The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-12-13 00:00:00

Xilisallantous ,4ntelligentt.

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL,

MOW: CONNUBIALITY.—"No Io ' exclaimed Mr. Pen-
hecker, "No, madam I object most decidedly. Once
and for all I say it—the girls shall not be taught
foreign languages."—" And why not, pray," said Mrs.
P., with withering sarcasm,—" Because," said P.,
with more withering sarcasm, "because, Mrs. P.,
one tongue is enough for any woman I "—Mrs. Pen-
hecker responded not,—Judy. •
MADAME NILSSON'S BRILLIANT SUMESS.—Usdams
Nilsson's many friends in England will hear with
pleasure that her debut at Madrid on Thursday was
one of the greatest trinmphs of her career (says the
correspondent of The Times). A letter which reached
here says that this debut was quite an event among the
marriage fetes, and that it had preduced an extra-
ordinary excitement; the Sing and Qaeen, the Arch.
duchesses, the special ambassadors, and all the illus.
trims people of Spain were present. The Teatro
Real, which is one of the largest houses in Europe,
was crammed from floor to ceiling. Madame Nilsson
was admirably received on appearing, and carried the
house altogether away by the first notes she sang.
After the garden scene she was recalled three times,
and three times also at the end of each following act,
their Majesties joining in the applause, which at cer.
tam n moments was almost frantic. Never was there a
more brilliant success,

AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN.—The following
are the average prices of British corn for the week end-
ing December 6, as received from the inspectors and
officers of Excise :—Wheat, 465. 7d.; barley, 38s. 4d.;
oats, 21s. 4d. per imperial qr. Corresponding week
last year :—Wheat, 4es. 11d.; barley, 394. 5d.; oats,
21s. 3d.

DEATH OF A CENTENARIAN. —Qa Thursday in last
week, at her residence in Pleasant-row, Maidstone, a
widow named Elizabeth Weaver, who had attained
the advanced age of upwards of 104 years, died. She
was born at Marden on the 21st of December, 1774,
and possessed a certified copy of the register of her
baptism at the parish church of Marden on the 19th
September, 1775. Her husband died in her 100th
year, her father in his 104th, and her grandfather in
his 105th. Deceased, when in her 101st year, tied in
one season 200 hills of hops, gathered fifty bushels of
fruit, and earned £1 175.; d. by hop-picking. She
leaves behind her forty grandchildren, and more than
that number of great-grandchildren.
TAKING MEASHRE, Tailor (to stout Customer) :
"Have the kindness to put your finger on this bit of
tape, sir,—just here! I'll be round in a minute ! "
Punch.

GALLANT HAND-TO-HAND FIGETING.—The Bombay
Gazette tells a story of a hand-to-hand fight in this
Afghan war which certainly deserves a word of
notice, During the Ithelat-i-Ghilzai advance Colonel
Kennedy's force distinguished itself greatly by the
pluck, energy, and skill with which they entrapped
some two hundred Afghan horsemen into a fight in
the open. Twenty fanatics, however, took refuge
upon a precipitous hillock. These desperadoes, who
wished nothing better than to be attacked, were
Lusailed by Captain Sartorius, eight men of the 59th
Foot, and a Beloochee volunteer. In the struggle
which followed after they clambered up, the whole
twenty Ghazis were accounted for, our side losing one
killed and several, including Captain Sartorius,
wounded with tulwar slashes. When the circum-
stances are taken into lccount, this was perhaps as
bold a bit of hand tahand fiehting as has occurred of
late years.—Pall Mall Gazelle

DRAWING runi Our I—A well-known professor went
into a restaurant a few days ago, and eat down (a
Transatlantic contemporary tells us.) No sooner had
he been fairly seated than a learned doctor came and
seated himself at the other side of the table. They
were strangers, but of course two such learned men
could not keep still. The doctor opened the conversa-
tion by remarking to the man of hard words, " Are not
these meteorological disturbances somewhat peculiar
for these latitudes?" The professor paused a moment,
as he was mashing a potato, and replied, " It's about
the same thing every year." "In seasons of atmospheric
depression," resumed the doctor, "alternating with
unexpected boreal excitements and rapid changes
resultant on sudden accumulations of moisture,
such dispositions of the storm belt are not, in my
opinion, entirely uncalled for." "Exactly," remarked
the professor. The doctor continued in the same strain,
till at length the professor was roused to his position,
exactly, my friend! In the ledge are vast de-
posits of minerals. Found in volcanic matrices and
disintegrated by the upheaval of plutonic rock and
semifused masses of silicions alumina, mingled with
homogeneous debris of porphyry, the molecules of
kaolined feldites, with a potash base; the decomposi-
tion of the ,:eldspar is most affected along the line of
the horizontal cleavage, and necessarily the liberated
oxide of manganese, combining with the percolation of
the alkalis which permeate the entire mass, causes a
pronounced state of polarisation, which cannot fail to
account for the peculiar attraction in the vicinity."

