The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-09-25 00:00:00

Cli all C 0 115 4ntelligente.

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

CONTINUED INCREASE OF IMMIGRATION TO NEW
YORK.—The New York Tribune says :—" The same
busy scenes which were common at Castle Garden in
May and June, when the average arrivals of immi-
grants were nearly 2,000 daily, may still be witnessed,
as since September began immigrants have arrived in
much larger numbers than for two months previous.
The immigrants are mostly German, and all bear evi-
dence of being an industrious and rugged class, with
plans made for their future before leaving home. It
is added that immigration is now more systematic than
ever before, and very few arrive who have not settled
upon their destination and employment, and who do
not fully understand the nature and the developments
of that part of the country whither they are bound."

LOCOMOTION IN BERLIN.—At the end of the year
1879 there were in Berlin 4,609 droshkies of all kinds
for the conveyance of passengers—viz. 1,508 of the
first and 3,101 of the second class, besides 180 for the
conveyance of luggage. The number of omnibuses
was 166, being 16 less than in the previous year ; but
the number of tramway cars was 381, being an in-
crease of 69. The licensed proprietors of all these
various vehicles number 2,347 individuals, besides six
companies. The total number of licensed drivers was
6,958, of whom, however, only 4,900 were in actual
work.'
THE HONEY HARVEST IN ZERTHSHIRE.—LAst year
the honey harvest in Perthshire was almost a complete
failure, and bee-men were much disheartened at the
result. The breedin,, stock at the close of the season
was small, and the sOeps.were much reduced in con-
dition. In maty of the apiaries only a skep or two
existed, where formerly at the same period they might
have been counted by the dozen. A constant appli-
cation of the feeder was needed throughout the
winter, and considerable expense was incurred before
the bees were brought to seek for themselves. The
prospects of 1880 were doubtful even at the end of
May, but the bees multiplied rapidly in June, and by the
Bth of July the old hives had swarmed twice and some
three times—a railer unusual occurrence—and it was
remarked that not a few of the thirds were superior to
either the first or seconds. In filling the combs the
bees did not come up to the expectation on the clovers,
neither were the flowers so good as they looked, but
extremely satisfactory results were obtained from the
heather, which came into bloom about the Ist of
August. Cups are filled and replaced and filled again,
and now the skeps, after drumming, are found to turn
the scale on 551 b. Heavier weights there are, but the
general run is from 501 b. to 601 b. The price varies in
different localities, but, as a rule, old comb honey is
Bd. • dript, 11d. ; and white combs, in globes for the
table, is. 4d. per lb.—Edinburgh Daily Review.

THE PRINCE OF WALES AT A GROUSE DRIVE.—
Mr. Mackenzie, of Kintail, had a grouse drive at
Glenmuick, near Ballater, on Tuesday, at which were
present his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales,
Prince John of Glucks burg, Mr. Mackenzie; of Kin-
tail, Mr. Allan Mackenzie, Mr. Pigot, the Marquis
of Huntley, Lord Colville Lord Holmesdale, Lord
Duplin, Hon. E. Arundel, Colonel Keith Fraser,
Captain Paget, Mr. Mansfield, Mr. Wyllie, and Mr.
Cole. The wind was very high, and the birds were
difficult to reach; the bag amounted to 107 'head of
grouse.
THE WHEAT SUPPLY.—The Graphic says :—" The
grave differences of opinion prevailing about a month
ago seem to have subsided, .and the British wheat crop
is now fairly generally reckoned at 11,000,000 quarters,
of which 1,000,000 quarters will be wanted for seed,
leaving 10,000,000 quarters for consumption. Imports of
about 13,500,000 quarters would be required to balance
demand. Last cereal year we received of wheat and
flour a total of about 16,500,000 quarters. We are not
likely to receive a much smaller supply in 1880-1. Can
the country support a surplus import of 3,000,000
quarters without a dangerous depression of prices?
We think it ought to be so able; for stocks of foreign
wheat and old English wheat are probably lower by
fully 3,000,000 quarters than is usually the case at the
beginning of a new cereal year. Present prices for new
English wheat are decidedly low, but the farmers are
partly to blame for this, seeing that many of them
have both harvested and threshed with too great
haste."

