Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
2 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
Z— EVERY LITTLE HELPS.
Z — EVERY LITTLE HELPS. A Sketch of a Financial Crisis. r Amos Darnley paced to and fro in his narrow counting-house, with his head bent and hia hands clasped behind him. The clerks had gone the porter had been dismissed. Mr. Darnley having promised that he would himself see that the outer doors were locked, and thus the young merchant was alone in his warehouse. By-and-by he stopped before his private desk, and having turned up the gas, he sat down and opened a small memorandum-book; and as he examined the items therein set down, bis hands trembled and his face grew pale. He was thus engaged, when a noise behind him attracted his attention, and, upon turning, he beheld his friend, Mark Potter. Mark Potter was five years older than was Amos Darnley, yet they had been college chums; they had been clerks together; and they had been very intimate under all circumstances since childhood. Ha! Mark, is this you? I thought Michael had closed the doors." And is that any reason why I should not open them ? Why, bless your soul, I've been waiting for you at Taylor's more than an hour. We shall lose our seats at the opera if we don't make up for lost time." You will have to go alone to-night, Mark. I am otherwise engaged." Mark Potter drew a ohair near ta his friend's desk and sat down. "Amos, what ails you r "Nothing, nothing, only I am busy; I have im. portant matters on my hands." And Amos Darnley, as he thus spoke, strove so hard to hide his real feelings from his friend that he appeared very much unlike himself. Come, come, Amos," said Mark, placing his hand kindly upon his companion's shoulder, you must not try to deceive me. I know what is the matter." Ha!" cried the young merchant with a start, then it is already known." Easy, Amos. It is whispered on the street that you are in a snug corner. I heard of it this afternoon for the first time. But what of that ? You can certainly find some way out." Amos shook his head. No, Mark, there is no way out." Pshaw! you're foolish to talk so. Of course, you cannot have become so deeply involved." Ah, my dear fellow, you don't know all." Then tell me aJJ. Surely you are not afraid to trust me?" "Mark Potter, you are the only man on earth whom I would have see me thus; but I do not fear you. No, no-we have been brothers too long. Mark, I am utterly, irretrievably ruined!" "No, no——" "Stop! I tell you the simple truth. I was a fool to do as I did, but it cannot be helped now. I am re- sponsible for Drake and Anderson to the amount of £ 5,000, which will become due the day after to- morrow. Drake has suspended, and brazenly an. nounces that he is not worth a shilling, and Anderson has decamped; but the creditors take it very coolly, and snap their fingers as they refleet that Amos Darn- ley is at the back of all that paper. What do you think now, Mark?" Mark Potter was surprised and grieved, as his looks plainly showed; but he was not a man to sit quietly down and despair when there was need of work. Upon my soul, Amos, this is bad-far worse than I had any idea of. But you must not give up. Some- thing can be done." "What can be done ? asked Darnley. We will see." Ah, Mark, you will look and study in vain. Three months ago, by the advice of Mortimer, and really against my own instincts, I speculated heavily in cotton. I bought at three months. Within a week after money became excessively tight. Cottons fell, and I lost. It's of no use. I am ruined. One year ago-only one year, Mark-I know I was worth £ 25,000, free and clear; to-day I am not worth one penny! Aye, worse than that, I cannot pay my debts The day after to-morrow my paper will be dishonoured, and my name will be a thing of scorn "My dear DarnVoy, don't allow anoli feelings to possess you. From all that you tell me, I thins you must make some arrangement with your creditors. It would be unsafe to attempt to get out of the trouble by borrowing." Ah, Mark," returned the poor man, with a woeful shake of the head, "you nead not fear my borrowing any mora. I may fall, but I will not bring my friends into trouble." You are right, there, Amos; and of course your only available step is to make some arrange- ment with your creditors." Again Darnley shook his head. He had made some effort in that direction, and had been coldly repulsed. Who repulsed you ?" asked Mark. Tyndale." Did you tell him just how you were situated? No—I did not let him know exactly how badly off I was. But I gave him to understand that I might want more time on some of my bills." "And he, in turn, gave you to understand that he did not wish to grant it ? "Exactly." Which," continued Mark," was a gentle hint that you should exert yourself. I know that Tyndale is a severe man; but he is an honourable man. Go to him and state the case fairly, and I think he will help "Ah, Mark, you don't strike at the root of the diffi- culty. What good will more time do me? It will take a lor)g-very long-time for me to make up the amount that I am called upon to pay at Drake and Anderson's Bank. "Very well, my dear man. If more time won't do, then jast let your creditors understand that you must be allowed to pay what you can. Go to them, and show them your books; and offer them all your pro- perty and let them do as they will. My word for it, when they find that you are desirous to make the moat honourable settlement that can be