The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-02-12 00:00:00

THE STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER.

rosettes of tinsel and artificial flowers. This capital
of a native State might contrast very favourably with
any city under our rule. The old palace is very interest-
ing. .The entrateb-halli staircase, and corridors were all
covered with the finestgold brocade s, the walls being hun g
with the same. Pictures of the Duke of Wellington,
Napoleon, the Prince Consort, and Queen Victoria
were hung in the banqueting-room where the Prince
and pipitly were entisrtitined at lunch. The Maharajah
after •, to.ndnetefdl_the_ Nrince of Wales to the
Stade" im .deltturned U:anWor the high honow done
tOti tpore%37 tie There were no Eoi6ipan
gua • ir ericOrt;*lld-413e Prince was for once: in:the
hands of a Native Prime. The populace was very
quiet, and the shdps. were shut. There was a perfect
silence till the -carnage,passed; then came a kips of
conversation and comentary. The two reptqeicof
the British from Bhurtpore are celebrated in many
paintings to be seen in Native towns, but apparently
the people are now quite loyal. The guns of the old
fortress, which stands surrounded by double moats.-
thundered out salutes as the trains started for Jeyper#,
The country is very fiat, with curious ttthitili, oda-
sionally running into elevated ridges or trlateatte.
At the old forts on the hilltoPs, at each half-rhile,--.
there were armed horsemen. At every village were
gathered crowds of Rajpoots, every man with sword
and shield, for we were in Native territory. We saw
immense herds of cattle and numbers of antelopes
on the plains, now arid, sandy wastes, now deep in
rice, pulse, grain, or cotton crops. These plains
extend to Jeypore, but approaching the cup in
which that city lies conical hills and tumuli rise
higher and form continuous chains on which are
battlemented walls, ancient fortresses of feudal
Chiefs. From unexpected places far away came
puffs of smoke and reports of cannon as the train
passed. At last, as the sun was getting low, there
was heard a sustained salute and strains of music.
The train pulled up at the Station, outside which were
masses of horse and foot soldiers, and flags innume-
rable, - As the Prince stepped out, the Maharajah
advanCed to welcome him to Jeypore. Carriages were
inwaiting, and conveyed the party to the entrance to
the city, which is surrounded by high walls pierced by
gateways. Splendidly caparisoned elephants were pro-
vided here for the guests and the Native nobles in
attendance. A iirocession was formed, in which two
elephants abreast passed through the gateway, and
Jeypore lay before us, a surprise and wonder to re-
member for ever. This was Jeypore itself, a city
unique in India, if not in the world, which must be
described by letter. The Prince was quartered in the
Residency.
News of "a kill," as it is termed, was brought in on
Saturday morning; in other words, that a tiger had
killed a bullock in a ravine some five miles from Jey-
pore. At 10 30, the Prince, attended by Lord A Paget,
Lord Aylesford, Lord Carington, and Dr. Fayrer, rode
to a small country house and garden, at the entrance to
the corrie where the tiger was marked. The Maharajah
awaited him, and ascended the hillside to a small two-
storied house, loopholed and surrounded by a low wall.
The Prince, the Maharajah, Lord A. Paget, Lord
Aylesford, and Colonel Rose took their post,
the Prince of Wales being in the upper story,
while the beaters, at the head of the corrie, made
their way down towards the lair. It had been the
original intention to station the Prince in the Stand
in the ravine, just as if at a deer drive in Scotland;
but the tiger having moved after its feast on the
bullock, the beaters were directed to drive the beast
down the corrie towards the small house. Nearly two
hours passed before the beaters came on the lair. The
tiger, roused from sleep, was seen creeping, cat-like,
towards the small house, sometimes lost from view,
till it came within less than 30 yards of the Prince,
who fired. The tiger gave a leap and started off at a
trot down the ravine. Again the Prince fired, and
the tiger rolled over, but recovered and staggered
out of sight into the hollow, amid thick brush. The
Prince, who wished to follow the trail on foot,
mounted Fayrer's elephant, and descended the
slope below the beast's lurking-place. The beaters
threw stones into the ravine and the tiger emerged at
last and walked slowly up the bank. The Prince fired
twice' but still the beast went on, falling over a
boulder out of sight. A beater, standing above on a
hill, pointing to a cactus bush, said, "It lies there,
dead.' The party descended and closed around tbe
creature—tremendous still in death. It was a full-
grown female, Bift. long. The carcase was placed on
an elephant and borne in triumph to the kiosk. There
lunch was spread for the party. The Maharajah, who
lunched with his Sirdars apart, but close to the Euro-
peans, in the same room, congratulated the Prince on
his success in a bumper, and requested his acceptance
of a very large-bored rifle as a proper weapon for
tigers.
Jeypere gave sport to all, for those who were not
invited to accompany the Prince went out hog-hunt-
ing and deer-shooting in parties. Fourteen pigs fell
to the spears, and many black bucks to the rifle. . . .

