The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-08-19 00:00:00

iucatio-rr;
regard ,
In.;

George Potter, who via is
School Board at the last ele
the interests of the wprki.
fermi— will seer re elec.
, Potter says
_ Lain the help and
who approve of the ,
:—To provide adequate
.e: metropolis; to conduct
eienOy ; to give a sound, gent
enforce the attendance of children, with clue,
• the circumstanced of the parents."
•
THE DAY You WERE Boar4—Etere.ls an
fallible method of discovering the day of the week
which a given, day of the month any number of y
previous occurred., To the number representiny
age at your next birthday, add one-fourth It
years; this amount divide by seven, and the remain
counted back from the day of the week on which
were born. For instance, on your next birthday .
will be twenty-four year old. This divided by 4, and
the quotient, 6 added to 24, 'gives 30, the amount,
which divided by 7, the number of days in the week,
gives four weeks and the remainder of two days. Now,
if your birthday in 1876 comes on Monday, count back
two days • and you have the day on which you were
born, Saturday.
A " HORRIBLE " SERENADE.—The Gold Hill
News says :—One of the features of the Centennial
Celebration was the procession of the " Horrihles."
These fantastic creatures came down to Gold Hill in
the afternoon. The majority of them were mounted
on jackasses. The jackasses paused in front of the
News office, and the men who rode them naturally
paused with them. Tnen followed a "Horrible "
serenade. The members of the band exhausted them-
selves in blowing discordant sounds through their
instruments, while the procession looked on with undis-
guised admiration. We acknowledge the compliment
It was a "Horrible" one, and one long to be remem-
bered. • J klisl/41:1.
' '• Novi EL :—.Lay'-?FEATITRIEKa Too bad—too
bad, Bailey Only your second morning hers, and
you are quite intoxicated "—Gardener:! "Nosh a
bit! Look agin, my laclish ; itsh because I'm new 1
Minesh a fates 39 you musht get willed to, and then
,en't half sho druuksh ash I might eheem
a stranger I"—Fun.
P ALaux Vor GRASSHOPPERS.—A despatch
from St. Paul to the New York papers states that the
damage done by the grasshoppers on the north-western,
western, and south-western borders of the State is
incalculable, and hundreds of indrotriousl bard-working
setldrbav&loet their all an& hate' nothiirgll6ft to live
upon. The Pioneer Press on the 28th ult, says th
"a great part of the region west of and inAudi
Jackson County to Eastern Dakota, and south thz
Western lowa, is covered with devouring hosts,
our reports indicate that the entire crops of this reg
are being swept away, and that many of the discourag,
settlers arempprarily leaving,"
Mly
F • 6_ ; '
' E or Caor. Tuesday's icto,
Journal says :—"Hops are-now to be seen on a grel
number of the poles, and their appearance is green
fresh. The past week, which has been exceseiply ho)
has greatly hastened the development of the flow{
but at the present moment it is rether thin or ugh
owing to the absence of refreshing showers. Rain hi
a wonderful effect upon hops. In some genial seaso:
it has taken but 140 to 150 bushels to fill a pocket, at
at other times, when the season has been precariou
as many as 170 to 180 bushels have been required. TL
poles are not very thickly covered with hop bine thit
year, and the hops have more room to fully develop
themselves. They will doubtless be much larger than
usual should we be favoured with a few timely soaking
showers."
CENTENARIANISM.—" S. P. D." writes to

