The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-04-30 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

A steam car commenced to run on the tramway line
between,-Edinburgh and Portobello on Saturday.

On Monday the French ironclad Surveiltante bom-
barded and destroyed the Tunisian fort on the island of
Tabarka. The French troops occupied the island next
morning.
There were 84 fatal cases of small-pox in London
last week. The cases included 23 of children under five
years of age, 24 of persons aged between 5 and 20 years, 26 of
persons aged between 20 and 40 years, and 11 aged upwards
of 40 years

In London last week 2,397 births and 1,600 deaths
were registered. Allowing for increase of population, the
births were 174, and the deaths 68 below the average numbers
In the corresponding week of the last ten years. The annual
death-rate from all causes, which had been equal to 216 and
23 per 1,000, in the two preceding weeks, declined again to
22'5.

The National Society for Women's Suffrage have
passed a resolution, recording their gratitude to Lord
Beaconsfield for the services he rendered to the cause of the
enfranchisement of women by stating in the House of
Commons during the debates which preceded the passing of
the last Reform Bill his opinion that women having property
ought to have a vote, and by his steady and uniform support
of the Bill to remove the electoral disabilities of women so
long as he remained a member of the House of Comlnons.
The east wind is not an unmixed evil after all. The
dry weather which it has brought has been of so much
benefit to the saturated fields that, according to Mr. Rains-
Jackson's report on the harvest prospects, the farm lands of
this country are worth ten millions sterling more than they
were two years ago. All sorts of crops, Mr Kains-Jackson
admits, are behindhand, but the soil on both sides of the
Channel is in a better condition than it has been for years ;
and this is ascribed in a great degree to the larger amount
of light from the sky being less clouded.—Globe.

Fifty acres of underwood and gorse in Wharncliffe
Wood have been destroyed by fire, and considerable damage
done to the grown timber. The fire was caused by sparks
from engiaes on the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire
Railway. The main line from Sheffield to Manchester passes
through the wood, which is surmounted by the far-famed
Wharncliffe Crags, near the residence of the owner, the
Earl of Wharncliffe. The fire is the most destructive which
has taken place at Wharncliffe Crags since 1861, when 100
acres were destroyed.
"Khroumir " is now the favourite street term of
abuse in Paris, where there is a perfeet rage for everything
African. Old pictures of early Algerian battles, portraits of
Arabs, and much sketches of the colony crowd the shops;
while the obnoxious " Kroumir " was to be seen on every
side at last week's Gingerbread Fair, being represented in
sugar, pipeclay, or gingerbread, and replacing the original
Turk, at whose battered features visitors fling as many sticks
as they have sous to waste.
Authoritative statistics recently compiled show the
extremely productive character of certain States in the
American Union. It appears that a group of States with less"
than a third of the population of the country produces five-
eighths of the corn supply of the United States. These
States are Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, lowa, Missouri, Kansas,
and Nebraska. It is a surprising, yet authenticated, fact
that in fifteen years the production of wheat and barley in
the United States has trebled; that of corn, cotton, and
tobacco has more than doubled; oats have increased by two-
thirds, potatoes have nearly doubled, and hay has increased
by nearly one-third.

"Le Five o'Clock" is the latest fashionable enter-
tainment in Paris. "After the English fashion," say the
hostesses, although the gathering may be at any hour from
twelve to seven, and tea is replaced by wine and chocolate
cakes and sandwiches. Generally some author reads his un-
published production, and the "five o'clock" ends the whole
afternoon.

To show the effect of nationality on the female
palate it is reported that several persons after a concert
recently gathered around a table in a New York restaurant,
It was eleven o'clock at night. The young ladies were of
various nationalities. The lively French girl ordered a
plate of clear soup and a glass of wine. A beautiful German
girl ordered a cold potato salad and a glass of Erlang,r
beer. A blonde English girl asked for ham and omelette,
with tea. Of the two American girls in the party one
ordered an oyster stew and the other had some pink ice-
cream, with macaroons.

According to a telegram received at Constantinople
on the 23rd inst.' Dervish Pasha had another successful
engagement with the soldiers of the Albanian League, and
made' his entry into Prisrend on the 23rd. The Albanian
League, it is added, "has been dissolved, and has now
entisely ceased to exist."

