The Carmarthen Journal and South Wales Weekly Advertiser

OPENING OF A MISSION CHURCH AT MYDROILYN. St. David's Mipsion Church, Mydroilyn, in the parish of Llanarth, was opened on Wednesday (1st inst.), by the Lord Bishop of Swansea, who preached a sermon at the morning service. Sermons were also preached in the afternoon and evening by the Revs. D. Jones, vicar of Lampeter; B. Parry Griffiths, vicar of Llanybyther and D. Griffiths, rector of Llanllwch Haiarn. The services were choral throughout, and much credit is due to the Llanarth choir for their most faith- ful and valuable assistance, apart from which the thing would have been impracticable. The services were intoned in the morning and after- noon by the Rev. D. Jones, vicar of Lampeter and in the evening by the Rev. J. Williams, curate of Llanarth. The choir was conducted by Mr Simon Davies, National school master. The lessons were read by the Revs. D. J. Jones, vicar of Llanarth W. O. Edwards, R.D., vicar of Henfynyw D. Richards, vicar of Llandyssilio and L. Davies, vicar of Llangaer. The pro- cession consisted of about twenty clergy besides the Bishop, viz. The Revs. D. J. Jones, vicar of Llanarth J. Williams, curate of Llanarth W. O. Edwards, R.D., vicar of Henfynyw; M. Evans, vicar of Llanddewi-Aberarth D. Jones, curate of Llanddewi; D. Griffiths, rector of Llanllwch Haiarn Joshua Davies, curate of Llanllwch Haiarn; J. Griffiths, vicar of Llangranog B. Parry Griffiths, vicar of Llanybyther, and his brother; Watkin Davies, vicar of Castleton, Newport Jenkin Davies, vicar of Bottwnog; J. Evans, vicar of Llandovery; D. Morgan, vicar of Ystrad J. Davies, vicar of Cilie; L. Davies, vicar of Llangaer; J. Jones, vicar of Capel Cynon D. Richards, vicar of Llandyssilio; and D. Jones, R.D., vicar of Lampeter. The Church was very much crowded at all three services, and a substantial sum was realized from the offertories in aid of the Church Funds. It should be stated that with the opening services was combined a thanksgiving service for the harvest, the Church being very tastefully decorated for the occasion by Mrs Longcreft and Miss Longcroft, Mr Hopkins (the Llanina gardener), Miss Anderson (the Lon), and the Misses Jones (Fronwen). A splendid luncheon was provided at the Board schoolroom, at the expense of the following ladies Mrs Longcroft, Llanina; Mrs Williams, Gilfach House; Mrs Davies, Gilfach Farm Mrs Lloyd, Moelivor House; Mrs Lewis, Red Lion Mrs Davies, Mydroilyn Mill; Mrs Lewis, Glendower Mr Isaac, Tynllain and Mrs Lewis, Tyddyndu. Tickets of admission to the luncheon were given at the door to all in going out from the morning service, and it is estimated that about 300 eat down to lunch, including the Lord Bishop of Swansea and Mrs Lloyd, Captain and Mrs Longcroft, Miss Longcroft, Miss Gwendoline Longcroft and Miss Dodd (of Llanina), Miss T. Twining (the celebrated authoress and philanthropist), all the clergy who formed the procession, Dr. and Mrs Williams, Aberayron; Mrs. Griffiths, the Vicarage, New Quay Miss Edwards and Miss Godson, the Vicarage, Aberayron Miss Lloyd, the Gwynfryn, Llanarth Miss Williams, the Vicarage, Nantcwmlle Miss Williams, Llanerchaeron Vicarage Mrs Richards, the Vicarage, Llandyssilo Mrs Davies, the Vicarage, Bottwnog, &c. Tea was provided for all at the various dwelling-houses in the village. Every- thing in connection with the affair was carried out in good order, for which the largest amount of the credit is due to Mrs Longcroft, who not only took hearty interest in the affair as a whole, but with zeal and great self-denial lent her large experience to the consideration of all details. It may not be out of the way here to give a short account of Church affairs in the place, especially with reference to the erection of the building which was opened on Wednesday for Divine service. Mydroilyn is a small village, and the centre of a fairly large population at one of the extremities of the parish. Services have been held here during the last fifteen years or so, but the only available place for holding Divine service, until recently, was a room in a dwelling- house. About two years ago the friends of the Church set about providing a more worthy place for the people to worship in, and the result is the present Mission Church. The edifice is an iron building with a good stone foundation, with about 150 sittings. When the present curate took charge of the place in May last the fabric had just been completed, but there remained some debt upon it. Capt. Longcroft, who had already subscribed liberally towards the expenses of the Church, very generously volunteered to become responsible for the remainder of the debt. The curate was thus left free with his feet unfettered to proceed with fresh work. He deemed it necessary to raise £70 more with a view of having the grounds enclosed, vestry steps bdilt, and the Church decently furnished. Of this amount about R50 has been already raised through the kind co-operation of many faithful friends. The first to take the matter in hand was Miss Thomas, of Blaenwern, who volunteered to collect towards a new harmonium for the Church, and in a few short weeks the harmonium was paid for and handed over to the Church. Miss Thomas has also rendered invaluable services to the cause at Mydroilyn by driving up on Sundays and in the weeks to play the harmonium for the last three or four months, and by presid- ing at the harmoninm on the opening day. We have much cause to regret her removal to New Quay. The Communion