The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-02-15 00:00:00

Blistrilancolis

NOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

TEN YeAim llENCE.—Membem now commonly
wear their hats in the House. They will not be al-
lowed to do this when Ladies have seats. It will be
optional for Lady M.P.'s to keep their bonnets on or
not, AS they please.—Punch.

_
THE BRIGHTON AQUARIUM. —The Brightun.
Herald states that there have been added to the
aquarium come Abyssinian toads, for whcee special
be-hoof a Wardian case has been provided. When
placed in si/u they are likely towuake a seneation. The
Herald adds :

In peregrinating the aquarium one occasionally cornea
upon some unexpected form of marine die. The other day,
while looking at the congers, &c., in Tank No. 6, we noticed
at the extreme end of this tank, by the rock nearest to the
glass, whet at first sight appeared to be film floating in the
water. A little closer inspection, however, revealed to us
that It was an infinite number of minute shrimp-like
creatures, In Mae and appearance like the lower part of the
body of the daddy-long-legs, with the addition of • singular
protuberance benes th. On inquiry, the little creatures
proved to be • shoal of opossum shrimps, the protuberance
tieing In reality • bag In which, like the opossum, they carried
their young !

It is not known how these shrimps came into the
aquarium.
THE CUTE 0/111 The late Mr. Brodie,
auctioneer, Dundee, told the following story, which
happened in his own experience, about twenty-tire
years ago :

-
"An English merchant having to visit Scotland on business
his travelling clerk being nick, paid a visit to Mr. B. at
Dundee. He seems to have bad the notion that the Scotch
were half savages, and wondered, no doubt, when he saw
their heads antipodes covered with good broadcloth. Being
of an inquisitive turn of mind he asked Mr. P. to introduce
him to one of the most erudite and one of the most igno-
rant of Dundee's cone, Mr. B. told him that would not
be difficult to do, and seeing on the street a • tamale
character,' called Jock, a drunken street caddy, or street
porter, he called him into his office and introduced
him to the Englishman. 'Now, Jock,' said the English-
man, 'I went to amk you a few questions, and U you
answer them correctly here are five shillings for you, New
tell see who was David's father Jame,' immediately re-
plied Jock without any hesitation. This rather staggered the
Englishman, no lie tried hint again, with more and more
difficult Bible questions, all of which Jock answered without
much difficulty. Jock came off the winner of ten shillings,
and loosing at them to his hand said, • Weel, sir, I hardly
like to tak a' this miller frae ye. I'll tell ye what lii dam. If
ye answer me ae question, I'll gie ye back ye're abler ; If ye
cannot &newer it, ye will flouble IL" Done,' said the Eng.
Rahman eagerly, ' done, Jock ; doubt: or quits. • Weq, sir,'
said Jock, 'ye asked ma who was David's father—tell me,
gin ye can, wits was my lather?' You can imagine the
chaarin of the Englishman and the delight of Jock as he
walked away with twenty shillings jiugliag in his pocket
THREE CHILDREN POISONED BY THEIR MOTHER.
—A shocking tragedy has been committed in one of
the suburbs of the city of Strasburg. An cmptoye in
the railway office, the father of four children, on re-
turnin e home one evening found his wife out, and a
note left by her informed him that she had gone to
drown herself. The police, however, discovered her
in an hotel, and conveyed her home next evening.
Tile husband, on returning home, went to bed earlier
than usual; leaving his wife and childien downstairs.
Ife was awoke about two o'clock in the morning by
the cries of the youngest child, a boy of three years,
and on getting up to see what was the matter, dis-
covered that his wife was not in the house. On enter-
ing another room he found his daughter, aged sixteen,
and • son, aged thirteen, quite dead, and another son,
eight years of age, in the agonies of death. An investi-
gation showed that all hail been poisoned. The
youngest child, three years of age, was no ill that no
hope was entertained of its recovery. The mother
could aowhere be found, and it was presumed that she
had carried out her threat of drowning herself.
HAHN:II7AT ON AYRTON.—The Daily Telegraph
remarks :

