The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-01-24 00:00:00

Bliscttlaneous

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL,

WHERE THEY DON'T USE SYNONYMS.—A gentle.
man recently entered a bookstore in Nevada County,
and inquired of the proprietor, "Have you Soule's
Synonyms?" " Soule's what?" queried the other.
Soule's Synonyms," replied the purchaser. "No," said
the shopkeeper, "we don't keep them. What are
they for ? " Upon being informed that synonyms
were simply synonymous words, and that in the book
referred to they were culled and arranged according to
signification, he remarked, "Oh, yes, I understand
what synonyms are. They are not used in this
country."—Sacramento Union.
SHEFFIELD CERTIFICATED TEACHERS, —The certi-
ficated teachers of the Sheffield district are awitatlng
against the excessive glut of pupil teachers and school-
masters. It was stated at a meeting on Monday that
the present staff of teachers of all kinds was sufficient
for over four millions of children, whereas the average
number actually in attendance was under two millions
and a half. It was resolved to bring the matter before
the Easter Conference to be held at Brighton. The
Sheffield Association recommend that Article 59 of the
new code should he abolished; that no teachers should
become fully certificated to train pupil teachers except
upon the same terms as students in training colleges,
and that there should only be two pupil teachers to
each certificated teacher.

THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL Socirrx.—The official
list of prizes for agricultural implements, machinery,
&c., to be competed for at the forthcoming Carlisle
Show, has now been issued. The judges are empowered
to award gold and silver medals to any implements
and machines for the cultivation of the land by steam
or other mechanical force which, in the opinion of the
stewards and judges, are new inventions, and have not
been previously submitted to trial by the society. The
gold medals will be awarded only in cases of special
merit, and for implements and machinery likely to be
practically useful. The society also offer ten silver
medals, the award of which the judges may recommend
In cases of sufficient merit in new implements. The
judges are further empowered to make special awards
of medals for efficient modes of guarding or shielding
machinery, especially when working by steam, from
contact with persons immediately engaged in attending
to such machinery while at work. With a view of
bringing the machinery yard within moderate com-
pass, it has been decided that the maximum size of
stands be 150 ft. and that the charge for space in the
miscellaneous department be double that hitherto in
force.
SEA FARE IN THE LAST CENTURY.—A correspon-
dent writing to Land and Water says :—I send you an
extract from the voyage of Captain James Colnett, of
the Royal Navy, in the ship Rattler, to the Pacific in
1793 and 1794, which will, I think, prove interesting
to your many seafaring readers who at times may be
sadly in want of a change of fare from salt junk and
preserved meat to fresh porpoise sausages :
_ _

"From the island of Socoro to the coast of Mexico, on the
parallel of 1928. north lat. We now saw dolphins and por-
poises in abundance, and took many of the latter, which
we mixed with salt pork, and made excellent sausages—
indeed they became our ordinary food. Sea-snakes were
also in great plenty, and many of the crew made a pleasant
and nutritious meal of them." Farther on he states, "In the
stomachs of several of the snakes which we took, there were
fish in an undigested state, and of a size that credulity itself
would almost refuse to believe. These voracious animals
appear to have greatly lessened the quantity of fish on the
shores of this island (Qhibo, Gulf of Panama), which afforded
such an abundant supply of delicious and salutary food to
former navigators."

GRAMMAR !—lnvalid. I've had a wretched night,
Mrs. Wobble's." Nurse. "Dear, dear me, Sir! I
thought you slep' most comfortable I " Invalid (with
a groan). "Oh, Mrs. Wobbles, do use the adverb ! "
Nurse. " Yes, Sir, I'll see about it directly, Sir,—
but "—(puzzled)—" I reely don't think there's one in
the 'Ouse, Sir! I"—Punch.
SUDDEN DEATH. —Mr. Theodore Lloyd, J.P., of
Ashleigh, Upper Addiscombe, Croydon, was on Tues-
day night found insensible on a footpath by a passer-
by. He had been to a concert at the public hall with
some friends. The latter left for home in a cab, but
Mr. Lloyd preferred walking. He was conveyed to
the hospital, where it was found that he was dead.
It is supposed that death resulted either from heart
disease or from injuries received through falling on the
kerbstone. Mr. Lloyd was 70 years of age.
POPULATION STATISTICS or THE GLOBE. The
population of the globe may be roughly assumed at
1,421,000,000, divided thus :—Europe, 309,000,000;
Asia, 824,000,000; Africa. 199,000,000; Oceania,
4,000,000; America, 85,000,000. It has been calculated
from the mortality tables of known countries that the
annual number of deaths throughout the world is
35,693,330, or that, in other words, 97,790 persons die
each day. On the other hand, the balance of popula-
tion is more than kept up by births at the rate of
104,800 per day. go wonty /Aviv lives are Ilahnrna in
minute of the 24 hours.
WHAT FIGURES PROVE.—The Hon. Cariffs Francis
Adams, jun., in his book about railway accidents,
says :—" If any given person were born upon a rail-
way car and remain upon it travailing 500 miles a day
all his life, he would, with average good fortune, be
somewhat over eighty years of age before ha would be
involved in any accident resulting in his personal
injury, while he would attain the highly respectable
age of 930 years before being killed.''
IMPULSIVE WOMEN.—Dr, Donald Fraser, preaching
at the opening of a new Presbyterian church, men-
tioned the following anecdote :—After a sermon
preached by him at the opening of a church, a lady of
fashionable position in society came to him. "Why
should I have two watches while the house of God re-
mains unpaid for ?" adding, "I will give the better of
the two toward the cost of the church." She did so,
and a jeweller gave £52 for it, which was a sensible
addition to the fund.—Dr. Fraser added that at another
collection on the previous Sabbath a lady who had not
a piece of gold, and did not care to give silver, took
the chain off her neck, and put it on the plate. The
might say that these were impulsive women. "Well,"
added the Doctor, " impulsive women might rise up to
condemn illiberal men in the day of the Lord."