A NOVEL PROPOSITION.—A fashional:le Boston
tailor has hit upon a novel plan of gratifying his cus-
tomers with as many suits of clothes as they may feel
inclined to wear at a very large reduction from fashion-
able prices. He offers to supply three suits a year
for 117 dols., four suits for 143 dols., five suits for 162
dols., while for 200 dols. per annum he will agree to let
them have as many suits of clothes as they may choose
to wear, the old suits to be returned, and the customer
to have the privilege of two suits at a time. -Under
the first three propositions the cost of each suit would
be 39 dols., 35 dols., 50 cents and 32 dole. 50, respectively,
the customer retaining the clothes. Under the last pro-
position the customer may have ten or more suits a
year at a cost of 20 dols. or less for each suit, on the
simple condition of exchanging the suits that have
been worn for new ones.

BENEVOLENT.-"I gave him a good start," as the
ghost said, when he had frightened a little boy.
P anch. _ _

GREAT SWIMMING MATCH.—In London, on Monday
morning, one of the most exciting races ever witnessed'
was swum in the Serpentine, Hyde Park. The match
was truly a sporting affair, and between 1,500 and
2,000 persons assembled on the banks and afloat to
witness it, a vast amount of money depending on the
result. The match was between Walter Kennedy, of
Chelsea, and John Weede, of Brompton, who had
agreed to swim 500 yards for a silver cup, value k!,20,
and a bet of IMO a-side. Shortly after half-past seven
the men took up their positions at the head of their
respeciive boats, and all being in readiness, they were
at once sent on their journey by the referee. Weede
was the first to show in front, and amidst the greatest
excitement, held it for about 300 yards, when the
Chelsea man began to draw upon him, and got level a
hundred yards further on, and going away, eventually
won, amidst great enthusiasm, by eight yards. Time,
8 minutes, 25 seconds.
RECRUITS FOR THE ARMY.—A new form of attesta-
tion is being issued from the War Office to supersede
the one which has been hitherto used in enlisting
recruits for the army. In addition to the usual ques-
tion, "Have you ever served in the army?" etc., the
-
'recruit is to be asked, "Have you ever been dis-
charged with ignominy, or as inc:)mpetent and worth-
less, from the regular forces, or from any portion of
the auxiliary forces when subject to military 'law, or
from the reserve forces? Or have you been dismissed
with disgrace from the navy?" To this question is
added the warning., "And you are warned that there
is a special provision in the Army Discipline and
Regulation Act which renders you liable to penal
servitude if you are convicted of making
a false
answer to this
,question." The question, ...Are you
an apprentice? now reads, "Are you, or have you
been an apprentice; if so, when, where, and for what
period ? " and most of the other questions have been
amplified inlike manner.

SHEEP REARING IN AUSTRALIA.—Few Englishmen
have any idea of the magnitude of the operations
carried on by the leading Australian sheep farmers,
and.the labour and expense attendant on the working
of a large station. Some statistics of the shearing at
Burrawang, one of Messrs. Edols and Co.'s stations
in New South Wales, may be of interest. The past
season's shearing lasted
.ten weeks, and was finished
the first week in December, by which time 206,123
sheep had been deprived of their flceces. To do the
work 100 shearers, in addition to the station hands,
were employed, and in a single day as many as 8,316
sheep were shorn.—Wool.
THE ONLY SORT OF JET THAT IS NOT BLACK.—A
gas "jet."—Funny Folks.
HARDY FRUIT GARDEN.—Among the most neglected
of our most useful hardy fruits may be enumerated
the gooseberries and currants in their several varie-
ties. Neglected, because they are allowed to occupy
the same plot of ground for years until the soil is
actually worn out, and the crops deteriorate in conse-
quence as well as the trees. Now is a good time to
give such matters consideration. It is not necessary to
destroy trees if they are at all worth keeping, but it
will infuse new life into them to have them trans-
planted into quarters of fresh soil. Such operations
have to be anticipated if there is to be anything like
system in a garden, because changes affect the arrange-
ments for crops other than those immediately con-
cerned. In preparing for such contingencies the soil
should have early consideration, in order that it may
be in a fit state for planting when the proper time
arrives.—Gardener's Chronicle.
A MINE OF WEALTH.—An Australian quartz mine
at Stowell, the Pleasant Creek Cross Reef Claim,
yielded 296,8370 z. of gold between the Ist of January,
1870, and the 30th of June, 1880. The value of the
gold was £1;106,152. The wages paid amounted to
£187,988, and the sum of £725,742 was paid in divi-
dends to the company of proprietors.