EXPERIMENTS IN HORSE RACING.—A long and in-
teresting report has been lately published by the
committee who got up the race of 311 miles, which
was ridden on the 24th of July last by officers of the
Italian cavalry (Bays the Pall Mall Gazette). The
course was from Treviso to Padua, and six competitors
appeared at the starting point. The flag was dropped
at 3.45 a.m., and in 1 hour and 46 minutes afterwards
the leading horse passed the winning post. The
second horse was only a minute behind, the third
accomplished the distance in 1 hour 50 minutes, the
fourth in 1 hour 55 minutes, the fifth in 1 hour 55i
minutes, while the sixth fell lameand had to be stopped
on the road. The horses were at once examined by
the committee and found to be in excellent condition,
considering the nature of the task they had just per.
formed. Two hours afterwards they were visited in
their stables, when they gave so little evidence of being
in any way distressed, that at the request of the com-
mittee the riders mounted again in the afternoon and
rode them at a trot and gallop round the racecourse of
the town. Eight days afterwards the committee again
examined the horses, when four were found to be in
perfect health, while the fifth was suffering from an
attack of bronchitis which had come on two days after
the race.

UPON MY WORD I—Guard : Now, mien, jump in—
train going on.—Child: But I can't go before I have
kissed mamma.—Guard: Jump in, miss—l'll eee to
that I—Judy.