plate were collected for by Mr E. Erasmus and Mrs E. Barny, servants at Llanina; the bell by the Misses Jones, Fronwen the lampil by Miss Griffiths, Tan-yr- efail, and the Misses Lewis, Tyddyndu the chairs by Miss Enoch, Llanarth. Miss Lloyd, Gwynfryn, presented the Church with a hand- some altar cover, which, owing to some delay, only arrived when the evening service was about to begin on Wednesday. Mrs and Miss Holcombe also gave a very handsome Bible and Prayer- book. The friends of the Church are very much encouraged in their efforts by the zeal and liberality manifested by the Llanina family, who not only take the lead in every good cause, but give quietly and unobservedly whenever help is needed. This remark, we feel quite assured, will meet with their disapproval but when it is known that it is made not for their sake, but for the sake of the cause, to remind people of the hearty sympathy of such valuable friends, it is hoped the remark may be pardonable. Now that the cause at Mydroilyn is placed on its feet, many of the friends are anxious to see a similar structure erected at Talgorreg, where the services have been for several years conducted in a coach- house. Provided there are no other obstacles in the way, there will be no difficulty about raising funds.

IRISH ARCHBISHOPS CALLED TO ROME. The Tablet is informed that the Pope has sum- moned the four Archbishops and the Senior Suffragan of each province in Ireland to attend in Rome for the 1st of November. In cases in which, for any reason, the Senior Suffragan is unable to undertake the journey, another Bishop is directed to take his place.

KAY'S COMPOUND, for Coughs and Colds, Asthma and Bronchitis are immediately relieved by it.

THE PILG RIMS'GRAVES.-A BALLAD. About two or three miles south-east of the town of Devizes there is a pleasant secluded L-pot known as "The Pilgrims' Graves." Tradition says that during the great plague in London, twj persons having wandered to this place, died, and were buriod here. Two full-grown oak trees are now pointed out to the traveller as indicating their graves. The writer, basing the ballad on this tradition, has taken his liberty to fill up the out- line of the pilgrims' story, briefly introducing it with a cursory description of a visit paid to the spot in the early part of the summer of 1882. The sun was shining in the west; The sky looked curded milk The young corn rustled in the breeze Like waves of corded silk. 'Neath passing clouds and sunshine bright, Far yonder stretched the Downs, Like a great giant whose broad face In sleep turns, smiles and frowns. And like those things of many forms Which o'er earth s surface creep. Slow swelling oat, now here, now there, Grazed distant flocks of sheep. At length my pathway lost itself In some secluded spot; All of the busy world now left Was but one lonely cot. From which to stare the storms away That break through mud and thatch. Some distance stood two sturdy oaks Like sentinels on watch. Towards these I drew; and as I came Within their jagged shade, I saw an aged man recline, Who me obeisance made. You take your rest, good man." said I, For rest tir'd nature craves;" Yes, sir," said he, "'tis sweet to sit Here by the Pilgrims' Graves. "The Pilgrims' Graves?" enquired I, A pretty name it is; How came this lonely sput, good friend, To be marked out by this P And here, as if inviting me To sit, the good old man Moved him a little on one side, And thus his tale began. "The story, sir, is true," he said, My father told it me A few short hours before he died, An old man then was he. 'Twas his great grand-sire told it him, You see it must he true; He lived, I think, just at the time Of which I'm telling you. Once when the sin of man was jzrlat- And cried for vengeance loud, In London, great in crime as size, God visited its crowd. A mighty sickness called the Plague, That ravaged night and day; The people young, old, rich and poor, In heaps it swept away. E'er in one's face the red cross stared- This was the mark of death— Dead bodies filled every street, And deadly was the breath. Who could did fly the wretched place; Some went across the sea; But death would track their hiding out; God, everywhere is He. And thousands to escape their doom The country roamed about; But vengeance would on down, or dale, Or mountain find them out. Two that were marked for certain death, It seems, came wand'ring here; They walked & walked, and tacked & turned, But found nor rest nor cheer. For people drove them from their doors— They were accursed of God- For Death was following, and the Plague Blasted the path they trod. Awhile they fed the flame of life With acorns oak trees grant; And roots and things which they could find To soothe the sting of want. Two young they were in prime of life, A woman and a man And they were lovers: here came they At length all worn and wan. They lingered here a little time, Then gave them up to die; Locked in each other's arms, to God They raised one struggling cry. Poor, poor they were; but some old rags They bad their forms to hide, And a few acorns to live on, No bed, no fire-side.' And singular," the old man said, And here he moved to rise, Then lifted up his sunset face Towards the waning skies. "'Tis singular," he said, "and strange That of those acorns few The pilgrims left behind, two throve And to these oak trees grew. Two oak trees growing arm in arm, As they in deatk were seen, To point the wand'rer to their graves, And keep their mem'ry green." E.