Lovers of natural history will be glad to hear that
Frank Buckland's museum is to become the property of the
nation. By his will, which has just been proved, Mr.
Buckland bequeaths his collection to the director and
assistant directors of the South Kensington Museum, to
form part of the new Natural History Museum which was
opened last Monday, and to be called Buckland's Fish
Museum. At the death of Mrs. Buckland £5,000 is to be
placed in the names of three trustees, as an endowment
und for a professorship of economic fish culture, to be
called after the testator, the Bucklaud Professorship.

Last week's receipts of cotton at all United States
ports were 56,100 bales, and since Ist September 5,276,000
bales. Shipments to Great Britain, 44,000 bales ; and to the
Continent and Channel, 34,000 bales ; total since Ist
September, 3,747,800 bales. Stock at all ports, 632,(00
bales.
"A meeting of Conservatives was held on Monday
at the Carlton Club, to consider the provisions of the Irish
Land Bill. Sir S. Northcote presided, and about fifty noble-
men and gentlemen were present: The clauses of the Bill
were examined at considerable length, and several of its pro-
visions were condemned as unjust to the owners of property.
It was agreed that the Government should be asked either
to give compensation to landlords whose property was de-
stroyed or depreciated by the Bill, or to come under a com-
pulsory obligation to purchase the estates of those owners
who were ready to sell at a fixed number of years' purchase.
In the event of the Government not accepting either of these
proposals, it was decided to oppose the Bill."—Tuesday's
Standard.
Early on Sunday morning two persons were burned
to death at a house in Grove-street, Bath. The building is
occupied by working people, who live in apartments. A
policeman gave the alarm, and aroused no less than twelve
persons who were sleeping in adjoining rooms and in great
danger. The officer also carried out two children. Those
who lest their lives were named Cogswell, and were mother
and son. The woman was nearly 100 years old, and the
man, who had been dangerously ill, about fifty-five.

Albert, the present King of Saxony, was born on
April 23, 1828, thus.completing his fifty-third year on Satur-
day. His Majesty is the eldest son of the late King (Johann)
of Saxony and of his consort, Queen Amalie, daughter of the
late Maximilian L, King of Bavaria. On the death of his
father, whichtook place on October 29, 1873, he ascended
the throne of 'Saxony. His consort, Queen Caroline, whom
he espoused on June 18, 1853, is a daughter of the late Prince
Gustav of Vasa. The Royal house of Saxony counts among
the oldest reigning families of Europe, and it gave an
Emperor to Germany as early as the beginning of the tenth
century.

A daily bouquet of white flowers is sent by Crown
Prince Rudolph of Austria to his fiancée, in accordance with
Austrian custom. As the engagement has lasted more than
a year, the offering has become somewhat monotonous, and
various devices are adopted to vary the gift. Thus, one day
the bouquet takes the form of !t rose-cas.ket enshrining a pair
of pearl earrings, another tune it is anS in primulas =fluted
on a lace fan, or a basket made of white lilac with a lining*
of lilies of the valley.
The Duke of Sutherland arrivedat.New.York.in the
steamer Gallia on Monday with a party, including his eldest
son and several officers of the London and North Western
Railway. The Duke said that the object of his visit was the
Inspection of the working of the American railways, with a
view to benefiting the English lines with which he is con-
nected. Mr. George C. Neele said they proposed to investi-
gate specially the sleeping cars system, and the baggage and
freight operations at the terminal points. Their intention is
to go as far south as Richmond, and as far west as San
Francisco, returning to ngland in June.

Nldlle. Sarah Bernhardt gave six performances in
New York last week, the receipts being 17,660 dole.
A tire has occurred at a box factory at Greenpoint,
opposite New York. Two persons perished in the flames,
and twelve were injured, several of them fatally.