UNHEALTHY EMPLOYMENT.—The oceupation of a
Reviewer. At his best, when at work, he is always in
a critical condition.—Punch.
A LIVING BATTERY !—lt is a well-known fact that
there are persons occasionally to be met with so
charged with electricity that when touched by any
one a perceptible shock is communicated to the indi-
vidual brought into contact with them (says the Even-
ing Standard). The most extraordinary case of this
nature is undoubtedly that of a young lady residing
in a Canadian town who, if the statements made con-
cerning her are to be relied on, is nothing less than a
living battery. During two years she was an invalid,
suffering from some mysterious complaint to which
the faculty could give no precise name. She has now
recovered and enjoys perfect health, but remains
charged with electricity to an incredible degree. No
one can shake hands with her without receiving
a shock; if a person puts his hand in a pail of
water where hers is, the same sensation is felt.
'When hands are joined together she is able to
communicate a shock to fifteen or twenty people
assembled in the same room; and, besides, this
remarkable young lady possesses the attractive powers
of a magnet. If she stretches out her hand to take up
a knife the blade attaches itself to her magnetic fingers
ere she can grasp the handle; needles cling so tena-
ciously to her finger-tips that she can do no needle-
work. When she enters a drawing-room every one
present is at once susceptible of her influence • some
fall asleep, others are seized with sudden indisposi-
tion; others are in a state of nervous agitation until
she leaves the room. The lightest touch of her hand
sends off a child, however fractious into a deep sleep,
and animals cannot resist her influence. A favourite
dog of her parents will, it is stated, remain for hours
at her feet as motionless as though he were dead. If
there is no exaggeration in the accounts given of this
young electric American lady she is certainly a pheno•
menon, and were she in humble circumstances she
might easily earn her living by simply giving seances
of hand-shaking.
THE FOLLIES OF FASHION,—" A good large volume
might be written on the follies of fashion, and the
origin of a few of her extravagancies. Look at the
great quantity of yellow or coffee coloured lace, net,
and frilling now worn; and this fashionable colour, a
lady informs me, originated in a silly woman's foolish
vow. Isabella, the wife of the Archduke Albert, and
the daughter of King Philip 11., declared that she
would not change her linen until Ostend was taken.
The siege, as we all know, continued for three years
(unfortunately, I should say, for her grace's pel sonal
comfort and bodily health), but she kept her vow, and
the colour of the Archduchess's linen gave rise to the
then called L'lsabeau whitish-yellow dingy hue tilw
worn by our own followers of fashion."—" ArguF," in
Land and Water.

A PROTRACTED INN-QUEST.—Lcoking out for a
hotel at a fashionable overcrowded Watering-place.—
Punch.

