The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-07-11 00:00:00

Rlistchneous
HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL

A DIGGER'S WEDDING. —A very curious cir-
cumstance recently occurred at a "digger's wedding,"
at Ballarat. The brideeroom on arriving at church
waited for some time, but all in vain, for the coming
of his bide, upon whom he had liberally lavished
some £1.50 or MO in jewellery, dresses, dtc., and it at
last became evident to him that she had no intention of
keeping her appointment. This being the case, and
being desirous of not having his journey and trouble
all to no purpose, he proposed to one of the brides-
maids—to whom he had previously made a tender of
his hand and heart, but who had rejected him —that
she should reconsider her refusal. Admirin.7, probably,
the philosophic spirit displayed by our friend, the
sing lady did reconsider, and retracted her refusal ;
and, tipparently very much to the satisfaction of both,
and certainly to the amusement of those present, they !
were made limn and wife.
A T rEMrTe D MCRDEft., --The Not ingliam, Ex-
prom reports a daring and diabolical attempt to murder
at Newark, early on Satanist), morning. A ticket-of-
leave man effected an entrance into the house of an
old man, who is bnown to have a considerable sum of
money, and who prefers being his own banker. A
struggle ensued, and the desperado endeavoured to cut
the man's throat, but the old gentleman, who
is a cripple, used his crutch with such viginir,
that he not only kept himself out of harm's
way of the knife, but he alai struck it into the
ruffian's band, causing hint to make off with his hand
bleeding profusely. He has been apprehended, and
committed on a charge of attempt to murder.
•

DEATH OF A MORMON SAINT.— Heber C.
Kimball, the distinguished saint, and second president
of the Mormon church, died at Salt Lake City, U tah,
recently. He was a native of Vermont, in which
State he was born on the 14th of June, 1801. In 1832
he became a convert to Mormonism, and followed the
fortunes of Joseph Smith, the "pr Thet," with marked
fidelity. He soon attained a high position and was
sent to England on the first mission. Here he met
with considerable succesis, making many converts and
influencing them to emigrate to the 'United States.
After holding various positions in the "church " he
eventually became one if its three presidents, Brigham
V ming and D. H. Wells being the other two. His
family is a large one, his wives and children numbering,
at last accounts, sixty persons.
FATAL Exmoswer.— An inquest has been held
in Accrington, on the body of a collier named Parker,
a miner, who was killed by an explosion of gunpowder
at Cat Hall pit. It appeared from the evidence that
deceased and Richard Hoyle were engaged in making
a road in the mine, and had drilled a hole alsint 21,fin.
long. This was filled with powder, and afterwards
sonic wadding AVM put in, and the two men began to
ram the charge home. Parker was holding th iron rain.
user and Hoyle was striking it with a hammer, when
an explosion occurred, killing Parker on the spot, a d
burning Hoyle so severely on the face that he was
unable to attend the inquest on Satunlay. The ex-
plosion was supposed to have arisen through souse loose
powder being scattered in the hole and ignit d by a
spark from the ramrod striking the rock. Mr. Dickin-
son, Government inspector of mines, was present, and
he stated that several deaths had been caused in a like
manner last year, and he had issued instructions in
January to every coal proprietor recommending the
use of copper or oaken stemmers. This recommenda-
tion had not been carried out. The jury returned a
verdict of "Acci lental death," coupled with a recom-
mendation that copper or Wooden stemnners slicedd be
used in future, and the manager of the mines said they
would be adopted. Parker leaves a widow and one
chili.
KING THEODORE'S BIBLE.—Mr. Birchall has
kindly placed at the disposal of the executive committee
of the Leeds Exhibition, during a limited period, a
most interesting manuscript Bible, which belonged to
King Theodore, and a chain used for the confinement
of one of the English captives at.Magdala, also a brass
cannon ball and shell fired from that fortress, and an
album left at Magdala by one of the German prisoners.
They were all taken at Magdala by Major Leveson,
and will, no doubt, create great interest. The
manuscript Bible contains the Psalms, the Canticles
or Biblical Hymns, ihe Song of Songs, the Weildwie
Maryam, or Encomium of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
in diviiions for the days of the week ; and the Gospel
of St. John, followed by some short services. The
book is illustrated by pictures of St. George and the
Dragon, the Virgin and Child, the Presentath in in the
Temple, the Resurrection, with Adam and Eve, the
Scourging of our Lord, our Saviour bearing the Cross,
Pontius Pilate, the Entombment, Claudius King of
Abyssinia, and several other pictures well worthy of
notice.
HORRIBLE MURDER IN AN HOSPITAL—A
curious incident is related in the Rigiathe Zielung.
Dr. Frederic Keller, a native of Dorrat, who has
been practising in his profession at Catherinoslaff
during the past year, in the course of his duties went
to inspect the sick in the prison hospital, and ap-
proached the bedside of a Georgian soldier who was
lying dangerously ill, and with his own hand gave him
the prescribed draught. Immediately afterwards he
turned his back upon the sick soldier, and began to
examine the patient in the next bed. At this moment
the Georgian suddenly lifted himself up, seized the
zinc eerie, au (on which in Russian hospitals the name
of the patient and the character of his malady are in-
scribed, and which is hung at the beithead), and
struck Dr. Keller two blows on the head with such
violence that his skull was fractured, and he died seven
hours after. The soldier, too, died immediately
after committing this unaccountable act, some hours
before his victim.
A C i7AFORTING ASSURANCE ! Darjon, prin-
cipal clerk of the Lyon and Mediterranean Railway,
is now before the Correctional Tribunal, charged with
I embeazling 700,0 0 francs. A friend of his, or-e M.
Desgranges, an engineer engaged in constructing rail-
ways in Austria, remitted to him, from time to time,
the sum named for investment, and the prisoner sent
him accounts representing that the money was pro-
perly invested, whereas he hail speculated on the
Bourse and lost it all. Darjon had the impudence to
beg his "dear Desgranges " not to be unduly con.
cerned, and suggested that if he would only aavance
sufficient funds to operate upon the Bourse again, there
was every probability that within a reasonable time,
"say three years from the Ist of April nest," he would
get all his money back."
DREADFUL DEATH.--The Union de to Sarthe
relates the following
The Abbe :tab.'', vicar of Senenchea, had been appointed to
the church of Saint-Denis-des-Pulta, in the Canton of La
Loupe. Three inhabitants at the latter place arrived at
ftenonches to remove his tarlatan. When un the point if
starting the Abbe placed seine bottles of cider in a corner of
one of the waggons to refresh the men on the journey, and
will 11mI.. levaglet a mak" bible, well mewed wed