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The Times :—The announcement in The
Saturday concerning the death of a cen
induces me to infottia you that I have-recently seen .
the infirmary 'ward of the Monaghan Union Work-
house a female pauper whose age is alleged to be 106.
This poor creature hes only been an inmate of the
'house for. the past three years. Although bedridden,
I was assured that este suffers from no complaint
whatever; in fact knows not what it is to endure pain
or eche. Hers is simply a ewe of natural, but exceed-
ter gradual, decay. I was further told that she
,yed immunity from those troublesome afflictions
usually consequent upon protracted confinement to
bed. This appears all the more remarkable consider-
ing that workhouse mattresses are not particularly
luxurious."
DEATHS or SEAMEN. The usual annual,
return of the deaths of merchant seamen, so far as
they are reported to the Board of Trade, gives an.
account of 5,393 deaths reported in the year 1875. As
many as 3,263, or considerably more than half these
deaths, occurred by drowning, but two-thircia of them
by drowning when vessels were wrecked. An eighth of
the whole number of the deaths happened from fever,
yellow fever causing the majority of this class of
deaths ; one in 18 of all the deaths was from cholera,
diarrlicea, dyseatry, and diseases of that class; one in
24 was from coneuarption, bronchitis, or other diseases
of the lungs ; one in 37 was from diseiseea of the brain
and nervous system • one in 39 from diseases of the
heart and great bloodvessels. As many as 41 of the
deaths were suicides, and there were five deaths from
murder or homicide.
THE LITE LADY AUGUSTA STANLEY.—On!
Friday, in last week, a monument was erected in thel
southern transept of Dumfermline Abbey in memory'
of the late Lady Augusta Stanley. The monument,'
which has been executed by Mies Mary Grant, of
Regent's Park, consists of a bas relief, with Gothic
frame, in white marble. In size it is sft, 9.in. in height
by 31t. 3in. in breadth. In the centre there is a repre-
sentation of an angelic group bearing.a figure upwardsl
and a striking likeness is given of the deceased. On
the Late is a shield bearing the arms of Stanley and
‘l'Bruce, with the following inscription composed by;
-Dean Stanley :
"To the dear memory of Augusta ElizabSth Fredell4a;
Bruce, fifth daughter of Thomas, seventh Earl of Elgin andl
Kincardine. - The beloved wife of Arthur Penrbyn Stanley,
Dean of Westminster. Born at Broomhall, April 3, 1822
Died March Ist, 1876. Burled in Westminster Abbey, the;
scene of her latest and dearest affections. She retained
through all changes her ciPep attachment to the home of her
childhood and the reating•place of her race. 'I love Dun-
fermline; I love My own, my own BroomhalL Let the
people of Limekilns and. Charleston never forget me.' She
stretched forth her hands to the needy, and in her tongue is.
the law of kindness; the heart of her husband doth safely
trust in her, and her own works praise her. We know that ,
we have passed from death unto life, because we love thel
brethren."
FATAL BALLOON ACCIDENT. —The Daily Tele- j
i graph reports a fatal balloon accident n the neighboure,'
hood qf Paris. On Monday afternoon, about font's
o'clock, M. Triquet and his son, two well-known wro- I
nauts were to ascend in a balloon from Levallois.Perret
near Asnieres. The expansion was, however, not ;
completed at six o'clock in the evening, and the rents!
In the silk of the balloon were so numerous that it rose:
with difficulty.. After a had remained in the air for al
sh,,rt time, the balloon descended towards the Plain of
,Montrouge. and began to drive along in ie horizontal I
.direction. The attempts of the occupants of the car to
stop the progress of the balloon caused it to ascend!
higher into the air, where it remained for some time
out of the control of wronauts. Suddenly however,
it came down with great velocity, striking against a
wheel attached to a stone quarry, the car coming vio.
lently in contact with the sharp rocks that cover the
ground. The two men were found dreadfully injured.
The son was dead, and the father remained insensible
for some time. Little hope is said to be entertained of
his recovery.
HOT NIGHTS.—The British Medical Journal
says ;—"The recent unusually hot weather has been
felt keenly by all. During the day it is borne with
more or less resignation; but the hot nights are found
most trying, the sleep being broken, fitful, and unre-
freshing, and altogether insufficient to fit the person
for the toil of the next day. In order to remedy
matters as far as possible, the windows should be
widely opened after sundown, so as to cool the heated
house as far as may be. On retiring to bed, a full and
free current of air through the room (not a small
draught ') should be cultivated, so that the lack of
cubic space may
be compensated by a frequent re-
newal of the air. There is little fear of catching cold
daring the present sultry nights. In addition to these
measures, it is well, especially if the room face the
morning sun, to sprinkle the floor liberally with water.
In its evaporation much coolness is produced; and,
with dry air, the moisture so brought about is very
grateful. This measure, of course, is more effectual
during dry beat than moist heat. At the same time it
is well to wrap the water-bottle in a clean napkin
wrung out of cold water, fastening it with a safety.-
Pin. By this means, a draught of comparatively cool
water is secured, especially if the bottle be placed
where a draught will catch the damp napkin'''.