PArliament, in succession to the Right Hon. C.
Manners Sutton, was proposed by Mr. Shaw-Lefevre,
M.P. for North Hants, afterwards Speaker himself
for eighteen years, sod now Viscount'Averslev, and
seconded byAlf r. Edward Strutt, M.P. -for Deiby,
afterwards -14 rid Belper. Sir Robert Peel offering no
ssition,-11r. Abercrotnisy was unanimously elected,
received ,the qemgratatatiOns of. i.ord John
'ell, the *der of .the House. The ' peaker duly
•ted Fitt House that her Maje had been
.. , assprove 40 is gehoicesk, 0 l tl4, MI,
t jiy
~,eifte two: e'clo.RE In, thijnfteillion Ahe 14?,issen,
i ded . tffiso gre4 (Agee* of Stat‘in the lima'
br, 4and, with s the accustoined -.. ceremonies, .4
- avink ascended the.ahrone,sand desired their lord-
7shifie,to be silted, biter-Elentlisman Ushp af the-Black
od was instiucted to command the attendance of
the Tomrnoni; and on their arrival her Majesty
made and subscribed the declaration against Trail-
substantiation, pursuant to the Bill of .Rights. The
_Queen then read the Royal Speech; in which she
stated that-the he strongest assurances had been received
from all f eign powentes to their friendly disposition.
4,,
-Her Maje ty'lamented-that "civil war still affects the
• ngtiom 6t-Spkin,"'and in the-special-paragraph -de-
voted to the House of Commons, pointed out that the
demise of the Crown rendered it necessary for a new
provision to be Made regarding the Civil List. Then
the speech went on to say: "I place unreservedly at
your disposel those hereditary revenues which were
,transferred to the public by my immediate predecessor,
and I have commanded that such papers as may be
necessary for the full examination of this subject shall
be prepared and laid before you. Desirous that th_e ,
expenditure in this, as in every other.department of:
the Government, should be kept within due limits,l
feel confident that you will gladly make adequate pro-
vision for the support of the honour and dignity of my
Crown." At the conclusion of the Speech her Majesty
descended from the Throne and retired from the
House, attended by the great officers of State, in the
same procession and order in which they had entered;
.and the Commons having retired from the bar, their
lordships adjourned.
The second Session of her Majesty's first Parliament
was opened by the Queen in person on February 5,
139; and the third on the 16th January, 1840. The
Queen entered the House at a quarter after two.
o'clock, with the customary state and forms, preceded
by the Duke of Norfolk, as Earl Marshal; the Lord
Chancellor bearing the Great Seal; Viscount Mel-
bourne, carrying the Sword of State; and the Earl of
Shaftesbury with the Cap of Maintenance. Her
Majesty was attended by the Duthesa of Sutherland,
Mistress of the Itobes. The Commons, having been
summoned, appeared at the bar, with the Speaker at
their bead. The Queen read the Speech, the first
paragraph of which was to the following effect :
' Since you were last assembled I have declared
my intention of allying myself in marriage with
the Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg and Gotha.
I humbly implore that the Divine blessing may
prosper this union, and render it conducive to
the interests of my people as well as to my
own domestic happiness; and it will be to me a
source of the most lively satisfaction to find the reso-
lution I have taken approved of by my Parliament.
The constant proofs which I have received of your
attachment to my person and family persuade me that
you will enable me to provide for such an establish-
ment as may appear suitable to the rank of the Prince
and the dignity of the Crown." The marriage took
place on the 10th February following. On the 26th
January, 1841, the Queen, who was now accompanied
by Prince Albert, opened in person the session of the
Legislature. Lord Melbourne dissolved this Pa
ment in the following July, and on the 19th August
the new House assembled, the Conservative party
