The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1879-05-06 00:00:00

Sotto anti Rints.

Three acres to be given away, within twc. minutes
Walk of a fashionable wateriug•place. Any good,
substantial person ot firm may have it. w: tb a good
title, too, if—oh I " the virtue in your if' "--if he will
fill it up to above the level of high water, spr lug tides.
The three acres are a part of the Backwater, cut off
by the railway embankment, and approached—there's
the rub—by • waterway through an arch un ler the
railway. Quite a fancy bit of property fro anyone
whose only ambition was to have land and wider of his
own. He could live in • gondola, barge-wise, and
come out by day and cultivate his own land under the
latest "Utilisation" plane, for which particular con-
veniences are at hand. With the steady, though
gradual peoress of the Park lowlands at Weymouth,
I wonder these three acres of Backwater are not
snapped ap by a speculator, for I don't believe %would
cost £3OOO to 611 them up. Surely the owner of the
adjacent land might be tempted to give something
substantial for the three acres of foreshore.

Annie de Montiord, the mesmerist, In not alone in
Weymouth in her power over the human will. The
facility with which some people get credit, in the face
of previous deceptions, makes one strongly believe in
the Od.Force. Lodging-house-keepers in particular
are liable to he diddled, and should be sharply on the
look-out in these bad times.
--
Long-range shooting is emiential to the value of the
volunteers, and I hope it was only eccentric loyalty
that prevented the sth D.R.Y. from firing towards
the hillside effigy of His Majesty King George 111.
Why! if the volunteers were checked and hampered
by all the owners and occupier* of land, Imperial
taxes for the Army and Navy must either be vastly
Increased (and that would surely fall upol the
farmers) or the c inpetition with Russian wheat would
be felt more bitterly from Englishmen having to fight
against foes on their own soil, or serve German or
Russian landlords.

Our civilian forces will not, I hope, be discouraged I
by present difficulties, and, if it must be so, let them
go back to the Chesil Beach range. and study the
effected mirage, even though Fleet or Langton Herring
may be richer in lead, for a few shots over the target
Bristol scribblers have been very dirty in their per-
versions of reports to our prejudice. I could a tale
unfold about the state of the curved streets at the foot
of Brandon Hill in the heart of the city, or the
delicate odours of "The Back' in the liristollan
metropolis of the cheap and nasty. But I would
rather pity the deluded dwellers on the slimy-bedded
Avon, and call attention to the official health-
retutuch showbe rns, w us to preeminently healthy and
sweet. Look at our silver sands, whereas along that
dismal North Somerset coagt, they are reduced to the,
wretched delusion that Westou-super•Mare mud is
good for health.

Some of the fine writing about Weymouth matte ni
by comparative strangers to the place, is anansir .g.
Weymouthians like a little French, for they are so
near to the beautiful country, by means if the Ch or -
hourg steamer,; but when I see three errors cramtned
into a French atective of as many syllables, 'tie a
strong temptation to bag people to devote their energies
towards improving their English.

I'Thou shalt not muzzle the ex that treadeth out
the corn," has long been held to warrant good pay to
ministers. I vas therefore exercised on perceiving
that the expenses at Christchurch had been about I:20
less than last year, owing to the absence of the Roy.
J. Fox through illness. The rev. gentleman has been
so thoroughly the living leadlr of good efforts at that
church, that it is obvious how the officers should
invest these savings of E2O.
"A prison with the chance of being drowned."
That seems to have been a fair description of the "C.
A. Belyea," where a captain seems to have exercised
his power of handcuffing seamen and chaining them to
the stanchions. 'Tie true 20e rupees the poorer wag
he for these pleasantries; but it is not clear whether
the men had any of the money. A chief officer so
kept up the character of the national drink that he
received perpetual leave of absence, and the captain
objected to visiting the courteous Weymouth justices
with his men. But our friend, Mr. W. Rice Godfrey,
did the State more service than by seising contraband,
for he deli eared a poor friendless boy from thumps an I
kirks. Al together the cues were 54 stron.; that the
sailors, who have often found themselves oi the wrong
, tack in W eymouth, had their turn, and the satin ac-
tion of 54)5 .ing they too are protected by Engiish law.
Sir Frederic Johnstone, Bart, M.P., had better
make up his mind whether he will support the
Derbvitee or the II Beaconsfield section of the r ,n-
-servative party. If Sir Frederic adheres to the side
of the g, dd laurel wreath—woo, may we say, for
I sandula ?—croupiers will be found to challenge hon.
geutleme n with "Make your game, me,eieure I" And
at Weyo math, ita at Monte Carlo, the odde is always
in favour of the bank, whichever way the ball rolls.
If it ( omes to a race at the next election, I @hall
back tl ke Favourite against the Field for the first
place, i a • canter, by • dozen lengths; I haven't yet
had a c hence of seeing how the dark horse trains' but
I (sac) the jockey in chocolate and yellow will have
to Ma, well for second place.
Disown.