The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-11-06 00:00:00

al; ;axe:lb:molts 'lttelligente.
HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL

CONNUBIAL WHEEZE.—Love does a great many
things—it makes the world so round, and rules the
universe generally; but love never scrubbed your
best meerchaum pipe with hot water and soap to
clean it and take the smell out. Oh, no, that's not
love. It's revenge.—Fun.
A WHISKY WELL.—Have you heard the great
American "'Whisky Well" story yet? (writes G. A.
Sala, in the Illustrated London News). I hope it has
not been before in English print; but in any case it is
so droll that it will bear re-telling. I find it quoted in
the San Francisco News Letter from the St. Louis
Republican. It seems that a farmer who owned a
large tract of land at some short distance from the
Missouri river commenced operations lately for boring
an Artesian well. The first fluid brought up by his
"drive pump" appeared from its odour to be very ex-
cellent Old Rye whisky. He tried some of the liquid
on his pigs, and they became exceedingly tipsy. He
tried it on himself, and he became tipsier even than
the swine. When he had got over his headache, he
began boring in other directions, and always with the
same result. Whisky, whisky everywhere, and not a
drop of water. It was bruited about that Alcoholia
had been discovered at last; and lan i in the vicinity
of the " whisky well " found ready purchasers at
several thousand•dollars per acre. At length some-
body remembered that about twenty years ago the
steamer Arabian, laden with six hundred casks of
whisky, sank in the Missouri river. The course of the
current of that frailly banked river has been changing
ever since ; and the forgotten ve,seel, with the six
hundred barrels of whisky in her hold, had got buried
forty feet under the sand from which the stream had
receded. The idea of the "drive-pump" striking Old
Rye instead of water is very rich.
AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN.—The foll O-
wing are the average prices of British corn for the week
ending October 30, as received from the inspectors
and officers of Excise :—Wheat. 435. 7d. ; barley,
335. 11d. ; oats, 21s. Bd. per imperial qr. Correspond-
ing week last year ;—Wheat, 50s. 4d.; barley, 41s. ld. ;
oats, 225. id.

WALKING THE PLANK.—Our Jemmy was a born
carpenter. Saw? You should see him saw, see him
see-saw, too. His imagination even soared as high as
Mr. Coxwell's balloon. Plane? There wasn't a
plainer boy in the parish! Chisel? I'll say nothing
on that matter. The way he'd chisel is a saw—no, I
mean Bore—subject in the family. One day he came
home dragging a long plank behind him. "Gracious
goodness! " cried mother, " whatever's the child got
there? What is it, Jemmy ? " "A twelve-foot plank,
mother." "And however do you think that's going
to get into the house ? " she asked. "On its twelve
feet, o' course," answered Jemmy. Mother left him
alone after that. —Judy.
THE SCOTCH FISHEEIES.—The Scotch fishermen
can this year look forward to the winter without mis-
givings, for never before has so great a return rewarded
their summer labours (says the Evening Standard),
The year 1874 had hitherto been looked back upon as
as the fortunate year when every fisherman's cabin
was rejoicing in comfort and abundance. In that
year the catch amounted to about 730,000 crans, each
cran containing 720 herrings. Since then the herrings
appear to have been shy of approaching the Scotch
coast, and during some seasons the fishermen have had
so bad a time of it that it has been a hard fight during
the long winter to keep the wolf from the door. This
year, however, the herrings returned to the Scotch
coast in shoals of unprecedented magnitude, and the
consequence is that the great take of 1874 has been far
exceeded, no less than 970,000 crans having been
taken. The number of boats engaged in the fishery
was 6,288, and as the price per cran paid to the
fishermen was about one pound sterling, each boat
earned on an average £154. The great proportion of
the Scotch take goes to the Continent, which may,
perhaps, account for the fact that the Londoner is at
present paying as much for his morning bloater as he
has done in past years, although the wholesale price is
less than one penny for three fish. St. Petersburgh,
Stettin, and Hamburgh, are the three principal
customers.

