Potter's Electric News

THEODORE'S HOUSEHOLD AND PRIVATE LIFE. An interesting letter has been published in a contem- porary from Dr Blanc, from which we make a few ex- tracts Theodore was more bigoted than religious Above all things he was superstitious, and that to H degree incredible in a man in other respects so superior to bis countrymen. He had always with him several O,Btrologers, whom he consulted on all important oc- casions—especially before undertaking any expedition "arid whose iEfluence over him was unbounded. He aated the priests, despised them for their ignorance, spurned their doctrines, laughed at the marvellous Tories some of their books contain, but still never lnarclJed without a tent church, a host of priests, defteras, &nd deacons, and never passed near a church without hissing its threshold. Though he could read and write, he never condescended to correspond personally with anyone, but was always accompanied by several secre- taries, to whom he would dictate his letters and so Wonderful was his memory that he would indite an an- swer to letters received months, nay vtars, "before, or "date on subjects and events that had occurred at a far demote period. When he made any lengthened stay at a place he bad huts erected by his aoldiero for himself aid people, and the whole was surrounded by a double line of fences. ThougL not wanting in bravery, he never left anything to chance. At night the hillock on which be dwelt was completely surrounded by muske- teers, and he never slept without having his pistols *f'ider his pill 'w and several loaded guns by his side. fle had a great fear of poison, taking no food that had nut been prepared by the queen or her remplacmt, and even then she and several attendants had to taste it thst. He made, however, an exception in our favour ^oe day that he visited Mr Rassam at Gaffat. To shew how much he respected and trusted the English, be ac- cepted some brandy allowing no one to taste it before 'him, he unhesitatingly swallowed the whole draught. Theodore was always an elltly riser; indeed, he in- dulged in sleep hut very little. Sometimes at two clock, at the latest before four, lie would issue from tent and give judgment on any case brought before "iffi. Of late his temper was tuoh that litigants kept 'jut cf his way he nevertheless retained his former "abits, and would be seen long before daylight sitting quite alone on a stone, in deep meditation or in silent P."av er. He was also very abstemious in his food, and never indulged in excesses of the table. He rarely Partook of m"re than one meal a day, which was 'QDaposed of sujera-lhe pancake loaves made of the small seed of the teff-and red pepper during fast 'tavs; of wat, a kind of curry made of fish, fowl, or :nut'on, on ordinary occasions. On feast days he gave large dinners to his officers, and some- I1 to the whole army. Unfortunately for Theidore, bad for several years before his death greatly taken drink. Up to three r four o'clock he attended to the to drink. Up to three < r four o'clock he attended to the fuaineas of the day and till then was generally sober; ?ut after his afternoon siesta he wa-3 invariably more or intoxicated. In his dress he was generally very ?|Hple, wearing only the ordinary shama (white cotton cloth, with a red border, woven in the country), native- ^ade trousers, and a European white shirt; no shoes, covering to the head. His rather long hair—for an ^yssinian —was divided in three large plaits, ar.d allowed to fall on his neck in three plaited tails. Of he had greatly neglected his hair for months it "^ad lIot been plaited; and to show the grief he felt on ac- count, of the' badness' of his people, he would not ? '0ff it to be besmeared with the heavy coating of .^utter in which Abysainians delight. On one occasion apologised to us for the simplicity of his dress. a<,Ur'n^ l'le lif^ime ^rs,; ar)d for some time er*ards, Theodore n>t only led a most exemplary life, foibade the officers of his household and the chiefs p?re ^mediately around him to live in concubinage. 0'e day in the beginning of 1 SCO Theodore perceived in church a handsome young girl silently praying to her ^rvT"1' the-Virgin Mary. Struck with her beauty and ~>aesty, he made inquiries about her, and was informed she was the oidy. daughter of Dejatch Oubie, the *lnce of Tigre, his firmer rival, whom he had de "fened, and who was then his prisoner. He asked for hand, and met with a polite refusal. The young RJfi. desired to retire to a convent, and devote herself to (119 service of God. Theodore was not a m .n to be »kS""ly ^warted in his desires. He proposed to Oubie ^Qat he would set him at libert y, only retaining him in •p3 camp as hfs guest,' should the prince prevail on his ^Ughter to accept his hand. At last Woizero Tournish ?ou are my sister') sacrificed herself for her old goer's welfare, and accopted the hand of a man whom @Je could not love. This union was unfortunate, ore, to his great disappointment, did not find in 3epond wife the fervent affection, the almost blind ion, of the dead companion of his youth. Woizero Ornish W8S proud she always looked on her