The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-07-11 00:00:00

ceesant physiological labour of myriads of soft
and tender insects. These have not only raised
the islands above the level of the sea, but
retect them from the action of the waves after
they have become part of the land surface of the
globs. Mao, the most noble of God's creatures, con-
siders it a triumph of engineering skill to construct a
breakwater or to erect a lighthouse; what would he
say at being told to raise an inland in mid-ocean, and
to protect it from the constant sureings of the restless
neat Yet this is precisely what these poor little coral
insects do, and I see that Mr. Charles Darwin has
undertaken the task of inventing a theory to explain
the mystery.
The South Kensington Museum, one of the most
interesting places in London for visitors of all ages
and degrees, is soon to have a material addition made
to its contents. That is, the Natural History collection,
which has hitherto found a renting place in some of the
out-of-the-way isnmens of the British Museum. The
officials at the last mentioned institution are rejoicing
with an exceeding great joy, for two reasons. First,
the departure of the Natural History specimens
will give them mere risen ; and secondly, it ail
remove a palpable element of danger in case of fire,
as the bodies of a large number of the strange
creatures whose remains are preserved are bottled
up in spirits; hence the danger. The removal of
the Natural History specimens will leave more
romn in the museum for other parts of the collec-
tion which are now without sufficient space.
Look, for instance, at the reading room. Vast and
commodious as it is, its accommodation will 611113
lie-
clime inadequate, for lseiks and pamphlets are added
to the library at the rate of a thousand volumes a
week. This reading room is one of the sights of
London. It is an immense circular apartment, the
sides whereof are crowded from floor to ceiling with
hundreds of thousands of books. You can get a
ticket id admission on the recommendation of two
householders, and any volume in the catalogue is
supplied on demand by one of the courteous atten-
dants there. You may make what extracts you
please, but must not remove any book or document
from the room. In the middle of the apartment are
scores id desks, at which our most eminent literary
men may be seen at work.

ACTION FOR BREACH OF PROMISE
£3,000 DAMAGES.
, In London, on Tuesday, Lord Coleridge and a speeial jury
were engaged its the trial tti the case of " Webster n.
Williams." The plaintiff, Miss Elizabeth Webster, was a
young lady, the daughter of a woolbroker in the City, and
I their private residence was in Mecklenburg-square. The
! action was to recover damages for a breach of promise of
marriage ; and the defendant, who was MI undergraduate at
Oxford, by his pleas denied the promise, and assorted that a
reasonable time had not elapsed.
Mr. Iltuldleston, Q C., and Mr. Harrison appeared for
the plaintiff ; and Mr Hay, Q.t.., and Mr. Turner for the
defendant
Mr. Iluddlestone, in his ope g speech, said that he
would simply state that upon which the jury would
have to form their judgment, and which he believed
would limb iuliteilly show that the plaintiff was entitled
to very heavy damages. The plaintiff, who woo about
21 years of age, was a young lady of considerable per-
sonal attractions, and her father wail a partner in
the house of Webster, Darnwell and Co., in Cole-
man-street. The defendant, who was about 24 years
of age, was; possessed of an income derived from
property which amounted to upwards of £4,000 a year.
In the month of May in last year Miss Webster,
with her sister, were invited to a pie-nic upon
the river, and upon that occasion they met two sisters
of the defendant, who were then residing in London.
An intimacy &Rise between the ladies which soon
ripened into friendship; and the defendant's sisters,
through their mother, Mrs. Best, invited the plaintiff
and her sisters to their place in Worcestershire. Mrs.
Best had inarriel a gentleman of undoubted respecta-
bility, and they had a handsome residence near Wor-
cester. The Misses Webster staye lon the visit for
about a month, The defendant, who was studying at
Queen's College, Oxford University, came home and saw
the plaintiff. He paid her very considerable attention,
and after her retuni to town he requested permission
to write to her. The plaintiff, &I SOOll WI she returned
to town, went upon a visit to the 1 Vest I.f England,
and returned in October to her father's residence in
Mecklenburg-square. On her return the defendant
came to town, visited at her father's house continally,
and upon one occaoii in he lin posed marriage to her. She
accepted him conditionally, but said that he bad better

wait' for three months to sjee. that the affection was tit;Ca
nwre paining one, and also that he might get the consent
his parents, lie, however, sail that his sisters liked
the plaintiff, and that he was of age. The plaintiff, hose-
requested that the defendant's parents should be
consulted, and Mr. Williams returned to Worcester.