made, they will not press you." Amos Darnley told his friend that he would think of it. Of course," he said, I cannot go with you to any place of amusement to-night. I must look over my private accounts and find just how I stand. I may see you again before the final crash comes." Pshaw1 Why will you talk so, Amos. Why talk about a crash ? If you intend to bow your head, and allow the blow to find you unprepared for resistance, there may be a crash; but if you will only make an effort, you may avoid all such evil consequence. Don't sit here and think that this whole load must all be taken upon your shoulders at once. You are to re- move it gradually. Remember that every little helps, and that by a proper attention to LITTLE HELPS the one great help may come of itself. Now ba up and doing. I would stop with you longer, but our friends are waiting for me, and I must rejoin them." You won't say anything to them of my trouble, Mark." << —I'll leave that for you to break in your own way. But take courage. Of course it's a hard place in which to find one's self; but if you are resolved to help yourself I think all may be right. And then, my dear fellow, in the time to come, when you are once more upon your feet, this experience may be among the most valuable of your possessions. Mark Potter went away, and Darnley was once more alone. For a little while the young merchant thought of struggling bravely against the adverse current; and to that end he began to call to mind those of his credi- tors whom he should first visit. Tyndale, and the very thought of that stern, hard countenance took away all his courage. He looked over hi3 books once more, and he waa satisfied tnat ne eould go no further. On the morrow over *4vW would be due from him to the bank, and on the day following more still. The bringing of so much into those two days had been the result of injudicious ex- tension of some earlier bills. At midnight Darnley closed his books and went home. Hia wife was up; and when she asked him if he had-been to the concert, he told her an untruth, and told her that he had; and when she asked him what ailed him,, he told her that he had a terrible bead-ache. She sympathised with him and kissed him; and wished to fix a wet bandage on his brow and temples; but he would not have it. In the morning he professed to feel better, though hia wife could very plainly see that he waa not entirely well. She suggested to him that ha had better remain at home during the day; but he declared that his business was too pressing. Dear Amos," pleaded the fond, affectionate wife, (ivou are not well. There is something more than you have told ine. If there is anything wrong, let me Know of it, and I may kelp you." Your help wouldn't do me much good, Ci&ra," Perhaps not, Amos; but it might be a little; and every little helps." „, 1^ But Amos Darnley had become a coward as well as a liILr. He dared not tell his wife the truth. He did not ston to think how kind and true-hearted she was. He only thought of the pleasant life she had led and of the fall that was in store for her as well as for him; and he dared not break to her the truth. Aye-he was a greater coward than he thought. Once under the weight of despondency, the heart ot Amos Darnley sank rapidly, and the slough of despair was soon reached. He went down to his warehouse and looked in, but he did not purpose to make a long stay. He simply went into his private office to see if any important letters had arrived, and when he found nothing new that was of importance, he turned to leave. It was then not quite noon. In a very few hours a messenger would be there to announce that his bill had been dishonoured, and before night it would be generally known that he was a ruined man. One single minute he leaned over his desK, ana men he took a pen and wrote a brief note to his wife. He told her that he was ruined, and that he could not live to stare that ruin in the face. He did not confess that he was a coward, and that he lacked the will to save his wife and children from a fate almost worse than death, but he wrote as though he had done all that could be done, and that he died to avoid a ruin and disgrace that he could not avoid if he lived. He asked her to forgive him and to pity him. He sealed this and left it upon his desk, and then went away. Like a guilty thing the merchant hurried on, took a boat down the river, far from the region where his creditors were-and as he went he thought that he should never look upon old scenes again. It's of no use," he muttered to himself-and this was the point to which all his reasoning had led him I am ruined beyond hope of redemption. I can- not look those men in the face. They would not help me if I did. They would only scoff, and accuse me of dishonesty." A still, small voice tried to ask him if it was a very honest and honourable thing he was abou1; to do, but he would not listen to the soft appeal. By-and-by he reached a point beyond the busy hum of London city, he had reached Gravesend, und then he turned down towards the water. His plan was very simple, and he talked it over to himself. He meant to take the first small boat he could find, and row out into the river, and there wait for some steamer going up or down, and throw himself under the paddle. wheels. It would be a very sure death, and a speedy one. When he landed, he observed a throng of people collected to witness the launching of a ship that had just been built. Why could he