The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1866-12-15 00:00:00

Bisctliantous liothigtitte,
ROME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

EWA N DINO " Merit !"—ln a Case of night
poaching tried at Derby, one of the prisoners, on being
called upon to plead, shrieked out wildly, " They have
taken her away! They have taken her away; and I
don't know where they have pnt her. A jury Was
thereupon empanneled to try the question whether he
stood mute of malice or was incapable of pleading.
The gaoler and surgeon examined, said the prisoner
had appeared perfectly sane till a day or two before
the assizes, and they both believed him to be so
The jury found that he stood mute of malice, and the
trial was proceeded with, the prisoner continuing
occasionally to cry out as before.
A PAINFUL SUICIDIE.—On Tuesday morning,
about breakfast time, Mr. Henry Sampson, a gentle.
man well known and highly respected for his personal
and kuhstantial support of the Strangers' 13.nevolent
Society and many of the philanthropic institutions in
Limos, and especially those connected with the Wes-
hist. denominat on, committed eutoi,te by outing his
throat, at hie residence, in Qiieeinegnare. I), ceased
has been in a weak state of h. alth for Come time. AIIII
ha.. 'for the last few days been suffering front
hell en I is chin. lit, spirits have been very much
depressed, and for several weeks he has been in
a state of religious melancholy, which was at
times so intense teat he considered himself to be lost.
Mr. Beardshaw, who was not only his professional
&Wiser, but his personal friend, endeavoured,
along with his family and other friends, to cheer him
in his despondency, but, as the fatal event shows, with-
out effect Mr. Beardshave saw his patient on Mon.
day night, and promis-d to call for him to accompany
hiss on a drive. The unfortunate gentleman partook
of breakfast about nine o'clock, apparently in hie
usual spirits, and then retired to his room, where a
gurgling sound was immediately heard by one of the
servants. Alarmed at the strange noise, the inmates
ran up stairs, when Mrs. Sampson was horrified to
find her husband standing in the room, with blood
flowing from a fearful gash in his throat which be
had inflicted with a razor. Mr. Beardshatir was
speedily in attendance, but unhapcily his services were
of no avail, for the unfortunate gentleman expired in
a very short time. His death will be deeply regretted
throughout the town.

RiTrausrs.-1 he Ritualists now lay great
stress upon the point of their close resemblance to the
Early Church. The ROMIIII Catholic Oratorians at
kirompton are, after all, nearer than these mock
turtles, ria they have their fint service at 5 30 or
6 a.m., which is Early Church enough in all con-
science.—Punrh.

Asses IN Pei:lel—From the sublime to the
ridiculous, the old saying tells us, there is but a step.
From horse statistics to those of the as. tribe there is
but the space of a line. There are 250 of these long.
eared piadrupeds who from six in the morning to
about nine perambulate the streets of Paris, stopping
at great mansions and the dwellings of the wealthy to
supply their inmates with half a pint of milk, for
! which their proprietors charge one franc. M.
' Damoiseau is the principal ass contractor of Paris—in
fact, so great a swell that he advertises as " Aucien
fOurnisseur due Prince Imperial ;" not that the heir
to the throne imbibed asses' milk, but that after his
nurse's services were no longer required, the child
pined away, and was restored to health by the milk of
a splended Norman cow belonging to M. Damoiseau's
racheri, which animal was sent daily to the Tuileries
and milked in the court of the Pavillion de Flora for
his Imperial Highness's benefit.

Tug TaLIAM Tam—The tallow tree of Chios,
, which gives rise to a vast trade in the northern parts
'of that empire, has been introduced into India. It
; grows with great luxuriance in the Dhoone and in the
Rohistan of the North-Western Province. and the
Punjab, and there are now tens of thousands of trees
' in the G; ivernment plantations of Kowlaghir, Hawul
Baugh, and Ayar Tolle, from which tons of seed are
available for distribution. Dr. Jameson prepared from
the seeds 100 lbs. of tallow, and for warded 50 lbs. to
the Punjab Railway, in order to have its properties
as a lubricator for railway machinery tested. For
burning the tallow is excellent; it gives a clear, bright,
inodorous flame, and is without smoke. The tree
fruits abundantly both in the llhoons and plains, and
grows with great rapidity, many trees raised from
seeds introduced eight years ago being now 6 feet in
circumference and 3 feet from the ground. The tint.
her is white and close grained, and well fitted for
printing blocks. The leaves, too, are valuable fie a
dye.

COMMUNICATED. —The report of a split in the
Cabinet arose out of a conversation at Tattersall's
concerning the Derby " crack."— Punch.

