The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-09-09 00:00:00

SAT 1.; -1) it LII. 0, 1876.

COSTUME IN KEEPING. "Of all sweet
thirgs," said Bertha, "for the sea-side, give me a
serge." The Aocient Mariner shook his head. He
didn't see the joke.—Punch.
HEADS AND SCALPS.—The New York Times
says :—"A band of well-armed Indians recently ran
off a herd of 400 beef cattle from the Black Hills, and
killed all but one. A large number of horses have
also been run off. One of the Indians was killed in the
operation. and his head, preserved in alcohol, will be
sent to Washington when opportunity presents. Gray
Eagle's scalp, which was taken by Dave Campbell,
was sent to the Bismarck Tribune by the steamer
Josephine, so that this settles the question whether the
fellow was scalped or not."
SOCIAL Btxtras.—Wearied by London dissi-
pation, the Marjoribanks Browns go, for the sake of
perfect quiet, to that picturesque little watering-placa,
Shrimpington-suner-Mare, where they trust that they
will pot meet a single soul they know. Oddly enough,
the Cholmondeley joneses go to the same spot with the
same purpose. Now these Jonesea and Browns cor-
dially detest each other in London, and are not even on
speaking terms; yet such is the depressing effect of
"perfect quiet" that, as soon as they meet at Shrimp-
ington-euper-Mare, they rush into each other's arms
with a wild sense of relief !—Punch.

To TELL A HORSE'S AGE.—A gentleman from
Alabama, who appears to have great confidence in his
theory, lags down the following method for deter-
mining the age of a horse :—" Up to the age of nine
years the teeth are an unfailing guide, but beyond this
age the dental test is powerless. There is another
equally infallible test, however. It is this. After a
hove is nine years old a wrinkle comes on the eyelid
at the upper corner of the lower lid, sad every year
thereafter he has one well-defined wrinkle for each over
nine. If, for instance, the horse has three wrinkles,
he is twelve; if four, he is thirteen. Add the number
of wrinkles to nine, and you will always get it.

QUEEN ANNE'S BOUNTY.—The Governors of
the Fund known as Queen Anne's BJunty, which has
grown to large dimensions, state in their report on the
year 1875 that the flow of contributions from bene-
factors towards the improvement of poor benefices has
not abated, and the Governors, in the course of the
year; made upwards of ninety grants of £2OO each to
meet private benefactions of equal or greater amount.
In the last five years the grants made in a year have
averaged £16,470. The benefactions—money and stock—
have averaged £19,160. The" income transactions" in
1875 show receipts amounting to £142,857, chiefly divi-
dends on property and interest on mortgages, but in-
cluding also £16,293 received from first-fruits and
tenths; and the clisbureembnts show £108,640 for in-
terest and dividends due to the clergy, and £6,998 for
salaries and other charges of management, including
payments to solicitor and surveyor. The balance-
sheet states the property or assets held by the
Governors, consisting of stock in the Government
funds, railway stock, loans on mortgage under Gilbert's
and other Acts, the total Value of the property being
£3,630,201, and the liabilities (augmented livings, &a)
are stated at £3,602,490, leaving a balance of £27,711
in favour of the Governors.

AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN.—The
following are the average prices of British corn for the
week ending Sept. 2, as received from the inspectors
and officers of Excise :—Wheat, 453. • barley, 36;
Bd. ; oats, 275. 7d. per imperial gparter. Correspond-
ing week last year :—Wheat, 495. ; barley, 355. Od. ;
oats, 30e. _ _ _

ELEPHANTS' TEETH.—As declared at the
Customs, the value of elephants' teeth imported this
year was £353,534, which was a decrease on last year,
when the amount was £452,275.
SWIMMING MATCH BETWEEN A MAN AND A
DOG.—A. large concourse of persons asedmbled at the
"Welsh Harp," Hendon, last Saturday, for the pur-
pose of witnessing a swimming contest between a man
and a dog. The stake was £5O, and the owner, Mr.
Eade, backed his favourite dog against Harry Parker,
a well-known London swimmer, The distance to be
swum was half a mile, and the dog was allowed half a
minute start. At a few minutes to six o'clock the dog
plunged into the lake, the route being shown by its
master, who was rowed in advance for that purpose.
Taking a direct course, and swimming at a rapid pace,
the animal managed to cover nearly fifty yards in the
half minute allowed, which time having expired Parker
dived into the water and at once commenced the side-
stroke, making great efforts on the journey, but with-
out the slightest advantage, as the dog kept steadily
on, increasing its lead yard by yard, being urged on by
its master, When half the distance had been covered
the dog was nearly 100 yards ahead, and although
Parker strained every nerve to catch his opponent his
endeavours were quite useless, and as it appeared from
the first, he was entirely out of the race, the dog
eventually winning by more than 150 yards.
_ _

FOREIGN POULTRY.—The value of poultry
imported, alive and dead, this year was £113,216,
against £131,587 in the corresponding period of last
year.

