The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-11-12 00:00:00

Alisreilatterats )Intriligente,
HONE, FOREIGN, AND COLOSiLth.

A CURIOUS CASE.—In the Court of Queen's
Bench, the cause of "Bartlett it Bernard" has been
heard. It wart ate follows:
An old lady. about 70 year. of age, had a life latereet in
property which on her marriage would go to her vend-
children. She became beetroot, and in order, as wan said,
to defraud her creditors of their right to it, she married.
Pauper about her own age, lons to effect • forfeiture, and
thus, by operation of law, transfer the property to lier
grand-children and defeat her creditors. They sought to re-
cover it. but the marriage was set up, and the oid lady herself
w....ned es., ',meow to support it. The case was tried
at Exeter before baron Martin, who held that as there wee.
legal marriage there was • forfeiture In law, so that the
creditors were not entitled to recover The Court toot the
lame VieW as the learned judge, and refused • rule.
STORY OF A CRICK. —A bank check for
500 dole., which has had a curione history, waa sent to
the Treasury Department at Washington a short time
since. It was taken from the body of a murdered
Texan cattlwdrover several years ago by Indians, who,
in consequence of the variety of 0019111,1 in the rich
engravings, attached Ilolne epecial importance to it,
and Cot the paper into several piece*, dividing them
among the tribe. A Peace Commissioner finally
persuaded the gentle savage. to give up the pieces, and
he pasted them together and forwarded the check—
now complete—to Washington.

Tax AMAZONS or FlitZ SEINE.—M. Allix, the
Secretary of the Amazons, was once famous for • pro-
ject of televraphy by sympathetic snails. Ile seems
now to have transferred his hopes from snails in the
hands of men to slugs in the arms of ladies.—Punche
Too BAD !—Near Doylestown there is a board-
ing house which is always filled in summer time with
parties from Philadelphia. Last August two young
men who were staying there went one afternoon to
take a swim in the mill-dam. They placed their
clothes upon the bank and were paddling about, when
they saw two ladies coming towards them over the
hilL They shouted and gesticulated, but the fair
beings came straight forward to the dam, apparently
without hearing them. And they came' tno, right to
the very spot where the garment. of the bathers lay.
The young men got frightened, and swapiavriftly up
the stream. The infatuated women came right on,
and, vetting into • boat, they rowed up stream also.
At last the swimmers, closely pursued, got into shallow
water, and were famed in aheer despair to emerge and
to hide in the woods upon the other shore from that on
which their clothes were. The women pulled leisurely
about for a hour and a half, at the end of which time
the swimmers came out of the woods, bitten from head
to foot by mosquitos, straddlebuga, tidal, spiders, and
all kinds of insects,. so that they were swollen to nearly
twins their usual size. They &eased themselves, and
went home discouraged. When they reached the
hoarding-house they found that the authors of their
, misery were two of the male boarders who had dressed
themselves in female appareL
DISAMLITINS OF DUZLLISTS.— A member of the
Virginia Legislature the other day wee challenged to
fight • duel. Time was when such a cartel would
have fallen upon him who received it se a live spark
would fall upon a powder magazine (remarks an
American paper). But three times are changed. The
receiver of the message happened to be a man in whom
Moe of political privileges clmlinates. He refused to
accept the challenge, not hematite he had any scruples
on the point of conscioneneup am a Christian man, but
on the ground that the State Constitution diafranchises
duellists. There is hope for a reconstructed South
when such a State as Virginia has such • law on her
statute books, and when there can be found in that
State a citizen who is willing to yield obedience to
each an enactment.

MllB. RAMSBOTHAM.-MrS. Ramsbotham writes
to say she is preparing for Christmas time. Her young
friends are learning to dance the Mignonette, she
says, and are learning their parts in order to play sane
Cheroots in the drawing-room.—Punch.

ACTION AGAINST THE POBT-OFFIC6 AIIIIIORITLEIL
—An attempt ban been made in Dublin to render the
Pont-office authorities responsible, by a civil bill pro-
cess, for negligence in the management of the telegraph
service. Th., Martinis of Hartington was defendant,
in a proceeding instituted before the Recorder, for the
recovery of a sum of £.l 125., damages for the non-de-
livery of a message. The plaintiff is an attorney, and
complained that he sent a telegram from Tramore to
his clerk in Dublin directing him not to insert certain
advertisements in the papers. The messenger from
the postal telegraph iffice, after ineffectually trying two
wrong numbers in Mountjoy-scoare. where the plain-
tiff resides, succeeded in leaving the message at a
wrong address, and as it did not react the clerk's
hands the advertisements appeared, very much to the
annoyance of the plaintiff's client, who refused to4i-sy
for them. On the part of the Post-office, it was con-
tended that no official nee igenc t could render servants
of the Crown liable. The R' reorder held that no gross
negligence had been proved, and that even if there had
been he had no power to give damages.