ROMAN REMAINS IN THE ISLE OF WIGHT.—An
addition has been recently made to the historical
attractions of the Isle of Wight by the discovery of a
Roman villa on Morton Farm, near Brading. The
first discovery is due to Captain Thorpe, of Yarbridge,
near Brading, whose acquaintance with the neigh-
bourhood led him to investigations which have proved
of considerable value. The external walls, as at pre-
sent cleared, measure about 52 feet by 37 feet, and
enclose about six chambers with passages, &c., con-
nected, .as there is reason to believe, with many
others, the numbers, position, and character of which
it is sought to discover. In addition to tesselated
flooring, remains of hypocausts, flues, fresco paint-
ings, roofing tiles, coins, pottery, and other relics,
there are the remains of a mosaic pavement, with a
design upon it of an unusual character. The remains
evidently cover a large area of ground, much of which
is under cultivation, but every facility for investiga-
tion has been accorded by Lady Oglander, the owner
of the estate and Mr. Cooper the present occupier.
Excavations have accordingly been renewed and
already a new chamber has been discovered, enclosing
an interesting mosaic, the central design of which is a
figure of Orpheus playing on the lyre surrounded by
animals. Illustrations of the guilloche pattern' pot-
tery, of glass, and coins have also been found and
among the latter are examples in brass of the reign of
Victorinus, A.D., 268. The investigations are of con-
siderable interest as bearing on the occupation of the
island by the Romans.
ANY AMOUNT—REWARD! ! !—Just at the last
moment an invisible individual rang the bell and left
the following Ouery.and Answer in our post-box :
Q. Why should an Auctioneer be a melancholy per-
son? A. Because he is always in a more-bid state.—
Anyone giving information that shall lead to the
detection of the perpetrator of this outrage, shall
receive the above reward.—Punch.'
EXPORTS OF IRON.—An official statement compiled
from Customs-house sources has been drawn up of Vhe
exports of pig, bar, and rail iron exported from Eng-
land, Scotland, and Wales during the past month. It
appears that Middlesbrough is at the head of the ports
shipping iron abroad, having shipped 39,264 tons last
month; Barrow-in-Furness takes the second place with
26,805 tons; and then follow Liverpool, 24,683 tons;
Glasgow, 22,797 tons; Newport, 17,223 tons; Cardiff,
12,283 tons; Newcastle, 6,766- tons; Whitehaven,
4,840 tons; West Hartlepool, 4,043 tons; Ardrossan,
2,801 tons; Hull, 2,207 tons; Grangemouth, 2,326
tons; and other ports in much smaller quantities.
The large quantity of iron sent from Middlesbrough
is chiefly pig iron; both Newport, Monmouth, and
Barrow having exceeded that port in the quantity of
rail iron sent abroad ; while Liverpool takes the lead
in the shipment of bar iron to foreign ports.
THE HARVEST. Monday's Magnet says: "The
heavy rainfall of the past week came too late to
exercise much damage upon the crops, nearly the
whole of them having been secured, but it has been of
great benefit to the -soil, which, owing to the late
rather protracted drought, had become very parched.
So far as can be gathered • the th+shing machine
is showing that the wheat Is not tinting out so well
as was expected, still the yield On the whole is a good
one."

AUSTRALIAN WINTER.—A dispatCh from Brisbane
gives an account of the weather in Queensland to the
end of July, and says The winter, so far, con-
tinues to be extremely cold for Queensland. On the
downs there are nightly frosts of considerable severity,
and the hoar frosts in the southern coast districts are
sharp enough also. Even on the tropical line the
temperature inland has been very low, as much as 10
degrees of frost having been reported by a correspon-
dent of the Courier. These extreme records are only
for a few hours before sunrise, but quite thick sheets
of ice on buckets, pools, and even small ponds of
water have been common sights to early risers in most
parts of southern and central Queensland for weeks
past. The grass has suffered ; it is looking all brown
and withered. The cane, it is feared, has been badly
touched. However, the Darling Downs farmers are
rejoicing over a probable immunity from rust last
summer." It is worth notice, also, that the Natal
Mercury reports snow in August upon the hills seen
from Maritzburg,—" fields of snow stretching away in
every direction towards the Drakensberg." .
A NEW VINE.—A French explorer, M. Lecart,
who is at present on the banks of the Niger, writes
home from " Koundian (Gangaran), July 25," that
he has discovered a new vine, which promises to be
(if great economical value. He says the fruit of the
.altl
au
lb. e rlots ec a
la], ihnel c
ietrirveantisaili, a s Nre-
si y iatss
vine is excellent and abundaut, its cultivation very
a rr
are bearsayn'ehietss
the dahlia. He himself had been eating the large
grapes of the vine for eight days, and found them excel-
lent, and he suggests that its culture ought to be at-
tempted in all vine-growing countries, as a possible
remedy against thePhylloxera.H •h
0. e is sending home seeds
for experiment, both in France and Algeria, and will
bring home specimens of the plant at all stages. It
was not without danger that M. Lecart has been able
to make this discovery, as he states that the people of
the Soudan are in a state of great excitement and
apprehension at the many attempts of white people to
penetrate into their country. • The story of the last
expedition sent by France into the south of Algeria
has spread to all parts, and the conviction of the
natives is that the travellers are collecting information
preparatory to conquest. Perhaps the natives .are not
very far wrong.
ENGLISH GADIE.—On a fine August afternoon, before
the wheat is cut, I like to sit on a stile among the
cornfields and plantations to see the partridge sur-
rounded by her - brood, and to watch the various furred-
air
and feathered creatures coming outt o feed. The
is so still that you can hear the corn rustle as the
hare gently steals throughip,and_t.he only sound you
catch' o t
besides the voices f he birds is the distant
they
e
rumbling of the waggons where have just begun
to carry the oats• h y
After you have sat for a while the
rabbits begin to emerge again from the opening on
your right, and you watch them over the hedge
nibbling the sweet, dewy grass, andindulging in every
kind of gambol. On the ditch bank, some twenty
yards off, stands a stately cock pheasant, with that
peculiar meditative air characteristic of the tribe.
What a fine fellow he is; what gorgeous colouring!
what gleaming plumage! well worthy to be worn on
the helmets of Indian kings, and to match the jewelled
war belts. Again, you are startled by a commotion
just behind you—a great screaming and whirring and
piping—and you look round just in time to see a covey
of small partridges, led by the old hen, fly
.quickly
over the hedge to your left and plump down into the
standing corn. They have been disturbed by some-
thing in an adjoining field, and have taken refuge in
their natiVe Cover. The old bird calls anxiously for a
minute or two till she finds that all her chicks are
safe, and then all is still.—Cornhill Magazine.