PRIMROSE LEAGUE GATHERING IN PEMBROKESHIRE. On Friday evening the associates of the Prendergast Ward of the Haverfordwest Habitation were invited to tea by their warden (Mrs Samson) in the Masonic-hall, Haverfordwest, to meet the member for the Haverfordweat and Pembroke Boroughs and Mis Mayne. Later in the evening they were joined by the dame president of the Habitation (Lady Phillips, Picton Castle) vice-dame president of the Habitation (Mrs Lloyd-Phillips, Pentyparc) and the knights, dames, and associates of the ward of Haverfordwest and neighbourhood. The first part of the programme consisted of an instructive address by Admiral Mayne explanatory of the objects of the Primrose League, and showing how helpful it may be made to the Unionist cause. Patriotic songs and music formed the second part of the programme, and the applause which they evoked proved how much the audience appreci- ated the efforts of the performers to render the League entertaining as well as educational. Before the company separated a vote of thanks was proposed by the Rev J. G. Lloyd, hon. sec. of the divisional council, and seconded by Mr Townsend Webb-Bowen, one of the hon. secs. of the Habitation.

LOCAL FAIRS FOR OCTOBER. Narbertb 22 Brechfa 28 Llanidloes 15 Welshpool 20* Haverfordwest 21 Carmarthen 21 St. Clears 10 Loughor 10 Pontypool 10 Mathry 10,11 Pembroke .10, 21, 28* Llangadock 11,21*1 Presteign 11 Talgarth 13 Pontrhydfendigaid 13 Rhayader 14 Tregaron 14 Llangammarch 15 Cardigan 15* I Hereford 15 I Llansamlet 16 J Penybont .16,17 J Lampeter 20, 31* ILlanbadarn Fawr .18 Letterston 20 Llandyssil 21 I Machynlleth 21 Llandovery 22 Llansawel 23 Capel Eynon 24 Newcastle Emlya 24 Llanarth, 27 Maenclocbog 27 Lampeter 27 Craven Arms 27 Crymmych Arms 28* Llandilo 28 New Radnor 28, 29 Llangunider 29 Llantrissant 29 Llansadwrn 29 Kidwelly 30 Three Crosses. 30 Those marked thus are monthly markets. I

LrNUII CATHARTICUM PILLS, agreeably aperient. 9Jd, 18 lid., 2s 9d. Of all Chemists. HOLLOWAY'S PILLS.—Teachings of Experience.- The united testimony of thousands, extending over more than 40 years, most strongly recommends these Pills as the best purifiers, the mildest aperients, and the sorest restoratives. They never prove delusive, or give merely temporary relief, but attack all ailments of the stomach, lungs, heart, head, and bowels in the only safe and legitimate way, by cleansing the blood, so eradicating those imparities which are the source and constituent of almost every disease. Their medicinal efficacy is wonderful in renovating enfeebled constitutions. Their action embraces all that is desirable in a household medicine. They remove every noxious and effete matter; and thus the strength is nurtured and the energies stimulated.

RUST IN WHEAT. Mr T. L. Thompson, of Sydney, writes to the Bureau of Agriculture of that colony that his practical experience of over twenty years in the western district of New South Wales had proved that rust in wheat can be prevented by adhering strictly to the following system :-The land must be well worked during the hot summer months. After the crop has been reaped the stubble must be burned or quickly got rid of, and the ground at once ploughed and well worked, up to sowing time for the next crop, in order to secure a clean bed for the seed. Plough deep, pulverise well, consolidate by rolling, sow early (from February till middle of April, but not later, the nearer February the better). The seed must be steeped twelve hours in a strong solution of four-fifths bluestone and one-fifth arsenic, and well dried with wood ashes before sowing, and care must be taken that the seed is not cracked and damaged by machine threshing. Sow lightly on good, rich, well-worked land. About half a bushel to the acre of good sound seed is ample. He had realised the best results off very rich land by using only a peck to the acre. If manure is required, sheep manure best any other must be well rotted and pulverised before using, if for present crop. Avoid plough- ing in stubble or any rubbish, unless the land is to be fallowed for a season. Avoid working land wet. By strictly adhering to the foregoing simple rules rust in wheat can be prevented, and will be a thing of the past.

