The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-08-01 00:00:00

Miscellaneous fltelligence.

ROME. FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

RITUALISM AT HATCHAM.—OM Sunday (says
The Times), a series of services of the highest Ritu-
alistic type was held at St. James's Church, Hatcham,
the occasion being what was described as the "Feast
of the Patron Saint" of the Church. It was further
snnounceit that the octave would be continued
throughout the present week. There were six ser-
vices on Sunday, the high celebration in the forenoon
1-eing of a more Ritualistic character, than is to be
witnessed even at such churches as St. -Alban's, Hol-
born. The Rev. A. Tooth, the celebrant, wore a
richly-embroidered scarlet vestment, and incense was
freely used at the altar almost Or ,m the commence-
ment to the close of the ceremony. During the Con-
secration Prayer seven acolytes, wearing scarlet
skull caps, held lighted tapers before the altar, and at
the monient of consecration the bells in the church
tower chimed. The sermon was preached by the Rev.
R. Linklater, of Kensington. The service closed with
a procession of at least 100 robed choristers, a large
crucifix and six banners being displayed. In the
evening there were "Solemn Vespers, with sermon.'
The Rev. A. H. Stanton, of St. Alban's, Holborn,
preached. The Rev. Mr. Tooth, the incumbent, was
again attired in -tichly-embroidered vestments, and
during the chanting of the Magnifica, a cloud of
incense was sent up in front of the altar.

A WONDERFUL SHOE.—A haunted shoe is
the last novelty in ghost-Peeing circles. The New York
Herald relates a thrilling advetture which betel a
young lawyer on his return to his lod,oings one night,
after a rather convivial evening. He had scarcely
retired to rest, when he was startled by a loud noise in
the room, resembling the pound of squeaking music.
He got up, relit the lamp, and after looking around the
room for -omc time to discover the whereabouts of the
noise, fr ul that it proceeded from one of the shoes he
had ;• aside. Taking it up, he looked inside inc
=hoe. on I discovered nothing ;he ther! beat it it against

• ex, • . and examined a .th9roughly for se'veral
and finally pulled the mouth of the gaiter over
the lallip chimney, and turned the lamp up till the
elastic in the gaiter was utterly ruined ; but still the
strange sounds kept on, sometimes in the toe and some-
times at the heel. After satisfying himself that there
wits nothing in the shoe but the sinenlar sound, and no
thing in the room but himself, the yi cog man
gave up in despair, and sat for half an hour listening
to the mournful sound, till the entrance of some one
from the street, attracted by the unusual noise pro-
ceeding from the building, broke the charm.-- Observer.
A JULY DAY IN It is stated that
the Signal Service thermometer at Cincinnati marked
103 deg. in the shade an the 7th inst.

A --FAMILY PONY. "Yesterday," says a
Iper,hern Colorado paper, "we saw a man, a woman,
a goodssized boy, two babies, five or six blankets, a
buffalo rube, o.d two strings of chili on a single pony.
Every available inch from his ears to the root of his
tad was taken. The poor animal was very small;
thir as a towel rack ; of a sickly, pale Colour; and one
f. I. - . It five inches shorter than the other—
the knee jot of that leg was very large, and we sup-
posed that the missing part of the leg was driven in
there by the weight above, so that when it was relieved
the leg would stretch out again like a turtle's head.
In fact, nearly all his legs were short, and the
crookeilest convention of legs that we ever saw. Taken
altomther, it was the most amusing horse and load we
ever saw. Incredible as it may seem, the wiry little
animal passed us on a trot.'
ROMAN CATHOLIC PILGRIMAGE.—Under the
management of Monsignor Patterson and a committee
of noblemen and gentlemen, the arrangments for the
English pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Edmund of
Canterbury, at Pontigny, have been almost perfected.
The pilgrims will leave London on September 1. and
on the next day (Wednesday), having heard mass at
the Church of Notre Dame des Victoires, will leave
Paris for St. Florentin by special train, the journey
occupying about five hours. The destination of the
pilgrims will be reached at 4 p.m. The special de-
votions at the shrine will commence early on Thursday
morning, and there will be a sermon in English by
Archbishop Manning. Already several hundred
names, including many of the Roman Catholic
aristocracy, have been placed by the committee on the
books of the pilgrimage.

