The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-04-24 00:00:00

THE FATE OF DR. LIVINGSTONE.

Perhp.

Sir Roderick Murchis.on, in a letter to The Times,
states thin he is in possession of information which en.
tirely contradicts the statement that Dr. Livingstone
had arrived at Zraileir in J muary. Sir Roderick
has a letter from Dr. Kirk at Zanzibar, dated the sth
of March last, and no news of Dr. Livingstone had then
been beard for a long time. Sir Roderick Murchison
adds that he can now no longer entertain the opinion
he fommd last year that Livingstone was proceeding
along the eastern shore of the Lake Tanganyika, and
that at the place called (Jjiji he would meet with pro-
visions, medicine, and letters, which were sent there
from Zanzibar, inasmuch as Dr. Kirk states that ivory
traders have recently arrived from the very region in
question and had heard nothing of him. Sir Roderick
now suggests another hypothesis :—lf Livingstone,
when at the Southern end of the Lake Tanganyika,
' satisfied himself that its waters were about 1,800 feet
above the sea, as stated by Burton and Sprite, he
would necessarily infer that they could not flow north-
wards into the much higher equatorial lakes. In this
case he would abandon the northern route, and follow
the river or riv, re which issue on the west coast of
Africa, and be tirst heard of from one of the Western
Portuguese settlements, or even from those on the
Congo. Sir Roderick is still hopeful as to the doctor's
safe return.

Me RIVAL CONJURORS.—Professor Bob.—
"There is no deception—the bag is empty. Hey,
presto, pass (Produces the egg.) Surplus 11," Pro-
fes.ir Ben : "Why, we cou'd ha' done that—
(Patina.) If we'd on'y thought on it. —Punch.