FROZEN TO DEATH.—Mrs. Paulin., a young married m
woman, lost her way on Thursday last week while
returning from Coldstream to Ledybank, and was
found on Friday frozen to death about a mile from her
own house.—Margaret Macandrew, aged 71, has been
found dead, buried among anew, near Glengairn,
Aberdeenshire. She also had lost her way and be.
come exhausted.
THE NEW TESTAMENT.—The trustees of the British
Museum have just completed for publication the auto-
type fac-simile of the New Testament and Clementine
Epistles comprised in the fourth volume of the cele-
brated Codex Alexandrinus. Only a limited number
of copies have been printed. A fac-simile of the first
three volumes of the codex, containing the Old Testa-
ment, is now in progress.—Athencrum.
LORD ROSEBERY'S POPULARITY. —The World says
"One thing Mr. Gladstone's Scotch campaign has de-
monstrated.in the fact that Lord Rosebery is the most
popular man in Scotland. Wherever he appeared he
was cheered, whether the crowd were assembled in
Edinburgh, Glasgow, or the country-side. At the
installation of the Lord Rector at Glasgow on Friday,
he received an ovation second only to that accorded
to the hero of the day. Tne students leaped on the
forms and shouted madly for Rosebery. But the
young Earl is as modest as he is clever, and could not
be induced to take on himself to lengthen the pro-
gramme by an impromptu speech. The same thing
happened at the mass meeting in St. Andrew's Hall.
When Mr. Gladstone eat down, the multitude yelled
for Lord Roaebery ; and Dr. Cameron, being put for-
ward to move a resolution, was fain to stand speechless
for several minutes whilst the cry was for Rosebery.'
It was the old story of the managers recommending
Fabde-lal-Tit, whilst the audience insisted upon their
preference for Fol.-de-lel-Dee. Lord Rosebery's brief
speeches and his excellent management of the meet-
ings he was called on to preside over have greatly
raised him in public estimation, and strengthen the
impression that we shall hear much more of him in
days to come."
THE CATTLE TRADE —Mr. Lennox Peel, Clerk of
the Privy Council, presided on Tuesday at the Hay-
ward's Heath Fat Stock Show dinner. He said be
could well understand the difficulties under which
farmers laboured in consequence of the great number
of orders having reference to cattle issued by the
Privy Council; and he was, therefore, pleased to an•
nonnce that in a few days the orders would be pub-
lished in a consolidated and concise form. Referring to
the restrictions placed on the importation of foreign
cattle, he said it was a singular fact that, in spite of
more stringent rules, the number of cattle brought into
England during the first ten months of the present
year was nearly 50,000 in excess of the number in toe
corresponding perled of last year. As regards foreign
competition in meat, farmers should bear in mind that
the cost of freightage was one of the most important
items in this trade, and that whereas freights were
exceedingly low now, with improved trade generally
this erpense would be nearly doubled. To this had to
be added the danger of the sea passage. Although
the loss had been a email proportion of the export
this year, no less than 12,000 animals were thrown
overboard or lost from death and exhaustion in
1878.
A MISSIONARY CANOE. Among other things
brought to Sydney during the Exhibition time is the
smallest sea-going vessel in the world, the missionary
canoe Evangelist, owned by the Rev. F. C. B.
Fairey. This tiny vessel was built in London, at
the yard of Searle and Co., under the supervision of
Mr. John MacGregor, M.A. (Rob Roy) and made
her first great voyage in February of the present year,
carrying her owner 300 miles round the ironbound
north and east coasts of Tasmania. When we are told
that this vessel weighs only 791 b., is 12ft. long, 28in.
wide, and 121 n. deep, we are not surprised that con-
siderable interest was excited in Tasmania and Victoria
by her remarkable voyage. In addition to being fitted
for a yacht at sea, the canoe has been adapted to
become a home on shore, locker, Waterproof cabin, and
patent cooking stove being provided.—Sydncy Morning
Herald.
ExrLosioN or A DIAMOND.—At a recent meeting
of the Academy of Natural Selene& of Philadelphia
Professor Leidy exhibited a black agate sleeve button,
which had set in it centrally, raised in a gold setting,
a rose diamond, about 7mm. broad. It had been sub-
mitted to him by Mr. Kretzmar, a jeweller, who
informed him that the person who wore it was recently
leaning with his head upon his hand on a window
ledge in the sun, when the diamond exploded audibly
and with sufficient force to drive a fragment into his
hand and another into his forehead. On examining
the diamond the fractured surface, following a clearage
plane, exhibited apparently the remains of a thin
cavity such as is sometimes to be seen in quartz crystals.
The fracture also exposed a conspicuous particle of
coal. Professor Leidy thought that the explosion had
been due to the sudden expansion of some volatile
liquid contained in the cavity, as frequeutly,ooourkiu
cavities in many minerals. Mr. Goldsmith thought it
possible that the liquid was carbonic acid, as he was
improaeed with the idea Oat. diampuds originated
from this materiel in the licold condition.

" A FRIENDLY BINT."—WidnM : "Not quite so
active as you wus twenty years ago, Tiimmas."
—Tummas : "No, I baint, Wiliam; I find I carn't
run up a score lately, but if onybody askes me to 'ave
a drink, I jumps at the hoer."—Fun.
CONSUMPTION OF SPIRITS.—The Inland Revenue
accounts show that in the first three-quarters of the
year 1879 duty was paid on 19,778,905 gallons'of home-
made spirits for consumption in the United Kingdom
as beverage only. This quantity is less by above a
million gallons than in the corresponding period of
1878, and by above a million and a•half than in that
of 1877. The Custom-house returns of imported
foreign eoirits retained for home consumption in the
United Kingdom come down to the end of November,
and record a quantity (in the u. months) of 8,400,237
gallons, which shows a decrease of 860,000 gallons
when compared with the corresponding period of
1878, and of above a million when compared with that
0f1877.

IMPERIAL Poi, I—Dear Mr. Punch,—What glorious
sport the dear old Emperor of Germany, "At the
head of a brilliant party," had on a recent Sunday at
Wnsterhausen, bagging 287 head of game, including
186 deer of sorts., 99 wild boars, and 12 badgers! I
wonder which brilliant Sportsman, oat of the thirty-
two guns present, bagged the badgers. Let us hope
it was not His Imperial Majesty. The less badgering
he has at his time of life, the longer we are likely to
have the pleasure of seeing his genial old face among
us.—l am, dear Mr. Punch, yours devotedly, GEB-
MANICUB.—Punch.
EXTRAORDINARY PRESENCE OF MIND.—An extra-
ordinary story of presence of mind comes from Potts-
ville, Pennsylvania. A miner was employed on a
shaft on Sharp Mountain. He had lighted a fuze, and
was climbing to the surface by means of pegs in the
side of the shaft. When within a few feet of the top
one of the pegs gave way, and the unfortunate man
fell to the bottom, 30 feet below. One of his thighs
were broken and the splintered bones were pushed
through two pairs of pantaloons. Notwithstanding
his terrible injuries, he had sufficient presence of mind
to crawl to the lighted fuse, which had burned within
a few inches of the charge, and to smother it. If he
had had not done this he would have been blown to
pieces when the explosion took place. He then
crawled back to one of the earth buckets, got into it
without assistance, and was hoisted to the surface.
EDUCATIONAL REFORM IN HOLLAND.—The Dutch
Minister of the Interior has declared to the Chamber
that the new school law will be applied as soon as
possible. The cost of its application to the State and
the communes is estimated at 17,000,000 florins. The
Minister promised that the law would be applied with
moderation, but he censured severely the Clerical
agitation against it, as the law is in nowise directed
against the liberty of teaching.