being in a majority of 90 votes. Mr, Speaker Lefevre,
who had been chosen on the retirement of Mr. Aber-
cromby in 1839, was unanimously re-elected, on the
motion of Lord Worsley, seconded by Mr. E. M.
Buller. The Queen came down on the 24th and read
the Royal Speech.
On the 3rd of February, 1842, the session was
opened under circumstances of unusual splendour.
Sir Robert Peel had, in the meantime, succeeded to
power, and was supported by a substantial majority.
The king of Prussia was at that time on a visit to this
country, to stand sponsor at the christening of the
infant Prince of Wales, and aceompan:ed her Majesty
to the ceremonial. The first paragraph of the Royal
Speech on that occasion was in .these terms: "I can-
not meet you in Parliament assembled withoutmaking
a public acknowledgment .of my gratitude to Almighty
God on account of the birth of the Prince, my son, an
event which has completed the measure of my domestic
happiues., and has been hailed with every demonstra-
tion of affectionate attachment to my person and
Government by my faithful and loyal people. lam
confident that you will participate in the satisfaction
which I have derived from the presence in this country
of my good brother the King of Prussia, who, at my re-
quest, undertook in person the offi..e of sponsor at the
- christening of the Prince of Wales." From this time
until the year 1861; inclusive, the Queen, accompanied
by the Prince Consort, opened and:,Airorogued
Parliament with but few exceptions. But when the
two Houses assembled, on Thursday, February 6,
1862, the Lords Commissioners opened the Royal
Message in the following terms :—" We are com-
manded by her Majesty to assure you that her Majesty
is persuaded that you will deeply participate in the
affliction with which her Majesty has been over-
whelmed by the calamitous, untimely, and irreparable
loss of her beloved Consort, who has been her comfort
and support. It has been, however, soothing to her
Majesty, while suffering most acutely under this awful
dispensation of Providence, to receive from all classes
of her subjects the most cordial assurances of their
sympathy with her sorrow, as well as of their appre-
ciation of the noble character of him, the greatness of
whose loss to her Majesty and to the nation is so justly
and so universally felt and lamented." The next time
at which the Queen was present at the opening of
Parliament was in February, 1866, when the State
robes were laid upon the Throne, and the speech was
read by the Lord Chancellor. In 1867 the Queen was
again present, the speech, as in the previous year,
being read by the Lord Chancellor. Then ensued a
break of four years, until February 9, 1871, when her
Majesty once more honoured the ceremonial with her
presence, the State robes being arranged as on die two
previous occasions, and the Lord Chancellor reading
the speech. Since 1871 the sessions of Parliament
_ _. --...,
have been opened by Commission.
From her Majesty's accession in 1837 to 1861, the
last occasion on which she was accompanied by the
Prince Consort, the practice observed at the opening
of Parliament corresponded in the main particulars
with that of previous reigns. When the Sovereign
was present the speech was delivered in person, and
King William IV. read his speech as lately as the
year 1836, the next to the last session of his reign, and
when he was over 70 years of age. George IV. was,
however, often indisposed, and both when King and as
Prince Regent, deputed the duty to a Royal Com-
wission. Even in opening such an important legisla-
tive year as 1816, immediately following the Battle of
Waterloo, the Prince Regent's speech was delivered
by Commission. Its first paragraph adverted to "the
re-establishment of his most Christian Majesty's autho-
rity in the capital by the successes of the allied arms,
and the subsequent arrangements to provide for the
lasting repose and security of Europe."
,• ,
~1 I

