The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-01-29 00:00:00

dom.

MR. SPURGEON'S HEALTII.-0/1 Sunday the Rev. C.
H. Spurgeon was unable to attend the Metropolitan
Tabernacle. His son, the Rev. Charles iipurgeon, con.
ducted the service in the morning, and read a letter
from the rev, gentleman expressive of regret at his in-
ability to be present. He urged the congregation to
be generous to the poor, and, in Conclusion, recom-
mended that at the prayer meeting of Monday npt,e!6l
prayers should be offered up for the removal of the
present bitter and trying weather.

TENACITY OF LIVE IN NATIVE. EllAOltri.—We often
read accounts of the almost marvellons tene,citt With
which the larger carnivore, cling to life, dna itoifia;
times, but far more seldom, of tenacity of life in
I venture to send you the following statement, made
to me by an officer present when the accident
occurred :—During the early months of 1879, when
the rebellion in Rumpa was fairly on its 160, 8
native constable, while on sentry, accidaptally dis-
charged his loaded carbine; the charge entered his
throat just at the chin, and blew away the wliole left
side of his head, scattering his brains about a large
mango tree. Several officers hearing the shot at their
very doors, rushed out, and found the man ntill
breathing, and the doctor present declared that lifd
was not extinct for fully fifteen minutes after the
accident occurred. The man was one of rny own force
and under my orders. I can vouch for the accuracy
of the account, though not myself present at that
time.— Trevorian (Narsapure), in Land and Water.

A FOSSIL RHINOCEROS.—It is reported in Nature
that the body of a colossal rhinoceros has been dis-
covered in the Werchojanksi district, Siberia. It was
found on the bank of a small tributary to the Jana
river, and was laid bare by the action of the water.
Like the mammoth washed ashore by the Lena River
in 1799, it is•remarkably well preserved, the skin
being unbroken and covered with long hair. -Unfor-
tunately only the skull of this rare fossil has reached
St. Petersburg, and a foot is said to be at Irkutsk,
while the remainder was allowed to be washed aawr
by the river soon after it had been discovered. The
investigation of the skull gave the interesting result
that this rhinoceros (R. Merckii) is a connecting form
between the species now existing, and the se-called
rhinoceros tichorrhinus, remains of which are not un-
frequently found in the gravel strata of Eastern
Prussia. It is supposed that R. Merckii is now the
extinct inhabitant of the eastern part of Siberia.
SKATING CHAMPIONSHIP.—At the London Amateur
Championship Meeting last Saturday Mr. Charles
Crute won the gold medal and the title of Amateur
Champion of the London District, Mr. Goodliffe
securing the silver medal as second. The distance was
a mile on the Elstree Reservoir. The open race was,
of course, won by the champion, who failed to win
a silver medal (Aired him to skate the mile, with three
turns, in 3min. lOsec., only doing 31ain. 17 3-sth

SOMETHING LIKE A BESPEAK !—A prince, fifty-four
princesses, twenty-nine colonels, and three hundred
miscellaneous followers—that would be, indeed, a
" bespeak " which any theatrical manager might
covet. The enterprising gentleman who has started
a circus at Calcutta actually received a "bespeak" of
this magnitude the other day, and what is more,
the whole of the illustrious party put in an
appearance. It was composed of the Nepaulese
Prime Minister with his wives and suite, and loud is
the praise bestowed lv the native Press on the magni-
ficence of the cortege.
WEEKLY REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE. - Bell's

Weekly Messenger says :—" As might have been ex•
pected from the character of the weather, business on
the various corn markets of
.the kingdom has been

almost at a complete standstill. Owing to the great
difficulties of transportation, both by land and water,
the supplies of home-grown produce sent to market
were very limited, and only in cases of urgent necessity
have millers shown any disposition to buy. As long
as it is next to impossible to deliver produce, trade
must be kept seriously in check; but, although
scarcely sufficient business has been transacted during
the past week to test prices, the tone is regarded as
firm, and full prices have been obtained. A feature
in the trade has been that the drying winds which have
prevailed of late have improved the condition of the
home supplies. We must, however, expect short
supplies for some time to come, as the existing diffi-
culties to locomotion are not likely to be speedily
vvercome."

LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF PORTRAIT-PAINTING.—
Aunty. "And now, how mane sittings shall you
require of my niece, Mr. Sparks ?"—Our Artist (a
pickiest but most inflammable youth). " clOh, not more
than thirty or forty, or perhaps, fifty,—we will say
sixty if you like, or seventy—at all events eighty or
ninety at the utmost, at.—" Aunty. Good
heavens! why, you painted me in four! "—Our
Artist. "No !—did I really though? Ah, but I can
see at a glance that your niece's expression will be
particilarly difficulty to catch, you know! "—Punch.
How ODDLY THINGS HAPPEN.—" You know poor
old Smith has been looking for that Miss Robinson
these ever so many years? ' —" Oh, yes."—" Well, he
has just fallen in with her."—"lndeed, where ?"
" The Serpentine."—Judy.
THE DESEASES OF FowLs —From over 440 post
mortern examinations during 1860 it appeared that no
less than ninety-one birds died from inflammation of
the bowels, forty-nine from liver, and sixty-five from
lung diseases, while heart disease, apoplexy, diarrhoea,
indigestion, ovitis, and scrofula, each claimed a con-
siderable number of victims. There are several plain
warnings to breeders contained in this list.
THE AMERICAN CATTLE TRADE.—The live stock
shipped from America last year for London comprised
66,845 cattle, 22,236 sheep, and 672 pigs. Of these
there were lost in transit 3,134 cattle, 868 sheep, and
133 pigs. The shipments to Liverpool in the same
period comprised 87,645 cattle, 600,202 sheep, 11,338
pigs, and 233 horses. The losses comprised 3,408
cattle, 2,136 sheep, 1,418 pigs, and 14 horses. In both
cases the shipments were largest between May and
September.
A BUSINESS WHICH IS EASILY " SUSPENDED " BY
THE SNOW.—The omnibus-iness .—Funny Folks.
A MINISTER FOR SCOTCH AFFAIRS.—The Leeds
Mercury states that more than half the Scotch mem-
bers have signed the memorial to Mr. Gladstone pro-
posing the appointment of a Minister for Scotch
Affairs. Sir W. Harcourt is very much in favour of
the proposal, and though a strong opposition will be
offered to it by the members of the Sc itch Bar, it is
very generally believed that it will be adopted. If a
Minister for Scotch Affairs were established, the
position would probably be offered to Mr. Baxter,
whose abilities, high position among the Scotch mem-
bers, and long experience, eminently fit him for the
position.
THE PARCELS POST.—Negotiations are in progress
with the view of organising a parcels post, and the
Postmaster-General is hopeful of ultimate success.
Some months must elapse, however, before the public
can possibly enjoy this great boon, as the negotiations
are of a delicate character, and the arsangements to
be made are necessary multifarious and intricate. Mr.
Fawcett will probably be able to make some definite
statement on the subject before the Session is far
advanced.

TURNING Tim TABLES.—The Gov'nor. "Another of
these college bills of yours, sir! It's too bad, a great
deal too bad—it shows a want of principle, sir."—
Son and heir. "It's not the want 'of principle, dad;
it's the want of means to act up to it."—Judy.
SINGULAR RECOVERY OF A VALUABLE LETTER.—On
the evening of the 18th inst., among other letters put up
for posting, was one addressed to a house in Glasgow
containing a cheque on the Bank of England for a
sum little short of one thousand pounds. The cheque
not reaching its destination in due course, was stopped
at the Bank, and nothing more was heard of it until
Tuesday morning, when, 'to the surprise of the
merchants who had issued the cheque, it was brought
back, with the missing letter, by a police inspector,
It having been found adhering 'to a block of ice
floating in the river off Deptf2rd, in front of Messrs.
Penn's engineering works. It is presumed that the
messenger in taking the letters to Lombard-street
dropped some, and this one was carted with the snow
into the Thames, and after a week's immersion was
found frozen to a block of lee, and was taken by the
finder to the Deptford police-station.—Daily News.
THE RIKISTRATION OF DRATHS.—There are grounds
for satisfaction in the knowledge that from the com-
mencement of this year improvements in the system
of death-registration have been introduced, which
will facilitate the publication of official returns for
sanitary districts. Registrars are now instructed so
to describe the place of deaths in the Death Register,
that it shall be possible to distinguish the deaths
registered in the various urban and rural sanitary
districts. Further instructions have been issued for
the purpose of securing the insertion in the Death
Register of the previous residence of persons dying in
public institutions. These improvements in death regis-
tration will not only afford considerable assistance tro
local medical officers of health, but they render pos-
sible the publication by the Registrar General of re-
turns for sanitary districts instead of, or in addition
to, those for registering districts and sub-districts,
which, for the purpose of local mortality statistics are
comparatively useless. We can only hope that this
now possible improvement in the Registrar ereneral's
periodical returns will not be very long delayed.—
Sanitary Record.
A FATAL ACCIDENT.—A serious accident happened
in Barrow on Monday morning, by which one man
was killed and two others were severely injured.
William Sanders was at work on a block of granitelltat
the docks, when a crane broke, the jib fell upon him,
and he was killed upon the spot. James Malone,
who was standing at the foot of the crane, received a
severe scalp wound, from the effects of which it is
feared he will not recover; and another man, named
John Watts, I,:vas also severely injused. It is believed
the crane broke owing to the effects of the frost.
POISONED BY MISTAKE.—Mr, Carttar, West Kent
Coroner, has held an inquest at the Three Tuns,
Greenwich, on the body of William Anderson, of
Glasgow, aged 35, steward of the steamer Beta. On
Sunday morning the vessel left Millwall Docks kr
Cardiff and Constantinople, and proceeded cautiously
down the river in consequence of the ice floes. She
arrived off Blackwall Point, and then came into collision
with a barque. The m,s,ster, George Dulling, was en-
gaged in righting the ship when a seaman came to him
and said the steward had taken poison. The master went
into the cabin, where he found deceased unconscious,
and although various remedies were used he died
shortly after the arrival of a doctor.—Edward Nicholls,
a seaman, said in consequence of the collision he ran
to the steward, who put up his hands and said, "My
God, 'l'm poisoned! I've taken carbolic acid for
brandy I "—The master said the carbolic acid was kept
in his closet, and deceased had no business there.
Deceased must have drunk the carbolic acid in the
dark.—Mr. Perceval, surgeon, Greenwich, said his
assistant was called to the deceased, who was in 3
state Of collapse, and died shortly after. Witness was
confident he died from drinking carbolic acid.—The
jury returned t verdict of "Death from taking car-
bolic acid in mistake for brandy."