The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-04-03 00:00:00

RiiSttilanfOUS

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

NOT VERY COMPLIMENTARY !—A - Western
engineer tells the following story about himself :
Once the train stopped to wood and water at a small station
in Indiana While i his operation was going on
.I 01,,,,,,d
two green.looking ountrymen in ,•Itionwlmn ' curiously
inspecting the locomotive, PPii occasion dly glvieg not to
expiesaions of astonishment. Fleetly, one of them looked
up to me and said ~_'Stranger, are this a locomotive?'
"C. it Only. Dlinil y..n ever no one before r - No, hasn't
1:18, r a . iiiteae cc. Ile'n Bill e,mie down to the station to-
night 'meows to see Une. Them's the tiller, tint at? '
"51M, certiduly." "What per call that you're an?"" We
call this the cab." "And this big e heel ?" "That's the
driving wheel." "That big thing on top is the chimhley, I
suppose?" "Precisely." "Be you the engineer wet ruin
the machine?' "I am the engineer." "Bill,' said the
fellow to hie mate, after eyeing me closely fort few minutes,
"it don't take much of a man to be an engineer, do it ?"
FATAL EFFECTS or LIGHTNING.—EarIy on Sun-
day morning a lonely moorland farm, situate at Shaw-
end, about nine miles front Whitby, was completely
destroyed by lightning. The only inmates of the house
were an old man, named Jelin Watson, his house-
keeper, and a little boy, aged seven years, their son.
On Sunday morning, about eight o'clock, a passer-by
saw the house in mine, and on a starch being made the
occupier and his housekeeper were found burnt to
death, their bodies presenting a ghastly appearance.
All three slept in the same room, but, strange to say,
all did not meet the same fate ; for the little boy, some
time after the accident, crept out from the ruins and
found shelter in an adjoining building, which was not
damaged. He was little hurt.
An Acr OF FRIENDSHIP !—A man known to
the London police under oifferent names was charged
at one of the police-comas with uttering a counterfeit
shilling. At the entrance of the court he threw away
a piece of money (supposed to be counterfeit), which a
friend in the crowd picked up and swallowed.—The
magistrate said it was a singular way of showing
friendship to swallow bad money for a man.—As only
one uttering could be proved the prisoner was dis-
charged.
A FORMIDABLE NEW RIFLE.—The new rifle
'invented
by Meyhofer in East I'russia, seems to be by
1 far the !mist formidable weapon in existence. Charge
and discharge appear to take place almost simulta-
neously, and it is said thirty shots can be fired from it in
a minute. At the moment when the barrel is closed
by a valve, the cartridge is explod. d by means of a
email knife. A particular apparatus prevents the
escape of gases unless by the legitimate vent. This
new weapon weighs only 811 b, and the barrel has a
length of 36in. . • the cartridges are of paper, which
Insides being cheap, cannot expand, and stick fast in
the barrel, as was the case with the American rifle
tried in St. Petersburg. The long narrow-eh:toed pro-
jectile of the Itleyh.ifer rifle is fatal at 1,800 paces, and
weighs only I•24th of a pound, no thatovery soldier in
the field can carry with him 100 cartridges. The rifle
is loaded by a gentle blow of the flat of the hand on
the handle of the valve which opens the powder
chamber for the entrance of the cartridge. The in-
ventor, who is not practically skilled in tire-arms, has
on several occasions fired 13 shots in 36 seconds, and
26 shots in one minute.
A SMART REToßT.—Jilll Smith was a noted
auctioneer. One day he was selling farm stock.
Among the articles to be sold was a heifer, very at-
tractive in her appearance, and consequently Jim
dwelt quit extensively on her many excellencies,
winding up with the eloquent flourish that she was as
"gentle as a dove." Thereupon a long, slalxided
countrynean whose legs were some twelve inches longu r
that, his trousers, approached the heifer, and stooping
down, commenced handling her teats. Bomy, not
relishing such familiarity, lifted her hoofs, and
laid "Greeny" sprawling name ten feet off.
" There," said Jim, "that shows one of her
lest traits; she'll never allow a strange calf
bi corns near her." "Greeny," meanwhile picking
himself up, and giving his bushy pate a harrowing
scratch, exclaimed, "No wonder ! when her own calf
has been bleating around her all day."
