Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-17

saloons, made the journey without prear-
ranged stoppage and arrived at Portsmouth
a. few minutes after l o'clock. Mr.. Austen
Chamberlain and others Of the family as
we'll as a considerable number Of officials
and private friends, travelled by the same
train and participated in farewell lunch
con on board the Good Hope before the
cruiser sailed on her way to South Africa.
1t was all very royal.
Mr.. Chamberlain Is taking out with him
on the Good Hope a mass of printed ma
terial and typewriter copies Of confiden-
tal dispatches relating to South African
affairs. The voyage out to South Africa
will, therefore. not be the complete holiday
which some of the newspapers are describ-
rotary proposes to prepare himself for his
investigations in South Africa by reading
up all the available matter bearing ON the
situation.
Mrs. Penruddocke's Trial.
1t is a long time since there has been
legal case causing so much excitement in
England as the Penruddocke trial, in which
q rich woman, the wife of a magistrate,
was criminaly prosecuted for cruelty to
her six-year-old daughter. Mrs. Penrud-
docke comes from an old country family Of
ancient lineage, Is related to a cabinet min
lister, lives in a residence like castle near
Salisbury and Is wealthy. The case was
brought by the Society for Prevention OF
Cruelty to Children on evidence voluntarily
sent by the family's servants. The jury
convicted the woman and Judge Bigham
fined her ESQ. The grossest cruelties were
proved to have been inflicted on the child
by her mother and everybody supposed
that the woman would receive a sentence of
at least six months in prison.
A chorus of horror and condemnation has
arisen all over the country at the Judgment
Even the jurors who tried the case write to
the papers denouncing the judges sentence
and saying that 1t IL not at all what the
jury intended. The judge even apologized
to Mrs. Penriiddocke for the verdict
brought by the jury The popular cry
turns on the phrase. "One law for the rich
and another for the poor" The papers
that have taken the case up print columns
OF protest from private and public people
and from societies and legal bodies and also
IN juxtaposition with the verdict print
hundreds of cases of poor women and men
being sent. to prison from three months to
two years (the maximum penalty) for
cruelties and neglect to children not in most
cases nearly SO bad as those practiced nv
the magistrates wife.
In the parliamentary lobby and elsewhere
the Penruddocke case is much discussed
ara legislators are once more lamenting in
conversation with each other that the
means open to the house of commons of
taxing cognizance of the actions of the
judges of the high court are so limited II
Is good many years since a sentence ma S.
ed in criminal court was so much can
Vassed In parliamentary circles as the nun
lshment inflicted upon Mrs. Penruddocke nv
MI. Jusuce Bigham However strongly the
lawyers may feel about it, for obvious rea-
sons they are 1ndisposed to cause trouble
and legislators generally are SO affected nv,
the parliamentary traditions in such mat
tiers, in conjunction with the Difficulty inst
alluded to of taking any decisive action nj
all-that there is a marked hesitation tn
give pubic expression to the dissatisfaction
winch undoubtedly exists. Before the week
Is out, however. some expression Of onin
lon will be drawn from the home secretary
A question will be asked of the home sec
rotary. but 1t is unlikely that any action
will be taken.
The cost of the case was very great both
to the public purse and to the Penrnd-
dockes. The latter had a most imposTne
array of counsel Of whom Sir Edward
clarke was the leader. l hear that Sir Ed
wards fee In the case was f6CO. The brjer
was marked f400 and he received f1OO a day
Those. who heard him speak said he sur.
passed himself
st. Martins Day Celebration.
One of the most curious Of many old Gus
toms celebrated in England, which Is full
OF such observances, is the keeping of
"Martnmas," or ST. Martins day. 1T
reaches its height in Yorkshire and Is the
day on which servants leave their places
and re-engage for another year 1t re-
sembles the old fairs which used to be held
all over England at which servants were in
In while such a scene exists, but it's real
ity is only in Yorkshire now
When Old Martinmas day falls on Sun
day. as 1t does this year, the servants leave
on the Saturday, and so 1t comes about that
last Saturday saw the country roads alive
with them. They began their weeks holi-
day, and those who know most about them
will agree that no class of the community
deserve holiday better. Few of the coun-
try clergy will be able to take a holiday
this week. for it Is the time for Martinmas
weddings. The servants have had all the
year to bill and coo. and this week sees the
knot tied. The registrars Office has great
attractions, which only those who are IA
miliar with the details of country weddings
can fully appreciate
Old Martinmas day used to be the harv-
est of the footpads. They would lie in
wait on the country roads, and as the serv-
ants did not leave till nightfall 1t was easy
by force or threat to get their wages out
OF them The old fable of the laborer who
received for his years wage lump of gold
which he exchanged for a COW, which in
turn he exchanged for a horse, and so on
till he had got down to a paving stone,
which he threw away and reached home
empty has been true to the life SO far as
the beginning and end are concerned.
Curious Gases of Carelessness.
OF course a lad with a pocketful of
money. who gets stupid Through drink, de.
serves no sympathy If he loses his gold.
The carelessness of some of them is in
credible Not long since girl left her
place with her wages, fiji. done up in a
corner of her handkerchief. She Journey
ed home by rail, beguiling the time by
Smelling and eating nuts. The shells she
collected in her handkerchief, and when
she threw them out of the window she
threw her wages out, too.
However. farm servants have no more
fools among them than any other class
and Old Martinmas day, or the following
week day sees many men and women at
the savings hank deposting a good pro-
portion of their wages against the time
when they viii set up for themselves
Among the auarterings of the coat of arms
of the Earl of Londesborough is hay fork
derived from the conyngham family, of
which the first lord was a member. Their
motto is Over fork over. and carries
ones mind back to the day when their an