WILLIAM'S FAVOURITE SWEETIE (JUST NOW).
Butter-Scotch.—Punch.
AN AUTHORS' CARNIVAL..-ALL authors' Carnival
has been held in San Francisco, where scenes and
characters from the works of writers of all countries
have been represented in one of the public halls of the
city, a large booth being devoted to each author, while
tableau vivants were arranged on the chief stage. There
was the Bulwer Lytton Booth, divided intoscenes from
"The Last Days of Pompeii," the Shakespeare booth
was in the shape of a theatre, where selections from
Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth Taming of the Shrew, &c.,
were played; Longfellow was represented by "Hia-
watha ;" Moore by "Leila Rookh" and "Paradise
and the Pen ." Bret Harte by a mining camp; Scott
by a scene in Hotyrood Castle; Dickens by the "Old
Curbsity Shop ;" Goethe and Schiller by tableau from
their plays; while Jules Verne was commemorated by
a submarine grotto, and Walter Crane by nursery-
rhyme characters Beauties of the old French regime
appeared in Madame Recamier's drawing-room, and
Marie Antoinette was to be seen in Trianon, and close
by were a Japanese tea-garden, a Swiss cottage, a
Temple of Flora and an Egyptian scene, Rebecca
at the Well. Tennyson and Cervantes, too, were il-
lustrated by the "Castle of Shalott " and "Don
Quixote." The idea would be novel for a fancy bazaar
In England, if conducted on a smaller scale, for in San
Francisco 2,00 persons took part in the carnival.—
The Graphic,
NIAGARA FALLS.—The New York State Survey
Commissioners are in favour of a scheme laid before
them for a park at Niagara Falls. The plan pro-
posed is to take a strip along the American bank,
varying from 1001 t. to 6001 t. in width, extending two
miles from the new suspension bridge, to the head of
the rapids, and. plant it with trees, to shut out from
view the ugly bazaars, manufactories, booths, and
hotels which destroy the natural scenery of the blinks.
The plan also involves the purchase of Goat and
Bath Islands, which, the commission has reason to
believe, can be bought. The water-power of Niagara
will be left unmolested. Director Gardner, of the
State Survey, estimates the amount required for
securing all the property needed at 800,000 dole. It
is stated ti be the unanimous opinion of the commis-
sion that New York should proceed to reclaim her
side of Niagara without reference to what Canada
may do. One map, shown by Director Gardner,
indicates that the recession of the falls since 1842,
when a trigonometrical survey was made, has been
something over 100 ft.
A WOODCOCK IN LONDON.—The Times has pub-
lished the following letter :—" Sir,—lt may interest
some of your readers to know that yesterday (the 7th)
afternoon a woodcock, evidently exhausted by a long
flight, was caught in Albemarle-atreet. Piccadilly. I
was asked to see it, with the idea that I might suggest
some way of giving it nourishment. Unfortunately, I
was out of town. This morning, on calling to see the
traveller, I was informed it had been dead a few hours.
One of the legs had been broken, but nature had re-
paired the fracture much more perfeotly than I could
have hoped to do. I suppose the very severe weather
had induced the bird to seek shelter from the biting
frost with which we have been visited the last few
days. The bird is in possession of Mr. Charles
Jerningham, Crawley's Hotel, Albermarlestreet.—
Your obedient servant, ALFRED BURTON, 13, Dover-
street, Dec. 8."
"LORD SEND US A GUDE CONCEIT 0' OORSELS I "
"What Scotland thinks to-day England will think
to-morrow."—From a Scotch Correspondent —Punch.
STORM WARNING.—The following cable message has
been received at the London office of the New York
Herald, from the Herald Weather Bureau, New
York :—" A. disturbance, attended by rains and pos-
sibly lightning, followed by snow, and east, backing
to north-west, gales, will arrive on the British and
Norwegian, affecting the French, Coasts between the
11th and 13th; stormy on the Atlantic, north of 40."