A Liam EMPLOYMENT.—CIeaning windows.—
Punch.
Tli E CHURCH AND Tux WORLD.—The New
York Times, referring to the custom of reporting in
Monday's newspapers in that city some of the sermons
preached on the previous day. speculates thus :
Our American newspapers differ from the English in many
things, but perhaps ill none more than in the growing
custom of noticing Sunday sernmes. ibis shows that the
religious seetiment is becoming largely secularised—a fact of
great significance in the social progress of the age, nod one
that will proi ably help to work out, in a quiet, unconscious
way, some of those problems of mental and moral advance-
ment which are so largely' discussed in holm and critical
reviewe. A sentiment of religion, free from formalism or
cant, and coming in an easy, natural way, woidd be a very
good ingredient in the rough-and-ready system of the work-
aday world,
A GOOD MOVE.—The Society for the Sup-
pression of Mendicity have determined to put down
begging—the question.—Puneh.
MR. BRIGHT IN OFFICE.—The London corre-
spondent of the New York Tribune writes : -
Whatever annoyances Mr. Bright may find in official life,
they do not seem to affect Ids health or spirits lie com-
plained in a jocular way at the dinner that penny madam
made his life a burden to him, but it is a burden which he
bears, so far as his friends can observe, with undiminished
cheerfulness. Ile was never more at ease in manner, or
more sparkling in convemation in which he excel, scarcely
less than in matory. He abounds in good stories and telling re-
partees. and these he bestows impartially on all comers. Ilis
promptness in business matters has astonished men who
have official reletions with him, and the public who have
concerns with the Board of Trade. A story is told of one
geetleinan who applied to Mr. Bright by letter fim an inter-
view. Used to the ways of public cities, he expected no
answer for some days, left town for a short excursion, and
returned to fled that an answer had been sent the mommy
the application was received, impienting an interview for the
afternoon. This is quite possible 111 Dr. Bright's department
which he himself dc-cubed the other day in an office in
which his main duty was to give advice to people who chose
to c.me and ask for it.
THE ONLY C .MPAtslf NOT LIMITED BY Acr OF
Parlieracut.—Bad Company.- Punch.
Tim "ROYAL SHEEP."—Dtrring the progress of
the Prince and Princess of Wales in the Nile region,
an incident is related which recalls an ancient Rot al
ciestoin. A long-tailed eheep, which on tin: more / A
was to have been changed into mutton fir the benefit
1
of the party, came to the Princess, ate out of her hand,
and because of the diversion thus received, she re-
quested that it should go unharmed, and it was adorned
with gay paper trappings as a "Royal sheep." The
ancient custem which is recalled by the incident was
that of the Kings who hunted in the German forests
and in the New Forest of Hampshire. When they
had given chase to a hart, and it had escaped them,
they proclaimed it a "Royal hart," and all huntsmen
and others were forbidden to harm it. Until within
this century some estates in Dorset paid "hart money,"
which, it is mid, was originally laid upon them as a
tax because their owners slew a hart winch had been
proclaimed by William 11., after it hall afforded him a
morning's diversion in the New Forest. Now and
then the "Royal hart" was promoted to the freedom
of Windsor Park ; and if Her Royal Highness could
but bring the long-tailed black-sheep home with her
the parallel would be complete.
AN OLD TRICK REVIVED. The Etheireur of
St. Etienne relates that as a farmer wits proceeding in
a cart driving towards St. Bonnet-le-Chateau (Loire),
he was accosted liy a Sister of Charity, who asked him
for a seat. He consented, but in aiding the other to
get up he became certain that the hand which he took
was that of a man. Thinking it best to dissemble for
the moment he mffered the ether to take a seat by his
side, but on reaching a hill told his companion that
they must alight to let the horse walk up the ascent.
The pretended Sister got down first, which she hail no
sooner done, than he gave the lash to his horse awl
started off at full speed. The next moment he heard a
MIMI whistle, and in looking back, saw that several il i-
looking fellows hasl joined his late companinn, and that
the whole party were going across the fields to inter-
cept him further on. tie reached the town, however,
in safety, and on examining his carriage, found in it a
basket, left behind by the Sister, containing 500 francs
in money, a pistol, and a poniard, the whole of which
he deposited in the hands of the police.
