The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-03-12 00:00:00

ji istellantaus 4ntelligmet.

HOME FOREIGN. AND COLONIAL.

•
THE EMPRESS EIIGENIE.—The Committee for the
erection of the Memorial Cross on Chislehurst-
common to the late Prince Imperial having, on the
completion of the work, presented an address to the
Empress Eug4nie through Earl Sydney, her Imperial
Majesty has written a lettAr in reply to Earl Sydney,
in which she asks his Lordship to thank in her name
all those who during her Majesty's residence in Chisle-
hurst have shown so much sympathy in the heavy
trials she has undergone. Her Majesty adds that she
will never forget the generous hospitality which was
accorded on two occasions to their French friends, nor
the touching unanimity with which the residents have
raised a monument to the memory of her son. It is
then, her Majesty concludes, that she leaves with
regret a place of which the recollection will always be
united in her heart with the sacred remembrance of
those who are no more.
NAVAL SAVINGS BANKS.—In 1866 an Act was
passed establishing Naval Savings Banks on board the
ships in the Royal Navy an at the headquarters of
the divisions of Royal Marines. This experiment
having succeeded, the Admiralty are now of opinion
that it would he for the benefit of the seamen in the
Royal Navy to establish, in addition to the floating
banks, similar institutions on shore in the dockyards
for the receipt of deposits from seamen otherwise
eligible as depositors. An Order in Council has ac-
cordingly been issued, and is printed in last Tuesday
night's London Gazette, authorising the opening of
these banks. The interest allowed to depositors will
be £2 103. per cent. upon every complete £1 de-
posited ; deposits will be received either by allotments
or remittances from pay, or by cash personally ten-
dered, from depositors borne on the books of any of
her Majesty's ships and vessels either at home or
abroad • and the management of the new banks will
be vested in the cashiers under the general super-
vision of the superintendents of the dockyards.
A BACHELOR'S TOAST.—Man as I am, and woman
as she should be—no encumberance. —Judy.

USEFUL AFTER DEATH !-A Post-mortem Examina-
tion Society is the latest Parisian novelty. Its mem-
bers pledge themselves to utilize their bodies after
death "for the profit of the scientific idea" by
leaving them to the anthropological laboratory, to be
submitted to a post-mortem examination or to be
made use of for dissection or other purposes as may
seem fit. A proces-verbal of the results of the post-
mortem will be drawn up at the lowest price for the
information of the family of the deceased. Every
member must subscribe at least five francs annually,
in return for which his autopsy will be performed free
of charge, providing he dies in Paris. In the prospectus
great stress is laid on the disadvantage to science arising
from the fac t that at present the subjects of post-mortem
examinations are unknown he operator. Especi-
ally is this disadvantageous ill the case of the brain,
for it is impossible to study scientifically the relations
between the structure and the functions *f that organ
unless the scientific psychologists can dissect the brain
of those whose character and personality have been
known and noted. The prospectus concludes with a
glowing appeal to persons of every sect or political
opinion, who, after having been useful during their
life, are fired by the noble ambition of being useful
after death.—Pall Mall Gazette.

DEATH OF A CELEBRATED WRESTLER.—Within the
last few days there has been gathered to his fathers a
man who was long considered the patriarch of all
French wrestlers (says the Globe). Father Schaps, as
he was called by his many familiar friends, had retired
more than twenty years from the active exercise of his
art, and with the proceeds of some years' economy
bought a small house at Montmartre, which he made
a sort of rendezvous for amateurs and professors of the
science. In this peaceful retreat were suspended on
the walls many trophies of ancient battles, including
various medals and belts, and even the " togs " in
which great victories had once been won; and the re-
tired Professor was fond of pointing to these, and ex-
claiming that, after all, "that (meaning physical exer-
cise) was the only thing in life worth having." The
Bull of Montpellier, as he was called in his earlier
days, was not one of the common herd of French
wrestlers—those who go about with a caravan, and in-
dulge in various feats such DA the catching of cannon
balls and the lifting of gigantic dumb-bells. He was
the victor in many a stout combat against all corners,
and afterwards was the tutor and trainer of " Rossig-
nol Rollin," and various other noted wrestlers. During
his still later years he was yet far from idle, for it was to
him that any person came who proposed to give a
grand wrestling or athletic entertainment in any
town. His experience, or his natural talent, had
enabled him to draw up the notices and bills with such
consummate skill that no .others could draw half as
many spectators to the aalle.