TFIE
,STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER..
______
have t might h hail of En•swro, I HAVE Ya.o SAES A J WALLOW YAT ? -At tint a DUEL BETWEEN A LADY AND A GENTLiki.A.N.-A
i ever sushmous hey
no one comiected his wife's disappeampoe with the dia- i very =all detachment shows itself, DA -if of an army ' Paris correspondent writs' :-
cover. se the nimalas of a murdered woman in
this I have another duel to report, this time between • lady
neighbourhood of the city in which Sheward lirei .
numbers appear, till the occupation of the aad Faetra„a Dure
n, M. 'Avilly, theatrical critic of the
hath the who ie establisbed. We reflect a
Perhaps the medical evidence Is mainly responsible tor this tcl;7mtinggout its vedettes'; and then continuslly, in-
YicOn Janne, having said something which dbpleased Stale-
0d :g ..E. brtg : t
y.if ne ok. ti .dbywe ask how this can be . Thy h aye nc , miiiselle Duverger, an actress at the Gatti" that lady called
hare out, mai the dft
nuel came o o Sunday afternoon at st.
I.arr vr so
mh t . he.
os uute :on taA,3i..e anopoteion,trte
licitarn,t,ryle
.
tugurd
and the police accordingly announced that the remains were mariner's compass to guide them over the seA, yet
Ott mnine. Mademoiselle Iniverger chose pistols, and at the
those "of a young female between the ages of sixteen and their course is certain, per mare, per terra.. lor un- first shot succeeded in cat-fling off one of the locks of hair
twenty-six years.' It is true they asked for information -of which adorned her opponent's head Her seconds-two
all females who may have 110011 recently mileorigi" but, as
resorLa thrm h sUcceasive years. Are the earliest actresses from the same theatre-then declared honour eatis-
Mrs. Sheward w. fifty-four at the time of her disappearance, . .
the diecrepancy in sge may easily have allayed the suspicions vulture sent orwari .
fg Ito recounoitre-Li epy the lArld, lied, luta the party wiemd up the day by a dinner at the
questionably the same birds find their way to the same
Pavillon Henri IV. This duel wdl. no doubt, befitoowed by
o • i. °thereof a similar nature, and I Intl /, at all surprised
what slight pints the discovery of a crime may sometimes of the scouts return with the necessary intelligence se of her reietives. sum it is a singular fact, and shows upon and the condition of the insect commissariat, and do any
to are halt the actresses in Paris calling out the •r unfortunate
depeud that though Its as known in Norwich a woman haimaths, who both in the name of honour and gallantry, will
pilot? a have occasionally observed an absence for a be obliged to accept the challenges of their fair adversaries.
concerned that a woman bid disappeared, no one should
ii e r two of several or all the first corners, and then Really the gentle sex are goitre to nice lengths iii Paris ! I
guide tie
,main body? Who is their leader, woo their
been murdered, and it was also known by persons intimately
have put the two f iris together, or made so much as an
tisiley
arrival
their Chinese visitor& think of then,?
inquiry into their conuexion.
Siill more astonish,ng does this failure of justice appear in skirr the country roend.-Leieure Hour. A NoTHER FRKNCII DtleL ! -Tile Paris corre-
fort
the light of the circumstances confessed by the prisoner. It THE BIBLE IA PARLIAII Es T. -What a con' sporident of the Morning Star writes :
now appears that he protracted over a whole week tlie ghastly it is to have somebody on the Treasury Bench who Two press men went out yesterday, and had the opportunity
process of dividing and dispersing his wife's remains. There this land of duels, of d istinguish-
is something almost incredible-and for the sake of human
Fu l' h I Mr. Bright was asked for a ing themselves on the field. M. Meyer, contributor to the
has read the Bible and got into his mind its sturdy so much to be ambitioned in
native we trust unhme-in
. the brutal iuserstoility with and compact ...rig ta . .
Paris, and M. Carl des Periares, contributor to the Nein
turning to Ms hideous task evening after evening, in the ! plied thatwould b
he did not think that giving them wou e which the prisoner enacUri this proloneed butchery, re- mass of statistics from the Board. of Trade. He re-
Juane, snot at each other, once with any rcsult
corium-ming, however, hi. Meyer was f d-tunate enough to
intervals of his work, and calmly going to sleep every night , have shall lodged in his right hip. it. Meyer is likely to re-
between ten and. eleven with the mutilated remnants of his . various branches of the service to magnify their office, cover, and is therefore fanny entitled ti the aureoa of glory
useful, but that the publication wculd only Miluce
wife still lying In his house. The spectacle is too sickening to which society in Paris bestows on duellists. M. de Peri Ores
to lee dwelt on. But it adds another astonishing feature to the One of your platitude-mongers would have said that
win naturally have his share of fame, but the wounded is the
gaLealll,7l7::;?f,i
1 .1 id be di,„ more favoured 1.1 fortuue, for he enjoys Unit oidee advantage
to raise a suspichm ill the inhabitaats of a bevy part of a bus) ' pulate and tabulate infititteattna cletal s wou
. ttrUtavtiit,til phrsoav,eied aprheer
I La ne
sdh ot II d' il'itt‘
case that during all that week nothirm should have occurred the invitation to a uniltiplici.y of departments to
county town town that this piecemeal murder was being enacted advantageously conducive to well-intended bat untie- •
among them-that Sheward should have gone home every .
inible amplitude, dictated by an ambition that the de- progreu is truly marvellous.
eveeing to his horrible employ an t 1 and every flight have
pertinent with which the reporter was conne -ted should
carried out his ghastly burden .d emptied Ms pailful of ATH OF A WATERLOO VETenaw.-Moses
.1, i at.ona. 011t_1418.- DK
an unde.erved peominence
human lilood down the public !Ind. of the town, and no one "M.. , - .
h P I* I •e Dyer, who enlisted in the 2nd battalien 30th Regiment
should have surmised anything amber, or have notieed the tion. Thank you, Mr. Bright, for t e au lue p Ira
aliserice of his wife. On the morniug of ihe murder he ac- -teach the Howse aa much of the language of the about the year 1801, (lied at Tetsworth, Oxfordshire,
tually weed on an errand he hail previously intended to Yar- Bible as you may, and, while you are about it, a little last Saturday, having serverim Spain and Portugal,
mouth, leaving the murdered body of his wife covered with of its epirit.-Punch's Eesenee if Parliament. arid receive I the war medal, with clasps for Badajoz,
nothing more than an apron; it was only to relieve him- ~ _ Cuidad Lodi igo, &0., also a medal for Waterloo, where
self from inemivenience th tt lie at length began to dies MAORI ORATORY. -At a banquet given to tie he was severely wounded in the ribs, He had com-
pose of the body, and it was not until the remains had been governor, at Lyttleton, Mete Kingi, one of the native pleted his ridity• sixth year all but one month ; a
completely made away with, at the close of the week, that members of the Legislature, thus delivered himself :- widow, and children and grandchildren survive him ;
he toek the trouble to destroy the bedclothes, which would "Salutations. There are no Mairies here present. former' I. • '
the *mg without any means of support, and
have afforded unstakable witness to a deed of blood. Per-
Th and I have seen great
e governor brought me here, . having
haps thia very callousness and insensibility as..isted him in reached an advanced age, the benevelent may
escaping suspicion. But it must atillsppear a most singular things here. When the governor went to Wanganui, feel (Id:posed to contribute even a trifle for her benefit
coincidence that during seven days the flagrant evidences of they dil not cio him honour. I was the only one h
w-o The eldest son of Moses Dyer was in the 86th Reg;.
such a crime should have lain exposed without the slightest gave him a dinner. (Laughter.) I gave him a fowl meat in eleven engagetnents during the Indian mutiny,