A GENEROUS OFFER.—Mr. F. pharsley, Registrar
of Eton College, has offered to give Botham's Hotel,
the well-known hostelry opposite Salt-hill, near
Slough, as a site for the College for th 3 Blind, for
which the late Mr. Gardner, father-in-law of Mr. R.
Richardson-Gardner, the member for Windsor, be-
qneathed the sum of £300,000. Mr. Charsley has also
offered Mrs. Richardson-Gardner, who is one of the
trustees under her father's will, the choice of other
sites at Arbour-hill and Mackenzie-street. It is
not yet known whether the trustees will avail them.
selves of Mr Charsley's offer.

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL CENTENARY.—On Tuesday a
deputation, consisting of representatives from the
Church of England Sunday School Institute the
Sunday School Union, the Wesleyan Methodist Sun-
day School Union, and the Ragged School Union,
waited upon the Lord Mayor of London at the Mansion
House to request his lordship to allow the first meeting
of the proposed Sunday School Centenary Celebration
to be held under the presidency of his lordship, at the
Mansion House. It was stated that the 28th June
would be the centenary of the formation of those
schools at the instance of Robert Raikes, and that the
anniversary would be one of international character.
The Lord Mayor at once assented to the request.
HE DIDN'T FEM.—Last week was examination
week in most of the schools, and the boy who." passed"
can easily be selected from the one who. didn't (says
an Albany paper). One of those who didn't was on
Saturday intrenching himself behind a snowbank
seemingly waiting for some one's arrival, and a man
who had watched his preparations inquired: "Making
ready to have some fun, bub ?" "Well, it may be
fun for me, but it'll be tough on the other feller," was
the reply. "Then you are expecting to have a fight?"
"I just am that ! The school teacher marked me
down to fifty-seven because I said Russia bouoded
Lake Erie on the west, and now when her brother
comes along I'm going to bound on him on all four
sides with the biggest licking a white-headed boy ever
got."
GRIN AND BHA'S IT.—When Shakespeare, referring
to "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," says we
may "by opposing end them," his philosophy is for
once somewhat at fault, for of course you end ure
troubles if you bear them uncomplainingly.—Fun.
EXCITING SCENE AT A FlRE.—Early on Sunday
morning a fire was discovered in a model lodging-house
in Liverpool. Over 100 men were in the house and as soon
as the alarm was given the aroused sleepers rushed wildly
about, and many of them dropped from the bedroom
windows. Luckily the principal Bridewell was close
by, and in a few mfnutes a large posse of policemen,
with firs-escapes, were in attendance. Amidst a scene
of the wildest excitement, the lodgers were rescued
from the burning building, and hurried in their naked
state to the Bridewell, where they remained until
their clothing was recovered. Many of them were
injured.

THE TELEPHONE—On Tuesday morning a trial was
made at Portsmouth of a system for connecting the
police-station and the offices of the Waterworks
Company for use in case of fires, by the combination
of the telephone and the microphone. By means of a
transmitter a speaker can be heard at the other end of
the wire without being under the necessity of applying
his mouth to the ordinary tube. The intention to send
a message is announced by the ringing of an electric
bell. The experiments were held to be successful.
THE BELL. RINGER'S LAST PEAL I—A Vienna jour.
nal relates the rather singular circumstances under
which a bell-ringer at one of the city churches met
with his death whilst engaged in his customary avoca.
thins. Recently the tolling bell testified to the fact
that a funeral was about to take place. The knell
sounded with its wonted solemnity during a certain
time, but just as the procession of mourners was ap-
proaching the sacred edifice, the bell, instead of
uttering its sounds with the decorous precision the
circumstances exacted, emitted a fantastic and irre-
gular peal entirely out of keeping with the occasion,
and which created unspeakable surprise amongst those
who heard the lively chiming. Little by little the
sounds decreased both in rapidity and vigour, and
ultimately, after a few, so to say, convulsive or spas-
modic vibrations, the bell was silent altogether. An
undertaker's man was despatched to the bellringer to
find the cause of this apparently eccentric conduct,
who upon reaching the spot learnt the clue to the
enigma. The bell-rope, which towards its sad was
knotted into sundry loops to facilitate the ringing, had
caught the unfortunate man by the neck and carried
him to some distance from the ground. His struggles
to free himself had occasioned the irregular pealing and
spasmodic vibration' and, presumably, when the bell
relapsed into silence the poor ringer, who had rung his
own death knell, had ceased to breathe.

THE LEADVILLE SILVER MINES.—The production of
this great Colorado mining centre is quite taking the
lead in the mining of precious metals. During the
month of October last the yield was 34 tons of pure
silver, of the value of £1,384,104. This amount was
greater than the production of the whole State of
Nevada. The richest mine in the district is the
Robert Lee, from which WAS lately extracted
silver ore which realised 10,300 dols, per ton. The
ore is a chloride of silver, of which, indeed, the
majority of the Leadville ores are composed, about
one-third of the production being carbonates. It is
not, however, every mine that is so rich as the one
just mentioned; for, as a matter of fact, the low
grades predominate over the richer ones. A new gold
deposit has been recently discovered in Montana.
The lode, which is 61t. in width, is described as being
literally filled with gold, a hatful of the ore panning
out an ounce of good gold,

