The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-11-05 00:00:00

ntisullantous
iiiitE,TOREIGN, AND COLONLAL.

THE ALLEGED SIIICODE OF COUNT BISMARCK'S
SON—Several weeke since • paragraph appeared in
several of the London papers stating that one of the
eons of Count Bismarck, an officer in the Prussian
navy, Nerving on board the Danube, had committed
suicide at San Francisco, by swallowing pruseic acid.
Chia paragraph was copied into the Mr/bourne Argue,
and Mr. Brahe, Consul of the North German Con-
federation at Melbourne, write, to that journal, of
September 10 (which arrived in London on Monday),
a correction of the statement He say. t The story
has arisen in the following way - -
"A son of Count Baud, of Austrbuicelebrity, who cereal on
board the Austrian frigate Donett (Dannip), died lately of
fever at Honolulu, where the Donau touched to refit after
encountering a terrific cyclone In the Pacific A French
paper published the information, merely substituting a mn
of the great Prussian statesman for the name of the deceased,
and now the poor young nobleman is said to have committed
• suicide. Count Bismarck Mu two sons, who both were
students at the University of Bonn client four months ago,
and are now probably fighting for their country. The Prus-
sian navy has no vessel called the Danube or Donau."
THE Truces OF LONDON, Mr. Bennett, the
eminent watch and clock maker, of Cheap/tide, has
lately been the victim of an ingenious thief, by
whom he has lost upwards of one hundred and thirty
p,unds worth of jewellery. An elegantly.dressed lady
drove up to his shop and gave him a card bearing the
naine.,pf a gentleman with whom he was acquainted.
She al° banded Mr. Bennett a het of articles supposed
to have been ordered by his friend, and who re (nested
that some specimens should be sent by a trustworthy
person, who was to accompany the lady to that gentle-
man's residence. Mr. Bennett at once consented to
send a member of his establishment with the article*
On reaching Swann and Elea?* a large mantle esta-
blishment in Piccadilly, the lady left the cab and took
the jewellery into the shop with her. There is another
entrance in Regent-street, by which the lady made her
exit, leaving the shopman to wait for her return. Tired
of waiting the messenger went into the shop to inquire
for her, but only found how his master had been "sold."
THROWN UP BY THE SEA.—A large quantity
of wreck has washed ashore near Hayle, COrnwall,
and the opinion is that a large ontward-bound vessel
must have struck on a ridge of rock, running out from
Godrevy Lighthouse, at the eastern entrance to St.
Ives Bay, and to have gone down in the night, all
handsi perishing. Among the wreck. aposeently new.
are a ngure.nead, lift, high, painted a light slate colour,
with low to ly dress and short sleeves, and gilded
necklet and bracelet.; part of • name•board, with
"GEN" in gilded letters; a piece of board, on which
is roughly painted "Report Geneva," as if used to put
up to show passiog veesels what ship to report; the
topmast of a large ship; the gilded end of a cathead,
representing the head of a gilded lion; the tel of a
deal case directed "A. Merritt, Esq., late 13th Regi.
went," and a quantity of stanchions, bulwarks, cabin
work, Soc.
A NEW Ufa OF Sruttetreuste.—The latest
use of spiritualism appears to be to unravel the secrets
of the pre•Adamite world. The theory is that inani.
mate objecte retain some subtle influence from the
scenes enacted in their presence, and that the medium
being able to perceive these influences can reproduce
the scenes. In this manner, by placing • succession of
geological specimens in the hand of the medium we can
get a consecutive history of the world from the earliest
times. A Mrs. Denton, an American, has made the
greatest progress in this science. A piece of a mu-
todon's tooth, which she did not see, was given to her,
whereupon she spoke as follows I feel like a per-
fect monster, with heavy legs, unwieldy head, and a
very large body. I can hardly speak, my jaws are no
heavy. I feel like getting down on all fours. What
a noise comes through the wood ! I have an impulse
to answer it. My ears are very large and leathery,
and I can almost fancy they flap my face as I move
my head." On the above the Observer remarks:—
Ws should be sorry to insult a lady even though she
were • 'perfect monster' with heavy legs' and a very
large body,' but when we read of the 'large leathery earn'
we have an inclination to say, 'Bleu thee, Bottom, than art
translated ! • and we agree that 'the complete identification
of the peychometer with the thing psychometrized, or the
anima/ ta:!li t^hose infiwnee it is imbued, Is one of the moat
remarkable facts developed by this experiment'
A PROPER PENDANT.—One of the papers read
before the British Association at Liverpool dealt with
"the Earth's Eccentricity." At the next Social
Science Congress a communication will be made
respecting "the Earth's Inhabitants' Eccentricity."—
Pooch.