concealment snail empty home, and no accidental visitor, and a glass of wine. I have many titles. I am and from the effects of the campaign sud vdenl dropped
no
methinge relativ,
ami noss. fri
Ciendrcum sstances seem to have been c hould have called met detected
es- . .
zeacner of religion, assessor, a general member of the
so•i - dead on board ship on the return passage to England.
tiouse ; but I was told I [should be a son of the Qmen,
biped in the most unaccountable manner to shroud
this barbarous crime frorn discovery. Sheward himself pre- and Tam lying under her feet. I will always •ne
a AN AMERICAN GRACE DARLING.-The New
sents not the least extraordinary matter for reflection. His soldier of the Queen. You European d , t 3'
peso! York Ti aa s .--
e I ell •
insensibility at the time and his deliberate barbarity appear, you if Tee Kooti and Tito Kowara are ki led there In 1838. the happily-named Grace Darling, in England,
as we have said, incredible . and yet it is this insensible will be peace, but if not there will always be strife, made herself mine net by her heroism in rescuing the people
savage who eighteen years afterwards is struck with such
(die sang a song.) This song ie my affection for you." hwrecked in the Poi/ars/tire coasting Meanie, Rhode Islend
remorse of conscience, or with such mental agony, thM he as a mintier heroine in bliss Ida Lewis, daughter of the keeper
makes an entirely voluntary confession, aud brings upon him- SINGULAR MISHAP.-On Monday morning,a 'van of the Liam Rock Light-house, who by day or night, la St oria
self the penalty of death for a erinie which everyone but him- drawn by twohorses, belonging to the Great Eastern Rail- zrlnaseee, wings alone into her boat to save lite or do other
self half orgotten. The story might leave bee Pi constructed by
. way Company, left the Si or station, in Isindon, vice of peril She is said to liave saved the lives of a dozen
some ingenious hand to expose the cruel abomiliat ions which . persons-two of whom, soldiers, she rescued a few days ago
t 'mend to the Bank of England. Scarcely 200 yards All homillr tO courageous Ida i A w •
may lie hid in the luman heart under an ar.parteatly un OPr s e caiinot Mee her an
filed surface, and to display at the same time the fearfulf fh I •• •
had been gone before the axle o one o the w ee a obelisk urn endue, we give her a paragraph. The herobin
and irresistible stiug of conscience The maxim that" niur- broke, and immediately afterwards the entire floonn , of Grace Darling and Ida Lewis is the purest sad finest in
der will out" has been again vindicated, and all the snore of the vehicle fell out with a loud crash, precipitating the world,
ennapicuously from the signal failure of human sagacity the contents into the middle of the road. The van To SEVERAL HABITUAL CORRSSPONDENTS.-If
The crime will leave a teep impressiom and it may recall to was laden with about twenty boxes of bull in and, Sir Samuel Baker togoing to the Nile Basin, that is
the public mind at least one similar mystery which still re-
otwithstaneling they were bound round with bands of
• • ' t our common nature will n
urn. unexpluned. but we trus no reason why you should rout a grey old joke, anti
never again be thus dis3raced, nor the agents of justice BO iron, the violence with which they came to the ground ask us whether he will afterwards proceed to the River
long and so discreditably battled was so great that some of them were splintered in all plae,pa„ce.
directions, leaving apertures through which the pre-
ae, THE IMAGINATIONI -- CoPE FOR. Great dissatis-
(ions treasure inside could be seen by a large crowd
which the unusual spectacle of boxes of bullion, valued faction hats been exp.:meted by the shareholders in the
at many thousande of pounds, lying in the mud had . . .
Great Central Gas Company at the uncertainty and
caused to assemble. Lfformation of the mishap was ignorance in which they are kept with regard to the
sent to the station, and very Boon afterwards a strolls extent, and other particulars, of the astounding frauds
force of the company's servants hastened to the spot committed by Benjamin Higgs. Soon after the first
to guard the valuable coneignnaent until another con- news of these losses transpired, their amount was put
veyance could be procured. A small paper parcel, down by common report at
were name ; an £40,000 or Pso' 000 •' then
, marked in the corner" Value 2500," was carried under £lOO,OOO, and even £150,000 w d d it •w. inn
t
the arm of one of the o thfficers, and was eagerly scruti- e 1" few days, alarmed shareholders have written
nized by the gaping throng of people. The sudden to the London press micelle, in almost frantic tones, if
there can possibly be truth in a report which has been
concueeion on the breaking of the axle caused the . . y
heavy dead weight to force out the bottom of the van. put into circulation. tt the exten of depreda-
tions reac ha t the
hes from £150,000 to E 200,000. The matter
SIR WILLIAM DOUGLAS 's SWORD.-The case of presents the widest possible scope for the exercise et
"Douglas v. Douglas," involving the right to postese the imagination, for it is an extraordinary fact that all
the sword of the late Sir Wm, Douglas, Came on for attempts, whether on the part of the proprietors or the
hearing in the Court of Exchequer last week. 'Ehe press, to obtain information from the COMllBl23r.d
action was tried some time ago before Mr. Baron officials have been met by the most studied reticence
Cleasby, at the Guildhall sittings, and resulted in a and reserve.
verdict for the plaintiff, with £3l damages. Tee
plaintiff was the second son of Sir William Douglas, EASY FOR THE DRAFTSMAN.-The Bill which
who died many years ago ; and the defendant is the has been laid before the House of Commons relating
widow of the plaintiff's elder blether. The &Von was to the Poet Office Savings' Banks, is about the simplest
brought to recover possession of a sword which was ever drawn, consisting entirely of Saving clauses.-
presented to Sir William by the regiment in which he Punch.
had longest served, and which upon his decease was THEIR EARNEST DESIRE !-The Weekly Regis-
left to his eldest son. About two years previous to the ter says that "a considerable number" of Anglican
latter's death, which took place in Australis, he wrote clergymen have determined to attend the forthcoming
to the defendant-his wife-she being in England, " General " Council at Rome, in order "to lay their
directing that, in the event of his death, the sword difficulties bet. re the assembled prelates of the tini-
was to be delivered up to the plaintiff. However, vernal Church." Their" earnest desire," it seems, he to
upon his death taking place, the widow refused to sue- be united to Rome, but their chief difficulty is that
render the sword, and hence the present action. Mr. they have perfect faith in the validity of their orders,
Prentice, Q.C., moved, in pursuance of leave reserved and believe that it would be sacrilege tither to submit
at the trial, to enter the verdict for the defendant, to re-ordination or to revert to the position of laymen.
upon the ground that the correspondence which had A special committee has been appointed at Rome to
passed did not transfer the property to the plaintiff.- deal with the subject of Anglican orders, and our con-
Rule nisi granted. temporary has no doubt that the reverend pilgrims will
"'Tis GOOD TO HAVE A GIANT'S STRENGTH, have all their doubts net at rest. As the ultimate re-
lief," sic.-At the Marylebone police-court in London, milt of this mission to Rome, the Register anticipates
a tall, powerful-looking man, a labourer, was charged that there will be an accession to the Church of sonds
with being guilty of the following extraordinary con- of the best and most pions Anglican clergy, and many
duct :- amongst the laity will follow their example."
Jinx Emery, the prosecutor, Raid. I carry on business as BLUE EYES.-Boer, an eminent German physi-
a hoot and sh.,e manufacturer, at 416, Euston.rowl. On .
