The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-04-16 00:00:00

Misteltanwits

T 1 n FOREIGN. AND COLONIAL.

THE SALE OF CINCHONA BARK IN ENGLAND.
In the House of Commons " 'the other evening,
Captain Price asked the Secretary of State for India
whether it wa:3 the fact that ths Indian Government
were exporting laige quantities Of cifiehOta batik for
sale in London; and whether, in introducing the
cinchona plant into India, the Government did so with
the object of encouraging private enterprise or of com-
peting in the market with private trade.—The Marquis
of Hartington replied: The object of the Govern-
ment in introducing the cinchona plant into India was
to provide an abundant supply of a cheap febrifuge
for that country. Almost all the bark produced in the
Bengal plantations is manufactured in India for use
there; difficulty has been found in treating the pro-
duce of Madras plantations in the same way, and
hence most of it has been sent to England. It is
believed that the sale of this bark has established the
reputation of Indian-grown bark to the advantage of
private growers ; but an e:tneriment is now being
made on a large shale With the view to the Manu-
facture of this bark in England on G6veridnent ac-
count, and if this proves successful it is likely that
sales will be discontinued.

MEDICAL FACT.—During these bitterly cold winds
it is well for delicate people to avoid draughts. The
easiest way of doing so (our young friend Squills says)
is by not taken any.—Fun.
THE GREEK ARMY.—lncluding every service, the
Greeks have now an army of 82,154 officers and men,
with 6,558 horses, 7,100 mules with 48 field and 48
mountain guns. Out of this total the infantry has
57,925 officers and men; the cavalry, 2,856 officers
and men, with 2,487 horses ; the artillery, 6,942
officers and men, with 2,748 horse and 1,21,50 mules.
The engineers, who are very numerous compared with
the other troops, have 4,634 of4cers and men, and the
gendarmerie,4which can also be used for active pur-
poses, 5,342 men. Regarded as an army, this force
cannot be said to be large, nor is it at all sufficient to
undertake the siege of fortified places, but the figures
reach within about 10,000 of the British troops quar-
tered in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
A CURIOUS MEMORIAL TABLET. A memorial
tablet, with coat-of-arms of the Ainslie family, whose
name is becoming scarce in the Border district, has
been executed in freestone by Mr. Wm. Brunton,
sculptor, Jedburg, and is to be erected in the old
parish church of Oxham, Jedintrg. The tablet bears
the tollowing unique inscription :—" This tablet is
erected by Charles Philip De Ainslie, General in her
Majesty's Army, Colonel of the Ist or Royal Regi-
ment of Dragoons, and member of the Royal Com-
pany of Archers (Queen's Body Guards), nineteenth
and last, male representative of the family of that
name, Who for 300 years possessed the Tower and
lands of Dolphingston, in this parish, which, by mar-
riage of his ancestress, Marjorie de Ainslie, passed
into the family of Ker of Cessford, in 1502. After a
direct male decsent of more than 700 years, among
which they were famous in their generation, and had
intermarried with most of the families of note in the
South of Scotland, the name of Be Ainslie of Dol-
phingston expires with him who has placed this record
to the memory of an ancient race.
CCNSIDERATE TO THE YOUNG LADY.—It was very
considerate of Judge Parker to do an act of courtesy
to a young lady in Indiana, during a recent trial that
came before him. The case seemed to be quite clear
and simple, and he was about to give his decision,
when he noticed the daughter of one of the parties,
and requested her to come forward, take the stand,
and be sworn. Ire asked her a few unimportant ques-
tions, and gave his decision. At dinner, afterwards,
one of the counsel asked if it Was nligessary that the
young lady should testify. "Well, no," said the
judge, smiling; "but I saw that she had a new bon-
net, and was striving to show it, and I decided to give
her a better opportunity by putting her on the stand."
—" Editor's Drawer," in Harper's New Monthly
Magazine.
A PIECE OF CURIOUS ARITHMETIC.—How far the
French are able to carry the mania for figures may be
realized by the following bit of curious arithmetic.
The Meissonier picture, which was sold for 125,000
francs a few days ago, measures, it seems, 37 centi-
metres in breadth by 30-in height, or 1,110 centimetres
Equare. Now the price paid for the canvas, if we are
to credit our mathematician, is equal to 112 francs the
square centimetre, or 1 fr. 12 c. per millimetre, which,
as we all know, is about the site of a pin's head.
DRAMA IN REAL LIFE.—" I have really no patience
with you, Mr. P.," said Mrs. Penhecker, witheringly:
"you seem to take no sort of interest in your own
lawful children; you 've no ambition, no feelings, no
proper pride, no nothing! Now why, I should just
like to know, why, in Goodness' name, should not the
poor dear girls he taught foreign languages?" "Well,
my love," replied poor little P., meekly, but with the
faintest suspicion of a twinkle in the eye Mrs. P. did
not catch, "because I—er—er—really think, don't
you know, that—er—er--one tongue is enough for any
woman I" It was lucky for Penhecker that Mrs. P.
was not gifted with a "keen sense of humour."—
Judy.
EMIGRATION STATISTICS.—BOard of Trade returns
show that during last month 80 ships left the Mersey
carrying 14,479 passengers. Of these 5,444 were Eng-
lish, 195 Scotch, 1,623 Irish, 6,992 foreign (mostly
...Germans), and 22-) whose nationality was not given.
For the United States 13,487 were bound ; and of the
remainder 720 sailed for British North America, 13
Australia, 122 South America, 58 East Indies, 8 West
Indies, 11 China, and 60 for the West Coast of Africa.
Compared with February the returns exhibit an in-
crease of 8,920, and they are 1,116 in excess of March
last year.