shire, awl the plaintiff went on a visit to Sheffield.
, During this separation the defendant wrote to the
I plaintiff, addressing her as "Dearest Bessie." He
described to her that he was going out hunting,
but hail been kept in by the wet, awl was re-
warded by the sweet perusal of her letter, and he
I was so glad to find that certain rings which he
j had sent her pleased her, and he informed her
--which was a normal state of things—that he
I would be very pleased with the slippers that she
' was working for him (a laugh). He added, " You
have no idea how I love you. 1 always think of you.
lam not half good enough for you. He concluded
by wishing her "good bye, with my best love. Write
soon, darling----Believe me, darling, yours affection-
ately, T. J. JONES WILLIAMS." In No. 8 he wrote
that he had toll his mother that he had something to
, say to her, awl that she was not at all surprised when
he communicated it. He added :-
1 You ask me when I first began to love you, and my answer
: is, from the time that I found that you did not
dislike me, or, more strictly, from the lime when you gave
me that rose which you did. Little Bessie, good-bye. Best
love, darling. Yours affectionately.
The correspondence continued, and on the list
November it seemed that the defendant had communi-
cated to his mother his engagement, and Mrs. Best
wrote to the plaintiff, which showed that she sanctioned
the intended marriage. She said :
My dear Bessie,---I am so pleased to hear from my son
that you have consented to be one of our family. We shall
all love and welcome you most heartily to our circle. Be
assured, dear Bessie, that you will have a second mother's
love, a,ol I fervently pray that you will have a long life of
happiness and comfort. You will not feel like a stranger to
us. I fervently hope and believe that my dear Tom will
make you a good husband
Upon that followed letters from the defendant's
sisters expressive of the strongest affection for their
intended sister-in-law. In a day or two Mr. Williams
himself wrote to Mrs. Webster, the plaintiff's mother :
Dear Mrs. Webster,- - Doubtless you are aware of my affec-
tion for your daughter, Bessie. I have proposed to her, awl
she has accepted me. I trust that you will have no objec-
tion. It is needless to tell you that I shall always do every-
thing to make her happy. My mother knows of this en-
gagement, and is very pleased.
The lady answered :
Dear Mr. Williams,—Prior to my daughterleaving for York-
shire she mentioned to me that you expressed great affection
for her. I now gather from your letter that Bessie and you
have determined to marry. I can only say my wannest
wishes go with you.
The correspondence continued down to February,
when the letters became less frequent, the defendant
saying that he was studying hard for his degree. On
the 27th April he wrote :
My dear Beanie—l thank you for your last letter, and lam
sue I shall deserve your censure for not writing long before,
and every day it has been my intention to have done no. The
fact is for some Dme I have been gravely considering the ,
step I was about to take. I have conic to the conclusion I
that my conduct was extremely precipitant, that hasty ad-
miration alone prompted that course, and that an engage-
ment so formed can never he conducive to real happiness. In
addition to this I ant utterly unprepared to settle down, as I
don't think that I have seen Burnt:lent of life to undertake a
career also much experience. This, I know, may seem to you,
very unkind, but lam sure Ills the wisest step. Your great
kindness and hospitality shown to me at your house I can,
never thank you for enough. I only hope that, in token of
friendship, you will keep the few presents, and that you will
soon forget, —Tours sincerely, I. J, eggs WILLIAMS. I
The plaintiff wrote to the defendant, complaining I
- I
of his unkind conduct, and on the 4th of May he ,
answered:—
Dear Bessie, - - I have been longer in answering your letter ,
than I intended or ought to have been, but the delay has ;
proceeded front my desire to reconsider the whole matter :
carefully. I ti ust, therefore, you will excuse it. And I
may as well say at once that, after the most anxious thought.
I am quite unable to come to any other than my previous
conclusion. You will think that my conduct has been I
wrong, but it would have been worse to have let the matter
go on under the circumstances. When I became conscious '
of all, I have felt it was far better toast at once for you to
release me from my engagement, certain that the unhappi- •
neon would be a hundred times greater than any temporary
unhappiness from it being broken off.
And he concluded--
With much regret for what has happened, believe me, ;
your sincere friend.
After this there were communications from the
plaintiff's family, but in the end there was nothing
left for the plaintiff to ask for but compensation-- on
far as money could compensate for such a wrong--at
the hands of the jury.
- -