GREAT FIRE IN SIBERIA.—The Russian newspapers
quotes the following from the Akmolinsk Oblastnoi
Vedomosti :—" Intelligence has arrived of a great fire
in the Omsk district, resulting in the destruction of 14
winter settlements, 27 Kirghiz tents, 76 houses, and
200:000 sheaves of hay.. Twenty-six people received
serious injuries, and 12 burnt to death."

LAST WEEK'S WRECKS.—There were 186 British
and foreign wrecks reported during the past week.
Thid number is almost unprecedented for one week.
Of this total, 101 were lost on the British coasts. The
total for the present year is thus 1,223, or a decrease
of 96 as compared with the corresponding period of
last year. The approximate value of property lost is
£4,000,000, including British property £3,000,000.
_ _

„
MONNIENT TO FIELD-MARSHAL VON WRANGEL.—
At Berlin, on Monday, the monument erected to the
memory of the late Field-Marshal von Wrangel was
formally unveiled in presence of the Emperor William.
Deputations from the various regiments of the German
army, the principal civic authorities of Berlin and
a number of general officers were also in attendance.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, which was wit-
nessed by an immense crowd of spectators, General
von Kameke, the Minister of War' read an address to
the Emperor, thanking his Majesty, in the name of
the German army, for the gift of the memorial.

THE REAL HERO OF CARS.—The Winner of the
Balloon Contest.—Punch.
THE CARELESS USE OF FIREARMS.—The numerous
accidental deaths that occur annually in the handling
of firearms seem to have no deterrent effect in the
continued careless use of these death-dealing weapons.
It is next to impossible, of course, to prevent a man
from dragging or pushing a gun through a hedge with
the muzzle pointing towards himself, or of looking
down into the loaded barrels when they are at full
cock if, he thinks fit. It is true such acts are oftener
done thoughtlessly than out of any disregard for the
deadly nature of the weapon, and the danger in such
instances is generally only to the person guilty of such
carelessness. When, however, an individual manipu-
lates his gun in such a manner as to be dangerous to
his companions, then our advice to the latter is to keep
at lipme when the former goes out to shoot. There is
one class of gun accidents, however, which we think a
little salutary legislation would do much to prevent,
and they are those which so often occur from one
person "playfully' pointing a gun at another.
l'here have been a great many accidental deaths from
this kind of foolish "joke," and no doubt many more
will be caused in the same way. The Legislature of
Michigan, U.S. America, sets us a good example
in this respect, and by ,an Act passed in
1869 any person who intentionally, without malice,
point, or aim, any firearm at or towards any
other person, is guilty of misdemeanour, and is sub-
ject to a fine of from sto 50 dols. If the arm is dis-
charged, and no injury even accrues, the person so dis-
charging it is liable to a fine of not less than 100 dols.
or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both,
at the discretion of the judge. If any person be
maimed or killed from the above cause, the offender is
liable to fine or imprisonment, and is liable to damages
before a jury, which damages, as assessed, the judge
may double if he thinks fit. There is not so much
danger, it is true, with breechloaders as with the old
muzzle-loader from the above cause, as with the
former it is difficult sometimes to say whether it is
loaded or not, and might be pointed in the full belief
that it was uncharged, but the person who is fool
enough to point a gun, whether loaded or not, at a
fellow creature in "joke" is a dangerous member of
socieby, and ongkt at henceforth be allowed to handle
dreams *Dimly lund4—Zand Ott? TratON

FREEMARIONRY IN AMERICA.—The Freemason says:—
" From recent returns, corrected up to the end of
September of the present year, received by the editor
of the 'Cosmopolitan Masonic Pocket-book,' we learn
that in the various States of America there is the
enormous number of 552,530 Freemasons—regular sub-
scribing members."
MiTROPOTITAN PAUPERISM.—The total number of
paupers in the metropolis, exclusive of lunatics in
asylums and 978 vagrants, on the last day of last week
was 86,307, of whom 49,122 were in workhouses and
37,185 received out-door relief. As compared with
the corresponding date in each of the three preceding
years, this total shows an increase of 2,638, 8,647, and
7,776 respectively. In two of the five metropolitan
districts there was an actual diminution in the num-
ber ot paupers, amounting in the west district to 111,
and in the central to 24. On the other hand, there
were increases of 1,277 in the north, 910 in the east,
and 586 in the south.