husband a 'parvenu,' and took no trouble to hide from him >» £ c want of regard and affection. In the afternoon, t ^e°dore, as it had been his former habit, tired and li ^y. would retire for rest in the queen's tent. But *°uod no warm welcome there. His wife's looks j^cold and full of pride; and she even went so far receive him without the common courtesy due to 'no* One day when be came in she pretended not perceive him, did not rise, and remained silent to his WH'6 in!luiries as to her health and welfare. She was ijo n £ her hand a bock of psalms, and when Theo- t asked her why she did not answer him, she calmly heM6^' w^out ^ftlng up her eyes from the book she Because I am conversing with a greater and e £ Difn than you, the pious King David. Theodore her to Magdala, together with her new-born son, nia?ou (' baveseen the world'} and took as his °Urite a widowed lady from Gedjow, named Woizero ^agno (a rather coarse, lascivious-looking person, the 0> .er of five children by her former husband), who soon R ,^ned such an ascendancy over his mind that he ivoucly proclaimed 4 that he had divorced and discarded JDL t^at should in future be consi- Ba» as i*30 I0066" II n'y a que le premier 3U1 cou^e* Soon Woizero Tamagno had numerous jjl 5 but E^e wa3 a women of tact. Far from com- L aJn8» 3he rather encouraged Theodore in hie de- ry» an(^ instead of being displeased she would receive him with a smile. One day she said to Sckle lord, who felt rather astonished at her for- LEfance> 'Why should I be jealous? I know you p{ me what is it if you stoop now and then to othuP 8omis flowery to beautify them by your breath ?' ?U(:eD8 an;i Alamayou accompanied the English ln maro^ back. Woizero Tamango left with 98 of gratitude for the kindness and attention she received at the bands of the English commander-in- 8oon as she could with safety return to her Gedjow. But poor Tourmish died at ^er freedom and liberty were not to be her lot. t'fiiij j Alamayou,«the son of Theodore and grand- °<!)ha has now reached the English shore, an D» an exile, but not uncared for.'

-AND EXPLOSION AT SouTirAMr-rnN.—On ntlor!;in»> at half past four, a very loud ex- ° Was ^e.arc^ at Southampton, which arose 4i, explosion of gunpowder, ball cartridges, a"d paraffin oil, from the back pre- rf\Vor° ftlie busiuess. Place of Mr Sfebbing, the 'oOejj the town, situated alnnost opposite the les- The mayor is an optician, nautical kf shi,?ent maker, and purveyor of various kinds the stores- 1,be back Premises were blown e.ssion almost to pieces, the adjoining b ^u8PS >Vere serio,,s]y injured, and the windows ln tll<i neighbourhood were broken. Fra^ the blown-uP building were thrown to aSt^n^es' Immediately after the explosion 5 •? Vf 1 ^re issue^ 'rom sPot> the dock eri- brought out, and measures taken to ^s^tes the fire. The promptitude of these it Prevented it from extending, and after a t'^°siot 8 subdued- rt was conjectured that the is iB5^c%u?ed by lightnirjg, The damage •lifM 'imated at £ 5,000, The premises were the Royal.

CAPTURE OF TWO DESPERADOES. A letter from Cuneo, in Piedmont, gives a long account of the capture of two criminals. It appears that for more than a year past two brothers, by name Guiseppe and Michele Enrici, had been the terror of the whole province. Besides misdeeds in Italy they had committed an atrocious crime in France, and fear of being given up to the justice of that country made them very wary, desperate, and formidable. The attempts to capture them had been numerous, but always unsuccessful they knew the country thoroughly, and the gendarmes were weary of pur- suing them. On the 13th of last month a corporal of gendarmes, named Giovanni Mainero, who com- manded the station of Chiusa, was returning from a long exploration, when he accidentally learnt that the two Enrici had gone towards Villanova di Mon dovi. He immediately ordered out two patrols to follow them one of these was composed of himself and two gendarmes, Petronelli and Sgro. It was about half-past ten at night when the three men arrived at the village of Branzolo. They were dis- guised, and went straight to the Cock Inn, at the door of which Petronelli stood sentry, while Mainero and Sgro entered the courtyard. There they came upon the hostess, and at once asked her iftheEnrice were in the house. Taken by surprise she stammeringly admitted the fact. Alarmed by the barking of the dogs, Michele Enrici shewed himself at the window. Mainero sprang upon him and dealt him two blows upon the head with the butt end of his revolver; 'What are you about, corporal?' cried the cunning brigand, I am the landlord.' Mainero, believing h:m, left him alone, but had scarcely turned his hack when the malefactor fired a pistol at him, fortunatety without effect. Then Sgro fired at Enrici, who fell to the ground, crying out that he was killed. Meanwhile a desperate struggle was going on inside the inn. Mainero and Sgro perceived II it, and hurried to the room where Guiseppe Enrici and the gendarme Petronelli were fighting fieicely. The latter, while on guard at the street door, had been assailed by Enrici, who fired two shots at, him, missing