FOUND AN INSANE.—At the Durham Assizes
Cuthbert Ralham Carr, when placed at tha bar,
charged with the wilful murder of Sarah Melvin, at
Gateshead, on the 13th of April, insisted on pleading
" Guilty," although two learned counsel had been
• retained to defend him, and he was warned by the
judge that if his plea was recorded he would neces.
warily be sentenced to be hung. The priooner, how-
ever. persisted in his determination unless certain
condittons which he said had been promised to him
should be fulfilled—namely, that his father should
"apologize" to him for apprenticing him to some
glees esorks, and that he should be allowed to Appear
in the dock in his fustian clothes, Under these circam- •
stances his lordship ordered the jury to he sworn to
try the sanity of the prisoner at the present time and
his ability to plead, and they found, upon the evidence
of Dr. Smith, of the Stdgfield Lunatic Asylum, and
Mr. Shore, surgeon to the Durham gaol, who stated
that he was an imbecile, of unsound mind, am! unable
to appreciate the consequences of his conduct, that
the prisoner was at the present time insane. Hie
lordehip, therefore. directed that he should be kept
in prison until her Majesty's pleasure should be known.
The charge was that if murdering a little girl whose
body was found on Gateshead-fell, with a cord round
its neck, and with signs of revolting violence upon it,
ROYAL AND IMPERIAL AMENITIIB.—The Prince
of Wales brought from Russia the fine Siberian hounds
which had been presented to his royal highness by the
Emperor of Russia. These magnificent dogs are by
no means the only presents that have been made, as
we hear that, besides the marked attention tmaid to the
prince by his majesty and the imperial family, a great
number of most costly couvenirs have terititied •., 'he
personal esteem in which the prince is held in St.
Petersburg by the Emperor and his imperial relatives.
His majesty also kindly ordered that no one of the
suite or of the royal servants should leave the country
without bearing sway a valuable gift that will remind
him of the eventful visit. On the other hand, it should
be stated that present making has been purely reci-
procal, lor the Prince of Wales has presented many
valuable souvenirs in return.

STATIBTICE OF PENAL Disc,mtim—Six garotters
were flogged the other day at Newgate, in the presence
of the prison authorities. Their name.' were Henry
Wilaon, Charles Everett, Michael Mack, David
Benjamin, George Nain, and William White. Their
united ages amounted to lsl' years, the sum total of the
number of lashes they received was 145, and they will,
collectively, retire into 40 years of penal servitude.
Punch.

MARSHAL P E LIBBIEII9 LOVE SI X 0 . —The
widowed Duchess of Malakoff has been staying at
Compiegne OD a visit to her Empress comin. The
Illowing anecdote was related the other day of the
circumstances which led to the marriage of the fair
Spanish arisMcrate and the soldier Pellissenr : At
one of the Court balls the Marshal happened to be
standing near a flower-stand, and perceived Dona
Vahr, who had just gathered a rose, "Might I
venture to hone, madam, that you would bestow that
flower on me ?" "No," was the somewhat discouraging
reply; " but if it were a laurel branch I should do
so." Encouraged by the gracious termination of the
reply, the rild hero of Sebastopol took a seat next
to the fair cousin of his gracietue aouveraine, and com-
menced • siege which in three months ended in the
capture of the lady's hand and heart.

A BRiDICOROOM IN DIFFICULTINS.—A court-
martial has recently been convened at Montreal,
Canada, under somewhat unusual circumstances. The
100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment,
arrived in CASIWIA at the commencement of last month
from NIESI'I6. It will be remembered that the regiment
had been under orders for the change of station some
months before it was made, events having transpired at
home and in Canada to occsaion delay 4. While the regi-
ment was still at Malta Major Clery applied for leave of
absence to England, where "urgent private affairs" re-
quired his presence. In fact Major Clery asked for leave
in order that 110 might get married, but the leave was
refused bim. Under these circumstances, the gallant
Major took matters into his own hands, came to England
and wee married, and rejoined his corps at Malta long
before the date of its embarkation. He was, of course,
placed under arrest, and as it was not deemed expedient
to bring him to court-martial before the regiment
moved, the trial took place immediately after the
arrival of the 100th in Canada. Tne charge was for
being absent without leave, to which the Major
nleadel guilty. The finding of the court has not yet
transpired.
Nor LIKELT.—As the Roman Catholic Clergy
have for so long a time acquiesced in the giving tip of
Matrimony, the Pope may also acquiesce in the giving
up of Patrimony—Punch,

A HINT FOR TFIF UPPER CLAPEISS !—The
Court Journal, in speaking of the recent Reform
Demonstration in London, says :
It would be equally as 'interesting If the be au monde would
mart* in their tens of thonsands along the streets, with their
bands playing and their banTer. flying, whereon might be
seen Inscribed the sentiment. of that class—their political
and social faith, and the,r grumbling, such a•—•• minni
Year fsl, Ever "—"More Cliths"—. None hut the Upper
Ten lhonsand Deserts the Fair"—" Down with the Snobs !"
—"The Four-In-hand Club"—" Tee Friend. of • Quiet Game
at Whist".—" Long Live Baden-Baden !"—° The Bookmakers"
Vice le Billet '"—"The Film'. of Framripanni"—Repeal
of the duty on Champagne"—° The Italian Operatives." and
so on The marching of the eliev of •ociety through London
would be interesting, to see whai they were like... body when
divided off from the rest of society, and we trnst they
will take the Hut we fling out for the benefit of London, In
general.

THE CHANCES OF A FRENCH SOLDIER !—Jnet
now, when our Government is anxiously eonsidering
how to tempt men into the army. it may be interesting
to know %hat possible prizes a French recruit carries
in his knangack. In the first place, a French marshal
has 12,000 f. allowed him for the hotel forming his
headquarter.; then there is his salary as marshal,
amounting to 30 0001., with a special salary pertaining
to his command of 40 0001. more. Then he is a
senator by right of his popition as mamba], which
yi.-I.ln • furthi r salary of 30,0001. ; he is also an officer
of the Legion of Honour, with the moderate salary of
3,0001. : next there is allowance for receptions, dinnersli
fetes, balls, and soirees, which amounts to 43,000 f.,
with 12,000 f. additional for office expenses. The total
of thew amounts is 175,000 f., or 7,000/.
_

. -
" Tun R.•LINO PASSION."—A good illustration
occurred a few days since of the strength of "the
ruling passion" even in death (remarks The Lancet )
An old man in his last illness was admitted into one
of the metzePlithu hospital.. lie WM without rala,