Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-03-03
FOREIGN GOSSIP.
Stephen Lewis, an English nava
pensioner, is 1U4 year< old.

Stephen Lewis, an English naval
pensioner, is lO4 yeSr< old.
Although both RE sons of the. Prince
OF Wales are receiving naval edIca.
tion, the eldest, Prince Albert Victor,
will ultimately be appointed to a com.
mission in the army; the Youngest,
Prince George, being destined for ma.
val career.
The Channel tunnel between France
and England is no longer question OF
preliminary experiments. The boring
has already been effected to the exit nj
OF 1,SUO metres from the French al i
1000 metres from the English SIDE.
This makes altogether rather more than
one-tenth of the entire distance to be
pierced.
More ascents of Mont Blame have
/ been made during the past season than
in any previous year. Between July
and October, siXty-fOur tourists, of whom
nineteen were French, seventeen Eng
/ lish, and six Americans, gained the
summit. Three were ladies, natives re-
spectively of England, France and Swift
Zcrland.
London is at present infested with
some gangs of ruilians, each consisting
of forty members and calling itself the
forty thieves. Their organization and
| training are perfect. Their modes of
approach when they have selected a
victim are marvels of dexterity, and
| their codes of signals maryels of ingenu-
lty. The number of each band is al
ways maintained. When one leaves
there are many eager to take his place,
SO popular among London street BOYS is
the profession. This fact battles the po-
lice and makes the tactics of the bands
almost incomprehenSible.
AT Biddenham, Bedfordshire, Enc.
there is observed every year on the 22d
of September Il curious ceremony that
dates from the first crusade. \ little
while before noon, 4 procession of vii
layers carry 4 white rabbit decorated
with scarlet ribbons through the streets
and sing hymn in honor of St. Aga
tina. All the unmarried women who
meet this procession point toward the
rabbit with the first two fingers of the
left hand and repeat the the lines:
Gustn, %tl>tin. lacks bier,
Ma'dcn>, maidcns, bury him here.
Dinners are not often given on such
peculiar occasion as one given short
time ago at Pesth. \ noted 4" fire -eat-
er" celebrated in this way his twenty
fifth duel. No one was invited who had
not fought at least twelve duels. The
only guest from Great Britain and Ire
land was the O'Gorman Mahon. 1T
vas Il SCARED assemblage. The guests
bore tokens of the favorite pa,timc in
slit ears and noses, SCARED cheeks, and
hands short of the common number of
fingers. The host was especially dis
tinguished by the number and variety of
his permanent and inseparahle decOra-
tions. 1t would not be hard to find a
similar dinner party among students in
Germany, where attendance ut duclirg
meetings is made more compulsory by
the students than attendance ut lectures
is by the professors. Prince bismarck
himself, when mt college, earned the so
briquet of the fighting student from his
constancy and success in dIeling.
The other afternoon IN London n
quaint custom was observed at the Office
VI tiiC Nyuttll at tllc
Royal Courts of Justice, where the for
NAL services due to the Crown on be-
half of the Corporation of London in
respect of certain of their property were
duly rendered. Proclamation having
been made rs follows: "Tenants and
occupiers of piece of waste ground
called the Moors in the County of Salop,
come forth and do your SERVICE" the
City Solicitor presented himself. and cut
one fagot with n hatchet, and another
with Il bill hook. Proclamation was then
made: "Tenants and occppiers of Il
certain tenement called the Forge, in
the Parish of st. Clement Danes, in the
County of Middlesex, come forth and do
your service" The City Solicitor, in
answer TO that, counted six horseShoes
and G1 nails, the Queens Remembrancer
saying "Good number" With that the
proceedings ended.