The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-10-30 00:00:00

Elistell a MOUS 2.rt etligour,

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

..SEVERE STORMS IN THE ATLANTHI.—VesseIs arriving
Iti. Liverpool from America report terrible weather in
the Atlantic. A ship was passed bottom upwards,
and large quantities of wreckage and dead bodies of
cattle have been seen in the track of the steamers. The
White Star steamer Celtic, which arrived at Liver-
pool on Tuesday, after a prolonged passage, met with
very heavy weather. One death occurred on the
voyage and a seaman had his arm broken.

A CURIOUS FACT.—Frofessor Aughey, of the Uni-
versity of Nebraska, has published sketches of the
physical geography and geology of that state, in
Which a curious fact is mentioned, namely, that
within the past fifteen years there has been an in-
crease in the number of springs, and in the volume of
the rivers throughout the state. This is due to an in-
creased rainfall, and the increased rainfall is a conse-
quence of cultivation.
FLOODS IN FRANCE.—FIoods are reported from re-
ported from several parts of France, and in Paris tip.:
g„..i—• h.*. risen to a height that the Prefect of
hFol tha ,sf waro.
kouses on the banks of the river, warning them of a
possible overflow, and instructing them to remove any
goods that may be within reach of the rising waters.
At Mirecourt, the lower parts of the town have been
inundated, a circumstance which had not previously
occurred for more than twenty years. The Moselle
has also overflowed its banks, and serious floods have
taken place in the neighbourhood of Metz. At Cher-
bourg the floods have subsided to a great extent, but
a large portion of the surrounding country is still
under water. Two children were drowned while the
inundation was at it height, and considerable damage
to property took place.
BISHOP RYLE ON CHRISTIAN RE-UNION. The
Bishop of Liverpool speaking at a meeting of the
British and Foreign Bible Society, expressed pleasure
at meeting on the platform a number of his Noncon-
formist brethren, but said the division between them,
due to the conduct of the Church in days gone by,
was of too long standing for him to expect it to be
healed till the Lord should come again.

EFFECTS OF COLOUR BLINDNESS—Professor Barratts,
in his recent lecture on Light, at Leamington,
said colour blindness was first investigated by the
famous John Dalton of Manchester. An amusing
story of his colour blindness was told by the lecturer.
Dalton had to lecture at the Royal Institution, and,
anxious to appear in a new suit of clothes, he went
to a London tailor and, being a member of the
Society of Friends, ordered what he thought was a
drab suit. He put them on for the first time when
he gave his lecture, and appeared to the audience in a
flaming suit of scarlet.
PRINCE BISMARCK AND THE WORKING CLASSES.—
Prince Bismarck (says the Berlin correspondent of the
Daily News) has sent a commission to Alsace to stiidy
the condition of the workmen there, especially with
regard to their dwellings, which are somewhat on the
English cottage principle, every man living in his own
house. This system seems to be in favour with the
Chancellor, who wishes it to be introduced all over
Germany by Government help. He conjectures that
this plan would go a long way to satisfy the lower
classes and make them dependent on the State.
FIRE IN PORTSMOUTH HARBOUR.—The Malabar coal
hulk mooreA in Portsmouth harbour, narrowly escaped
destruction by fire on Monday evening. Gas and
vapour were observed issuing from the forward
bunker, which was at the time filled with about 200
tons of North Country coal. An alarm was raised,
and a number of labourers being put on board fifty
tons of coal were extracted. The deeper the men got
the hotter the bunker was found to be, and the gas
given off became so dense that two men were over-
powered. The Camel tug was eventually sent to the
hulk, and a stream of water was poured upon the coal,
which removed the danger of fire. The coal has been
so pulverized by the heat as to make it uieless for ship
purposes.

SUFFERINGS AND LO RS or LIFE AT SEA.—The
Liverpool ship City of Richmond, which left the
Mersey on September 14, bound for Mobile, under the
command of Captain Corkhill, fell in. on October 4
with a small boat containing a number of persons,
who, on being taken on board the City of Richmond,
stated that they were the survivors of the crew and
passengers of a French barque, the Formosa, which
had foundered five days previously. The Formosa was
bound from Bathurst, Africa, to Dunkirk. The men
in the boat were eleven in number, being the captain,
nine of the crew, and a passenger. They had suffered
severely from privation and exposure, and, in spite of
the kind treatment accorded to them on the City of
Richmond, two of them succumbed. The remainder
were landed at Mobile.

