The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-06-27 00:00:00

Plistellantous ?iintelligentt,

ROME FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL

THE RIGHT MAN AIMEE ALL !—There-ia -•.
story of two men---well known in London society -
who were everlastingly in debt, and always in fear of
gentlemen in brown coats and slouching hats. The
days of arrest for ordinary debt were still in vogue,
and the gentlemen had consequently to keep a sharp
look-out. They were brothers, and in place of their
names we will call them A. and B. One night A.
gave a party at which B. attended. The festivity was
great and the rejoicing continuous, until A., looking
out at a window, descried at the door a gentleman
who had all the appearance of a sheriff's officer. "8.,
my boy," said he, " yonder's a man who wants me;
it will be very awkward to be arrested to-night; pray
go out, let bun take you, and presently explain to hfin
his mistake ; when he will let you off, and we shall
both lie free." The advice seemed good, B. consented.
and sallied forth. Of course the sheriff's man was soon
"n hand," and, with a polite bow, apologise I for ar-
resting B. It is my dooty," said he. "Of course it
is," said 8., and away they trudged. "I will make a
purchase or two," remarked the prisoner, "before you
go to Whitecromstreet.;
Ton are in no hurry, I klUp-
pOtle " Not at all, fur, was the response. In this
way an hour was whiled away when B. thinkin,he had
had enough of the joke, turned '
ed round and said, NOW
you are a deuced clever fellow, are you not 7 you think
you have got Mr. A., whereas you have got Mr. B."
'Not at all, sir," was the reply. "I came for you,
sir- Mr. B. sir, not Mr. A. stall ! Ws feeling may
be imagLied !

AN INUENIOUS OXPTAIN.—The Bel le Captain
Hill), from New York to Port Chalmers, New Zee:
land, encountered terrific weather off Kerguelen Land,
and shortly after the last tank of fresh water in the
hold was opened and discovered to be as salt as the
water alongside, one cause being attributed to the
leakage in the decks during the heavy weather encoun-
tered; twenty gallons 'of good fresh water was al that
was left. The vessel was then south of Tasmania, and
the wind at north (a dead beat) ' • her course was con-
tinued, and in this emergency the captain contrived
and constructed a simple condenser from the galley
fire, the steam of which led into kerosene tin by means
of a entail pipe and part of the barrel of a Snider rifle.
This means, however, not being sufficient, another
pipe was attached to the tin, and led outside the
galley into a small cask, whereby with the assistance
of spare spars for fuel, eight gallons of good water
were made per day. By this simple method, well
known, but which some forget to practise in the
moment of need, Captain Hill saved his crew from
want.

ACCIDENT AT A POLO MATCH.—On Saturday
evening Captain Reynardson, of the Grenadier
Guarda, met with a very serious accident while playing
in a polo match in Windsor Great Park. As usual at
the close of the Ascot week, a numerous party had
assembled at the Windsor Cavalry Barracks, and at
the conclusion of a cricket match many of the com-
pany proceeded to the Cavalry Exercise Ground, in
Windsor Great Park, to witness a polu match between
Officers of the Household Cavalry and Officers of the
Foot Guards, the players being Infantry- -Captain
the Hon. H. C. NeedhamdlLurd Mayo, Captain Carew,
Captain Reynardson, Captain Gosling; Cavalry—Cap-
tain Fellowes, Captain Needham, Captain Talbot, Cap-
tain Dansey, Captain Dunbar. At th e commencement of
the game the cavalry played with one man short, but
notwithstanding that they soon scored a goal by a
capital hit by Captain Talbot. A second game com-
menced, and in the midst of a hard struggle in the
centre of the ground Captain Reynardson came into
collision with another horseman. Ile was thrown
heavily to the ground, and his horse rolled over him.
Mr. Edward Pearl, of Windsor, arrived, and Captain
Reynardson was removed to the Cavalry Barracks on
a stretcher. It was supposed that he had sustained
concussion of the brain and also some severe internal
injuries, and hiar.ondition excited the greatest anxiety,
On Monday he was reported to be progressing favour-
ably, his injuries being found to be less serious than
were at first feared.
A CREMATION APPARATUR.—The Berlin Asso-
ciation for Burning the Dead Las been informed (says
the ('otomic aortae of June 10) that on the 3.-a .June
the apparatus constructed by Professor Redcoat and
Engineer Siemens was tested, and that the result was
not only satisfactory, but in every respect brilliant.
Two hundredweight of horse carcase was burnt to
white ashes in an hour-and-a-half, adds our contempo-
rary, at the cost of a thaler (IL), and there was
neither smell nor noise in the process. The, Gazette of
the 11th goes more fully into the matter; it says that
on the 2nd of June, at Dresden, 2021b5. of horse ear-
case, after two hours' action of the hot air, left only
, Mb& of white ashes. The pelvis and the hardest
joints were reduced to little bits that could be pressed
into pieces with the finger. A destruction of the
joints has therefore been accomplished without the use
of chemical means, which the newspapers some time
ago, spoke of as impossible. The time required for
the destruction of a human body, continues the same
journal, would be an hour-and-a-toarter, which could
in many instances be shortened still more. At the ex-
periment there were present Professor Dr. Reclam
and other eminent scientific men, who seemed per-
fectly satisfied with the apparatus. When Dr. Reclam
returns from Switzerland (where he has gone to lecture
on the subject), the burning of human corpses will be
commenced, and it is believed that the authorities will
not prohibit it.