Tot
reporte,
Igtt,

I4°'

'arlia- i

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales on Sunday
visited the Palace at Ambair, the ancient capital of
Jeypore. On Monday he took his departure for
Agra, on the way to Bareilly and Nynee Tal ; after
visiting which places he will go on shooting expedi-
tion in Kumaon and the Nepaui Terai.

I killed, from causes beyond his own control, for every
200,896,000 miles travelled, so that if a person travelled
10 h.,ore a day, at the rate of 30 miles an hour for each
of the 365 days of the year, -hi- woulcEprobably be
killed in 1,835 years. During' the foni'years ended
1874, an average of 104 persons were killed.on railways
from caesetwithin their own control, as coMpared with
an average of 41 killed by the fault of thcriilway cum-
,
1 panies, sot that it wo .. appear that "th7ese companies A Louisville man took arsenic for a cough and got a
are, in reality, more indfiZof,the lives- a their pas- "coffin."
. ---...
Isengeles than-the to ..e !era Of theirjavni lives. Of A defendant in a New Yorkeourt produced a letter
,3elsedngeraik4lferb ~4- eir on *- ace during 1874, from a washerwoman testifying to hlagoccl character. This
it vsjuld appear that .y far the lar estAumber-49 witty stroke of fiat irony produced his release
suffered death from fallingbetween the dXeiages and Of a miserly old man who died of softening the
the platforms; and thia these two causes—gettipx out of brain, a local paper said, "Ins head gave way, but his hand
or into train. , • . (Alen and crosalng tTaWnes it statione— . neierdid: His brain softened, but his heart couldn't."
aro respond .e i r nearly ono-half of this wholenumber of "What was the result of the trial of that horse.
accidents of this-tiescription duringthe period in ques• stealer?" asked a Missourian of his neighbJur. "Oh, he was
tioli. These figures, however, fro not compose the left hanging in suspense," was the reply.
whole death-roll from all_canaea_on. all.railsesatanf.the -Mr., Smith has electrified humanity. by the dis-
United Kingdora during the- year 1874 —as 'Many as cOvery that much sickness in New Orleans is occasioned by
1,424 persons having been recorded at the Board of bad health.
Trade as being killed in that exceptionally fatal year. A New York paper says that a favourite hotel is to
Of these 211 were_paksengera.and nitherensainder 788 be kept this season at one of the watering-places "by the
offi-o-CTi.ro-r servants of thotailWAY companies, or of widow of Mr. Jones, who died last summer on a new and
contractors, and 425 were trespassers or suicides, or improved plan." ~...,..p. .
others who met with accidents at level crossings or from A Chicago- 'ran' ins -fitted up -a fiddle to run by
miscellaneous causes. It has been stated that 1874 was
steam. And the horrified neighbours are looking about for
some contrivance that will enable them to run by steam.
an exceptionally fatal year—a fact which requires little .
comment when it is remembered that in the three ter-
rible accidents at Oxford, Thorpe, and Bowness June- given five htmdred dollars, with his sister-in-law, to the
.- A ' Massachusetts paper says : " Mr. Johnson has
American-Board." What will the board do with the sister-
tion respectively, no fewer than 71 passengers were In lftw ?
killed. Analyzing the different causes of accident on --
railways, the lecturer showed that defective "human • Platte County, Nebraska, wants somebody to do
something wicked. It has a nice, commodious county gaol,
,machinery "was responsible fpr 41 per cent, of these neje- but for eighteen months past has been unable to get a single
, aps; defective signals for 28 per cent.' defective perma- prisoner to put therein.
nent ways for 18 percent., and defective rolling stock A New York paper lately informed its readers that
for 13 per cent. He then proceeded to show that tele- "an additional number of policemen are to be placed in the
graPhy, or the art of conveying information by certain mostexposed parts of the town, to prevent the robberies
'preconcerted signals to the ear and to the eye, is the , which happened last winter." .
chief aid of the railway engineer. These signals are A New York paper lays down a number of-rules of
Interpreted to the outward observer by mechanies4 action in case of one's clothes catching fire, and concludes
