The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-10-16 00:00:00

THE IGNORANT MANAGER, OR
HAMLET'S REVENGE._

Apropos of the difficulties which Dumas en-
countered in getting his translation of " Hamlet "
played, a good story is now going the round of the
Paris greenrooms. The manager of the Thbatre du
Cirque, one Billion by name, was introduced to him,
and begged him to write a new drama for his house.
Dumas demanded a premium of 10,000 f., besides his
author's fees. "That's a lot of money ! " exclaimed
the manager, who was a regular miser, "a lot of
money! " "Have you got a good company ? " in-
quired Dumas, who had his " Hamlet " always in his
mind. "Excellent ! first-class ! " replied Billion.
"Would you engage Rouviere ? " "Yes, if he doesn't
eost too much." A hundred francs a night only.
"Oh, that is too dear, but perhaps he would accept
less." "Well," rejoined Dumas, "I'll tell you what
&o—l will forego my premium if you
will play • Hamlet: ' " Hamlet ! " exclaimed
Billion, " What a strange title ! " "A strange title?
Why, it is Shakspeare's masterpiece." " Shakspeare's !
but it is a play by you that I want." "Well, I have
translated 'Hamlet' with Meurice ; there is some
splendid verse in it." " Verse I" shouted the manager
in disgust; "I won't have verse in my theatre. It's
not amusing. I would rather give 10,000 francs and
The wheat harvest in France this year has, it is have a piece quite original. Besides, I don't know
estimated, yielded 95,470,000 hectolitres of wheat, your Shakspeare ; he has never had anything played
which is over six million hectolitres less than last here." "Very well," said Dumas, 'let us talk no
year's crop. In only one department bas the wheat more about him. Give me the premium, and you
been very good, in seventeen it was good, in fifty-one shall have a brand new play." The drama produced
fair, in eleven mediocre, and in five positively bad, was the "Tour St. Jacques," and it turned out an
The average yield per hectare—two and a half acres utter failure. "It serves Billion right," remarked
—was about thirty-four bushels. The weight hag Dumas, smiling; "had he played Hamlet he would
decreased from five to eight per cent. as compared have reaped a big success and saved his 10,000 f."
with last year. As the ordinary consumption of wheat
in France is 118 million hectolitres per year, there is Dr. Hubert Airy, medical inspector, accompanied by
a deficit in home produ_ction of 23 millions, which
Mr. Arnold Taylor, engineering
Windsor on Tuesday and
of the Local
quantity must be imported. The reason assigned fo Government Board, went to Wi
commenced an inquiry into the sanitary condition of
the falling off of the crop in France during the last e borough, the visit being made at the request of the the b
year or two is that less ground is sown with wheat local authorities in consequence of the statements
now and more with oats. The weather is made which have been published with reference to tlPhealth
responsible for the bad quality. of the town. •

—,.A4?Ne

We.i;

ANARCHIST PLOT TO BURN VIENNA
STARTLING DISCLOSURES.