PROPOSED MEMORIAL TO DRAKE. - Plymouth is
discussing a proposal to celebrate the three hundredth
anniversazy of the return to that port of Drake and
his companions from the famous three years' voyage,
in the course of which they circumnavigated the
world. The tiny ships were of 120, 80, 50, 30, and
15 tons respectively. It was for his exploits on this
voyage, that Elizabeth knighted Drake.

Om AND POPULARITY.—The Iron Age states that an
American statist has been employing himself in cal-
culating the consumption of oil arising from the torch-
light processions which are so common in that country.
He estimates that an average of 100,000 men, each
with a torch, are in line each night for at least 30
nights in the yenr about Presidential election time.
Each torch holds a pint, and the 100,000 men would
thus need 100,000 pints of oil, or 12,500 gallons per
night, or 375,000 gallons for the season. It only needs
another statistical genius to work out the cost of tin,
the wicks, and the wood to produce a result of national
importance.
WHAT THE FRENCH REPUBLIC IS MAKING ITSELF.
—Small by Decrees.—Punch.
QUATERLY RETURN OF MARRIAGES, BERTHS, AND
DEATIIS.—In the United Kingdom the births of
279,210 children, and the deaths a 169,427 persons,
were registered in the three months ending September
30, 1880. The recorded natural increase of population
was thus 109,783. The registered number of persons
married in *he quarter ending June 30, 1880, was
113,514. The resident population of the United
Kingdom in the middle of 1880 is estimated at
34,505,043 ; that of England and Wales at 25,480,161,
of Scotland, 3,661,292, and of Ireland at 5,363,590.
The birth-rate in the United Kingdom in the third
quarter of 1880 was 321 per 1,000, and the death-rate
195. The marriage-rate in the second quarter of 1880
was 13'2 per 1,000.

A PLEASING INCIDENT.—On Tuesday, at the funeral
of Mr. William Foster, solicitor, of Ovenden-hall,
Halifax, the following pleasing incident occurred.
The deceased, who was a Churchman, was the legal
agent of the Liberal party, and, the funeral being
public, it was attended by the Mayor and Coporation,
several magistrates, and other gentlemen. The
burial was at the General Cemetery, which is pro-
prietary, and no part of it is consecrated. Dr.
Pigou, vicar of Halifax, and one of the chaplains in
ordinary to the Queen, read the service, both in the
cemetery chapel and at the grave-side. In a short
and solemn address in the chapel he said the occasion
on which they were met was new in the history of
the town. He was thankful that this relief had been
afforded to the clergy of the Church of England, and
that he had been able to come and minister the last
offices in his place and to stand at the grave.