ills not safe to bully Mr. A 3 rtou. That is the practical
inference to be drawn from Monday night's debate in the
House of Commons on the Parke Regulation Bill. The Home
Secretary laid on the table some new Regulations for the use
of the Parks, which cancelled Mr. Ayrtou's (=Ohl order,
and thus no room was left for the motion In which
Mr. 141 ands would have censured the First Commis-
sioner of Works. Hut Mr. Vernon Harcourt felt that the
House c.oula not afford to lose the Mil store of rhetoric which
he had carefully prepared for that occasion so out it came.
A great master of satire, the Member for Oxford kept his
hand in during the recess by practising on Mr. Ayrtou
and thus the First Commissioner of Works was the theme
of some of the best epigrams which lighted up the
dead season of the political year. He said so many clever
and cutting things about the hero of the Parks Regulations
that is seemed more than doubtful whether any could be left
for the House f Commons : but he showed last night that
use could not "stale bin Menne variety," and, in fact, he left
the impression that " II arcourt on Ayrton" would be one of
the best politic a sent-books of the season. The Government
you asked whether it had struck out the famous rule that
bathers in the Serpentine should he allowed to use no
soap, and whether it would continue to employ the
whole power ef its executive machinery to prevent small
lads from gating for minnows in that mighty water.
Mr. Ayrton was congratulated on the fa t that his Regela
ti ne had won .publicity which might be envied by a popular
author, since they had gone through four editions in little
more than six months. He was pleroaritly reminded
that he might be prosecuted for a misdemeanour by
the Attornry-Oeneral because he had not obeyed an
Act of Parliament which deer, ei that the Regulstions
should be tail on the table of the House forthwith.
And the conclusion was, that the Rules aad the Statute
Book together made up an excellent book of nonsense.
The satire was telling, although It fell flatly on
the House because the personal attack on Mr.
Ayrton was felt to be unfair ; but Mr. Harcourt bad
certainly no realms to congretnlate himself on a vic-
tory when the First Commissioner of Works sat down. Ile
was repaid in his own coin. The satire, if not quite to ela-
borate, was full of blunt force, which had the merit of being
" intolligible to the meanest capecity." Mr liarcourt was
roundly told that he was "pretentious," that he fancied him-
self to be the only wise man In the House, and that he
imagined all the other members to be fools. Such wee the
Frothier: arrow which Mr. Ayrtr n shot at hie foe as he est
down, arid the House laughed a loud approval. Apart from
the game of personalities between two very clever men, who
have a remarkable talent for saying ellagreeable things, and
who both practice the virtue of candour, the debate drew
from Mr. Ayrtou a subitantially complete technical defence
of what Ile has doers to shut Pontlnil oratory out of the
Park.

Lift "DICKENS DicrioNeity."—The Graphic
Oar

A work, "The Dickens Dictionary," by Gilbert A. Pierce,
end published at Boston, give* the following summary of
the character, portrayed by the late Charles Dickens in his
novels :-Actore 17, actresses 10, actuary 1, adventurers 2,
aeronaut. 2, alderman 1, amanuensis 1, Americaos 25, ap-
pmitices 6, architects 4, authors 8, beldee 3, bachelors 10,
bmbers 4, barmaids 2, beadle. 6, blind persons 3, boarding-
house kem,ers 3, boAles 2, boot. 4, brokers 9, circus per-
formers 7, church 1 (Little Bethel). clergymen 13, clerks, dtc.,
47, corporations, 6:c., 8 cricketers 6, cripples 6, dancing.
master. 1. detectives 12, editor. 4. migrants 7, fahies 2,
fernier. 4, footmen 6, fops 3. Frenchmen 23, Germans 5,
governesses 3, grocers 3 invalids 7, Jews 3, lawyers 36,
11.P.'s 7, mieera 9, murderers 10, nurses 13, old melds 16,
pawnbrokers 3, physicians plasterer 1, pony 1. poli.inen
12, pugilist 1, reporter I. raven 1, r.urroollouist 1, serious
3, showmen 7, shrews 12, surge°, 5 7, spies 2, swindlers 14,
thieves 12, toadies 10, tobacconist I. tramps 2, turnkeys 6,
undertakers 6, vagabonds 8, vessels'', vestrymen 6, wulters
13, widowers 3, and widows 39.

•
AJEATH MT A SCOTTISH HUMOUBAST. Mr.
John Kelso Hunter, • self-taught artist and author,
whose writings won the apprchation of Mr. Carli is,
and were popular in the West of Scotland, died at
Poltoksloield, near Glasgow, on Morday last. Hewn]
; born at Dunkeith, in Ayrshire' on December 15, 1802.
At 67i he published his first bock, The Retrospect elan
Artist's Life. In this he Las preserved many phases
of life which might otherwise have been forrott -it or
unknown. Acquainted in his eolith with many who
bad known Robert Burns, and with some of the heroin
of the poet's verge, Mr. Hiteter embodied his recol-
lections of these indivieln As in a volume entitle i Life
Simlies of Character, Published in 1870. This book
threw much light on the works of Burns, especially on
the original of Dr. Hiornb.ik, and also on the general
condition and character of the society in the midst of
which the poet was born, It likewise contained vain-
aide motes on the unfortunate Paisley song-writer,
Tannahiti. and other minor I Ards of then orth. He
was poterait•painter of anme merit, and a portrait of
himself as a cobbler, nis original ocenpati on, found a
place on the walls of the Royal Academy's Exhibition
more than a quarter of a century ago.
Taa Yam MKIEBICR !—A captain, who has
been round the world twelve times, formed the first
temperance society in Madagascar. The natives are
hard drinker., and will imbibe anything whisth has
alcohol in it. A chief one day was shown Into the
cabin just an the captain was taking a little medicine
which was flavoured with spirits, a pint boAle of
which etood on the table. Thinking it rem, the
chief asked for some, and would not believe the
captain's asset-ti -u that it was medicine. Know-
ing his man, the captain, leaving the bottle,
went to another part of the cabin. The tempts
tiou was not to be resisted by the chief, who, seizing
the bottle, drained a pint of the mixture at one
drained. be captain returning, resumed the conver-
Bate., pretending not to netice the chief, who totrn..l
as pale as his tawny complexion would adocit,
kept nit a r-ulibinz in the region of the stomach. He
twisted and turned in his s -Ist a few moments, awl
then giving a yell, rooshed out of the cabin, jumped
overhoaid, and swam ti the shore. When the next
year ties captain revolted the harbour, not a drop
would the chief touch. Be was the brat and only
member of the first temperance society in Madagas-
car,