Times of
ltenarian

1 ingly grad'
enjoyed '

WONDERFITL INVENTION.—There is, it is said,
in the Philadelphia Exhibition, a machine for making
casks, which catches bold of a bundle of wood, makes
staves of it, places them in position, puts round them
iron hoops, and fixes the heads in, all by one operation,.
This alm,)st reminds one of the celebrated invention,
(also Au,o,rican, doubtle-,s) which would chasa a pig'
round a tarm•yard, put a ring through his nose and
tie him to a post. Oar American friends are getting
on I—Judy.

AUSTRALIAN GOLD.—The mining department
of the Colony of Victoria report that the edtimateci
quantity of gold obtained there in the first quarter of
the present year was 240,9300 z , which is 2,5740 z. mem
than in the corresponding quarter of last year. The,
total comprised 97,98614 alluvial and 142,9440 z. quartz-
go'd The average yield of quartz was a fraction less
than lliwts. 19gr. gold per ton. The number of
miners at work was estiaiated at 40,673, of whom
11,216 were Chinese.

THS SEASIDE.—Don't judge by
appierances.—Beacharitable.—Bathe with the regu-
larity of a maolaine.—Don't surf-sit yourself.—lf your
little daughter is frightened at tbe waves breaker to
them gradually.—lmitate the ocean and be tide-y.-
131 n% imitate the rivers when they rush into the sea,

for they often foam at the mouth.------If you take a boat,
don't•let the owner see you —Freely exchange your
coppers for the brass of the bands.—Don't be Niggerdly
with the Christys.—As fish are caught by the gross
don't
.be grossly imposed upon, but give 'net" price.
—lf you are offered a free sail don't be idiyachtio and
refuse.—Fun.
• A DISLIKE TO MAKE TROUBLIL —This MOTL•
ing an impecunious tramp was unable to pay his fine,
sod the recorder ordered him to be locked up (says a
San Francisco paper). The city marshal, however,
said the lock•up was crowded, and not fit to put the
prisoner in, anyhoii—, arid he would have to try and
make arrangements to place the fellow in the county
gaol. The prioner then spoke up .--" Gentlemen, r
see I am intruding? don't put yourselves out to EV.:COM-
,gaodate me. I'll call in again when you are not so
'hwy. And a long•legged policeman had to follow hina
I.three times round the plaza, over two fences, through
a lager beer saloon and up on top of a two-storey
ohicken-house to tell him to come back and they would
find a place for him in the lock•up, anyhow.
THE Crtors.—The pages of Monday's Agricul-
cultural Gazette are filled with reports from several
hundreds of correspondents, scattered over England,
S:otland, and Ireland, which have been received in
answer to a circular of inquiry with referecce to the
carrent harvest. The Agricultural Gazette says :