THE OBER AMMERGAU PASSION PLAY.—Some state-
ments which have been published respecting the pro-
fits of the Ober-Ammergau Passion Play performances
appear to have been greatly exaggerated. The total
receipts, it is now stated, amounted to 250,000 marks
(about £12,500). Of this sum 130,000 marks would
defray expenses and be devoted to certain communal
jourposes, and the rest divided among the players
(several hundred in number) according to their class
of merit—ten in all. Mayer, who had the chief part,
got 1,000 marks, not a very extravagant stipend for
thirty-nine representations.
AN ANCIENT CUSTO3I.—In London, on Friday in
last week, at the office of the Queen's Remembrancer
and in presence of Sir Frederick Pollock, Sir Thomas
Nelson, the City Solicitor, did annual service to the
Crown on behalf of the Corporation for certain lands
in Middlesex and Shropshire held at an ancient quit
rent. On Sir Frederick Pollock calling out, "Sir
Thomas Nelson come forth and do your service," the
City Solicitor stepped up to the table and counted six
horse shoes and sixty-one nails and chopped a billet‘of
wood with a knife and an axe provided for the pur-
pose. At the termination of the counting process the
Remembrancer said, "Good number," and when the
wood was duly chopped he said, "Good service."
Some formal business connected with the accounts of
the shrievalty having been transacted, the proceedings
came to a close.
THE COUNT DE CHANBORD.—The Court Journal
says that the Count tie Chambord is about to visit
England by invitation from the Duke of Norfolk.
The Count will stay at Arundel Castle, where im-
mense preparations are about to be made for his re-
ception. His Royal Highness, although in his sixty-
first year, and suffering from a slight halt in his gait
owing to a fall from his horse in early youth, still
takes the greatest delight in all field sports, and
follows the chase with the same ardour as that evineed
by his royal ancestors. At Frohsdorf the "royal
hunt" is maintained with great ceremony, the only
evidence which recalls the memory of the court
splendours of Versailles and Fontainbleau. One of
the motives of this visit to England on the part of his
Royal Highness is said to be to confer with the high
Catholic authorities concerning the settlement of the
different religious communities driven hither from
France. At the conclusion of his stay at Arundel his
Royal Highness will adjourn to Rome, in order to
petition the Pope for the admission of his ancestor,
Louis Seize, amonet the Blessed Martyrs in the
cause of the Holy ii aith. The Pope is said to hesitate
to grant this favour on his own responsibility, and
expresses his intention of consulting the Holy Congre-
gation of Rites. One of the reasons given by his
Holiness for thus delaying his decision is the fear lest
the acceptance of Louis Seize amongst the list of
Blessed Martyrs might be regarded in the light of a
political manifesto, and be made a cause of party dis-
turbance.

A MONSTER BOUQUET.—The President and members
of the Municipal Council of Paris have sent to the Lord
Mayor of London a magnificent bouquet measuringBift.
in circumference, and representing the arms of the city
of Paris with its motto, "Fluctuat nec mergitur," in
proper heraldic colours. The ship,
i which is a promi-
nent feature in the city's arms, s composed in the
bouiluet of white lilac on a ground of red carnations,
and is surmounted by three fleur-de-lis on a ground of
blue cornflowers, with a coronet of gold-coloured
chrysanthemums. The motto is in damask rosebuds,
with a wreath of oak-leaves and laurels. The ground-
work of the bouquet is of white lilac and white car-
nations, with wreaths, 6 inches deep, of cornflowers,
"Souvenir de Malmaison " roses, white chrysanthe-
mums, orchids, and ferns. The bouquet, which is BO
large that it had to be unpacked id,the street before it
could enter any door in the Mansion House, is hung
with tricolor ribands, with the inscription, "Au Lord
Maire, 26 Oct., 1880." ,
AN ANCIENT CUSTOII.—In London on Sunday
morning, in compliance with the terms of the will of
Mr. Francis Bancroft, a merchant of London, who
died two centuries ago, the boys in the Bancroft
School, and the old men in the Almshouses, Mile-end-
road, attended the church of St. Michael, Cornhill.
They were accompanied by the Master and Wardens
of the Dopers Company. The children were cate-
chised by the Rev. A. B. Jukes, curate. The
"Bancroft Sermon," in the absence of the master of
the school, was preached by the Rev. William Hunt,
lector of the church, who was for over twenty years
head master of the school. The boys and old pen-
sioners were afterwards regaled with a glass of port
wine and a bun each. -