EXACTLY.—How do we know that the business of a
hair dresser is more extensive than any other ?—Why,
don't you see? because it extends from pole (poll) to
pole.—Judy.
A MUCH-PRIZED DELICACT.—The truffle, that much-
prized delicacy of the Parisians, is a natural produc-
tion, and is found in large quantities in the neighbour-
hood of the capital. In the wood of Aigles, at
Chantilly, and on the territory of Gouvieux, an indi-
vidual devotes himself to the search of the coveted
esculent, accompanied, not by the traditional .pig of
Perigord, but by a little wild-looking dog which pos-
sesses a wonderful scent. In the months of October
and November the truffle hunter earns as much as
eighteen or twenty francs a day.
SUPPLYING A WANT.—The British Museum Authori-
ties are going to move the Zoologiatl specimens to
another part of the building, and the vacated gallery
is to be made a refreshment-room for visitors. They
can now advertise "Good Accommodation for Man and
Beast."—Punch.

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE IN LONDON.—A serious fire
broke out in Oxford-street, London, a few minutes
before one o'clock on Tuesday morning. The flames
first burst forth from No. 542 A, the shop of a toy
manufacturer, and spread very rapidly. It was found
that a woman was in the building, and before aid
cculd be given she was seen at the second-floor
window shrieking for help. In a few moments she
threw herself out, and was picked up very severely
injured, and had to be taken to the hospital. The
building, notwithstanding the efforts of the fire
brigade, was completely gutted, and the flames then
spread to the adjoining houses, Nos. 540 and 541, in
the occupation of a bootmaker. Ths fire was kept
from the lower part of the home, but the three upper
floors of No. 541 were completely burnt out and the
greater part of the roof destroyed, while the contents
of No. 540 were damaged by smoke and water. The
flames then spread to Nos. 542 and 543, occupied by
Mr. B. Cubitt, tailor. These premises were also
gutted, but the flames were prevented from spreading
further. Some slighter damage was done to several
adjoining houses.

A DRLIGBTFUL PRESENT I—The Court Journal says:
—" Oh to be a princess, if only a princess without a
throne ! Such will be the cry of the ladies who love
dress when they hear what a beautiful present the
Comte de Paris has lately made to his wife. Once a
year, on the fate of Saint Elizabeth, he gives the
comtesee a dress. This year he has given her a robe
de chambre. It is right royal. It is in the style Marie
Leckzinska. It has a train of brocade, and floats
upon its distinguished wearer ; a jupe of ivory satin,
magnificent ribands, and lovely trimmings like foam
upon the sea; monograms on either side of the robe,
with armorial bearings trailing on the ground, make
the comtesse the envy of France. The strange thing
is that this aspirant of a throne thus grandly provided
with a dressing gown is in public the most simply
dressed woman that attends the Salons in the Rue St.
Germains."

CHEAP LAND.—Land in Texas is very cheap. The
last legislature set apart three million acres of land in
the Pan Handle, and ordered a survey, and put it
upon the market at a minimum price of 2s. id. per
acre. The survey of this three million acres has
just been completed, and the land is now in market.
SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN ITALY.—According to
the report of the Minister of Instruction, there were
in 1879 about 692 secondary schools in the kingdom,
giving instruction to 37,915 pupils. Among them are
110 Government schools, with 12,191 pupils; 130 com-
mercial schools, with 4,365; 221 Episcopal schools,
with 9,679 ; and 148 private schools, with 5,524 pupils.
From these figures we gather that thee is one second-
ary school to every 40,000 inhabitants, and one pupil
to every 740. The average for the country at large of
pupils is 4579, the highest averages being :
Sardinia, 80; Piedmont, 76; Lombardy, 75; and
Liguria, 71; while the lowest is found in Umbria,
which is only 26.
THE DEFENCES OF GREAT BRlTAlN.—According to
a Parliamentary return recently issued, the expendi-
ture actually recorded up to March 31 last out of the
moneys issued from the Consolidated Fund for the
expense of fortifications was £7,413,346, in addition to
which there was a balance of expenditure of the
financial year 1879-1880, not brought to charge on
March the 31st, of £l,OOO. Of this total £3,067,990 is
set against Portsmouth.
To TOURISTS.—AIpine climbing is supposed to be a
remarkable healthy exercise for people whose hearts
and lungs are strong. Take care, however, that you
don't over-exert yourself, and fall into a deep decline.—
Judy.