TAR CURSE OF DRINK !—At the Thames police
court, in London, the other day, a respectable middle-
aged man came before the magistrate, and asked him
how to get rid of a bad wife. The Magistrate I am
sure I do not know. This in not the court for disposing
of had wives. What has she been doing? Applicant :
She is continually drunk. She neglects her children.
The money I give her to keep the home comfortable is
expended in strong drink, her children are neglected,
and when I come home, instead of a cheerful hearth
and clean room, she is stretched onthe fbor intoxicated
and my children around her half naked, crying for
bread. All my hard earnings are expended in drink.
The magistrate said he really could not assist the ap
plicant. His whole time would be occupied if he could
separate bad 'rives from their husbands, and bad hus-
bands from their wives. Drankennesa was the great
evil, and was the ruin of many every day and every
hour. The applicant retired, apparently much disap-
pointed—The above applicant was succeeded by a
woman of 30, with a severe black eye, which she said
her husband bah inflicted. He was continually drunk,
and neglected his business. There was an execution in
her house and shop for rent, and he took the money
out of the till to buy brandy, rum, and gin, when his
children wanted clothes. Hui business was going to
ruin, and he had become a great brute to her; and she
had been confined to her bed all the week owing to
her husband's ill usage. A summons was granted
against him.

Tint A NOORA.—The Sydney Exhibition had a
pen of Angora goats, which obtained great deal of
attention. The Sydne Herald says :
. .

" We hope to see further interest taken in angora., Mit
appears now only one enterprising colonist can be found who
is really prosecuting their culture. There are vast tracts of
miserable country which might be turned to profitable ac-
count by depasturing goats. The hair Is sold in England at
prices varying from Is. 6.1, to i. and 4. per pound, and the
fine quality is much used In the manufacture of silks tor
mixing purposes, thereby strengthening the fabric ; also
in the manufacture of the Cashmere shawls so generally
admired. The angora goat is extremely hardy, and very
prolific. The tide make excellent mutton, and their manage-
ment Is easy. They require shearing twice • year, and yield
about 211 t. a-bead at every clip The well-bred angora is
covtred with fine silky hair all over the body, sides of the
head, and hack, and in addition is generally Judged by the
absence of!kvrispY Or coarse hair. The fleeces of young animals
are the most valuable in quality. The pen exhibited showed
considerable merit, especially the ewe, but the fleece showe
evident mismanagement in it. culture. The Wen properly
dressed make beautiful mate for carriages, and the leather is
superior to common goatskin."

A CERTAIN CONQUEROR.—A German General
who seems fated to be victorious is Von der Tann. No
wonder he usually gives his foes a leathering. —Punelt.

- -
WllO Any THOU I—A few Sundays ago, an
Mr. Ward Beecher, the American preacher, was
about commencing his sermon, • stout, fatherly-looking
man was endeavouring to make his way through the
crowd, to get within • batter hearing distance of the
distinguithed orator. At that moment Mr. Beecher's
yoke rang out the words of the text, " Whoart thou?"
"Who art thou ?" again cried out the dramatic
preacher. The stout party, thinking himself in the
wrong, perhaps by pressing forward, and believing him-
self to be personally addressed, startled the brethren
and nonplussed their reverend chieftain by sedately
replying, "lam a pig merchant from Chicago, sir. I
hope you ain't mad. There ain't nary chair, or else
I'd a sot down." Plymouth Church didn't recover its
serenity for ten minutes.
MURDER OF AN EBIINNNT GEOGRAPHER. —Sir
R. Murchison writes :

'lt is my painful duty to announce that the distinguished
traveller, Mr. George Llayward, to whom the Foamier,'
Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society was awarded
at the last anniversary of that body, woo assassinated and
his property plundered about the beginning of last August
by the follower, of the chief Meer Wats Khan of Yassim.
The details of this lamentable catutrophe will be laid before
the Royal Geographical Society at Its first meeting on the
15th of November."

E VOLAND'S NEUTRALITY.—Lovi orauXille has
written a despatch in reply to Count Bernstoff's nom.
plaints on the subject of English neutrality. Lord
Granville expresses bin belief that Germany will not
permanently entertain feelings of rancour against this
country for adhering to practices it has always pre.
viously adopted as a neutral power. The Times, in
remarking upon the circular, say.:—
It would probably be over•Bangnine to believe that it will
put an end to the complaints that have been urged, but the
arguments of the Foreign Secretary must make their way
with all candid mind., and eventual conviction, though
reluctant, must be sure. The point, raised by Count
Bernstorff are fully and fairly met, and Lord Granville holds
firmly and clearly the ground taken by him at the first.
Above all, the truth originally stated is repeated and
brought home to the render, that if the complaints made by
Germany are persisted in, they amount to an assertion of •
new obligation of Neutrality, hitherto unrecognized by In-
ternational Law, and not only unrecognized, but expressly
rejected by almost every member of the family of nations.