PAUCA VERBA." - Trichinosis Notice.—" Pig-
Stickers Beware l"—Punch.

RESULTS OE BRITISH RULE IN INDIA.—Mr. J. N.
Maclean read before the Society of Arts a paper on
this subject, the conclusion he arrives at being that it
should be the most ardent aspiration of every true
Englishman that, for the sake of both countries, the
connection between England and India may never be
dissolved. England may, with a good conscience,
continue to hold India if she takes care to act fairly
and justly towards the people of that country, and
trieo to level them up to the enjoyment of constitu-
tional liberties by proceeding cautiously in the path of
decentralisation and steadily enlarging the limits of
municipal, and ultimately provincial, self-govern-
ment ; while at the same time maintaining the distinc-
tively English character of the administiation, and
cherishing to the utmost, instead of endeavouring to
efface, the English element of the population."
THE GARDEN PRIMROSE.—Amongst hardy plants
that, so far, are none the worse for the hard weather,
are garden primroses. Fortunately of diminutive
form, nestling almost into the earth, and well covered
with the snow, these have come through the ordeal in-
tact, and ar a now—in spite of still cold days, with
often frosty nights—looking fresh and green, and
showing their beautiful blooms in many colours,
earliest amongst the early flowers of spring. Doubt-
less resulting from some intercrossing with the early
blooming strains of fancy polyanthus, these garden
primroses are a long way earlier than are their con-
geners of the woods and hedgerows; but very many
of these garden hybrids show their primrose nature
first and their polyanthus character afterwards, thus
giving a flowering season of more than usual length.
Although so closely allied there is yet seen here a
diversity of periods in blooming that they may well at-
tract the attention of the plant physiologist. The true
polyanthus develops its flower-stalk from the end of
March and through April ; the primrose, having not
one but a multiplicity of shorter flower-stems, begins
to exhibit these as early as the middle of February,
and even all through the winter, if the season be open
and the plants strong. The true polyanthus seldom
does this ; indeed, the hybrid class—those that are
both primrose and polyanthus—are always earlier than
the true primrose, which sends up its flowers from the
centre of robust crowns, whilst the hybrid plant seems
to send up its earlier primrose flowers from almost any-
where. How varied the colours, and laow beautiful
_these are, any fine strain will show. A score of diverse
hues, from the purest white to the deepest purple or
crimson, and many diverse markings are all found.
Lifted new, or earlier, and put into pas, a few dozens
will add infinite beauty and variety to the not too
abundant bloom of the greenhouse during March,—
Gardeners' Chronicle.

THE REFORM OF SPELLING AND ORTHOGRAPHY.—
An international congress for the reform of spelling
and orthography will meet at Berlin in September.
Professors Max Muller, Sayce, Williams, Dr. Hunter,
and many distinguished English Orientalists will, it
is expected, attend, whilst America and the Continent
will also be present. The chief points to be discussed
are (1) a general European alphabet, (2) a general
Oriental ditto, and (3) the steps to be taken towards
the creation of a universal alphabet.

A NEW WAY OF SETTLING THE IRISH DIFFICIJIHY.
Miss Charlotte G. O'Brien, writing in the Nineteenth.
Century, proposes to settle the frish difficulty on new
and original lines. "The Irish, to be well governed,
must be absolutely free, must be governed by a strong
executive, and must have their nationality respected.'
She would abolish parliamentary government, place
Ireland under Lord Dufferin or Sir C. G. Duffy as a
Governor-General, in whose hands would lie the whole
power of the executive and the army. She would
entrust local affairs to a local assembly of each pro-
vince, comnosed of 100 members elected by universal
suffrage. These provincial assemblies should elect a,
national council composed of twenty-five representa-
tives for each province, which would manage all public
affairs. "I would govern the people," she writes,
"by elected magistrates, and Crown resident magis-
trates, elected grand juries and Crown judges ; a police
governed by local assemblies, an army governed by
the Crown."