sat rd. evening, tre prisoner came into my shop. and Clan and oculist, says that blue eyes are capable of
said lie wanted to be fitted with a parr of boots. I turned supporting a mush longer and mere violent tension
retied to reach same from a shelf, when he eaneht me than black ones. The strength and duration of the
by the waist and threw me up to the ceiling You may eight depend on the different colour of the eyes,
imagine I wan very much surprised, and more so when and that depends upon a greater or less degree of clear-
he picked me up and threw M 4 through the glass door
nets of the pupil, as the defects 11 the sigiit deps-nd on
and broke the glass (laughter) Ile w. u•der tt e ibfluence
of drink, and told ime he did not want to hurt nie, hat a colour more or less dark. It results that in this
merely to show nie his strength loud lam:liter .- the Magis- pent of view blue eyes are infinitely better than black.
irate: Is he a powerful man 1-Complainant iA short, thick- The former, therefore, possess in a more eminent tie'
sot man): "110 must be, as lam rather heavy "-Prisoner: gree than the latter the perfections adapted to their
I had no intention to hurt him, I only wanted to try my functions The same author has also remarked that
strength.-The Magistrate Oliketlpl-1-011or what he had to say
as regarded his strange conduct. -Prisoner: I did not mean black •, l• and al
eyes are more su irect to cataracts ;an e so
to do any harm.-The Magistrate to prosecutor): Did he observes, that out of twenty persons with black eyes
. throw you to the ceilitig l-Proseentor: ais heath just touched you find not one that is perfectly satisfied with them.
it.-Prisoner: I only wanted to show him how easily I could In this particular, then, it must be admitted, that blue
lift hint.- the Maubtrate teed he nines pay a fine 14 10s, and eyes are better adapted to their purposs than black
is. damage for breaking glass in the door. the OMURA WU ones.
I paid.
TURNING THE KEY ON THE TURNHEY.-On
Monday morning a prisoner named Clarke. in the
Qeeenstown Bridewell, effected his escape in rather a
clever manner. About half past six o'clock the turn-
key, Dully, went into the primmer s cell with washing
materials. leaving the key in the door while lie went
to the extreme end of the cell to lay the aiticles down.
While Duffy was thus stooping, with his bail to the
prisoner, the latter slipped out, shut the dien quickly
after him, and turned the key, making a prisoner of
the Bridewell-keeper. Clarke then made his escape
through the street door, having the key in his pestles-
idon.
HIS UNCLE !-Our friend, Louis Napoleon, now
of the Tuileries. formerly of Ham, of Dieppe, and of
Church.street, Marylebone, has again drawn attention
to his great ancestor, whose name he has so kindly
usurped, and whoee glory he aspires te share. Napo-
leon I. made him "from nothing what he iss," that is,
raised him from an obscure plotter to a successful as-
sassin-we beg pardon, Emperor. "To retailer
homage to the memory of great men is to recognise
one of the most striking manifestations of the Divine
Will." Nothing is more wonderful in this great man
than the easy assurance with which he drags in the
name of the Deity into his letters and speeches.
Naeoleon I. was sent by Heaven, no is a pestilence;
of the two, we prefer the latter. It is astonnding that
s man, who, to do him justice, at craft and cunning is
"facile princepa," should be so fond of parading his
connexion with one of the greatest scourges of man-
kind that ever lived, of whom he is such an excellent
reproduction, save in courage and talent. Poor Louis?
all your life through, in your poverty and in your
splendour, your best friend has been your Uncle !-
Tomahawk.
THE FRENCH FRONTIER FORTRESSES -A letter
in the Journal de Liege, dated from Longwy, Bays :-
We hear much of the conveyance of troops, arms, and
munitions of war by the Eastern Railway. I can speak as to
the fortress of Longwy. The effective strength of the
garrison has never been so small-obly two companies of
Infantry and about a score each of artillery and cavalry.
But on the other hand the magazines are crammed with
stores. The old stock of pee der has been renewed, ILIIII
nearly 6,000 kilogrammes of fresh powder have been received
within a ...nth, the old guns have been replaced by rifled
cannon on the newest system, the loopholes for musketry,
closed for many years, have been reopened, 111111 the number
of guns, which was five In each bastion, has been increased.
Vait stores of freshly-nisde biscuit have been accumulated,
and the works on the ramparts are being pushed on with the
greatest activity. With Meta and the other frontier for-
tresses it is the same.
THE BUFFALOES' Luau:rill, !- -The buffidoes found
in the telegraph poles ,if the overland line a new seurce
of delight on the treelesa prairie-the novelty of having
something to scratch against. But it was expensive
scratching for the telegraph company, and there, in-
deed, was the rub, for the bisone shriek down miles of
wire daily. A bright idea struck somebody to send to
St. Louis and Chicago for all the bradawls that could
be purchased, and these were dsiven into the poles,
with a view to wound the animals and check their rub-
bing propensity. Never was a greater tnistake. The
buffaloes were delighted. For the first time they came
to the scratch sure of a sensation in their thick hides
that thrilled them from Men to tail. They would go
fifteen miles to find a bradawl. They fought battles
round the poles containing them, and the victor would
proudly climb the mountainous henp of rump and lump
of the fallme and scratch himself into bins until the
brwlawl broke or pole came down. There has been no
demand for bradawls from the Kansas region sillol3 the
first invoice.
MISERABLE DEATH OF A WOMAN.-On Satur-
day informition was given at the Chester police-office
of the disappearance of Emma Bennett, who had not
been seen by any of her neighbours for the past three
weeks. A detective at once proceeded to where she
lived, in a row of houses near the Gorse Stacks, and
broke a pane of the window, and on gaieing esdnifteien
was almost overpowered by the stench. The furniture
wag in no ways disarranged, but the only food he could
find was a few bits of mouldy bread, mime dripping, a
little jam, and a small bottle of port wine, apparently
untouched. He proceeded upstairs, and on going into
the bedroom was shocked to find Miss Bennett dead,
in a half-recumbent position. The body was in an
advanced stage of decomposition, and reduced almost
to a skeleton. Apparently she had covered herself
with her own clothes to keep herself warm in bed, and
in the window were two bits of mouldy bread within
reach of the deceased. The deceased had formerly got
a good living as an uphoistress, but for the last few
years had not been able to work at her trade. She
was sixty-two years of age, and never married. In her
habits she was very penurious; for -although he had
raved a little money, she was unwilling to draw any
to procure for herself proper nourishment, and the
only money found in the house was 3s. An inquest
was held on Saturday, when an open verdict was
returned. The police took charge of the house, and
commenced a search for the • bank book of the do-
THE TAX UPON MILLE SERVANTS-A cor-
respondent write.. :-
As a small country trader, I ventnre to address a word to
the Right Hoeourable the Chancellor of the Exchequer
through the medium of your pirumal upon the question of
the tax prepared upon male servant. I, in common with
thousands of other small traders, keep a boy to go on
errands and do other small matters connected with my
business. I hire him for the above special purpoae : but the
indoor servant-I mean the "maid "-gets hold of the boy
and induces him to clean the windows, knives, &c , for her.
through which I have at present to pay for a "male servant,"
under eighteen years, a tax of les thi, per annum. I would
ask the Chancellor to set this matter light, as It is a great
herdship upon as =ail Madera