A MONSTER PAINTING.—In London, on Tuesday,
by order of the Lord Mayor, a painting 100 feet long
and 30 feet deep, was hung in the Guildhall, to remain
on view during the week. The picture, which con-
tains upwards of 1,000 figures, is a representation of
the Battle of Agincourt, and was painted by Sir
Robert Kerr Porter (the painter of the Siege of Ser-
incrapatam) when 19 years of age, and was, about
the year 1819, presented by him to the Corpora-
tion of the City of London. It has occasionally
been utilised as a screen at the. Mansion
House, where it has been deposited amongst
other civic lumber, but owing to its immense size it
has been found necessary to cut it into three sections.
The centre piece, which is 51 feet long, represents the
battle at its height, while the side pieces are each 20
feet long. The one on the right pourtrays the retreat
of the French army, whilst the left is a beautiful
landscape with a portion of the English army ad
o- -
vancin through a well wooded and watered country
to give battle to the foe. As it is impossible to find
space for the picture as a whole, a committee has been
appointed to consider the advisability of mounting it
in sections, and also the desirability of cleaning and
restoring it.
MoRE QUEER QUERIES. By Our Own Queer, One.
—Should you be inclined to say that "jumping at
conclusions" is a good game for this hot weather.—
Are quick-set hedges always planted in haste ?—Would
it be quite correct to describe sending a ten pound
note by post as "doing things by halves? "—Should
you be right in saying that taxing oneself is a "work
of supererogation ? "—Would it really and truly be
quite proper to describe most ladies as patrons of the
ring? "—lt is very odd, but it is nevertheless quite
true, that a few good misses frequently make a thea-
trical hit. How do you account for this ?—Judy.
A NEW TORPEDo.—Captain Ericsson, the well-
known American inventor, has just perfected a
torpedo which will, it is considered by competent
American judges, reviilutionise the Conditions of naval
warfare. The weight,of the new torpedo is said to be
1,281/b. It is 19ft. in length and 15in. in diameter, re-
sembling in shape a huge cigar. In its head it carries a
charge of 230 of dynamite, an amount sufficient, it
may be allowed, to destroy any vessel against which
it may strike. The bulk of the torpedo is of solid
wood. It contains no machinery for self-propulsion,
but is fired from a gun, and may therefore be regarded
as an entirely elongated shell rather than as a torpedo.
It is stated that the trials that have taken place show
that the torpedo can be fired with great accuracy, and
that it continues its course in the water without de-
viation.
A BRITISH OFFICER KILLED BY A BEAR.—Mr. Pen-
gelley, of the Forest Department, was killed by 3
black bear on the 29th of July, in the Chumba Forest,
Punjaub. The following are the details :—He was
out in camp with his wife, in the hills beyond Chumba,
on the road to Pangi. About 5 a.m. on Thursday the
22th, he was awakened by his servants with the news
that a black bear was in a neighbouring Indian corn
field. He hurried out, found the bear and wounded
it. He followed it up for an hour when at last it
took refuge in a cave immediately over a deep precipice.
His attendants begged Mr. Pengelley not to follow it
up further, as the place was most dangerous, and the
animal was certain to attack. He would not take the
warning, but pushed along a narrow path, accom-
panied only by a fox terrier he had with him. None
of his people would go after him. They remained
some way off above him. It appears that the fox
terrier " Vix" attacked the bear at the mouth of the
cave, and was torn to pieces at once. The bear then
came straight at Mr. Pengelley. It is not known
exactly what followed; but Mr. Pengelley's body was
found 300 or 400 feet below where he had been stand-
ing, quite dead, and the bear had escaped. There
was no mark whatever on the body to show that the
bear had hugged, clawed, or bitten him. It can only
be supposed that the animal must have pushed hica
off the narrow ledge on which he was standing, either
in attacking or in rushing past him. Mr. Pengelley
was evidently taken aback, and had not time to,fire.
His body was brought into Chumba next day.
ANECDOTE OF LABLACHE.—M. Ernes Legouvd, ifl
the Temps, recounts an anecdote of Lablache. Lablache
as a young man had assigned to him the role of
Frederick the Great, and made the part a careful repro-
duction of that monarch's looks and habits. "A very
good imitation," said the critic, "of Frederick's bear-
ing and walk, and even of his features, but why did
you apt take snuff? That was one of his habits." "
was constantly snuffing," responded Lablache in-
dignantly. Yes, but not at the right moment.
When the wife of the disobedient officer threw herself
at the feet of the king to ask for meicy, all eyes are
fixed upon the king to see what he will do. If at that
moment before replying you had taken a pinch of snuff
it would have sufficed for all the rest of the piece.
You reproduced the habit of the king, but without
giving it force and life."