THE VOICE OF THE SLUGGARD.—A long yawn.—
Judy.
GUESTS AT THE RECENT ROYAL WEDDING.—The
Court Journal says :—Three wedding guests at the
Berlin Imperial wedding of an uncommon kind require
mention--first, the clerk of the village church at
Dolzig, who was present at the bride's christening, and
now eighty-seven years of age, was honoured with an
invitation; and further, the bride's wet nurse, Frau
Cfensetzermeister Kruschwitz, and her foster-sister,
Mary. According to a custom of great antiquity
nurses keep the first pair of shoes worn by their nurse-
lings, and hand them over to the bride at her wedding.
When this presentation of shoes is to take place is not
stated in the programme; but it is pleasing to see that
Princess William in her present grandeur is not
oblivious of the friends of her youth.
THE DIFFICULTY SOLVED. --A certain firm of engi-
neers in the United States once received a busineks
letter from an English lord requiring an immediate
reply. The senior partner undertook the duty, but
was immediately checked by the difficulty of address-
ing his lordship in the name of the firm. My Lord"
he fele was not the proper form ; and being equally
dissatisfied with "0 Lord," the only other method
which occurred to him, he laid the znatter before
the junior partner, who could only suggest
" Our Lord," to meet the difficulty. None of
these forms, however, pleased the senior
partner, and the advice of their confidential
clerk, who was generally regarded as a " longheaded '
man, was sought. The resources of his long head were
exhausted, however, when he suggested "Great Lord,"
and as this was voted as absurd as the others, it was
agreed to sleep over the matter and see what a new day
might bring forth. The trio next day were rather
annoyed to find affairs in state quo, none of them being
visited with gleams of inspiration during the night.
At last a way out of the dilemma was suggested by
the happy thought of a neighbour, and the reply was
sent by telegraph.—" Editor's Drawer "in Harper's New
Monthly Magizine.
A WOMAN'S TRESSES.—Professor Erasmus Wilson
at one of his lectures exhibited the photograph of a
woman thirty-eight years old, and 5 feet 5 inches high,
whose tresses, when she stood erect, enveloped her
entire form in a golden veil and trailed several inches
on the ground. The longest fibres measured 6 feet
3i inches. Thirty inches is considered the mean
length of the hair of women, and 3 feet is considered
a very remarkable length. This instance is exceeded,
however, by two American women—one whose hair
measures 7 feet 6 inches, and another, the wife of a
druggist in Philadelphia, whose luxuriant hair is
almost as long, and so long that when seated upon
a chair she can completely cover herself with it.
LORD CAMPBELL'S THRIFT.—In the newly published
"Life of John Lord Campbell," who began life in
London as a reporter on the Morning Chronicle,
studied law, was entered at the Bar, rose in his pro-
fession, and died Lird Chancellor of England in 1861,
is found a particularly good sketch of the struggles of
a young barrister for a livelihood. The young Scotch-
man was tehacious and succeeded. In 1804 he became
a pupil in the office of a celebrated special pleader,
paying 100 guineas as a fee. The country was then
agitated over the feats of a French invasion, and John
Campbell, who belonged to a corps of volunteers, hesi-
tated long about paying this sum for a reason racy of
his thrifty Scotland :—" It would be a provoking thing
if the very week after I had paid my 100 guineas I
should be killed off."

THE LATE' SIR GEORGE COLLEY.—The Athenceum
says :—At this moment many of our readers may like
to be reminded that the late Sir George Colley was
the author of the excellent article "Army" in the new
edition of " Encyclopdia Britannica." The article,
which occupies some 60 pages, was one of the few
writings of the lamented general.
THE PREVENTION OF FLOODS IN DERBYSHIRE.—
The Duke of Devonshire has been the first to put into
practice a scheme for the prevention of fib As. On
his Grace's estate in Derbyshire, notably at Ashford-
in-the-Water—an ominous name—the Wye very fre-
quently overflows its banks, and causes great destruc-
tion to property. With a view to obviate in some
degree this state of things for the future, the duke is
having the bed of the river widened, and is making
other improvements, calculated, when completed, to
effectually confine the waters between the banks.—
Land.

