The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-08-06 00:00:00

Pis czlia molls tytelitgenrt.

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

A VETERAN STEAMER.—The steamship Great Britain,
which was one of the wonders of the period in which
she was built, and which now lies in the West Float,
BiPkenhead, has just been offered for sale at the rooms
of Messrs. Kellock and Co., Liverpool. The Great
Britain is of 3,270 tons gross and 1,795 tons net
register. She was for many years in the Australian
trade, in which she made some rapid passages and
she has also done good service as a troopship. In the
"bill of particulars' it is stated that her construction
is of great strength. She is admirably adapted for
the cattle trade across the Atlantic, her high 'tween-
decks and side ports affording grand ventilation. She
can carry live stock on three decks. Her beautiful
lines peculiarly adapt her for a sailing ship, and with
her machinery taken out she would, it is calculated,
carry upwards of 4,000 tons dead weight. She is 325 ft.
long, with 50ft. 6in. breadth and 31ft. Sin, depth.
The biddings began at £2,000 arid went up to £6,500.
There being no advance, the steamer was withdrawn
from the sale.

IMMIGRANTS IN THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIO.—III
his report on the state of trade in the Argentine Re-
public' Mr. Egerton, Secretary of the British Lega-
tion at Buenos Ayres, observes that amongst the
most successful—if not the most successful in com-
parison to their numbers—of all the immigrants into
that country have been the Irish subjects of the Queen.
These, we learn, have generally arrived with little or
no capital, and set to work and saved as shepherds.
The Irish, he adds, form a singularly prosperous com-
munity, many of them having become wealthy men
and owners of large tracts. The Scotch, too, seem to
have been generally succeslful, but the immigration
of the English has, on the whole, proved less suc-
cessful—though practical, steady English labouring
men have done well. Mr. Egerton professes himself
unable to explain the failure of the English in farm-
ing, though he suggests some causes—as that they
were the wrong class of men, or that thay took to
sheep farming in districts which proved to be ill-suited
for sheep.

SOMETHING WORTH LOOKING AT.—Aged Party.—
"As YOU, say, miss, I ham indeed a-gettin' werry old,
and I Ave a-seen a many things in my time—christin-
ingg, funereals, and weddins—but there is one thing
as I've never seen. as I should like to afore I die.'
Young Lady.—" What is that?" Aged Party.—" A
divorce, miss."—Fun.
POSTAGE AND RECEIPT STAMPS.—A Correspondent
writes to the Daily Telegraph :—" As unquestion-
ably, misapprehension exists as to the legality of
using of using two halfpenny postage stamps in giving
a receipt, I have applied to the Inland Revenue
Office, Somerset House, and have received this morn-
ing their reply, that 'the duty on a receipt cannot be
denoted by two halfpenny stamps.
AN INTERESTING ANNIVERSARY.—It may be in
teresting to note that Monday (Ist) was the fiftieth
anniversary of the public opening of London-bridge,
the ceremony having been performed on August 1,
1831, by their Majesties King William IV. and Queen
Adelaide, the first atone having been laid on June 14,
1825. The Royal party arrived at the bridge by
water, and the pageant is recorded by the reporters of
the period as being the grandest that any capital in
Europe or the world could produce. There has now
been a bridge at this spot for more than 900 years, the
first having been erected in 978, and the immediate
predecessor of the present structure having been oom-
menced in 1176, lasting more than 600 years.
HOE DEAR !—" Shall Drake have a statue ? " Yes,
if we hoe him one, at the Hoe, Plymouth. Its in the
very fitness of names. The hoe and rake, and the
debt's paid !—Yours, BARON D'HANWELL.—Punch.
THE LETTER "G."—The letter G plays a prominent
part in political circles at the present time. In
Russia, there is Prince Gortchakoff ' • in Greece, King
George; In England, Mr. Gladstone; in France,
MM. Gr6vy, Gambetta, and General Galliffet ; in
Italy, Garibaldi; in America, President Garfield,
whose assassin is named Guiteau. The Paris Figaro,
from which we take the above, adds "Guillaume,"
Emperor of Germany, and the "Prince de Galles."
EVADING BEING "CORNERED."--,-AS illustrating the
manner in which the true New England' Yankee
always evades being "cornered," Mr. Arthur Gilman
tells a story of a Yankee schoolmaster who was.
always bragging about the United States. In con-
versation with an Englishman he said, "We can lick
you right smart. We've allus done it, and we can do
it again. At Lexington, Concord, Saratoga, Bunker-
hill, and lots of them places, we gave you fits."
"Yes," said the Englishman, "I do remember those
places; but then there was the battle of White
Plains [at which the Americans suffered a severe
defeat, and were much disheartened]. We rather
heat you there." Wa'al you did. I forgot all about
that. I shouldn't have thought of it, if you hadn't
a spoke of it. But then you see, at that battle the
Americans somehow didn't seem to take any interest
in the fight 1"—" Editor's Drawer" in Harper's
Monthly Magazine.
• • CUTTING IT SHORTER !—" Brevity is the soul of wit,,
is an old adage, the value of which has long been
recognised by the Transatlantic Press, and now that
the 'Pungent paragraph is beginning to replace the long-
winded leader, we may expect shortly to find items of
news condensed after the following pithy fashion
adopted by an American contemporary: "Flies
plentiful—Fans in demand—Churches closing—Comet
disappearing—Excursions numerous—Days begin to
shorten—Take the children to the park—Sabbath
schools crammed full—Vegetables are very cheap and
plentiful—Crushed strawberry is the favourite style of
red." _

