The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-12-31 00:00:00

CUTTINGS FROM AMERICAN PAPERS.

A Nlis,issippi editor threatens to put a man's nose
in a paunitheals.
' -

A Connecticut reporter tried to take down in short-
hand his wife's lecture on the subject of "Late Hours."
The WI: overstrained his nand, and he sleeps with his
fathers.

A will is registered, in Waynesburg, Penn., which
contains the following clause :—" I also give to my beloved
wife one red cow, one three-year old colt, and the remainder
of the kitchen and household furnitur a."

A West Point lady ate oysters all through the
month of August, when she could get them, under the sup•
position that there was an "r "in that month. "Orgust "
was the way she spelt it.

-
"We will meet in heaven, husband dear," is the
affectionate inscription which an Arkansas woman has had
carved on the tombstone of every one of her five departed
husbands.

In Montgomery, Alabama, the other day, "four
young men did get upon a sptee ; one took out his little
jack-knife, and now there ain't but three," says a sprightly
Yankee reporter.
A musical critic writes as follows of a prima-
donna:—•' She had, and, we suppose, still retains, a magni-
ficent voice for a fog-whistle. Its compass was perfectly
surprising. She would shake the chandelier with a wild
whoop that made every man instinctively feel for his scalp,
and followed it up with a roar that would shame a double-
..

Lady doctors in France are improving their posi-
tion. Eight Frenchwomen have obtained a medical diploma
within the last ten years, while a number of foreigners have
received their diplomas at Paris or Montpellier. Moreover,
next year, a startling innovation will be introduced, for
female medical students will be allowed to compete for the
posts of house surgeons in the French hospitals.
The death is announced, at the age of 84, of Captain
von Trovich, the last survivor of the Nassau Brigade. He
took a prominent part in the defence of the °Mean of
Hougoumont at the battle of Waterloo, and was specially
mentioned in despatches for his conspicuous gallantry on the
occasion.

THE MISSING MISSING BALLOON.

Nothing could be doge on Saturday or Sunday in
the search for Mr. Powell and the balloon on account
of the rough sea.

On Monday morning four boats, each with four men
and grappling irons, began systematic dredging opera-
tions under the superintendence of Mr. H. Good,
Lloyd's agent, who has stated from the first that he
saw the balloon pitch in the sea. They started from
the spot indicated by Mr. Good, and are going sea-
ward in the direction which the balloon is supposed to
have taken. The men are paid at the rate of 10s. a
day, in addition to the reward if they are successful.
A Bridport telegram states that Mr. Agg-Gardner
is progressing favourably, and it is hoped he will be
able to leave the hospital in a week or two.

On Tuesday morning the search party discovered
a cloth helmet in the bay between Chesil and Brid.
port. The helmet had a cape attached before and
behind, and was similar to one worn at the time
of the accident by Captain Templer. Lloyd's agent
at once forwarded it on to Captain Templer, who
stated that it was not the property of any one in the
balloon.

The Times has published the following letter from

Sir —My friend M. Wilfred de Fonvielle, the well-
known Paris aeronant, who is at present on a visit to
London, informs me that he has no doubt that the
balloon seen to pass over Santander, in Spain, is a
French meteorological balloon.

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Some Paris meteorologists have established a service
of balloons of this description. Each is fitted with a
self-registering thermometer and othn instrumental ap:
pliances for recordi,,g meteorological phenomena, is
furnished with one or more lights, and is despatched
from Paris at a suitable time and under conditions
.favourable to obtaining a record of the aerial currents,
temperature, &c., of the regions it is desired to have
pierced by the balloon and examined. To each balloon
there is likewise attached a brief memorandum, in
several languages, giving the name and address of the
sender, the object for which it has been sent on its
journey, and a polite request to the friends to have it
packed up carefully and returned to the owner as soon
as convenient, who will defray all costs.

Perhaps you will find room for this explanation re-
garding this "Spanish" balloon and of the reason of
its mysterious appearance in the possible track of the
unhappy Saladin.