MICROPHONIC TrimE.—The microphone of Professor
Hughes has been introduced by Dr. Wilhelm Meyer
into the Geneva Observatory, for the purpose of
transmitting the beat 4 of the standard clock to dif-
ferent rooms, in order that the staff may time their
observations on the heavenly bodies by the same pen-
dulum. A pencil microphone is placed near the pen-
dulum and connected in circuit with the telephone
running to the several rooms. The arrangement is
especially useful in working with the grand equatorial,

for the 'travelling of a star sometimes obligs the ob-
server with this instrument to move out of distinct ear-
shot of the pendulum beat itself, but this is avoided by
reproducing the beat in a telephone, which can be readily
shifted, or, in fact, attached to the ears of the ob-
server. By a similar microphonic line, too, the clock
of the Hotel Municipal at Geneva is corrected every
day from the Observatory, and thus all the city clocks
in electric connexion with hotel clock keep
standard time. The method is also applicable to
finding longitudes by telegraph, for a microphone
sending clock beats has some advantages in deter-
mining local time over the usual plan of sending
signals by a key and chronograph. In the chrono-
graph and relay, for instance, the time of magneti-
sation is not always constant • whereas with the
microphone, the only magnetic effect involved is the
very feeble one in the telephone itself.—Engineering.
A REMARKABLE PASSAGE.—One of the quickest
passages recorded between this country and the United
States has just been accomplished by the White Star
Liner Britannic. This steamer sailed from Queens-
town on Friday, Feb. 25th, at 4.30 p.m., and arrived
at New York last Friday morning (4th inst.) at 2.30
a.m., having completed the passage in six days and
ten hours.

A MEMORIC STONE.—An analysis is now being
made of a meteoric stone which, in the sight of many
persons recently fell at Wiener Neustadt. In falling it
gave out a most brilliant light. Upon examination, it
was found to be triangular in shape, crystalline in
appearance, and showing a metallic lustre in certain
parts._ Its weight is 375 grammes.

A PARADISE OF RHUBARB !--M. Prjovalsky, the
Russian explorer, in a recent letter giving an account
of his movements on the Chinese frontier of Eastern
Turkestan, describes a veritable paradise of rhubarb.
He there stumbled upon a locality where the plant
was found in prodigious quantity, and in the older
plants with roots of colossal proportions. Taking at
hazard one of these roots, he found that it measured
16 inches in length, twelve inches in breadth, and
seven inches in thickness, and weighed 261 b.

A VILLAGE BURNT.—In France a dreadful calamity
ha 3 befallen the little village of Pierrefitte, in the de-
partment of the Correze. On Saturday morning an in-
habitant was carrying a pan of burning coal to his
cottage when the wind, which was blowing very hard,
carried some of the embers to the thatch, and quickly
set fire to the building. Favoured by the wind, the
flames spread very rapidly, and in less than an hour
the whole village, with the exception of the school-
house and the church, was destroyed. No human
lives were lost, hut a number of cattle perished in the
flames. The unfortunate inhabitants are in the greatest
distress.

THE TAIITANB.—There are nine regiments in the
army which have the title of Highlanders. Of these
five are kilted and the other four wear the trews. The
Pkilted regiments are the 42nd Royal Highland Regi-
ment (the Black Watch), the 78th Highlanders (Ross.
shire Buffs), the 79th Cameron Highlanders, the 92nd
Gordon Highlanders, and the 93rd Sutherland High-
landers. The regiments wearing the trews are the
71st Highland Light Infantry, the 72nd (Duke of
Albany's) Highlanders, the 74th Highlanders, and
the 91st (Princess Louise's) Argyllshire High-
landers. Of these regiments, the 79th wear the
Cameron tartan, the 92nd the Gordon, the 93rd
the Sutherland and the 91st the Cawdor Campbell—
the uniform thus in each case connecting the regiment
with the county mad family in which it was raised.
The 71st wear the Macleod tartan, having been raised
by Lord Macleod, son of the Earl of Cromarty ; and
the 78th, who were formed by the Earl of Seaforth
out of the clans of Mackem:ie.and Macrea, wear the
Mackenzie tartan. The 42nd wear a tartan which is
not like that of any clan, although it closely resembles
the Forbes tartan; the reason fu this is not far to
seek, as the regiment was originally formed of gentle-
men of various clans and families.