FAKTRAORDINA.RY MORTALITY AMONG EELS.—
About a fortnight ago an extraordinary number of
dead eels were observed floating down the river Arun.
The matter was referred for investigation to Mr.
Frank Buckland, who has reported as follows :—" I
have just received from Mr. Constable, of the Swallow
Brewery, Arundel, three specimens of eels. They were
found dead in the river Aruu a few days since. The
eels suffered from some renThrkable disease, and were
found floating in the river by hundreds. The disease
manifested itself by a red spot appearing first on the
belly. This extended gradually upwards towards the
head. They staggered about in the water, rushed to the
side of the river bank, and there died. All the other fish
in the Arun were quite healthy. I have made an exa-
mination of these eels, and found nothing to ileaeant
tee aeata, exceet that the ail)e were somewhat con-
gested. The air bladders were also remarkably tense and
full of air. I consider it more than likely that these
eels were effected by the electric state of the atmo-
sphere. Eels, as we all know, are very susceptible to
thunder, and it is probable that the electricity about
in the atmosphere during the very hot weather when
these eels died somehow so affected their constitutions
that they succumbed. I understand that in the cholera
year all the Saurus glanis in a certain river in Ger-
many, I think Mr. H. Sachs told me, were found
dead, while no other fish were at all affected. The
late hot weather has been fatal to pond fish in many
parts of the country."
EXTRAORDINARY FEAT.—Great interest has
been excited among agriculturists in the neighbourhood
of Reading and Newbury by an extraordinary feat
which has been performed by Mr. Charlwood, farmer
and miller, of Padworth, who made a wager that he
would himself, singly and unassisted, put up on carte
the produce of 29 acres of wheat and send it to be
stacked, the time specified being as soon as he could
see to load in the morning and as long as he could
see at night. Mr. Charlwood commenced his task
on the farm of Mr. N. G. Hutchinson, at Crook-
ham, near Newbury at a quarter before 4 o'clock
on Friday morning, and by 20 minutes past 9 at
night he had accomplished the unprecedented feat.
Mr. Charlwood was much exhausted at the finish, the
crop being very heavy, as will be gathered when it is
stated that the ricks built comprised three ten yards
long and five yards wide, one ten yards long and six
yards wide, all of good weight, besides which there was
a smaller one. About 20 sheaves were put up as a load,
and they were carted to the ricks. It is computed that
during the time Mr. Charlwood did not cart a less
quantity than 200 sacks of wheat, and 55 or 60 tons of
straw, calculated to be equal to what mid be con-
sidered a fair amount of work for three days for an
ordinary agricultural labourer.
FATAL COLLISION OFF HOLYBRAD.—At half-
past tan on Sunday night a collision occurred about
twelve miles to the north-east of the South Stack
Lighthouse, between the American ship Sonora, inward
bound from San Francisco, and the Spanish steamer
Vivar, outward bound for Bantander and other ports
In Spain. The Sonora was in tow of the steam-tug
Blazer, of Liverpool, at the time of the collision. Tne
tow rope was cut through by the steamer, which fell
across the sailing ship's bows. The 'result was a terrible
collision. The stem of the Sonora was smashed in, and
the steamer's aide was completely pierced. Bath
vessels filled rapidly, and sank about three hours after-
wards. The master and crew of the Sonora were taken
on board the Blazer, as were also the crew and pas-
sengers of the "Maar, with the exception of one man
who was eithercrushed or drowned. They were brought
to Liverpool.
VENTILATION OF WELLS.—''H. E." writes to
The Times—" Twice in my lifetime I have had occasion
to have wells on my premises cleared out, and in fifteen
minutes this Was done at each well by throwing down
lark's, sheets of paper in full blaze of fire; the foul air
rushes out in a perfect volaime of wind in a quarter of
an hour. I went down a well 301 t. to 50 ft. deep,
after trying the usual candle; one well was 1001 t. deep.
Let your correspondents try it, and they will find it a
very easy method."
"YEAR, YEAR !" In future the corn harvest
will make its first app ear•ance on New 'Ears day, and
be gathered in at Wheatsuntide. (The contributor who
sends this ought to be well-threshed.)—Fun.
CENSUS OF YOUNG MEN.—A Parliamentary
return, ordered on the motion of Mr. Henley, states
that it is estimated that in the middle of the year 1851
the population of the 'United Kingdom comprised
2,049,541 young men aged 18 and under 26, and that in
1871 the number was 2,201,927, an increase of less than
75 per cent, in the twenty years. In England and Wales
the number in 1871 (including army, navy, and merchant
seamen abroad as well as at home) was 1,616,226,
showing an increase of more than 21'5 per cent. since
1871; in Scotland the number in 1871 (nit including
persons abroad) was 227,340, an increase of not quite 7
per cent.; but in Ireland the number in 1871—namely
358,361 (not including persons abroad), showed a de-
crease of more than 29 per cent. Emigration takes
away a larger share of young men than of other classes
of the population.
BRlTlklit CORN TRADE.—The Agricultural
Gazette says :—" The threshing machine is telling a tale
of general disappointment. As a consequence, the
markets are becoming stronger, and wheat is about 3s.
dearer than it was a month ago—that is to say, the
price is higher, but, in fact, the new samples are quite
3. better than the old samples. The same charac-
teristic of quality seems to appertain to the wheat of
all countries this season. French wheat, German
wheat, Austrian wheat, Russian wheat, American
wheat in 1876 is superior to the wheat usually grown.
For this reason there should be a good steady demand
and an increased bulk of flour manufactured, as in such
a season inexperienced as well as experienced
millers, will be able to please their customers, since
selection is hardly necessary where all the yield is
fine, heavy grain, and of excellent colour. The later
harvest fields of the extreme North of England and in
Scotland have considerably stariered during the last
three weeks from wind and rain, so that the outcome
of the harvest in these districts will be much deterio-
rated. Luckily, these Northern areas are, relatively,
very small in comparison with the breadths of corn
that have been saved in the finest condition. Remem-
bering the lateness of the season in June, two to three
weeks, the clearance of the fields by September 1 is a
very noticeable fact, proving the rapidity with which
harvest work has been performed. We know of one
large farmer who cut and carried all his white crops in
ten days! The value and demand of foreign wheat
have improved to a similar extent as English, showing
that the upward movement of price is healthy and
general."

