The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-09-26 00:00:00

Misallantons .httlligente,

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

A DREADFUL ACCIDENT IN LONDON—In the
busiest time of Tuesday afternoon, a gad occurrence
startled the crowd at the Fenchurch-street railway
station. There is a broad flat awning in front of the
station, sheltering the footway, and on this awning,
which has a framework of ample strength, but is
paitly composed of thick glass, a man named Cox,
in the employ of the company, was at work on a lad-
der. To the horror of persons in the street below, he
was seen to jump down from the fourth or fifth round
of the ladder on to one of the large squares of rough
glass which he no doubt supposed to be of strength
sufficient to bear him. So, indeed, it might have been
if he had merely steppedupon it, though it is evidently
not made as a platform. He came crashing through,
and fell heavily on the pavement beneath, in a pool
of blood. The poor fellow was taken up senseless
and carried to the hospital, where he lies in a danger-
OUS condition.

FRIGHTFUL RAILWAY A CCIDENT.—On Saturday
in last week, a frightful accident occurred a short
distance below the Whitstable station on the London,
Chatham, and Dover Railway. James Croombridge, Is
labourer, between tifty and sixty years of age, was
passing over the line at a level crossing when the
express-train from Riunsgate Caine along and struck
him, cutting his body into atoms. The driver of a
down train later in the evening observed something on
the line, and on arriving at Margate telegraphed the
fact to Whitstable, whereupon a porter was sent down
the line, and the mangled remains of the poor man were
found scattered in all directions. The driver of the
express-train was not aware that anything had hap-
pened till he arrived at Herne-hill, when a hat and a
tooth were observed sticking to the engine. The pieces
of the body were collected with difficulty. The acci-
dent is acceounted for by the deceased being deaf, and
there being a curve at the fatal spot which prevented
the driver seeing far ahead.

AN UNCLAIMED BEQUEST.—Captain
in his evidence before the royal commissioners
appointed to inquire into the state of the Corporation
of -London, in November, 1853, stated that there were
many bequests in the City of London, of very ancient
date, left for the benefit of prisoners, which might be
recovered by inquiry. He mentions one ease as left for
distribution by the authorities of Christ's Hospital,
where there is an unclaimed bequest of 10s. lid, for
preaching a sermon to the City debtors on Easter-day.
'lids "has not been inquired for," he states, "for
twenty-eight years, and the (office' s of Christ's Hospital
hardly know what to do with the money."
A Boy's GRATITUDE. —On Tuesday, shortly
after the opening of the Liverpool Police-court, Mr.
Jenkins of the Local Marine. Board, intro 4neeo I to the
stipendiary (Mr. Battles) a youth named Dunne, who
desired to thank him for his kindness. About a year
ago Dunne was found in the streets destitute, and on
being taken before the court he said that he wished
to go to sea. Mr. Raffles sent him to Mr. Jenkins,
requesting him to get the lad a ship, and consenting to
pay for his outfit. He was got a situation on board the
Montezuma, and behaved himself no well during a ten
months' voyage that the captain wished to take him as
an apprentice. As soon as I 'mine came ash( ore he called
at the Sailors' Home and thanked Mr. Jenkins for his
kindness to him, and now came before Mr. Raffles
for the same purpose. His worship addressed a few
words of encouragement to Dunne, and before he left
the court gave him half-a-crown.
MURDEROUS Ass.t IJLT WITH A SWORD. A
man named Burns, while under the influence of drink,
on Saturday night disregarded a notice of "Commit
no Nuisance" on a wall of a house in Backfields,
Sheffield. The occupant of the house, Whiteley,
rushed from the house armed with a sword, and struck
Burns with the weapon several times on the head, in-
flicting very severe wounds. Whitely was taken into
custody. At the poolice-station Burns presented a
sorry spectacle. His clothes were completely saturated
with blood, and there were two or three deep cuts in
his head.

