Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1890-05-03 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

THE VIENNA STAMP EXHIBITION.  The Stamp Exhibition at Vienna is drawing a large number of visitors every day. The collection is one of the most complete that has ever been got together, and the unlearned in such matters are amazed at the divisions and sub-divisions that are necessary for proper classification. Even the rarities must be subdivided, and any collector worth his salt AN rill prize more the "errors," from their greater likelihood of being unique, than the Class of rarities qualified as such by being scarce. There are, for instance, the " error " of France, a stamp of 23 centimes, Printed in blue instead of black ; the "error" of Afghanistan, a stamp with a missing ornament in a corner ; the rare "error '' of Liibeck, and the two rare "errors " of the Cape of Good Hope, stamps of id. and 4d. respectively, which are blue instead of red, and red instead of blue. Such "errors.' fetch a , very high price, kept down only by the easiness of creating new "values " by wanton misprinting. ' The real rarities need only to be explained to find estimation even in the eyes of the layman. Who would not feel interest in the 50 Mulreadys, a col. lection of first English envelopes, before the time of ' the attachable stamp, all addressed in 1840 by Mulready himself to a firm in Vienna, from which the treasure passed into the hands of the collector? Great rarities to be seen in the Exhibition are also the Austrian newspaper stamps of k5B, with the head of Mercury, two of which are exhibited in the Austriau section, a unique one on " laid ' paper " and an ordinary one ; further, one in the English section, the collectors being convinced that not more than five or six of these stamps are in existence. Greater rarities still are four specimens of British Guiana and New Zealand stamps of 1830, all with the signature of the postmaster, oneof which (rose in faded colour) is valued at not less than E 73; another one (yellow) at £2O, and so forth. Rare is also a black Canada twelvepenny stamp for which the owner himself paid g-At. Curious enough are also the threatening letters of Cannibals, in which the warning is carved into bamboo cane, anc4a collection of post-cards, written in Volapiik. Another, and not the least interesting class, is also richly represented in the exhibition, that of colleotions remarkable for completeness. The President of the Austrian Committee exhibits a set of stamps of Roumania from the veity first issee of stamps in that country to the wet-ant day. There are many other complete collectiom; for instance, one of AustNalian stamps worth el,iliilsl); a very interesting "'olfaction of proofs and esays of stamps of all countries, exhibited by :he Lulling Stamp Museum ; complete platts of the first Anfrlist] black penny stamp; full sheets from other coan: tries ; a highly valuable collection of stamps of aii Swiss Cantons, remarkable for its ei.mpleteness ; And a sheet of United States iitamus from the value of two cents to that of nOtiol. each.  Polish papers learn from Moscow that the five sisters named Domoviel off, of n hem the youngest was 19 and the eldest 32, who recently committed 1 suicide, did so because they had become aware that they were about to be arresttd for having taken part in a Nihilist conspiracy. Before their death they lam nt all their letters and papers. This inni• dent caused a great s.ensation in MoscsAv. dastaraty outrage nas been perpetrtted at Histon, near Cambridge, where a farmer on going to his fields found that a flock of 20 sheep and 30 lambs had been driven to a corner, and 11 of them butchered in a shocking manner. Most of the animals had been hacked to death, but sonic of the lambs were found in a ditch not quite dead, but terribly mutilated.  A large camel belonging to a menagerie, now at I Bridgwater, was found dead the other morning by the side of a dromedary, which had evidently attacked and, in the mords of the keeper when relating the affair, " murdered " it during the night whilst it was lying down. The dead animal was severely bruised. Its carcase has been out up to Used the lions and other carnivorous beasts. The Rev. W. Macfarlane, of Letitia, died late on Thursday night. lie was one of the authors of the volume entitled "Scotch Sermons," whioh excited so much controversy 601110 years ago, on the ground that they contained heretical Opinions. H. preaohed on Sunday, and on Monday attended the funeral of a relative. He beoame ill on Thursday, and died at 9 p.m. of paralysis of the brain. He was Ile years Of age.