- ---
DEATHS FROM DROWNING.—A Parliamentary re-
turn just issued gives the number of deaths by drowning
in the "inland waters of the United Kingdom during
1879." The summaries show that 2,815 people, young
and old, we;e drowned in England and Wales, 549 in
Scotland, and 326 in Ireland; making a grand total of
3,690 deaths for the year. During the same period
there were 230 lives saved from drowning in the
United Kingdom.
SAXON SAVINGS BANKS.—An illustration of the
pressure under which the industrial classes of Ger-
many still labour is furnished by a memorandum on
the operations of the Saxon savings-banks which has
been just issued by the Department of the Interior
at Dresden. There are 176 State savings-banks in the
kingdom?' During the first five months of this year
they have reoeived two-and-a-half million marks less
and paid out four and three-quarter million marks
more, than during the corresponding period of last
year. This makes a difference in the net amount in
hand, of seven and a quarter million marks (2362,500).
The entire amount of the receipts during. the five
months of this year (38,930,217 marks) exceeded the
total of the payments (38,817,030). In May alone the
withdrawals amounted to nearly half a million marks
more than the lodgments. The population of
Saxony is a little over two millions and three
quarteri. •
A GALLANT RESCUR.—A gallant rescue is reported
from a village three miles from Lytham. A number
of Lytham fishermen went out for the purpose of
salmon fishing, and when between No. 1 and No. 2
buoys a gale sprang up. At half-past ten the boats
were just outside the banks. Two men, named
William Wilkin and John Candlish, were hauling up
their net, when their boat, which had a sail ur,
capsized, and they were thrown into the sea. Two
fishermen, named Hardman and Knowles, in a boat
some distance away, pulled as fast as they could when
they saw the accident, but could not reach the men
till they had been in the water ten minutes. When
taken up they were nearly exhausted, and had only
just managed to keep afloat by getting on the bottom
of the boat. Candlish was twice washed off, but
Wilkin pulled him on again. The rescuers had great
difficulty in keeping their boat right, the sea being
very rough, so that when another boat came up: one of
the men was transferred to it.