A "GOOD Tim—W."l.-11e (pulling up short) : "I say,
isn't that Jack Sparkes and Nelly Sweeting coming
round by the road there ?" She (unsuspiciously). "
think it is, dear." He : "Then suppose we take the
Lane, eh? It's a bit further, but—(magnanimously)
' Spoons ' don't care to be interrupted, you know."
She (innocently). "Don't they, dear? "—Punch.
DEATH FROM MISADVENTURE.—In LOndOn, On
Saturday, Dr. Danford Thomas held an inquest on
the body of Francis Henry Howell, 20 years of age,
a medical student at St. Bartholomew's Hospital,
who was found dead in bed at his lodginFs.—Mrs.
Normell, the landlady, stated that at one o clock on
•the day in question, as the deceased had not come
down, she knocked at his bedroom door. She got no
answer, and subsequently the door was forced. De-
ceased was found dead in bed A letter was found in
the room which deceased had evidently meant to send
to Dr. Norman Moore, at the hospital. In this he
expressed his intention to take some "hydrate of
chloral," as he had lately suffered from sleeplessness,
and desiring the doctor to come to him if he did not
put in an appearance at the hospital at the appointed
time. This letter was dated the 25th inst.—Dr.
Morris stated that death had been caused by an over
dose of chloral.—The jury returned D. verdict of
" Death from misadventure."
THE RULES OF CONTRART.—The Vicar: "Well,
Mrs. Smith, tell your husband that I do hope he will
come to church next Sunday."—Mrs. S.: "Ah! you
doan't know Smith, sir! 'E'd never goo if I told 'un
that there ! I'll tell 'on as you do 'ope as '0 wont I"
Fun.

AN OLD STAG.—Apropos of a recent article on deer.
stalking in The Times, wherein reference is made to the
scarcity of good heads being consequent on the want
of age in the stags in the Scotch forests, we would observe
that there is a very interesting tradition in connection
with the age attained by a deer preserved in the.family
of the Mackenzies, of Seaforth, Brahan Castle, Ross.
shire. Mr. Macdonald, in his work on cattle, sheep,
and deer, has drawn attention to this story, which
is to the following effect :—" Many years ago the male
calf of a red deer was reared as a pet in the
Mackenzie family. Though a great favourite while
young and harmless, his popularity gradually declined
as his age increased and his play became rough and
even dangerous. Allowed to roam at large, bearing a
silver collar about its neck as the badge of servitude,
it eventually broke away from this easy thraldom' and
returned to its native hills. Still, however, less timid
than its brethren, it continued occasionally to be seen
as it crossed the path of the huntsman, but the silver
charm about its neck purchased for it a comparative im-
munity from danger. The rifle was never directed, nor
the deerhound slipped, against the former favourite of
the castle. But these chance meetings became less and
less frequent until at length they ceased altogether, and
the deer was either not seen or nqt recognized. Some
years ago a stag was shot in the forest of Brahan and
the flesher, in cutting open the skin of the throat', felt
his knife strike against some hard substance which
would not yield to his blade: An investigation laid
bare a silver collar deeply imbedded in the flesh, and
bearing an inscription to the effect that the deer had
been reared by the Mackenzies of Brahan upwards
of one hundred years before." We doubt very much
if there are many stags in the whole of Scotland that
have attained twelve years of age. A stag, after he
has attained five years, is a stag-royal, and should by
rightz be a twelve or thirteen ender; but as soon as
the existence of such a good head is known in a
forest, the stalker will spend the whole season tizlg
to get a shot at him, which he generally suceee-& in
doing won't Or laterer.Land and Maw