ECCENTRIC JOURNALISM.—Errore arising from
hasty and inconsiderate cutting down are to he met
with, not in books (for an author always cuts himself
down with remarkable tenderness), but in carelessly
edited newspapers. A barrister of my acquaintance
was much irritated at seeing it stated one morning in a
London journal that he defended a certain person
"who was accordingly convicted." In connection with
eccentric journalism a story is told of a reporter—in
the days when descriptive reporting had not yet been
invented—who, being instructed to report an eclipse
of the sun, and finding that no speeches were delivered
on the occasion, wrote, in stereotyped phrase, that
"the proceedings were entirely without public in-
terest."—Macmillan's Magazine.

A NARROW ESCAPE.—At the Burton Rail-
way Sattion, on Monday, a child incautiously strayed
across the main line whilst a goods train was approach-
ing, and while vainly endeavouring to get upon the
opposite platform the train reached the spot. The
engine steps grazed the child's clothing, a number of
waggons to which no steps were attached passing by
without injuring it. A porter, at great personal risk,
quickly rescued the boy from his perilous position
about two seconds before the breakvan passed, the
steps of which must inevitably have cut him to pieces.

AN ENVIABLE OFFICE !—An office exists during
election times in France which many individuals would
like to fill (says the Court Journal)—thst of the "can-
didate's drink-man." When a candidate canvasses for

a deputyship he has to indulge in much giving and
taking in the shape of drinking bealths ; frequently
his health or his constitution does noLpermit of great
indulgence, so he then has at his sidn "drink-man,"
as others have a spokesman, who in the midst of the
hurly-burly quaffs to cover the retreat of his employer.
RBORUITING.—A War Office return, stating the
number of persons enlisted and the number of those
who were passed into the ranks, shows recruiting sub-
districts with as small numbers as 21 and (at Dor-
chester) 16 passed into the ranks last year. The fol.
lowing sub-districts show the highest numbers passed
Into the ranks in the year ending March 31, 1876 :-
300 in Preston sub-district, 301 in Belfast, 303 in Edin-
burgh, 313 in Lichfield and 313 in Naas, 329 in Ashton-
under -Lyne, 334 in Bristol, 335 in Glasgow, 368 in
Leicester, 395 in Sunderland, 419 in Bury, and 490 in
Liverpool
THE NATIONAL SOCIETY.—The Corporation
_ _ _

of London have recently, upon the motion of Alderman
Sir Robert Carden, voted the awn of £525 in aid of the
funds of the National Society. That society, it may
be stated, was founded in 1811, and since then has
expended nearly a million in building and enlarging
schools, erecting and maintaining colleges for training
tbacherr, inspecting and organizing schools, and supply-
ing the beet school-books and apparatus at the loweit
possible cost. The society's grants have produced
contributions from other quarters of, at least,
£12,000,000. The society has founded or assisted in
founding, and now helps to maintain, 25 training
colleges, which send forth annually nearly 1,000
teachers, whose qualifications are certified by the
Education Department. Mainly owing to the pecuniary
help, advice, and encouragement given by the society,
there are at present 9,499 schools, which give a sound
secular as well as religious training. Those schools
have on their rolls 1,735,985 children, of whom 1,175,289
are in average attendance. It had also contributed
£43,190 towards the building of schools in Middlesex,
of which £33,202 had been paid to schools in the city of
London and its vicinity, and £9,900 to th. 3 districts of
London south of the Thames. At present the society
directs its efforts to build and enlarge schools and
protect the 14,000 schools in union with the society.
SHOOTING AND PHYSICKING.—The Paris Cora
respondent of the Standard writes :
"As shooting is now the order of the day, it may interest
you to learn that the number of licences taken out this year
In the department of the Seine is 4,105, a decrease of no lest
than 3,334 on the number of last year, when 7,439 were issued.
The average total of licences annually granted in the whole
of France is 160,000, while the poachers, or unlicensed
sportsmen, are set down at upwards of 450,000. The damages
caused by the latter entail an annual loss of many millions
of francs, and are one of the principal causes of the present
scarcity and consequent dearness of game.—From shooting
to physitking ia not always a big jump, so some of your
readers may also like to have a few statistics respecting the
latter which I copy from a recent return. It appears there
exists in France 8,210 chemists' shops, of which 2,121 are of the
first, and 4,089 of the second class. In 1868 the total number
was only 6,803. Let us hope that this not ver) large increase
Is due to improved medical facilities rather than to a dete-
rioration of the public health. Calculating the population
of France, this gives one chemist to every 10,000 inhabit-
ants.

