The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-07-25 00:00:00


ettr Tee": C' camper t.
,1e.4 to state tint in tip not at all Hite.
Ohm!) au.oriva. altho.rcorttatli optLt.tot J

rathament is dying, and soon it will be 3.68.11. It
deserved high credit, perhaps, for the assiduity It has
displayed in hthouring nsay at legislation, regardless
ef the intense heat of the weather, or rather in spite
of it, for the weather has I son too fierce to be there.
garded. Meanwhile, many who are not tied and
bound to l'arliamentary fetters have managed to
escape front Loudon, and the season is ur.mistakably
si the wane. The Ring and the Row in Hyde Park are
not so thronged as they lately were, axed some few
aristocratic mansions are already deserted by all but
the servants. And in a few days there will be quite
an exodus to country houses and Continental and *No
ebb: resorts. The combined numbers of the two
Moses of Parliament are, of course, little among the
upper dames to which our legislators Felon-4, but,
numbers of people are kept in town by the
operations of the Legislature. Looking back on the
season which is now dying rut, it is impossible to fail
to KV that, on the whole, it Lee been a brilliant one.
The only drawback has been the almost entlre absence
of her Majesty ;liut, on the other hand, the Prince and
Princes of Wales and other members of the Royal
family have done much towards the gaity of the sea-
son. Balls, parties, concerts, bazaar., farm, ke., have
been comer, us ; the theatrical PVIIOOII has been good;
and the london season trade has been better than
during any season for the lard six years.
There is such a natural tendency to disosntent
amongst us that the weather, gloriously fine as it has
been, affords grounds f r complaint. People say it
has been too fine—too bright and brilliant—and un-
douhteilly it Las been too hot for enjoyment. But has
it not been a Loon to the thinly clad and homeless
poor And the rich, with eve y luxury at their ton,
manol, have certainly been able to enjoy the weather.
But the ordinary toilers of society—the hewers of wood
and drawers of water, the mechanics in their close
arrkshups, the labourers in the fields, the mothers
and children in their confined, unventilated, and badly
drained houses—have been euffering sevorely, and
several deaths Ale ',corded as the direct result of the
Intern per.d heat i.l the sun. And no wonder, when
we bear in mind that the therna meter has indicated
several deg r eee above "fever beat." A few summers like
this Wollid soon produce some charge in our habits. We
should have to defend ourselves against heat as we
have against cold and wet, home alteration would be
imperative in our clothing. Instsad of black coats
absorbing the sun's rays, we sin uld have white flannel
route, which science has long ago told us are much
cooler than black cloth, and which cricketen; can
tnairaain from experience. It jAace of the black
chin-trey-pot hats attracting the beat to the head and
confining it, we should have straw hats; end we should
Lace Rome modification in our boots. for the adage
there is "nothing like leather" cuts both ways. And
we 4,1.0,1 l aver some 'literati( n, too, in our streets. In
London there have always been two things, amongst
others, specially needed- trees and seats; Luc weary
wanderers in the great city have never felt these events
so much as during the present exceptionally lot
slimmer. We are opening up our- thomughfaree, and
greatly improving lordon ; hut Liar rto we have done
nothing in this direction. Look, for instance, at two
great highways, inn completed and the other being
made—Holborn and the Thames Embankment ; why
should we not have rONVH if trees and seats there, the
same as in Paris and many Continental towns'
liolborn is, in se-me parts, wider than any l'aris
bonier:ad, and re try-where is wide enough for two
rows of trees. 'I hat trees would grow there well is
y roved by the fine trees in Cray's-inn on one side and
Lincoln's-inn on the other. And it is not too late—in
fact, it is 11. me months too early--to plant tow of
trees on either Lank of the 'litanies. 'Trees in our
great city would give it a charm, which it sadly nerds;
they would purify the air, and they would he a great
LOOL to us all.

Amongst tbe improvements that are being effected
in London, none are more remarkable than the 'I hames
embankment and the Holborn viaduct. Great pro-
gress is being made with both these Titanic worke.
The 1. liner already presents a noble appearance, and
the latter reminds one of nothing so much as of order
being called out of chaos. Fonds and Ptreets are
hying Lamed. and FI toe idea can now he hauled of
what this splendid work will be when completed. It
will completely change tide part of London. and, with
the changes taking place in Smithfield, will render
this district a fine and hands. me part of the great
city. Smithfield, airs cnce hulls were baited,
and where, alas ! martyrs were burned, will soon
possess one of the finest markets in the world, and
certainly by far the finest in London— which is
not saying much. A history of Smithfield and its
neighbourhood would be of deep interest, from the
time when Fahere, King Henry the First's minstrel,

"in a certain rigl.st sat; a vi;ion full of dread and
sweetness., uhich pointed out Smithfield am the site
*elected by the common favour of the celestial court
and council" for the hospital a hich he there founded
more than seven centuries ago. There was a talk some
. .