FROM THE BENCH TO THE BIE.- —lt HI an-
nounced that Chief Justice Dixon, of Wisconsin, who
has held the office 15 years, has resigned his posidon
because the salary, which is 1,009 tt,ls. a year Is in-
ade,inate- He can do agreat deal bet ter Akar practieg
of law, and wM resume it at Milwaukee:
SEEN THROUGH FRENCH Si'EC'TACLEC—Thisis
the London Sunday, according to the Itappd

_
" All is closed. The baker's dint bake, awl its eating-
houses are sealed. It is difficult for a foreigner to avoid
dying of hunger. A glass of wine would cost the publicus
three guineas, for pieti is stuffed with a fine, and God is pro-
tected by the police The inhabitants themselves do not fare
much better. Yost would look in vain for smoke from the
chimneys. The cook does not dare to light her Um. The
family dinners are compositor the remains of the preceding
day, and stale hard bread They leave home merely to go CO
church--grave and lugubrious in their Sunday clothes, with-
out turning their heads or speaking to one another. Tho
return and sing hpuns the rest of the day. The streets
are empty, and the town in like a cemetery, dread auil
mournful."

ASCENTS OF MONT BLANC.— A correspondent
of the Coatiaental Herald, writing from Chamounix
on Thursday, says :—Favoured by splendid weather
ands cloudless sky, two very successful ascents have
been made to the summit of the great mountain. On
Tuesday morning Mr. Nlaoglione, an Italian gentle-
man, left for the GrandsMulets with two guides and a
porter. Yesterday morning, at a quarter to twelve,
they were clearly seen on the top, and the usual salute
was fired. They returned to Chamounix about seven
o'clock in the evening. Yesterday morning the Rev.
Mr. Jackson, an English clergymen, left with two
guides and a porter. They reached the summit and
were also saluted. The track is said to be very good,
and the snow firm giving great facility. Other parties
(including an English lady) left for the Grands-Mulets
this morning.
MURDERERS LYNCHED LN LOUISIANA. —Seve-
cal weeks ago the New Orleans Reputticas gave the
details of a horrible crime on Bayou Macon, near its
junction with the Tensas, wherein a Mr. Arbuckle
was murdered in the presence of his wife, and his flat-
boat robbed by three young men. They were sub-
sequently identified. One of them, named Lewis,
managed to escape, while two brothers, named A. B.
and Thomas L. N orris, were arrested and incarcerated
at Wimisboro. These young men-20 and 24 years of
age respectively --were connected with some if the
most respectable families id the parish, and their crime
has excited an unusual amount of indignation. This
feeling culminated last Saturday in a party of some 30
disguised men visiting the gaol, disarming the keeper,
taking the brothers to a convenient tree, and lynching
them into eternity without the benefit of clerg7 or a
moment's respite for repentance. The record of rank-
. . .

