The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-10-09 00:00:00

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HOME, rOREION, AND COLONIAL.

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THE RAIN IN INDIA. —The Indian Corre-
spondent of the Standard writes :—I should say that
one consequence of the heavy rain is that it has driven
all sorts of unclean creatures into the houses for
shelter. Where I was at Wigatpuri, one of the ser-
vants of my host was stung by a scorpion, and my
host informed me that he had killed fourteen scorpions
in and about the house. By the same token' he had
ornamented his mantelpiece with two specimens of
the black sort 6i inches long and as large as Crayfish,
which he had put into bottles. His pets were a dog, a
deer, and a jackal, and they all slept together every
night in the verandah, with the RamAsi or Indian
watchman, so true is it that rain as well as misery,
makes strange bedfellows.! . ,f, , , '
AN ICEBERG CAR.—Meat is very dear in
England and very cheap in America (says the ...Neyi
York Daily Graphic). Could some means of sending
meat across the Atlantic without loss or without im-
pairing its condition be devised, our exporters would
make a large profit, and the price of meat in England
would ,be reduced. Hitherto experiments in the
transportation of fresh meat across the Atlantic
have not met with much success ; but the invention
of the "iceberg car" has rendered it practicable to
bring meat from Chicago. to New York in,pirfect
condition. It is now proposed to send an iceberg
car to Texas, to lead it with meat and to bring the
meat to this city. If the experiment succeeds it will
only be necessary to ship loaded iceberg cars on board
ocean steamers to supply. England with meat to an ex-
tent sufficient to reduce the price to a figure.that will
enable the poorer classes to eat meat every day.
AN ESCAPE !—An amusing anecdote is told as
to the mode in which two French subjects in Algeria
obtained relief from matrimonial bonds. The couple
had been married by a military authority, who not
only commanded a post of Zauaves, but acted as
Justice of the peace and mayor. He had not united
them many dais when they came to him complaining
of irremediable incompatibility of temper and im-
ploring to be parted. The commander paid to his
sergeant-major (also his secretary), "Bring me the
register." "Hang it.," said the sergeant-major' "the
register is in arrears. The fact is. it has not been
posted for three mouths, captain. But if there is any
hurry, I can put it to iights in the nigh' The officer
thought a little. -" HaVe Sami tfie minute ready ta be
entered?" "Yes, captain." "Give it ;to me," and
the military magistrate tore it in pieces. Then, turn-
ing to the astonished pair, he said, , ' Now.you are free;
but take care not to do it again, for if the register had
been in order I could have done nothing for you."
~ , ,zf! ..
TRAGEDY IN ABR M,ICA.---A lorrinuaomestie
tragedy is reported Trom-flie interior of the State of
New York. Harrison Andrews, a man of 50, and of
violent and ungovernable temper, who lived at Venice,
near Auburn, early on the morning of September 12
went to the apartment where his son, aged 19, was
sleeping, and as he lay in bed gave him two murderous
blows on the head with a hatchet, crushing his skull
and probably injuring the brain. Andrews then
aroused his two daughters and shot one of them
through the abdomen, inflicting a severe weund. The
girls escaped from the house and alarmed the neigh-
bours, and in the meantime Andrews poured oil on the
carpet, set fire to the house, and closed his terrible
, work by shooting himself through the head The
' neighbours came and extinguished the fire before much
damage was done, and the wounded son and daughter
were cared for. The former can scarcely recover. 4 The
motive for the deed is unknown; it.seem 's ticrhtivetelm'
an insane freak. ,
FIRE AT SEA.— Intelligence has been received
at Jersey by the friends of some emigrants of the
narrow escape from destruction by fire of the emigrant
ship Lutterworth, while on her passage out t ) Auck-
land, Nev Zealand, It. appears &frenn
,ipformation
received that on the-afternoon of 'We 20th of June, the
vessel being then to the eastward of the Cape of good;
RoPe, and in lat. 45 S., long. 102 E., a &flues sajoke
suddenly filled the cabin, accompaanect I* a .stkmg'
Knell of burning. An alarm was at once given, and a
closi inspection being macie thetismokAwas ifoundlto
proceed from a lockbr neat the saloon fire-place. A
quan,tity of woodwork was on fire under the cabin
~ stair i and immediately. behind the store-room. It
' being known that a large quantity of gunpowder (said
.to b 40 tons) a,nd rseyeral tongs weight, of lucifer
• mat es were stored near that spot, the utmost con-
i
stern tion was caused. The measures taken to subdue
the 4re proved successful, but Walter John Stevens,
of Jersey, lost his life througb. ;be mishap.. Thelex-
eitenienunud the exeftiOnheundevel4 in.his energetic
effortf to gat the mastery ovbr the fire brought on an
inter al complaint, under which he succumbed twelve
days afterwards when the Lutterworth was within
twenty days' sail of her destination, which she reached
on the 26th of July.