•
CONVERSE AND CONTE:MT.—In the dry Mel-
sure of the Tutor's Assiqaut we learn that four pecks
make one bushel or strike. Conversely, of course, one
bushel or sti ike makes four pecks. 'the Strike of the
Agricultural Labourers, however, glide another
thing. That Strike, on the contrary, makes not any
pecks and no bushel at all.—Punek.
A KENTUCKY MARVEL.—This is the story
a letter from Jamestown, Fruissell County, Ky.,
tells : " A few days agotwo Messrs. Pierce, who live in
the Long Bottom, discovered something in the cloud-
less sky, just under the sun, that very much resembled
a man. They immediately went to their own or a
neighbour's home and told what they had seen.
Pretty soon others went forth to make observations,
but instead of seeing the man that had been reco,,,mized
by the others, they plainly discovered two women
emerging from the sky, one from the left and the
other from the right of the sun. They gradually
came together just under the centre of the sun until
they were in the embrace of each other, at which
moment a large eagle came forth and sailed round the
women for fifteen minutes, and at length rested on
their heads, and remained there for some time. The
same evening a Mr. Davis, who lives two miles from
the Pierces, saw the Caine Rights at the same time of
day. Mr. Davis and the Pierces are reliable gentlemen,
however strange their discovery may appear."
BATH PROPRIETORS AND THE INLAND RE-
VENUE. —An adjourned meeting of bath proprietors
has been held in London at the Cannon-street Hotel,
with reference to the case of Mr. Metcalfe, who was
fined .1:5 for not having taken out an excise license for
his bath man. Mr. Boyes, the solicitor in the case
stated that the appeal to the Quarter Sessions had
resulted in a confirmation, by a majority of the
magistrates, of the previous decision, but that he had
applied for a ease for the superior court, which had
been granted. The meeting resolved itself into a
defence committee to take charge of the case. Reso-
lutions appealing for contributions towards the cost of
the appeal to the Court of Queen's Bench were agreed
to, and the meeting was adjourned till the lot of
September.

MAIL CAR BURNT.—The mail and express
car attached to the eastward-bound train on the
Atlantic, Mississippi, and Ohio Railroad was entirely
destroyed by fir eon the 9th of July, near Petersburg.
The mail car contained an unusually heavy northern
aid southern mail, which, together with the express
matter in the adjoining apartment, wax entirely con-
sumed. The route agents, the only persona in the mu- at
the time, were unable to give analarm, owing to theburn-
ing of the bell rope, and after an ineffectual effort to save
the most valuable part of the mail, they both jumped
off, and were afterwards picked up in a bruised condi-
tion. The fire was not discovered by those on the
forward cars until the train had run several miles and
the car was burnt down to the wheels. The origin of
the tire was not known.

HYDROPHOBIA. —New York has lately some-
what severely suffered from this disease. It has
proved fatal in five cases; and one sensitive person sank
under nervous excitement resulting from the fear of it.
Dr. Hammond, of New York, as,erta that he has made
an important discovery in relation to the nature of this
malady. He submitted the medulla oblongata of the
last victim to microscopic examination, and discovered
black spots, which pi, 'veil to be coagulavod blood, neear
the origin of the apinal accessory nerves and the pnem
mogastric berves. Hence it is assumed that hydro-
phobia is really a nervous disease, awl not a blessl
poison, as has been generally supposed. Dr.
Hammond's attention was directed to the spinal ac-
cessory nerves by the symptoms that indicated their
operation upon the throat, larynx, and pharynx, in the
patient's inability to swallow liquids. The first spasms
were in the muscles of the throat. The presence of
extravasiated blood at the origin of this set of nerves is
declared to 'lave proved the accuracy of his supposition.
The point of lesion is supposed to have been discovered.
and the way to future investigation is plain, granting of
course, the certainty claimed for this discovery of Or.
Hammond, who stands, with Dr. Brown-Sequard, at
the head id the medical profession in America upon
diseases of the brain and nervous system. From the
census returns it appears that for the last ten years in
the United States, 03 deaths from hydrophobia have
taken place. Of these 33 were in the Southern States,
22 in the Northern, six in the Western, and two in the
Eastern. The largest number in one State was 22 in
Louisiana. The New York records of the past 20
years show 57 cases, being a pretty uniform rate hardly
increasing as fast as the population.—Loodon Medical
Roved.

