The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-03-20 00:00:00

with a barefooted animal."

PAYING THEM 017.—A pretty American girl in
Rome went frequently into the streets unattendedl
contrary to the custom there. The young Romane
followed and annoyed her, until she invented a novel
method of rebuffing them. She provided herself with
pocketful of centesimi, each the value of a fifth of a
cent„ and whenever a man spoke to her, pretended to
utterly mistake his words, she gracefully extended her
hand and dropped this fifth of a cent in his hand, say-
ing, in her broken Italian, "Hungry, are you, poor
man Well, take this and buy some bread."

-- •
A CATASTROPHE AVERTBD.—A horrible tragedy
was nearlr enacted the other day at Gibraltar, just
when the Himalaya was about to weigh anchor off the
new Mole. In the exoitement of the moment a pat
dog fell into the water, when a large octopus rose to
the surface and gave chase, making greedy grabs at it
with arms quite two feet long from end to end. When
the enemy was about to close on its victim, a sailor
fresh from foreign parts appeared on the scene, and,
dragging from his mu h-tattooed breast a rival pet in
the shape of a marmoset, sent it to the rescue in a
basket. The little creature, half-oat and half-monkey,
must have been acquainted alike with its duties and
the English language, for it did not seize the octopus,
but, laying hands on the dog, was safely hauled up,
to the disgust of the enemy and joy of friends. Alto-
gether it was a pretty bit of byplay, when tender
hearts were sobbing adieux to brown hands waving
affectionately from every porthole to the military
strains of "Auld lang syne."—Tlte World.
A HORSE MARINE.—" General Steam."—.Tudy.
THE INTRODUCTION OP COACRES INTO ENGLAND.--•
In the year 1664, one William Boonen, a Dutchman.
first brought the use ot coaches hither, and the said
Boonen was Queen Elizabeth's coachman; for, indeed,
a coach was a strange monster in those days, and the
sight of one put both horse and man into amazement.
Some raid it was a great crab-shell brought out of
China, and some imagined it to be one of the Pagan
temples in which the cannibals adored the devil; but
at last these doubts were cleared, and coach
making became a substantial trade. From other
authorities we learn that the firet statesman that
ever set up his coach was John de Valois Dauphin,
who could not travel on horseback on account of his
enormous balk, Hackney coaches were introduced in
the year 1693.—Land and Water.

To COVERT WITH THE DEVON AND SOMERSET STAG-
HOUNDS.—Driver of Tandem (to ancient Rustic, on for
the day at the toll-bar): "How much ? "—Rustic puts
on s_ eotacles, takes up the board, and reads " ' For
one horse, pony, mule, or donkey, in cart or carriage,
sixpenoe. For a pair of horses, &c., Ste., one shilling."
—(Soliloquises.)—"Tisn't one, for 'tilt more than one;
and 'tisn't a pair, and yet 'tie a pair, longways. S'pose
us say haav'?"—Punch.
EMIGRATION TO THa UNITED STATES.—The quarterly
report of the Chief of the Bureau of Statistics at
Washington, recently issued, shows the enormous
growth of the numberUf alien passengers who arrived
In the United States from 1830 to 1879 inclusive. In
the former year the number was only 23322; in the
latter it was 197,954. In the year 1873 alone, the
figures rose as high as 473,141. In many years the
figures were in exzess of those for the year 1879. In
every year the estimated number of emigrants from
the States was very small as compared with the
immigrants who arrived. Last year the excess of
immigrants over emigrants was no less than 135,825,
and the report states that this is a fair specimen of the
years generally.
LORD HARTINGTON ON 1' LOCAL OPTION.7.—A
letter has been received in Manchester from Mr. R.
B. Brett, private secretary to Lord Hartington, in
which he says that his lordship "has stated that he is
willing to support practical proposals for giving to the
ratepayers some control over the administration of the
licensing laws, but he cannot vote for a resolution so
vague as that brought in by Sir Wilfrid Lawson."
SEA ELEPHANTS.—The directors of the Brighton
Aquarium have received advice from Mews. Elder,
the shipping firm, that a pair of young sea elephants
(macrorhinus proboscideus) are on their way from Port
Chalmers by the Timaru to the Aquarium. This
remarkable member of the phocithe has never yet been
seen in Europe, nor are there any skeletons or stuffed
examples of it in this country. It grows to an enor-
mous size in three years, attaining a length of from
18ft. to 25ft., and its bulk and fatness are prodigious.
The males have an elongated proboscis, which extends
to a foot in length and is flexible. Suitable quarters
for the reception of the strangers are being prepared at
the Aquarium.
RusslAN WINES, =The grape harvest in Bessarabia
of last year proved unusually abundant, and enormous
quantities of wine were made, in the distribution of which
the greatest activity still prevails throughout the pro-
vince. Vessels of all kinds were brought into requisi-
tion for the storage of the wine, and while the price of
the juice of the grape itself in some cases fell as low as
3d. or 4d. a gallon, the empty casks were eagely bought
for the storage of the better samples of the vintage at a
value exceeding that of the quantity of wine they
would-hold.
ALL IN THE DAY'S WORIC.—" Oh—a—James I You
can take the dog out for a walk."—" If you please,
Ma'am, the dog won't follow me !"—," Then you must
follow the dog, James !"—Punch.
THE PROPOSED MEMORIAL TO THET PRINCE IM-
PERIAL.—On Monday evening the adjourned con-
ference, composed of members of most of the political
clubs of London, to protest against the proposed
memorial in Westminster Abbey to the late Prince
Imperial, was held at the Westminster Radical Club,
Mr. Nettleton in the chair. It was resolved, "That
this meeting is of opinion that, owing to the dissolu-
tion of Parliament, it is desirable to adjourn this
conference till after the general election, and appeal to
Dean Stanley to withold his permission for the erec-
tion of the monument in Westminster Abbey to the
late Lonis Napoleon until an opportunity has been
afforded for the adequate expression of public opinion
on the matter."
DISASTERS Al SEA.—There were 33 British and
foreign wrecks reported during the past week, making
the total for the present year 320, or a decrease of 110
as compared with the corresponding period of last year.
The approximate value of property lost was £610,000,
including British £520,000.
BRAVERY ItEWARDED.—At a recent meeting of the
Chapter of the °Eder of St. John, the bronze medal
for saving life on land was voted to Henry Spavin, a
workman, who on December 17 last, descended into a
small sewer at Silvertown and rescued, in circum-
stances of much personal danger, a comrade who had
been rendered insensible by poisonous gases.
SPIRITS, WINE. AND B.—ln the year 1879 duty
was paid on 27,936,651 gallons of home-made spirits
for consumption in the United Kingdom All beverage)
only; this is less by 1,422,964 gallons than the quan-
tity in 1878. In 1879 there were also 9,540,851 proof
gallons of foreign spirits imported entered for home con-
sumption in the United Kingdom j and this is leas by
897,786 gallons than the quantity in 1878. In 1879
there were 14,945,093 gallons of foreign wine imported
entered for home consumption in the United King-
dom: and this is less by 1,327,202 gallons than the
quantity in 1878. Lastly, Excise duty was charged
In 1879 on 49,935,926 bushels of malt for home con-
sumption (exclusive of malt for distillation, duty free),
and this is less by 7,323,467 bushels than the quantity

