The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-02-12 00:00:00

AMERICAN HUMOUR.

is,allantons 4nteltifftnte,
HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

PRINCE LEOPOLD AND FREEMASONRY.—His
Royal Highness Prince Leopold was on Monday even-
ing advanced to the 30th degree at the Hall of the
Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Rite,
33, Golden-square, Londbn. Lord Carnarvon, as the
head of the Degree, presided and performed the cere-
mony. Afterwards the Studholme Chapter, of which
Prince Leopold is an original member, was consecrated.
This Chapter belongs to the Rose Croix. A large com-
pany of distinguished Freemasons were present, in-
cluding Lord Shrewsbury, Lord Skelmersdale, Lord
Limerick, Major-General J. S. Brownrig,z, Colonel
Burdett, Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. Sackville West,
Mr. A. Staveley Hill, Q. C., Captain Phillips, Captain
Dadson, General Clerk, Major Shadwell Cierke, Me.
John He' vey, Mr. J. C. Parkinson, Sir W. Drake, Mr.
J. B. Monckton, Mr. J. Rawson, and Mr. H. D.
Sandeman.
WESLEYAN METHODISM.—During the past
year there has been an outlay in this kingdom of
£328,592 on chapels, schools, ministers' houses, and
organs, towards which the sum of £261,313 was raised
by voluntary contributions. The outlay during the
past 21 years has been £3,689,056, and the entire debt
at the close of 1875 amounted to £894,577.

A DREADFUL DEATH.—ID London, on Mon-
day, Mr. J. H. Payne, the city coroner, held an
inquest at St. Bartholomew's Hospital on the body of
George Baverstock, aged 32 years, a porter. Mrs.
Newman said deceased was subject to fits, but they
generally came on gradually, not, as on this occasion,
suddenly. John Newman, aged 11, said he was half.
brother to deceased, and they resided together at 73,
Prebend street, Islington. On Sunday fortnight wit.
nem retired to rest at eight o'clock, leaving deceased,
who was reading sitting between the table and the fire.
About ten o'clock witness was awoke by hearing
groans, and on getting out of bed and going into the
sitting-room he found deceased insensible, lying on his
breast inside the fender against the bars with his left
hand on the fire which was a large one, and his clothes
in flames. Witness pulled him out, threw an over-
coat and rug ovcr him, and put out the flames. He
then ran for a doctor, and , with the ;assistance of
a neighbour,"the burnt clothes were...pulled off and the
lulls dressed. The Coroner said the boy had acted
with great promptitude and discretion. Dr. Vemonj
house surgeon at St. Bartholomew's, said deceased exi
pired on the 4th inst. from the burns. The jury
returned a verdict of "Accidental death from burns
while in an epileptic fit."
LORD FALKLAND.—At the annual general
meeting of the Newbury District Field Club, held at
the Town-hall, Newbury, on Thursday, in last week;
the report of a committee of members appointed it
September last to consider the best means of erectini
some durable record of the death of Lord Falkland oi
the spot where, according to tradition, he fell
charging at the head of Lord Byron's regiment, a
Newbury fight, September 18, 1643, was read and ap
proved. The committee reported that Lord Carnarvoi
heartily sympathized with the object and would sub
scribe to the memorial. An inscription framed by hi
Lordship, together with valuable suggeitions for till
consideration of the committee, were read to till
meeting
A

hen

"In Memory
of those
who, on the 18th September, 1643,
Fell fighting in the Army of King Charles L,
on the Held of Newbury,
and especially
of
LUCIUS CAREY, Lord FALKLAND,
who died here, in the 31th year of his age,
This Monument
Is set up by those to whom
The Majesty of the Crown and the Liberties of their Conn,

..gaik)(l

are dear."