RAILWAY DIVIDENDIL—The " ordinary stock"
of the railway companies of the United Kingdom
amounts to nearly 250 millions sterling. The Board
of Made returns state that in the year 1873 no
dividend was paid on £34.111.000 ordinary capital of
constructed lines, nor on £3,503,000 ordinary capital
of new companies, whose lines, being in course of
construction, earned no dividend. or. £9,539,000
ordinary capital dividends not exceeding 1 per cent,
were paid in 1873; on £1,316,000, buceeding 1, but not
exceeding 2 per cent. ; on £15,892000 exceeding 2, but
not exceeding 3 per. ; on £24,747,000, exceeding 3, but
not exceeding 4 per cent. ; on £719,393,000, exceeding 4,
but not exceeding 5 per cent. ; on £21,611,000, el.ceed-
lug 5, but not exceeding 6 per cent.; on £34,373,000,
exceeding 6, but not exceeding 7 per cent. ; on
£53,639,000, exceeding 7 but not exceeding 8 per cent.;
on £2,615,000, exceeding 8, but not exceeding 9 per
cent. ; on £19,242,000, exceeding 9, hut not ex-
ceeding 10 per cent.; on 4:37,000, exceeding 10, but
not exceeding 11 per cent. ; on £3,801,000, exceveding
11, but not exceeding 12 per cent. ;on £631,530, ex
ceeding 12, but not exceeding 13 per cent. The
dividends exceeding 10 per cent, are chiefly on the
stock of such companies as the Lancaster and Carlisle,
leased to greater companies on favourable terms.