SUNDAY OBSERVANCE.—The following letter has
been received by Mr. Charles Hill, secretary of the
Working Men's Lord's Day Rest Association, 13, Bed-
ford-row, London : "sew York Sabbath Com-
mittee, 31, Bible-house, New York, July 20, 1880.--
Dear Sir,—ln answer to yours of June 15, I have now
the pleasure to say further that we have received as-
surance from our Secretary of State that the United
States' Commissioner shall be instructed to see that
due respect be paid to the Sunday observance in the
United States Department of the Paris Exhibition of
Electricity. We earnestly hope that a similar course
may be taken by your Government, and that thus our
two great nations may unite, as at the former Paris
Exposition in emphasizing their testimony in behalf
of an institution which has 80 largely contributed to
their moral and political greatness.—Yours very truly,
W. W. Atterbury, secretary.
•
" SUPPLT."—Parish Clerk (at Vestry Meeting on the
Question of Organ-Blower's Salary—the Rector in the
chair) : "You see, Sir, it isn't as if there was only
the Hymns, but there's the Comin' In, and the Goin'
Out, and the 'Spouses, and the Prayers, and they
Psalms take a won'erful deal o' wind! —Punch.
_ _ .

- --
THE COUNTY FRANCHISE.—Mr. Arthur Arnold has
given notice of the following motion for next session :
—" That, in the opinion of this House, it would be
desirable to establish throughout the whole of the
United Kingdom a household franchise similar to that
established in the English boroughs; that it will be
desirable so to redistribute political power as to obtain
a more complete representation of the opinion of the
electoral body."
SALE OF Moons.—At Mr. Nicholson's auction
Mart, Sheffield, on Tuesday, two valuable lots of
moorland were submitted for sale. The first lot con-
sisted of the Stain Moors, lying partly in Derbyshire
and partly in Yorkshire, 744 acres in extent, together
with a shooting box known as Lumby-lodge, two
small farm, adjoining, and a beerhouse and public
house. The bidding, commencing at £lO,OOO, reached
£14,250, at which sum the property was knocked down
to Mr. A. Wightman, a Sheffield solicitor. The second.
lot comprised three allotments of moorland on the
Broomhead and Ughill Moors, the shooting over
which is let to the Bradfield Game Association.
Mr. Wightman also became the purchaser of these for
£2,50,

THE TELEPHONE IN A STORIL—A telephone accident
is reported from Connecticut. The American Architect
says that during a heavy thunderstorm the telephone
bell was rung at nearly every flash of lightning, and
the ladies of the household, fearing worse conse-
quences, left the room. Soon afterwards came a loud
clap of thunder, with vivid lightning, and at the same
instant a crash wad heard in the room where the in-
strument was placed, with a sound of breaking glass
in the pantry, and cries of terror from the cook in the
kitchen. On examination it was found that the

lightning had struck the wire at some distance from
the house, and a portion of the charge had passed
through it sufficiently large to melt it through the
whole length. When it passed next the house wall
the paint was scorched off, the telephone box was
blown to pieces, the brass faucet was melted, and the
glass of a window near the wire was shattered.
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.—The Daily News has pub.
lished the following letter :—" Sir,—Having read the
notice and leading article in the Daily News respecting
the proposed erection of a monument in commemora-
. . .

tion' of- the services of Sir Francis Drake to this
country, I venture to address you to impart the know-
ledge of a fact which may interest your readers and
possibly induce some patriotic Britons to subscribe
towards the funds reoui,ite to raise such a national
tnonument. The fact r allude to is that, in the village
of Offenburg, in Baden, the junction of the Black
Forest Railway, a monument was erected in 1853 in
memory of good Sir Francis Drake, 'for spreading the
cultivation of the potato in Europe.' In this manner
one of England's greatest maritime heroes has been
glorified by the peasantry of a poor German country
district as their saviour during a time of great scarcity
when they had to a great extent to subsist upon
potatoes. I may further remark that this statue—
unpretending, though well executed—is supposed to
represent a good likeness of Sir Francis Drake.—l am,
Sir, your obedient servant, S. G. Mayence-on-Rhine,
July 30."