not hire one of the many small boats that were secured near at hand, and place himself where the ship's rudder would strike him as she plunged into the stream ? No—he would be too late for that, for the ways were already prepared, the ship had been set upon the cradle, and the main shores and keel-blocks removed, and the order for knocking away the dog-shorea [had been given. There was something too exciting in the scene to permit Darnley to pass on now. He would have to wait only a moment-only long enough to sea the noble mass glide to her proper element-he would wait so long, and then hurry on to his doom. For the moment he forgot the dread agony of the hour, being irresist. ibly held by the inspiration of the present scene, and with his heart fairly hushed, as were the hearts of hundreds of others, he waited to behold the huge structure fairly ^launched. Two stout men, with ponderous wooden mauls prepared for that purpose, knocked away the dog- shores, and then the multitude waited in hushed silence. But the ship did not start. The workmen ran around from stem to stern, but no obstruction was visible. Then the director of the work called for levers, and while the levers were being brought, some one among the crowd wished to know why some one else did not push the ship off. At that moment, as if in sport, a curly-headed boy, with ruddy face and sparkling eye, cried out that he would push her off, and as he started forward for that purpose, an older companion laughed at him, saying- "Keen back, Tom, you can do no good." And. Tom, without stopping, quickly replied- very little helps I n and in a. few momenta more he mounted upon one of the removed blocks, ana set his shoulder against the bend of the cut-water, where the stem joined the keel. And then, in silvery tones, but earnestly withal, he shouted, Ho-o Heave-o Did that tiny shoulder, set so bravely to the work, applv the last OURce of power that was necessary to overcome the dead weight that rested upon the ways ? Is it impossible ? No. Is it improbable? No. Away went the mighty ship-at first moving slowly, and in solemn majesty—but gradually increasing her speed-until at length a traok of flame marked her rapid course. And the curly-headed boy swung his dimpled hand in the air, and joined his shout with the Amos Darnley stood apart; and when he had seen the noble ship come to a safe, proud rest upon the bosom of the river, he turned and gazed for a moment upon the boy who still shouted hurrah at the top of hia voice. T "Upon my word," he said to himself, I think I have gained a lesson. If so little a thing, applied at the right moment, can produce such a result as this, which I have just seen, why should I despair while health and strength are mine ? Thus, with a mow impulse, the young merchant turned back from his tragic purpose, resolved that he would make a manly effort. And, with the resolve once taken, he grew stronger and stronger as he re- turned to London. When he reached his warehouse he found that the messenger had been there, and that he had left word that if Mr. Darnley would call upon his employers at any time before five o'clock, the business might be arranged without giving it Amos^Darnley's naind and disposition had entirely changed. As he laid his hand upon the note which he had left for his wife, and tore it up, he felt as though he had really gained a new life; and with this new life he would save his honour, if possible. V ery s"g £ c causes sometimes work marvelloua changes in the affairs of mortals, and when the tide is once turned, then all floating, moving things must go in the new dl And°so' with Darnley. The trouble had not been a lack of power, but simply a lack of will. The power had been held in reserve, and the moment the little help was applied that moved the will in the right direo. tion, all difficulty was overcome.. Mr. Tyndale waa found to be severely just; but when he was made to understand that Amos Darnley only sought the privilege of being allowed time and opportunities for being honest, he not only granted that privilege, but he insisted upon doing more. He became Darnley's mediator with other creditors, and ere long the bark of the young merchant's fortunes was once more in smooth water. i. jj No man is so strong as is he who comprehends and appreciates the very smallest helps of every-day life; and Amos Darnley is to-day, if not in affluence, a pros. perous merohant, simply because he has learned that lesson.
EPITOME OF NEWS. -
EPITOME OF NEWS. The other morning 135 hens, belonging to an old man named George Helm, who lives at Fulwood, near Preston, were found dead from poison. It is not known who committed the rascally act. The Duke of Bedford has given a donation of Y,1,000 towards the enlargement of the Devon County School, West Buokland. On Wednesday a boat containing two watermen was capsized opposite Halfway Reach by a puff of wind. One of the men was drowned. At Athens a malady hitherto unknown has broken out amongst the beasts of burden. The ani- mals, seized with a sudden fit of rage, tear their own flesh. A contractor has advertised for a thousand work. men to throw up earthworks a few miles from Berlin. It is believed that ramparts are to be constructed at Grossheeren, for the protection of the capital. At Nauplia last week there was a veritable shower of small locusts, so that the inhabitants were obliged to have recourse to their umbrellas to protect themselves. The match between Mr. Cook's mare and Mr. Tver's trotting cob, to trot two miles in harness for .