Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1890-08-09 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

AVENGING A NIECE'S DISHONOUR. Crime among Italians living in Paris or London is common enough, but a terrible drama which was enacted at Saint-Ouen, a borough lying outside the fortifications midway between the French capital and Saint-Denis, is of no ordinary eharaCter. According to the full particulars now known, the actors in the tragedy were countrymen of &Ivor Criwi ; not belonging to the organ-grinding fraternity, but employed in a large sugar refinery. For some time past Espirito Deiaroso, a young man of 23, and Virginia del Greco, a countrywoman of his, aged 16, had been passionately attached to one another. They were both members of the hard-working Italian colony of Saint-Otien, and Virginia's father and friends were very anxious that she should marry her lover, especially as she chewed signs of becoming a mother. Espirito Delaroso, however, began to waver in his affections, and when the girl endeavoured to make him come to the point about the marriage lie either gave her evasive answers or adopted a procrastinating policy. Virginia told this to her father, who held a " family council " his house, at which were present the girl's two uncles and her younger sister. it was resolved that Espirito should marry or die, and the two uncles, after having procured substantial revolvere, went out in search of him. Delaroso was asked to meet the Del Grecos by another Italian, who was sent for him, and he accordingly did so. The meeting took place in the street outside the house in which all the actors in the drama lodged. "Are you going to marry Virginia or not?' said one of her uncles to the seducer, advancing towards him in a threatening manner. Delaruso refused to answer the question, whereupon another of his aclf-elected executioners lifted him revolver and said, "Yes or no ! Marriage or death !" The young Italian once more tried to put off his interrogators, but hardly had he uttered a few words than the two Del Greco' fired at him simultaneously and pointblank. He fell to the ground with three bullets in his head and four in his breast. Virginia del Greco and her sister watched these bloodthirsty proceedings at a short distance away with complete equanimity, nor were they perturbed when the dead body of the slain man was borne past them to the police-station. Everybody connected with the tragedy was arrested and confronted with the corpse by the local commissary of police. During this scene Virginia del Greco said that Delaroso had betrayed her, and that he accordingly had no right to live. The Italians at Saint-Ouen applaud the deed committed by the Del Grecoa, and maintain that in their country the murder of Delaroso under the oircumtances would be considered an act of retribution.  A correspondent of Hardwicke' s Science Gossip •:lates a scene he recently witnessed between a starling and a cat. The starling had been feeding, lnd the cat interfered. Instead, however, of the starling flying off, it boldly faced the intruder, fly)ng and pecking at it, and judging from the fact that the cat was glad to slink away, the starling had the best of it. During the progress of the battle three sparrows appeared on the scene, and gave what aid they could in annoying the common enemy. Two other starlings, seemingly companions of the fighting one, watched the whole performance from a safe distance. Who is the doyen of the cricket field? By this we lo not refer to those patriarchs of the willow who, like Lord Charles Russell, delight in merely looking back, but to cricketers who can still keep up their wickets at something over three score and ten. Probably Mr. Charles Absolon, of whom a portrait and memoir appear in Cricket Chat for 1890, would not easily be matched in this regard: Mr. Absolon was born less than a couple of years after the Battle of Waterloo,but he is still able to hold his own in the cricket field. In 1888 he carried his bat through the innings no less than three times for" The Pall Mall Wanderers," and on one of these occasions was at the ' wicket three hours. He has been a total abstainer I from alcohol and tobacco for 30 years, and now in his 74th year he can still take the half-hundredweight 1 oa his little finger and make his mark 7ft, high. I