" HOME-GROWN " WATERCRESSES. —At the last
meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society an exhibi-
tion of 4l home grown" watercresses was made by Mr.
Shirley Hibberd, of Stoke Newington, who has given
much attention to this bran--h of domestic horticul-
ture. The exhibition consisted of a series of shallow
pans, 15in, in diameter, each filled with a luxuriant
growth of tender creases, presenting a very fresh and
elegant appearance. Mr. Hihberd's object in present
lug these to the notice of the society was to show that
the pan culture of the watercress may-be profitably
pursued with the aid of a frame or cool plant-house
during the severest winter weather, The creases shown
were preduced in the course of six weeks, and if daily
gathered from for the table would last about the same
length of time, affording an abundant supply of this
delicious and wholesome salad with the best guarantee
of immunity from taint oi sewage. The Fruit and
Vegetable Committee conferred upon them the certifi-
cate of cultural commendation.
TOAST FOR A " TEA-FIGHT."—" T-urn about is fair
play."—Funny Folks.
SUGGESTED MEMENTO OF THE PRINCES OF WALES.
—A correspondent writing to the G'arnarvon and
Denbigh Herald, suggests that either a Welsh patriot
or many patriots combined, or, that failing, the town
of Carnarvon, should make a small grant towards
purchasing a stone tablet, upon which should be
engraved in large and characteristic letters the names
of all the seventeen Princes of Wales in succession,
with the year in which they assumed the title and
that in which they ceased to make use of it, allowing
plenty of space on the stone for the names of others to
follow. He further suggests that the tablet should not
be ornamented, but simply embedded deeply into the
walls of Carnarvon Castle as a memento of the com-
pact which was entered into on behalf of the Welsh
nation when they accepted the first Prince of Wales,
and a proof of the loyal manner in which it has ever
since been kept.
DEATH OF A FRENCH VrrERAN.--The Geneva cor-
respondent of The Times writes :--" Louis Grandjean,
one of the few surviving officers of the Napoleonic
wars, died at Bienne, Canton Berne, on the last day of
December, in the 91st year of his age. He had a
distinct recollection of having seen General Nouvion,
in 1798, at the head of the French forces, cross the
Bosingen and occupy Bienne, where a foreign foe had
not set his foot for upwards of 400 years. Shortly
before 1812 Grandjean entered the French army, In
the year in question he took part in the operations in
North Germany, and was wounded before Hamburg.
In 1813 he served in the campaign in Saxony, and
greatly distinguished himself at the battle of Leipsic,
where he was again wounded. Notwithstanding his
wound and the debdcle of the French army, he avoided
being talc,m prisoner, and made his way to the Rhine
on foot. For the bravery and coolness he displayed at
this time, Napoleon I. made him a chevalier of the
Legion of Honour, and many years thereafter Napoleon
111. bestowed on hitn the medal of St. Helena.
Grandjean's military career closed with the fall of the
first French Empire, when he retired to his native
commune, which he represented on several occasions
in the Great Council of Canton Berne."

THE REASON.—Aunt. How is it, Willie, that you
so often come and see me and that Tommy never
comes? Willie. Ma says lam such a Turk at home
that she is glad to get rid of me. Aunt. Why are
you such a Turk at home? Willie. Because Ma
sends me here, and you always give me a tuck out of
plum cake and biscuits.—Judy,

THE DAIRYMAN'S USE OF THE MISTLETOE.—To Eng-
lish folks the mistletoe is mostly regarded as a plant
according special privileges at Christmas-tide, but our
friends in Germany seem to make a wider if not a
better use of it, for an Alsace-Lorraine exchange states
that for more than thirty years past it has been the
custom in Offenback to collect all the mistletoe for
miles around every winter for cattle-feeding purposes.
Morning and evening a small bundle of it is given to
the much cows, which devour it greedily. It is said
to increase the quantity and improve the quality of
their milk, and to impart a rich yellow colour to the
butter made from thoir cream, Mistletoe growing on
apple trees is held to be acid and unsuitable for cows,
but is given with advantage to sheep and goats.—Land
and Water.

TRUE.—Jones says it le very difficult to keep your
peace of mind when people thrust pieces of their own
upon you.—Judy.

A DOG Sony.—ln the life of De Musset (the French
poet) appears the following anecdote :—When a can.
didate for the Academie, De Musset, went to pay the
customary visit to an influential "Immortal," whose
chateau was in the environs of Paris. At the moment
that the poet rang at the gate, an ignoble whelp of in-
credible ugliness, covered with mud, rushed to meet
him with joyous barks, and fawned upon him to the
detriment of the poet's new pantaloons. Disgusted as
De Musset was, it would have been perilous to drive
off the " Immortal's " faithful dog, so he was com-
pelled to let the frightful animal lick his hands, cover
him with caressses and dirt, and precede him to the
drawing•room, A moment later the Academician
entered. De Musset noticed his embarrassment, at
which he was not surprised, considering the behaviour
of the animal. They adjourned to the dining-room,
followed by the dog, which, after giving vent to his
delight by various gambols and barks, placed too
muddy paws on the cloth, seized the wing of a cold
chicken, and began contentedly to devour it. "That's
the most abominable brute I ever heard of," thought
De 'gusset, and continued aloud—" You are fond of
dogs, I see," "Fond of dogs ? " echoed the " Im-
mortal ;" "I hate dogs," "But this animal here?
"I have tolerated the beast only because it is yours,
sir." " Mine 1" said De Musset ; "I thought it was
yours, which alone prevented me from killing him."
The two men roared with laughter; De Musset had
made a friend. The dog was speedily ejected:

WEATHEI FORECIAST.—The following has been re.
ceived from New York by the New York Herald
Weather Bureau in London :—A disturbance will
arrive on the British and Norwegian coasts between
the 23rd and 25th. It will possibly effect the coast of
France, and be preceded au d attended by rains, with
strong winds or gales from the south, veering north-
west.