£25 a side, waa decided at Mitcham, on Wednesday. The mare won and covered the two miles in seven minutes and 16 secsnds. Miss Rye will send 100 working women to Ans- tralia in August next. On the arrival of the girla in Victoria they will be received into excellent barracks, and kept there free of expense until situations are pro- vided for them. The French journals announce the death, at a very advanced age, of the Baroness Dupuytren, widow of the illustrious surgeon, mother of the Countess Louis de Beaumont, and grandmother of Viscount de Beau- mont, married to Mdlle. do Castries. A contest at Alton, Hants, for a 4d. church-rate, closed on Saturday with the following result :—In favour of the rate, 106; against, 71; majority in favour of rate, 35. Health of Her Majesty.-It does not appear to be generally known (says the Pall Mall Gazette), but is, we understand, a fact nevertheless, that the cause of her Majesty's recent visit to Balmoral was an attack of whooping cough caught from the Royal children, and which rendered immediate change of air necessary. July in Belfast.-It affords us great pleasure to state that no disturbances have taken place regarding the July anniversaries, and it is to be hoped that no breach of the peace will be committed during the present month. Suicide in the Kingsland-roadAn inquest was held in Edward-street, Kingsland-road, on Thurs- day, on the body of Henry Davison, aged thirty-two years, a cabinet maker. Deceased had frequently threatened to commit suicide, and on Monday even- ing he was found hanging in his workshop quite dead. The jury returned a verdict of suicide while in a state of unsound mind. Accident on the Great Northern Railway. —On Monday morning the locomotive attached to a passenger train ran off the line at King's-oross junc- tion of the Great Northern Railway, and became embedded in the permanent way. The carriages and passengers received no injury, the only inconvenience being the stoppage of all traffic on the down line for a considerable time. The visitors to the South Kensington Museum during the past week were: On Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday, free, from ten a.m. to ten p.m., 8,198; on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (admission 6d.), from ten a.m. to six p.m., 1,769; National Portrait Exhibition, by payment, 2,594; total, 12,561. Average of corresponding week in former years, 11,318; total from the opening of the Museum, 6,135,624. The Dunmow Flitch.—We are informed, says a local contemporary, that there are five happy icouples, claimants for the Dunmow flitoh. It is an old adage that it never rains but it pours. Applications are still pouring in, a.nd Messrs. Fitch and Son will soon empty their warehouse if all are supplied. Three of the happy couples reside in London, one at Wor. thing. and one at Greenwich. Sunday Funerals.—The question of Sunday funerals has been taken up by the authorities of the various local cemeteries and burial grounds of Liver- pool, who held a meeting to discuss the question at the Town.hall on Monday. The mayor was in the ohair, and the majority of the meeting resolved that no funerals should in future take place on Sundays after nine a.m. An Owl's Revenge.-The Avranchin states that in a. commune near Avranches an owl has taken ter- rible vengeance for the loss of her young, which had been killed by a farmer's lad. For four days the owl was on the watch for the destroyer, and on the fifth, upon the boy leaving the farm-house, the injured bird, which had been parched upon a tree, pounced down upon him, and with one stroke of its claws tore out his left eye, the sight of which is permanently destroyed. The thunderstorm of Saturday was terrific in several parts of Essex, and damage was done in various places, though it doss not appear that any lives were lost. The heavy rains of last week had affected the small railway from Wivenhoe to Bright. lingsea, and a part of the embankment giving way the traffic was stopped. Fish Disease.-The fish in the Seine at Paris appear to be suffering from some malady. Large numbers are cast on the banks dead, almost in a. state of decomposition, and cannot fail to render the water unwholesome for drinking purposes. Immense shoals also float on the surface of the river with their heads out of the water, and are easily taken by men who wade in the stream with nets and baskets. Such fish wauo ill UUO OUXCWAf* tuwu ate, Iiowqvqv, ». nr 1 A person was iined 40s. and oosts, at the Marl- borough-street on Tuesday, for furious riding in Rotten-row. The magistrate regretted that he was not empowered to inflict a heavier penalty, as the reckless manner in which many riders imperilled the livea of others ought to be severely punished. Since the accident to the Prince of Wales, the police have been ordered to keep a good look-out for reckless persons, and bring them to justice. Friphtful Accident.—On Wednesday an acci- dent occurred at Chesterfield of a peculiarly horrible nature. The deceased, whose name was Robert Bon- sell, was engaged at the Scarsdale Brewery, Chester. field, and had the care of the boiling beer in the vats. He was subject to fits, and it is supposed he was seized with one whilst sitting on the edge of the vat, and fell into the scalding fluid. No one saw him fall in, but he was found, almost directly after he had been missed, in the vat. He was quite dead, the nesh b3ing boiled off his bones. His body presented a shock. ing spectacle. Reckless Driving in London.