mow
an are
MEN'S HOBBIES.—The hobbies of manY 1117.tios.
utterly at variance with their general characterm-w-
A wealthy American banker recently died
considered a hard-headed man of business—a
money-getter. Yet, after his death a llao
collection
toys were sold for over a hundred ihousand
which he had been accumulating for twenty Yetj
Scarcely any valuable scientific or mechanical toy
been made made in Europe of which he had not a sPeci.lll"
but this assortment included also the most trivi.,34o.
children's playthings.—Another, a citizen of
had.
adelphja, one of the foremost jurists of the daY, - ned
fancy for collecting fairy tales. His shelves con,0:10
thousands of these volumes in every language. I%la'llo
for china old brasses, and rare editions are so corcan,
among scholarly men that the incongruity of the VII
suit does not strike us. Many a hardened crirallij
has been noted for a love of pets, while some gePthe
people delight in graveyards. A hobby is one 0' •
c10.r5/
things still unaccounted for.
WomAN AS AN INVENTOR.—This subject hal irteik
recently discussed in an American paper, an° Ito
mentioned, inter atia, that women obtain fTdiiw
U.S. Government an average of about sixty Patediaf
yearly; seventy is the number for the year en eni
July, 1880. As might be expected, most a theo
relate to lightening women's work. Among ;11,
are a jar-lifter, a bag holder, a pillar sham ho1:ue;/
dress protector, two dustpans, a washing manwlh've-
fluting iron, a dress chart, a fish-boner, a glee
adjuster, a lap-table, a sewing-machine treadle,iit.
wash-basin, an iron-heater, sad-irons a Prrt/Ae,iv•
stiffener, a folding chair, a wardrobe bed, a -.r,
cleaner, a napkin, a clothes-pin, a we
a churn, an invalid's bed, a strainer, a milk-c°,°,i4
a sofa-bed, a dipper, a paper dish, and a Pl'
device.
ith°l4'

EDUCATION OF THE DEAF AND DUMB.—The ttin'
ties of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum in the Old to
road, having a branch at Margate, have decide Ail,
give a specific trial to the pure oral system for „1
eating the deaf, as resolved upon at the recot;,
Congress at Milan; and to this end they. jorl/Pleit
elect an increased number of boys and gals atojO
next half-yearly election, which will be he''to
January, and to form classes, so as to give the sYs of
a complete trial, with an entire re-arrangelnellt
teachers. villl9
GOOD NAME FOR THE INTERNATIONAL OOD
TION BUILDING.—The "House of Commons "--E
HALL-MAREING.—WhiIe attention is being ~clfleste°l°
to the question of the hall-marking it may be old
ing (remarks the Citizen) to give the number a gold to
silver cases marked in 1870 and those in 1880. Ina!,
first year the number of gold cases marked VIRO 24,uwep
of silver 86,260; and in the latter year the gold
marked numbered 21,498, and the silver cases 87,3
"CHRONIC A.BSINTHISM." Absinthe-drinkingjji
France has now reached such a pitch as to cause,o
many cases a regular disease, know as " nlll9the
absinthism." In a paper recently read 'before ..00
Paris Academy of Medicine, a medical author putio
that amongst the other important symptoras ,ary
malady entails loss of memory and sight, and inJ ing
to the muscular and digestive organs, the latter becoo
sometimes so damaged as to cause death. Anf4je ;
suffering from absinthism becomes highly ext”og
while worst of all, the children of absinthe-On
parents are generally similarly affected. At tiLs
NEWSPAPERS IN THE UNITED STATES.- ofr.
present time there are 9,723 newspapers and_Renials
published in the United States, of which Diet, ebb
possesses 1,239, and California, which ranks '3°4
in journalirtic productions, issues 315. The raPl DI
crease of press and periodical literature is 01'3'10
the fact that last year the numbers for these os
States respectively were 1,174 and 286. Even in le
sparsely-populated Far West States journaligll4o,
busy, Dakota publishing 42 papers, Nebraska,
Montana 11, Idaho 8, and New Mexico 12, die
TRUE GENEROSITY.—SmaII brother:
you get that sweetstuff from. Annie'? "—Small '115,0
"Mother gave it to me."— S. B. : " she 114'1,10
gives you more than me."—S. S.: "Never mind ;
going to put mustard plasters on us when we go t„s
to-night, and I'll ask her to let you have the higis"'
—Fun. lt
"THE BLUE BONNETS OVER THE BORDEII2,--001
perhaps, not generally known that the ballad, , tbs,
Blue Bonnets over the Border," had referenci,
Covenanters in the year 1640 passing into Zsbititk
against Charles I. The whole of the infantrYl hic.tY
ing noblemen and inferior commanders, the
broad Lowland blue bonnet. The first to Ws! tbs
Tweed was the great Montrose, who alone wa--"Aeu tbs
river and returned, and was then followed bi
army, which took fully eight hours in the pasBage'oo
was said of Montrose, who afterward joined the 'el,
of the King, with whom he had an interne,'
" Invictus armis, verbis vinciture," in allusion t°o4
Royal solicitations.—" Seth Wait," in Noe°
Queries.