COLMAN'S MUSTARD OIL,-Those who Buffer from rheumatism may obtain speedy relief by using Colman's Mustard Oil. Outwardly applied, it is of marvellous efficacy, as thousands of sufferers can attest who have found relief from its application when all other Embrocations had failed. Sold by Chemists and Grocers at Is per Bottle. USEFUL HlNTS TO BUTTER MAKERS. Use TOMLINSON & Co.'s Butter Colour, a pure vegetable oil, does not colour the Butter Milk. Bottles, 6d., Is, 2s 6d, and 7s 6d. Mint Street Works, Lincoln.

ROG E RS' ALES AND PORTERS 14, BREWERY, BRISTOL. In 4- Gall. Casks and upwards. For List of Prices and South Wales Agents see Western Mail. Applications for Purchasing Agencies to be addressed to J. B. MADDOCKS, Penarth. [45 Printed and Published by "THE JOURNAL" Co., LIMITED, at 3, Guildhall-square, in the County 17 i890^°r°U"k *arraar'en-—Friday, OCT.

MISCELLANEOUS. FATE OF A BEAUTIFUL MODEL. One of the most famous of modern pictures is Hans Makart's Diana Hunting," and perhaps the most striking picture in this animated grouping is that of a beautiful naiad in the fore- ground. When the picture was first exhibited this particular figure created a wonderful sensation, and there was manifested a widespread curiosity to learn who stood as a model for the painter. The tradition has been that an Austrian noble- man, falling in love with the figure upon the canvas, prosecuted a search for the beautiful original and married her. The truth about this has just come to light. A short time ago (last month, as I learn), the model herself appeared in a Vienna police-court to answer to the charge of vagrancy. She told a remarkable story. Made famous by Makart's masterpiece, she was sought in marriage by many, and finally wedded with a Vienna tradesman, an exceedingly well-to-do man. The poor fellow seems to have been infatuated by the girl's singular beauty, and she, flattered out of her wits by the compliments of the town and her suddenly-acquired fame, exercised so evil a spell upon her spouse that from a keen man of business he betimes sunk into a condition of sensuous slothfulness, and, neglecting his pursuits, eventually became involved in debt and presently died in poverty. For a considerable period the widow subsisted upon the charity of friends, but by degrees these resources became exhausted, and now in her old age the once-famous beauty is homeless, penniless, and a vagrant. Traces of personal beauty still remain her figure is still remarkably fine, and her bearing is 0 r, that of royalty. She repeated in court a number of interesting reminiscences. At one time she appealed for help to a certain lady who had expressed great admiration for Makart's masterpiece. You must really excuse me," answered this grande dame, but I am not in the habit of giving clothes to women who have made a profession of going without any NARROW ESCAPES FROM A TERRIBLE DEATH. Last February the funeral of a young woman was about to take place at Alessandria, Piedmont, when, owing to the jolting of the hearse, the supposed dead person was aroused from the lethargy which was mistaken for death. The bearers in the cemetery heard sounds issuing from the coffin, the lid was torn off, and the young woman was found to be alive and conscious, though in a state of great agitation. In Italy bodies are interred very soon after supposed death, and a doctor in Rome has compiled and published statistics showing that thousands of persons are annually buried in a state of coma throughout Europe. A man named John J. O'Connor had, it is alleged, an exceedingly lucky escape from the dissecting table in the American city of St. Louis about the 12th or 13th of February last. He being supposed to be dead, his body was identified at the Morgue by his wife. A funeral followed, and it is positively asserted that he was buried in Calvary Cemetery. But, to the amaze- ment of all who knew him, he was afterwards seen walking about as if nothing in particular had happened to him. His own version of the affair is that he was really buried, that his body was afterwards taken up and conveyed to the dissecting room, and that the first incision made causing blood to flow, his consciousness, which had only been suspended, I returned to him. About this case there is a good deal of mystery, and attempts have been made to hush it up, but it is not an improbable one, for body snatching in the interests of surgeons is not rare in America. Dr. Kenneth Cornish, late surgeon to the Royal Humane Society, knows a clergyman in London who narrowly escaped interment in Milan four years ago while in a state of catalepsy. He considers that the practice of preparing the body for burial almost immediately after death has proved fatal to the chance of life possessed by many a one whose friends would have made any sacrifice to save them. Some people have a morbid dread of being buried alive, which haunts them through life, and sometimes they devise special instructions on the subject. iTiis was done by the late Colonel Vyner, of Leamington Priors, who died last December. His will contained a bequest of B10 to his doctor to examine him carefully after death, for the purpose of ascertaining that he was really and undoubtedly dead," and authorised him to use whatever means he should think necessary in order to make himself absolutely certain of the fact. MARRIAGE CUSTOMS IN HOLLAND. A curious old custom still exists in many provinces in Holland. If a young man is in love with a girl, and wishes to ask her hand in marriage, he goes about it in the following manner. He buys a small sweet cake, and wrapping it up in soft paper, proceeds to the house of his inamorata; upon his arrival he is ushered into the midst of the family circle without a word he walks up to the young lady he wishes to make his wife, and lays the cake on the table before her. The rest of the family affect not to notice anything unusual, and continue their work or their reading the young man turns aside and talks to the father or mother on some very ordinary subject, keeping his eyes eagerly fixed