A USEFtg. INVENTION.—An American, named 1
s,
Nash, has conceived the excellent idea of converting the A
ordinary furniture of a ship into life-preservers, which ,
he effects by simply providing stools with cork seats.
Two discs of cork are fastened upon a base board,
another board is placed over them, and the whole is
bolted together. There is no air-chamber to become , '
punctured, and therefore useless, and the cork will =
always float and support persons clinging to the stool.
The cork seat is of course applicable to chairs and all 4
loose pieces of furniture, and thus articles always ready
at hand are converted into efficient devices for saving 3
life. The invention might be applied to the long
settees used in the cabins of ocean steamers so that
three or four of these lashed together would form an
admirable raft, which could be rigged in half the time
required to make one of spars.
WATERING THE PORT.—MT. Punch being
asked what river Boulogne was on? promptly replied
(remembering the bouquet of its fine old Port), "The
Odour."—Punch.
POISONING FROM LEAD IN VEGETABLE/3.—pr.
D. de Loos, of Leyden, writes in the Weekblad van het
Nederlandsch Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde that he was
consulted in October last regarding certain symptofna
of paralysis and nervous disturbance which suggested
the idea. of lead-pchwning. The symptoms occurred in
a family residing in the neighbourhood of a place where
a manufactory of white lead had stood twelve years I
previously; they made use of vegetables growing on
the spot. In order to make it certain that the poison-
ing was produced, as he believed it to be by the vege-
tables. Dr. de Loos examined chemically some red ,
beet, endive, and carrots, and ascertained the presence
of lead in all. In a beet weighing 650 grammes he
found the Equivalent of a centigramme of metallic lead;
in another of about the same size, 11.3 centigrammes;
in six carrots, weighing altogether 272 grammes, there
were li centigrammes of metallic) lead; and the metal
was also found in the endive. The ashes of the plants
also contained traces of copper, which had probably
existed as an impurity of the lead.—British lifedical,i
Journal. t 10

AN ENORMOUS PetrPm.—At the weekly
meeting of the Epsom Board of Guardians a com-
munication from the medical officer of Great Brook
ham was taken into consideration, calling attention to
the case of one Eliza Tanner, who was suffering froin
an internal complaint, and being an enormously fat
and unwieldly person, the nurse in attendance wag
utterly powerless to move her patient, who, in conse•
quence had not been shifted from her bed for several -
days. The letter strongly recommended her removal
to the workhouse infirmary, where there would be
sufficient strength to lift the poor woman when re-
quired. The chairman said he had ascertained there
were no paupers at the workhouse sufficiently able-
bodied to be of much assistance to the nurse. The
relieving officer being applied to, expressed his opinion
that no two of the guardians would be able to lift Mr&
Tanner. It would be useless to engage a fly for her
removal, as she could not be passed through the door-
way ; indeed, nothing abort of a strong and roornl
waggonette would answer the purpose. Her weight,
as near as could be ascertained, was about 24 stone,
with every prospect of greatly increasing. Ultithatel7
the relieving officer was empowered to engage such a
number of persona as would be able to transfer Dire•
Tanner from one position to another, the chairman
observing that it was obvious that if the woman was
brought to the workhouse they would have to increase
their staff.