A- CRAZY HORSE. —A horse which suddenly
became crazy and dashed into a house in Albany,
Illinois, a few nights ago, seems, says an American
paper, to have made a decided sensation in that village.
A correspondent says as he was being led through the
street by his owner, Mr. Beckvvith, he began to whirl
around, and then, freeing himself, he rushed through
a strong gate into the garden of Mr. I'ease. Passing
rapidly along he succeeded in going through three more
fences, finally emerging into the opposite street.
Crossing this avenue in a direct line he went through
Or. Robinson's door-yard fence and into the house by
the front door. Mrs. Robinson was seated in the par-
lour, and upon perceiving her strange guest immediately
fled through the rear of the building. In her momen-
tary fright she forgot her young babe. Dr. Robin-
son hearing the crash, rushed into the house just in
time to save his child. Indeed not a moment too soon,
for the beast had already demolished part of the crib,
besides leaving a flesh wound upon the child's face.
Sewing machine, sofa, chairs, and stove soon followed,
and the carpet was literally cut in pieces. Having
completed his course here he turned into a bed-room,
and getting his fore feet upon the bed goon brought it
to the floor. Men rapidly collected, and ropes were
thrown around his body, but they could not force him
to subjection until he was severely bled. Then 30 or
more men forced him home, and having tied him down
they managed to keep him in the stable. He did-not
return to consciousness, and died about midnight the
same night. The animal was valued at 3,000 dols., and
was sent from New York not long since.

AUSTRALASIAN GOLD.—The value of the gold
imported into the United Kingdom from the Austra-
lian colonies and New Zealand amounted in May to
it 393,192, as compared with 055,764 in May, 1873,
and £302,502 in May 1872. In the five months ending
the 31st of May, this year, the aggregate value of the
imports was £2,175,849. as compared with £4,119,212
in the corr. epomiing perial of 1873, and £2,616,359 in
the corresponding period of 1872. The imports will be
seen to have considerably declined this year. Returned
diggers from the Palmer, Queensland, report unfavour-
ably as to the yield of gold in that neighbonhood.
Alluvial mining has been somewhat dull at Ballarat,
Victoria; but 'prospecting for new deep leads of wash
dirt has been energetically carried on by some of the
local companies. At Balhwat East some of the new
quartz mines continue to yield well, and that part of
the Ballarat district is likely to maintain a good repu-
tation.

REGISTRATION OF VOTERS. -On Saturday (the
20th), the lists of voters in England and Wales were
placed on the doors of churches and chapels, where
they will continue for two Sundays. The Parliamen-
tary electors in Ehgland and Wales number 2,245, XOB,
of which there are 823.364 in counties, 1,409,745 In
boroughs, and 11,999 in Universities. In Ireland there
are 238,869, coraprising 172,209 in counties, 49,869 in
boroughs, and 17,000 in Universities; while in Scotland
there are 280,308, of which 82,807 are in counties,
187,991 in boroughs, and 9,510 in Universities.
A CLEven TnlcK.—The following clever trick
was recently played upon an avaricious French land-
lord by a poor wretched engraver who had got into
arrears with his rent.- "Give me a little time," said the
tenant—" I have discovered the means of paying you
eon." "Bah ! returned the landlord, incredulously ,•
" I should like to know how !" " Look here," replied
the engraver, taking a hundred-franc note mysteriously
from a drawer—" that's my last piece of work." "Did
you do it?" "Certainly." "You yourself—and not
the Bank of France?" "No, it's my work." "Will
you trust me with it for half an hour?" And the
landlord took the note, and hurried off to the Bank.
There they assured him that it was perfectly good,
and finally changed it fir him As he hurried back
to his lodger the wretched man's head fairly SWAM
with visions of untold wealth. "My good fellow," he
cried, on reaching the house, all out of breath, "how
clever you are! Why don't you rusk° thousand-franc
notes?" "For the very good reason that I have
never seen one." "That need be no obstacle—here
is one. Copy it, and I will be back here in a week's
time. We will share it." At the end of the week the
landlord duly made his appearance. "How does the
note get on?" was his 1111x1CILLS inquiry. "Your note!
Why, I have spent it with two or three friends, you
vagabond !" majestically replied the engraver. "Spent
it ! "No noise, or I'll split !" And the
man explained to his landlord that he had taken him
in, and that the hundred franc note was perfectly
good. He wound up by advising him to turn his
avarieimixness in another direction.