ROTumm—The chiefs of Rotumah, a small but
beautiful island in the South Pacific Ocean, situate in
lat. 12 Jog. 32min. S. and ion. 177 deg, 13min. E.,
waited as a deputation upon Sir Arthur Gordon, the
Governor of Fiji, at Levuka, on October 20, to plead
in person for the annexation of their island to the
British dominions. They represented that the offer
to cede Rotumah was made in writing, but they were
so anxious on the subject that they had determined to
wait on Her Majesty's_ representatives tourge a speedy
and favourable consineration of their request. Sir
Arthur Gordon intimated that the petition had already
been forwarded to the Queen, and he had recom•
mended that its prayer should be complied with. In
the meantime he would comply with their wishes, and
send an officer, a relative of his own, to live among
them and advise them.

A CAT STORY.—A cat story has come to our notice
from an entirely authentic source (says the Portland
Transcript). The scene is laid in the village of
Yarmoath. An aged gentleman and his house-
keeper constitute the family, and their good old
cat finds the lines are fallen to her in pleasant places.
Family prayers are the rule each evening in this house-
hold, and the eat fell into the habit of regular and
punctual attendance. No other of the cares that pro.
verbially crowd a cat's life was ever allowed to interfere
with this religious duty. At the signal for prayers she
would even leave a mouse half caught, or give a doomed
bird a longer lease of existence, and decorously compose
herself in the lap of the housekeeper, with an air of atten-
tion to the service that was highly edifying. At the
final "Amen," she went friskly about her business.
But in an evil day there came a kitten that WAS
deemed superfluous, and sentence of death was passed
upon it. The head of the family undertook the execu-
tion of the sentence, and, unknown to him the cat was
a witness to the scene. From that day the cat re-
fused to attend the morning service, and cannot now
be induced to listen to the prayers of one who had so
shocked her sensibilities. She faithfully performs all
other duties as before, and sociably purrs for the
family on all secular occasions, but seems t;) say—
" Let my religious hours alone,"
THE BUDGET OF THE PLAGUE.— The recent epidemic
in Astrakhan has curt Maria the sum of £BO,OOO.
This reckoning includes the expenses from January,
1879, when General Loris Melikoff was appointed
Governor. General of the governments of Astrakhan,
Saratof, and Samara, up to the month of April, when
all danger had disappeared. The budget of the plague
presents some features of interest; the sanitary
cordons and quarantine arrangements cost £40900;
the surveillance of the Volga, in suspected situations,
and the measures necessary to isolate them, cost
£2400; the medical staff, and salaries of the em-
pioyd., amounted to £lO,OOO ; drugs, &c.., to 600;
assistance and indemnities to the inhabitants of the
&c., destroyed as a precautionary measure,
and the transport of troops, have naturally abso!bed
the major portion of the sums of money appropriated
to arresting the invasion of the scourge.—The Sanitary
Record.

"HALF FARE."—The Detroit Free Press gives the
following :—The ticket seller at the Union depot has
had another experience in human nature, though he
long ago made up his miod that he was familiar with
all the tricks and traits over employed by those who
s
travel. He yesterdai noted a middle aged husband
and wife holding way
close confab and pointing hi
N __
and after a time the lounged up and said: "1
want to go to iles. Veil! well," "1 'spose
I'll have to Poi full fare," continued the man, "but
that old worasn i
you see over there s a fool and I'm
taking her home to her friends. I 'spose fools travel
for half fare, don't they?" "No! we charge just as
much
fter for a fool as anybody else, We have only one
"Welli,
always that's kinder singular," mused the
hey ways let fools into circuses and
ballo and other shows for half price, and some
stueg..
times for nothing. Seems as if you ought to have some
pity on her. "I have pity on her, of course, but we
have only one rate," "Besides being a fool she has
crazy spells, too, Couldn't she take advantage of the
lunatic act and go for half fare?" "She must pay
full fare ! " waP the decided answer. The woman had
been skulking forward during the conversation, and as
her husband turned from the window, she whisperingly
inquired: "Kin Igo as a fool?" "Nava I " growled
the man, as he turned upon her—" fools have to pay
as much as anybody !" "Well' I can't help it. can
I? " she asked. "1 'spose not,but we didn't work it
right. I ought to have thrown snuff in yer eyes, put
yer false teeth in my pocket, and tried to pass ye along
as a poor blind woman going back to gaze on your
husband's grave 1"

AN AGGRAVATING TEUTON.—O'Reilly (in the heat
of a pciitic .1 discussion). "The fact is, Sorr, all you
Germans are Prigs, regular Prigs I ''—Herr Mailer :
"Ja wohl I all ye Chermans are Bricks, reettlar
Bricks I "—O'Reilly: "I said Prigs, Sorr—not
Bricks I"—Herr Milner: "1 haf ears, my Vrient
You said Bricks, of course—not Prigs."—O'Reilly:
Prigs, Sorr Pig•headed, could-hearted Prigs I"
Herr Miiller : "Ja wohl ! Big-beaded, gold-hearted
Bricks I"—O'Reilly "Ah I get out wid ye I Ye're
past Praying for l"—Herr Muller: "Zen vy do you go
on Braying, my Vrient ?" —[Exit G _Reilly foaming at
the mouth. Herr Muller chuckles for the rest of the
day. ]—Punch.

