The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1888-02-25 00:00:00

A GOOD STORY.

Here's a characteristic story of the late Colonel
Burnaby. Bon canzarada as he was out of his regi-
mentals, he was a martinet of Martinets on parade.
It was a habit of his to wear his helmet not in the
orthodox fashion tipped over the eyes, but set well
back on his head. One of the troopers took a fancy
to imitate the colonel, and appeared on parade one
morning with his helmet "all anyhow." "Your
helmet, sir Put it on rightly," thundered the
colonel, who had observed the delinquent in a twink-
ling. The next day the trooper again appeared on
parade with his helmet cocked defiantly on the back of
his head. The colonel at once ordered him under
arrest, and gave him some slight punishment. Shortly
afterwards the trooper left the service, and in the
street one day he was met by his former colonel.
"Hallo, B.! How are you ?" said Burnaby. " Get-
ting on well? That's right. Here "—slipping a £5
note into the man's hand—" put this in your pocket.
Go and buy yourself a hat, and—wear it how you
like!"

'Narrow uauge EaUway was blocked for hours on
Monday morning, and traffic was disorgan-
ised. Communication between Blaenau Fes-
tiniog and Bala was stopped. On Migniant
Mountain, where a Great Western train was blocked ,
by snow some years ago, the drifts are said to hall
been over _Oft. deep. A snow-plough, with a gang of
labourers, was sent to force a way through the snow.
Work was suspended at all the slate quarries. The
4.10 p.m, passenger train from Marlborough to Saver-
nake was on Monday blocked in a cutting midway
between these places, and the 3.57 p.m. from Devizes
to London was blocked in a cutting two and a half
miles from Woodboro' Station. Gangs of men and a
snow plough were sent from Reading, and 50 men
from Devizes, to clear the line. The railway com-
pany did their best for the passengers, but as
there was no town nearer than Woodborough,
the passengers experienced considerable suffering
the snow being too deep to walk there.—
Severe weather was experienced in the Channel. A
tug which arrived at Dover on Monday reported a
very exceptional sight at Dungeness, where between
300 and 400 vessels of every description, and from all
parts of the world,were lying at anchor through stress
of weather. An old woman named Murphy was found
lying dead on the road between Mayobridge and
Newry. She had apparently lost her way, and
perished in the snow. A widow named
McKenna, who was walking on Sunday night
near . the ;Clyde Ironworks, , Coatbridge, was'
found on Monday morning dead in the snow. On
Sunday night the dead body of William Gray, a miner
at Lochgelly, near Dunfermline, was found lying in
the snow. The corpse of a man has been found buried
in the snow on Llanwonno mountain. He had left a
public-house in Rhondda Fach Valley on Thursday of
last week, and had not since been item

A strong -gale from the north-east was experienced
in the south-east of England on Monday night, and
on Tuesday in the Channel the wind blew with the
force of a gale.
The traffic on the Didcot, Newbury, and South-
ampton Railway was interrupted for several hours on
Tuesday morning by a snow-block in a deep cutting
near Compton. A goods train which left Didcot
Junction between two and three o'clock was snowed
up, and a snow-plough and a large gang of men were
at work for some time ofore a passage could be
effected. The first passenger train from Didcot,
which conveyed the London newspapers, did not
reach Newbury until 10 o'clock.
The weather in East Yorkshire has been very
severe, causing a partial stoppage of traffic on the
wold. On Tuesday snow fell heavily and gangs of
labourers on Sir Tatton Sykes's Sledmere Estate were
engaged in cuttinc, through the huge drifts formed on
the roads. Snow drifted higher than the hedges in
many places.
Edward Hall, the driver of the mail gig to
Castleton, in the High Peak of Derbyshire, left
Sheffield on Tuesday morning at half-past five
o'clock, proceeding in safety to Stoneybridge Bar,
six miles distant. He was (hiving tandem: An im-
mense wreath of snow barred his progress. Thinking
the snow might bear he pressed the horses to mount
it, which they did, and both sank. The leader was
dug out, and in struggling to pull the wheels from
the wreath it broke the harness.. Chains having been
procured; the journey was resumed after 90
minutes' delay. Fox - house was reached in
safety,. but the road beyond that being alto-
gether impassable, the snow level with the dykes, Hall
took the alternative route by Grindleford-bridge to
Hathersage, encountering considerable wreaths which
he was able to surmount. He readied Castleton at
10 minutes to 11 o'clock, being due at 8.5. The
biergest wreath on the road was at Stoney-bridge,
where, on the . return journey, he passed between
walls .of snow fully 12 ft. high. The mails from Eyarn
and Tideswell were carried on horseback, the Fyain
being embedded in the snow. Several
Derbyshire farmers endeavonred to force their way
to Sheffield market 9n Tuesday; but had to turn back._
Ten7ACOUsand.sheep were out on the -Derbyshire JUN,
and fetrs were entertained for their safety. Snow
was falling again on Tuesday night. Several parts
of South Yorkshire have had almost as fierce storm
as Ncrt".l Derhyshiro

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