THE Dural NATIONAL DEBT.—The cost of the
Atchin War has now had the result that in the present
year the Dutch National Debt, which has been in
gradual course of reduction for a century, will be in-
creased rather than diminished. Between the years
1850 and 1878 Holland paid off 300,000,000 guilders and
saved interest to the amount of 10,000,000. In the
latter year the National Debt amounted to 912,000,000;
in 1880 the national liabilities will be 953,000,000
guilders. Of the 300 millions paid off in thirty years
nearly 200 millions were found from the Indian
revenue.. The war in Atchin has abolished the annual
Indian surplus.

BOTH SUITABLE AND SOOTABLE.—The Lancet, a
Journal which is unwearied in its efforts to bring
before the public forgotten but important truths bear.
ing upon life and health, has been teaching people how
to clothe themselves in winter, by pointing out that
the Polar bear always wears a white coat, and con-
sequently that human beings sport white coats too
when the thermometer gets down to freezing point.
This is perhaps true as far as it goes. But what will
happen when the unfortunate Londoner arrayed it let
Polar bear, goes out into his native streets, and comes
home in a variegated costume of Polar whiteness and
London "blackness?" Surely the new winter cos-
tume advocated by our professional contemporary
would be under these circumstances somewhat of a
speckle.ation I—Judy.
CO OPERATION IN GERMANY—The unfavourable con-
ditions of the times have made themselves felt with
considerable force upon the co-operative societies in
Germany. According to the Augsburg Gazette, the
number of advance banks is 1,841, of which two-thirds
publish their reports. The advances made to the
members during the last year amounted to 1,456,000,000
marks, which was a diminution on the previous year
of 04,000,000 marks—a curtailment of supplies which
had a stringent effect on all industrial undertakings.
Co.operative supply stores have, to a certain extent,
undergone the same kind'of opposition that they have
met with in England. There are 621 of these societies,
at least half of the members belonging to the salaried
classes. There has been a diminution in the operations
of these societies, and some of them have found it
necessary to grant credit to the members, although
such a proceeding is contrary to the articles of associa-
tion. The fact, however, shows in an unmistakeable
manner how difficult it is for the consumers in
Germany as elsewhere to make ends meet. There are
nearly 700 building societies in Germany, but very
few of their reports have been published. —The Times.

A SAFE AuGuay.—The member of the E iropean
Happy Family whose life is most threateoed just now
—Turtrey.—Punch,

TAKING CARE OF THE SENTSIES. - The Berlin
correspondent of The Times writes :—" With reference
to a late correspondence in your columns on the sub-
ject of sentries, humanely begun by Lord Elcho I may
mention, by way of contributing evidence on the sub.
ject, that in Berlin the greatest attention is paid to
the comfort of soldiers doing guard duty; for not only
are they allowed to wear their great wide neck-laps
whenever the weather is inclement, be it summer or
winter, but during the continuance of such a cold
time as the present each sentry-box is provided with a
pair of large, thick, and warm felt shoes, easily slipped
on by the man on duty over his ordinary boots, and
banded over by him to the relief. Warm gloves are,
of °course, also furnished."

SUNDAY LABOUR IN LONDON.—Under the auspices
of the Lord's Day Rest Association, there was a meet-
ing of cabmen and omnibus drivers and conductors
held on Monday night, in the Wesleyan School,
Liverpool street, Gray's-inn•road, London, the object
being to protest against the long hours of labour those
classes had to endure an Sundays, and also against the
unnecessary use of vehicles on that day by those who
professed religion, and desired to observe a day of rest
and extend the boon to others, It was resolved
"That the Sunday work of cab, omnibus, and tram-
way men (many of whom work fifteen and sixteen
hours seven days a week) would be greatly lessened
if those attending places of worship would practise the
command of God, to 'Remember the Sabbath Day
to keep it holy," and cease to use public vehicles on
Sundays; and that this meeting of cab, omnibus, and
tramway men appeals to Christian ministers to dis-
courage from the pulpit, and by their own example,
the hardship of Sunday labour endured by the men in
these trades."