A design, which had been prepared by the hon. archi-
tect to the Club, Mr. J. H. Money, was submitted and
approved. It takes the form of a column, and in style
is an adaptation of the Gothic; the front panel at the
base it is proposed to fill with a medallion of Falk-
land, the dexter with the inscription, and the sinister
with the names of all those of note who fell at the
battle, including Lords Carnarvon and Sunderland,
the reverse being reserved for a Imitable quotation
bearing upon the events of the Civil Wars, probably
from Clerendon.
A PECULIAR ACCIDENT. The cause of
"Barker v. Borley " has been heard before Mr. Justice
Quain, and was an action brought to recover compen.
sation for injuries sustained in an accident of a very
peculiar kind. The defendant is a farmer, at Hareham,
in Suffolk. In September last he, with four men, was
clearing a bean field of some rabbits. The men walked
down the field, driving any rabbits that there might be
before them. The defendant remained at the end of
the field, where some of the beans had been cut, and
shot the rabbits as they appeared. While this was
going on, the plaintiff, a lad of 11 years of age, came
up, and joined them. On one occasion a rabbit
appeared, and the defendant shot it and killed it. One
of the shots either strayed or rebounded, and entered
the lad's left eye, depriving, him of the sight of the eye.'
According to the evidence, the lad was between 25 and
30 yards from the rabbit, and in such a position that
the shot, if it rebounded, must have gone at a right
angle from the point it struck. The jury returned a,
verdict for the plaintiff—damages £5O.
Cm-IL MARRIAGES ,—The new annual report of
the Registrar--General shows that in England in:
1873, the year reported on, the marriages without
religious ceremony at Registrars' offices exceeded, for
the first time, the number of marriages at Dissenters'
chapels, if we do not count marriages in Roman
Catholic churches or marriages of Jews, neither bodyl
being ordinarily designated by the term "Dissenters."
These marriages at Registrars' offices withcut religious,
ceremonials increased from 2,817 in 1843 to 7,593 in:
1853, 13,589 in 1863, and 21,178 in 1873, constitutingl
in 1873 a tenth of the total marriages, or more than
four times the ratio of 1843. The Registrar General
notes that the marriages in England according to thei
rites of the Established Church were 87 per cent. of I
the total marriages a quarter of a century ago, but onlyl
75 per cent. in 1873, and that the decrease in ratio is
chiefly accounted for by the increasing number of mar-
riages at Registrar's Office.
THE USEFUL VALENTINE.—In old times ad
Valentine was regarded, not so much as possessingi
great value in itself, but rather to be prized for what it '
represented. This tort of vicarious value has passed
itway, and Valentines are now of all kinds. One sort,
which obtains a large part of the public favour, is the
Useful Valentine, which may consist of anything from
a dozen of kid gloves to (a toothpick. Why, a persoa
last year sent his sweetheart a ton of coals and three,
Dutch cheeses, as a Valentine—but it must be ad-
mitted that this was an exceptional case.—Judy.
INDIAN RAIDS IN SOUTH AMERlCA.—llltelli-
genes brought by the steamer Leibnitz from Buenos
Ayres to the Bth January, respecting the late Indian
raids, states that theindians had been driven back in
the south, but that the terror they inspired had not
disappeared. All the houses in and near Azul and
Tandit were filled with familiewho fled thither for
• safety on the first approach of the savages, and who
'had not returned to their homes. The main body of
the marauders, the Pampa tribes, who, it appears,
were aided by 3,000 lances from Araucania, were over-
taken by Colonel White, who recovered 160,000 head
'of cattle and killed some of the Indians It was
rumoured that some families had been carried off cap-
tives from the village of Olabarria, which was gal-
lantly defended by Lieutenant Aguilar and 100 men
Against an overwhelming force of Indians. The num-
ber of white men killed is variously reported from
12 to 100 men. The latest aceonnts stated that the
Minister of War was at Aziil pushing on the pursuit
of the marauders. Much uncertainty existed as to
the cause of the invasion, as the revolting tribes were
what were termed friendly Indians.

ADVICE TO FIANCES. —lf you are on the verge
of a quarrel with your sweetheart, it is a good plan to
have the row over before St, Valentine's Day
Should the affair be broken off, you see, your last
year's Valentines will do to send to the new girl; and
this is a com-ideration in these days, when you cannot
get a Valentine worth the expense of postage under a
'guinea. Only, if your circle of acquaintance is
.limited, mind the "old love" and 'the new" do not
get to comparing notes, or there will probably be
another row, which you did not calculate upon.—
Judy.