on the girl's face while he is conversing. If she accepts his offer, she takes up the cake and eats it. Sometimes, though Dutch, she is coquettish, and tortures the young man by turning it over and playing with it before she decides to bite it, and then enraptures him by eating it to the last crumb. If, on the other hand, she wishes to have nothing more to do with her admirer, she quickly re-wraps the cake in its covering, and puts it back on the table. In this case the young man takes up the cake, satisfied with his refusal, and with a Vaarvoal byzamen leaves the house. The matter is then kept a profound secret by all the members of both families, and the outer world never hears of it. If, on the other hand, the affair progresses favourably, and the suitor is accepted, the father takes him one side to ask him about his business prospects, and if he can afford to take his wife for a wedding journey up the Rhine, the ideal wedding trip of all Dutchmen. The girl in a case of this sort does not go into society for about six weeks; at the end of that time she reappears at balls and parties, and is not thought any the less of, or shunned by young men who wish to marry, as she would be either in France or Germany. THE BURIED ALIVE NUNNERY. Ten more nuns have been released from the sub- terranean dungeonsof the "Nunnery of the Buried Alive" at Naples, which has just been opened by order of the Ministerof Justice. Among them were eight young women who had been incarcerated against their will by order of their parents. The police have been ordered to visit all nunneries in Southern Italy which are closed to the public. Cardinal SanSlice left Naples yesterday for Rome, to obtain instructiens from the Pope on the sub- ject. Immense excitement has been created by the disclosures. NO WIFE TO PUT IN THE GRAVES. At Stourbridge on Thursday John Griffin was sent to prison for three months for an impudent fraud. He begged on account of the alleged death of his wife, and in two cases graves were dug for her gratuitously by order of clergy- z;1 men to whoae purses he had appealed. BAVARIA'S TWO MAD KINGS. The French papers report the rapidly failing health of the insane king, Otho of Bavaria. I It appears that he still remains at Fursten- reid, although there was some talk of taking him to Munich to undergo an operation. Before he began to lose the great physical strength for which he was noted it was quite a difficult matter to manage him. His reason is completely gone. He imagines he is a lion, and an ugly one, too, and he tries to bite everyone that goes near him. A short time ago he bit an aide-de-camp in the calf of the leg so severely that the aide was laid up for a fortnight. The only person who can approach him is his brother, the late king, Louis II., who is now nearly as mad as himself. The two mad kings play together like wild beasts. -1 0 They run on all fours through the stately halls of the Furstenreid, barking and yelling, and apparently as happy as two kittens. Some time ago Louis cut off his brother's beard and hair but now the hair and beard are extiemely long, and he flies into a furious rage at sight of a pair of scissors. Otho has a passion for cigarettes. When one it half smoked down he has a disagreeable habit of putting it out on the forehead or nose of his nearest attendant, and he is so active that it is almost impossible to set away from him. No woman can come near him. When he sees one he gets into a frightful rage and smashes everything around him. Formerly it was possible £ to take him out driving, but now the sight ofa horse also enrages him. The last time he took a carriage ride he got out and tried to kiss the horse. The horse, not liking such royal familiarity, butted his majesty in the nose and drew the blood freely. The sight of the blood enraged him to such an extent that he got into a fit and was ill for several days. At present he is calm, and is gradually becoming silent and melancholy. His death is soon expected, and the legend of the Black Lady is talked of. This is the lady that appears in the halls of Furstenreid when a Wittelsbach is about to die, just as the White Lady" in Berlin announces the death of a H ohenzollern. KING SOLOMON'S MINES. We shall find them yet. The Times' corres- pondent with the expedition to Mashonaland reports the discovery of Cyclopean ruins near Zinbabye, on the plateau. They lie at the base of a precipitous granite kopje," or knoll, within an outer wall some 4 ft. high, which runs entirely round it. Within this is another circular wall, and then a series of enclosures, one of which is circular, enclosing an area 240 ft. in diameter. This is surrounded by a wall 30 ft. high, 10 ft. thick at the base, tapering to 7 ft. at the top, "made of granite blocks about twice the size of an ordinary brick, beautifully hewn and dressed, laid in perfectly even courses, and put together without mortar or cement." Within the area stands a conical tower, 18 ft. in diameter at the base and 35 feet high, built in the same way cf solid masonry. Similar enclosures, but smaller, are scattered round the kopje," and on its top is a mass of granite intended for a citadel. The Mashona natives have no notion of the origin of the buildings, which struck some ancient Portuguese explorers as being Moorish," and others as the work of the Queen of Sheba. It is imagined by the expedition, from their situation, that they were built to protect, or, to coerce the workers in ancient gold-mines, traces of which have also been discovered. REGAL SEVERITY. George III. and Queen Charlotte, while living here, it appears, were strong believers in the literal application of the precept of Solomon, "Spare the rod and spoil the child." "The King," writes the Honourable Amelia Murray, in her "Recollections," was most anxious I to train up his children in the way they should go but severity was the fashion of the day and although naturally a tender and affectionate father, he placed his sons under tutors who imagined that the rod of Scripture could mean only bodily punishment. Princess