REV OrRED RIMING OP RED INDIANS.- —Ac-
cording to the Ottawa Daily Citizen of the 2nd inst.,
the authorities had that morning received a telegram
from the North-west conveying startling intelligence
with regard to a threatened uprising of the Cree and
other Indian tribes, their grievance being that no
commission has been appointed to settle the question
of Indian reserves, and to make other arrangements in
order to add to the comfort of the Indians. They
also fear that the mounted police about to be ,ent to the
North-west have been organized for the purpose of
forcing them into submission to the will of the white
population. Should the Crees and Blackfeet tribes
unite, a terrible massacre of white settlers might
occur, and without doubt such union would easily
be brought about when the supposed cause of justice
or a crusade against oppression is made the bases of
operations.

GENERAL GARIBALDI. —The riots illl9 pub-
It' ed the following letter :—"Sir,--Th. real state of
nerd Garibalnfe health bee been the subject of
r ny c..ntralietory reports in the newspaper lately..
e enchisee is an extract fgem a letter I have just
dived from my son in fikelinia, ftder date of
lath inst..— I am, Sir, yours sincerely, V. DE Tivou.,,
Taylor Institution, Oxford, June 19.' 1

-
"General Garibaldi is so unwell as not to be able to hold
the pen in his hand or move his arm lie cannot by him.
self bring food to his mouth indeed, he cannot move at all
Re now receive; no one except his moat intimate friends-

TB! LAST NEW PARLIAMENTARY DEFINITION.
Cross Purposes, no Purposes. -Puna&
STRAWBERRIES IN SAN FRasenco.—The San
Francisco Chronicle, of May 23, says that the receipts
of strawberries in that city for a week or more had
averaged over 30 tons daily. The greater portion of
this immense quantity comes from Santa Clara county,
large tracts id land in the vicinity ‘.f San Jose being
-devoted to the cultivation of this fruit It is tram.
Ported to the city in chests of 12 or 90 &awe!, Each
drawer of the 12 contains six pounds, and .4 the 90,
four pounds each. On May 28 chests sold at from
2 dole. 50c. to 4 dubs, at the eOIIIIII6SI,AI houses, the
lowest price this fruit ever sold for in San Francis,o.
At retail the choicest varietiai could be obtained for
be, a pound. The Chronicle adds :—" Thirty tone of
strawberries is a large quantity, but until a day or two
past they have all been disposed of. After this, how,
ever, until the close of the season, it will be alus wt use-
less to send inferior kinds to this market, as they were
yesterday thrown away. When the choicest varieties
bring but four cents per pound, inferior ones will not
pay for handling. The crop is unprecedented, and
while the current prices Are barely adequate to nay
the cultivator for his labour, they place the fruit
within the means of the multitude."

A LETTER OF Pit's IX. —Oll Juno 16, the
28th year pasaed away since the election of Pills IX.
as Pope. The following letter, which he sent to his
brother at Sinigaglia on the day of his election, June
16, 1846, may be of interest at this time
June 18, 1846 Most dearly beloved brothers, Giuseppe
and Gaetano, —God, the blessed one, who hunibleth and
exalteth, hath been pleased to raise me, who irs so base, to
the highest dignity on earth. Ills roost holy will be err r-
monition°. I know in sonic measure the almost boundless
weight of such a charge, and know equally my poverty, not
to speak of the utter nothingness ,d my spirit cause prayer
to be offered up, and pray for me yourself. The conclave
has lasted hours. If the city of 81mgaglia should like to
go to some expense in the way of demonstrations, endeavour,
I expressly desire it shin, that the sum t-i be expended be all
laid out in things useful for the city, in the judgment of the
mayor and the council. As to you, my dear brothers, I em-
brace you both heartily in Jesus Christ. For from exulting,
rather compassionate your brother, who gives the Aposto-
lical blessing to aIL —Pits IX."
A MODEST SUITOR. - It is well known that
the announcements of births and deaths are often given
in German newspapers in a form which sounds strange
in English ears. Every one knows, too, that engage-
ments are published as well, and in much the same
form as marriages. In the second sheet, for instance,
of every issue of the Cologne Gazette these announce-
ments of engagements may be found throughout the
whole year. When engagements are broken off this is
also at times published by one or bah of the parties
concerned. But it is very seldom that an announce-
ment such as the following is found, which is quoted in
the Cologne Gazette of the 17th of June from the
Drew/enter Journal. "With respect tm the announce-
ment by which I, at the end of last November, gave
notice of my bring engaged to the Dowager Baroness
Zoe von Kotzebue, I am now obliged to state that this
relationship has, at her desire and to my great regret,
been broken off, because she did not find in my deport-
ment that gravity which she had a right to expect.—
Count Luckner."

