The Staffordshire and Potteries Examiner. — 1881-02-12 (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England)

CHAPTER MCV. A STARTLING STATEMENT.  Irene thought deeply over what she had seen. A few short weeks since and she would have lost no time in telling him all about it—now she had learned prudence; be might be angry, and she dreaded to anger him. She would wait and see what happened. • That was the resolve she made to herself, and it i might have been a most excellent one if she could have kept it; but these .words were always ringing lin her ear—" He is to marry her next spring." 'There would be no harm in asking him a few questions about the coming spring—she should see then if he had any thoughts of inaking their marriage public. He came one lovely August evening, and she, in all the pride and glow of her beauty, went out to ,meet him. _ . _  "Fair as the evening itself, Irene!" he said. "Do not go indoors—l dined before I came. Let us stroll down to the river side." She was only too pleased to do what he asked. She looked lovely enough to have gladdened any man's heart. "You might be godd3ss of the river Thames," said Sir Hulbert, "you look so beautiful. That, is a very artistic dress, Irene." "It has more than answered its purpose, if you like it," she replied. He was kinder than usual that night; he was more gentle, more caressing; but all the time he talked to her she had one picture before her eyes, and it was of a dark, proud, beautiful face; one sound was ever in her ears, and it was of these words—. "1-le is to marry her next spring." While he was praising her, telling her how fair she was, and how much he loved her, all the pcNer of her mind was given to studying how she could best ask him about next spring. "Where shall we be next spring, I wonder ?" she said, trying to speak carelessly, but trembling at her own question. "Where shall we be, Hulbert ?" "Most likely where we are now," he said, and she looked up at him with surprise, love, and joy in her beautiful oyes. "Do you think so ?" she said, grove?" "I see no reason for doubting it," he replied.  "here at Beech There was silence between —theM for some few minutes.  (To be continued).  The Citizen states that the late Remeyibrarcer, Mr. Robarts, has declined to deliver up his office, and forcibly entry is imminent. John Tamplin, cook, of the barque Arid, was brought ashore at Cardiff with his throat cut. lie is supposed to have committed suicide. Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone left town on Saturday on a short visit to Sir John Lubbock, at that gentleman'o residence at Farninghani, Kent, _ _  THE one thing new in Don Stanley's no sermon on Carlyle was the. reading of a letter from the great !!..writer in which he expressed his hope in immortality. His belief was only hope founded upon faith in God. Years ago he had proclaimed his disbelief 'in eternal torment, though rebuking his correspondent for troubling himself about it when his trouble should be so to live as to escape all danger of such a consummation for himself. Nor are these the only letters which reveal that ho embraced no gospel of eternal despair. He has himself recorded the promise made to him by John sterling that if from the invisible world he could aid him in the visible world ho would do so.  • VARIOUS stories are told of living men who, having been to all outward appearances dead, have narrowly escaped being buried alive. It is not often' however, that a man comes within the touch of the dissecting knife while he isstill in the land of the living. In Switzerland, nevertheless, a peasant had a very narrow escape. It seems that the poor fellow was last week found apparently frozen to death in the neighbourhood of Golothern, and there being nothing about him to give a clue to his identity he was handed over to the cantonal hospital for dissection. When the supposed corpse had been laid on the dissecting table the mistake was discovered, and means were taken to infuse new life into him, which succeeded so well that he is now in his usual health. It would have been somewhat awkward for the poor ‘fellow if he had been duly "cut up" and had then come to life.  ImrEcumous masters of foxhounds will be glad to learn that Mr. Barnum, "of America," wants to purchase "fifteen couple of canines" with which to hunt ",ye foxe " in his, the "hugest circus on earth.' He desires to show the Yankees a real live chase and he will actually go to the expense of paying d 2 each for the hounds. Here, then, is your opportunity, ye sporting gentlemen. WhAt though the Maharajah of Jeypore did a short time back pay some £2O a piece for drafts of dogs from English kennels to hunt the jackal, here is the magnificent Mr. Barnum holding up his hand seductively with an offer of two sovereigns. Surely temptation like this will bring a perfect myriad of masters to, Mr. Banaum's feet at once. What if, while they aro there, the great showman should offer five shillings a head for a few foxes?  A GREAT many things are deferred, and must be deferred, until the local government of London is reformed, and among these it is probable must now be included the "Griffin" memorial, or the "Temple Bar obstacle," as it is frequently called. It appears that in the Metropolis Management Act there is a provision which renders the Metropolitan Board of Works powerless to erect any statue or memorial or building of any sort in a public thoroughfare without the consent of the First Commissioner of Works. It is almost doubtful if any part of the Temple Bar memorial is thus within the Jurisdiction of the Board of Works. But it may be taken for certain that whenever Sir "William Harcourt has time to reform the government of London provision will be made for extending the power which the First Commissioner has over the streets of the Metropolis to those of the City of London.  THE Foreign Office list for 1881 is published. An interesting fact is mentioned by Sir Edward Herbslet in the preface as to the office of Foreign Secretary, which, it may be said, in some sort dates from the 30th year of the reign of Henry