CHILDREN OF THE PANTOMIME AT EXETER HALL.—
Many of the children employed in the theatres in
which pantomimes are now being played accepted an
invitation given to a tea in Exeter-hall on Monday.
The repast over, several hymns were sung and two
addresses given. These children were representatives
of dancers, gipsies Zulus, Egyptians, soldiers,
peasants, fish of different kinds, millers, oysters,
spiders, silver knights, demons, &c.—Before they left
Mr. Forbes gave them another invitation. The meet-
ing closed about half-past six.

TRIED DUTCH ARCTIC Ex')ErirzoN.—The Dutch
are intent upon a third Arctic expedition with their
tiny sailing schooner Willem Barents, on the strength
of a curious Dutch proverb which says that "thrice
is ship right." A citizen of Amsterdam has already
offered to defray one-fifth of the expenses. The
young commander of the two former expeditions has
jut died in India.

THE INHOSPITABLE FAMILY.—The other day a
genuine tramp with a stomach yearning for a picked.
up meal, undertook to enter a yard on Winder-street
(says the Detroit Free Press). A large fierce dog stood
at the gate to give him a hostile welcome, and after
vainly trying to propitiate the animal, the tramp
called to a lad of 10 who was making a kite on the
veranda: "Hey, sonny 1" "Yea, I'm hay," was the
reply. "Say, bub, call off yer dog." "No, use—no
use," replied the lad. "Even if you got in here ma's
waiting at the kitchen door with a kettle of hot water,
Sarah's working the telephone to get the police, and
I'm here to holler murder! and wake up the whole
street 1"
AN ACTION FOR DAMAGES FOR Loss OF DIGNITY.
--At a meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society Professor
Dowson read a paper, entitled "A Carious Litigation
between the Smartava Brahmans and the Lingayate."
The Professor remarked, at the commencement, that
the Smartava Brahmans in the South of India have
twelve maths or monastic establishments of high
antiquity. The chiefs of these maths are held in high
honour, and among the marks of their dignity is the
privilege of being carried in a falki crosswise so as to
sweep the road. These Brahmans are much troubled
by the Lingayata, a dissenting sect some six or seven
centuries old, who are very numerous in their neigh-
bourhood. The ehief of these Lingayats, to assert his
own dignity, caused his palki to be carried crosswise.
This caused riots and disturbance, which had to be
suppressed. At length the chief of a Brahman math
brought an action against the Lin gayat for damages
to compensate for loss of dignity. The case was
eventually referred back to India for further investi-
gation, and although many years have passed, nothing
more has been heard of it.

SUPPORT —Vicar. "Sorry I never see you at church,
Squire. As a leading man in the parish, you ought
to be one of the pillars—" Squire. "Well, at all
events, if I'm not a pillar, I'm one o' the buttresses—
always to be found outside, you know I r—Punch..

A METALLIC WATCH.DO4.—The Builder says :
That the greatest ingenuity should be displayed in
the invention of machinery to economise manual labour
is at once natural and creditahle, but we did not anti-
cipate that the builder of the future would be called
upon to fit a mechanical watchdog to the street•door
so as to guard the house he may be required to con-
struct. Yet such, we are assured, will be the case.
The dog, in spite of his fidelity, may still fall the victim
of the poisoned meat thrown to him by the prudent
burglar. But, morally speaking, machinery is incor-
ruptible. It may rust, it may break, but it
cannot be bribed. We can take precautions against
wear and tear, but we cannot guard ourselves
with equal certitude against treachery. There is
no knowing what bribery and corruption may not do
against us, for the flesh is weak, even though the
flesh be that of a dog. Most persons are aware that
by introducing a flame of gas into an open tube,
whether of metal or of glass, the tube will sound; in
fact, we might easily produce singing flames. The
sound, of course, differs according to the size of the
tube, the force of the flame, &a. Sometimes the
sound is like a roar, at others like a low moan; some-
times high, sometimes low; in fact, the greatest
variety of expressions can be produced according to
circumstances. But better than this has been found.
There are silent speaking•tubes ; that is to say, tubes
that, under ordinary circumstances, do not utter a
sound; but if a door be opened, a draught is created,
then the glass vibrates, and the most startling noises
result, A glass of this description has been contrived
in which, when a jet of gas burns, the sound of a dog
barking is produced, should the street door be opened.
Thus may the house be guarded by a mechanical watch
dog."

TEE SALMON DISEASE.—It is reported from Berwick
that this epidemic shows no sign of disappearance, A
large number of fish may be seen near the water's edge
In the neighbourhood of Coldstream. One gentleman
reports having noticed seven in the Tweed within a
distance of three miles. The water-bailiffs are busy
burying them nearly every day. The disease has
appeared also among the salmon in the Innerleithen
district umumAlly early in the season, and it has now
spread to an extent never before observed there.
Large numbers are almost wholly covered with the
fungus. The water bailiffs have begun to remove the
worst fish from the river, in order to prevent their con-
taminating others that are comparatively sound, The
disease apparently spreads with more rapidity than is
generally thought.
A CONSCIENTIOUS JUDGE.—The American papers
state that Judge Eldridge, of Memphis, recently fined
himself 10 dole, for being late at court. Two lawyers
made able arguments for the remission of the penalty,
but his honour remained firm.

SHADE OF SWIFT !•••••" An Old Laputan" writes to
express his surprise and dissppointment at not find-
ing, in some "Statistics of Sunshine" lately pub-
lished, any mention of the sunbeams extracted out of
cucumbers. Perhaps the Royal Society will answer
him.—Punch.