THE LION As AN EMBLEM.--Writing in Land and
Water, Mr. Frank Buckland says ' The reason
why the lion is so often taken as an emblem in Eng-
land dates, I should think, from the days of heraldry, ,
when our ancest9rs covered themselves completely in _
armour, and when going into action they pulled down
a portion of the helmet over the face, so that these
gentlemen Could not be distinguished by friend or foe.
They therefore put on to the helmet the figure of
some animal, such as a dragon, talbat, hound, lion,
etc. These cognizances, as I think they were called,
may be seen on the helmets of the Knights of the
Garter over the stalls in St. Ge,,,rge's Chapel at
Windsor, and also over the stalls of the Knights of
the Bath in Westminster Abbey. In fact, these
cognizances answered very much the same purpose as
do the various coloured jackets and caps as worn bY
the jockeys in races and steeplechases of the present
day."
" WINGED ! "—First Gael. "What's the matters . •
Tonal ? "—Second Ditto (who had been out with Old
Briggs). "Matter ! Hur legs is .full o' shoots !
Punch.
THE LONGEST BRIDGE IN THE WORLD.— The neW
bridge which has been built for the Orenburg Rail-
way over the Volga, at a distance of 17 versts from
Syzran, in the Saratov government is now completed,
and exceeds in length all other bridges yet coll.'
s cructed. The great bridge at Sloerdyk, over the
Hollandsch Diet), near the mouth of the Maas, in the
Netherlands which has hitherto been reputed the
longest in the world, is shorter than this Volga bridge
by six metres. The length of this new bridge is stated
to he 1362986 yards. Its building was commenced on
August 17, 1877, so that it has taken just three years
to finish. The cost has been nearly £694,500. 5,149
tons of iron have been employed in the construction.
The bridge rests on 13 arches, and the plans were
prepared by Professor Beleloubsky, of St. Peters'
burg. The Russian papers boast that neither Eng-
land, France, Germaxy, nor even America have
built such long bridges as their own country. The
Netherlands come next to Russia in this respect.
After this new Volga bridge and the Dutch bridge,
at Moerdyk, over the Hollandsch Diep, already men'
tioned, the next longest bridges are the two over the
Dnieper, at Kiev and Krementschok respectively, in
the government of Pultova, the former of which Is
1;182 yards, and the latter 1,065 yards 2ift., long.
Then comes the bridge over the Waal, at Bommel, Ui
the Dutch province of Gelderland, 1,002 yards in
length. Next in length is the greaiMississippi bridge,
connecting East St. Louis with St. Louis, whioh was
built between 1869 and 1874, and cost ten millions of
dollars, or almost three times as much as the neW
Russian bridge ; it is 844 yards long, and rests on onlY
three arches, the middle one having a span of 158
metres. The bridge near the mouth of the Vistula, at
Dirschan, ill East Prussia, follows, and the Dutch
railway bridge over the Lek, at Kuilenburg, on the
line between Utrecht and Boxtel, which is 761 yards
long. Next comes the Britannia Tubular Bridge
which is more remarkable for its admirable construc-
tion than its length—almost 608 yards 2ft. The bridge
between Praga and Warsaw, 555 yards long, comes,
next; and then the fine Alexander-bridge' only finishen,
last year, between the Finland bank of the Neva and
St. Petersburg, which is 447 yards long, considerably,
less than a third of the length of the new Volga
bridge.
LOVE SUPERIOR TO FORTUNE. Writing frac'
Philadelphia, a correspondent of Notes and QuerieS
relates the following anecdote :—" Nathaniel Macon,
of North Carolina, was longer in the service of the
State than any native of it. He was born in 17579
and was in Princeton College, N.J. when the revolu-
tionary wat broke out an suspended the studies of
all the undergraduates. He enlisted as a private, and
whilst absent with the army was elected to the
Leislature without his knowledge. SubseauentlY
he was elected to the U.S. House of Repre-.
sentatives, and was afterwards in the Senate
of the United States, of which body he was
repeatedly President pro tens. He was i"
Conv,ress 37 years, and in 1824 received the vote of
Virginia, for "Vice President of the United States.
The following is the account given of his marriaga bY
one of the historians of North Carolina (Colonel John
H. Wheeler.) While on a visit to Miss Hannah
Plummer he met with another of her suitors at her
house. He proposed to his rival, in the presence of
Miss Plummer, that they should play a game of cards
for her hand. This was agreed to. Macon lost'
upon which, raising his hands, with his eyes beaming
with affection, he exclaimed, "Hannah, I have lost
you fairly,,but love is superior to fortune ! I cannot
give you up; I love'you yet." This frank condUCts
h e said, secured him the hand of the lady.