THE PERVERTS OF MAHOMEDANISM.—In the
heart of Black Town there was enacted on March 15th
an extraordinary scene by certain of the Mahomedan
populatii in of Madras. From the mosque on the second
line beach there proceeded by torch-light a numerous
cavalcade of the disciples of the Arabian prophet, ac-
companied by music which was not of the trio,t melt, H-
one description. Dancing girls in fantastic attitudes
formed a portion of the motley spectacle. At the van
of the procession there wax about a dozen respectable.
looking conveyances, and in the foremost ,if the-e sat
in Moslem garb, the five Eur perm perverts to Ma-
homedanism of whom the public have already heard.
I he whole tamasha of Monday evening was apparently
got up to celebrate this unwonted accessionto Mahome-
denim from the Christian fold.
Ellen FIRES IN AUSTRALIA.—The usual scourge
of the A ustral isn sum in er— hush fires—has this
season caused a great extent of damage beyond that
reported last month. At Colac, a very large x•
tent of country, principally postural, has been swept;
many destructive fires have raged along the coast
between Cape Otway and Port Fairy; and a large
number of farmers at and near llidlarook had their
places utterly devastated. In many cases the fences
and the whole produce of the year's harvest were con-
sumed, and the unfortunate Landholders deprived of
everything they possessed.
A OCHitlofit4 POINT. —A curious case connected
with the obligations of the marriage tie is at present
pending in the law courts of the Northwest. When
the Queen-mother of Oudh went to England to appeal
to the Queen in person against the annexation, she had
with her (says the Indian Daily News) as her prime
minister one Masihooddeen, a Mahomedan noble. This
man had two wives in this country, but when he
reached England he contracted another marriage with
one, probably of that clang of ill-taught, ill-trained
Englishwomen, who have no more objection to Maho-
medanism, for the sake of wealth or rank, then to go
to the Feejee islands, if required, to be matched.
'Vhey were married according to Maliomedan forms,
but the lady was soon left behind in England. and he
returned. She has followed him, and as he asserts
she was divorced before he left England, she claims
, her dowry according to Mahomedan law. The case
was brought up in the Bewares Courts, and decided in
the lady's favour; but an appeal has been made to the
High Court at Allahabad.
A Ds R.LICT.—The commander of the British
ship Middlesex, of London, from Calcutta to London,
writes BA 10110WS :
I have the honour to inform you that on the 2nd of April,
when in lat 37 59N. hm. citron. 30 50 W., I passed within a
few yards of a waterlogged vessel about 540 tons—all her
masts gone, and nothing but bowsprit standing. She had a
monkey poop, most of whch wan washed away, together
with a portion of maindeck. She was American built, and
hod only a small fiddle head forward I had • strong beeese
from south-west, with considerable sea at the time I fell in
with her, and was prepared to lower my boat, but when I
had thoroughly satisfied niyself that I could obtain no infor-
mation by going alongside, I stood on for tne ('nannel. Iler
paint was nearly all washed off, and she was covered with
',amoeba no sign of a name appearing. I an, of opinion
that she was a R.ston-built barque, and had been floating
about in that state for mouths. Certainly no living creature
could have lived there for many weeks past, as the sea was
making a clean breach over her. Had I passed her in the
night and in thick weather, I should without doubt have re-
ported her as one of the Vigios" about here 'misplaced)
on the chart especially as the position is an near Constant.
Reefe and Ferreiros Rock.
" FLYING SCUD" IN THE STREETS OF LONDoN.—
Great excitement was created in the Edgware-niad, the
other evenlng, by the appearance of a horse and jockey
in full racing costume galloping madly towards the
Marble Arch. A hue and cry was at once raised at
such a novel sight, but all attempts to stop the horse
were unavailing until the park was reached, when, the
horse getting exhausted, the jockey managed to pull
him up. On inquiry it seems that the jockey and
horse were to have taken part in Mr. Boucicault's
dratna of " Flying Scud," that wasbring (rte.:rm.-slat the
Alfred Theatre, but just belore going on the stage the
horse trod on a bag of torpedoes, used to imitate the
cracking of whips, and the loud bang of these torpe-
does no alarmed the anlmal that he bolted out of a side
door, leaving, for the first time of his many perform-
ances, the race to be won by a dummy, and the curtain
to fall on an inglorious tableau! Fortunately no one
was injured.
I EMIGRATION FROM IRELAND.—The Cork H (raid
in writing on the subject of emigration. says :
, The annual tine of emigration from our shores may now be
; said to have fully set in. In one feature especially—the class
of persons that go to compose its great bulk—it is thff..reilt
I from Its predecessors of previous years. The crowds of
emigrants tlnd throog weekly into Queenstown are in drew,
appearance, and eduesvion, of • class much superior to any
that we have yet seen leave our port. Nearly all the emi-
grants are proceeding ti the Western States of the Great
Republic, and at least half of them have had their passages
prepaid in America by their friends. Those who embark at
Queenstown may be classified as follows :—Fifty per cent,
are single young men; thirty-three per cent. single young
women ten per cent. children; and seven per cent, married
persons of both sexes.
THE GREATER C,3lvTallra THE LESS—Miss
Burdett Coutts has withdrawn her name from the
of candidates for Election as Guardians of the Poor cc
Bethnal Green. Mr. Punch cannot regret this, The
smaller office is included in the largM: one, —which
Miss Burdett Gnats already holds for life —that of
Guardian of the Poor of all London..—Punch.
THE EMPRESS EUGENIE'S VOW.—It is reported
in Paris that their Majesties' voyage to Ajaccio in
commemoration cf the first centenary of Napoleon the
First's birth will only he the first stage of the journey
Of the Emprtseto thn Eaet, It, &weer& ihAt rmaav