A Doa's FAST.—The Rhenish Regiment of Artil-
lery, No. 8, quartered at Metz, left that city on June
1 for the Wahner Haide, for exercise in field
manceuvres, shooting, &c., and returned on July 9,
having been 39 days absent from barracks. • 'Upon
opening one of the rooms which had been locked up
while the regiment was away a quartermaster found a
dog belonging to the regiment, lying on the ground,
still alive, but in a state of extreme weakness and
emaciation. How it lived is a mystery; of ordinary
food, or even water, it can have had none. There
were evidences that the poor brute had gnawed some
pieces of wood lying in the room. It was so weak
that it could not even lap, and for two days it was fed
with milk through a tube. But it quickly rallied,
and within 10 days it was able to take food as for-
merly.
WRECKAGE.—It is feared that a large ship must
have foundered in the Western ocean, as great quan-
tities of drift wood have been coming ashore all round
the Orkney Islands.
SIR WILFRID LAWSON ON LOCAL OPTION.—Sir W.
Lawson was one of the principal speakers at a
Temperance fete at Frome on Monday. In the
course ot his remarks the hon. baronet said that, at
present, there was not the majority of the English
members of Parliament in favour of local option. The
Irish votes were in majority of six. The Scotch
members were eight to one in favour of the measure,
and the Welsh members were in a majority of ten to
one. Moreover 22 members of the Government voted
in its favour. Then there were three times as many
English tory niembers in favour f his resolution last
June, as there were the year before. There was only
one of them in its favour the previous year. Last June
there were three. There were eleven other Tory
members in its favour. Everybody seemed nleased
that his resolution had passed. The newspapers called
it a barren triumph, but if it had been defeated they
would have said that a serious blow had been struck
the misguided faction led by Sir Wilfrid Lawson.

A NEW USE FOR THE MICROPHONE.—The Court
Journal says :—" We hear of quite an original use
which the telephone, or more correctly speaking the
microphone, is being put to by Count Enzeaberg on
Castle Tratzburg, near Hall (Tyrol). The soil on his
estate, although, judging from the formation of the
hills and the density of the woods appearinglo be
amply supplied with watercourses, is on the contrary
remarkably dry and wanting in natural moisture.
In order to discover the hidden springs, which fructify
the surrounding woods, the Count has sunk a number
of microphones along the foot of the hills, and con-
nected each one with an insulated telephone and a
small battery. During the night, when the vibrations
of the soil are less than in the day time, he listens for
the subterranean ripples, and has already been able to
discover several small springs, which, by properly con-
necting them, he has 43ut to practical use."
BRINGING HIE 3 BEAR IN ALIVE.—A number of sports-
men had recently encamped in a region out West
famous for large game, and one of the party, known
as a great braggadocio, though a poor hunter,
boasted that he would bring in the first bear. At
twilight- the sportsmen, with the exception of the
self-constituted Nimrod, •had reassembled about the
camp-fire, and anxiously waited the appearance of
the delinquent. Suddenly the noise of hasty foot-
steps and stentorious breathing sounded close at
hand, and the hero of the hour appeared—hatless,
perspiring, his clothing torn by bush and briar, and
running at the top of his speed, pursued by a bear. A
half dozen rifles were brought into use, and the beast
fell, pierced with bullets, but a short distance from
the camp-fire. The hunter (or rather the hunted) in-
quired whether the bear was killed. " Yes," con-
temptuously responded one of his comrades "but
why didn't you shoot him." The man returned a half-
pitying, halt-reproachful glance, and replied, "Do
you think I am so reckless or foolish as to kill a bear
when I can briny it in alive ? "
THE VALUE or A BIBILVS:NEBT.—The Thuringian
Society for the Protection of Birds has issued the
following address :—" Fellow-citizens Your boys
but too frequently empty or destroy birds-nests, some
for the sake of the eggs, others for the young brood
itself. Supposing there be five of the latter in the
nest. Each one of the young birds requires for
its daily food on an average about fifty cater-
pillars, or a like number of insects, which
the old birds have to catch near by, making a
total of at least 250 per diem during feeding-tinae,
which generally lasts from four to five weeks—let
us say thirty days, which would make a total supply
of 7,500 for every nest. Each caterpiller consumes
daily its own weight in leaves and blossoms. If we
suppose that it will likewise require a term of thirty
days before being full-grown, and that it consume
but one single blossom a day, which might have
produced a fruity this simple calculation would
imply the destruction of thirty blossoms or fruits
by one caterpiller in an equal number of days, and
the enormous amount of 225,000' for the 7,500
caterpillers referred to above! In other words, if
your boy had not destroyed the nest, you and your
neighbours would be richer by 225,000 apples, or
pea.rp,. or plums! Should, moreover, the caterpiller
as it is but too apt to do, destroy ten, twenty, or
thirty blossoms a day, or the latter, for the want of
leaves be deprived of nourishment, and consequently
drop off and be equally lost to you—just fancy the
amount of damage done! Therefore be wise, and
consider the true value of a single nest
COURT MOURNING.—The Lord Chamberlain pub-
lishes in the London Gazette the following :—" Orders
for the Court's going into mourning on Sunday, the
31st July, for his late Serene Highness the Prince
Augusta Louis Victor of Saxe Coburg and Gotha,
Duke of Saxony, first cousin to her Majesty the
Queen—viz., the ladies to wear black dresses, white
gloves, black or white shoes, feathers and fans, pearls,
diamonds, or plain gold or silver ornaments. The
gentlemen to wear black Court dress, with black
swords and buckles. The Court to change the mourn-
ing on Sunday, the 7th of August next—viz., the
ladies to wear black dresses, with coloured ribbons,
flowers, feathers, and ornaments, or grey or white
dresses, with black ribbons, flowers, feathers, and
ornaments. The gentlemen to continue the same
mourning. And on Wednesday, the 10th of August,
the Court to go out of mourning."