A Goon STORY.— There are worse stories than
the following, which is told in Paris of a London
beggar
the beggar in question was, it seems, in the habit of sitting
on one of the bridges in London, accompluded by a dog with
a placard inscribed " Blind," attached to his neck, and was
fortunate cm mall to awaken the charitable sympathies of a
gentleman, who every morning when he passed the mendicant
dropped a penny into his hat. One day the usual donation
was omitted, and the supposed blind man ran after his bene-
factor as fast as his crutches would permit, and boldly asked
wily the usual penny had not been forthcoming, " Why,
I thought you were blind," exclaimed the man of charity,
amazed. "No, Sir, it is not I," replied the beggar, "it is the
slog."

THE M1N1311731 OF INDUSTRY.—LoIIitts is not the
idle fellow his enemies and tradespeople assert. The
other day his "features worked."—Punch.

A BRUTAL FIGHT.—A desperate quarrel arose
between two farmers named Bryan Feehely and Patrick
Clancy, returning home from the fair of Mont rhamilton
a few days since in company with others. When some
notes on the road, after becoming excited by too much
drink, they commenced to fight with such savage de-
termination, that those with them blind it difficult to
separate them, and, when they had succeeded in doing
so, it was discovered that the combatants had inflicted
injuries upon each other of a very serious character—
those sustained by Feehely lotting such as to place his
life in imminent danger. His skull was fractured, and
he received several wounds in other parts of his body,
the weapon used by Clancy being a reaping-hook,
which he was taking home. I 01. Whyte, J.P., attended
at Feehely's bedside to receive his informations after
which he issued a warrant against Clancy, who was
accordingly arrested by the police, but he, too, was so
grievously wounded that he could not be removed to
jail. A medical certificate was obtained that it str add
endanger his life to remove hint, and he now remains
in custody of the police in his own house.
IMPEDIMENTS TO MARRIAGE IN SWITZERLAND.
A letter from Bale says, in many of the Swiss cantons
the formalities preceding marriage are so onerous that
a legitimate union is often inaccessible to modest
purses. The Constituent Assembly of Zurich Lim
just taken a resolution on this subject which does
honour to the liberal spirit which presides over the de-
liberations of that body. After having voted by an
immense majority the introduction of the optional
civil ceremony, it has abolished all taxes hitherto im-
posed on those who wish to be united ; the latter in
future will only have to pay some trifling fees. The
intervention of functionaries awl ecclesiastics in tie
celebration of the rite is to be gratuitous.

EXTRAORDINARY RECOVERY OF SPEECH—TiIe
Journal des P firrners-Orientales says: An incident
has just occurred at La Manhre of so extraordinary a
nature that we should hesitate to publish it if we had
not heard it related by the person whom it principally
concerns. Some days back five young men of the
neighbourhood went to bathe in a pool of small extent,
but nearly twenty feet deep, and fed by a mountain
torrent. The first to plunge in, II ippolyte Serre,
swam safely across, and was seated on the opposite
bank, where he sat watching a c4.mpanion named ( 011,
who had followed bin:. The latter, who had been deaf
and I hutch since a very serious illness, brought on five
years hack by a disappointment in hive, had reached
the middle of the water, where he was seen to struggle
convulsively and then disappear beneath the surface.
Serre plunged in to his assistance, and, seizing him
when he came up, succeeded in bringing him to the
brink, where he was helped out by the others. Coll
had no sooner recovered his senses than he exclaimed,
'Mon Dieu! Sainte Vierge du Coral! Hippolyte, you
have saved me ! "The shock had, in fact, restored t,,
him his speech, of which a commotion had previously
deprived him."

QUEER TASTE.—What strange ways foreigners
have! A Congress (the latest variety) has just been
held at Amsterdam, of "Low German authors' !
Only one writer is mentioned by name as having had
the Conscience to be present. Punch.

A POLICEMAN PUT Hons DE COMBAT BY A
CAT.—The inhabitants of Passy were thrown into a
state of great alarm a few days ago by a large eat,
which ran about the suburb biting everything it met,
and apparently mad. It attacked all the dogs that
came in its way, biting them with fury. A child of
sevcn years of age %V EIA severely bitten in the leg.
Mr. 8., a brewer in Lubeck-street, tired twice at the
animal, but did not hit it. By a prodigious bound it
leaped on the neck of a horse, which was drawing a
vehicle, and it only let go its hold when struck