CHEERING PROSPECTS.—The cheering prospects of
the revenue are borne out by a remarkable increase in
the Savings Bank deposits. Perhaps there is xo
clearer index than this of increased prosperity amongst
the working classes. In the year ending on the 16th
inst., the sum at the credit of depositors in the Bank
was increased by about £1,600,000; while for the four
weeks which ended at the same date the increase was
£200,000. Thus, the rate of iNcrease for the month
was fully sixty per cext. greater than the average for
the year.
VEGETABLE. AND ANIMAL DIET COMPARED.—The
vegetable eater pure and simple can extract from his
food all the principles necessary for the growth and
support of the body, as well as for the production of
heat and force, provided that he selects vegetables
which contain all the essential elements named. But
he must for this purpose consume the best cereals—
wheat or oats—or the legumes—beans, peas, or lentils ;
or he must swallow and digest a large weight of
vegetable matter of less nutritive value, and there-
fore at least containing one element in large excess,
in order to obtain all the elements he needs. Thus the
Irishman requires for his support froth ten to eleven
pounds of potatoes daily, which contain chiefly starch
—of which , therefore he consumes a superfluous
quantity—very little nitrogen, and scarcely any fat ;
hence he obtains when h can some buttermilk or
bacon, or a herring, to supply the deficiency. The
Highlander, living mainly on oatmeal, requires a
much smaller weight, since this grain contains not
only starch, but much nitrogen and a fair. amount of
fat, although not quite sufficient for his purpose,
which is usually supplied by adding milk or bacon to
his diet. On the other hand, the man who lives
chiefly on flesh and eggs, as well as bread, obtains
precisely the same principles, but served in a con-
centrated form and a weight of about two or three
pounds of such food is equivalent to the Irishman's
ten or eleven pounds of potatoes and extras.—Feed and
Feeding.
GRATUITOUS CONCERTS IN PARIS.—A new incident
in the street life of Paris is provided by the gratuitous
concerts which loungers are now able to enjoy outside
of certain piano shops, where hired performers "dis-
course sweet music" all day long on the black and white
keys. Crowds are of course drawnaround the windows
of these establishments, for no one has a fonder taste
for melody than your aide walk idler; individuals in
various degrees of shabbiness, all with apparently
nothing to do—though occasionally may be seen
among them some errand boy or shop girl, stopping
for a moment and just about to resume their way—
bask in the strains of waltzes polkas, and quadrilles,
evincing great vexation whenever some customers
enters the shop, and constrains the pianist to check
for a moment his floods of harmony.
ExThEmEs IN FASHION.—There appears this differ-
ence between men and women in regard to fashion
(says The Queen). Men dress in the current style to
avoid being remarkable, and their desire is to keep as
kr from the extremes as possible. A man wears a
chimney-pot hat because it is, under certain condi-
tions, considered the correct costume, and in like
manner he wears a waiter's coat at an evening party;
but he does not endeavour to surpass his friends by
ordering his hat to be an inch taller, or his swallow-
tail an inch longer, than those of his neighbours.
Women, on the other hand, proceed to extremes;
they desire to surpass others, and hence the evils
strongly complained of by the more rational of the
Fe(. lint is this method of iproceeding to extremes
imperative on women? We think not; and, in the
words of one of the most sensible of our correspond-
ents, would add: "No sensible woman in England in
the nineteenth century need be a martyr to any parti-
cular fashion, as she can so easily adapt it to her own
individual taste. It is quite possible to be sufficiently
fashionable not to be remarkable, and sufficiently un-
fashionable to be able to 'Bove with perfect ease; and
I venture to assert that those women who exaggerate
the foolish fashions of this or any other age will be
the very last to adopt any costume that may be in-
vented for their benefit."

BURNING THE REFUSE.—Cremation is coming into
fashion as a convenient method of getting rid of the
refuse of towns at all events. At the last meeting of
the Paddington Vestry attention was called to this
subject by a report from the Superiatendent of the
Works Department, who has lately paid a visit to
Leeds for the purpose of inspecting the burning cf the
refuse of that town in furnaces especially constructed
for the purpose. It appears that the authorities at
Leeds, having tried the plan for nine months, were so
well satisfied with its operation that they resolved to
obtain two additional fsrnaces. The price of one of
these was £5,580, which sum included the cost of fix-
ing, land, and so forth. The sweepings from the
paved roads, offal, vegetable, and stable refuse, and
all rubbish that could be burned were placed. into the
furnace and there reduced to a finely powdered char-
coal, which was sold at from 275. to 30s. a ton, being
considered a valuable manure. The ashes, moreover,
taken out of the furnace found a ready sale among
the farmers at 2s. 6d. per load. The Paddington
Vestry decided on referring the report to the General
Purposes Committee, with instructions to ascertain
what would be the cost of a furnace for the parish.