BULLET WOUNDS.—Apropos of General Garfield's
wound, a correspondent of the Lally Telegraph relates
the following, for the accuracy of which he vouches
"Sergeant Green, of the Ist Royal Dragoons, received
twatibullets in the memorable charge with the heavy
brigade at Waterloo. They entered at the top of the
breast-bone, about four inches apart. After a time,
one was extracted, but the other the doctors were un-
able to find. The wounds healed, and the sergeant
went to his duty as usual, but he often complained,
more especially when performing the sword exercise.
He frequently was sent into the hospital, but the
doctors could do nothing for him. In 1826, the regi-
ment was quartered at Norwich, and Green went into
hospital. The doctors knew his complaint, and asked
him where he felt the bullet. He said the pain was
between the shoulder blades. The doctor ordeted him
to bed, and on examining the part felt the bullet
through the skin. He made an incision in the shape
of a cross, and the ball dropped out after being over
eleven years' in Green's. body. It was quite thin and
round. The wound in the back got well, and the
sergeant soon resumed his duties again.
A NEW METHOD OF PRESERVING FLOWERS.—
The Graphic in its "Scientific Notes," says :—About
thirty years ago there was a fashion rife among ladies
with time on their hands to spend part of it in making
wax flowers—more or less true to Nature. Such arti-
ficial products were placed under glass shades, and
formed not uncommon ornaments on drawing-room
tables, until changes of temperature, and the fugitive
nature of the colours employed, showed that these
things of beauty could not claim to be everlasting joys.
It is possible that the fashion may be revived in a new
form, using real flowers in place of waxwork. Accord-
ing to a Belgiala horticultural paper, M. Cornelis, a
chemist, has discovered a method of preserving flowers
so as to retain their form and colour. Each specimen
to be treated is placed in a paper cone, which is then
filled up with fine sand. The buried flower is then
placed in an air-tight case, with lime, sulphuric acid,
or some other material capable of absorbing moisture.
At,the end of a few days it is carefully removed from
its paper cone, and can be preserved indefinitely in a
closed glass vessel.
WANTS A CHANGE.—Says the Burlington Hawke,
solemnly :—" Yes, daughter, you should go somewhere
this summer. You cannot stay at home during warm
weather and live. To be sure, your mother, who
hasn't been out of town since she was married, can
stand it, but then she is old-fashioned, and doesn't
know any better, and besides, she has fun enough
doing the washing and ironing. By all means, go.
Get a linen duster and a blanket, and go at once."