'ere 1

It will be teen on a comparison of the number represent-,
lug the crop to be over average with that of those which re-
present It as under average that there is a large excess of the
latter. If we exclude all the returns for the moment which
report an average crop it will be seen that the 'wider average°
returns are more than three-fourths of the remainder in the
case of wheat; in the case of barley nearly three-fourths ; iii
themes° of oats nearly fitteeu-sixteentils ; this last being, as
we declared It some weeks ago tO be, the worst crop of the
lean The bead crop 'partakes of the general character of
• inferfOrity ;' but the-pea crop decidedly better than usual.
. A NATURAL IcE-Houst.—Ohittenden, Vt., is
boasting over a sort of natural ice-house which hats
hitherto been comparatively little known: • The place
is a' narrow gorge with rocky sides extending down
about twenty feet and arched overhead with trees. Fiera
an abundant quantity of clear, solid ice can be found
during the hottest season of the year. At the upper end o§
the gorge is a clear spring of water, from which the ice
is formed in winter, filling the fissures and crevice
between the rocks at the bottom of the ravine. This
Is the ice-house of the people in the vicinity, and here
-‘,37 obtain their supply.. Last year, ice was taken
out in September, and there is reason to believe that it
lasts during the whole year. The atmosphere in the
vicinity of the gorge is cooled by its ftozen treasures,
and when the wind is in the right direction a change
in temperature ie apparent half a mile distant. At sh
wa-Aring trough by the roadside, eighty rods away, fed
directly from the ice•bed, men and beasts alike ate
refreshed wittveal ice water.
WANTED TO KNow.—When persons take the
baths at a German watering-place, where do they
take them to ?—Judy. ,
HEAT AND MoßTiiirDuring the three
weeks ending the Ist, Bth, and 15th July, the heat in
New York was excessive, the mean temperature of the
three weeks being succusively 81'1 deg., 831 deg.,
and 83-9 F. In London the hottest week this year wee
that ending July 22, when the mean temperature wao
not more than 705 deg. The deaths in New York
at all ages, in the three weeks above mentioned, were
636, 858, and 1,298 respectively. The 1,298 deaths re-
ported in the week ending July 15, were equal to on
annual rate of 638 per 1,000 persons estimated to be
living in the city. The intensity of the beat in New
York during the week ending July 15 may be'
imagined from the fact that the thermometer in the
shade rose above- 90 deg. on four days in the week,
and to 98 deg. on the 9th. At the Royal ObervatorY,
Greenwich, the highest readings in the shade were
94'0 deg. and 90.2 deg on the 17th and 22nd July.--
_