ontli.i 6-I.re thn taith 4 the Prince Ituperial, the
f Empress Eugenie valuta a vow that if an heir to the
I crown were Imm she would thank Pro_ vi.tencr for the

bleraing within the enceinte of the Garden of Olives
before he attained his fifteenth year. Teat given time
will expire in two years, and the Empress is most
anxious to fulfil her vow. The inauguration of the
Isthmus of '3uez by her Majesty on her return will

compete the plogramme.
F RIO HTF UL BREACHES OF ETIQUETTE ! A
Paris paper gives the followitur details of the visit
the Prince and Princess of Wales to the Sultan, and

which are furnished by its correspondent at Constantb
nople . _ .

•
The Sultan offered his arm to the Princess. Since the
foundation of the Ottoman Empire such all enormity had
never been perpetrated ;exclaims the correspindont as that
the commander of the Faithful should touch a Christian
princess
• -

--
Noticing the above, another correspondent writes

I certainly can testify that at the ceremony of the distribu
thin of prises at the Pakis d'lndustrie, during the Great Exhi-
bition, when the Empress, looking more beautiful than
usual, in senile satin and sliamulds, descended from the dais
to walk round the hall, the Sultan, though nest to l'er, ab-
stained from offering her ht. arm, and to her evident surf., ise
took the Prin. Imperial by the hand. 'their Royal High-
ness's visit has been the cause of another friehtful bre.,l, of
. . . .