-r-r 3
THE "NATIONAL FAIR-TRADE LEAGLB—u . 'nuer
this title an association has been formed "to prosecute
by every means at its command an extension of trede
with all countries ,and especially with our colonies and
dependencies, prepared to deal with the United King-
dom upon the principle of reasonably free interchange,
and to agitate for such fiscal readjustments as shall
prevent the products of foreign States which refuse to
deal with Great Britain in fair trade from unfairly
competing with the products of home labour." An
executive committee has been formed, with Mr.
Sampson S. Lloyd, of Birminghain, as chairman, and
it is the intention of the League to raise a sum of
£50,000 to carry out its programme. Of this sum
£6,000 has been already subscribed, among the largest
subscribers being—Mr. S. C. Lister, £2,000; Mr.
E. C. Healey, £1,000; Mr. Sampson Lloyd, £500;
Mr, D, Macivir, YAP., 500

A LONG APPRENTICESHM—An American in Pariw
is said recently to have offered Meissonier 10,000 f
for one of his sketches, to which the 1.-ainter replied :
The price is 20,000." "Twenty thousand?" asked the
American, who thought his offer of ten bad been ex-
tremely liberal; but it did not take you mare Than a
day to do it." "True," replied Meissonier, " lk-it it
took me fifteen years to learn how to do it in a day.'
A GENTLE HINT !—Preiident Garfield kept up h a
spirits admirably during the early part of his Hine: a.
The Albany Sunday Press says that every day pack*
ages of delicacies, and bottles of rare old wines' were
received from all parts of the country. The Presi-
dent craved for iced water, but the physicians would
not allow him as much as he wanted. After Steward '
Crump had given him some chicken broth, the Presi-
dent said, Well, Crump, I have had the broth, what
next—medicine or water?" Crump looked dubious.
Again the President said, "Crump, there are three
courses—broth, medicine, and water. Ihave had the
medicine, I have had the broth, now what next?"
Crump then knew the President had given him a hint
•for iced water, and the impatient but philesopilic
sufferer received it.

PAIRING. —A novel system of courtship is proposed
by an American Women's Right Journal, as a ineaneo
of placing men and women on equality. The marriage-
able youth of both sexes, according to this plan, would
assemble at stated intervals each one would write on
a slip of paper the name of the person he or she would
like to marry, the Paper would then be snbmitte I to
two discreet individuals, and if any two were found to
have declared a mutual regard, the fact would be an-
nounced, and the marriage would follow. The rernakk-
ing papers would be immediately destroyed.
DAII2I4ES EASILY ADJOSTED.—It is related that.
the President of the Fitchburg Railroad, some thirty
year ago, settled with a number of passengers who
had been wet but not seriously injured by the running
off of a train into the river, by paying them from
5 dols. to 20 dols. each. One of them, a sailor, when
his terms weie asked, said : "Well, you see, mister,
when I was down in the water, I looked up to the
bridge and calculated that we had fallen fifteen feet,
so if you will pay me a dollar a foot I will call it
square."