A strong shock of earthquake was felt at Paola, in
Calabria, on Saturday morning.
-

A disease amongst horses is prevalent in Belmont
County, Ohio. It is said to resemble glanders, and to be con-
tagious and incurable.
The English fashion of garden parties, with lawn
tennis, croquet, bowls, and other games, is being adopted in
Franco.
Steam omnibuses, steam post waggons, and traction
locomotives are again being tried at Berlin.
Up to the present time only nine public and 14 local
Acts have been passed in the present Session.
Mr. James T. Fields died suddenly at Boston, U.S.,
on Sunday, from heart disease, aged sixty-four. He was
born at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and from an early age
manifested a taste for literature. He had been for some
years in busine,s at Boston as a publisher, but frequently
came before the public as a lecturer and author.
The transit/of flour in the United States is cheaper
ad valorem than that of wheat. For a barrel of flour
weighing 1961 b., exclusive of the barrel, the price is ttr same
as for 2001 b. of wheat, whereas the wheat of which it is made
would weigh 2701 b.

A correspondent of Notes and Queries writes as
follows :—ln Wyclif's (later) translation of Gen. ii. 23, we
read:—" And Adam Beide, This is now a boon of my boonys,
and fleisch of my ; this schal be clepid virago, for she
is taken of man." We may pardon Adam for his inex•
perienee, but must be permitted to regret that he gave Eve
so ominous a name.

A study of a head, by the Crown Princess of Ger-
many, which is said by those who have seen it to be "excel-
lent in drawing and colour, and more like the work of a
professional artist than an amateur," will be exhibited at the
Institute of Painters in Water Colours.

The bronze bust of the Florentine citizen, Bindo
Altoviti, by Benvenuto Cellini, which Michel Angelo de-
clared to be one of the most beautiful things he had ever
btpeld, has, after long ollivion, been recognised by the Com-
mission for the Preservation of Historic Monuments in
Italy. It was found in the tplazzo Altoviti at Rome, and
has been bought by the Commission.—Academy.

- -
According to the Allgemeine Zeitung, Prince George
of Prussia, who is known as an author under the pseudonym
of "Conrad," has sold his latest drama, Satharina von
Medici, to a Berlin theatre. The piece is.to appear shortly.
An accident has occurred to a train on the Denver
and Rio Grande Railway in New Mexico, by which eight
persons were killed and many injurpd. One of the carriages
fell over a precipice 150 feet in height.

- -
It is now signified in the order book of the House
of Commons that the appointment of a Committee recom-
mending the erection of a monument to Lord Beaconsfield
is, on the "Queen's recommendation, signified."
The Irish World announoes that sixty-seven new
branches of the Irish Land League were organised in America
last week, making a total of 1,229.

By command of Her Majesty, Mr. Millais' portrait
of the Earl of Beaconsfield, which was to have been exhibited
this week at the Rooms ef the Fine Art Society, to whom it
belongs by purchase, has been sent to the Royal Academy.
It is well known, that Lord Beaconsfield felt the greatest
Interest in this portrait, and WWI anxious to be painted by
the same hand as his great political opponents, Mr. Gladstone
and Mr. Bright.

The total value of exports of breadstuffs from the
United States during March last amounted to 22,263,000
dols., showing a decrease of 34,000 dols, compared with the
corresponding period of last year.

- - -
During last week 18,250 emigrants landed in New
York from Europe. _

-
The Dziennik of the 23rd states that a ferry boat
while crossing the Dniester at Jezupol upset, and 63 people
were drowned. According to another version, however, only
30 persons perished.

The polling for the vacancy in West Cheshire on
Friday in last week, resulted in the return of the Conserva-
tive candidate by a majority of three hundred and eighty-
two, Mr. Tollemache polling four thousand eight hun-
dred, and Mr. Tomkinson four thousand four hundred and
eighteen.
A bronze statue of Alkali's' Farragut was unveiled
at Washington on Monday, with imposing ceremonies, by
President Garfield, in the presence of the members of the
Cabinet, many army and navy officers, and a large assemblage
of troops, sailors, and civilians. Mrs. Farragut attended the
ceremony, being the President's guest at the White House.
There were 34 British and foieign wrecks, of which
20 were British, reported during the past week, making a
total of 712 for the present year, or an increase of 197 as
compared with the corresponding period of last year. The
approximate value of property lost was £9,500,000 including
British £5,300,u00.

On Monday the Lord Mayor of London opened the
second annual exhibition of the City of London Society of
Artists, held in the hall of the Skinner's Company. There
was a considerably larger munbentof exhibits this year than
last, and it was stated to be in contemplation to provide a
gallery of paintings and sculpture, in connection with which
schools should be established.
lIEr Majesty has been recommended to confer upon
his Highness the Thakur of Bhaunagar the Grand Cross of
the Star of India, in recognition of the loyalty and public
spirit evinced by him in carrying through and providing
funds for the liatiawar State Railway.