appliances familiar to all who travel by railway and ' -by recommending Any lady who should nnfortunately.find
are exhibited in different forms to suit the requi#e's) herself enveloped in the flames of her burning garments, to
"
ments of day-and night traffic. Thus—the favourite "keep as cool as possible.
signal by day—the .survival of the fittest, so to speak; When a bank suspends in Kansas, they take the
Is the "arm," which when at right angles implies manager to a neighbouring tree, and serve him in the same
spanner. "A simple remedy, and we believe in its efficacy,"
danger, and when at an angle of 45 deg. implies safety. says a local journal. '
The rule of the road at night is impressed on the
memory of the youthful or inexperienced sipalman A Yankee process-server proverbially smart even
among that smart race, who had a writ to serve, ascertained
by the well-known couplet : ..r.,T-1", • that the defendant was dead. Tossing the summons over
"White means right; red means wrong; the wall of the cemetery, he made return upon the writ that
Green means slowly go along." he had left the summons at the last and usual place of
Speaking of the block system, the lecturer charac- abode.
tensed it as the greatest element of safety on railways. A man in Vermont, had reason to believe that his
By its means trains travelling on the same line of rails wood-pile was disappearing more rapidly than it ought,
even in a Vermont winter, and accordingly doctored a cer-
are kept apart by a certain and invariable interval of tam n log, and put it in convenient position for abstraction.
space, instead of by an uncertain and variable interval Next day there was an explosion in his neighbour's cooking-
of time. Block systems are of two kinds—" absolute " stove that sent the hash and potatoes flying about very pro-
and "permissive," The latter Mr. Preece characterized miscuously.
as no block "system at all, but a system introduced, There is talk of passing laws by which suicide by
not to secure the safety of trains, but to increase the poison will become much more difficult of execution than
capacity of the line for the transmission of inereasing formerly. Mr. Byron Trodgers, a young friend of ours, says
C find from
other
traffic. It was doubtlees an improvement on the nwoanthtisn to.shillflirlietopanbim fr killingrahlmireltwsivileeenar
bits
Lhoef
" time " system, but it bore little affinity to the real sponge and drink water till he bursts. y'
block, and should certainly not be included in the same A New York expert Who was arraigned for theft
category. The block system on single lines is addi- having no counsel, the court appointed a young lawyer to
tionally used to protect trains from advancing as well "give the prisoner the best possible advice under the chum-
as from succeeding trains. Before a train is allowed to stances." The lawyer and his client then retired into a side.
leave station A, the line at Bis blocked in advance, and room for a brief consultation. As they did not seem to be
when it leaves it is blocked behind at A, so that in a hurry, the court sent an officer to remind them that the
it is thoroughly ' protected in both direotions during time was limited, 'lig ItenVelll.wyrerf camere
r 't pilled the "Where is
the period it is running from Ato B. The lecturer
illustrated the various uses of electricity in the protec- I‘o'Whea t do'you.mSeman, sir?" "Why," said the lawyer, "he
tion of life on railways, apart from its use for purely
give
hmime he
anwutoggueitlty, and I thought the best advice I e
him out of this, and he got."
signalling purposes. It was used for keeping up a
system of communication between passenger and
guard, for regulating the traffic in various ways and
at various points, for the distribution of correct and
uniform time along the various lines of railway, and
for the reparation of error and thoughtlessness of pas-
sengers. But as the principal element of danger in
railway travelling consisted in the fallibility of the
human machine, it must not be forgotten that we owe
our immunity from accidents as much to the careful
selection, education, and supervision of the staff of
railway companies, and the maintenance of discipline,
as to the appliances of scientific skill.