lin parish has for years been black with assassinations
and murders, but this latest crime has been unknown
in the parish since the war till now.
ROYA:-TY INSULTED IN BERLIN.—What is the
world coming to (writes a correspondent of the
Standard) if Royalty itself cannot escape being hooted
in the streets of Berlin. A day or two ago the Princes
Frederick William and Henry, the two eldest sons of
the Crown Prince and our Princess Victoria, were
passing, on their return from their morning ride,
through an unfrequented street, when they came un-
expectedly upon a crowd of ragamuffins. The low
Berliner, who is quite as low a creature as the lowest
Londoner, has a particular dislike tocivilians on horse-
back, and never fails to greet them with derisive jeers,
backed up --if the occasion be favourable—by a stone
or brickbat. The two Princes were dressed like any
other young gentlemen, and the rabble not recognising
them, or pretending not to do so, at once raised the
usual cries of "Sunday swells," "Tailors," "Get in-
side," Itc. (of course in Berlin equivalents). The
Princes looked angry, I.ut, as the looting increased
all the more, they were at last obliged to beat a retreat,
leaving the victory to the strong,
THE VENDOME COLUMN. The column in the
Place Vendome, being now near the termination of its
re-construction. Galignanes Memenger publishes the
decree of the First Consul, dated the 8 Vendemaire
An XII. (Ist October, 1803), ordering the erection of
that monument :—"Art. 1. There shah be raised in
Paris, in the centre of the Place Vendome, a column
similar to that in honour of Trajan at Rome. Art. 2.
The column shall be two metres 73 centimetres in
diameter, and 22 metres 78 centimetres high. The
shaft shall be ornamented with a spiral band contain-
ing RH figures, each 97 centimetres high, representing
the departments of the Republic. Art. 3. The
column shall be surmounted with a pedestal terminat-
ing in a half circle, ornamented with olive leaves, and
bearing a statue of Charlemagne. Art. 4. The Min-
ister of the Interior is charged with the execution of
the present decree. BONAPARTE." The original idea
of the First Consul was, says Galignani, to glorify the
old French Monarchy in the person of its most illus-
trious representative. It was only after the prodigious
campaign of 1805 that the provisions of the decree
were modified, and the column, erected with the 1,200
, cannons taken from the enemy, was consecrated to the
Grand Army.

A SUPERIOR COW !—The New York Woad
says: "Everybody has heard if the story of Stephen-
son and the cow. When the great engineer was en-
deavouring to make a British parliamentary com-
mittee believe in the feasibility of steam travel, one of
the &dons of St. Stephen's thought to pose him by
asking, And if your train, going at eight miles the
hour, as you think it can, should meet a cow on the
track, what then?' To which Stephenson, with his
north country accent, replied, It would be bad for
the coo!' Evidently Stephenson was thinking only of
the British cow. On Saturday an Erie Railway train,
near New Peitz, struck a cow on tne track. The train
WAS thrown down an embankment, and the engineer
was badly scalded and injured. The cow apparently
got off scott free. This was an American cow, and as
Morton and Logan have shown, the laws of nature
and of finance which prevail in effete Europe are MlS-
pended in their operation here. Let this cow of New
Paltz be secured for the Centennial."

AN UNWONTED RAILWAY FREAK. -An
American paper gives what it calls an extraordinary
run off on the Atlanta and West Point road. "The
railroads," says our Yankee contemporary, "seem to
be bent on mischief lately. They have been cutting
all sorts of capers in a style of molodramatic rampage.
The thunderous things have frisked like lively but
malicious kittens—jumping off tracks, committing
murders, bursting boilers, and playing circus to awan-
derful extent. Even that staid, respectable, orderly,
reliable dignitary of a railway line, the Atlanta and
West Point Road, has been cutting capers, and, like a
solemn and venerable horse that in an unexpected
moment runs away and, lashes out in all sorts of an
unheard-of manner, this road has performed the most
novel railroad eccentricity of the age, in the clean,
clear jump of an engine over a culvert without hurt-
ing itself, and the run-off of a passenger train without
losing a single life."