BAD TimEs.—The "Conscience Money"
sent to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, ehleflY,
would seem, for Income-tax not duly paid, amounted.
to nearly £lO,OOO in the financial year 1872-73, ang
exceeded £B,OOO in the following year. But in the year
1874.75 the amount fell to £2,688, and it has 0511
reached £2,603 in the year 1875-76.
MR. BRIGHT AT HOME.—The World is giving
peeps at "English Celebrities at Home." Last weelt
Mr. Bright was sketched, and we read :—The guest at
One Ash is not compelled to run the gauntlet of plush
-
coloured flunkeys. Neat handed Millis admits hire,
and replies, without hesitation, that Mr. Bright is at
home. There is no mystery, no "I will see," about
the handmaid of One Ash, whose utterance is as pre'
else as her costume. At the first glance the character.
iatic of John Bright's house is to be seen the perfect
absence of pretence. The establishment breathes au
air of comfort without ostentation, and of culture
without dilettantism. On the walla hang a few water-
colour drawings—a large photograph of Richard
Cobden taken in his prime, another of M. Michel
Chevalier, and a few engravings of political celebritiea
and personal friends. There are busts, too, in Pariarx
and in plaster—the Parian bust of Mr. Cobden, with
the defects and excellences of Parian work; the bust
of Mr. Villiers, a recent work by Mr. Theed—altce
gether excellent. One end of the room is almost filled
by a handsome case of oak and glass, containing the
choicest productions of the Staffordshire potteries, aria
presented to Mr. Bright by some Staffordshire friin:hig
as an expression of personal regard and keen appreehv
tion of his sympathies with Staffordshire Industries.
The specimens are selected with a view to embodying
the various forms of English ceramic art—Parian
statuettes, vases painted after the manner of the old
Chelsea ware, enamelled cups, and mighty dishes: Oa
the table lie a few books—a copy of Pieturesstne
America" and a recent edition of the works of J4lll
Milton. In thorough keeping with the neat., orderll
dwelling is its owner. At home, as abroad, Me. Bright
maintains that scrupulous neatness of. apparel pro Per
to the Society of Friends—rot the costume or uniforrn
of a sect, be it well understood, but the quiet severe
dress of an English gentleman.
THE LION AND THE CATTLE DEALEE.--"Ii
frightful scene took place at the Vaise Railway Station,
Lyons, on Saturday (writes the Paris Correspondent 0!
the Daily Telegraph). A superb Nubian lion, intendea
for the liidel Menagerie, which had just arrived, vise
left in the station awaiting orders from its owners.
The superintendent took the precaution of removing
the truck in which the animal was brought to Lyons
into a corner off the line of the ordinary traffic,
put a barricade around it to prevent the accidental
approach of straugers. All these steps, however,
afforded only a stimulant to the curiosity of some per'
sons who happened to be in the station. Amongst them
was a cattle-merchant, who was seizA with an. iusane
desire to go up to the wild animal and caress it as he
might do a cow or a sheep that he had just purchased,
He put his arm inside the cage for this purpose, but IP;
another moment horrible cries were heard, • 101
attracted all the workmen and officials to tlie sP°2'
where the lion had been safely placed out of the react
of doing berm to all but those who might wilfully seei'
danger. The sight presented was a frightful one. The
infuriated animal had the limb of the adventurens
cattle-dealer between his teeth, and was dragging the
whole body within the iron bars. The spectators 'Up;
mediately armed themselves with picks, shovels, IT;
crowbars; but before theatrasesded in forcing "'-
lion to loosen his hold he hint-ten the man frightfullf•
Medical assistance was soon procured, and it woe
fcund necessary to perform an amputation to save the
ife of this victim of his own recklessness.

THE CHARGE OF "SOLICITING TO
COMMIT A MURDER."

