The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-02-27 00:00:00

Itlisaltancous

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

MATRIMONIAL CHANCES.—From the Man-
cheater Examiner:—
, . .

"Confidential.—A gentleman of fortune desires to corre-
spond with a lady with a view to matrimony; money no
object; geod lobs indispensable; enclose carte."
"A widower, 40, with family, wants an educated lady as
wile; respectable references given and required; carte ex-
changed."
" TWILEDLE-DUN OR TWEEDLE-DRE !" The
Prussian House of Commons, usually working with
the most indefatigable energy, knows also how to
" play "or nod at times. At one of its last sittings it
wasted many hours over the vital question whether a
citizen of Prussia should be called "Prussian" or
"Prussian subject," the Liberals being in favour of
the former designation. The minister was sternly op-
posed to any such change, instancing "an Austrian
who happened to live in Prussia, and who would say
he was an Austrian, but also a Prussian subject " ;
while an honourable member from the left asked the
House how they would like the national hymn, " Ich
bin eM Preusse "altered into" Ich bin em Preussischer
Unterthan " ? at which the House was hilariously ex-
cited. Another member "suspected" that there must
be some hidden meaning in the opposition of the
Ministry. Matters were brought to a happy end by
another venerable supporter of the Government ob-
serving that as long as Prussia had a king "by the
grace of God" the inhabitants could only be his
" subjects. " He was astonished at the applause he
liberally received.

m, I
THE MURDER OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN.— t
fate of Mrs. Surratt, who was executed in 184;5 for
alleged complicity in the plot to assassinate President
Lincoln, will not be soon forgotten by one section of
the American people. It was always contended by
many that the woman was innocent, and those who
were instrumental in her prosecution do not like her
name to be mentioned oftener than is necessary. The
other day her remains were given up to her friends for
private burial, and the incident led to some curious
revelations. It was never known before where the
assassin Booth had been buried. It was thought that
'demonstrations" of an unpleasant kind would be
made over his grave, and the few who knew the secret
kept it well. It now appears that the boay was brought
to Washington, and buried in the old penitentiary
buildings, in the presence of Secretary Stanton, three
police officers, and the commandant of the arsenal.
The wareroom chosen as a temporary tomb was boarded
up, the door locked, and the key taken away by Secre-
tary Stanton. Booth's relatives are now asking for his
body, in order that it may receive Christian burial.

A Nova SCOTIAN GIANTESS. - Among the
cabin passengers just arrived from New York by the
steamship Columbia was Miss Anna Swan, a native
of Nova Scotia, but of Scotch descent, who is en route
to London and Paris. Miss Swan is stated to be
Aft. lin, in height, and stout in proportion weighing
about 4001bs. She is twenty-one years of age, pre-
possessing in appearance, ha a cultivated mind,
and engaging manners. She intends, previous to re-
turning to New York, to make a short tour through
Scotland.

THOSE DREADFUL BOYS !—Mr. Mann, in
paper read at the Statistical Society, proposes to em-
ploy "boys" to do one-third of the work of the public
offices. Well—the Public Offices may want to be kept
afloat, now that everybody is trying to run them down,
but we should doubt the feasibility of buoying them
up in this way. To judge by Mr. Punch's experience
of " boys " in his own office, be is disposed to
think they spoil quite as much in bad work as they
save in salary, to say nothing of the wear and tear
of temper and waste of time in looking after them.
On these grounds he protests against the whole arrange-
ment—Mann and boy:—Punch.