The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-06-04 00:00:00

The jury found the prisoner guilty, and he was
sentenced to five years' penal servitude.

SOME INTERESTING AUTOGRAPHS.

The valuable collection of autograph letters and
historical documents, the property of the Rev. F. W.
Joy, has been dispersed by auction in London. The
collection, which took upwards of 20 years in its for-
mation, includes letters and documents signed of
Addison, Eugene Aram, Bacon, Richard Baxter,
Burns, Cowley, Dryden, De Foe, Sir Isaac Newton,
Rubens, &c. There is also the rare signature of John
Milton to a receipt for money, and a holograph letter
of Mary, Queen of Scots. Some good prices were
realised, the bezt being as follows: Queen Anne's
sign manual to a document, May 24, 1707, counter-
signed "Godolphin," order for payment of £2OO,
Ll us. (Ellis) ; a very interesting collection of letters
and papers from and relating to Eugene Aram,
executed for murdering Dan Clarke, 1759, consisting
of a letter of Eugene Aram relating to a recent tour
on the Continent, dated July 19, 1754; a letter of
his after he was charged with the murder of Clarke;
a letter of Lord Lytton authenticating the
above; a portion of the skull of Daniel Clarke, with
authenticating letter from the Governor. of York
Castle; a bone of Eugene Aram; a box made from
the wood of Aram's gibbet; and a box made from a
beam in Daniel Clarke's house at Knaresboroiigh ; the
letters are bound in a vellum book, folio, ttitti notes,
and profusely illustrated, a unique colleCtion, £l9,
(Robson); letter of John Campbell, Duke Of Argyle,
dated 1743, to Queene Anne, in acknowledgment of
being made a peer of England, 9gs. (Thibaudeau) ;
letter of the Earl of Arlington, one of the famous
"Cabal," to the Duke of York, 7gs. (Webster); signa-
ture of Francis Bacon, the celebrated philosopher, on
Privy Council letter to the Bailiffs of Ipswich, Feb.
1618, concerning moneys to be raised for an expedi-
tion to put down pirates, signed also by George Abbot,
Archbishop of Canterbury, Edward Somerset, Earl
of Worcester, Sze., .fll (Thibaudeau) ; Sir F. Bacon,
letter with three lines autograph, £6 (Thibaudeau);
.signature of Joseph Addison on a bill, .E 1 165.:
Richard Baxtar, Nonconformist divine, auto-
graph letter to Richard Sarjeant, £l3 (Thibaudeau) ;
letter of Dr. Beattie, Scotch poet, to David Garrick,
and endorsed by him, asking for seats at Drury-lane
to witness his Lear, 6s. (Webster) ; letters of
Charlotte Bronte, September 26, 1850, to Mrs.
Gaskell, 6 bs. (Robson)' letter of Robert Burns,
Jan. 15, 1795, to WilFana Stewart, asking the loan of
three or four guineas, £l3 (Webster) ; letter of Lord
Byron, October 13, 1823, to Mr. Bowring, in refer-
ence to the war in Greece, £6 (Pearson): MS.
article, "The Battle of Laupen," by Thomas Carlyle,
in his autograph, .£4 (Robson) ; signature of Robert
Catesby, planner of the Gunpowder Plot, ..E5 (Mr.
Burgess, of Moore and Burgess Minstrels) ; letter of
Lord Frederick Cavendish, murdered by Fenian. in
Phoenix-rark. 7s

EARTHQUAKE SHOCKS IN MEXICO.
--
A despatch from Mexico announces that heavy
shocks of earthquake were felt throughout the valley
at about three o'clock on Monday morning. The
earth tremor ea 3 of a violent kind, and had a lifting
motion, lasting five seconds. This was followed by a
low roar and a strong vibration of the earth from east
to west, lasting 39 seconds. The houses rocked,
and thousands of people left their beds. A short
time afterwards there was another shock, accom-
panied by the same effects in the suburban towns nein

The seismological instruments at the School of
Mines were affected to an extent, proving the shocks
to have been of a severe character.
Later telegrams from Mexico state that shocks of
earthquake have been general in the States of Hidalgo,
Mexico, Orelios, Puebla, Talascala, -Vera Cruz, and
Oajaca. The force of the earthquake caused bells to
ring and walls to crack. One of the aqueducts bring-
ing water into the city of Mexico was damaged and
the water supply has consequently diminished.