—The very great number of accidents by reason of furious driving or incautious driving in the streets of the metropolis calls for some more stringent powers of repression than the police now appear to wield. It is difficult to say what the maximum speed of vehicles in the streets ought to be; but if it were limited to four or five miles an hour much loss of life would be avoided. In a case recently brought before the Southwark Police- court a young man was charged with killing a little girl ten years old, by driving over her, and hardly a. day passes without similar cases being reported. Eggs.-In the first five months of the present year more than 196,000,000 eggs were J" country from abroad; until 1861 the imp reached that number in an entire year. Last year tne number imported reached what seemed the enormous number of nearly a million a day; but 31 days of May, 1866, the import exceeded 56,000 000 The average price fixed at the Custom-house for the computation of the real value of jjL was aa low as 4s. 6d. per 120 in 1854; but, lilse too many other articles, e?gs have risen in pnca sxnce that time, and in the last six g y been computed to exceed 6s. per 120 in Naval Savings Banks.-The new Act to estab- lish Naval Savings Banks for Seamen and Marines of the Royal Navy was issued on the 3rdinst. XneAa mimlty may establish such banks for tne receipt of deposits from petty officers and seamen borne on the books of any vessel in her Majesty s service, and from non- commissioned officers and pnvates of the Royal Marines. The interest is not to exceed X3 15s. per cent, per annum. The deposits may be transferred to other savings banks. The money deposited may be invested by the National Debt Commissioners. Annual accounts of the new naval savings banks are to be laid before Parliament.. —. Abduction of a Voter.-At the High Vourt of Justiciary, in Edinburgh, on Monday John Douglas and James Irving were convicted of the abduction of Thomas Wallace, to prevent him voting at the con- tested election for Wigtonshire last July. The pri- soners drove Wallace, intoxicated, 35 miles, and de- tained him under the pretence that lie was quite near a polling place, and he did not reach Stranraer till after the close of the poll. The trial lasted ten hours- The jury, after being absent half an hour, returned a verdict of Guilty," and the prisoners were sentenoed to two months' imprisonment each. Wallace intended to vote for Lord Willies, the Conservative candidate. Anniversary of American Independence.— The fourth of July was signalised in Liverpool, on Wednesday, by a fine display of flags from the truck to stem and taffrail on board the American ships in port. The fleet of the Cunard, Inman, and Montreal and Quebec, and National Steam Companies also joined in similar demonstrations. The office of Mr. Dudley, the United States consul, was gay with bunt- ing, both English and American, and the leading American merchants also had their offices decorated. The 84th anniversary of American independence was celebrated in the evening by a banquet at the Wash- ington Hotel, which was attended by the principal Americans at present in LiverpooL Mortality.-In the week that ended on Saturday the births registered in London were 1,943; the deaths 1 295, or 87 beyond the estimated mortality, oma i- pox is perceptibly increasing; the deaths by it U t week were 45. Sixty-nine fatal cases of measles were recorded. Diarrhea is increasing with the summer heat, and 43 fatal eases are returned. A death frcm cholera was registered. A horse-slaughterer died in Guy's Hospital of pneumonia from poison whilst cutting up a glandered horse (two weeks)." The death of a centenarian is recorded; the widow of a labourer, on the 19th ult., in Stepney workhouse, of "natural decay," aged 100 years. There were three deaths by carriage accidents in the streets. Fatal Accident.-On Thursday morning, about half-past two o'clock, a man named Chappell, residing in Sawyer's-yard, St. Clement's-lane, fell from the parapet of his house into the street below, and was killed instantly, his skull being extensively fractured. He had been out rather late with his wife, and, in accordance with his usual practice, went on the parapet to smoke his pipe before going to bed. Death in the Streets.- On Saturday night, about half-past ten o'clock, a man, respectably dressed, but whose name and address were unknown, was found lying on a door step in Soho-square. A constable, not being able to rouse the deceased, at once took him in a cab to the Middlesex Hospital, where the surgeon pronounced life to be extinct. The deceased's age was about 36. and he is described as of sallow complexion. On his person was found a watch, maker's name, "Rotherham and Son," three receipts-one on the London Joint-Stock Bank for .£35, one on the London and South African Bank for £ 300, and one on Barber Brothers for < £ 1,492; also some interest warrants and bonds of the New York Central Railway, to a consider- able amount, and several letters addressed "John Frederick Grieves." The body of the deceased remains at the Middlesex Hospital. A Parisian promenade.