The adjourned, hearing of the charge preferred by
Arthur William Dickens against a young French
Etaident, named Paul Bayart, of offering the former
-.500 on condition that he would go to Roubaix,
in France, and murder Bayart's parents, was resumed
at Hertford, on Thursday in last week, before the
Mayor (Mr. W. P. Wilson), Dr. Woodhouse, Messrs.
E. Manger, E. Simson, 0-. Ludlow, R. Cocks, and H.
Rayment, Mr. Montagu Williams, barrister, in-
structed by Mr. Bolton, solicitor, of London, appeared
for the prosecution, and Mr. Poland, barrister, in-
Structed by Mr. Armstrong, solicitor, of Hertford,
conducted the defence. The court was crowded.—
The Times gives the following report of the case :
Mr. Poland asked permission to put certain questions to
the prosecutor, and Mr. Williams not objecting,
Arthur W. Dickens was again put in the box. In answer
to Mr. Poland, he said he knew the accused, but was not
very intimate with him. Ile believed the defendant men-
tioned to him that he had had a love affair with a lady
abroad, but was not sure of it. He did not know that Bayart
sent money to a lady abroad. He had on one occasion re-
ceived a letter from abroad for the accused. Bayart did not
lay that it came from a lady. The defendant had asked wit-
where he could change English into foreign money, and
'fitness told him he thought he could get it changed at the
Rank, and believed he went with Bayart to the London and
County Bank for that purpose. He told the accused be could
get foreign money at the Bureau de Chan 4 Charing-cross,
ttlel gave him directions as to that place ch he believed
',Vert wrote down. In that case he must have seen Bayart
Write, but he would not be sure. Ile would swear that was
not at the Vine, and on the 14th of August. He never saw
:he Piece of paper produced before. Witness did tell Bayart
to take the " Underground " to Charing-cross. He did not
lei/ him to turn to the left as he left the station, but did
intillbere was a little exchange office in the wall of the station
buitaing opposite the Strand.
, Now, attend to this. On the 21st of August you wrote:—
Dear Paul,—l am at the Castle. I wish to see you or
A.chille. If Ido not I shall be obliged to use some papers I
have in my possession." What papers ?—At that time I had
no papers in my possession.
Then that was false t—Yes.
You add, " And to send copies to Roubaix by the next
Post. The police only want my word to arrest you." Was
that false also I—l don't know really. I think they knew
that the affair was at that time in the hands of the police,
Sod that as soon as my deposition was sworn he would be
arrested. It was true, he supposed, that the police only
Wanted his word to arrest him; they had not refused. They
1114 Ply said they must have certain proofs. They were
Waiting for somebody else's word. His object in writing that
letter was that he might tell Paul Bayart before his face
What he had been doing behind his back. The brother
Achille would have done us well. He did not wish to ark the
accused for £5OO. He wrote the letter to Bayart's Lather
asking for payment of the £5OO before he wrote the letter
to Bayed himselL He did that as a means of opening up
a communication with the father. The words "Florimond
liattel" on the plan produced were written by the defendant.
In re-examination by Mr. Williams, witness said there was
n, °tieing written at the Vine on the 14th of August beyond
Lhe bill produced. Witness had never been to Roubaix, and
"aci no communication with defendant's parents.
Mr. Harvey, landlord of the Vine Inn, was recalled and
examined by Mr. Poland. He said it was about a quarter to
'trio in the day-time when he saw Dickens and the defendant.
was in the billiard-room when they came in He did not
r‘ear their conversation, but saw the defendant write some-
Heg could not swear what paper he was writing on.
ele would not swear it was not the paper produced, but
thought it was larger. It was a kind of blue paper. (The
per produced was white). He would not positively swear
that it was not the document produced, but it looked a little
More blue and a little larger. He believed it was Mr. Bayart
Who took hold of the paper as witness went into the room
lb the beer that was ordered. He saw Mr. Dickens after-
!ards, folding something up, but did not see what became of
'tie Paper ultimately.
Re-examined by Mr. Williams: Before Mr. Dickens arrived
ritness saw Bayart trying the pen and ink. Looking at the
bl°, Pieces of paper, he should say that the blue one (the £5OO
1) was the one on which the defendant wrote. The defend-
ant asked for the ink.
Mr Moran was also recalled, and examined by Mr. Poland.
Said he had borrowed some money of Achille Bayart.
fte believed it was £6 or AT, or rather that was the amount
te still owed Achille. Ile had corresponded with him after
tee Went to Bombay, and had asked him to lend more money.
fn did not press him very much. He sent a letter to him
.10, the 22nd of April. In it occurred the following passages :
" I Can but wish your familiar old face was here, for I
est confess my spirits are not of the highest order. There
it 'Oa° another matter weighing heavily on me, anti that is
.I,at at this juncture, when I require a little ready money
Zri,,nleet this expense, I am merry to say I have scarcely a
L.,11,1EC in the world; and out of the £l5O I now owe,
raeditors representing £6O or £7O of that amount are
yr "acing and pressing for payment, I have put them off
tar time to time by promises, in the hope of being able to
eau„epe idroP sum, which I have failed to do, and which
al " e will be disastrous to me if I do not succeed in get-
Eg the money."
•Achill
e did not answer that letter, and witness wrote in a
tte_eular strain on the 15th of May, but that letter also was
Ttanswered. Witness's wife also wrote to Achille Bayart.
;:13. witness had described Father Stanfield in a letter to
14'111, e as " that hypocrite who is unworthy of his cloth."
ref ',to used the words "carelessness and drunkenness" in
thee'ence to the same person, and spoke of "carelessness in
_ church and unpopularity among his parishioners."
,_tj_hief Constable Jarrett, on being recalled, stated that the
:Tee.rwritten by Dickens to Paul Bayart, and dated the 21st
Achrtlat, was brought to him at the police-station by
It le e Bayart, Paul Bayart, and the Rev. Father Stanfield.
asenitialed by Achille.
Tilne
E. Paddon, a boy employed in the Stamp Office, was
_tmp called by Mr. Williams. Ile stated that between twelve
Ma two o'clock on the 14th of August Dickens came to the
es_ and bought a9e stamp, lie saw him after that going
"la direction from the Vine towards Mr. Moran's.
Johii
Honey, clerk to Messrs. Bolton and Co. solicitors,
Elm?M
day it, Temple, stated that he went to Roubaix on Sun-
oi thant' and returned yesterday. He took with him a copy
e memorandum alleged to be in the handwriting of the
i(tutne ndant. He went from the station straight to the square
turneden the left, crossed the place on the left side, and
to the left again. He followed exactly the route
ItTeKad the memorandum, and came to a house, "No. 64,
_„a de la on
Fosse aux Cnnes, without assistance. He saw M.
.poYart, 'senior, and recognized him by the photograph. The
Lille was entered by a double door, and there was a green
busei°l3Y abc've- Opposite the house there was a place of
thj
.11,, with the sign "Florimond Wattel" painted over
;Lour- He went to the telegraph office and made certain
-.minutes there.
BCro-
_ta_. examined by Mr. Poland: The name opposite M.
.
house was " Wattel," and not " Nattei." It was
vs attel " on the plan produced.
Re-examined : Witness copied the name " Wattel" from
the Paper.