PERILS OF THE ROAD. —Dr. W. Farr, of the
General Registrar Office, show, in Ids annual classifi-
cation of the causes ef deaths in Eugland, that in the
year 1873, for which detailed returns have recently
been issued, there were among the violent deaths 1,290
which were connected with railways, including 'deaths
of railway servants. It is worthy of remark that the
violent deaths caused by horse conveyances of one kind
or other—namely, I,2so—were very nearly the same
number as the above. The railway deaths comprized
1,185 of males and only 105 of females ; killed by
horse conveyances' 1,056 males and 194 females. Dr.
Farr remarks that the deaths on railways may be re-
garded as deaths additional to those incurred in the old
conveyances, including the waggons, carts, .tc., of the
country.
CONDENSED BEER.—Mr. El. C. Bartlett,
Ph. D., F. C.S., has read a paper before the Society of
Arts, on an invention for concentrating or condensing
beer. It appeared from the paper that beer of any
kind may be condensed in vacuo, so as to save,
only the alcohol, but the volatile flavour and aroma,
which would otherwise pass away in reducing the ex-
tract to a semi-fluid condition. In remixing the
alcohol containing the fragrant matters of the beer
again with the extract, all the constituents of the beer are
retained except the water, of which nine-tenths or
more • are removed. This affords a saving of seven-
eights of the freight. Moreover? as the condensing
arrests fermentation till the beer is re-made by mixing
with water, the loss in the export of beer from its be-
coming sour and unsound in transit is saved.
THE BOARD OF TRADE RETURNS FOE
JANUARY.—The Board of Trade returns for January
were issued on Monday. The total declared value of
the exports during the month was £16,634,512, against
£16,986,760 in January, 1875, and £19,472,467 in
January, 1874, showing a decrease of about 1 per cent.
compared with 1875, and of 14 per cent, compared with
1874. There is an increase in the export of coal,
cotton manufactures, earthen and china ware, and
silk manufactures; and there is a decrease in copper,
haberdashery, hardware, iron and steel, leather, linen
manufactures, machinery, and worsted and woollen
manufactures. Tne value of the imports for January
was £30,673,747, against £32,375,675 in January, 1875,
and £31,273,782 in January, 1874. The total import of
gold and silver amounted to £1,817,313, against
£3,475,697 in January, 1875, and 22,781,941 in January;
1874. The export of gold and silver amounted to
£2,100,776, against £1,607.088 in January, 1875, and
£2,731,236 in January, 1874.

THE "CAP OF MAINTENANCE."—This article
of state ritual is different from the Crown, and a
similar headdress is possessed by our peers. Originally
only dukes were allowed to wear one but now the
dignity is shared also by other nobles. It is composed
of crimson velvet lined with ermine, and usually has
two points turned to the back, and is surmounted by
a crest. An old writer, Sir John Fearne, says
"The wearing of the cap had a beginning from the
duke or general of an army, who, having gotten vic-
tory, caused the chiefest of his subdued enemies whom
he led to follow him in his triumph, bearing his hat or
cap after him in token of subjection and captivity."
Most of the reigning dukes of Germany, and various'
families belonging to the peerage both of England and
Scotland, bear their crests on a cap of maintenance.

FROST V. ELECTRICITY.—" Electrician" writes
to The Times :—" On the morning after the Abbot's
Ripton catastrophe a gentleman living in the neigh-
bourhood of Rugby picked up a tube of ice that had
fallen from a telegraph wire. It weighed five ounces
per foot, or nearly a pound per yard. With 20 poles
to the Mile, and 12 wires to the line, the additional
weight on each span due to the ice would be 1,0561 b."

A NURSERY HINT.—" Did it ever occur to
you, kind mammas," asks a thoughtful philosopher,
"that while trotting your babies on your laps in such
a vigorous way, if some giant, about ten times your
size, were to trot you in a similar style, the breath
would be very apt to be jounced out of your body, and
that you would use very bad words at his nursery
rhymes of 'Giddy, giddy, jolt? ' "

THE PHILADELPHIA EXHIBITION.—A telegram
received on Saturday from the representative of the
British section at Philadelphia conveys the gratifying
intelligence that no damage has been caused by the
late terrific gale, either to the several Exhibition
buildings or to the British offices. The responses to
the invitations for the loan of pictures, which at first
came in rather slowly, have during the past week so
greatly increased in number that even now a repre-
sentoive collection of British art has been secured,
while 2many answers to the Lord President's letter
hair.) yet to-be received. Owners of valuable paintings,
however willing to contribute to exhibitions at home,
are naturally reluctant to consign their art treasures
to the tender mercies of the Atlantic, but we are
asked to state that all who lend pictures on the pre-
sent occasion may rest assured that the greatest care
will be taken of their contributions, which will be
forwarded in hermetically sealed cases in the passenger
compartments of first-class steamships direct to Phila-
delphia.— The Times.

HONEST ABE'S A DVlCE.—President Lincoln
was the most melancholy of men, and the story and
reminiscences, of which he possessed such a store,
were used as means to drive away the everlasting mist
of dejection which found relief neither in deep sighs
nor floods of tears. The anecdotes and reminiscences
of Lincoln are pointed, appropriate, and characteristic
of the man. A delegation from thp west woited on
the President one day for the purpose of pointing out
the errors and shortcomings of his administration.
The President heard them patiently, and then replied
as follows :—" Gentleman, suppose all the property
you were worth was in gold. and you had put it into
the hands of Blondin to carry across the Niagara Falls
on a rope, would you shake the cable, or keep shout-
ing out to him, Blondin, stand up a little straighter;
Blondin, stoop a little more; go a little faster; lean a
little more to the north; lean a little more to the
south, No, you would hold your breath as well as
your tongue, and keep your hands off until he was
safe over. The Government are carrying an immense
weight. Untold treasures are in their hands. They
are doing the very beat they can. Don't badger them.
eep silence,:and we'll get you safe across."