A DISTINCTION. New Governess: "Very
good ! And how long did you Practise in the Holi-
days, Matta ? "—Maud '0 I practised Half-an-
Hour, Miss Bailey. But then that was by the
Dining-Room Clock. When I Practised by the Clock
on the Stairs, it was Three-Quarters, because that 'a
Slow! "—Punch.

DEVOURED BY AN Ault:Lim-mt.—The devour-
ing of a boy by an alligator is reported by the Port
Denison Times. On the evening of the 6th April, it
says, a boy, aged about fifteen years, son of Mr.
Porter, of Euri Creek, was dragged by an alligator
into a waterhole close to his father's house. It appears
that this boy and his elder brother had been engaged
getting pigs into a sty, and that the poor lad who is
gone went into the edge of the waterhole to wash a
green-hide rope, which they had been using with, the
pip. While he was no engaged, his little sister, who
was sitting on the bank hard by, saw the alligator
seize the boy by the leg and drag him under water.
She gave the alarm, but it was of course too late, the
brute had dragged the boy down to the bottom, and
nothing more was seen of him fur several days, when a
leg and a portion of his clothing floated to the surface.
A few days later the same paper records the destruc-
tion of the alligator. The brute was over twelve feet
long, and of very great age, probably over 100 years.
SLAVERY ON THE GOLD COAST.--Tile Cape
Coast correspondent of the Manchester Guardian,
writing on the 2:ith ult., says
A wretched slave, who had escaped from the King of
Ashantee, BITIVed here the other day. Ile says the Xing
sacrifices as much as ever, and that one day he had to bold
an umbrella ate sacrifice, and then got a hint that his turn
was coming next day, so he managed to escape and come
here and I suppose the King will hardly dare to demand
his extradition at present. it seems be is not living in Coo-
manic. Ile and the Akims keep up hot palaver, over the
defections of his subjects, or, as he puts it, the raids of the
Akime wilds people. The Commandant of Elinina, who has
had much experience in palavering, has been sent up to
Akin, to inquire into it all.-