BEGINNING AT THE BEG/NNING.—" And what's ' "IN RETREAT. "—Brown : 'klaullo, Jenkins!
your favourite etudy, missy ?'—° Chropology !"-0, What's brought you here? Whe-he's your wife?
Chronology, is it? Now, what is the date of the What ! have you ` a Divorce. or a Bispeusation
creation of the world ?."—" 0, we haven't got so far as from the Pope, or what--"—.lesokies (who has en.
that, grand pa`r—Punch. jayed his Whitebait): "No, any a Plenary In-
!"
'Soya i. PROFOSED LICENCES.—Dr. SID hi-TUE:id, dulgence —Punch.
one of the enlightened town cOuncillors of Edinburgh, MI SUCCESSOR OF STEAM !—lt is said that
has given the following notice of motion :-- an important discovery has been made by a Dutch
•• Whereas druntcutiess Is praluotive of extraordlliarY chemist which, scientifically, he calls " Carholeuxs,"
personal :mil relative misery, crime, and pauperism mud ' bet which he says is nothing lee' than 'The successor
disease, and wheteas It is being conceded by those M the of Steam." It is a form of carbonic acid ; and Mr.
spirit trade as well as maintained by those opposed to Unit Brines, the chemist in question, states that it can be
trade, that drunkenness must be abolished ; and whereas no
used to drive steam engines, and to perform many
scheme or measure lias yet been devised which will seem
mez,i,ltrelysao,i,v,lonut hmi1,tt;.,,,,,te1e:,,,2,r1;1, ip,, t.,;,,,t,s.oth.jeci,,3s,,Lhiett.towton other of oil
ethwie f.s.metartionsofnboewinpgernrfuorcihnemdLeiyis.t.teamw...;e7nhnilde
consider the wind°. sad expediency of petitioning Her nmre quiokly available. "If thin invention should
al ijesld's Government to introduce for this purpose a really turn out practically. minces:4M it will effect
general measure, founded upon tba principle of lieensingthe quite a revolution in England. The chalk cliffs of
consmners Instead of or in addition to the vendors of intoxi-
Kent will become as valuable as the coalfields of
eating liquors.-
, Lancasbri e ; our wealth will Ise enormously inerealied f !
A SINGULAR THEORY : Apropos of tne and a new source of heat and motion will be supplied
attempt to assassinate Prince Bismarck, a singular at the very time that we were dreading the exhaustion
theory is advanced to the effect that excessive heat in- of the old.
creases the homicidal tendency against whieh every
: m to contend.-
eln illustration of the . APOTHECARIES' Llmovers.—The Select Corn-
man has sometimittee on the Apothecaries' Licences Bill recommend
theory, a patient professor of Breslau has brought
that the examinations and qualifications in each of the
together instances of some of the more celebrated
three kin slims be ideMical • that tlie fees to be isaid
cases of regicide to show that they have generally f k' • .. 's •, •
been made in the month of July. Thus, on the 12th or examination, 'menet., an registrathm be equal ;
a! nd registered of kingdom shall
of July, 1581, William of Orange wasassassinated by
Balthasar Gerard •on the 12th of Jukys 1764, the same havethat
equal right licentiate each s
and privileget in the three klngdorns
fate befell Prince 'lvan VI., son of *Anne of Russia' respectmsly. They are of opinion that, after a sbte to
27th July, 1835, Fiesehi fired his hsfensal machine be named, no person whose name is not on the register
of the Pha aceutical Society of Great Britain and
against Louis-Philippe; 18th July, 1844, Fritz Scherck,
Ireland with the eci t. ;if the licentiates of the
a burgomarster of Sturkov, fires two pistol shots at the
... x ' .
, !otuecarma' Hall xofeisrand shall be permitted to
King of Prussia, but without touching him; on the I
ed any f the articles scheduled, or to he sited
life July, 1816, another attempt was made on the 8 .. o
,
life of Louis-Phillippe ; on the sth July, 1o1:4, occurred
at7poisons under the Sale of Poisons Act (Ireland)o, or. to compound prescriptions contant. ...imf any
the /Oreini's memorable attack on Napoleon 111. ; and on 1.8
I the 14th July, 1861, Oscar Becker fired at King William sue article..
.It is recommended that the Lell be no
proceeded with
' of Prussia.
Tun blonxtoNs. The New Yolk Herald
MUSIC BY TELEGRAPH.—At the last meeting
says :—" Among the passengers who left New York
of the California Academy of Sciences the president,
for Europe, on the 14th inst., were two well-known
Professor George Davidson, said that 'Mr. Mumford
' Mormons is! Salt Lake City, viz. : John Henry Smith,
of the Telegraph Company, had shown him an instru-
sou of President G. .M. Sim. Ah, anl David Mackenzie,
ment for the transmission of musical sounds along a
secretary of President Brigham Young. The former
telegraph wire. He himself heard distinct musical
sounds sent 800 miles. He had asked Mr. Mumford goes as a missionary to England to brmg out a large
number of Mormons to this country next September ;
to extend a wire to the Academy's buildino. so as to
, and the latter, Mr. Mackenzie, to Scotland, of which
detailed the members this remarkable invention ; but a country he is a native, for a pi They
detailed descriptim of the instrument could not be
were accompanied by Mr. Lsimilar wpose. .
John Nuttall, county
given until patents were obtaMed. clerk. The whole party spoke most enthusiastically
A SNAKE fig DIFFICULTIEs.—Some unfortu- of the progress of Mormonism. The headquarters of
nate persons are quite indifferent as to the nature of Mormon emigration to this country in Europe are at
the food they eat, but there are probably few who Liverpool."
would agree to their food eating them (says the Pall