14VISION OF THE AUTHORISED VERSION. The
Revisers of the Authorised Version of the New Testa.
meat met on Tuesday in the Jerusalem Chamber for
their 94th session, and sat for seven hours. There
were present the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol,
who presided; the Dean of Rlchester and Lichfield,
Archdeacon Lee, Principal Newtb, Professor Hort,
Dr, Vance Smith, and Prebendaries, Humphry and
Scrivener—in all nine =embers, with Vlr2Troutbeck,
the eeereiary. The omapany Were enga.ged upon
eUggeationo of the American committee on the Epistle
to the Romano.

.

A PRIMITIVE NATION.—The new Mexican Inter.
oceanic railway across the Tehuantepec Isthmus is
marked out to pass through the State of Chiapar,
which probably contains the only population in the
world which possesses no iron, nor anything in the
shape of an iron industry, even of the crudest form.
For the distance of eighty miles around Palenque, the
capital, not a single blacksmith can be found, and the
only articles in the shape of iron are axes and
machetas, imported from the United States. Nails
are unknown, all the woodwork being held together
by cord or the tendrils of the vines, and even the tor-
tilla is prepared by grinding the maize between
stones. The new railway which will run through this
territory has clearly a well-defined educational, as well
as commercial, development to undertake.
THE SECOND CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLR.—The Daily
News of Monday published the following telegram
from Alexandria :—The second Cleopatra's Needle,
erected 22 years .0.,H opposite the Temple of Augustus
Csar in Alexandria, was successfully lowered on
Saturday amidst some excitement and without
accident. Preparations are being made for its ship-
ment to America by the steamer Dessuk."
CRIME IN ITALY.—From the criminal stadia jus
published by the Government of Italy it appears that
in the first nine months of 1879 there were no fewer
than 2,900 murders or attempts at murder committed
in the kingdom, being an average of ten and two-thirds
a day. In the same period of three•quarters.of a year
there occurred 1,900 cases of highway robbery, of the
perpetrators of which as many as 800 had entirely
escaped the hands of justice.
FRENCH v. ENGLISH WOBILMEN.—The French work-
man obviously spends loss in food than the English,
and has two meals a day; but then, can he work ,as
the Englishman does, either in regard to absolute phy-
sical strength or rower of settled application? All
observation seems to concur in the negative. The
testimony embodied in this report is certainly not in
favour of the French workman in this respect. Shorter
hours and vigorous work while at it, is a far healthier
system than long hours interspersed with irregulas
dawdling periods; not only is it better for the work,
but for the worker, and certainly more economical ti
time. The scraps of time which the French workman
whiles away in his game of cards after lunch and in his
other periods of relaxation during working hours
would add up, at the end of the working-hours, to a
good total of time available for recreation or for other
studies if desired. But it may also be stpposed that
the French workman, eating and drinking less than
the English is pro tango a workman of less bodily
energy and power of endurance. One of our great
railway contractors, when he wanted to diminish his
working staff of navvies, went round among the men
at meal time and noted for dismissal those who seemed
to be bad feeders and left part of their meal, keeping
the heavy feeders; and said he always found he re-
tained the best men in this way.—Build.er.
THE EFFECT OF COLD ON THE AGED.—The Obit-
nary of The Times of yesterday illustrated the effect
of the severe weather on the aged, and gave several
remarkable instances of longevity. In the case of 11
persons—five ladies and six gentlemen—their united
ages amounted to 954 years, giving an average of 86
years and more than eight months to each. The
oldest was a gentleman who had reached the great age
of 98 years; the youngest of the same sex was 80.
Of the ladies the oldest was 91 and the youngest 81.
There were also 15 septuagenarians, whose ages aver-
aged 74 years and more than seven months. That the
ages of 26 persons in one day's obituary should average
80 years is a remarkable fact.—Wednesday's Times.