-The speoial corres- pondent of the Star says:—To a visitor freshly arrived from England nothing can be more enjoyable than a walk from the Aro de Triomphe along the Champs Elyse'es, and thence to the Boulevards between eight and ten o'clock at night. He will not be a little sur- prised to see crowds of brilliant equipages on their way to the Bois, with the Champs Elysles bright as though lighted up for a fite, in consequence of the numerous cafes and restaurants, masked by flowery bosquets and literally wreathed by gaslights. The Boulevards are equally brilliant; the splendid shops on either side remain open till eleven o'clock, and by the variety of their gorgeous merchandise and the flood of light emitted from their windows add con- siderably to the gaiety of the scene, which is enjoyed by thousands of loungers of the most respectable class, who prefer a stroll in the cool night air to the chance of a coup de soleil in the broiling heat we have lately endured. Fall of a House in Lambeth.- On Monday evening the house No 51, Regent-street, Lambeth, fell with a loud noise. It appears that the wall of an ad- joining house ran up five feet higher than that which has fallen, and the upper portion, which is supposed to have been injured by the lightning in the storm of Saturday, fell with a tremendous crash upon the roof of No. 51, leaving but one room uninjured, and de- stroying the whole of the furniture. Fortunately, Mr. Edwards (the landlord) and four of his children were absent; and a lodger also was from home, so that at the time of the occurrence there were three inmates, Mrs. Edwards and two children. Only one ef the latter was sliarhtlv iinnred. but the former, while Dro- ceeding from the kitchen to the back parlour, was struck violently on the head by one of the falling rafters, and, when rescued, was found to be quite in- sensible. She was at once conveyed to St. Thomas's Hospital, where it was discovered that she had sus- tained a frightful scalp wound, and was affected with concussion of the brain. Daring Outrage and Garotte Robbery.-At the Thames Police-court, Jeremiah Cronin, 21, and James Coleman, 20, labourers, were brought up on remand, charged with violently assaulting Mr. W. Brown, mate of the ship Esk, and stealing from his person a silver watch chain, value .£4. A few nights since the prosecutor was suddenly attacked in Princes- square, Ratclifi-highway, by the prisoners and another man. They knocked him down, and one of them seized him by the throat. He called out Murder!" and Police and made a determined and valiant resist- ance. His watch and chain were taken from him by force. He seized Cronin, and hung to him, and the chain was taken out of Coleman's hand. Assistance was readily afforded by several respectable inhabitants, and the prisoners were secured. Their confederate has not^jet_been taken.—TJie caae was clearly made and have been summarily convicted several times.- They treated the matter with great indifference.—Mr. Paget committed them for trial. The Tragedy in Yorkshire.—An inquest has been held on the body of the man Smith, who, after murdering Sarah and Emma, his two daughters, com- mitted suicide. The evidence showed that about two years ago deceased threatened to kill himself in oonse. quence of the conduct of his wife. Shortly after she was taken to the asylum, where she has been confined ever since. Daring that time he and his children have managed the household affairs. There were three children and the father, all of whom slept in one bed. The house was wretchedly furnished. The evidence of the manager at Mesars. Croseley's was that no more orderly man entered the works. The neighbours of deceased spoke of him as a quiet, sober man. A ver. dict of "Wilful murder" was returned against the deceased, but as to his state of mind there waa no evidence. t Sharp Practice by a Pawnbroker.-Mr. Farrow, pawnbroker, of Nelson-street, appeared to a summons before the magistrate at Greenwich, charging him with having unlawfullyrefused to deliver to Ann Wilson of Walpole-street, Daptford, a parcel of baby- linen valued £ 5, pledged with him, after the principal and interest thereon had been tendered. Mr. Morrison, solicitor, said that on the evening of the day twelve- months upon which the complainant pledged the linen she went to redeem it, but was told she was too late. On the next day she wrote and posted a letter to the defendant, requiring him to keep the articles another month, but on going to the shop before the expiration of that period she was told that it was sold. The de- fendant said that wheu the complainant came to the shop to redeem the goods it was after eight o'clock. The letter had been delivered to a young man then, but not now, in his employ, who had not given it to him until a fortnight afterwards, when the articles were found to have been taken from the parcel, but he believed he should be able to find the greater portion among his stook. Mr. Maude said he would adjourn the summons, and advised the defendant to satisfy the complainant. Breach of the Climbing Boys Act.—Joshua Shaw, of Kirkgate, was summoned before the magis- trates at Huddersfield, on a charge of having allowed Godfrey Berry, a boy 12 years of age, to asoend a chimney for the purpose of sweeping it contrary to the Act. J. R. Clark, sweep, Bradford-road, gave evidence showing that on Tuesday afternoon the defendant and the boy went into a house in a yard off Northgate with- out a machine, and came out again with a bag of soot after the chimney had been swept. The boy was not actually seen in the chimney, but he was seen shaking the soot off himself. The bench considered the case proved, and fined the defendant < £ 5 and costs-total, £ 5 18a.