AN ARTIFICIAL VOLCAIIO.—A curious phenomenon
was lately recorded by the Cologne journals. An
artesian well was being bored at .Apenrade in the
Rhine provinces, and the bore had reached a depth of
nearly 150 metres. A subterranean rumbling was
heard, and in fe w moments sand, clay, and other debris
were ejected from the hole with extraordinary violence,
forming in point of fact an artificial volcano. The
cause is attributed to an accumulation of gas beneath
a non-porous soil, which could find no outlet until one
was provided for it by the borer. This theory is borne
out by the escape of vast volumes of gas, which took
fire, and formed a high column of bright flame when a
burning Match was applied to the bore-hole.
WINNING HIM BACIL—One of the travellers for a
new fresh dry goods house recently arrived in a town
in the interior of the state to find that one of his
best customers was about to transfer his custom to a
Boston house. "Didn't we always do well by you?"
asked the New Yorker, as he sat down for an expla-
nation. "Yes, I believe so," "Didn't we ship goods
promptly ? " "Yes." "And did we ever press you
in a pinch ? " "No." " Did you get prices lower at
the Boston house?" "No, I can't say as I did."
"They can't understand hy you should leave our
house all of a sudden after buying of us for several
years." "I know that some explanation is due, and
I will make one," replied the merchant, "You
know that I attend church ? " "Yes, and so do I."
"Do you? I didn't know that. I am looked upon
as a Christian." "So am I. I've got the date of
my baptism right here in this book ! " "Is that so?
Well, our church is in need of repairs. We were talk-
ing it over the other day when the Boston drummer
was in here, and he at once subscribed 10 dol." "Ten
dollars! Why that's only two kegs of nails! Put me
down for 30 dol. cash, a new silk hat for every season,
and suit of clothes for the minister." "Do you really
mean it?" "Of course I do, and if that two-oent
Christian from Boston dares to sign another five I'll
send you down a 600 dol. church organ and pay a man
500 dol. a year to play it. We are a house which never
makes a great display of gospel hymns and religious
tracts, but when a Boston drummer bluffs we show
our religious hands, and rake in the pot every time."
The merchant will still continue to deal with the New
York house.— Wall-street News.

AVERAGE PRICES or BRITISH CORN.—The follow-
ing are the average prices of British corn for the week
ending July 30, as received from the inspectors and
officers of 11xcise : Wheat, 475. id. ; barley, 275. 6d.;
oats, 235. id. per imperial qr. Corresuonding week
last year :—Wheat, 445. 2d. ; barley, 278. id.; oats,
28s. id.

A COMMON OCCURRENCE.—" Hi! hi! stop that
car!" Driver screws down the brake so vigorously
as nearly as to dislocate the necks of the passengers,
who fall up against each other and smile or look
cross, according to their peculiar dispositions. "Now,
dear, good-bye, and be sure and come and see me very
soon, and don't forget to give my love to Aunt Susan
and Uncle John and all the rest of the folks; and re-
member not to trouble yourself about matching that
ribbon unless you can as easy as not. And do take
care of yourself, and tell Jane how glad I am that
she's going to marry that young Mr. Smith, who is a
good man, I know by his looks, and I hear he's got
lots of money, which is most as good. Now don't
take cold this changeable weather, and I'll send you
that recipe for the muffins just as soon as I get home.
Goo6l-byeii-g-o-o-d-bye. Why, where's that car? If
the hateful thing hasn't gone and left me I thought
the street cars were for the accommodation of people."
So they are, and that's the reason why this one went
on, instead of stopping at the crossing all day.—
Boston Journal.

THE LABOUR MARKET.—The labour market in most
of the centres of industry is in a fairly satisfactory
condition. Prospects in the iron and steel trades are
encouraging. The upward tendency of prices con-
tinues orders for foreign export increase, and there is
a marked improvement in the development of the
home trade. In the cotton trade operatives continue
to be employed, and business is good. The woollen
and linen industries are dull, especially at Bradford
and Barnsley, and a good many hands are out of
work. Employment in the coal trade is somewhat
scarce. Business in Sheffield is better than it has
been for some time. Plates and rails are in large
demand. At Chatham Dockyard work is very brisk.
In the metropolis business is good in all trades, the
prospective large expenditure during the coming year
by the Metropolitan Board of Works in new bridges
over the Thames; in street improvements, in main
drainage, and other works to the amount of £4,536,000,
gives hopes of a good autumn and winter's work.
THE BRAY OF THE MEXICAN DONKEY.—The New
Orleans Democrat recounts the many good qualities of
the Mexican burro that has lately been introduced
into that city as a child's horse, who, it seems, can
banquet on splinters and scraps, carry immense loads,
and is faithful, uncomplaining, docile, and tireless;
but, "we regret to say," continues the Democrat, "the
burro brays. Amazing as is his strength, his stamina,
his amiability, his courage, these things are as nothing
compared to his bray. That such a tremendous
and far-reaching sound should emanate from so
small a source constitutes the eighth ma nder of
the world. When the little blue burro—they are
nearly all blue—concludes to celebrate his scanty
period of relaxation by a good, healthy, whole-
souled bray—when he humps his little back, and
shuts his appealing little eyes, and lets his ears lie
along his back, and then gathers himself into one
ecstatic note, it is enough to make one envy the
sainted dead and long for the cold and silent grave.
The sleepers for a mile around start up with the sweat
of terror on their furrowed brows, children fall down
in fits, the sick believe they have heard the trump of
doom, and the very atmosphere shudders like a human
creature. Burros don't often bray, because they
haven't much time for braying • but they bray some-
times, and that is what keeps them so low in the scale
of animated nature. Without his bray the burro
. .