Chief Constable jarret was again recalled. He said he
had had charge of all the documents in the case in conjunc-
tion with Mr. Longmore, the Town clerk, and had allowed
the parties connected with the case to see them. Among
those who had seen them were Mr. Armstrong, Florimond
Bayart, Achille Bayart, and the defendant. He did not
think Father Stanfield had seen them. M. Chabot saw them
en Tuesday last on, behalf of the prosecution, M. Chabot was
an expert in handOtiting. Witness took the documents to
Mr. Bolton's office in London, and M. Chabot saw them there
In the presence of Mr. Bolton and one of his clerks. The
documents were the red book, the plan, the cheques, the note
Of hand and the letter that was taken from the Vine to Mr.
Moran's. M. Chabot examined the documents very intently.
Ile wore glasses, and also used a magnifying glass.
This was the case for the prosecution.
The defendant was then cautioned in the usual way, and
tri rePIY to the (question whether he had anything to say,
Said, "I am not guilty."
Mr. Poland then addressed the magistrates on behalf of
the defendant. He said the charge against his client was
that of soliciting the prosecutor to murder the defendant's
father and-mother, whose death was to be followed by that
0.,,f the brother and others of the family. He asked the
esench whether, after what they had seen of the demeanour
Of the prosecutor, they really believed that there was any.
thing
htrue in the accusation, and whether it was not made abun-
dantly apparent that the whole story was concocted by
Dickens from motives of extortion. Was it likely that any
hondurable man would have listened to such a suggestion as
.that supposed to have been made by the defendant without
Immediately felling the person who made it to the ground?
The evidence showed that Dickens was intimate with the de-
fendant and aware of all his secrets, and there would be
tittle doubt before the case was over that he made use of
this knowledge for the purpose of extorting money from his
ctim. He ridiculed the idea of the conversations alleged
‘OO have occurred as to the best way of poisoning and so forth,
end described them as a tissue of inventions. He also called
attention to the remarkable manner in which the pro-
leentor had managed to obtain confirmatory evidence
Ituit at those points where he required it. Find of
(11l %Ire was the singular fact that Mrs. Moran
ehoald have gone into Dickens' bedroom just at the
haenaent the photographs of the defendant's parents were
'ring on the table, and then, again, it was somewhat re-
Ilarkable that several of the confirmative witnesses were
l'hhglY hostile to the Rev. Father Stanfield with whom the
defeudant was living. The next important matter to have
"..01111rmation upon was the suggestion that the defendant
..°4 signed the note of hand for £5OO. In this histance
the the confirmatory witnees turned up in the person of
landlord of the Vine just as the defendant was writing
On a eheet of paper, which it was suggested was the bill in
gest4oll. The defendant's reply was that that bill and
natendorEement had been forged by Dickens. Was its likely
of e
man who was about to sign the death warrant
his parents would have chosen such an occasion and
are done the act in the presence of a third person. It
for evident that Dickens was not only a perjurer and
I,,ger, but that he was also an extortioner. As to the
tie.""cr MiPPosed to have been left at the Vine, the sugges-
s'h of the defendant was that Dickens had asked him to
tive him a route to Italy, and .that this route was written
i 7 Bayart and left for Dickens at the Vine—this being all
hat the envelope contaihed. But here, again, some conflr-
I:hatlen of Dickens' evidence was deemed essential, and so
pickens, after Producing a letter that was suggested as
!°elrg the one brought from the Vine, gat his friends,
fr. Cobliern and Mr. Morgan to sign it as having
eeu opened in their presence. The story as to how
Lhe £lO was provided and the fact that that sum had
neon given to Dickens at all he characterised as absurd,
alleging that Dickens knew that the money Bayart was get-
eng ttezether at the tAme was wanted for the young lady with
Whom he was in correspondence abroad, but he had pur-
Dosely twisted the facts so as to make them fit in with his
Own suggestion. He commented severely on the two letters
written by Dickens on the 21st—one to the defendant and
!the other to the defendant's father—the latter demand
-
payment of £5OO He asserted that both would render
the
hwritek liable to a charge of felony, and accused him
rt of cowardice and hypocrycy in the concoction of
those documente. Penal servitude for life was, he said, the
thulahment awarded by the Leg'slature to a man who
IrOte a threatening letter charging another with a crime
at,!II a view to extorting money, and in this caee
4"'u're was the evidence of Dickens himself that at ter
ilotuinitation with his friend Mr. Moran, and after having
r;Otead that he had gone too far in the letter he had written
tePecnbahr, he sent a telegram to Robaix to counteract the
the letter. With regard to the signature to the bill
a‘
he stated that the only evidence of the alleged
vt" hre was that of Dickens himself, apart from a compari-
to with an undoubted signature. He asked the magistrates
b,,o2:4llipare the two and to say whether they believed them to
eellhe same, He called attention to the fact that M. Chabot,
calle been asked to examine the documents, had not been
das a witness for the prosecution. Upon this question
Vrit:? would be abundant tes imonseboth in the shape of letters
ee,."45h hY the defendant and the evidence of those who were
7eetleinted with his writing. He concluded by asking the
4-'tlagistrates it they were satisfied that the charge had not
6011 tuade out, not to shrink from doing their duty by die-
ralashle the case.
Yloriniond Bayart, of Roubtix, France, brother of the
s.eetsed, was then examined. He said the accused was about
4h,e'iYears old. His father and mother were both alive, one
,_C9 arid the other 70 years of ago. They lived at
fael,-,-„a"eehenr Lille. Witness was in partnership with his
750 in- thee' were woollen manufacturers, employing about
reuirmis, and doing business to the amount of about four
and hphs of francs every year. The family was very united,
aul and the .defendant had always a good character.
;eke was a student, and had been extravagant while studying,
Dui there was no other charge acairist him. He was sent to
Hertford to learn English, like his brother Achille, and
tithen to go into the businees, a knowledge of English
t4-ig essential owing to the intimate relations existing
~tween the firm and certain English houses There were
`;.uree Partners—witness and his father and his brother Henri.
tithe event of the father's death Paul would not necessarily
derive any benefit from the business, that would depend upon
witness and his brother. The defendant corresponded
regularly with his mother. He had seen two photographs
ot his father and mother put into a letter after
treiet of a letter from the defendant. If necessary
with
Mother would come to state what was done
them. (The £EOO bill was here put in),
r itness ;dated that the words, "Good for £5OO.
serttord, Arril 10, 1876, Paul Bayart," were not in his
tbrother Paul's writing. It was English writing. The plan
ntoduced (purporting to show the route from the station to
Bayart 's house) contained the words " Florimond
elattel. They were not in the defendant's writing.
b3,1%54 on the plan was exactly on the spot occupied
o. .52. The word "Nattell" as written, eughe
ao be „
WetteL" The door of the house where wit-