HOSPITAL SUNDAY IN BIRMINGHAM. Tb°,l9
annual collection in aid of the local medical cl4-13ir
was made in the various churches and chapels ofd tia6
mingham on Sunday, the proceeds being &vete 000
year to the General Hospital. The receipts it; WO
cases showed a slight falling off as compared
those of the two previous years.
ROMAN CATHOLICS IN THE UNITED STATES. VI
the decennial Catholic census for 1880, just iisl2,e,:ato
find that the Roman Catholic population in the U,:i3-00,
States amount to 6,143,222. There are 67 archh_,Vo6
and bishops and one cardinal, 5,989 priests,
churches and chapels. There are 400,000 Cathcu"g-
dren in the schools, and 375 charitable instituti°`-
elusively devoted to Catholics.
Lb P°Si
THE CORN TRADE.—The corn trade during;i:rabl
week has varied but little, wheat being int Ali
steady in price, but slow in sale (says the Tcl"
Gazette). Shipments of wheat and flour froal be,a4
rica have declined considerably, the aggregate vioto
about 100,000 quarters less than during the Pre bots
week. In the present condition of the trade
here and in the United States shipments at, u ott
York and other Atlantic ports are likely to
still further, prices on both sides of the Atlaritletioo
being favourable to an active business, gee. 1131,0
the supply in view in the United States is beg"'
to show a decided tendency lip increase.
1300°,,ijiu
TRUE DOMESTIC SYMPATHY.—Wife of. DAB
(after learning that he has lost a fortune on th.e If!
Exchange). "Will you promise me one thing! Citi
(repentant). " What ? Never to enter the lid
more?" more ? " She. "No, Darling—but that you °-
discouraged, and will try again! "—Punch.
1,11
A PEER ON THE HOUSE OF LORDS.—The -sDrljar,
Fife, in responding, at a recent meeting of the
Farmers' Club, for the House of Lords, said thtti,s
short experience of that assembly Caught hitu Wool
was an institution where business was dor°, Or
with commendable completeness, and vvithoub. 00,
overpowering loquacity which seemed now to 1116
order of the day. Of course there were pers°Ao
self-conatituted wisdom whose mission in life se- tioo
to . be to cast a stone at every venerable instita tO
merely because it was venerable, and without ailtlio
gard to its functions or usefulness. He took
liberty of asserting that the House of Lords el.gpc,,ef
constant sympathy with the people, and WO teo
ready to carry out the popular will, when delib it
formed and clearly expressed. It was impossiP
these days of hasty legislation to exaggerate thliot
portance of possessing a calm and deliberate bs,y
men, many of them of great experience and abillVegf
pass in review' and, if necessary, to amend thoe,doi
lative projects that arose in the other house.
as the House of Lords performed with impa,rl,"
and straightforwardness those functions wiale'lakt.
devolved upon it for so many centuries, so lon,"
opinion, would it continue to be a source of str,s,
and usefulness to the Constitution of this
,facig
A "SCREW" OF TOBACCO.—The man a-
:WO-
you a cigar.—Punch.
„Li THE CHRYSANTHEMUM.—In noticing the anralra-
play of chrysanthemums in the Temple-P. eic
London, the Globe remarks :—" Like almost ey t
thing else that we poor Western barbarians eniairool,
chrysanthemum of our gardens came to ye pap°
China. It was brought (says Mr. Rudge, ill frolji
read before the Evesham Horticultural SocietY)
ee
China to Marseilles in 1789, and the next year rcetd
this country from Marseilles. New varietittiet
during the next few years imported direct fre'-ilott,°;
East, in many parts of which the flower is indige
It soon became very popular with floriculturiAel. t
r
came in as a very valuable appendix to the 1,
autumn autumn blossoms, bringing the floral season
ably further on towards winter than any accil''etri
ever made before. No less than seventeen nesv,v~-101'
were added to the stock between 1816 and 1137'1,!aea,,,t4
from that time to this additions and dev,loPLesr".
have been made almost incessantly. The Uliinr„-pfiv
immensely fond of it, and from our first acgutit
with it are said to have had as many as fifty yt",.ecl
many of them very fine flowers. It is consi.reao:
this country to be a 'florist's flower,' and IP'e le
e
mous blooms they have managed to grow of lat. eliN
we should imagine, in point of size, at least,e;
anything that the Celestials have accomplish
..pci,;"
the original flower. Whether they have inore'-
beauty as much as they have in size, may perh3P6
left as a matter for individual opinion." era'
ia 60
THE EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY BILL.—The myop,
Liability Act is being much discussed by both
and men in every branch of labour. There °lfettil
to be a4lesire on the part of the employers to rare:ftio,l
wishes of the workmen by the establishment 01 'cart
for the purpose of providing means for the PaPs
compensation
.to the employed in case of s,cleu
through no fault of their own. When the P. 0,
before Parliament it was stated by Mr. Dods°,lltir
behalf of the Government, that no objection
raised to employers and workmen coming to aPol
able arrangement whereby a voluntary fund
raised, and litigation for compensation avolded.
reports from all parts of London and the countTer P
is satisfactory to find that so important a DPI ,
likely to be settled in this friendly manner. • deli'
THE LOCUST CAMPAIGN.—The Tiflis correse. tbef
of the Gobs writes that the campaign age' ;clea,j
locusts has now lasted three months, and some 03'4
the labour which has been involved may be d
from the. fact that in one district alone, ups"' (JP
20,000 men have been employed daily in dee": 1°
these insects, who have been paid 200,000 r° bee'
The destruction of property and agriculture Ll°
enormous. 409