SALMON ACCLIMATIZATION. - The Hobart Town
Mercury says :—" In the early part of November,
1879, the Governor fished at New Norfolk, and killed
a salmon weighing 91b. and a trout weighing filb. At
Redlands, next morning, Mr. Weld captured two
trout, weighing respectively 21b. and 11b. The total
weight of the four fish was 18i113., and the bait used
was artificial minnow. A salmon weighing 41b. 2oz.
has been captured near Ihe Huon Island, and is the
second specimen which has been taken so far down the
river. As a further evidence of the success of salmon
acclimatization, it has been found that the River
Plenty, in which the fish were first liberated, has
become their spawning ground. This season smelts
have come down the Plenty, through a race into the
salmon ponds, millions of them having been turned
back again into the river. With such increasing num-
bers, the time is not far distant when salmon fishing
will become one of the industries of the colony."
_

. -
THE SUNDAY CLOSING BILL FOR WALNS.—With
respect to the measure of which Mr. John Roberts,
M. P., has given notice, for the closing of publichouses
on Sunday in Wales, the executive committee, of which
the Dean of Bangor is chairman, have issued an
address, making suggestions whereby the attention of
each congregation in North and South Wales may be
drawn to the matter. They also urge that petitions in
favour of the measure should be signed, and that in
every place where it may be convenient a public mest.
lag should be held to advocate the cause during the
first week in February. The committee also reoom.
mend that the Welsh people in Liverpool, Birkenhead,
Chester, Manchester, Birmingham, and London should
give their support to the movement.
HOLLY.—HoIIy is a name which is often, but
wrongly, considered a corruption of the word "holy."
The holly-tree is called "Christ's thorn" in Germany
and Scandinavia, from its putting forth its berries at
the supposed period of the year when Christ was
born, and from its time-honoured use in decorating
Christian churches. This tree, according to a certain
legend, was that in which the Almighty revealed
Himself to Moses in a flame of fire, by which it was
not consumed. Likewise it was supposed to have
formed the wood of the cross on which our Lord was
crucified; hence it was known as the Lignum Sancta
Crucis. Many have been the traditions and super.
stitions connected with this beautiful tree. y ths
Romans it was dedicated to Saturn, whose feeds werti
held at Christmas time, and sprigs were sent to friends
with good wishes for health and happiness, The
Persians sprinkled their children with a decoction
from the leaves, to endow them with wisdom. Accord-
ing to Pliny, the flowers were an antidote to poison.
Our own Druids used to deck private dwellings with
the boughs, to offer thus a shelter to sylvan sprites,
to whom none was afforded by the leafless oaks.
Holly leaves are sometime of an ivory white, and,
when young, are of a beautiful pinkish colour.—
Excelsior.

I' TEMPORA MIITANTUR."—Annt Towzer says they
do eve, y.thing now exactly opposite to what they used
to do when she was young. For instance, then,
tenants, if they could not carry their rent to the land.,
lord, had to remit it to him; but now, according tq
what she reads in the papers it's the landlord as halt
to remit the rent to the tenant .—Funny Falb.
FASHIONABLE LONDON IN ROMAN Tuuts,---Soraa
14 or 15 centuries ago what is now Bishopegatestreet
Within was a fashionable suburb of the Roman Lon.
dinum, the Belgravia or South Kensington of that
period, where the aristocracy and wealth of the City
located itself and built magnificent mansions after the
fashion of Rome, with columns, frescoes, and tessel-
lated pavements, such as we see in the disinterred city,
of Pompeii. In the streets might then be seen
charioteers driving rapidly along to contend in the
chariot race; fair ladies going to witness the gladis.
tonal displays in the amphitheatre; bronzed soldiers
from many a distant province of the empire; slaves
groaning beneath heavy burdens or employed in
laborious occupations—all mixed up with the ordinary
traffic of a considerable city. Northward, stretching east-
ward and westward, ran the city wall, a portion of
which may still be seen in the street called London-wall,
adorned with stately towers and bastions, one of the
latter having been exposed to public view by the
opening of a pathway through St. Gilea's churchyard,
There was, however, no gateway in this part of the
wall, as beyond lay an untraversable m^rase, and
beyond that a forest extending to and up the heighta
of Highgate, Muswell-hill, Ste., those who wished to
go northward from the City having to go eastward to
Aldgate or westward to Alderegate. This probably
was the reason why the rich selected this portion of
the environs of the city for their residence., as being
more retired and quiet than in the vicinity of a
thoroughfare leading to a City outlet. Of these man-
slims of the patricians of Londinum several vestiges
have been found. On the site of St. Helen's the fon*.
dations of large edifices have been laid be. In 1707,,
at the corner of Camomile-street, a fine tesselated
pavement was found; in 1752 auother at the side of
St. Helen's gateway; in 1761 another in Camomile-
street ; and in 1836 a splendid specimen, in red, white,
and grey, at the north-west angle of Crosby-square
beeides fragments elaisvhere.—Oity Press,

SIR WILLIAM HARCOURT AND MR.
BRIGHT.

A banquet was held on Tuesday night in the Town Hall, Bir-
mingham, to celebrate the formal opening of the Birmingham
Liberal Club. After the banquet the galleries and orchestra
were filled with about one thousand ladles and gentlemen.
"Slr W. Harcourt, M.P., in proposing the toast of the evening.
Success to the Liberal Club," in an epigrammatic and
humorous speech, criticised the course of the Government,
especially condemning their foreign policy in the Bast.
Mr. Bright, in an historical retrospect of the last hall
century, claimed for Liberal action the carrying of all those
meastues which tended to elevate and ameliorate the social
and political condition of the people of the United Kingdom.
It was the duty of the Liberals to unite and carry forward
much needed domestic legislation. At the next general
election he called on the Liberals to fix their indelible and
lasting condemnation on the policy of the last four or five
Yeart—We give the following extract from Mr. Bright's
'eech :