The death is announced at Meran, in the Austrian
Tyrol, of General von der Tann, who commanded the First
Bavarian Army Corps in the Franco-German war in 1870-71,
and took a prominent part in the battles of WOrth and
Sedan He also led the march from before Paris against
the French forces at Artenay and Orleans, which latter city
he captured. The deceased general was in his 76th year.

Among the curious articles in the Indian Court
of the Melbourne Exhibition are two hollow elephant tusks,
fitted with a gold cover. They were sent to the Viceroy of
India by the. Rajah of Burmah, who used them as an
envelope for an official communication. They are valued at
£2OO.

The United States agricultural department esti-
mates that the acreage of winter wheat in the ground exceeds
by 4 per cent, the acreage last year. The best data obtained
does not yet warrant the expectation of any decrease of the
winter wheat yield. It is too early to estimate the yield of
spring wheat.

In the United States the movement against pay-
ment of house-rent seems to be advancing; and at Chicago,
°lithe 3rd instant, a large anti-rent meeting was held, at
which the greatest enthusiasm was displayed by all present.
and resolutions were passed denouncing the recent marked
advance in rents, which, it is alleged, has already absorbed
the principal portion of the fruit of the working men's
industry.

The Prince of Wales will attend the marriage of
Prince Rudolph at Vienna in the second week in May, and
the Hungarians are very desirous that his Royal Highness
should extend his visit to Pesth. That city has prepared,
as a wedding gift for the Princess, a superb set of jewel
ornaments.

----------
An inquest was held on Saturday relative to the
death of Joseph Bourne, an old man who had lived in
Nelson-squarer Blackfriars, London. From the e didence of
the wife and daughter, it appeared that the man suddenly,
and without apparent cause, made a murderous attack on
his daughter, who managed to escape, and that he then
turned on his wife. After a desperate struggle with her he
threw himself out of a window into the back yard, and
shortly afterwards cut his throat. The jury returned a ver-
dict of suicide while of unsound mind.
The St. Petersburg correspondent of the Standard
states that there has lately been Mlous apprehension of a
repetition of last year's famine, owing to the continued
drought in the great corn-growing districts of the south.
Abundant rain has however, fallen during the last few days
In the Governments of Kherson, Podolia, and Bessarabia.
We (Daily Telegraph) have reason to believe that
the Postmaster-General will ask the Treasury for its sanc-
tion to increased expenditure in his department, with a
view to meet the claims of the telegraph clerks, who lately
sought relief from sundry manifold grievances.
Dr. Andrew Wilson, F.R.S.E., of Edinburgh,
lectured on Saturday night before the Ascham Society on
"Science Culture in Common Education." Dr. Wilson

advocated science instruction as an essential part of a
liberal education, and detailed his opinicns of the beat
methods of instruction. He maintained that very young
children should begin the study of the ordinary phenomena
of everyday life, such as the action of rain and rivers, and
from such science teaching he taught natural history and
physiology.
The arrivals of live stock and fresh meat at Liver-
pool from the United States and Canada last week show a
slight decrease in live stock and an increase in fresh meat
when compared with those of the preceding week. The total
imports were 1,460 cattle, 1,229 sheep, 9,320 quarters of bed,
2,814 carcases of mutton, and 194 dead hogs.
The International Parcel Post, originally fixed for
the Ist of October, will come into operation on the Ist of
May between France and Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg,
and Switzerland.
The practice which has become common in Eng-
land for newspapers to publish certified statements of their
circulation from time to time, has been introduced into
Russia by the enterprising daily sheet Novosti. With an
air of the utmost satisfaction, appropriate to Russia, (re-
marks the Globe), but amusing to Englishmen accustomed
to newspaper selling by the quarter of a million daily, the
Novosti announces that its number of subscribers now
amounts to 12,206. "This is by far the largest circulation
in Russia," it declares in capital letters, "and altogether
puts into the shade the circulation of many so-called leading
Russian newspapers."