STARVATItiN THRoIDH DROCGHT.—Shoeking
Theaatna r
s omnibuso
aren Iy,Hoaltulit_accounts (says the Marini ne Argos) come from the
interior as to the state of affairs produced by the long
drought. In a W ag,ga Wagga paper we read that "in
almest every direction the roads are swarmed with
flocks of wretched animals, mere bage of bones, seeking
in vain for a nemthful of mmething—anything—to eat.
Poll i tuo "I
lc ckl h •Bi
ai, Ei d AMERICAN
County.
New
e TRAGEDY—At
i 1 sy uo Itr
York
arY oi n: . thet:Ahheteer
A flock belonging to Mr. Mortara), of Gmbbengong,
had been driven to Bland's Creek, and were brought
back to Grobbengong, with a loss of 1,300 from starva-
tion and tbir-t ; WO were lost at one fell swoop by
rushing pell-mell, in the agonies of tl.irst, into • water-
hole, and smothering therneelvea in the mud."
Serio.eoykswenictantothsicnek
uofheitsh,
ewr when
A PuzzLE.—Mention was lately made in the
H, conductor Cad-astral
House of the " Cadaetral Survey." What is this?
body Bdlb
eid
el):
mt,niAr ith:cennNei
ggwn:,,,t)sl ANOTHER
tfib
e,teht
~,t, tnoi
..,
,ahr,
r.nstegtib obea instrumentvol
horribly
hynetecwfhorfeirgtiwa. r
mo!npdaer
itmeiunknownduniii.btico st r . man, ani . , a bearingheld.
Thee v i .
fa;:wil
nhdehg:
,:t 'I: thrhe. P
probably
rt,ihedi clothesl:
head and face, and one eye was cut out, evidently by
body were a woman's chemime and gaiters, a hat that
arc,cdl oeubu n.: sphtuahtte-
there
hd ;II r
ezT.
,b.hy,
eetllt body damynudhradtdehree
rbeenstta
stave
o wasurg dh
,Ilf:t of
:u the,,01.) i :it; lilt
discernibleernwihmle
gromaL About 35 dols. were funnel in a liocket, no
that the murder was committed for money. There was
no trace of the murderers.
A CAST FOR ANOTHER DRAMA OF REAL LIFE,
TO BE ENTITLED "Fettered."—The Siamese Twins.—
Punch.
tlh.lcaeoin,D„
~miv
heo
4,71:e
:75.nit:ht:;.
MILITARY INFOLENCE.—The Belgian papers
:_tclicontain7roeens.::m,,:l:sa,
circumstance,
Inleceidge2—if:nit.:N:li
noh.
tw., i_ _
_..n.
,hgh
°I
r:
a—as
et
el
pretest
::::,,,ieni:gt
some
ii
~
evidence of an
maido IR wc officer
,fumtph.teoiG.,_,
lieu i . Ice, :
the
hnesleTe,
,o,:ititar n,,,,,t111,:e1ari :el:l:re:rig r
erisa i,tinsf
to fight. The presiding judge having been ieforined of the
this disagreeable incident. The officers of the army might to
know that in this place we fight with arguments, not e ith
autos. The court must de you the justice to uy, M. L—,
that you have not exceeded the line of your duty in speaking
on lehalf iif your client." Shortly alter this Captaiii V.
E—, nieetlig Si. L-- in one of the corridors, struck him
in the face with his hand, and sirs With his cane in the
presence .d several magistrates and members of the lon A
complaint was immediately male at the office of the Pro-
curette du BM, mil the case will no doubt he laid Irmore the
Minister of W ar.

Wince WAS IT ?—The Times, in reporting the
Ernest. Jones Demonstration in Trafalgar-square, on
Good Friday, says :- -
conspimmus :anon the crowd were two bands, one of
French, the other of Germans, ibusterirg about thirty each,
under two banners. On the German red fig was written
what seemed to he the fulhoving Words—" Prom-lamer slier
kender renoireoniget end," which can only mean " Raga-
muffins of all regions befoul yourselves,".an Injunction whica
seemed scarcely needed, to judge by the dirty condition of
those who walked
.under the Hag. Perham however, the
word was " nereimget,'• and then the meaning would be
" Ragamuffins of all regions rally roundus;" in which case
the appeal had been very scantily rect.

