with which the tape com-
municated. The author of the crime has not yet been
caught.
A gunner belonging to the Lympstone Volunteer
Artilleiy, having been blinded by the accidental discharge of
a carbine a few months since, has now been granted by the
War Office a pension of 6d. a day for life.

An anti-war meeting, presided over by the Mayor,
has been held at Barnsley. Two resolutions were passed,
one expressing a hope that, by a policy of cmciliation and
absence of needless menace, peace might be preserved
between Eng,tand and Afghanistan: and the other depre-
cating the settlement of national disputes by war, and
advocating settlements by arbitration.
A single minded country-woman applied at one of
the stations on the Fife line, the other day for a ticket for
Glasgow. Said the spruce young clerk—" Return or
single?" ".Na, na," replied the woman; "Name o' yet
singles here. I'm a married woroan."— Court Journal,
The Bavarian Government has purchased some of
the famous Uchatins cannon from Austria, and is about to
make experiments with them, with a view to the adoption
of steel bronze guns by the Bavarian artillery. What do
they say at Berlin to this act of independence, I wonder ?
But what Bavarians consider a by far more important piece
of news is that the price of beer has fallen two pfennigs at
Munich. The saying there is that if you want to make a
revolution, the surest way is to raise the price of beer.
This is not quite so absurd a; it looks at first, because the
greatest brewery in the town is in the hands of the State,
which is therefore directly responsible for a rise in the price
of what is part of the creed of all good Bavarians.—The
World.

There was a heavy fall of snow in the north and
north-west of England on •Tuesday, and in many cases the
snowstorm was also accompanied by lightning. In Durham
it is stated that the fall was the heaviest known for many
years. Traffic was seriously impeded. The Teme Valley and
Bishop Auckland lines were blocked all day, causing great
inconvenience to passengers. The early train from Barnard
Castle was snowed up at three o'clock, and the passengers,
after walking some distance, were transferred into a relief
train. For half a mile between Brancepeth and Durham the
up and down lines were blocked by four feet of snow.