"A train ride from London to Hereford via
Gloucester and back via Worcester takes one through a wide
stretch of country. There is not much to be noticed in the
way of farming yet ; but the wheats appear almost universally
to be sufficiently thick in plant and of a healthy appearance,
though some pieces are a little tinged with brown through
the return of the cutting east wind. Barley, too, generally
plants well. Pastures, of course, are very backward. The
return of winter—and the thermometer was below freezing
point, even as late as ten o'clock in the morning on Thursday
[2oth]—is a very serious matter to stock-owners."—Mark
Lanz Express.

A Par- liamentary paper has been issued containing
a return of the number of all deaths in the metropolitan dis-
trict during IsB,o upon which a coroner's jury have returned
a verdict of "Death from starvation," or " Death accelerated
by privation." From this it appears that during last year
there were 101 such deaths in all.

Paris advices state that the week which has just
elapsed has been favourable to the growing crops in France.
The supplies of wheat brought forward upon the French
markets have rather increased, and previous rates have
been barely maintained. Flour has experienced no change
at Paris.

No fewer than two thousand persons are stated to
have attended Mdlle. Sarah Bernhardt's morning perform-
ance the other day at Mr. Booth's Theatre, at which all the
actors and actresses in New York were present by special
invitation. 'I he play performed was "La Princess Georges,"
by Alexandre Dumas the younger.
The Daily News correspondent at Rome states that
the Pope, in reply to an address presented to him, vigorously
asserted the claims of the temporal power, inveighing
against the Liberal press, and urged all Catholics to watch
over the education of the young.

The historical collections of the city of Berne have
just been enriched by two interesting and valuable acquisi-
tions. The heirs of the late Colonel von Erlach, of Ilindel-
bank, have presented to the Council of Burghers the corre-
spondence of General von Erla9h during his sojourn in
France and the campaign of 1797 and 1798, in which he com-
manded the Beruese contingent. The council have received,
fura-t-r, from Colonel von Senner, three manuscript volumes,
con. -ting of letters addressed by various illustrious person-
aget b the early part of, the 18th century to the Lauda-
man,ier Jerome and Sigismond von Erlach. Among them
are original letters froin Marlborough, Prince Eugene, and
the Emperor Leopold 111. Both collections will be placed
in the City Library.

The Pall Mali Gazette says :—" The last letter of
the Russian revolutionists to their relatives before their
execution are net devoid of a certain pathos and dignity.
aibaltchich wrote to his brother, 'All is flnisheil. Bear
philosophically that which destiny sends me. I am the
victim of the historical development of my country. I have
done my duty.' Jeliaboff wrote to his sister : In a short
time I shall be where there is no more sorrow nor crying. I
have tried to act so that upon earth there would be less of
that sorrow. That was the object to which I have sacrificed
everything. Igo into the other world, where God will judge
me. If he does not condemn me, what will be the fate of
my judges ? What shame will cover them I ' Through the
gloomy philosophy of these wretched victims of the histo-
rical development of their country ' there gleams somewhat
of that spirit of self-sacrifice which in every age has sent
martyrs to the .stake and patriots to the scaffold."
Lord Brabourne stated at a meeting of the
Farmers Alliance at Canterbury that he meant to become
a member of that body. He sympathised with most of its
objects, but advised that great caution was necessary to
steer its way correctly. He held that certain burdens
should be removed from the land, seeing that they were
imposed when the farmers were specially favoured by the
Leffisla,ture, and that now they were no longer specially
fafoured.

It is stated in an American palper that the directors
of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway are about to bring
to Colorado 10,000 French labourers, at 2 dols. a day and
subsistence, for work on the Denver and Rio Grande exten-
sion into Mexico.

The King of Italy has given 6,000 francs from his
privy purse to the fund for the relief of the sufferers by the
Choi earthquake,
One of the novelties patented for Mackaye's new
theatre in New York is, it is said
_,.a seat which disappears
when the audience rises, leaving the entire floor of the audi•
torium clear.

The Court Journal says that a large fortune has
has been left to the Duchess of Edinburgh by her father.
At Wilhelmshaven on Wednesday morning during
artillery practice on board the training-ship Marg, a shell
burst during the loading of a gun. Two cadets and four
sailors were killed by the explosion, nine other men were
seriously injured, and two officers and seven men were
slightly hurt.
The floods continue on the Missouri and Upper
mississipi rivers. Hundreds of miles of fertile land are under
water, and many towns are inundated. A large amount ot
property has been destroyed, but no loss of life has been
recently reported. Much distress. prevails, and railroad
traffic is seriously interrupted.