"THE LATEST YHING OUT."—An Old Year.—
Judy.
lOWA WANTS 50,000 SCOTCHMEN.—What would not
lowa give for fifty thousand more good Scots—the
men with hard beads, honest hearts, and strong arms,
and useful lives? We have a good share of them now,
and they are the best of lowa people; many of them
are of the strong men among the pioneers who early
fashioned lowa into the noble way along which it has
come to its present greatness. We would like a great
many more of them; we could not have too many. There
is a chance for us to recruit in this direction, and we
should not be slow in doing it. An association has lately
been formed in Scotland for the purpose of inducing
the better class to emigrate to some of the older
Western States. Two classes are to be enoouraged
to such 'emigration—farmers 4nd manufacturers.
Many men, some of them of large means, have already
signified their readiness to Come. Information in
regard to the movement has been received a
Indianapolis, and. the mayor of that city has palled a
public meeting to take steps to direct a large share
of such emigration to that pity and-state. It is a field
in which lowa and Des Moines may well work, and
there is no time to be lost. We believe we have a
State Commissioner of Immigration and we know we
have enterprising people in Des 'Moines. Let UG
start up the tune to a Scotch air, and get a pod share
of these most desirable immigrants at s:)Nvor—some of
the farmers for the country, and some of the manu-
facturers for the towns. —lowa Register.—LaNcELoT
4TkioN,

Ma. H. STANLEY IN AFRlCA.—Letters from Zan-
zibar, of the sth ult., report that Mr. Stanley, who is
now engaged in placing steamers on the Upper Congo,
and in making a road past the Yellala Falls BO as to
reach the navigable part of that river, for the Belgian
Commercial Company, of which the King is the ,
largest shareholder, has sent agents to Zanzibar, who
have engaged 72 natives for a term of years to serve
on the Congo. Tnese have been shipped to Cape
Town in the mail steamer, and on their arrival a
schooner will be chartered to take them to the Congo.
It is understood that the Belgian branch of the Inter-
national Association will now devote its energy to
•
furthering the object of the Commercial Company,
and for this purpose a station will be opened at
Nyanguie, in Manyema, where the ivory trade that
now finds its way to Zanzibar will be turned to the
West Coast.

ORTHOGRAPHICAL VARIATIONS.—The Academy states
that Mr. Chaloner Smith, of the Probate Office Read-
ing-room, has recounted his list of old spellings of the
word "cushions " in early wills, and finds that the
number of spellings is 593. We give as specimens
four that turned up in the inventories in the course
of half an hour: " Qwheshngis, cwyschens (A.D. 1551),
coysshyns (1535), cosschens." Four others in another
half hour, are " chusshons, chosshons, coysshons,
cousshons." The lists of debts due to a testator are
not classified as " good " and "bad," but as " sperat
aettes " and " desperat dettes."
THE PRICE OF OSTRICHES.—At a recent sale of
ostriches at Port Elizabeth, Cape of Good Hope, the
following prices were obtained :—Two pairs of breed-
ing birds at £l3O per pair; one ditto at £125; two
ditto at £l2O-; one ditto at £215; two ditto at £lO5 ; and
four ditto at £lOO. Some younger birds sold on the
following terms :—Three pairs at £22 10s. per pair
five ditto at £75 ; three ditto at £65; and four at £6O.
Ten young ostriches sold at £47 10s. to £62 108. per
pair. Fifteen young birds realised £2B; and twenty
changed hands at £25. Another flock of ten sold at
220 each.
AN ANCIENT CUSTOM.—In accordance with an
ancient custom, the Princess of Wales has presented
a horde-shoe to Oakham Castle in commemoration of
her visit. The shoe, which was manufactured at the
works of Lord Aveland, and is gilt, has just been
fastened to one of the walls of the castle, the inscrip-
tion being as follows :—" Her Royal Highness the
Princess of Wales, 1881." The position the shoe
occupies in the wall was chosen by her Royal
Highness.
THE TUNNEL BETWIXT ENGLAND AND .FRANCE.—An
enterprising French engineer has conceived the idea of
carrying a railway viaduct across the English Chan-
nel. He estimates the profits of the enterprise to be
enormous, but will refer that question to a committee
of experts. The inventor prophesies that within five
years time an express train will run through from
Paris to London. In the meantime the operations for
the projected submarine tunnel seem to be progressing
favourably. The chairman and directors of the South.
Eastern Railway Company recently inspected the
works now being carried on at Abbotsford, near
Folkestone, where the powerful boring machine cuts
into the chalk at the rate of half an inch each minute.
There seems to be a grave doubt whether the enter-
prise—however successfully it may be concluded—
can be made to pay. Taking the cost of making the
line at half that of one of the Metropolitan railways,
it would require a traffic of five times that of the
South-Eastern system to pay a five per cent. dividend.

AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN. —The follow-
ing are the average prices of British corn for the week
ending March 5, as received from the inspectors and
officers of Excise :—Wheat, 41s. 7d. ; barley, 31s. 7d. ;
oats, 21s. 2d. per imperial qr. Corresponding week
last year :—Wheat, 445. 7d.; barley, 345. 2d. ; oats,
225. 4d.

LIVE STOCK AND FRESH MEAT IMPORTS.—The
arrival of live stock at Liverpool from the United
States and Canada last week was a slight increase on
that of the preceding week, of fresh meat a decrease,
and, as regards mutton and hogs, there was a much
larger quantity landed. The total importation was
494 cattle, 226 sheep, 4,571 quarters of beef, 1,157 car-
cases of mutton, and 1,413 hogs.

AMERICAN BEEF PACKING.—A Texan correspondent
writes that we Britishers have little idea of the im-
portance of the beef packing trade in Texas. No less
than 100,000 beeves are slaughtered every year at
Fulton and Rockport, where the principal packing
establishments are located, and not one scrap of the
animal is wasted. The blood is sold for manure, at
two cents a pound. The tongue and meat is cooked
and tinned; the hides are salted and sold to the
tanners; the fat is made into tallow • the bones are
boiled to a pulp, from whence the fatty matter is
extracted, and the dry bones are sold at one cent a
pound for fertilising purposes. Neat's-foot oil is
extracted from the hoofs, whilst the horny part of the
foot, the skin, and the knuckle-bones are manufactured
into domestic ivory. Next the horns are stacked up
until the pith loosens, when it is extracted for manure,
and they are sold to be made up into various things.
Even the tips of the tails are used for making frisettes
for ladies' hair.

AN INTERESTING PHOTOGRAPH.—A very distinct
photograph of a lightning flash was taken by Mr.
Crowe, of Liverpool, during the severe thunderstorm
which visited that city on July 17, 1880. The camera
was planted at a spot near Dingle, and directed to tho
sky over St. Philemon's Church, in Windsor-street.
The flash, which has been made to photograph itself
by its own light, appeared over the church at the
instant the bell-tower was shattered to pieces. It
exactly resembles the zigzag spark of an induction
coil, and is estimated to have been about 51 inches
broad.

THE EFFCTS OF THE GREAT SNOWSTORM.—Sir D.
Gooch, M.P., in presiding at the half-yearly meeting
of the Great Western Railway, said the snowstorm
which occurred in January reduced their receipts by
£56,000. Had that sum been in their pockets they
would have been able to declare or t per cent. more
of dividend. To indicate the extent of the storm he
might say they had to excavate the snow from 111
miles of railway, varying in depth from three to nine
feet. Sixtrfour trains had to be dug out, and blocks
took place on 141 different parts of their system.
"DON'T BOIL OVER."—We have all heard of the
" music " a kettle makes when it is singing on the
fire; but, when it is just beginning to boil, what
musical instrument does it put you most in mind of?
Well, if you must know, a dull simmer (dulcimer,
ha! ha!)—Judy. •