„.
decorum. After the dinner given by the Sultan to the Prlnce
and Prince.. the Sultan drank Queen Victoria'a health,
raisittg a ga-s of champagne to fits lips 'lts true he did not

drihk-the-lionor of the infidel; Bull there is I telling, ;;y.
the sages, whither such acruidideus dernlietious of duty mai
lead.

ADVENTURES OF A FRENCH PRIS /NER. A
ruffian, who was recently confined in gaol in Btsanc,n,
contrived to saw through his primon harm, whe.me he
escaped to the outer walls, which he scaled like a cat,
and let himself down plunao into the street below.
""

The sentry on guard sigfr eil him, and shot a, him ; but
the Chassepot, which did ouch wonders at Rowe, was
ineffectual with a real critnimiL The ruffian ruslod
along the Seine, with the hue and cry after him, till he
. . .

arrived at a par. apet overlooking a'fearful aqss 100
feet deep. A policeman came up with him, a tierce
struggle ensued, and the ruffian hurled him like
. . .

feather into the yawning chasm A second tih d a fall
with him, but he was also tossed down upon the rocks
below. By this time the troops arrived, and as he did
not like the look of them, he bounded with a yell mid
air, and fell a mangled corp•ie beside his two victims,
one of whom was found still breathing, with both legs
and several ribs broken.
A STRANGE STORT.—On Friday night a police.
constable in Leeds was accosted by a girl about nine
years of age, who asked where she could sleep for the
night, and stated that all the money she had was 24d.
The officer took her to the Town Hall, and on the way
she told him that a mist'," under whom she hal
served paid her fare to Leeds from a place at a dis-
tance, and that her mistress had discharged her be-
cause she was going into another house. The child
was detained till the morning, when she was questioned
as to where she came from, and how she had purchased
some new clothing in which she was rather smartly
dressed. Her jacket, she said, her mistress had
bought, and it cost 4s. 6d. ; her hoot& 5s ; a pair of
gloves, 51 ; a new hat, Is. 101. ' • stockings, 6W.;
brooch, 6d. ; veil, sd. ; and a doll, which she war
affectionately nursing, Is. She had also paid 2s. Sd.
for her fare from Stockton. In her pocket was bound
a pawnticket, bearing the date of April 16, and this
ticket showed that she hail pledged a watch for
El Is. 6.1. at Middlesborough. Being questioned
further, the girl made various contradictory statements.

Everything that was not new in her dress was exces-
sively filthy, and her person was in a shockingly fied
state. On Saturday morning the keeper of the hall
applied to the magistrates to remand the prisoner for
a week, no that inquiries as to her antecedents might
be made. She appeared in the dock with her doll
carefully bestowed in her arms.
A LIFE'S SAD STORY !—The widow of a min
who, whatever his personal character, was once t is
head of the House of Wellesley, deserves lucre notice
than the few lines in the daily papers, which announced
the death of Helen, Countess of Mornington. Her
story is sad and pitiful. She was the daughter of
Colonel Patterson, and grandilaughtei of a Scottish
, bowie of large property hi Renfrewshire Her first
husband was Captain Bligh, of the Coldstream Guards.
Early left a widow, in 1828 when little more than
thirty years of age she married the Hon. William Pole
Tylney-Long-Wellesley, then the only son of Lord
Maryborough, who already gained the reputation of
having broken one wife's heart, and squandered the
great part of Olt fine property which had come to him
by marriage from the Tylneys and the Longs. In
course of time Mr. Long-Wellesley becume Earl of
Morning-ton, and bead of the house of Wellesley ; and
when, some ten years ago, that nobleman died, a pin-
sinner on the charity of his relatives, in an obscure
lodging house nenr Marylebone-lane. his poor wife had
once, if not more than once, appeared at a inetriittilitan
police court as a suppliant for public charity. I/f late
years nothing had been heard of her till the notification
of her death the other day. She had attained her
seventy-fifth year.
ROYAL " Tirs."—Among the items in the civil
estimates is one for some £3,500 for gifte and presents
made by Prince Alfred while touring in Australia in
the Golatea. We (Spectator) suppose the prince was
considered to be in some way "tin deputation,"
repressntiog rot ally at the antipodes ; but still, is
stilt that the precise wink for which lie receives his
dotation ? If not, why do we pay him? more especially
as he enjoys, or ought to enjoy, his share as heir pre.
munptive of the Coburg Principally. People who like
ne.uarchy must pay for it. of course, but the dectmous
way of paying is by salaries, not "tips."
PASTE DIAMONDS.—The more valuable an article
is the more it is counterfeited, and the gleater the per-
fection to which falsification is carried. The diamond
has been so susgeessfully imitated that he must be an
expert indeed who can tell the false from the true. It
by no means follows that because a man deals in jewi Is
his honesty most be of the first water, and the f urt if
a purchaser having paid for a diamond is not always
prisif that he has obtained one. There are known
tests of genuineness, it is true, but they are chiefly
optical, and require apparatus and skill to make thin.
A method which anyone can apply, or easily gst ap-
plied, has been a desideratum ; but the want exists no
longer. If you have a doubtful stone, put it, or cause
it to be put, into a leaden or platinum cup, with some
powdered floor spar, and a little oil of vitriol • warm
the vessel over etime lighted charcoal, ins fire-place, pr
wherever there is a strong draught, to carry away the
flux ous vapours that will be copiously evolved. When
these vapi cur. have ceased rising let the whole cool, and
then stir the mixture with a glass rod to fish on, the
diamond. If you find it intact it is a genuine rime ;
bet if it is false it will be corroded by the hydrofluoric
acid that has been generated around it. A email paste
diamond would disappear altogether under tile treat.
ment. They who profit by this recipe have to thank
Signor Massimo Levi, au Italian chemist.—Once a
Week.