SATULL.:ki„::;LI. I. 5, E 73.

ness lived was at the side, but on the plan it was in the
centre. The little street marked " lane ' on the plan was
not known, and the handwriting was not that of the de-
fendant. Toe "instructions" in the red book were not In
the defendant's handwriting; the hand was the same as Mat
of the writing on the plan. There were two postal deliveries
—one at 8 a.m. and the other at 630 or 7 In the evening. He -
remembered seeing the letter produced Witness opened it.
[This was the letter from Dickens to M. Bayed, ;len.] On
the same day he received the telegram produced. it was
thus worded :—" Roubaix from Hertford.---My letter is use-
less. Affairs in hands of police.—Dickens, Hertford, 10 46.
To Bayer% Roubaix." Before that was received Achille
Bayart had started for England.
Cross-examined by Mr. Williams : Witness knew nothing
about any young girl who had a claim on the defendant for
money. The eignature to the bill was not his brother's ;
that to the check was. The letters "p " and "b" in the two
signatures were entirely different. The envelope of the let-
ter produced (that alleged to have been brought from the
Vine) was in the defendant's hand-writing.
Achille Bayart, the next witness, stated that he was a
brother of the defendant He was a pupil of Father Stan-
field last year and left him in January last. He knew de-
fendant's writing. The handwriting on the £5OO bill, on the
plan, and in the red book was not the defendant's. That on
the envelope of the letter left at the Vine was. Witness
came to England on the 21st of August.
Cross-examined: He did not see any similarity between
the letters "p" and "b" in the signatures on the cheque and
to the note of hand. He could at once say that the signature
to the bill was filo, The writing "Good for £500" was
totally different from that of the defendant.
Paul Henneon, clerk to an avocet at Tourcoign, was also
examined. lie said he had known the defendant since 1872,
and had studied with him for the law. He knew his hand-
writing, and oorroborated the two previous witnesses as to
the signature to the bill and the writing on the plan and red
book not being that of the defendant.
The Rev. Father Stanfield was examined by Mr. Poland.
He said he lived in Hertford, and the defendant was staying
with him. He had only received one letter from defendant,
but from that and looking at a heap of letters he believed
the writing on the bill was not the defendant's.
Sarah Sprat, the next witness, stated that she was wife of
the postmaster at Hertingfordbury. On the 17th inst. she
received a registered letter addressed to some place in Ger-
many, and it was brought by the defendant and she gave
him the receipt produced.
This was the ease for the defence.

Mr. Montagu Williams then addressed the Bench in reply,
urging that the evidence he had adduced was sufficient to
entitle him to ask for the committal of the accused. He
rebutted the counter-charge made against the prosecutor that
this was an attempt to extort money by the argument that it he
had had any wish to obtain money he would never have gone
to the police at all, but, having all his plans laid and his
scheme concocted, he would have brought his artillery to
bear upon the person he hoped to victimise.

The magistrates then retired to consult, and after an
absence of nearly half an hour they returned, when the Mayor
stitted that the Bench had very carefully considered the case,
and the majority were of opinion that it was one that ought
to go for further inquiry. Thy therefore committed the
prisoner for trial at the next Assizas. They decided on
accepting two sureties in ,ClOO each, and the defendant in
000. The Rev Father Stanfield and Mr. W. Pollard, of the
Ile7tB Guardian, became the defendant's sureties, and the
defendant being himself bound over the magisterial proceed-
ings terminated.