time ego of erecting a Itlartyr's manorial in Smith.
field. I hope the idea will come to nought, for it ia
thua that religione animosity is perpetuated; but some
memorial of Pahrre on tide spot would not be out of
place. When the market is completed acme better
approach to it will he necessitated from Cheapside
an:l St. Martin's.le-Grand. time opening up a direct
way to Holborn. There is a talk of this being effected
by pulling down part of that ancient part of London
known as Bartholomew-close. Whether thia be done
er rot I ahould like to see a tablet placed on the
houee where the celebrated Dr. Franklin worked as a
printer. "Ac to myself," he writes, in his auto-
biography, '1 immediately cot engaged at Palmer's,
at that time a noted printa. in Eartholomew
with whom I continued nearly a year. I woe employed
on the second edition of Wlalantan's Pel,gion and
Naturc." The world owes much in science and in
political economy to Benjamin Franklin, and it wouid
Lie plea.ant in Lie caFe, ac in that of other eminent
men, to have a memorial of him on some spot identified
with his rn mory, Mat as a tablet has been let into a
house in King.atreet, St. Jamee's, recording that in
that house lived for such a time Louis Napoleon
Bonaparte, now Emperor of the French.

Are we not making ourselves a trifle too ridiculous
with little "I Aare Seen the World," the child of the
late King Theodore? The campaign in Abyssinia was
so glorious an one for our arms, the object effected woe :
so benificent an one, and the career and the death of
the young Prince's father was so romantic, that when
the little boy is brcught over here by command of the
Queen of England, it is natural that he ehrelld be an
object of interest. But tlat aote not excuse no for
firing royal salutes at him, making a show of him, and
mobbing Lim as a curioeity. The s,oft, dreamy eyes of
the hey Prince must dilate with astooistment at the
reception he has met with ; and, conebbring what the
little fellow—he is only seven years old—has bad to go
through, it would not be very surmising if we were to
U him with kindness%

The Alexandra Orphanage is a fortunate institution
te have secured the patronage of so many distinguished
periotagm The Princess of Wales, the l'rincess of
ruseia, the Empress of the French—theee three die.
iyggivtsted ladies alone could guarantee the success of
any inet,tution ; for such exalted patronage brings in
Its train the., Of a large number of the aristocracy, 1
And the Orplugusge well deeervee it. The Orphan
Working School has already aevomplished no little
good in providing for othera Ise helpless orphans, and
this Orphanage is an offshoot of the parent institution.
lie bazaar which is now being hold on behalf of the
Orphanage is a very attractive one, but it is specially
worth mentioning tecanse it is not marked by those
fancy prizes which usually characleriss ruch affairs.
Perhaps fur this reavon the bazaar is more attractive
than bazaars f:euerally are. The managers, I erhaps,
have taken warning by the fate of the Dramatic Fetes
at the Crystal Palace, where vaulting ambition in
I Isrardary matters overleaped itself.

There ig. it geeing, some Ilonbt no to the authenticity
of the poem ofltedin wl.l h has for two centurion
lain hidden in the If ,ok in which the great poet wrote
It. It has, however, the stamp of Lie genius, the true
/iiiltoniz. swing. The poem Lao attracted great atten-
tion already, and Li generally admired for its classic
Imagery, its eweetneso of rythrn. and its thoroughly
poetic grouping of Liens. Put if it is signed P. M.,
an.luot J. M., our sentimentality La. been cornea hat
nalepla )ed.
A .on. is now under remand which ought to winvey
a wholegcme lesson to "pereotni in want of money," by
far the largest portion of the world, but erpeeially tn
that portion of society who are not only in went of
money, but who try to borrow it. The charge is
"onnepiring to obtain money by fraud.' Vidor-
enuately, there is nothing novel in it. A person wank,
to borrow money; he applies to an advertising
money-lender, pays money for inquiry fees, to., and
never tee any loan, but is defrauded of the
money be deposite. There in too much mown to fear
*fat there are many of Olean no-called money-lenders
In London, who make large profits by not lenfling
money—that is; to nay, by procuring money for inquiry
fees and on various other pretexts, and who never have
the slighted intention to lend money. People eannot
be too keenly .m their guard against these adverti ing
gentry, especially as the largest partial of their vic-
tim. are found in the provinces, the sharpers relying
St. the dupes not considering it worth their while to
odne up to towa to pr000en:0. I happen to know two

o mid actual fraud in thie way-..oasee tchkii have
never wane befinv the maiestrateA.

Them Li a propoeition to kr!ng Cleopstra's Needle
to 2ngland, es a moo 0ri..1 of *.'no Abyminhen cam.
pa lin, MA7 this Liswri,, nainument, which is now
lying prostr,te at Ah.xondria, van fairly be regarded
as a memorial of that campaign doom net dearly ap-
pear. But why should we remove it from its present
ixeition, except, indeed, that it would be well to place
it erect, and allow it to stand on the spot where it now
lies in strange neglect? Cleopatra's Needle was p
Dented to Queen Victoria by a tired, oessor of the pre-
I sent Viceroy of Eg pt, and it is to be presumed that
Her Majeety can dispose of it m she thinks proper.
But it would be ridiculous to bring it to this e untry.
We are to do this, the next thing we shall hear of,
perhai e, will be a proposition to king over the Pyre-
colds of Egypt I

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