Sophia," she adds, "once told me that she had seen her two eldest brothers, when they were boys of thirteen and fourteen, held by their arms at Buckingham Palace, to be flogged like dogs with a long whip Was it wonderful that the results proved any- thing but satisfactory 1-From "Old and New LondQn" for October. ELECTRICITY. The fact that a current is flowing through any substance implies that there is some source where energy is being expended in order to maintain that current. If the current is generated by a dynamo driven by a steam engine, the place where the energy is being expended is the furnace. Coal contains a large store of energy, which it gives off when burnt, in the form of heat this heat after undergoing various changes, flows through the conductor, and which may be there utilised for lighting, etc. The coal is the fuel, or source of supply and it is the oxidation or burning-up of this coal that supplies the necessary energy for the generation of the electric current. A given weight of coal contains a perfect definite amount of energy, which it gives up in the form of heat during the process of being burnt. In any Voltaic cell there must always be some substance which has stored up in it a supply of energy when the cell is working, this substance must be undergoing some process by which it gives up sufficient energy to maintain the current. The process which the current undergoes in order to generate an electric current is exactly similar to that which the coal undergoes in order to generate heat. In both cases the substance is oxidised, or burnt up, and energy is given off; in the case of coal the energy takes the form of heat, in the case of the other substance the energy takes the form of electric current. A cell is nothing more or less than a little furnace in which some substance is consumed, and in which the energy thus evolved takes the form of the electric current instead of heat. ANIMALS' TOILETTES. There is a pretty South American bird, the Motmot (Motmotm braziliensis), which actually begins shaving on arriving at maturity. Naturally adorned with long blue tail feathers, it is not satisfied with them in their natural state, but with its beak nips off the web on each side for a space of about two inches, leaving a neat little oval tuft at the end of each. Specimens of this bird may be seen at the Natural History Museum at South Kensington, and a full account of it may be found in the Journal of the London Zoological Society for 1873. Bobby (at the breakfast table) Clara, did Mr Spooner take any of the umbrellas or hats from the hall last night 1" Clara: Why, of course not why should he ?" Bobby: "That's what I'd like to know. I thought he did, 'cos I heard him say when he was going out 'I'm going to steal j tist one,'and why, what's the matter, Clara?" An eye-witness of the accident to the carriage of the two Emperors, when their horses ran away on the road to Kander, says that neither of them was in the slightest way injured. The Emperor William sprang out of the carriage first, saying, Here is something for the news- papers, and ran after the horse which was caught by some workmen. It would seem that the accident might have had far more serious results had it not been for the promptitude of a blacksmith. When he saw that the horses had gone beyond control he seized the bridles, and with great difficulty brought the animals to a standstill. Both the Emperor William and the Emperor Francis Joseph have ordered that the blacksmith shall be handsomely rewarded. A PIGEON'S EXTRAORDINARY FLIGHT. The homing pigeon "Dude," one of six birds liberated in France last July twelvemonth by the Scripp's League Expedition, has just arrived home at Plainfield, New Jersey, after an absence of fifteen months. The day after the arrival of the members of the expedition in Paris four of the birds were released. Dude and another bird called Ariel were released 700 miles away, the object being to break the ocean record. "Ariel" flew almost to within sight of New York, and then dropped exhausted on the deck of an inward-bound steamer. Dude did not turn up at the time expected, and was ultimately given up as lost. When it arrived home part of a letter from the Scripps League Expedition still clung to its legs, the oilskin wrapper which en- closed it having been torn to tatters. LORD CAHIR IN COURT. Lord Cahir, who lives in Croydon, and is well- known as a very eccentric character, was arrested last week. He protested indignantly against the arrest, but passed one night in a police cell. When he was brought before the Bench in the morning charged with threatening to shoot John Woods, a neighbour, he sat in Court wearing a smoking cap, his legs thrown across a bench, and busily munched an apple. When the case was called he applied a variety of expletives to the plaintiff, to his solicitor, and to the magistrates, and became so violent in his behaviour that he had to be removed from the Court. The Bench took the view that his lordship was of unsound mind, and handed him over to the care of the relieving officer. THE ORIGIN AND MEANING OF THE PAWNBROKER'S SIGN-THREE BALLS. Six hundred years ago or so, a Tuscan doctoi of medicine got some money and proceeded to set himself up in the world and in a hundred years or so his family was of considerable im- portance in Florence. They were not ashamed of their origin, and dis- played on their coats of arms three golden pills; their name, too, de Medici, showed their origin, for it meant "descendants of the doctor," or medicus. Besides being merely nobles, his family dealt in money, lending it at high interest on personal security. In time those persons who lent money on such security adopted the three golden pills of the Medici family as the sign of their business, and now pawnbrokers all over the civilized world dis- play them. SPANISH WOMEN 300 YEARS AGO. The Revisia Contemporanea gives us some old- time customs and manners of uncommon interest. "The women," says the Countess DAulnoy, have now, for many years, been in the habit of using the