DARING DIRD.—A correspondent of the Japan
Mad, writes

The most foolhardy feat we have heard of for come time
was performed bye Japanese officer in Yedo at the beginning
of thle week Tram body who has ever been to Yedo know, of
course, the steep flight of stove stem that lead up to the top
of Atangomusla, the bigheet eminence In the city. We have
been informed by a gentleman who was eyewitneas to the
fact, that • Japanese Samurai ascended that abrupt acclivity
from bottom to top on horseback, we MM., of course, the
Otoko, ilia or means steps, not the more gentle night of the
Ouna.silia Three several tinfee, while mabbeg the ascent,
was the hardy horseman tossed out of the @addle at the
tumult risk of rolling to the bottom and breaking his neck,
but Apparently nothing daunted be remounted each time,
And at length succeeded In reaching the top In safety. The
horse was quivering In every limb, and after giving him a
rent of nearly two ho .re upon the top, his rider found It a
much more difficult task to get him down than It had been
to tate him up To have attempted to deacend again by
the Moho-maks would have been sheer mallow, and it even
required no little caution and the &sentence of several men
ti bring the Animal safely to the bottom by the winding de
scent of the Ono& z ska.

QURSTION AND ANSWER FOR THAMES COM-
NISSIONERS.—Why are all arrangements for the
un-
provement of the Thames of no future value?
He-
cause they are all merely pro tems.—Punch.
AFFAIRS OF THY LATE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS.
—At the Rolls Chambers on Monday, in tbe case of
" Bubb i. Yelverton," which was an administration
suit as to the estate of the late Marquis of Hastings,
an application was made on the part • f the Marchioness
of Hastings for the delivery of her jewels, which had
been deposited as security, the holder having been
paid. The settlement on the marriage was produced,
and the property was shown to be absolute in her lady-
ship. It was stated that the jewels were in the hands
of a banker, and only required the order of the chief
clerk (Mr. Church). '1 tie chief clerk said he must
have the necessary evidence. He knew, from having
the case before him, that the information could be pro-
duced, and he would snake an order for the delivery of
the jewels. He wished to know in what name the
order should be made. The solicitor for her ladyship
said she still retained her title as Marchioness of
Hastings, notwithstanding her marriage with Sir
George Chetwynd. The solicitor aeked that the jewels
might be delivered to a person to be named by her
ladyship. The chief clerk declined, remarking that
they would be delivered to the Marchioness, and she
could give • power of attorney authorising any one to
receive them. The order was made accordingly.

A KEI.PER ATTACKED BY LEOPARDB.—Womb-
well's A 1 menagerie wee exhibiting in the town of
Hertford on Friday and Saturday last. About ten
o'clock on the evening of the last-name I day an event
occurred which was sufficiently alarming tocause much
consternation among the visitors to the establishment,
which was pretty well filled at the time. It appear'
that a keeper was in the leopards' den, which containe
five fine animals, and was in the act if putting them
through their cnetomary performances of leaping, &c.„
when one of them, which WES perched upon a kind of
bracket in the corner of the den for the purpose of
j umping, become rather awkward,and wee pulled from
his elevation by the keeper, who had no sooner seized
the animal than he was immediately pounced upon by
one of the other leopards from behind and thrown to
the floor of the den. At once the whole five animals
surrounded the prostrate man, whose face was fright-
fully lacerated in the struggle by the claws of the
infuriated beasts. The keeper, however, with won-
derful presence of mind, and notwithstanding the
combined force against him' managed to regain his
feet, and having done so, net to at once with a short
cpu.ll be carried in his hand and belaboured the leo-
with such good will that the animals became
cowed and retired to a corner of the den, and the
keeper watching a favourable moment retired from
the cage.

Tux MOST USIFUL " FAZE LAxess."—Ambu
lances. —Punch.

THE LIVERPOOL MARRIED WOMEN SHOW.—
What (says the Orchestra) is in worse taste than a baby
show and a barmaid show? Possibly a show of mar-
tied women. The idea of sticking up one's wife in
competition might well appal the heart of • Ruskinite.
Between that and selling her at Smithfield is only a
narrow degree. Yet Mr. Anderson, the conjurer, has
the credit of having introduced this vulgarest of all
prize shows. In Liverpool he advertised the gift of •
new dress to the handsomest married woman: the
audience to compete. It is true that the audience
were policemen and policemen's friends ; yet pohcemen
may be supposed to have their sense of delicacy as
well as other folks. Either some such sense, or else
the scarcity of beauty among wives of the force,
limited the number of candidates to thirteen. We are
toll they blushed very much, and we hope their shame
and sense of humiliation was shared bytheir husbands
Of the thirteen, Poliinwoman 591 (the wives being de-
signated by their husband's number) was adjudged the
prettiest woman. We hope the gallant but sheepish
officer will rest upon his marital laurels, and not sub-
ject his wife to any more such displays. Let him re-
member that a policeman should be superior to the
coarseness of Belgravian morals, which makes a
woman's beauty a marketable commodity.