A Parliamentary paper just issued states that 146
agrarian outrages were committed in Ireland during the
past month of March.
Mr. Herbert Gladstone, M.P. at Leeds on Satin-
day, spoke strongly against material concessions either to
the Land Leaguers or to the Conservatives in the progress
of the Irish Land Bill.

In celebration of Prince Gortschakoff's jubilee, the
Russian Imperial Chancellery is publishing a magnificent
volume containing the Statetocumentsl)y which the various
honours he enjoys were conferred nponliim.
A Renter's telegram from New York says that the
town of Buenaventura. OD the Pacific coast, has been almost
entirely destroyed by fire. The loss of property is estimated
at 1,000,000 dols., and 1,500 persons have been rendered
homeless.

It was stated at a meeting of the Mansion House
Chio Earthquakes Fund, held in London on Monday, that
£16,857 had been received;- of which £lO,OOO had been sent
for distribution to the sufferers.

In the week ending Saturday, the number of persons
who visited the National Fisheries Exhibition at Norwich
was 15,338, and the receipts from admissions to the same
date were £1,072.

In Queensland a plague of rats has visited some
portions of the far west. They have attacked the lambs,
and death has resulted from their bites. Heavy rains have
fallen in the western districts, and the drought has com-
pletely broken.

- A - Correspondent of The Times writes Lord
Beaconsfield was always very much interested in young men
beginning political life, even if only in/he earliest stages of
office work. Re once said, in answer Oa some one who ob-
served the work of a particular office was dry, 'All details
are dry; he must not be discouraged; it is the same in
every office. The main point is to get the first step on the
ladder.' "

The Earl of Dalhousie has sent circulars to all the
tenants on his extensive estates in the Brechin and Pan-
mure districts, informing them that, owing to the loss on
the turnip crop and to agricultural depression generally, he
will allow them an abatentent of 20 per cent. in their rents
for the past year. The concession, it is understood, will
represent the giving back of upwards of £.12,000.
- -

The Morning Post understands that a proposal will
be made in Parll:Linea fer a national monument in West-
minster Abbey to record the name and services of Lord
Beaconsfield.

A parent made the following entry in the "rank,
profession, or occupation' column of his census schedule in
reference to his two daughters :—" They toil not, neither do
they spin.
The infant daughter of the Maharajah of Mysore
was christened recently with great ceremony in the presence
of all the state officials ; she was named Jaya Lulcumi. The
first word means victory, and is intended as a compli-
ment to the Queen-Empress on account of the esteem enter-
tained for Her Majesty by the Mysore House.
Writing on Monday, the correspondent of The Times
says:—" The Empress Eugenie has passed through Paris on
her way to Milan for the unveiling of the subscription statue
of Napoleon 111. Her Majesty was greeted on her way through
by Baron Haussmann, this being her second journey through
France since the fall of the Empire."
Flies and beetles imprinted on the new spring
materials for ladies costumes are making their appearance
in Paris, and bid fair tb be quite the fashion this season.

It was stated that Lord Beaconsfield was occupied
on a new work of fiction. This is true, a portion has been
written, and even printed, for it wig his lordship's custom to
have his manuscript printed one chapter alter the ether as
soon 111$ written. —Court Journal.

A vessel has arrived. says the City Press, in the
West India Docks, bringing from South Africa no less than
19,000 sheep, weighing about 381bs. each.

Information received from Sweden states that the
open water in the ports of the Lower Gulf is not expected
before the beginning, and in the Lipper till the end, of June.
The ice varies in thickness from eight to tea feet, ancl it is
said that such a winter as the last has not been experienced
since 1848. There is, however, open water on the Russian
coast.

According to intelligence from St. Petersburg; pub-
lished in the Vienna Presse, the health of the Empress of
Russia, who is at Gatchina, is such as to inspire grave
anxiety. It is stated that the Empress was greatly affected
at the refusal of the Czar to pard'on Ryssakoff and his
accomplices.