-or one month's imprisonment. Shaw said he had no money and should have to go to prison. Treatment of the Captive Elector of Hesse. -The seclusion in which the Elector of Hesse is kept by Prussia at Wilhemshohe is so severe that the Ministers of Bavaria. and Austria have on two occa- sions addressed notea to Lieut.-General de Beyer on the subjeot. Those Ministers were refused admission to the fortress, and, moreover learned that a series of most odious measures had been employed against the Elector. Their first note remained without reply; but to a second, in which they claimed free access to the prisoner, the following answer was received: "Cassel, June 22.-I have the honour to ^f°rmJ?ad in reply to the letters you have addressed to me dat the 21st and 22nd, that my °ffi?ers,aL^Tte^ever have acted aocordmg to their duty. 5 » General Commanding the Prussian troops m Electoral wttpfln Persons Poisoned by Diseased M^at -Fifteen persons have been poisoned m the neighbourhood of Newtonarda, Coonty Dovvn It ap- +W several persons bought some veal from a nfim representing himself to be a butcher, at Newton- ards' orf the 23cd ulfc., and every person who partook of it'became ill, having a violent retching, coldness in the extremities, purging, and bluish appearance of the skin. In one family the meat was eaten by six, two of whom have since died, and others are almost be. yond recovery. It was at first thought that cholera was the cause of death, but such is not the case. It is supposed the animal was not killed, but died from dis- temper, and that the owner gave the flesh a healthy- looking appearance by coating it with some poisonous gibatance. A clue has been obtained, to the where. a'?ovits of the man who sold the veal. An Awkward Affair.-A- young woman, who said she was the wife of a publioan at Walworth, ap- plied to the Lambeth magistrate for an order to compel her husband to support her, and said he had assaulted her and turned her out of doors. Sergeant Ham, a detective officer, said that, some time ago, he had been applied to by the husband of the applicant to assist in detecting a robbery at his house, and he had marked some money, whiah afterwards found its way into the pocket of a young man who was discovered by the husband in bed with his wife. The husband had assured him that he had seen the fact with his own eyes. The applicant denied that she had committed adultery, and said she knew nothing about the marked money. A summons was granted against the husband for the assault. Loan Societies.-The annual abstract of the accounts of loan societies in England and Wales shows that at the end of the year 1865 they had .E518,866mtho hands of borrowers. In the course of that year there were 184,171 applications for loans, and 170,318 loans were made. The sums paid in the year for forma of application and for inquiry amounted to £10,435, and adding to this the amount paid for interest the gross profits of the year reached £ 58,509. The expenses of management were < £ 21,345, and the interest paid to depositors or shareholders £32,859, and these pay- ments left for net profits of the year £ 6,391. 13,208 summonses were issued in the year for sums amount- ing to .£31,586, and 2,101 distress warrants were issued The borrowers or their sureties paid > £ 2,390 for oaste. The loan societies in the metropolis are in most instances upon a small scale. In Yorkshire there are societies with £5,000, j £ 8,0Q0, and even £ 11,000 in the' hands of borrowers; both Nottingham and Hanley have a loan ssciety, with < £ 14.000 lent out; in Bir- mingham there ia one with < £ 20,000 in the hands o £ the borrowers. Royal Hospitality.—The Pall Mall Gazette of Tuesday evening has the following:—A Royal salute has announced to the English nation that one of those events is about to take place which are conventionally said to make every loyal Briton's heart bound with joy; a German Prince is about to lead a Princess of England to the altar. The King and Queen of the Belgians and other scarcely less illustrious guests are responding to her Majesty's invitations to be present on the auspicious occasion, and are billeted as usual at various London hotels. Buckingham Palace in the meanwhile stands empty-no smoke issues from its kitchen chimney; Buckingham Palace, to which, not many years since a wing was added for the alleged purpose of exercising an hospitality never exercised. We feel convinced that if the Queen had the slightest personal experience of the feather beds and the Itauto cuisine of even the very beat London hotels, her Ma- jesty's well-known kindness of heart would forthwith cause Buckingham Palace to be opened for the tem. porary relief of the Royal visitors who are about to grace at her bidding the approaching wedding with their presence. A Warm Reception.-A curious case has just been brought before the Correctional Court of Metz on appeal. On the night of the 1st of April last a young man of dissipated character, named Meyer, having clambered over some palings on the premises of onÐ Sahitz, an inkeeper, near Sarreguemines, endeavoured to enter, by the aid of a ladder, the bedroom occupied on the first floor by Sehitz'a daughter, a girl of fourteen, when the latter awoke, and ran to inform her father. Schitz, being convinced from former acts that Meyer must be the person, armed himself with a double- barrelled gun, and waited in her room for the aggressor. The latter soon recommenced his attempt, on which the father, wishing to give him an opportunity for escape, fired in the air. But the other, far from abandoning his design, persisted; Schitz then fired again, and hit the trespasser in the face and left arm. Meyer, the next day, preferred a charge before the local court of Sarreguemines, which at once dismissed the complaint. An appeal was then brought before the Tribunal of Metz, but that court confirmed the former decision, and acquitted Schitz. Sun-struck Salmon.