PRUNING BY PHOTOGRAPHY. —A novel appli-
cation of photography is described by an Italian
correspondent of the Philadelphia Photographer. He
had some fruit trees that needed pruning, and therewas
no one in the neighbourhood who could attend to the
work in season. He, therefore, photographed the
trees, and sent the pictures to an experienced pruner
in Turin, who returned them after marking where
the branches were to be cut. The artist then pruned
the trees himself, according to the direetions.—The
Garden.

DEATH OF THE EARL OF DALHOUSIE.—The
announcements which have appeare.l from day to day
respecting the serious illness of the Earl of Dalhousie
will in some degree have prepared the public for
the intelligence of his lordship's death, which, we regret
to state, took place at Brechin Castle at ten minutes
past eleven o'clock on 'Monday night. The deceased peer,
who was Lord- Lieutenant of Forfarshi re, was born April
22n4, 1801; succeeded his father as Baron Panmure in
1852, and his cousin as Earl of Dalhousie in 18110;
entered the 79th Highlanders, 1819; served in Canada
and retired as captain. 1831, was M.P. for Perthshire,
18357; for the Elgin Burghs, 1838-41; and for Perth,
1841-52; Under Secretary for the Home Department,
1835-41; Vice-President of the Board of Trade, 1841 ;
Secretary at War, 1846-52; and President of the
Board of Control, 1852. Appointed Keeper of the
Privy Seal of Scotland, 1853; elected Lord Rector of
Glasgow University, 1842, and was a Governor of the
Charterhouse ; married (1831) the Hon. Montagu
Abercromby, eldest daughter of the second Baron
Abercromby (this lady died in 1853). The successor
ito the title s his lordship's cousin, George Ramsay,
R.N., C. 8., son of the Hon. John Ramsay.
ALARMING SCARCITY.—SGENE —Club Smoking
Room. —First Fount/ Swell : "Aw going any-
where ?"—,Second Ditto : "No !—asked to ten 'hops'
to-night. The idea has completely floored me!"- -
Third Ditto: "By Jove! I've been thinking of let-
ting myself out at ten pounds a night. A fellow
might recoup himself for a bad book on the Derby.
"
Punch.

CORK AND QUEENSTOWN.—Cork a fine bust-
ling city— quays and bridges, handsome streets, wide
and well built- prosperity in the very atmosphere of
the place. But its picturesque sunoundings are its
chief charms for the tourist. Lofty hills crowned with
buildings rise around the city; the Lee, that noble river,
flows widening through the vale. We only stayed long
enough to deposit our impedimenta at the hotel, and
then started by rail for Passage, a small watering-place
' at the mouth of the river, whence a steamer conveyed
no to Queenstown, past shores of extreme beauty,
dotted with numerous villas whosegarilens slope to the
water's edge. On either side the shore is steep and
high, richly clothed with verdure. Here—and along
both banks of the Lee from the city hitherward—the
wealth of Cork has its habitations ; every bit of the
shore is beautiful, and many a pleasant dwelling and
garden have we admired as the rail brought us to l'as-
sage, along the edge of the river. Queenstown must
be one of the most delightful places for residents in all
Ireland—bright and gay, with a look of Torquay and
Hyde, and a noble harbour, where a long line of
merchantmen lie at anchor waiting for orders. For
yachting men and retired naval men it must he a ter-
restrial paradise. More than one flagstaff in a villa
garden indicates the tastes of the proprietor. There is
a charming drive along the shore, with a douple range
of pretty houses—on one side built high upon a verdant
hill, on the other low down by the water's edge. Here
we observed two cottages with steeply-sloping thatch
—perfectly ideal cottages—in lovely gardena—Bel-
graria.

IDuring the last twelve mouths the errors of the
great to at the Houses of Parliament, Westminster,
were below one second on 67 per cult. of days, below two
wounds., 26 per eei.t., abd I,iow Lane seada MI 5 per
I cent.

The Chancellor of tile lk.chequ,r acknowledges, as
Conscience Money," the receipt of Cie second .or 01* £lO
note from .• N." for /•npoid Ineome-tas ; and of 21 from
"A. H." for COnSCienee sake.