The Horticultural Society at Ghent have deter-
mined to present the Princess Stephanie on her wedding day
with a bouquet which no money could purchase. A meeting
has been called of all those who are prepared to produce
flowers worthy of this chef d'aeuvre, in fact to arrange of
what this unique bouquet shall consist. None but orchids
and other very rare plants will be admitted.

On Tuesday morning, two girls, daughters of a wood
turner, residing at 11, Findlay-street, Glasgow, fell from the
window of the house into the background, a height of four
storeys, and sustained injuries of such a frightful nature
that the younger of the two died in a few minutes after she
was carried up to the house, and the other at two o'clock in
the afternoon.

The Daily Telegraph says that "among the leading
measures of the year which must be carried through is the
Bankruptcy Bill. It will task all the resolution and business-
like talent of Mr. Chamberlain to get Jain edgewise,' in the
intervals of Irish debate, to snatch sombtimes an odd night
and an occasional afternoon for reforming our cumbrous and
corrupt system of English law, as applied to commercial
failures.

The Commissioners of the Board of Works will, it
is understood, recommend a grant of £l,OOO towards the im-
provemeuts suggested in the precincts of Westminster
Abbey.
Modern Japanese Pottery bids fair soon to be as
remarkable for size as for beauty of design and detail. Two
enormous blue and white porcelain lamp,pedestals, twenty-
three feet high, the Japan Mail tellkus, have been turned
out by the potters of Seto in Owasi, a village which in
former times was considered the cerimic capital of Japan.
The pedestals are intended for a shrine, and are without a
single flaw.
According to a New York telegram the visible
supply of wheat on April 22 was 20,500,090 bushels; Ditto
Indian corn, 13,500,000 bushels. Export clearance of wheat
for the past week, 1.790,000 bushels; export clearances of
Indian corn for the past week, 1,720,000 bushels.

The inarriage of the Earl of Essex with Louisa
Paget, widow of the late General Lord George Paget, and
youngest daughter of Mr. Charleelleneage, was solemnized
on Monday at St. Saviour's Church, Upper Chelsea, in the
presenoe of a small party of the nearest relatives, the bride
being given away by Mr. C. T. Fieschi Heneage. The mar-
riage ceremony was performed by the Rev. George War-
burton Weldon, vicar of St. Saviour:lL After the ceremony
the Earl and Countess left town for Casaiobury, Herts.—
Tuezday's Times.

-
All accounts from St. Petersburg show that the
Nihilist movement is quite as active, it not more so, than
ever, and every day fresh precautions, arrests, and visitations
are made. -

Mr. Elmore, the Academician, who died the other
day, has left R,80,000 behind him,„a, circumstance which goes
to show that painting is not such a bad business after all.
_Mr. Elmore was an Irishman, coming from Clonakilty, a
little village in the county of Cork. He was a protege of
O'Connell, who gave him one of his first important commis-
sions. He came tip to London when little more than a lad,
and had his first picture exhibited in the Academy in 1884.
He was elected an Associate of the Academy when he was
only thirty years of age, and subsequently was made one of
the forty.—Court Journal.
At the annual session of the Baptist Union of Great
Britain and Ireland, held in Bloomsbury chapel, London, the
committee's report stated that there is this year an increase
in chapel sittings of 24,000, of church members 6,700, of Sun-
day-school teachers 3,800, and of Sunday scholars 31,600, while
13 new churches have been formed. Thirty-seven new
chapels have been built at a cost of over£39,Boo, and 24 new
schools at a cost of over £6,000, while 86 chapels are re-
ported as having been enlarged and improved at an outlay
of £24,500. Besides this upwards of £84,000, has been paid
off existing debts.

Mr. Henry Lewis, nephew of the late Mr. Wyndham
Lewis, M.P., the first husband of the late Lady Beaconsfield,
died on Saturday morning at his residence at Weston, of
creeping paralysis, from which disease he suffered for many
years.
Subscriptions to the total amount of £556 7s. 2d
have been already received for the ntemorial about to be
erected to the memory of the officers, non-commissioned
officers, and men of the 24th regiment who lost their lives
during the campaigns„,in South Africa in 1877-78-79. A large
part of this sum was contributed by the officers and men of
the regiment itself, and by pensioners and Army Reserve
men late of the 24th.