DRINKERS AND NON-DRINKERS IN AMERICA.—
An American finds that in the United States of every
300 men 122 do not drink at all, 100 drink froth-rattly,
50 are occasional drinkers, 25 drink periodically,
(" apreeing,") and 3 are habitual inehriaten. To every
178 who drink 3 are confirmed inebriates, 25 are
periodical and 50 ephemeral drinkers. There is one
confirmed inebriate to every 594 men. Of 700 women,
60 never drink. 30 taste wine occasionally, 17 tante
ardent spirits, 36 drink beer regularly, 14 draik 'pints
periodically, Rill 3 are habitual inebriates. There is,
he declares, 1 female inebriate to every 3.311 women, for
though fewer women drink than men, most of those
who do drink become habitual intemperates.
PRINCE PATRICK'S WELCoMR IN IRELAND.—
The entlinsiaatic reception given to the Prince in the
South of Ireland has proved a most agreeable nurprise
(writes the correspondent of The Tone,). His Royal
Highness has been amply rewarded for the conndebce
which he reposed in the generous feeling of the people.
They have welcomed him with heartiness as the first
pledge of their Sovereign's personal interest in thin
country, and with hope that his visit will be followed
at no distant day by one from the Queen herself.
Apart, however, from any such exprntations, the
Prince has come among them with special claims upon
their affections, which they have not been slow to
recognise. A young Prince of modest yet manly bear-
ing is sure to find a place in the heart ot the Irish
peasants, and if besides he bears an Irish nanie he has
a ready passport to their favour. The name of the
patron saint has exercised an irresistible charm. The
people of Tipperary at once boldly detached it from
the others, acknowledging his Royal Highness only
as Prince Patrick. The only demonstration of din.
loyalty which have at all marred the enjoynient of
Prince have proceeded front the weather, which did its
utmost to play into the hands of the Fenians.
AT LAST l—The "History of the Princes of
Condn," by the Duke of Aumale, was published in
Parrs on 'Monday. This book, it will be recollected,
was arbitrarily Brined by the French Governmeht in
1863, and as arbitrarily given up a month or so ago,
after the author had unavailingly appealed to the jaw
for redress for fully five years. The Duke has now
added a preface, dated Palermo, March 20, 1869, in
which he very briefly refers to the circumstances winch
have delayed the production of the work as being ton
well known to need explanation, and thanks his legal
advocates for the talent and perseverance with which
they have secured the triumph of the right.
PROPOSED BALLOON VOYAGE ACROSS THE AT-
LANTIC —The following paragraph is from the Nero
York Trlbune. It remains to be seen whether them
are any daring spirits that will accept the offer :
Mona. Chevalier, the distingurared aeronant, who lately
arrived in New York for the purpose of snaking a halbion
soy ige to Europe, t,ss 'rived Landnian's Pink, Sixty-seventh-
street, where lie will make several a.cents miring the lc at
Iwo months, pi to his final e on iris street
Transatlantic voyrge, which Nil be on the 31st of July
Mop. than 100 applies, ions hare host' receivi•il by NI.
Chevalier (rims percuss 41,1 r us to accompany him sill its
perilous trip. The price fixed for the pAisage Is Eat) &I'.,
and not all who offer theniselves at that price will le
accepted by the professor as cernpagnern du voyage, as lie
wishes to take with hint only 50 h 1015005 55 are capable,
through mental aisi physical qualifications, of assisting him
in his scientific observations, for tire /sake of which, chiefly,
the daring project!. undertaken.
DISCHARGED CONTICTS.—A Parliamentary re-
turn has been moved for, ordered, and issued, staiing
the number of "convicts discharged from or retained
in cotrvict priming in or to this country" iii the years
1865, 1866, 1867, and 1868; and she totals for the four
years are given as follows :—On Royal pardon, 28; on
commutation of sentence, 11 ;on medical grounds, 0 ;
on completion of sentence, 676; on licence, 5,317- in
the four years one life sentence was remitted within
five yearn from its commencement, and one within ten
years ; 28 within 15 years, seven within 20 years, nouc
above 23 years from the commencement of a life sen-
tence. The four years supply 25 "life sentences in
convict prisons now of five years' standing," 17 ditto
of ten years, two ditto of 15 years, and one (186/4) of
20 years' standing. The discharges on licence are dis-
tinguished tn the return as those before and thoie after
the periods fixed by the circulars of Tune, 1857, and
August, 1861. /Military convicts are uot included.
A POST-OFFICE E,c NTRIC:TT.—A gentleman,
residing at Brighton, writes to the London papers
"Would it be believed that in this year of grace 1869
a letter from Balcombe to Brighton, distant sixteen
miles by rail, ruustfirst go up to London? La, Mother
words, a letter posted last evening at a village sixteen
miles from here most make a round of eight miles,
and take exactly twenty-four hours to mull tivtt•