The Boat4.tt Tratideript ~.rty4 that Mr. En, Perabo,
of that city, ha, ieceived a !lot, from the Rev II i:eecher,
enclosing A elnelue for a handsome sum for the ,:latives of
Beethoven.
The crystal flute which Napoleon I. gave in 1811 tp
the celebrated flautist, brunet, the author, according to M.
l'ougin, of "natant our to s)rie," has been pl ~ed in the
, Museum of the Musilmvereien at Vienna.

"Independence Day" was celebrated in London on
..iattiniay by a reception at the residence ot the United
States Minister, at w itch a large number of American ladies
and gentlemen, and others, were present.
Calcutta churchgoers are striking against long
sermons in hot weather, and have proposed that during the
hot season there should he none at all in the morning and
very short ones in the evening.

A cynical writer says—" Take a company of boys
chasing butterflies ; put long-tailed coats on the boys, and
turn the butterflies into guineas, and you have a beautiful
panonuna of the world."

" Fairlop Sunday" was observed on Sunaay, and
the festival was eekbrated by many thousands of the in-
habitants of the Kist End ,d London, who visited the site
of the old lairlop Oak, in flainault Forest,

The great bridge across the Mississippi at St. Louis,
costing e,000.000 dollars, has been formall) opened with im-
posing ceremonies. This bridge is the most costly in the
United States, and has been live years in building. The
shares are chiefly held in England.
After considerable hesitation the Cannock Chase
miners have agreed to the terms arranged between their
agents and the masters, and nearly 7.000 out of the
12,000 men now on strike in South stationishire will resume
work.

A rocket hammock is the latest novelty. In a
minute or two the hammocks can be slung in garden or camp,
on board ship, or even in the drawing-room, and instantly
form a most easy couch for the wearied limbs of the seeker of
rest.

M. de Goulard, the well.known French statesman,
died on Saturday, in the sisty.seventh year of his age. tie
had been in a hopeless state for some days past, and his
death is Sllpposed to have been accelerated by his recent
disappointment in having failed to form a Ministry after the
resignation of the Due de Broglie.

return has just been Casued of coalA, cinders, &c.
Last year the declared value of coals, cinders, and patent
fuel exported was £l3,lSSull. Accounts are given of the
quantities shipped coasts iw, with other information on the
subject.

Police investigations in Paris, according to the
Journal der Debuts, have brought to light the existence of a
Bonapartist committee which, sitting at the house of
M. Rusher, has directed an extensive organisation for the
promotion of the Imperialist cause. The operations of this
agency are described in detail.

Earl Granville, as Lord Warden of the Cinque
Ports, presided at the ceremony by which the completion of
the work t.f deepening and enlarging the inner dock of Dover
Harbour was celebrated on Monday. After luncheon had
been given, his lordship, aecompaided by many persons con-
nected with If to town, embarked on a steamer and entered
the dock from the bay.

A well-known nobleman, whose philanthropy is of
the practical order, has decided to build a fleet of boats
at Ins own expense, to carry out the deep sea fisheries of the
Irish coast.

One of the numerous Hindoos who are now in this
country being asked what had most struck him during the
year he had trees in England, shrewdly replied the admirable
mariner in which Londoner s economised their time. What
with underground railways and tramways we are able to
cover an a 1111 l uut of distance in the day snail US was puesible
nowhere else.

lionl Northbrook telegraphs front India an abstract
of sir Richard Temples last report, dated the till, of June,
respecting the state of affairs in the famine districts. The
account of the crops generally appears good, and the store
of thovennuent grain a ill last till December, but there is no
rice in the market. It is expected that the number td persons
seeking relief will increase unless sufficient relief works are
limit (men ; but no cases of starvat' or extreme distress
are known, RIM every village is frequently inspected. One
more death from famine had brought up the total number of
fatal cases to twenty-four.