The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-10-28 00:00:00

Mistellanotis

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

WHERE SCIENCE FAILS.—How many people,
if they were asked, could say what an "offing" is?
It has been explained that it is the visible horizon—
or just Bo much Bea as would be seen by a man six feet
high, who stood on the shore: which experience has
demonstrated to be three miles exactly. What happens
when the man is only four feet six, or gets so drunk
on his way to the shore that he could not see through
a ladder, is not stated. It is in such particulars that
science is always defective.—Judy.

SPECTACLES FOR PAIIPERS.—At the meeting
of the St. Pancras guardians, it was intimated to the
board that Lady Burdett-Coutts, having been in-
formed of the fact that many of the aged inmates in
the St. Pancras workhouse were without spectacles, or
the means to procure them, wished to provide each of
such persons with a suitable and servicable pair of
spectacles; and had asked for a list of the names of
the deserving inm‘tes who stand in need of spec-
tacles, in order that an optician might attend at the
workhouse and provide for the requirements of each
weak-sighted pauper. The master of the workhouse
hal accordingly selected thirty-one "men," and fourteen
" women " as deserving of the spectacles. The
guardians, of course, gratefully accepted this kind gift,
and it is to be hoped (remarks the Pall 'Vail Gazette)
that the example thus set by Lady Bardett-Coutts
will be followed by other benevolent persons, many of
whom are not only ready but glad to hear of any
pressing want it is in their power to alleviate.
!annex Lures Of 11rHALING Mturs. —A telegram
from San Francisco (o,:t. 22), says that a whaling
barque named the Florence has arrived there with 190
men belonging to the Behring's Sea whaling fleet. She
reports the loss of 12 vessels out of the fleet, which
originally consisted of 14. Portions of the crews re-
mained on board their vessels in preference to facing
the inevitable hardships, and others perished while at-
tempting to escape. Those who succeeded in escaping,
after experiencing fearful sufferings, made their way to
the Florence, and to another barque which is now pro
needing to Honolulu. No hopes are entertained of the
possibility of rescuing the remaining ships or crews.

THE HORSE PLAGUE IN EGYPT.—The horse
plague in Egypt seems to' be losing its virulence with
the approach of cooler weather (writes the correspon-
dent of The Times). A tropical storm of singular
violence broke over the country with floods of rain a
week ago, and seems to have cleared the air. Though
a few cases occured at Alexandria, they have not been
followed by others, and we hope the city will escape.
Cairo has suffered terribly. The death of 1,800 army
horses and 2,700 belonging to private persons was re-
ported up to the let of October. Horses of price,
well kept and well fed, were most attacked and
succumbed most easily. It is described as a kind of
typhus, and death after great apparent pain, ensues in
a few hours. The disease crept down the river, cling-
ing curiously to the right bank, and was so destructive
that in many districts bullocks are alone in use from
the total destruction of the horses. The Government
is now fully alive to the danger. Stringent regulations
have been issued as regards isolation of the infected
animals and their burial. • But the regulations some-
what defeat their object by the imposition of a fine of a
dollar on each infected horse—a rule which leads their
owners to conceal the death.

GOOD NEWS !—The American Correspondent
of The Times says :—The evidence of a general revival
of trade in the 'United States is becoming patent to all
observers. The sharp decline in the price of coals
which followed the break up of the "coal combina-
tion" was eagerly taken advantage of by our manu-
facturers, so that mills and foundries have been started
in all directions, and the increased demand for coals
has been followed by some advance from the very low
prices current a few weeks ago. These results of the
decline in coal are all noteworthy, as indicating a
revival of trade and of business confidence. The great
number of visitors to the Exhibition has also brought
vast accessions of customers to the shopkeepers of the
Atlantic coast cities, and all their reports are conse-
quently cheerful. The demand for wheat abroad and
the great increase of exports, not only of different
kinds of corn, but also of petroleum, naval stores, and
provisions, have caused a sharp revival in the foreign
export trade and in freights, so that all the shipping
interests are in good humour, and the September
trade returns show a large increase of foreign exp ,rts.
The country Is generally accepting the belief that the
loweet point of depression is passed, and that flood tide
has come again.
A Scnism xx HOLLAND.— The Amsterdam
correspondent of the Cologne Gazette writes that a dis•
sension has occurred in the Dutch Reformed Church,
threatening to bring about a separation between the
Liberal and orthodox elements. Last year the Synod
had, at the request of about 400 pastors, who desrned
the form of the confirmation creed to be against their
own and their pupils' conscience, changed it in a
Liberal sense. This year's Synod has annulled this
resolution, and made again the old stricter form obliga-
tory, so that many pastors find it impossible to proceed
to confirmations. These pastors have met at Amster-
dam, and resolved to request the Synod to return to
last year's resolution. The success of this step is doubt-
ful, as the orthodox Protestant's have long laboured to
obtain the majority in the Synod, for the sole purpose
of compelling the Liberals to secede.
THE COLOUR OF QUEEN MARY'S HAIR.—
What was the colour of the hair of Mary Stuart? The
question is not apparently an easy question to answer
off-band. There are many pictures extant of the
daughter of Mary of Guise, all authentic and un-
doubted, but alLt44ging wholly among themselves.
Robertson gives her Bair as black; Branton's+, who
says so much, is silent on this subject. A sentence,
however, in Theodiste Martin's "Life of the Prince
Consort" throws light on the subject :—" Tha re-
membrance of this pleasant evening may have been
in the late Lord Belhaven's mind when he made a
bequest to her Majesty of a cabinet which had been
brought by Queen Mary from Franco, and given by
her to the Regent, Lord Mar, from whom it passesi
into the family of Lord Belhaven. This cabinet,
which contains a lock of Qseen Mary's hair and a
purse worked by her, is now in Windsor Castle. The
lock of hair is large—a full tress of beautiful golden
hair—very fine in texture, and full of life, like that of
a girl of sixteen.—Examiner.

Ex RAORDINARY BURGLARY. —The Liverpool
Post of Tuesday says that a burglary oi a very extra-
ocdinary character was committed at the Arches
Hotel, Widnes, on Saturday night, at a period when
the members of the household were occupied in serving
the customers in the bar, and in the lower rooms of
the hotel. The house is situated in an open neighbour.
hod, near the Runcorn Bridge, and occupied by Mr.
W. Groom. It is in an isolated position, and it is obvious
that the thieves knew the premises well, and were thus
enabled, with seeming ease, to reach the hidden treasure,
and in this way leave with a large booty. It seems
that a ladder was "borrowed " from a neighbouring
builder's yard, and by means of this forcible access was
obtained through an upper window on the side of
the house least frequented. The thieves, however, had
to get through a labyrinth of passages to a bedroom on
the opposite side of the house, and, entering Mr.
bedrociro, they forced open a chest and cf4ried
away a cash-box, which contained about 2800 in gold,
leaving a bowl, containing a large quantity of silver,
untouched. The loss was not discovered until Mr.
Groom, when retiring to rest, proceeded to the chest
for the purpose ot investing the day's receipts.

! Groom- 'io