characteristic of the vocalisation of the blind. At the
conclusion of this concert and the singing of hymns, the
audience dispersed, each blind visitor, as usual, being
presented with one shilling on leaving.

The lecture was illustrated by specimens of the block
apparatus in use on the principal lines of railway, and
by several interesting experiments. One of these,
showing the action of the "Electric Repeater," was
viewed with quite peculiar interest in present circum-
stances. This is an arrangement by means of which an
electric signal is sent back from the signal post to the
cabin to show whether or not the signals are answering
to the levers, and it seems probable that bad such a
method been in operation at Abbot's Rfpton the recent
deplorable accident there would either have been pre-.
vented or considerably modified in its results. Another
experiment of great interest consisted in showing how,
by very simple electrical arrangement, the fact whether
the lamps are burning or not in the distant signals is
instantly made known to the signalman in the cabin.
The theatre of the institution was filled by a most
appreciatiye atdience, among whom were Lord Claud
Hamilton, Professor Tyndall, Dr. Siemens (in the-
chair), Mr. Spottiswoode, and Mr. Warren Do La
Rue.—The Times. ;

MR. CHARLES MATHEWS IN
CALCUTTA.
The popular English comedisu, whose performances have
for a time been transferred from England to India, has been
playing at English's Theatre, in Calcutta, and on the occa-
sion of a farewell benefit, made one of his characteristic
speeches. Alter describing the rapidity with which his
eyes had been "dazed with diamonds, pearls, emeralds, and
cloth of gold; with rajahs, maharajahs, and babus, balls,
dinners, garden-parties, races, regattas, steeplechases, polo
-
matches, tent-pegging, Illuminations, fireworks, receptions,
levees, presentations, installations," Mr. Mathews (says the
Daily Telegraph) continued as follows
When I first came out I contemplated a stay of
some two or three months, having been assured that
to play more than once or twice a week would be out
of the question, as the heat would be so excessive that
I should have to lie on my back, prostrated, between
the performances, and breathe only by the aid of
a punkah. Instead of which I have found the climate
so enjoyable that I have been able to play nightly
without inconvenience, thus abridging my stay,
and bringing my engagement to an end in half the
time I anticipated. Indeed, our sojourn here has been
so short and so full of delightful and novel excitement,
that on our return home it will appear like a pleasant
dream, and we shall scarcely be able to realize it.
Brief though it has been, it has been rendered most
agreeable by the extreme kindness, and attention we
have received. I was a little disappointed at first
with the "City of Palaces," expecting to see nothing
but marble studded with precious stones, disap-
pointed also at the lack of elephants. I have only seen I
two since I have been in Calcutta—two little fellows
about the size of polo ponies, who were invited to meet
the Prince of Wales on his first arrival at Government
House, but who grew so very sleepy that they were
sent home and put to bed before his Royal High-
ness made his appearance. I am told that elephants
are not allowed in the city for fear of their frightening
the horses; but from what I have seen of the native
cattle in the streets I should say they were more
likely to frighten the elephants. The grand parade
of seven hundred and fifty at Bankipore. with their
painted foreheads, war trappings, and gorgeous
howdahs, must have been a magnificent sight,
and we are promised an introduction to a num-
ber of splendid specimens to-morrow at Barrack-
pore. I hope we shall not be disappointed. I an-
nounced my intention of making my re-entry into
London on one of the largest I could obtain, but I fear,
after all, I shall have to drive up in a native bullock
barouche—a "byle garce," I believe it is called. It is
true, I might present myself in a palanquin, as a more
dignified conveyance but I should be afraid of being
mistaken for a patient on his way to the hospital, for
such was my impression on first beholding the funeral-
looking " palki "—I believe "palki " is the correct
name: "My Hindustani is not very pure, I am aware.
I have only mastered a few useful phrases, such as
" Raho," " Jaldi jao," "Ag lao," and " Pant lao," and
am not quite sure that I know what they really mean.
Some words though, I must confess, are significant
enough. For instance husbands are designated by the
term " kussum"—a term, I fear, sometimes used by
Mem Sahibs without being aware that they were
speaking Hindustani. But though disappointed at
the first sight of the" City of Palaces," I soon found,
on driving among its innumerable palatial villas, and
visiting their elegant and costly interiors, that the
epithet was well deserved and quite appropriate, and
if I may be permitted to add another title [would pro-
claim it the "City of Politeness and Hospitality."
Allow me to thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for the
support you have given me, and for the many kind
attentions received by myself and my "Mime Sahib,"
and to assure you, though far away, that we shall
never forget them.

ENTERTAINMENT TO
sIynIBLIND.
Under the auspices of the Christian Blind Society
the,twelfth annual entertainment to the poor blind of
the metropolis was given on Friday evening in the large
school-room of the East London Tabernacle' again
kindly lent for the occasion by the Rev. A. G. Brown
and deacons. The general objects of the society
cannot be too frequently enforced. It grants weekly
or monthly pensions to the needy blind, of g sod
moral character, irrespective of religious sect, and it
performs, as an incidental work foi the amelioration
of the condition of the sightless, the task of providing
them with books in Moon's system of raised type,
in which proficiency in reading is acquired in a very short
space of time. In a recent report of the committee it
is estimated that the proportion of blind to sighted
persons is as one in every thousand, and that there are
not more than five out of every hundred blind who are
able to earn a living; and statistics are put forth to
show that, allowing 20 per cent, as those who can earn
a partial maintenance, 75 per cent, out of every hun-
dred are entirely unprovided for, or that out of 30,000
blind persons in the United Kingdom nearly 22,500
are in needy circumstances. The idea of an annual
entertainment to the blind poor of London and its
suburbs is mainly due to the thoughtful care of Mr. T.
Clarke, the hon. secretary. At the first tea party,
twelve years ago, not more than 80 blind persons and
their guides assembled; but thanks to the liberal
response made by the public to the last "Christmas
appeal" for aid for this special purpose, .and quite
distinct from the pension fund—nearly 400 blind
persons, of both sexes, accompanied by as many
guides—making altogether about 800—were regaled
with tea, bread and butter, cake, biscuits and
oranges. Many of the blind visitors came from
distant parts of the metropolis, some trudging from
places as 'remote, for blind people, as Fulham and
Hampstead. From the simple festival none were
excluded for whom room could be 'made' and perhaps
no class of visitors were more grateful for the treat than
the blind inmates of some of the, metrop,Aitan work-i
houses, not only for the good cheer, but for the musical'
entertainment which followed. The whole of thel
arrangements connected with the repast were admirably
carried out by Mr. and Mrs. Clarke. There !was no;
confusion, and everybody, although not seeing, availed!
himself of the opportunity of chat,ttng with his neigh-1
bour. When "tea was over the most interesting por-
tion of the proceedings commenced—a vocal display on!
the part ,of the Metropolitan Blind IChoir, under the!
,concluctorship ,of Mr.• G.. T. :Fyne; theJpianoforte ac-
companiments being performed by Mr. Irg44,Vw4man,
himself blind. The Rev. A. t3r. Brown presided.
Several pieces were executed with that intensity of
expression and correctness of intonation which are