WANTS CORRECTINO.—The Liberty of the Press
ig great in America, but the libertl ea' of the Press there
are still greater, as taken by that type of American
publishers who make a profit out of the brains of Eng-
lish writers, by reprinting their works without first
obtaining the sanction of the authors, or afterwards
sending them a cheque.—Punch.

THE ADVANTAGES OF ADVERTISING !—The New
York Herald says
If you are robbed of goods, clothes, jewellery, etc , the
only value those have to the thief is his ability to sell them.
If he finds he cannot sea them, he will send them home "Ti
reasonab'e terms. lie cannot sell them if you make it suf-
ficiently lin,wn that they are stolen, and this can be done by
constantly advertising These oints are developed in the
story of a diamond ring, printed in a communication the
other day. 'flue owner of the ring persistently advertised his
loss, with a minute description of the jewel, and after four
hours the thief returned with the message, "You make such
a deuce of a blow about It, that every beak know. of it."

the Kanturk Petty Sessions on Saturday. A labour-
big named Murphy, borrowed a mule ant cart
from a Mrs. Quin. In due time Mrs. Quin reclaimed
her property., but liurphy stoutly refused to sur-
render it, alleging that !mile nights before the spirit of
Mrs. Qdn'm delu rted husband had appeared to him,
awn nu the course of an amicable conversation made
iii' a prc.sent of the mule and cart. The ghost aleo
declared his wish that ope or two tubs of bacon in the
possession of his widow should be handed over to his
old friend Murphy, whom he addressed careasingly as
his "old boy.' Mrs. Quin appeans to lave doubted
her husband's authority to make a poet-mortim dis-
position of his effects, and having gathered her friends
around her, she proceeded to recover her property by
force of arms, the result being a very lively row, for
which all parties were brought before the magistrates.
Their worships confined their attention to the public
breach of the peace, and the ghostly conveyance re-
mains to add another end most interesting chapter to
the varied volume of Kanterk litigation.
EATIII BEATEN.—The Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer has declined to accede to a request from the
Meteorological Society of Scotland for a slice of the
grant made by Parliament to the Royal Society. Mr.
Lowe is weather-wise, lie evidently thinks the Society
ought to raise the wind for themeelves.—Pandi.
A SHOCKING AFFAIR.—At Liverpool Elizabeth
Jones, a girl between sixteen and seventeen years of
age, NMI brought up on the charge of attempting to
poison her mother, a widow. The girl 'as formerly
engaged at a cigar manufactory in Islinci on, aml the
'nether, thinking this not a proper place for her.
caused her to leave. This, and the fact of the other
girls twitting her about being "tut " by her
mother, which greatly displeased her, i o doubt in-
duced her to commit the act with %tech she wag
charged. Her mother kept at home a bottle contain-
ing gin, which she is in the habit of taking for an in-
ternal complaint. The girl procured a quantity of
"Crew's Disinfecting Fluid," a deadly poison, which
she put into the gin bottle. The mother drank some
of the deleterious mixture, Was taken ill immediately
afterwards, and now lies in a very precarious state.
The prisoner, who admitted her guilt, was remanded.
MARRYING • FOREIGN ER.—The Tribunal of
First Instance of Pars has just declared null and void
a marriage between a Frenchman and an English girl,
which was solenmisedat Cardiff on November 14, MI.
The names of the parties are not given in the report.
It appears that they at first attempted to get married
by the French Consul at Cardiff, but he refused to per-
form the ceremony, on the ground that the previous
formalities required by French law had sot been com-
plied with. They were then married before the regis-
trar, and alsoby %Catholic prieet at St. David's Chapel,
Cardiff. The husband was at the time twenty-eight
years of age, and the young lady, whose father, more-
over, gave his consent, was upwards of 21. The court
held that although the niarriage before the registrar
was good according to the laws of England, yet it was
void in France, because clandestine, and purposely
concealed from the tensband's fathar, whose consent
should first have been asked by an acie reepectutuse.
This ie a new instance of the danger which English
girls run when they marry foreigners in England.