in 1878.
THE QUESTION or THE DAY.—To whom does the
country wise its interests to be entrusted for the next
five years or more "ToB. or not to B, ?—that is
the question. —Funny Polk:.
FAMINE AND THE BIETH-BATE.—The vital statistics
of the bledras Presioency recently issued and cover-
ing the period affected by the late famine shows a
most remaskable falling-off in the number of births
within the districts most severely visited. In 14
districts the ratio of births nor thousand of the popu-
lation fell from 20 to 88. That this has immediately
resulted from the famine is further proved by the
fact that in seven other districts which almost wholly
escaped its ravages the birth-rate has only fallen from
19'9 to 172,
A TANS BIAOICEIED.—One wet morning last
summer a lady calling at a house I was staying at in
the country picked up a half. fledged blackbird on the
garden path. The little thing had evidently fallen
out of the nest, and was almost dead; it lay in my
hands quite motionless for some time, but at last
began to open its oyes and show signs of life, so I put
it in cotton wool by the fire, and when its few feathers
were dry I gave it a little bread pill moistened with
sherry, such as I used to give young sick turkey chicks
In former times. This produced a wonderful effect;
he became live,y under its influence, so I continued to
open its beak and cram it (it could not feed itself)
with bread-and-milk, finely-minced raw meat, crushed
hemp seed, &c., for some days, until, in fast, it would
open its mouth directly it saw me for food, and It soon
began to pick up worms put into the cage, and help
him3elf ; so as I was leaving the country I thought it
full time to give him his liberty, and accordingly
I took him three fields distant from the house,
opened the cage, and let the prisoner out. A young
friend of mine, who had often been in my room and
had spoken to the bird, was passing by the spot about
three o'clock in the afternoon, when the blackbird flew
from the hedge and came close to her, perching on a
rail of the gate, and actually opening his mouth for
food. She had biscuits in her pockets, so gave him
some crumbs, He would not let her catch him though,
she told me, so as evening drew near I went down, for
I was afraid the owl would find him, and when I was
within a few yards of the Rate a bird flew out of a tall
tree. I called `I Bob ! Bob !" and in a moment poor
Bob was in my arms, He flew right at me and
nestled, I could net leave him there, so I brought him
lboancgker. I h
to his old
leftd L—, in
quarters,agnivdkgetob t
kept him o
m ify friend o
oraweekn
condition that she was to put him out the first fine
day after my departure. I shortly afterwards received
a note from her stating that Bob had seemed very rest-
less in his cage after I left him, had seemed to mope or
else flutter his poor wings against the wicker bars, so
she opened the door, and he at once flew out through
the window into the laurel hedge, from whence he
never returned. I only hope my pet escaped both owl
and oat, for the la4y I was staying with had a sad
poacher in the shape of a white eat,—"11,13.W." in
Land and Water,