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DROUGHT CYOLE.—In reporting on the agri-
culture and industry of the Danish West Indian island
- qt. Croix, Consul Palgrave has to state that of late
the year's rainfall has barely averaged 34 inches, and
in 1875 it was helve 27 inches in the Christiansted
division, and was quite inadequate to secure a mode
irate sugar crop for 1876. Mr. Palgrave says that the
rainfall was certainly much more copious in former
times. Traces of a tree-growth impossible with such
a scanty moisture supply, of shrunken or dried-ill,'
pools, and of stream channels where nothing now &we,
exist everywhere throughout the island. This unfox-
tunate climatic modification has, it seems, become
normal, not in St. Croix alone but throughout the
Virgin Islariels and the northetly region of the Lesser
Antilles for the last 15 years or thereabouts. The
Consul observes that until a change to more favourable
seasons )3hall come, much blight be done by husbanding
the rainwater in reservoirs, as in India, Southern
Persia, and Central Arabia.
DEATH DT MISADVENTURE.—An inquest was
held at Birmingham, last Saturday, on the body et
Mr. Charles Porter, a surgeon, of that town. FroM
the evidence of Mrs. Emma Porter, the widow', it
appeared that the deceased, who was of intemperate
habits, returned home on Thursday evening in last
week in a state of intoxication. Several patients were
waiting for him. For some of these he prescribed'
but in one case he would not trust himself to make up
the mixture, as it involved the use of poison.
desired the applicant to call for it on the following
morning; and then lay down on a couch in the surgery.
After sleeping for some time, he woke up and called
for ginger-beer' which was supplied to him. As hi°
wife was about to quit the room she heard him take a
bottle down from a shelf and pour some of its contents
Into the glees out of which he was drinking. Ile
drained off the draught, exclaiming, "Emma, if that
is prosaic acid, I'm a dead man." The bottle wal;
labelled "prosaic acid." Witinees sent for medical
assistance at once, but before it arrived her hueband
He had
.frequently taken liquid ammofli?.
purpose of sobering himself, and had boasted
of his ability to make a man sober instantaneousiC
with prussic acid. The jury returned a verdict that
deceased died through taking an overdose of prussic
acid by misadventure.
THE METROPOLIS OF MUSEUMS.—A German
Correspcndent writes to The Times under date
Dresden, August 8 :—" The opening of the Museuld
Johauneum adds a new attraction to the maul
which Dresden possesses for students of the fine arts.
The museum is the old building on the Neumarkt,
which formerly contained the famous picture-gallerP
klt has been restored in honour of the late King John,
who was an eminent scholar, and great patron of arts
and science. It is to contain a collection of historical
ant'quities, an ethnographic collection, and the magnl6-
cent collection of china, which is unrivalled in Europe.
The collection of china, containing about 20,000 pieces'
was opened to the public on the 7th inst. Some of the
f pieces from China date from before the beginning e,
our era. The manufacture of china was a hobby
the Electors of Saxony—hence the enormous wealth 01
the collection, particularly in old specimens from Chill
and Japan. It is very curious to observe the gradual
development of the Dresden, or, more correctly'',
Meissen, china, beginning with a close imitation el
Chinese patterns, and at last reaching its highest per-
fection in the little Watteau figures, and highly orna'
mented flower pieces which still form the staple article
,1 of the Royal manufactory at Meissen. The arrange'
I 'merit of the collection is due to Professor Graesse."
Tau POLITENESS.—PoIite Youth :—" Excuse
nee,"-sir, but you have dropped your cigar ash on your
trousers."—Crusty Old Gent Well; sir, and what
then? You've had a fusee burning in your coat sleeve for
the last quarter of an hour, and I neverinterfered with
your—Fan.
A. SAD ACCIDENT.—Au inquest has been held
.att the Weynaouth Barracks on the body of Hamiltoo
Okailes Beville, a lieutenant of the 31st Regialent,
'Portland, who met his death on Saturday night under
very painful circumstances. A, hrake and three horeee
had lately; been running from Weehmoutle to Portland'
,leaving the former place about eleven o'clock at night.
_AA that hour on Saturday Lieutenant-Colonel Dickens/
commanding the 31st Regiment, with deceased sac;
several other officers, were in the brake, the deceased
atitting on the box seat next the driver. As there were
aeot sufficient passengers to require the use of tbe
leading horse, the driver was in the act of dismounting
for the purpose of taking it away. Previous to this he
had asked the deceased to hold the ieius of the wheelere
which he did, but, while shifting his seat to the °die
occupied by the driver, he stumbled over a footboard
and fell over the side of the brake, first striking the
driver who was in the act of descending, and then
-pitching straight on the ground on the top of his head.
lie was perfectly insensible when taken up, was re'
moved to the house of Dr. Rhodes, just opposite to
where the accident occurred, but never regained con'
,eciousness, death ensuing about one o'clock. The jull
returned a verdict of " Accidental death."
How THE NIAGARA ALMOST RAN DRy.— Od
March 29, 1848, a remarkable phenomenon occurred,
The preceding winter had been intensely cold, and the
Ice formed on Lake Erie was unusually thick. In the,
warm days of early spring this mass of ice was loosened
around the shores of the lake and detached from there'
During the forenoon of the day named a stiff easterlY
wind moved it up the lake. A little before sunset the
wind chopped suddenly round and blew a gale fore
the west. This brought the vast field of ice back /Wale
with such tremendous force that it filled in the neck of
the lake and its outlet so as to form a very effective
dam, that caused a remarkable diminution in the out'
flow of the water. Of course it needed but a little
time for the Falls to drain off the water below this,
dam. The consequence was that, on the morning 01
the following day, the river was nearly half gone. (-Lau
Auaeri;;.-1 C., AZZ; di hail dwindled to a deep and narrosv
creek; the British channel seemed to have been emitted
with a qui k consumption, and to be fast naming awaY'
Far up from the head of Goat Island and out into the
Cananiau rapids, and from the foot of Goat Island out
beyond the old Tower to the deep channel of the
Horseshoe kali, the water was gone. The rocks were
bare, black, and forbidding. The roar of Niagara he A
eubeided to a moan. This extraordinary syncope or
the waters lasted all the day, and night closed over the
strange. scene. But during the night the dam gl
way, and the next morning the river was restored e
all its strength, beauty, and majesty. —Niagara (in tb
Midsummer Holiday Number of Scribner).

industry of the Danish We-it Indian
• I of St. Croix, Consul Palgrave has to state that
_ .

times.

was. dead.

I for the

_ Mr
the Londox
_v estminster, ir
and the; Noncon
In -a pieliininari
e at* 'reelection,l
Irieration'of the rate
present Botifd
commedation
tichoohl v !Atli
and