The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-09-25 00:00:00

her, 1872, which is looking a long way ahead.
Daring this year she is to sing only 100 times, at the
mte of £lOO each time, or a total of £10,000; and
calf of this sum has been already deposited in the
,ande of Rothechilds, the Frankfort bankers.
Nilsson, the Swedish nightingale, too, has not male a
Imd bargain. Fr. the 15th of September to the 15th
of December—but what year is not stated—she is to
have £B,OOO for singing three nights a week, or £215 per
night. Can any other profession hold out such prizes
m this for its fortunate members? Of course "the
wroth of a thing is vi hat it will bring," and the
splendid singing of these songstresses may bring a
profit to those who pay such extravagant terms, but it
is worth noting that whenever an operatic manager
fails he attributes his failure in part to the enormous
sums he has had to pay his star artistes.

AN EMIGRANT CROSSING-SWEEPER.
Many of our London readers (says the Daily News)
may have observed for some years past a crossing-
Aweeper at the northern end of Regent's-park leading
into St. Mark's-square. He was an Irishman, and
from his cLtantic proportions appeared like a navvy in
broken health. The neighbours took an interest in
him, and last spring he obtained sufficient means to
enti.rate to New York, and from thence to the State
of Indiana, where he now has settled. He has written
the followitur letter which we present verbatim. By
this we gather that, in spite of taxation, be can save
five dollars a week, after payment of beard and
lodging :
Lafayette, Tipplcanne County, State of Indiana,
3rd of July, 1869.
Kind fiir,—l take the liberty of writing a few lines, hoping
to Itad you and >ours, anti likewise sal my former friends,
in good health, as tans at present, thank God. 1101* none
of my benefactors considered it ungrateful of me to endeav-
our to improve my condition, as I found much improvement
in my he,.lth, and being so muck annoyed that my life was
a misery to me, which has driven me 4,009 miles from where
I thought to end my days. Kind Air, I wish to inform you and
yours, awl likewise as many of my other friends as 3 ou can, as
opportunity does not favour me at present to write to them
all, as I could wish to do, to let them kilow that my
health is very much Improved, and I sin employed on.
a railway at present helping to repair an old line, bat I
' do not know how bug I may continue. Our wages
,In II dollars per day. I have to pay four dollars per
' week for hoard and lodging. Evert thing is taxed so
heavy in this country since the war that it makes the
couldry very hail at tre.ent. Dear sir, I am one thousand
miles west of New Yotk ; there is but not so much
ferriage in the cllm its as aught be imagined, although
more sultry, and they will be commencing to harvest
on the first of July. The tillage is not near so
well managed as In England, nor yet the land so pro-
ri naive, as they leave the stumps of the trees in the ground,
among the crops until they rot, and as for as I could see
when travellisg on the railway, the country bore a different
prospect to what has been represented, as we had scarcely
traversed any village, but all woods, and many swamps.
We only came near two towns of any note during a journey
of IMO miles, but little villages scattered along, a long
distance apart. KIWI sir, 1 mils, conelede by sending iny
sincere thanks and best wishes to you and yours, and hoping
you will lentember me to as many of the neighbours as you
can—l am, &T.