The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-02-09 00:00:00

SATURDAY, FE". 1884.

Sauce Fou 13oTH.—Yrolix Rector: "Very gratify.
log iodeekt, Genera!, to bear from so distinguished an
au W authority wa Lord olseley that military affairs are in
so satisfactory a condition. Now I know you are
opposed to it, but, speaking for myself, Ignite approve
of the 'short service' system in the army." General:
" Ab, so do I—in the Church 1 "—Funny Folks.
STOP I—A punctnater—A man who stops well. A
punctu-hater—A man who doesn't stop at all.—Funny

AUNT TOWZER ON LADIES FRNOING.—Aunt Towzer
does not approve of the notion of ladies fencing, and
hopes the example of the Empress of Austria or of the
New York ladies, who have taken to exercise, will not
be introduced over here—" Which I'm sure if they do
take to it it'll lead to dualling, as I suppoge them dual
garments 11 come into fashion in consequence; and I
do hope as Perlayment 11 pass a law prohabiting it, or
if they mnet fence, let 'Ku do it with them tinfoils, rie
are quite armlees."—Pernny "as.
UNIVERSITY Lire FOIL WOMEN,—A writer in the
new number of lesteA's leomily Magazine says:
University and col .. lectures have in many cases
been thrown open to women, and I never heard of any
case in which these kindnesses have been repented of.
The remits of the various degree examinations have
proved that the lady students are neither the least in-
dustrions nor ye; doe least gifted among the pupils. I
have triad to meet a few of the popular objections to
university life for women, and to show that these
drawbacks are, to a large extent, imaginary, It has
its own difficulties, its own temptations. What condi-
tion of life has not? I can only briefly touch upon
these now. The clever girl, like the clever youth, is
apt to attach too much importance to mere intellect-
tual power; and there is much in a university life to
foster this error. I doubt, however, whether it has
any worse results than a little temporary "priggish-
ness," which soon wears off. Then, again, there is the
oftereexaggerated, but very real, danger of overwork.
I believe that the proportion of lady students who do
overwork is very small, and in most cases the mischief
may be traced to excessive steely at school or at home,
and before university life was begun.

How MOTHER o'-PEARL BUTTONS ARE MADE.—
Though buttons of all kinds are made in Birmingham,
the pearl branch is the most extensive. Mother-o'.
pearl is a most suitable material for making buttons;
it is so strong, so pretty, and 80 easily worked. The
shells are obtained from Australia, Manila, Bombay,
Egypt, South America, and some other places. They
are as large as dessert plates, and ilui. in thickness. The
button-maker cuts the shells up into lozeregeeihaped
pieces of various sizes, so as to leave as little waste as
possible, for the shells are expensive, a ton of picked
specimens costing £3OO. The cutting is done by means
of a saw in the shape of a tube, with the teeth cut
upon the rim of one of Its ends. The saw is made to
opin round in a lathe, and rapidly pierces the shell
held to it by the workman, cutting out a piece which
Is as large as its internal diameter. The pieces thus
out are too thick to be used for buttons, and are split
up into three or more lozenges, each of which is turned
separately in a lathe' and has the holes drilled in it
through which it is to be sewn to the garment on
which it is ultimately to 'lnd a place.—LiVe Folks.
A GAMBLING TRAGEDY AT NIOE.—A few days ago
the inhabitant of Nice were startled by the report of
a crime of which the following details are given: A
woman of 57 years of age, who had made money by
keeping a private gambling saloon, had married a
young husband. This man made continued demands
upon her savings in order to meet his own losses at the
roulette table of Monte Carlo, and she at length re-
fused to comply with his requests, which became daily
more exorbitant and imperious, In a moment of
fury he first cut her throat, and then shot himself
through the heart.

THE UNITED STATES NAVY.—Secretary Chandler
has iseued a return in conformity with the resolu-
tion of the Stnate at Washington calling for a state-
ment showing the date of construction, original cost,
and total expense of repairs since their construction
of vessels appearing on the United States register in
November last. The document in question shows that
there were on the register at the period in question 92
vessels, of which 20 were built before the rebellion, 31
during the Civil War, and 41 since its close. The
original cost cf the 92 versals was 40,796,613 dollars,
and the repairs have cost 41,200,822 dollars more, so
that the repoire have cost more than the vessels thew
selves by 404,209 dollars.
REVOLT OT TRIBES IN TRIPOLI. Intellfgen
received from Tripoli states that notwithstanding t
recent despatch of regular troops several Arab trib
in the province, including the Oarfella and Tarhev
sections, were in a state of revolt, and refused to con.
tinue paying the heavy taxes imposed upon them. It
Is added that large convoys of gunpowder and arms
had been despatched from Zsliten into the interior.
Nothing positive was known of their destination, but
it was believed that they were intended for the
Mandl in the Soudan, or for insurgent tribes in other
parts. Numerous acts of robbery had recently been
committed in Tripoli. The house of the Belgian
Consul had been broken into and pillaged by a band
of thieves.

A Nzw PROCIESS.—The Americans have discovered
a mode of aging wine by electricity. A company
undertakes the ripening and purifying of wine and
other alcoholic liquors by seems of an electric current.
It has for a long time been possible to disguise the
fusel oil in new wine and other liquors by ingenious
flavouring ; but it is stated that the electric process
completely eliminates all the essential oils, and
rentltra the liquor not merely as agreeable to the
palate, but also as wholesome as if ic had been kept
for years. Light clarets are "aged" in from three
to six hours, and brandy in sixty.

