Weekly News. — 1892-06-30 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

DINNER-PARTY."  Harry Barnes had not lived many weeks in Mapleford, but in that short time he had grown to be a fast friend of Walter hlorgan's, and he thought Walter the very nicest boy in the world. So one Saturday morning, when Walter came to ask Harry to spend the day with him, it was no wonder that Harry was delighted to go.  But he was a very bashful boy, and he had never seen Walter's father and mother, or ids sister, and as they neared the house he began to grow nervous at the thought cf it. He comforted himself with thinking that if they were at all like Walter he should not be afraid of them. Then a new fear struck hini.  "There won't be any company at your house, will there?" he asked.  "Well," said Walter, in an off-hand way," there'll be a railroad director and a deacon, and a school superintendent, superintendent, and a mayor, and a bank president, and a poet and a civil engineer to dinner —that's all !"  ." All !" gasped Harry. "Why, it' s a dinner-party!" and be drew back.  "Nonsense! " said Walter. "Come along! I won't Jet anybody hurt you," and his eyes twinkled mischievously.. . . .  It was Only after much urging that Hari7 could be induced to go on; but even the thought of a dinner-party could not let him be sad in Walter's gay company, and Walter's mother and sister were so kind to their little guest that he half forgot that he disliked strangers. When dinner was announced, Harry looked in vain for the great men with the high-sounding titles, whom Walter had said were to 13:, there, for there were only Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, Walter's sister, and the two boys. What could it mean? Harry fou.nd he need not be at all afraid of Walter's father; he said all sorts of pleasant things to Harry, and put choice bits of this and that upon his plate, till Harry thought Walter's father was almost as nice as Walter himself.  Finally, he found a chance to say, in a low voice, to his friend:  "The other folks didn't come, did they?" Then Walter laughed outright, as he said: "Why, father is all of them!" "Walter!" exclaimed Mr. Morgan, in what WU meant to be a stern tone, but in which was a good deal of fun, "have you been playing that stale joke again?" But Walter, though a bit of a tease, had told nothin but the truth, for his father was a railroad director, mayor, poet, and all the rest; and Harry liked Walter none the less that he had made him the victim of his pet joke.  On one very grand occasion, little Lottie was allowed to "sit up late." She was much excited, and insisted on being dressed fully two hours before the guests would arrive. Her auntie, going into the parlour on an errand,soon after tea, beheld her wee niece sitting in prim, proper state—with folded hands and a little "company" pucker on her sweet face. The fragrance of her small pockethandkerchief attracted auntie's attention at once, and she exclaimed: "0-oh, how good you smell, dear!" The poor little mail, sttetching, out her arms to ward off a nearer apprmich, cried, anxiously: -Oh stop. :•untiel s•ep smelling of me! You'll get the tmell ill••• the party begins ! "  Five miners had a narrow escape at Dolcoath on Tuesday afternoon. They were going down the shaft in a cage, when the engine went out of gear and the cage dropped 100 fathoms, and then suddenly jambed against thc side and stopped. The men were severely shaken, but not at all hurt. On Tuesday Mr. .T. B. Compton. one of the leading druggists in Bury, committed suicide by taking prussic acid at his business premises. The deceased, who was 65 years of age, was in good circumstances, and it is thought that the act was due to depressed spirits consevent upon the illness of his wife.