FATAL ACCII.HICT AT A STEh MECHAM—On
Saturday morning an inquest was held at Wigton,
near Carlisle, upon the body of William Gambles, a
groom and horse jockey, who died On Friday morning
from injuries received while riding a horse in a steeple-
chase at Wigton on Wednesday last. It appears that
in the course of a race two horses ',needing the one
which deceased rode fell at a water leap, and in order
to avoid riding over them the deceased pulled towards
the rails, and, pulling to o near, the horse ran against a
hurdle, ehivered it to atoms, and fell, rolling elver its
rider, who sustained severe internal injuries. He was
picked up insensible and conveyed te the nearest hotel.
Though every attention was paid him, he never rallied,
and died the following evening. The jury, without
hearing evidence from medical men, returned a verdict
of " Accidental death."
FROM THE NORTII.—" Bezique!" said an old
Yorkshireman who had been reading all the contro-
versy about the game, "I Le rique of it."—Punch.
A SINGULAR CUSTOM.—At Yale University
there are two great rival literary societies, between
whom the mass of the undergraduates are divided, and
bearing respectively the very euptionius titles of
" Linonia," and "'the Brothers in Unity." It is the
ambition of each of these societies to obtain as mein-
hers a majority of each incoming class; and the society
obtaining a majority of the freshmen is entitled to crow
victoriiinsly over its discomfited rivaL To achieve
this object, many stratagems are euiployed on both
sides, and the " campaign " is conducted, daring the
first week of the scholastic year, with great vigour
and cunning. Deputations go to the country towns,
where are situated the principal preparatory schools,
and endeavour to " pledge" the youths about to leave
school for the univemity to join their own society. On
the days when freshmen may be expected on the rail-
ways, emissaries of the societies are sent one way and
another, to intercept them, and to win them over as
beet they can.—" American University Customs," in
London Society.
TRIAL FOIL MURDER.—Robert Garbett, a pipe.
maker, has been indicted at the Liverpool assizes for
the murder of his wife, Anne Elizabeth Garbett, OR
the night of the Ist January last. On that day the
prisoner and his wife' who had been living apert for
some time, quarrelled, in the course of which deceased
told her husband she hail been living with another man
for some months. The prisoner called I,er some
offensive names, and then knieffied her down. Ile after-
wards fell upon her, and, with a pocket-knife, stabbed
her several times in the arm, face, and abdomen. From
the effects of the last wound the woman died in a few
hours. The jury found the prisoner guilty of "Man-
slaughter," and he was sentenced to penal servitude
fi,r life.
COME LIVE. WITH ME. AND BE MY LOVE !—A
swain of sixty has placed in his cottage window, in a
pleasant village near Guildford, the following :
The station of wife, with competent skill.
A companion wanted, well fitted to fill
Superior attainments are not quite iiidispenfable,
Ma eventhing wanted that's ...reit and respectable.
The ewe is 'limier to, so none need apply
ho more on that point than contort rely.
The advertisement here you see,
If you feel disposed to mai net be.
An answer will oblige.
Apply within.
FINE ART.—Speaking of the Raphael recently
sold in Paris, one of the papers says—" It is now duly
recognised in PAs SAVAN r'S Lle." Is there not a
little mistake here? For PAsSAVANT, who wrote the
Life of Raphael was certainly a savant on that subject
—Punch.
BEGGARS AND THEIR BADIES.—At Black-
burn a woman named Ward was charged with stealing
a child. The prisoner is a woman who has recently
fallen into dissolute habits, and on Good Friday, being
short of money, she said to the mother of the child,
whom she knew, that if she weuld lend her her child
for a short time she would make some money. The
mother protested against this, but on Friday the child
was missed from its mother's house and could not be
found. It was unable to walk, and suspicion fell upon
thin prisoner. The police were communicated with,
and the priemeer was found with two chialren—babies
—one the daughter of the complainant and another
the parents of which are not known. The prisoner
represented herself to be a poor woman with twins,
and whilst telling pitiful tales was soliciting alms. She
lid not deny the charge, and was committed to prison
for three months.
CONSIDERATION FOR THE POOR NECESSARY.
—Mr. Samuel Morley spoke on Monday at the open-
ing ,if a Fine Arts and Industrial Exhibitien at Carl-
ton, near Nottingham. Mr. Morley said lie thought
that exhibitions of this character ought not to be lucked
mein as merely exhibitions, but as indications of many
hours most pleasautly and profitably spent at home.