People don't know at all the state of things that
existed 50 years ago. (Cheers.) We know now for
example, that the Nonconformists of the country are
about half the population of England and Wales. We
Who remembered what happened in those days re.
membered that not more than 52 years ago no Noncon-
formist in this country could accept any office under
the Crown or become a member of any of your
municipal corporations unless he was willing to
take the Sacrament according to the forms of
the Church of England. At that time the most
sacred of all the rites which are adopted by the
majority of the Christian Churches was made an
instrtunent to insult and degrade and oppress one.half
of the population of England and Wales. (" Hear.
hear, and cheers.) We recollect to whom that
applied. It applied, I believe, to all the Nonconformist
sections. How is it that all that has been abolished ?
The Tory party of that day—although now, I presume,
they would repudiate any such system—the Tory party
t that day were opposed to the abolition of that
degradation and insult to the Nonconformists; and it
was only by repeated efforts of the Liberal party that
that insult was withdrawn. (Loud cheers.) Then,
coming down later, you will find that up to that time,
there being at least five or six millions of Roman
Catholics in the United Kingdom, not one of them could
have a seat in Parliament, although tens of thousands
of electors might be willing to vote for them,
(Hear, hear.) How did that come to be changed? Not
by the consent of the Conservative party, but by the
constant action of Liberals in Parliament and out of it,
and by an agitation of a most formidable character that
was conducted in Ireland by the wisdom and the capa-
city of Daniel O'Connell. (Loud cheers.) I am not going
to discuss any of these questions, except to say that in
What now is called the Conservative party—it was then
Called the Tory party (laughter) there is an enduring
hostility to freedom and justice. (Cheers.) When that
enormous injustice was abolished the Duke of Welling-
ton, it is on record, said that it was a question of
Catholic emancipation, or a civil war. He knew a
great deal about war, but he undertook Catholic
emancipation, and under his direction and by his
advice that Bill passed. Now a year later than that,
a few Years later—l need not speak to men in Bir-
,,nalugham about it—Birmingham was the life for a
ura,„ e of the great movement of Parliamentary Reform.
the
At that time the Duke of Wellington was
'se great authority; again he said, at least he is re-
l'ted to have said, that if an angel came down from
eaves he would not be able to devise a nobler insti-
tution than the Parliamentary representation in this
"nary. Now, I do not know why he should have
be use of the argument and that metaphor and why
'as should have imagined that angels would comedown
here for any such purpose. But it any angel did come
down to stain his purity with the rank vapours of this
sin-worn world I doubt whether there could be found
anything under the sun that was more odious or which
more wanted change—utter change—than the Perlis.
mentary representation of this country. Imagine
What it was in those days of which our Tory friends
were enamoured. Of 658 members in the House of Com-
mons, 487 were not returned by the constituencies at
all, but were returned by corrupt boroughs, by com-
moners of great wealth, by certain corporations cor-
rupt enough, and by certain departments of the
Government and the Treasury; and out of the whole
Parliament there were only 170 members who could
Pretend at all to be in any degree the representatives
of any portion of the English people. I may safely
say that when the country was in the hands of rotten
boroughs, seats were bought just as metal is bought
in Your markets or cotton is bought in Liverpool, or,
indeed, I might say, just as the livings in the Esta-
blished Church are bought now (laughter), that may
give you some idea of the general corruption which
effected the representation and the government of our
country. But still the very same party which had
maintained the Test and Corporations Acts, and
which had contended for the permanent exclusion
of the Catholic representation was in favour of
this gigantic corruption which demoralized the
whole of our Constitution in England. (Hear,
hear.) But in Birmingham people were not given
to that view, and they assembled in great
numbers not far from here, and, joined by multitudes
elsewhere, the Reform Bill was carried, Then a new
life opened to the people, and a new life came in upon
their mind and opened their hearts, and immediately
afterwards we found that great measures were passed,
but still measures which the Conservative party
were not all consenting parties to. The abolition
o,f slavery was an Act which the Liberal party in
.o,tnis country passed. The abolition of slavery by
'-_england had had a great effect upon the question of
'averY everywhere (hear) ; for although the abolition
of alayere in the United States and in other countries
dld not immediately occur, yet everybody must be
aware that what was done here then has since had
great results upon that great question throughout the
whole world. (Applause.) Then we had another great
n!ieteure.
nig ht
chair to-,
- The Mayor of this borough, who is in the
ha
is an indication and a proof of what
was done in the passing of the Municipal Reform
ill, when a Bill—one of the beat measures ever
iPassed by the Bright party in home legislation—for
the reform of the old corporations and the creation of
new ones was passed, (Near, hear.) And, although
theit ease was go bad that the Tories as a party did not
roar, againet the Bill itself, yet they did their utmost
=Pair its efficiency and so reduce the dignity and
the power of municipal corporations. (Hear, hear.)
'Elley did not allow you the choice of your own magis-
trates for the borough. They did not allow that
Which the House of Commons had by a majority
agreed to, that the licensing of publichouses should
be taken out of the hands of the magistrates and
Placed in the hands of the corporations, They, as far
as they dared and could, enfeebled the popular
Power as expressed and exercised in your munioi-
Pal governments and, in doing this they were
true to the policy by which in all times they
have been actuated. Well, after that came
other questions which need scarcely be touched
Upon—the riduction of the taxation upon news-
papers, the reduction, and then the abolition, of the
stamp upon newspapers. After that came the question
of the penny postage. Now here you would suppose
was a matter with which the most ingenious of the
Tory Party could not find fault. Yet there was great
fault found with it in both Houses of Parliament,
and the Duke of Wellington, again the great authority
for the Tory Peers, though he advised the Howe of
Peers to pass the Bill, because they had the power
of Passing or rejecting it as the state of public opinion
required it, while he condemned it altogether, still,
he advised the Peers to peso it, and they did pass
it. Well, the penny postage, except to such as I
am, must have been an unmixed blessing. (Ap-
plause.) I subscribed to a monument 1 think in this
!!!wn to Sir Rowland Hill. I knew Sir Rowland
-mill very well. I admired all that he had done; I
venerate his memory as one of the most useful and
honoOrable of men whom I have known' but I must say
that I sometimes feel that if he had postponed his
discovery till I was no longer connected with public
affairs it would have been a most fortunate thing for
sue tonight, (Laughter and applause.) We get on
now a little later, to the year 1839. We know what
has happened in this country during the last three
Wears mainly by the occurrence of bad harvests. The
harvests of 1839, 1840, and 1841 were bad, but neither
of them, not one of them, so bad as the harvest of the
year that has just ended. But the crops were so bad
and, with the Corn Laws, the prices of food were so
high that at once both the people, the trade, and the
revenue of the country may have been said for the time
ruined, Sir Robert Peel came into office when the
Whigs broke down in the year 1841. I recollect telling
Lord John Russell once in the House of Commons that
I thought the Whigs as a party and as far as I recol-
lected had never had a really good Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer. He went back a very long way to the time of
Sir Robert Walpole • but I told him I thought that
wag eo far back that we could scarcely reckon it as
a case in point. He agreed that it was a point in
whioh they were not very strong. (A. laugh.) Sir
Stafford Northcote thinks it is a 'drone point with
them, (Renewed laughter.) Well, Lord Russell was
more modest and admitted that as to the question of
finance and figures the Whigs were not very strong.
The Whigs knew that year after year, with bad har-
vests end with the Corn Laws, a deficit was inevitable,
and the Whigs went out of office, Sir Robert Peel
came in with a large majority--a majority about as
large as Gladstone had in 1868. He came in at the
time when the agitation had greatly informed the ,
putlic mind. He found a deficit- he examined the 1
whole question of our tariffs, and he immediately
commenced the great reform of them in accordance I
with the principles on which we had for several
;rears then agitating the people. Well, he was
the leader and the Minister of the Conserva-
tive pirty. They changed their name then to
a large extent from Tory, which had become very
unPoneller at the time of the Reform Bill, and
called themselveto Conservatives. Sir Robert Peel
was at the head of the party; but the moment he
began to do anything useful and good to clear away
all those miserable duties that were maiming and de-
stroying the industry and impairing the energies of
the people, that moment their confidence in Sir Robert
Peel was shaken. (Hear, hear.) In 1845 6 there
came, as you know, a very wet season; the potatoes
in Ireland rotted, and the Irish people—not in parti-
cular parts, as now over the west, but over a great
Portion of the country—were subjected to a famine of
the Dust terrible nature, and that famine came in to
complete the work which the previous agitation had
commenced, Sir Robert Peal proposed to abolish the
Corn Laws. Well, now there is another case showing
that nothing seems to teach the nation but calamity
hear.) But the Tory party were not taught;
a secAon of them remained true to Sir Robert Peel,
but the giseat majority revoleed against him (hear,
hear), and they destroyed his Government ; and the
Present Prime Minister, who asks the people of
England—the working men of England —to put their
trust in his foreign policy was the leader of the in-
surrection against the man who offered freedom to
the industry and plenty to the cupboards of the poor.
(Loud applause.) How was it Mr. Disraeli did not
understand that question just am well as I did? (Hear,
hear.) His previous writings show that he understood
It thoroughly, and his conduct shows that he acted
throughout as the advocate of the party of monopolists,
and by their help he hoped to climb to notoriety and
Power. (Hear, hear.) Then, after this, sugar, another
great monopoly, was attacked. Sugar was four times as
dear about 1840 as it is now, and if the monopoly had
continued it most have been much more than four
times as dear as it is now. The monopoly in timber
Wag abolished. The monopoly in ships was abolished.
*din the same party who objected to your having
'cue bread free objected to your having sugar free, or
tinah.
but—.r free, or ships free. They were not only wrong',
*Loy were unjust and cruel to the last ((Wen In