AMERICAN BOUNDARY COMMIBBIOm. —A Cana-
dian paper gives an account of the fitting-out of the
English branch of the International Survey Commis-
sion for this season's work. Fifty-two waggons loaded
with stores and forage had departed for Pembina,
there to joint the main body of the surveyors, who would
start for Wood Mountain, 108 miles from Pembina, on
or about the 15th of May. Another train, of 30 wag-
gons, was to join the main party somewhere on the line.
It is stated that the Boundary Conunission will com-
prise the same ••fficers as were with it last year and will
have, as all escort on the American side, five companies
of Infantry, and two of Cavalry, the English having
simply their Engineer corps, waggon train, and a small
body of mounted police. It is designed to go through
to the Rocky Mountains this year, a distance of about
400 miles from where last year's work terminated; and
should the field work be finished in time to admit, the
whole expedition will return to Pembina and Dufferin,
but if the work drags, and the Mountains be reached
late in the autumn, the whole party will winter out
there, returning next summer.
THE LABOURERS' REPRESENTATIVE. The
Daily Telegraph, in a leader, remarks :
Mr. Arch spoke at Manchester on Sunday with his wonted
fullness and fervour, and, on the a hole, with a moderation
that deserves praise. The labourers are lucky to have found
in him a representative who brings to their cause full per.
soma experience and a power of speech seldom associated
with a life of toil. When in 1846 Sir Robert Peel, on resigning
since, paid a merited tribute to the "unadorned eloquence"
of Richard Cobden, Lord Palmerston, who never quite
forgot the interests of his party, reminded the re-
tiring Premier that the leader of the League was " one
of the most distinguished results " of the Reform ,
Bill which " the right honourable baronet had so persistently •
opposed." To use a parallel illustration, it is not too much
to say that Mr. Arch seems one of the must remarkable con-
tributions of English Dissent to the political world. Had he
been simply a labourer he would probably have brought to
the cause of his conipanions the shrewdness and the warm ,
sympathy he abundantly displays but had he wit been a
local preacher as well, he would not have acquired that art
if extempore address which has made him a toaster of the
rough, simple eloquence that comes from anti goes to the
heart.
SCHOOLS IN BERLlN.—According to an official
report, the number of public schools in Berlin at the
end of last year amounted to 130. There were ten
Gymnasia, ten " Realschulen," four superior girl's
schools, 89 middle-chase and elementary schools, in-
eluding the " Vorschulen" of the gymnasia and
" Realschulen " ; 17 schools under the special oversight
of a.ssociations, churches, institutions, &c, the num
ber of classes amounted to 1,420 (of which 555 were for
girls) ; of scholars 67,5,52 (boys, 39,407 ; girls 23,145), of
whom 5,297 were above 14 veare of age, and 62,255
between 6 and 14. The ten Gymnasia had 141 classes,
with 5,080 scholars, of whom 2,215, or 43 502 per cent,
were above 14 years of age. If to the imblic schools
there be added 97 private ones, the number of schools
would be 227. The private schools have 256 classes for
boys and 95 for girls, with 12,420 scholara in the
former and 18,573 in the latter, making together 30,993,
of whom 2,069 or 6675 per cent., were above 14 years
of age. Taking altogether, 98,545 children were at
school—viz., 51,827 boys and 46,71 girls, and of these
7,266, or 7464 per cent,, were above 14 years of ago.
The outlay of the city fund for the city elementary
schools alone was last year 8511,861 thalers, 25 groaehen,
7 pfennig, as against 771,532 thalers, 17 Imosehen, 5 '
pfennig for 1872.
i
CEMENT v. CREMATION. —By way of substi-
tute for "Cremation," Dr. on Steinbeiss proposes I
cement, to be poured into the receptacle containing the
cadaver so as to encrust the latter, absorb its moisture, I
and prevent decomposition. Thim j recess, however, ,
would increa.se instead of diminishing undertakers'
bills, and not arrest the spread qf cemeteries. Whereas
cremation would tend to check necrolsolitan extension,
and would limit funeral extravagance by abstracting .
all combustible from osseous matter in the f •rin ••f gas, ,
. on that the abstract, thus dispensed, would be greatly
preferable to the conerete..—Pasch.
ANWHER INFANT Roscius— The Americans
, have recently dissovered (says the Mirror) an infant
Roscius—a female infant, and they call her Bijou
Heron. She has been "interviewed ;" whole articles
have been written about her acting • every word she
utters is recorded; and clubs and imudoirs welcome
with zest anecdotes of her ways and mannm s. Joist now
' Bijou Heron is playing Oliver Twist and many other
parts, and she playa them all, we are assured, to per-
, feetion. "Bijou la very lovable, and a great favourite
. with her associates" (says one paper). She comes to
rehearsals as though she had done nothing else for
years, and has been heard to declare—" Oh, dear this
is very hard on me! I was up BO late last night, and
here I must be down for rehearsal at ten. It is really
quite wearying !" narrates another. " Bijou has all
the aplomb and sufficiency of an old professional," re-
marks a third. Moreover, she is reported to have once
exclaimed -and, seemingly, she had fit cause for com-
plaint—" I declare —that abominable call-boy He
calls me at least ten minutes before there is any oc-
casion for it Ile will be the death of me !"—which it
is to be hoped will not be the case, since, though in-
fant prodigies are amsng the direst of nuisances, they
are not to be called to death by call-boys.
EXCITING SCENE ON SHIPBOARD.- —rie steam-
ship Sultan which recently arrived in England from
Calcutta, Idisl a complete cargo of wild animals, in-
el d inz a rhinoceros, several tigers, leopards and others
ot the larger carnivora. During the vuyagelacme one of
the leopards escaped flora its cage, and for some time it
had the deck to itself, the passengers running below and
the crew taking to the rigging. Alter roaming about for
some time the animal visited the engine-rotan, but was
driven from thence by the fire-hose being turned upon
it. It being thought impossible to effect its recapture
wittiost considerable risk, and to leave it in pot-scission
of the deck being inconvenient, it was detertnined to
shoot it; Lot there was some delay in carrying this
resolve into execution, because no' bullet could be '
found. One had to be improvised for the purpose and
at length the leopard was destroyed, to the great relief
of all on board.