most monstrous farthingales (Guarda- infantes) which not only impede their own pro- gression but the progress of everybody else. There are no doors sufficiently wide to allow one of these behooped women to pass through. Just now the farthingale is only used when visiting the King or Queen ordinarily they use five or six hoops made of copper wire suspended one above the other by means of ribbons from the waist downwards, and very strange it is to see some of these fragile beings carrying such heavy mirrin- aques ew-gaws. The dress is quite plain and generally of black silk, with an enormous tuck running all round it just above the knee. The dress is long in front and at the sides, but it does not reach the ground behind further than just to hide the feet, which are kept out of sight with much modesty or coyness. I have heard it said that when one of these ladies has received all the attentions which a gentleman can bestow upon her, she will reward him with the sight of one of her little feet-and this is esteemed as el itltinw favor. Their shoes are of morocco leather lined with red silk, without heels, and fit like gloves. When they walk they seem to fly; not in a hundred years could we learn to walk like them. Pressing the elbows close to their sides, without raising their feet, they scud along as if they were skating. Beneath the outer skirt they carry a dozen other skirts, all richly adorned with lace, and when I say a dozen, I am not exaggerating in the least. It is only in the hot season that they useless, and then they will put on some fi ve or six. All the year round they wear next the skin a white Enagua (an inner skirt) made of cambric or muslin, richly adorned with English lace of great value. The body of the dresi is sufficiently high in front, but it is low behind, showing half the shoulders, which is not an agreeable sight, for these are sometimes very skinny. The lack of breasts is another of the conditions which deter- mine female beauty in Spain, and the women take precautions to prevent their bodies showing the the least sign of undulation. When the breasts begin to develop they cover them with plates of lead to make and keep them flat. They have adorable hands-small, white, and perfectly formed. The great dames are fond of precious stones, of which they possess many but unlike the French, who prefer one fine stone to any num- ber, the Spanish woman will have their diamonds, rubies, pearls, emeralds, and others, grouped together in large numbers—ill mounted, in coarse gold. Spanish woman do not kiss one another- no doubt because to kiss would disturb the paint which they put on their cheeks but they shake with ungloved hands, and call each other by their Christian names. They read little and write less. As a rule, their features are delicate and fine, and they are for the most part brown, with lustrous black hair. Some are white to pallidness and the greater part of them comb, and so take care of their eyebrows that they stretch across the entire forehead, which is considered a great attraction. Men and women have the detestable custom of cleaning their teeth in public. Everybody seems to wear spectacles, old as well as young. WHAT LION AND ELEPHANT TASTE LIKE. The lion is eaten by some African races, although its flesh is in small favour with them, while the Zulus find carrion so much to their liking that, according to Dr. Colenso, they apply to food teeming with large colonies of grubs the comprehensive word" uborni," which signifies, in their uncouth jargon, great happiness." David Livingstone tells us that tha aboriginal Australians and the Hottentots prefer the in- testines of animals, and he adds that "it is curious that this is the part which wild animals always begin with, and this is the first choice of our men." The hippopotamus is another favourite meat of the Africans, when they catch it. Its flesh, when young, is tender and palatable, but it becomes very coarse and unpleasant with ad- vancing years. The Abyssinians find the rhinoceros very much to their likiug so they do the elephant, which is also eaten in Sumatra. Dr. Livingstone speaks of elephant's foot as excellent. We had the foot cooked for break- fast and found it delicious." It is a whitish mass, slightly gelatinous and sweet, like marrow. A long march, to prevent biliousness, is a wise precaution after a feast on elephant's foot. Elephant's tongue and trunk are also good, n and after long simmering much resemble the rumps of a buflalo and the tongue of an ox, but all the other meat is tough, and from its peculiar flavour only to be eaten by a hungry man." The elephants eaten during the siege of Paris were said to be a great success, and the liver was pronounced finer than that of any goose or duck. THE JACK THE RIPPER SCARE. Never were the authorities so active and determined in their efforts to trace the White- chapel murderer as at the present moment. Superintendent Arnold and the most experienced detectives seem persuaded that another horrible crime is about to be enacted. The police now incline to the belief that the various postcards and letters received of late emanated from the real murderer himself and that it was a mistake to regard them as an hoax. I

PROTECTION OF GRAIN FROM WEEVIL. Since the grain weevil attained distinction through the investigations of the Government of India, various experiments have, says a native contemporary, been made with the view of dis- covering how grain could best be protected from its ravages. Of the three ways of storing grain- in open pits, bags, and heaps-iveevils appear first in pits and last in open-air heaps. Soft grains are attacked sooner than hard ones, but a piece of tow steeped in bisulphide of carbon will keep the insects away for a considerable period, and it has the merit of not damaging the grain for consumption. Some poisonous plants also deter weevils, and in the College of Science some successful experiments have been made with sulphurous acid. When hermetically sealed with a preservative the grain can be kept for an indefinite period.