A HEROINE IN HUMBLE LIFE.—A rare example of

constancy, courage, and devotion combined has just
been furnished by a brave young peasant woman'
born and bred in a remote hamlet of the Vosges (saY° '
the Evening Standard). Marie Hagart, this heroine •
in humble life, bade adieu to her husband sol3e
months since and saw him start for the great eitY, :
of Paris in the hope of obtaining employmen' -
there. But almost upon hkarrival in the capital he
fell ill, and being without either funds or friends vie,-5
taken to the Hospital de in Pitie. The news of Ins .
illness reached the hamlet where his wife live in
course of time, and the latter, listening only t°
the promptin,,s of her heart, determined t°
join her sick husband at once. She Nva'°
. ,
utterly destitute. To travel by rail was, there-
fore, out of the question; so she started on foot ,
with a baby ill her arms, just two francs in her pocket,'
and a journey of a hundred and three leagues before
her. Braving hardships of every description, sleeping
by the roadside or in the fields, and lvin on wh,n;
scraps of food she could obtain on the way, she preset)"
onwards nothing daunted for the city where her
husband lay sick. She had lost her way several tirnee,
her clothing was in rags, her shoes were gone, but her
courage remained undiminished, until a few evening°
ago when, footsore and weary, she found herself nt
Charentin, when she sunk down in the street
overcome by her sufferings, exhausted front,
want of food, exclaiming faintly, "Mon Dieu-
I can go no further." Mother and child WI
conveyed to the police-station, revived, warmed, any
tended, after which the poor woman related in a fel,
shnple words her touching story, seemingly astonishe;
that those who listened to her should have been mov'en,,
to express admiration for her conduct. Kindly person!
offered the young woman the assistance and sheltert
her forlorn position required, but her absorbing thong
IIA
was to obtain news of the man for whom she lle"
travelled sotfar. The police commissary undertook
satisfy her on this point, arid a few hours later en;
learnt that he whom she had walked so 'many leagiler
to see had expired in the hospital ward twenty- foil
hours before her arrival.