MURDER OF AN IRISHWOMAN IN NEW ORLEANS.—
The Mayor of Waterford hes received a communica.
tion item an attorney in New Orleans laquiring as to
the htire of a woman named Kate Townsend, aged
45, who was murdered in New Orleans, on November
3, last, by a raan in whose favoor the bed made a will,
134. kg at the time possessed of 150,000 dole. 'The min-
darer, W. E. Sykes, is in custody, and will be deprived
ot the lt-gscy, which will go to the heirs. She was an
une4truw-ed person, and arrived in New Orleans in a
safling ship, in 1858, and made her money in that city.
She is said to have been born in County Waterford,
L.Ld went from there to Liverpool at about the age of
19, and there married a sailor whose name is supposed
to be A. Pima, as that name was found to be lattooed
un one of her arms when the post-mortem examination
was made.

A SEOOND SUEZ CANAL OR A WIDER CANAL ?
The Alexandria Correspondent of the Daily News
states that the balance of ppinion amongst practical
men in Egypt is in favour of widening the canal, as
against making a second. "If," says the Corral
spcndent, "the canal had been as wide as it might to
be, the Mameluke, which sank the other day when she
ran into the bank, would have steered better and
would not have struck the bank at all; and even sup.
posing a similar accident with a wider canal, other
ships would be able to get by and the canal would not
be blocked. It would cost much more to make a second
canal than to widen and deepen the present one, and
would involve snore expense in staff and repairs. A
second canal would be utterly useless until completed,
whereas, by enlarging the existing canal, the benefits
would be felt as the work progressed. Most of the
accidents smut either from bad steering in a narrow
channel, or from gales of wind. These risks would
only be partially obviated by having two narrow
channels, and bath canals would continue to be
occasionally interrupted from the same causes, the
effects of which would not interfere with the naviga-
tion of one wide and deep canal."
A PREMSTORIO RESERVOIR.—"I've seen a good
many curious things in my travels," amid a commercial
traveller, "but the Walled Lake of lowa rather lays
over everything I ever saw. Just imagine a body of
water, coveting nearly 30ft>0 acres, with a wall built up
all around it, not a stone of which can be less than 100
pounds in weight, and some as heavy as three tons,
and yet there's not a single 'tone to be found within
ten miles of the lake. The wall is ten feet high, about
fifteen feet wide at the bottom, and mii'y be five on
top. The country is prairie land for milts around, ex.
cept a belt (of heavy timber that encircles the lake.
This t'mkser is oak, and it is Vain that the trees were
planted there. Taey are very large. The belt is
probably half a rWle wide. The water in the lake is
probably twenty-five feet deep, as cold as ice and clear
as crystal. What I would like to know is, who built
that wall? And how did they hold the water back
while taey were building it? And how did they cart
those immense stones for ten miles? If ever you go to
lowa. don't fail to visit the Walled Lake. You'll find
it in Wright County, 160 miles from Dubuque. The
cars will take you almost to it."—Detroit Free Prin.
A BRAVE GIRL.—The Order of St. John of
Jerusalem has just awarded Julia Hatcher; of Marns
hull, near Salisbury, a medal for her bravery in saving
the life of James Lodder, a boy, who had been several
times gored and tossed by a bull. A pariah meeting,
presided over by the Rector, the Rev. R. B. Kennard,
the well known breeder of shorthorns, has been held
for the presentation of the medal. He stated that the
girl had displayed the greatest courage and self
devotion, risking her own life, and thus establishing
the most characteristic principle of Christianity. Mr.
Kennard explained that this principle had been the
foundation of the noble Order of St. John of
Jerusalem. The medal bore this inscription,
"Awarded by the Order of St. John of Jerusal ins in
England for service in the cause of humanity."
THE "WHITE LADY."—The Berlin correspondent of
the Daily News writes: "Some correspondents have
taken the trouble to telegraph the startliag fact that
the White Lady' was recently seen in the Royal
Cai.tle here, and this ominous event, coupled with the
Emperor's recent indiepoeition, was made the cause
of gloomy forebodings. Strict investigation has,
however, brought to light the simpie fact that the
apparition WM ea:pod by nothing more than a scullion
en ployed in the Royal kitchens, whose curiosity
caused him to prowl about tha galeries at night.
I,eine attired in his long whit,: apron, he was seen in
the distance by the startled sentry, who was firmly
convinced that the clreAdeci WI-1;W I,4dy,' had ap•
peered.

TEE AUSTRALIAN CRICKET TRAIL—From the news-
papers which have just reached London, it appears
that the Australian cricketers have arranged a series
of matches in the colonies preparatory to their depar-
ture for England. The first engagement was fixed for
New Year's-day, and was to be against a combined
teatia of All Australia. Then was to follow, on Jan.
26, a match at Sydney against Fifteen of New South
Wales, Subsequent arrangements include a return
nn-itch against a combined Eteven, and probably a
short tour in Brisbane. The last math will be
played at Adelaide, and then the team will set sail
ter this country.
A MEMORABLE TllEB.—During the recent gale one
of the most noted trees in Snerwood Forest fell a
prey to the wind's violence. It was known as the
a grand old oak, rie•i a girth of 29ft., and
"Major Oak," and was sitm-,',.1 near Edwinstowe.
The
tree, of ti e Unr,-sprearl tree at the
utmost extent of its branches r.. 0,4 tV77I hundred and
forty feet.
It WAR at one t'ms called the dockspen
Treebec:use its interior was usi-d formerly as a hen..
roost'. Latterly many plc-nic parties have gathered
in the hollowed-out trunk, mad in a history of
cereieuce is made to the
Worksop the I:ioin
tree :—" Seven persone at once have been known to
partake a meal in it; while rio donlot with a little
contrivance ie might have accmroodsted more."
NAwitiiiitan,ing its internal decnr, the old Ink
(which had c.ii,ted for more than seven sienturl4
was oat, of tibe kingdom.