THE NUMBER or FAILURES IN AMElllckl'rtP:'
CANADA.-.-The Times of Monday' in its OitYrstat!'t!
said :—" The business failures in the Unite'ateclpi.j
for the third quarter of the current year, as e"i.„.,-- bet,'
Messrs. R. G . Dun and Co.'s Circular, ro.'"
979, representing an indebtedness of. 12 121,;7420,V,,
In Canada the failures numbered 130, With
dols. of liabilities. These figures show a colls1",dill"
reduction in both cases on those for the corresP°,o:l6
quarter in 1879, but the greatest proportionatetb
tion is in Canada, where the liabilities for tjgh
quarter of /879 amounted to about 7,00°,7at0°0
For the nine months elapsed of this year the 7agore
is fully greater. In the United States 3,47 Li io
occurred during that period, as against 5,'000,,A
same period of 1879. The liabilities were t
45Ln.t te'd
dols. and 81,000,000 dols. respectively, se rt tbe,/,1
year the liabilities are little more than half Wn7379,t11,60'
were a year ago. In Canada the numbers are. bolo
year, compared with 1,484 last year, and the bare
6,881,000 dols., against 24,425,000 do's.
number of failures is about one-half 1 and
.:),-
lities not much more than one-fourta , "")It
wort in et first nille menthe of urp."

tie
19:1