THE WEATHER IN Pania.—The Paris Correspondent
of the Daily Telegraph, writing on Tuesday, mays :

The authorities at the Observatory have reason to believe
that the snow will last twenty days. The Seine is frozen
over in parts, and at the Pont St. Michel this afternoon you
might have walked across it on the ice. It was hoped that
the rise of the waters announced yesterday would have
carried away the masses of floating ice, but such has not
been the case. It is needless to add that navigation on the
river has been entirely Interrupted, and, as most of the wood
comes to Paris by water, the price of that commodity has
risen largely within the last few days. Coal, too, is rising,
but there is no ground for the alarm that we shall soon have
no gas. Seagulls have appeared in some quantity on the
Seine; they are invariably the precursors of a rigorous
winter. This is the fifth time since the beginning of the
century that the Seine has been frozen.
PLANTING THE BALMORAL ESTATE..—A very exten•
sive piece of ground on the Royal estate of Balmoral
is about to be planted. A large force of workmen
have just arrived on the ground to commence opin-
ations, which, it is expected, will extend over a period
of two months if the weather should continue suitable.
The ground to be thus treated is a piece of waste
ground lying along the south side of the Dee a short
distance from Invercauld Bridge, and which, at
present, looks a blighted and ugly break in the other-
wise beautifully wooded landscape between Braemar
and Balmoral. About a dozen years ago it was covered
with a magnificent forest of heavy timber, which was
cut down and sold, the property at that time belonging
to Colonel Farquharson, of Invercauld. In order to
fill the cheerless void which was thue caused, Her
Majesty has given directions to have the whol.e ..a
stripped property planted over with 6notch firs,
larches, and othec hardy varieties.

THE STATE MINES OF PRUSSIA.—The estimated
receipts for the produce of the coal, metallic, and salt
mines belonging to the Prussian Government for the
next fiscal year are, as appears from a recent debate,
48,198,148 marks, or rather more than £2,400,000.
Considerable complaint was made by tome members
In the recent debate at the fact that the salt mines,
on which four and a half million marks, or £225,000
had been expended during the past ten years, pro-
duced this y••%r only the miserable sum of 98,000
marks, or £l,;.' .1, the capitalized value of the salt
mines being est.mated at £750000. In reference to
the Ulmer Silesian coal mines, it was stated that
women were still 1.-,rgely employed there, the number
at the last enumeration being about 5,500, most of
whom were young Polish women and girls,

AT TILE CATTLE Snow—Young Firmer. "Are you
fond of beasts, Mies Gusherton ? "—Miss Gnsherton.
"Oh, really, Mr. Pawker, if you mean that as a decla-
ration, you mast speak to mamma ! "—Punch.
TWENTY•TWO HOURS IN OPEN BOATS.-012 Mon-
day seven of the crew of the Swansea brig Ottawa
were landed at Liverpool by the steamer Marahense,
from Para, their vessel having been wrecked off the
Brazilian coast, 180 miles from Para, on October 31.
The vessel struck a bank, and became a wreck. The
crew of eight hands took to the boats, and, after beat-
ing about for 22 hours were fallen in with by a Portu-
guese schooner, *bich towed them into San Juan.
The men had no sails to the boats and had to utilise
some blankets Ostend.
THE BARBADOES FLYING-FISH FISHERY. No-
vember 1 is the day on which the season for taking
flying-fish begins in Barbadoes. The fishery is quite
an important affair, giving occupation to a large
number of people. The mosquito fleet of fishing boats
are then to be seen, like innumerable specks on the
ocean, all around the island, busily engaged in catching
flying-fish, which in Barbadoes are an admitted
luxury to the rich and a great boon to the poor. It is
matter of great regret that no proper means of curing
the flying-fish has yet been made available, for being
taken in such quantities in the season they have
frequently to be literally thrown away. It they could
be properly pickled they would, to a large extent, cut
off the demand for American dry and pickled fish,
which form a large item in the imports from the
United States and Newfoundland.—lndia and the
Colonies.

A PROTECTOR—Tommy (on a visit to his grand.
mamma in the country). "No fear of thieves or
burglars now, Aunt Mary, with a man's hat and coat
hanging up in the hall I "—Punch.
-- - - -

THE SUPPLY OF AADEBIC.AN FOOD.—The arrivals of
both live stock and fresh meat at Liverpool last week
from the "United States and Canada were numerous,
while the individual consignments were also larger than
recently. With live stock on board five steamers
arrived, bringing collectively 660 head of cattle and
2,862 sheep. The seven steamers conveying fresh meat
brought 6,996 quarters of beef. 2,332 carcases of
mutton, and 125 dead pigs. It is expected that within
the next few weeks large quantities of game, prairie
hens, and other descriptions of poultry will arrive at
Liverpool from Canada. Last week six barrels and
six cases of turkeys, seven cases of poultry, and two
cages of game were brought from that country.