- .
ADVICZ TO INTRNDING EMIORANTS.—The ad-
vices from the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, etc, state
that the rush to the diamond fields has drawn away
numbers of people from their ordinary occupations,
and thus enured a great rise in the rate of wager.
Carpenter., bricklayers, and blacksmiths were receiv-
ing from 7s. 61. to 12s. per day; labourers, 30. 61. to
!Ss, per day; domestic servants, with board and lodg-
ing, 355. to 455. per month, or £24 per year; and boat-
men, 10s. per day. The cost of living, as compared
with other place., is cheap, and lower than in Eng.
land. Butcher's meat is only 31 and 411. per lb.;
wheaten meal, 255. per 2001 b; fine flour, 20... per
1001 b.; and second quality, 10s. per 1001 h. Emigration
for respectable mechanics and others is, therefore,
strongly urged, and the present it is said, is the best
season for it. They then arrive in the middle of summer
and all thebest part of the working year being before
the emigrant, money advanced by friends at home
could be returned more easily.

"FOR SATAN FINDS SOME MISCHIEF STILL,"
Calcutta correepondent writes:—

An uneasy feeling is springing up in the army in c0n...-
queue. of the increased InsubordinaUen of European
soldiers in India, and the Commander-in-Chief has felt it
necessary, in confirming the finding of a recent court-mar-
tial, to remind the men that there is still the power, In such
cases, of capital punishment, though it has not for some
time been put in force. The remarks were in stern and
severe terms, and they have been received with general
satisfaction both by military men and civilians. The in-
subordination must be checked or discipline is at an end.
Men have begun, on the slightest provocation, to talk of
shooting their officers, and the more firmly and speedily this
ls grappled with the better both for officers and men. Some
real good has been done by means of Soldier.' Art Exhibi-
tions, which have induced healthy and very creditable work
and competition. The fact is that men, in India especially,
need something to think about. They have too much spare
time, and necessarily no, and everything that assists to make
thorn willing workers I. a benefit.

LIMITED. Mani mow,. —According to the New
York Nation, the very advanced women of America are
striking out some exceedingly bold and startling views
on social topics. We learn that the great Mrs. Cady
Staunton will now be content with nothing 'hod of the

emancipation of the sex from marriage as it is. The
arrangement to be substituted for the vulgarold custom
is to be limited matrimony, the contract between a lady
and gentleman expiring in three years from the date of
entering into it. It may, however, be renewed for the
' triennial period by mutual consent. If such a compll
cation as a baby should arise during the Interval, the
lady, on retiring from her engagement, is to take charge
of it, the father pa jog for its board. The doctrines of
the Modern Thinker, an organ of the Cady Staunton
principle, go even further in placing its theories outside
the domain of common decency or cf common sense:
according to the Nation it " touches on things unate
tempted yet in prose or rhyme." Our American con•
temporary dryly remarks on this subject that " the
number of people one meets who can scarce bear the con-
straint of their OWD skins, and to whom even the unifor-
mity of weights and measures is a cruel joke, is large
and increasing."

SerrLiwo A PROBLEM !--The following is in the
current number of the Harvard Advocate :

The other day, Molecule propounded the following to
Atom: " A boy bald too gentleman, ' My father and mother
have daughter, but elle Is not my Meter.' Mow, how do
yon explain that r Atom reflected, but in vain. To hls
every suggertimr, Molecule replied by a mild but decided
negative At length Atom wee forced to give it up. "Why,
it's simple enough," said Molecule, with an exasperating
smile, "the boy lied '"

--- -
A ricaLTAY I NDIVIDUAL.—The following is the
last thing written by the late " Artemus Ward" :
" Ontil quite recent, I've bin a healthy individooal.
I'm nearly GO, and yit I've got a muskle into my arms
which don't make my fists resemble the tread of a
canary bird when they fly out and hit a man. Only •
few weeks ago I was exhibitin' in East Skowhegan, in
a &lain' which had formly bin iickepied by a pagylist
—one of them fellers which hits from the shoulder and
I teaches the manly art of self-defens. And he cum and
said he was coin' in free, in coneekence of previ'sly oc•
kepyin' sed Win' with a large yeller dog. I sed, `To
be sure, sir, but not with those yeller dog.' Ho sed,
'Oh, yes.' I sod, Oh, no.' He sod, 'Do you want to
be ground to powder?' I sed, Yes, I do, if there ie a
powder-grindiat handy.' When he .truck me • die-
gustin' blow in my left eye, which caused that concern
to at once clone for repairs, but he didn't hurt me any
more. I went for him. I went for him energet'cally.
His parents lived near by, and I will simply state
that 15 minutes after I'd gone for him his mother, seem'
the prostrate form of her son approachin' the house
onto a shutter carri'd by four men. run out doors, keer-
fully looked him over, and sod, My son, you've been
foolin' round a thraehin' masheen. You went in at the
end where they put the grain in, come out with the
straw, ana men got up in toe tnitgumajlg and let the
homes teed on you, didn't you, my non?' You can
judge by this what a disagreeable person I am when I'm
angry."