THE HEADLESS Gum.—The Young Lady, who,
on hearing of a rivals excellent match, hid her head in
the sofa cushions, has since then, entirely bet it. But
she is entirely unconscious of the fact, and her friend's
don't notice it.—Punch.

TUN MARQUIS OF LORNE IN GLASOOW.—The
Marquis of Lorne presided at the annual meeting of
the Argyllshire Society in Glasgow, on Friday even-
ing. In the course of the proceedings, the croupier,
Mr. A. Orr• Ewing, M.P., proposed 'The health of
the Princess Louise," expressing the hope that the
might be long spared to be • blessing to Argyllshire,
the county of her adoption, and might prove to the
chairman • faithful, dutiful, and idlectionate
The Marquis of Lorne, in reply, aaid he wee
sure the Princes Louise would leant with much
gratification the extremely cordial manner in which
bp name bad been received by so Lege • number of
gentlemen connected with Argyllshire. The Bev. Dr.
Norman Macleod also adverted tp the approaching
fuselage. He mold net gay it was Abe marriege of a
Marquis with a Princess, but it was the marriage of a
noble man with a noble woman. He was very sure of
this, that no marriage of late years has given greater
gratification to the country or the Queen, one of the
beat of mothers and wisest of Monarchs. He hardly
knew which of these two young people was most to be

I mareirre,
"smais I

the Princess Louise hi getting such • husband. He
could ealy say that he was • lucky mac; amid he be-
lieved that this year, if he had been Lord Lome
instead of the minister of the barony, he too would
have asked the Princess. Most unfortmlotelY, Provi-
dence had ruled it otherwise, and eci he would have to
I submit to his fate ; but he might, at least, express very
great delight to see all Argyllshire Clair nags Gael
(shoulder to shoulder) in their love and attachment to
Lord Lorne, and in their joy at the prospect that was
before him.

A HINT TO TIAN G.P.0.--Thtre is a good
custom established of publishing a weekly return of
telegrams, showing (4enerally) a progressive increase
is the number dispatched. An efjually good custom
would be to give a return of the time they occupy in
Transmiaios, showing (perhaps generally, too) the
increase, as compared with the old Hystem.—Pun(*.
_

EXIOTING 1T ! -The Germans haVe their post-
cards as well as we, and abuse the new institution in
about the same manner. At Dresden a genaeman re-
ceived a card conveying the following memage
_

-
" I have lost my purse yeeterday at the Elbe Baths, with
three 111113016M111 in It I umpired it eloae to the watevmark,
where it most Ile Mill. As you are • good diver, pray go
Abathlng with me tilts evening at "

The gentleman kept the appointment, and was ear-
prieed to see two or three postmen go into the bathe
j net before him. On the platform his astoniehment in.
creased, for in spite of the unusual boor there were
numbers of Poet Office clerks there. They took on.
, commonly long dive. The writer of the card wee
I sitting Ms little diatomic, enjoying the sight!
'

n,
.I.HE THEATRES IN PARIS.— It is interesting
and instructive to observe the effect on the Parisian
teruperameut of the present abnormal condition of
: affairs, which is not calculated to raise the spirits so
I much an to elevate the tone of political morality (re-
: marks the Pall Meal Gazette). Yet such are the
naturally good spirits of the French that they will
rise to the theses. Nothing can destroy their buoy-
ancy. ; and one of their difficulties is to prevent their
irrepreasible love of amusement from assuming an
appearance of carelessness and transgreesing the
bounds of good taste. On the 'thole, however, they
seem to arrange matters very creditably. The theatres
in Paris, we are told, are opening again, but with
various diminutions of light and splendour, to intimate
the state of sobriety and sadness appropriate to the
circumstances of the city. Such piece. as Horace and
Le Misanthrope are played at the Comeidis Prancsize
in plain evening dream. It is at the ri.me time ex-
plained that this simplicity of attire arises from no
lack of costumee, but entirely from scrupuk de frigate.
M. Perrin will give two representations • week, but
will use lamps or even candles in lighting up the stage,
and ladies are requested to come in high dreams and
dark colours. This is equivalent to Mr. Buckstone or
the late Mr. Robson performing in deep mourning ins
theatre imperfectly lighted before an audience decently
clothed, or a ballet at the Alhambra performed by
ladies in long garments that trailed upon the floor.
There is an old story of a Royal personage who went
out shooting on the day of his father'. death, and on
being remonstrated with for not keeping up appear-
ances, remarked that he 'only shot very small birds."
-

Ouit &mac DaFENCES —The revival of the
Stocks im • proceeding of which the legality has lately
come into qu,stion. Of its expediency there can be
no doubt in the mind of any one who knows how many
small shopkeepers are constantly fined for ueing false
weights and measure., and how very many more both
cheat so, and also adulterate their wares with impu-
nity. For the correction of those offenders the Stocks
might be revived most advantageously; and the mul-
titude of the rogues who would have to sit in them
would, in Southwark, Lambeth, and some other dis-
tricts, require the arrangewent of the Stocks in a kind
of stockade.—Punch.