-Several hundreds of sal- mon and salmon trout were found upon Bargh Marsh, on the Cumberland shore of the Solway Firth, last week, under very extraordinary circumstances. Many were lying dead upon the marsh, where they had been left dry by the reselling tide, and ethers were floating the shore, lIlaslcfny toa afifl" nmsk* gf. .water on guardsmen had been exercising a. close surveillance over the nets at Bowness and Port Carlisle during the weak, ib was at first conjectured that these fish had been thrown out by fishermen who ha.d been infringing the law by fishing at improper times. This supposi- tion, however, proved incorrect; and the conjecture that they had been poisoned was also abandoned as absurd. Old fishermen of the district have now arrived at the conclusion that the salmon, in making their way up the shallow water near the estuaries of the rivers, had been visited by something like a sunstroke, the weather having been hotter than had been experienced for many years. The fish were picked up by the inhabitants of the distriot, to whom they afforded many cheap and dainty meals. Concentration of Russian lroops. — The Europe contains the following item of military news:- "Prinoa Gortchakoff has addressed to the diplomatic- agents of Russia abroad a circular dispatch, in which he explains to them the purport and meaning of the concentration of Russian troops on the Austrian and to Prussian frontiers. Russia, he informs them, intends observe the strictest neutrality towards all parties, but the Russian Government felt bound to concentrate a. corps of observation both on the Austro-Russian and Prusso-Russian frontiers for the security of the in- habitants, if the frontier might eventually become the theatre of war, and to prevent the contest from being- carried into Russian territory. The reasons assigned for the concentration of an army on the Pruth are re- markably brief. The object of this army, having re- gard to the armaments of the Porte and the movement of Turkish troops towards the Danube, is to prevent the entry of these troops into the Principalities." Royalty at the London Mansion-house.— His Majesty the King of the Belgians honoured tha Lord Mayor with a visit at the Mansion-house on Monday. The King was attended on the occasion by Lord Camoys and by one of his own equerries. The Lord Mayor, with his sons, Mr. Henry Phillips and Mr. George Phillips, received his Majesty at the en- trance, and conducted him to the drawing-room, where the Lady Mayoress and her daughter, Mrs. Barnet, were presented to his Majesty. The King having ex- pressed a wisb to see the Guildhall, Lord Mayor accompanied him thither. His Majesty remained some time in the hall, which he inspected with evident in- terest, and then returned with the Lord Mayor to tha. Mansion-house. There the King took some light re- freshment, and shortly afterwards left, expressing to the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, as he did so, the great gratification which his visit, brief though it ne- cessarily was, had afforded him. Public Feeling in Vienna.—A letter from Vienna, of the 4th, says The scenes of indignation and sorrow lately seen here were renewed last evening when the nows of the great defeat of the Austrian army spread through the city. Grave men might be seen weeping bitterly, and the consternation was pro- found, although the bulk of the population of Vienna. were not yet aware of the fatal extent of the news. To-day all the people wish that Marshal Benedek should have a successor who would be able to inspire the army, intimidated by all its reverses, with a new confidence. Beyond this, the formation of a National Guard is demanded, in order that every disposable soldier should be sent to the field of battle. The German party wishes for the convocation of the. Reichsrath, at least of the so-called restricted Reichs- rath." Reform Demonstration at Birmingham.— A great open-air meeting of the working men of this town was held on Wednesday evening, for the purpose of protesting against handing over the Government of the oountry to the Tories. The meeting was held ifi a large open space at the rear of the Town-hall, and there could not have been less than 10,000 persons present. These were aU well. dressed and well-behaved members of the artisan class; the speeohes delivered were temperate in their tone, and the sentiments enunciated were enthusiastically received. The fol- lowing resolution was enthusiastically carriedWe, the working men of Birmingham, in public meeting assembled, desire to express our indignation at the base and treacherous manner in which the people of England have been betrayed, first by the ungenerous obstruction of the Tories, and secondly by the treach- erous desertion of their cause by the Adullamites and hereby express regret that her Majesty did not dissolve the present unworthy Parliament, and appeal to her people whether they require Reform or not." The meeting was well ordered to the close.