INCIDENTS OF THE WRECK OF THE
"VERA CRUZ."
The following account is given by Mason Talbot, a sea-
of the wreck of the Vera Cruz (i wisoden itearnsiiip
PlYing between New York, Havannah, and Mexican ports)
on the 29th of August, off the coast of Florida. Of the 79
Person on board 68 were supposed to be lost, including
among them General Torbert, ex-Consul at Paris, a Union
_cavalry officer. The ship was in a hurricane all Saturday
Lught, and Talbot says _
"When day broke it was determined to abandon
the ship,
as the water had gained so rapidly in the
hold during the night that it was evident she could
not long remain afloat. One of the boats was swung
over the side and manned with a crew. Then pas-
sengers tumbled into her as best they could. 'When
she was filled the signal to let go was given. The boat
went down with a run, but before she had gone 10ft.
the side of the ship coming up with a roll struck it,
and those who were not crushed to death outright were
dropped, half stunned into the sea, where they were
drowned before our eyes. It was a pitiful sight to see
t.letn struggling, almost within our grasp, and then
disappear one after another beneath the waters.
Another boat was got ready, and was let off in the
same manner. It, too, was ground to splinters against
the ship's side, and its occupants met with the same
fate as those in the first boat.
"Meantime, the steamer was found to be slowly
settling. Every sea shook her from end to end, and if
She had not been as stiff and strong as she was, she
I,lmust have been wrenched to pieces during the night.
Those who now remained aboard were so completely
unnerved by the horrible sights which they had seen,
and the shrieks of the drowning, that they refused to
enter one of the boats. The captain and some of the
c'Eficers were in one of the boats. It was about 5.30
o'clock when they went over the side. Such a scene I
never before witnessed as that now presented. Men and
Women. were in the cabin praying and shrieking and
hereanamg. All of a sudden there was a snapping sound
Eta of many timbers giving way, and a shock that
Was felt all over the vessel. She had broken com-
Pletely in two. She gave one or two plunges, the water
rushed in through the wide-open seams and cracks,
find the next minute the Vera Cruz went down, carry-
ing all on board. I was clinging to the deck and was
[lucked down with the vessel. I came to the surface,
breathless and choking with the salt water I had
!wallowed. Then one person and another came to the
grasping wildly for something to support them.
.;,iflo water was dotted with their heads and was filled
With heavy pieces of wreck. Some of them were
struck by this stuff, and so much stunned that they
4.l%ent down again, never to come up. I saw one or
?fc) women drowned in this way. I got hold of a
'`ene of the wreck, but the sea tore it away from me,
then tossed it back again as if to tantalize me.
Ili Was
I first came to the surface, the water around
Was thick with human beings. Some of them
,„,'"
ght me, and I had to dive to get rid of their
.5'11). I did this in several cases. I had to do the
same thing to avoid pieces of wreck that had bolts
sticking out of them. Whoever was struck by
°lle of these bolts was sure to be so maimed as to be-
Leine helpless I was tossed up and down all that day
Z.,"til late in the afternoon. Occasionally, as I rose
vu the crest of some wave, I could see a human being
O the crest of another one. Then I was down in the
4,0110 w again dodging the timbers. Many times I was
(I,riven down two and three fathoms under the water,
'lid if I was lucky enough to grasp a timber when I
from
to it, it was almost sure to be snatched away
31,11 me the next moment. I saw a mother and her
,I_4l
'inghter tightly clasped together. They rode past
.ue on a wave and disappeared. Their bodies came
ashore, still bound in the same embrace. All that
Sunday night I was tossed about, and, finally, at 7.30
o'clock Monday morning, after having been in the
i'?ater twenty-six hours, ]was hurled up on the beach.
laY there exhausted for a long time.
The last I saw of General Torbert alive he was on
Luil, after part of the vessel. He was breathing, I was
,741:1, when he was cast ashore. A boy dragged him
as far as he could on the beach and then ran for
,buelt When he came back with assistance General
ert was dead. His dead body was removed to the
Of Village of Port
"k Orange, which is at the entrance
e Mosquito Inlet. There I saw it. His head
t 34 Covered with bruises, showing that he muit have
een struck several times by the pieces of wreck. His
e„snY was buried at Daytona."
xalbot added that all his companions were more or
Mbruised by the drifting dcbris of the wreck. One
ec't :ueru stripped off hiclothing, and, in a naked
hadr, swam until he was cast up on the beach. He
"'
„tn nor%o life-preserver, and was the first to come
'