He wished something could be done to make the
homes of the working classes more attractive than
they were, for he believed if this were done it would
teed very largely to the elevation of their lives and
habits. The more the working classes were brought
into contact with that which was pure and noble the
purer and more elevated would their lives become.
che working people required to be kindly and
earnestly dealt with. There was no word more abused
in the English language than that of " independence."
The rich were as mugh dependent upon the poor an
the poor were upon the rich. In this spirit he had
mime to regard strikes as a crime, except under the
most special ciri um stances, being of opinion that
masters met workmen who were indisposed to come to
an agreement were guilty of a criminal act.
MARRIAGE OF A PRISONER IN GAOL —On
Friday James Reid, nailmaker, who is at present
lying in the East Prison, Aberdeen, awaiting trial on
a charge of assault and robbery, was marriteTto Jane
Anderson, Gallowgate, in one of the class-rooms of the
prison. It was expected that the Rev. Mr. Wilson,
minister of the parish, would discharge the ceremony,
but he refused. This difficulty was, however, got over
by the Rev. Mr. Skene, of John Knox's Church,
kindly consenting to unite the parties. The marriage
took place in the afternoon, and was conducted in the
presence of the Governor and two warders, a male and
a female. After the ceremeny the pramer was
removed to his cell, and his newly-made wife went
away.
Ilene:lees iv Tuouni.z.—A man of herculean
strength, named Gavaroux, who has already earned
for himself, in the wrestling booths where he exhibits
his powers, the title of the "Taureau de Perigord," was
charged a few days since before the Tribunal of Con
rectional Police, in Paris, with assaulting and injuring
seven men. The complainants presented a most pitiful
aspect— black eyes, broken muses, bandaged heads,
and arms in slings, showing that their antagonist had
distributed his fanners eqnally around. According to
their explanation they were all together at a wine-shop
when the Hercules made a bet of some lame of wine
that lie would take up four men in his arms; in the
attempt, three slipped from his grasp, and he wanted
to begin again, but the others maintained that the
wager was hunt; lie denied the exactitude of the saner'
thin, and then followed a dispute and a fight. Gays-
n.ux maintained that he was in his right in defending
himself, as there were seven against one ; but, as he
faded to show the text if any law allowing him to settle
he betting debts by maiming his adversaries, the
Tribunal sentenced him to six months' imprisonment.
RLLICS OF BoNAPARTE.—The Emperor, accom-
panied by Aelminal Jurien de la Gravihre, the aide-dm
camp on duty, went the ether day to Marshal Vaillanta
apartment in the Teileries, to view a great uumber of
objects which had belonged to Napoleon 1., and which
Were lately bequeathed by the Princess Baciocchi to
the Prince Imperial. Amongst the interesting articles
displayed was the traoloured scarf which General
RATIIER TALL !—The editor of the Noe Orleans Bonaparte wore when he visited at Jaffa the persons
Picayune acknowledges the receipt of a bouquet in the attacked by the plague; the spurs which be had On at
following terms :—." Tinted with the blue of the softest the battle of the Pyramids; several snuff-boxes be-
summer skies, and laden with a perfume recalling the longing to the Emperor; also the one left behind by
delicious sea air on a summer morn, was the glorious Louis XVIII. on the table when he took his departure
bouquet of double violets, flecked here and there with
net before the Handfed days; several volumes
white Laxly Bank roses, sent us yesterday by a fait annotsted by the Emperor, and amongst them the
friend from Jefferson. Rare and °dorm's blossoms, Anacharsie en Gr&e and the Aerniume
caught together by the delicate bands of a woman who de Teleniaque ; likewise a quantity of silver-gilt plate
has an eye to effect and a soul to think in and cempre. need by his Majesty at St. Helena. Napeleon
bend the beautiful, are cheering companions, and bring examined the whole with great attention and interest.
am—An amusing instance of a applied nAiNckpnaSmn
a eparkling pleasure to the eye dulled by the mono-
tonous aspect of printed pages."
A GHOST'S G Presbyterian Minister has a name that might be
elNvlN.G.LAnlGHgThsea..—lßitualist
c pot:h.
I post-mortem, bequest and its consequences transpired at son? Dr. Candlish.— Punch.

NW-