THE USE or LATIN WORDS.—There was once
upon a time a very sensible old judge, who committed
what pedants may call the solecism of using the word
"memorandums." "Surely it is memoranda," my
lord," said the pert young counsel. "Oh, •by all
means," replied the judge, " if you think it better Eng-
lish." One is reminded of this old story by the people
who are insisting on our following the Latin for the
plural of aquarium, and who therefore talk glibly of
the numbers of "aquaria" now springing up on all
sides. Now, if we are to have the Latin, let us have
it altogether; but it is surely the essence of inconsis-
tent pedantry to insist on the numbers and not on the
cases. The man who insists on aquaria ought to say
that he has just come from the aquario, and that he
thinks it is a good thing there are so many of these
aquariorum, because much useful knowledge may be
imparted by aquariis. No, if we adopt a word into
our family, it must conform itself to our ways. It is
better not to take into our mouths what we cannot
" assimilate."—Pictorta/ World.

AN ABODE OF NYMPHS.--A Neilgherry paper
says :—" A rather curious statement was made by a
descendant of the groat Runjeet Sing, the 'Lion of the
Punjaub,' who was recently on these hills. He said
that a path little known leads down from Hoolicul
Droog—the hill at Coonoor upon which there is a fort
—to a castle or palace cut out of the rock, and inha-
bited by nymphs. These nymphs are very courteous
and hospitable to strangers, but it is necessary that
strangers should go there with the purest of motives,
moral and pecuniary, when, after being well treated,
they will be sent home with rich gifts. He said he
knew a man who after being thus treated was pre-
sented with a diamond which he sold for 8,000 rupees.
Divesting this story of all that is fabulous about it, it
is possible that there are apartments in the lower part
of the hill intended by Tippoo for the members of
his Zenana. The locality has, we believe, been but
indifferently examined, and a search to prove or dis-
prove the Sing's statement, so far as the castle or
palace is concerned, would not he uninteresting."
HINTS ABOUT SLEEP.—Most people have their
own patent prescriptions for falling asleep. Some in
imagination watch sheep jumping one. After another
through a' hedge ; ethers fitrry • they see Shiba 'sailing
tto sea; The late Dr. Wilbeiforce used to repeat,
very slowly, "A, E, I, "—a vowel at each in-
spiration and expiration; he never included the fifth
vowel, for it requires too much muscular exertion of
the lips. And many, doubtless, have heard of ths
midshipman who, when he could not sleep because
there were no waves beating against the sides of the
ship, got his mother to imitate the familiar sound by
dashing pailfuls of water against his bedroom door,
A safe remedy for want of sleep—less original, perhaps,
than any of the above, but suited to almost everybody
nothing more nor less than eating onions. Corn-
inon raw onions should he taken, but Spanish onions
stee d will do. Mr. Frank Buckland, writing on
this question, says: "Everybody knows the taste of
onions: this is due to a peculiar essential oil contained
in this most valuable and healthy root. This oil. has,
lam sure, highly soporific powers. In my own case
it never fails. If lam much pressed with work', and
feel I shall not sleep, I eat two or three small onions
:and the effect is magical."—Cassell's Family Magazine.
- "WHERE THERE'S A WILL."—The Court of
Probate.—Fun.
A GRATEFUL STUDENT. —The following story
which we give on the authority of the St. Petersburg
Zeitung, may furnish a useful hint to the feminine
advocates of the higher education of women (says the
Court Journal) :—For some years past a young Rus-
sian studied chemistry with great zeal at the Univer-
sity of Leipsic. The young man had an aristocratic
bearing, and his amiable disposition gained him the
good opinion of all who knew him. A short time ago
he passed his examination in the most brilliant
manner, and obtained his degree in chemistry. Shortly
afterwards a young lady presented herself before one
of the most distinguished professors of the University
and begged to be allowed to express her heartfelt
thanks to him befoie quitting Leipsic. " Thanks "
exclaimed the professor, "why ?" The lady replied
that she was the widow of the aged Prince—. Her
husband, she said, had died a few years ago, and had
left his affairs in such an embarrassed state that she
was deprived of all means of support. She had there-
fore resolved to seek a livelihood in science. The
puzzled professor again exclaimed that he knew of no
reason why her thanks were due to him. The lady
continued—" I have attained my object. For some
years past I have studied here. lam the student who
recently passed his examination, atui whom you
thought worthy your commendation." The St. Peters-
bury Zeitung adds that it would not feel justified in
publishing the name ofthe princess, who is well knows
bt Raidsow

I out