MANGELS. Mangels, unlike swedes and turnips, should be stored before frosts of any severity arrive. I Already withered under-leave; indicate that the roots are ready for storing, and as soon as the other work of the farm permits, advantage should be taken of fine weather to pull and stack the bulks. Some farmers leave their mangels in the field till the middle or end of October, and if frosts arrive, they trust to the leaves which then drop round the bulb, to protect the latter from injury. There is a certain amount of risk attend- ing this practice, and it may be doubted if an extra week's growth is sufficient compensation for it. Mangels are usually pulled by hand, and the leaves cut off about an inch or so from the crown of the bulb. In doing this, care should be taken not to chop or bruise the skin, otherwise rotting invariably ensues. The roots also must not be trimmed for the same reason. The consequence of this is that a considerable quantity of soil adheres to the bulbs, which are therefore thrown together in the field in heaps, where they remain a week or so before being carted. If covered up with the loose leaves, of which there are plenty lying about, no injury by frost need be feared. y As they lie in these small heaps, the soil which clings to the mangels when pulled dries, and much of it will fall off when they are undergoing the carting process. The stack should be from five to seven feet wide at the bottom, tapering to nothing, at about the same height. A good coat of dry straw should then be laid on, after which both sides should be covered with some six inches of soil, obtained by digging a trench of the neces- sary width by the side of the stack. As a rule, the covering of soil does not quite meet at the top in order to provide ventilation, an extra layer of straw being applied here to keep out the frost. Where straw is not abundant the stack is some- times completely covered with soil, and in these cases small drain-pipes or tufts of straw are inserted at intervals to prevent fermentation, which often ensues when the stack is too closely covered. In addition to the covering of soil, the whole is usually thatched, if straw" is plenti- ful if not, an extra thickness of earth is necessary and during severe frosts a covering of long dung, or caving, should be applied, or the bulbs will be frozen. After the heaps are carted from the field the leaves should be spread and the land folded. Ewes eat the leaves readily, as do also milking cows, and there is no doubt that they help to fill the pail. The great expense which attends the growth of mangles often raises the question as to whether the crop is worth the cost of cultivation. To this there can be but one answer. From the time the roots are pulled up to the following July or August, they can be turned to account. When first stacked, care must be takan not to- use them too freely. But. judiciously used, they are invaluable all through the winter for both milking and feeding cattle, as well as for breeding sows, and later on they can be given with advantage to horses also. When his ewes are suckling, the shepherd begins to make inroads on the stack, but perhaps it is not until the end of April arrives that the value of the mangel is fully appreciated. By this time the turnips and swedes are usually consumed, and the land upon which they were grown is under cultivation for barley or oats. Cold weather often prevails at this time of year, and this keeps the pastures from growing, and makes the ewes and lambs ravenous. Then the mangel stack can be drawn upon with advantage, either to eke out the other roots or to be scattered over the young seeds or pastures, as occasion may require. In this way the flock is kept in good condition, a result which could not but for the mangels be achieved, except by a liberal outlay on corn or artificial feeding stuffs. Later on in the season, when the sun shines hot, and the Jambs require plenty of shade and water, nothing tends more to keep the bloom on their coats than a load or two of mangels scattered daily over their feeding ground. Few farmers who have been able in these adverse times to keep up the character and quantity of their live stock will allow that their mangel crop could be given up in favour of any other less expensive substitute with any but disastrous re.mlts.-Mark Lane Express.