On Saturday the Daily Chronicle had the "ex-
clusive privilege "of publishing details of a diabolical
plot to burn Vienna. Its information was confirmed
on Monday from various sources. The Vienna cor-
respondent of that journal writing from the capital
on Sunday, said :—" I am able to fully confirm the
disclosures furnished by the Paris correspondent of
The Daily Chronicle with regard to the discovery of a
startling Anarchist plot in this capital. Suspicious
that something of the kind had taken place were,
perhaps, entertained by a few people at the time you
received your telegram. The newspapers, however,
were forbidden to publish anything relating to the
discovery, and the foreign correspondents were for-
bidden to telegraph it. The general public knew
nothing of the plot until to-day, when the prohibition
against publishing any details in connection with it
were withdrawn, the police investigation being now
practically finished, and all the leaders of the conspiracy
arrested—or, at all events, such as remained in Vienna.
It is needless to say that the effect of this hns
been to cause a great sensation among the excitable -
population of this capital. In all 17 arrests have
been made. The account which appears in to-day's
papers was furnished by the police, and although it
contains some important revelations, it is tolerably
evident that, for obvious reasons, it does not comprise
all the information in the possession of the police.
It confirms in every detail, however, the information
of your Paris correspondent. There is not the least
doubt that the design of the Anarchist conspirators
far surpassed in extent and diabolical ingenuity any-
thing ever aimed at by Johann Most's followers or
by the party of dynamite in London. Had the scheme
of the Anarchists succeeded it may be safely said that
Vienna would have been the scene of such wholesale
crime and destruction as has not been witnessed for
centuries. The police examination of the prisoners
has estsblished the fact that the plot was directed
from the United States and from London. A
very perfect organisation had been formed
for putting the scheme into execution. The
organisation comprised several groups. One had
charge of all the details connected with the firing of
the capital, a second took charge of the dynamite
operations, and a third was neither more nor less
than a gang of counterfeit coiners. Apart from
those supervisorial groups, there were four others
whose duty it was to execute the plot. To the first
of these latter was entrusted the firing of Penzing,
that is to say, of Schonbrunn ; the second was to have
set fire to the large timber yards in and about the
capital; whilst the third had been told off to set the
suburbs of Untermeidling and Hetzendorf in flames;
and the fourth to do the same at Meidling and Favo-
riten. While the town was burning in these various '
places, the dynamite party was to begin its work on
the chief buildings of the capital. On this latter
point, however, it is difficult to obtain precise infor-
mation. In addition to the arrests made the police
have seized a large quantity of weapons and
explosives. Among these are a considerable
number of daggers, a quantity of dynamite, printing
machines, and forgers' implements, bombs such as
Most's Freiheit and Peukert's Rebel have advocated
the use of, and what are called fire-bottles. These
latter, which are of glass, are of cylindrical shape.
They are about 14 inches in height and two feet in
circumference. Each bottle contained two distinct
liquids, which have yet to be analysed. When ready
for use a small fuze is inserted in the neck of the
bottle. The lower part of the fuze contains a white
powder, and the upper part a piece of wadding. When
it is desired to explode the bottle, a few drops of
nitric acid are poured on the wadding, and as soon
as this soaks through and comes in contact with the
white powder the explosion takes place. The acid
penetrating slowly, the person using the bottle
can get clear away before the bottle ex-
plodes. The bombs are circular, and have a
diameter of between three and four inches, the
centre being filled with a powerful dynamite. They
are exploded by any one of some twenty
fuzes, provided on the outer surface with percussion
caps. The fuzes are so earanged that it is practically
certain, however the bomb is thrown, that at
least three of them will explode, and so cause
the bursting of the bomb. At the secret meetings,
which-ibey used to hold at a low public-house in Pen-
zing, the Anarchists were instructed in the manufac-
ture and use of explosives. Since the discovery ot
the plot it has been ascertained that a fire which
recently occurred in the neighbourhood was caused by
•the Anarchists, who adopted this means of trying the
efficacy of their fire-bottles. The police became aware
of the existence of the plot on the 2nd inst., and acted
with such promptitude that those implicated in it were
arrested on the following day—on the eve, that is to
Bay, of St. Joseph's Day, when tha scheme was to have
been put into execution. The arrests were made as
the conspirators were about to hold their last meeting
to arrange the final details of their diabolical plot.
Some of those arrested made a full confession as
soon almost as they were in the hands of the
police. The latter first got wind of the affair through
the treachery of an Anarchist at Prague, who was in
the secrets of the Vienna gang, most of whom are
Czechs and Germans. The object of the counterfeit
department in the conspiracy was, of course, to pro-
vide money for the Anarchist cause, and the imple-
ments and machinery seized by the police comprised
• everything necessary for the coining. Among other
things seized were a number of false beards, and police
orders for effecting domiciliary visits, provided with
forged seals and signatures of police officials. Not
long ago a party of five Anarchists, dressed in police
uniforms and provided with one of these spurious
documents, waited upon an old lady, and under the
pretext that she was suspected of having counterfeit
coin in her possession seized all the money she had in
the house, amounting to several hundred florins, and
I all, of course, perfectly good. Among those arrested
in connection with the present plot are two of these
bogus police officials._

BERLIN, Monday Night.
The news of the discovery of an Anarchist con-
spiracy in Vienna prnduced quite a sensation in Berlin.
Most of the papers, however, refrain from comments
and confine themselves to simply reproducing the
facts. The Nordelcutsche thinks that the disclosures
connected with this foul plot cannot but deeply and
enduringly impress public opinion, even beyond the
Austro - Hungarian frontiers. The discovery can
only tend to confirm the conviction that the keenest
vigilance and energy on the part of the authori-
ties are required to combat this enemy. The
Post says the attempt was not planned by
demoniacs, but simply by worthless scoundrels. Mer-
ciless rigour, not fear in any shape, is the right
weapon with which to deal with such a phenomenon.
Applying the lesson to the German Social Democrats,
the Post says: "The teachers of Social Democracy
seek to spread the belief that the acceptance of their
creed and the destruction of the existing civil order
would suffice to convert the earth into a paradise.
Such teaching, and the hatred it inculcates, are not
only the allies but are the originators of the Anarchist
doctrine. Only in the event of the Social Democracy
becoming a party willing to work by means of re-
forms and instruction, will it emerge from a state of
war."