BAGS OR BARRELS.—The question of substituting
bag's or cotton sacks for flour barrels is the subject of
a lively discussion among Minnesota millers just now
(says the Prairie Farmer). They maintain that sacks
are preferable for several cogent reasons. First, on
the score of economy, sacks are the best, for while
flour barrels are worth forty-five cents. each, cotton
sacks, holding half a barrel, are worth ten cents.
apiece. Again, it is declared that flour does not sift
through a good cotton bag as much as through a barrel.
All the flour shipped to Glasgow and Rotterdam goes
in cotton sacks; and then the sacks are worth as much
there as here.
ACCIDENT TO SIR ROBERT CABDEN.—Alderman
Sir Robert Walter Carden, M.P., had a very narrow
escape from drowning on Friday in last week. With
a large party of friends he was on board a steamboat
on the Thames during the University Boat Race, and
he subsequently went up in her as far as Hampton
Court, where nearly all the guests alighted to visit the
palace, intending to return to luncheon. Sir Robert,
who was the last to leave, slipped on the narrow plank
between the steamboat and the shore and fell into the
water, which was 151 t. deep at the spot. He managed,
with great difficulty, to sling to some part of the
vessel until helP came, and was then rescued. He is
confideut that if he had remained two minutes longer
he must have sunk and been drawn under the vessel.
Though over 80 years of age, he was none the, worse
for the sudden immersion.

A MAsoNic PATRIARCH.— Brother John Wig-
ginton, the oldest Freemason in England, died on
Friday in last week, at the age of 91. Initiated in
1818, in the Etonian Lodge, No. 209, he soon attained
the rank of P.M., and was the father of the Windsor
Castle Lodge, No. 771, in which also he passed the
Chair. On his jubilee of Masonry he resigned the
Treasurership of the latter Lodge—having held it for
thirty years—and was presented with a magnificent
jewel and illuminated address. Past Grand Senior
Warden for Berkshire, he was closely identified with
all Masonic works, and greatly assisted in establishing
the Masonic Hall at Windsor, continuing his con-
nection with Masonry to the last. He was also the
oldest Companion in the Royal Arch.

EPITAPH ON A Fox-HUNTEH.--In at the death.—
Judo.

A CHILD's CAUL !—A correspondent of Notes and
Queries, expresses himself as "sure that every super-
stition has its root in a truth," and asks—ln what
truth is rooted the superstition that the possession of
a child's caul will render its owner fortunate for life,
or save its bearer from shipwreck or death by drown-
ing ? In a recent number .of a weekly paper, one ad-
vertiser offers one of these preciws safeguards for 1;3;
while another advertiser is wilting to accept £2 10s.
for a similar bargain. The subject is treated some-
what at large in Brand's Popular Antiquies (Bohn's
ed., vol. iii. pp. 114—to 119), and advertisements'
ranging in date from 1779 to 1848, are, referred to, at
prices varying from twenty guineas to six guineas. If
prices, therefore, furnish any criterion, the faith
reposed in, and the value set upon, these articles
must have been very much diminished of late. Some
of the storie:i told in connection with them are amusing,
if not convincing. Sir Thomas Browne, as usual, is
quaintly learned on the subject, and the whole chapter
in Brand may be commended to the perusal of the
curious.

THE ONLY JOKER OF THE PARTY.— Last year, after
one of the hunts near Hubertus stock, and while on
his way to a bird-shooting in the Sehorfhaide, the
Emperor 'William felt slightly indisposed by an attack
of sore throat and proposed to return on foot to the
castle. The King of Saxony and the Grand Duke of
Mecklenburg-Schwerin were with him. When, after
an hour's march, the Emperor began to feel somewhat
tired, his companions hailed a peasant on his team,
driving in the same direction, and at their request the
party were speedily
.accommodated with seats on the
waggon. After awhile the peasant's curiosity would no
longer be kept down, and he naively asked, " I suppose
it is all right, but would you please tell me who you are ? "
"Tam the Grand Duke o f Mecklenburg." "Ahem," said
the peasant, incredulously, "and who are you?" I am
the King of Saxony:" "Oho ! " ejaculated the peasant,
with a knowing smile; "and you, Mr?" "I am the
Emperor." "There, that will do," grinned the
peasant; •` and I daresay you'd like to know now
who I am? I am the Shah of Persia; and when it
comes to joking I can take off my part as well as the
next man." The three real sovereigns fairly roared
with laughter; but the good-natured peasant drew a
pretty long face when soon after he had deposited
his passengers at the castle, and found out that he
had been the "only joker" of the party.