A NEW FEATURE WANTED.—Grimaldi was once
hissed at Sadler's 'Wells after singing his celebrated
comic song of " Tippity-witchet," and he appealed to the
audience. He had nodded, he said, frowned, sneezed,
choked, gaped, cried, grinned, grimaced, and hic-
coughed ; he had done all that could be done by brow,
chin, cheeks, eyes, nose, and mouth—and what more
did they want? "Why," yawned a languid voice
from the pit, "we want a new feature ! "

•
MORE THAN SHE WANTED.—The latest, and worst
case of lover's revenge comes from, Australia. A
young man whose affianced went back on him and
broke off their engagement received a note from her
asking him to return the lock of her hair which he
had. He looked over his trunk, he collected a heap
of tresses, culled from various sources during his
love-making career and forwarded them in a bundle
to his late lady-love enclosing a note to the effect that
he had really forgotten which was hers, but she might
select it from those forwarded, and return the rest
at her e.arliest convenience. The story got out,
and the neighbourhood felt so warm for her that
she went on a prolonged visit to her country
cousins.

Tuff. AMERICAN WHEAT CROP.—An American corre-
spondent of the North British Agriculturist says: "I
believe that the United States of America have this
year reaped 480,000,000 bushels of wheat—the biggest
ever grown. Estimating 50,000,000 consumers at five
bushels per capita, and 50,000,000 bushels (1i bushels
per acre) for the seeding of our 33,000,000 acres, there
will be left for export 180,000,000 bushel, or
22,500,000 quarters, which will more tban meet the
requirements of Europe. Our spring wheat has some
of it been damaged by rain, before it was thrashed.
Probably one-third of it has been more or less injured.
and some so badly as to be sprouted. Farmers, think-
ing to profit as they did last year, are delaying thrash-
ing anticipation of a rise in values. But they will
find that they make a great mistake.
IT IS THE FACT—NOT SO GENERALLY KNOWN AS IT
SHOULD BE.—That "a stitch in time" does not always
"save nine."--That making "more haste" frequently
gives one the desired result of obtaining more "speed."
—That an innkeeper is not always of necessity a
"Host in himself.' —That, though an honest trades-
man is a plain dealer, a good working carpenter is a
deal planer—That all bakers need not be regular
" loafers."—That " carrying coals to Newcastle "
is
necessary, inasmuch as the coal mines are some distance
from the town.—That a nice-looking spinster must be
an anomaly, because though she is always a miss, yet
she is never amiss.—That, although you may always
be constantly getting "stout," yet you always remain
thin.—Judy.
MEMORIAL TO CLARKSON.—The erection of a public
monument to perpetuate the self-sacrificing•labours of
Thomas Clarkson as the advocate of slave emancipa-
tion was inaugurated on Monday by Mr. Algernon
Peckover, who laid the first stone of a handsome me-
morial to be erected in Wisbech. Thomas Clarkson
was born in that town in 1760. The memorial will be
a statue, with inscription and bas-reliefs, designed by
the late Sir Gilbert Scott, R. A., and will cost £2,000,
of which £6OO is still required.

A YOUTHFUL DEERSTALKER.—Master Darroch, aged
twelve, shot his first stag in Ben-Darnph forest a few
days since, a very fine wide nine-pointer weighing 17
stone clean.—Court Journal.

THE TREATMENT OF -,il:-JViNILE OFFENDERS.-At the
meeting of the Manchester School Board on Monday,
a letter was read from the Home Office inviting an
expression of the Board's opinion as to the way in
which the law concerning the treatment of juvenile
offenders ought to be amended, especially with a view
to the prevention of the imprisonment of young chil-
dren, whether on remand or after conviction. The
members of the Board were agreed as regards the
desirableness of keeping children of tender years out
of gaol; but as there were differences of opinion re-
specting the means to be employed a special com-
mittee was appointed to consider the question and
report to a special meeting of the Board,