EXPENSIVE SHIPS.—In the dockyard accounts,
issued recently, it is shown that the Neptune, which
was purchased for £600,000 in 1878, is still incomplete.
and has cost up to the 31st of March last £670,974.
Of ships built at the dockyards, the Inflexible is still
reported incomplete, with a total expenditure for
labour and materials of £714,927, while the total cost
of the Dreadnought reached, for labour and materials,
the sum of £619,739.
AN INTERESTING MEMENTO.—Major Bromhead, One
of the heroes of Rorke's Drift, went to Windsor Castle
on Monday afternoon, conveying for her Majesty's in-
spection a relic of the colours of the 2nd battalion of
the 24th. Regiment, recovered from the disastrous
battle-field of Isandlwana. Major Bromhead, who
was in full military uniform, arrived at Windsor by
the 1.10 p.m. Great Western train, the staff and frag-
ment of the colours being enclosed in a long wooden
case, which was taken by the gallant officer in a car-
riage to the Palace and shown to the Queen. Major
Bromhead lunched at the Castle and returned later on
in the afternoon, at the close of his visit, to the metro-
polis.
A PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION.—A story is told Of
Van Amburgh, the great lion-tamer now dead. On
one occasion while in a bar-room he was asked how he
got his wonderful power over animals. He said: "It
is by showing them that I'm not the least afraid of
them, and by keeping my eye steadily on theirs. I'll
give you an example of the power of my eye." Point-
ing to a loutish fellow who was sitting near by, he
said : "You see that fellow? He's a regular clown.
I'll make him come across the room to me and I won't
say a word to him." Sitting down he fixed his keen,
steady eye on the man. Presently the fellow
straightened himself gradually, got up and came slowly
across to the lion-tamer. When he got close enough
he drew back his arm and struck Van Amburgh
tremendous blow under the chin, knocking him clean
over the chair, with the remark: " You'll stare at
me like that again, won't you? '

" THE LABOUR MARKET--Thero is a great deal of
fluctuation in some branches of the labour market.
The bad weather has again thrown a number of men
out of work. Exports from the iron trade centres are
not quite so god as recently, but these afford no cause
for anxiety. The engineering and shipbuilding trades
are still very busy. At the dockyards great activity
prevails. The work to be done ti_is year is on a largo
scale. In and around the metropolis the building
trade is very active, and the workmen in all its
branches are fully employed. The contracts for
projected improvements are extsnaive, and the votes
for Government buildings large. The boot and shoe
trade is fairly busy, especially at the East-end, a firm
in Whitechapel having secured a very large contract
from the Admiralty. There is not much alteration
in the other industries of London. The trade of the
past week in the West of England has been a shadA
better than it was, and the half-yearly fairs of leathek
and wool have proved that, though the reaction is still
very slow, there is more vitality in trade and pug-
chasers show a greater disposition to operate, The
activity in the coal trade of South Wales remains
unabated. In the Leeds district, the engine branches,
chemical works, mills, machine and tools trades, and
the leather-dressing and currying branches remain
fully employed, with fair orders still in hand,
Rivetters and finishers in the boot and shoe tradeA
are slack, and the dispute as to a reduction a ,Yge,.l
is not yet settled. •
STATISTICS OF YAPER. PRaDITTioN.7—A French con.:

temporary publishes, a r.ropolof the amount and
different sorts of paper required for the postal and
telegraphic administration in Paris, some tathwt
interesting statistics concerning the quantity of per:
annually used, and'the manufactories whiohfurnish .
There are, it has been calculated, 3,985 paper laanu-
factories scattered throughout the world, whi•Ca pro-
duce in all annually about 950 million kilo:grammes of
paper of one kind and another. U.A.1.1 the amount
that is to say, 475 million klloF,lllmmes—finds its way
to the printing office, the newspapers' share absorbing
300 million kilOgrammes, or something like 752,000
kilogrammes daily. Governments and administrations
use 100 million kilogrommes, educational establish-
ments 90 millions, commerce absorbs 120 million,
industry 90 million, and private letters and corre-
spondences 5Q million kilogrammes. The total of men,
women, and children employed in fabrication of paper
exceeds 100,000, and to this total must be added tile
100,000 individuals who live by collecting and Belli)*
to the papermakers old newspapers, castaway books,
old letters, or scraps of paper which are turned to good
account by the trade.

• INVERTED MAXIMS.—" In the good fortune of our
best friends we always find something which is not
pleasing to us."—Rochefoucauld.—Jim.—"Ullo, Jack!
Haven't seen you for an a:.-se, old man. Tell me who IS
that lovely girl ?" Jack.—" Miss Bellingham Gold
more." Jim.—" What, the great heiress?" Jack.--
" Oh, it's only twenty or thirty thousand a-year ! But
she's as clever as she's beautiful, and as good as she's
clever !" Jim.—(who has lately married one of the
strong-minded sisterhood). "I say / He's a luck,:
chap that gets her, hay, old man ? " Jack.—" I'm gl
you think so. She's just engaged to be my wife I
!! ! I I I 1! ! "—Punch.