the course they took with regard to all these questions.
(Hear, hear.) I might go into the question of the
newspaper stamp and the question of the paper duty.
lon recollect that when the House of Commons by a
Large majority had agreed to repeal the paper duty,
and to make )our penny press as admirable as it was
possible, the House of Lords, under the pretence that
they could correct the financial arrangements of Mr.
Gladstone, rejected the Bill and continued the tax.
There was another thing that the Tory party did in
accordance with their constant policy on all these
questions where the interests of the people were
directly concerned.

After alluding to the Ballot, the Irish Church and Irish
Land Bills, and some other topics, Mr. Bright concluded his
speech by saying
believe that at home we have much to do. Now our
eyes are directed to foreign countries, to wars afar off,
to the sufferings of our own countrymen, and to the
more c.ppalling sufferings they are inflicting on the
populations of those countries—(hear, hear)—our eyes
are being opened to our real interests. It is for the
members of this club, for members of the Liberal party
throughout the kingdom, to make up their minds that
at the hour which is coming there shall be such a pro-
clamation of opinion on the part of the universal con-
stituencies that they will fix for ever the mark of their
condemnation upon the policy of the last four or five
years. (Long and continued cheering).
Mr. Chamberlain, M.P., who was enthusiastically
received, said be had been asked to propose " Success
to the Liberal cause," and he did it with hope and
d
confidence, for he saw in that meeting, and in the r
cumstances which had brought them together, hapoy
augurics for the future. He proceeded to congratulate
the Liberals on moving in the right direction, and
said they had a definite object in view, and he believed
that they would be found to be a united party at the
next election.