would be little short of an angel. As he-is, however,
he ii an animal to be admired at a distance and in the
abstract."

PROPOSED CELEBRATION IN AUSTRIA.—The city and
district of Trieste will, next year, celebrate the five
hundredth anniversary of its connection with Austria
by the holding of a great Austro-Hungarian Exhibi-
tion of Agriculture,. Manufactures, and Art. The
site of the show will be in the park of St. Andrew, on
the shores of the bay. The preliminary estimate of
the cost of the building is three hundred thou-
sand florins. It was on the 30th of September,
1382, that Leopold the Third, Archduke of Austria,
signed the document guaranteeing protection to the
port and territory of Trieste, which had previously
been constantly involved in struggles with Venice
and other formidable enemies. Since that date the
fortunes of the city have, with few interruptions, been
bound up with those of Austria. It has long been
the greatest mercantile port of the Empire, and pro-
mises to become of far greater importance as a ship-
ping and commercial emporium in the future.
HER ENVIRONMENT.—The romance of a yowl):
Bostonian who married a New York lady last winter
is told by a correspondent. They went abroad for a
wedding trip of six months, and after their return of c
of his acquaintances said to the bridegroom, "Well
my dear boy, I suppose you are delighted with your
pretty wife ! You think her a radiant goddess, DO
doubt? Men always do have extravagant notions of
their wives the first year of marriage." The Bostonian
smiled rather drearily as he replied, "Well, the fart
is, my wife has too many clothes for every possiMe
occasion, and they are of such resplendent patterr4
that my time has been mainly taken up in admiriug
them. I have not got really acquainted with my wife
yet; but I daresay that in the course of a year or so I
shall get down to the actual woman."
THE LATE COMET.—The other evening a paper by
M. Wilfred de Fonvielle, vice-president of the Balloon--
Society of Paris, was read before the Balloon Society
of Great Britain, at tha Royal Aquarium, Westmin•
ster. Mr. Le Fevre proceeded to read the paper, in
which M. de Fonvielle described an ascent he made in
June at midnight in a balloon. The brilliancy of the
light which the comet showed when the party arrived
at an altitude of over 1,000 metres, he said, had
increased in a very large proportion, notwithstand-
ing the transparency of the atmosphere. As far
as they could judge of similar changes with-
out the assistance of optical instruments it seemed
to them that the brilliancy had increased about
half beyond its normal brilliancy as seen from the
earth. The tail was a little longer than seen frorn
the earth, but most remarkable was the manner
in which it terminated, for it was cast off straight
as if a ',line were drawn over it horizontallY
with a ruler. This singular circumstance Made M. de
Fonvielle think that the end of -the phenomenon
might be terminated by a fleecy • cloud. The appear-
ance of the tail was as if produced by legions of large
stones travelling in the planetary space independentll,.
of the comet, and having no other connexion with it
than that of being temporarily lighted by the raYO
which its atmosphere had caused to more or lest
deviate from their natural route. These myriads ca
small worlds, mixed, no doubt, with more consider'
able remnants of worlds would, thereforejproduce
same effect as dust lighted by a ray of sun admitted
into a dark room through a crevice. He dwelt upos
this theory at some length, and insisted that it was t°
this cause that the zodiacal light was in all rpasenablo
probability to be attributed. M. de Fonvielle
insisted that astronomical investigations should 1114
dud, halloo:gum