EAST AND WEST. —" Woes allthis here bother
Mall Gasette). There is, or was, a poor snake at Sacra..
about turning East. " said an ex-Churchwarden of the
mento, San Francisco, whose relations to his daily old schooL " I thought the difference was all about
meal have assumed this complicated character, if we
N."
may judge from a fragment of his history related by a Vestments —Punch.
local newspaper. An anaconda which was on exhibi- PAINFUL BATHING ACCIDENT.— On Saturday
tion at San Francisco was fed on rabbits only. morning a painful accident occurred at South Shields.
When the snake was taken to Sacramento for The sea was rather lumpy, with a somewhat strongback
exhibition it was uncertain how long the show sweep. About half-past seven o'clock in the moraine,
would stay; but the patronage of the population Mr. Thomas Hurst, publisher of the Shields Gazette,
was generous, and the agent at once telegraphed accompanied by Mr. E. Stanford and Mr. If. Todd,
for his show-posters to "bill the town." The belonging to South Shields, proceeded to the sands to
despatch read, "Send 200 cuts immediately," but when bathe. Mr. Hurst went out some distance. Mr.
received it read, "Send 200 cats immediately." The Stanford called to him that the back sweep was very
agent in San Francisco was a little surprised when he strong, and he had better return. Mr. Hurst Mime-
read the message; but he reasoned that rabbits were diately, in reply, exclaimed, "Oh ! come and help
scarce in Sacramento, and that it was necessary to me." Mr Stanford swain towards him, got hold of
substitute cats for the regular provender. So he his right hand, and attempted to swim in with bins.
started out an army of boys to catch all the stray cats. The back current, however, carried them further out,
By the afternoon he sent out a crate of seventy-five and Mr. Stanford, finding it was utterly impossible to
cats, with a letter saying, "1 send sevents -five cats swim in with Mr. Hurst, told him to keep steady and
by this train, and will forward balance to-morrow; he would try and sustain Irm. Seeing that Mr. Hurst
but lam afraid that number of cats wiliest the snake, was still going further out, Mr. Stanford seized him
if they get hose, instead of being eaten by him.' It by the back of the head; Mr. Hurst then put his arms
may be hoped that this popular reptile has escaped the round Mr. Stanford's neck and clung to him. Ile was,
peril entailed upon him by the too liberal arrange- however' unable to retain his hold, and he suddenly
mists made for his support. disappeared. When Mr. Stanford reached the shore
line was in an exhaust,ed state. Mr. Hun.t's A
WALKING MATCH—At Springfield. ...0.P.11.% et been recovered on Saturday evening. body had
He was
chussetts, one Hugh Donahue, a mule spinner, acme about 28 years of age, and has left a widow and three
' tornedf 1.1 'Tars to walk 30 miles sissy at his work, has children.
succeeded in walking!. W roues in 1,000 hours. He
began his task on the 16th of May and finished it on THE ARMY W'ORM.—A good deal of amusement
' the 27th of June, and took no alcoholic stimulants or was provoked on 'Change at Liverpool the other day
medicines in the whole period. Two miles were done by the exhibition of what was described as the "army
'at a time—at the latter part of one hour and the early worm," an insect which is very destructive to the
part of the next, and after each two miles he was cotton plant, and one of the most terrible scourges of
rubbed down with rum and camphor. The last mile the cotton market. During the day parties of fre-
• was walked in flee seconds less than 22 minutes. His quenters of 'Change were crowded round the table
appearance then was that of a men worn down by upon which the curiosity lay nestled in a sample of
fatigue, though not utterly exhausted. . cotton recently arrived, and as they went in and out
oftben,newsserieroarthenanxiousworm questionlln n inin affair,askeduas
1 A TRAVELLING AQUARIUM.—The travelling ~Hare ,n n the army !
aquarium, fitted out by Seth Green. the American however, turned out to be a practical joke, the "army
! Beckland, which left Rochester, New York, on worm " being nothiny snore or less than a carcass of
i the Ist of June, arrived safely at Sacramento on a gigantic prawn, which had, by some means or other,
the 12th of that month. The aquarium car, which con- found its way into the cotton
Mined a fresh-water tank, haling five tons of water,
two salt water tanks, holding in the aggregate about
the same amount of salt water, ice boxes, and an
areating machine, was provided for tlie porpose of stock.
smug the rivers of California and Oregon with superior
fish. The passengers accordingly consisted, according
to the New York Independent, of " lobsters and
oysters from Massachussets Bay ;.tautcss, eels, striped
bass, king fish, and blue Mr from New York Har-
bour ; black bass and wall-eyed pike from Lake
Champlain, Michigan, and Neloraska ; hern mists from
Lake Chaplain ; fresh•water eels and shati from the
Ilialsop River." The last-named fish were tlse only
species lost during the transit. Some water taken in
at Luramie chanced to be impregnated with alkali from
recent floods, and that chemical agent, though harm-
less AA far as the other fish were concerned, proved
fatal to the shad. Meantime this useful fish had been
so sttecessfully "cultivated" by Mr. Green at Roches-
ter, that whereas three yearr ago shad were scarce at
40 dollars per hundrad, they are now Folil at a fourth
ot that price.