both times, and then began a conflict in which the gendarme might have had the worst of it had not Mainero and Sgro gone to his assistance, Thp. room was in totai darkness, several sho's had been fired, the terrified landlord, who had crept into a corner, had been unintentionally wounded, the gendarmes were in danger of wounding each other. At last Enrici was disabled and made prisoner, and the gendarmes went to se'cure his brother Michele, whom they believed to be badly wounded, and that astute ruffian had disappeared. Reinforcements were procured, and he was soon afterwards traced to a mill. Warned of the gendarmes' approach, he jumped out of a window about ten feet from the ground, and succeeded in reaching some rugged and precipitous crags, whence the gendarmes, if they ventured to follow him up, could easily be repelled merely by throwing stones down upon them. As he stood there, firm and menacing, one of the gendarmes levelled his carbine and shot him through the leg, so that he toppled down heailong from his perch, and died in a few minutes from loss of blood. His brother was taken to prison at Mondovi. — -<3>-— SENSIBLE AND HUMANE.— The Leamington magis. trates have refused tt) issue any order for muzzling dogs, the chairman having expressed his opinion that muzzling was the most effectual means of produciug the evil it was supposed to prevent. Sharing in the opinion of the magistracy, the local board ordered a number of iron troughs to be placed in different parts of the town, and supplied with water for the use of dogs. TERRIBLE DISASTERS BY FIRE -A, serious con- flagration has just occurred at Auerbach, in the Oberfaiz, Bavaria. More than 200 buildings, 100 of them being dwelling-houses, were consumed. Three met their deaths, and three others were severely injured. At Kup,penheim, near Rastadt, in Baden, 25 dwellings, with nearly everything they contained, have become the prey of the flames. The church was partially burnt, and the bells fell inside. One child was stifled, and a fireman lost his arm. The disaster is attributed to children playing with matci,es. A ROBBER CAPTURED BY A MAGISTRATE.— Wil- liam Avery, H2, was charged at t.he Woolwich police court last week with a highway robbery, with vio- lence. Mr Russell appeared for the prosecntion. Mrs Casselton, wife of a farmer aesiding at Bai-nes Cray Farm, Crayford, stated that she was walking; along a lane near her house, on her way to visit a sick person, when the prisoner darted out of a plantation and knocked her down. He took her purse from her and emptied it of its contents, except two sixpences, which he leturned. The prisoner then knocked her down a second time, and indecently assaulted her. She screamed out for assistance, and the prisoner hearing some one coming ran off. There was no one, however, near, and witness went to the house of Mr Stoneham, a magistrate, and told him what had occurred. Mr Stoneham at once sent out men to scour the neighbourhood, went in pursuit himself upon horseback, and was so fortunate as to capture the prisoner. There was no defence offered, and the prisoner was committed for trial. A WKLSH JURY.— At the Montgomery Quarter Sessions, held at Newton, last week, before Mr C. W. Wynne, M.P., and a bench of magistrates, a tailor, named John Walsh, was placed in the dock charged with stealing a milk can, the property of David Davies, residing at Meifod. The 'prisoner was undefended, and the jury, after hearing the evidence, handed in a verdict of gailiy, and Welsh was sentenced to three months' imprisonment, with hard labour. According to the local Express it has since transpired that, so far from finding the prisoner guilty, the jury were unanimous in the belief that he was innocent, and the foreman was charged with the delivery of a verdict accordingly, but that when be stood up to reply to the forma! question of the clerk of the court the unfortunate man lost his presence of mind and delivered a verdict of Guilty,' and the prisoner was consigned to gaol in the presence of the jury, who wpr" too frightened to interfere. THE PENSION TO SIR ROBERT NAPIER.—The amount of the pension to Sir Robert Napier ha. been criticised as being inadequate to sustain the dignity of a member of the House of Lords. There are, however, precedents for this »r>nt of £ 2,000 a year. A little sum was a war led to Lord Gough for bis servicesllat the battles of lYInodkee, Feroze- shah, and Sobraon and Lords i?a^!an and Scaton have now each a pension of £2,000 in considera- tion of the military services of their fathers. Lord rlardinge was awarded E3,000 to be continued to his two successors in the title. But in comparison with the pensions granted to those who have served the State out of the army, these sums do not shew to advantage. An ex Lord Chancellor gets £ 5,000 a retiring puisne judge £ 3,400, and nn ex Cabinet Minister, whether peer or commoner, £ 2,000. The abolished office of Auditor-General in Ireland has for years secured Lord Roden-a pension of £ 2,70Q. These pensions, however, are for life only.—Daily Neu&- VENTRILOQUISM IN COURT.-A somewhat curious episode occurred in the Bristol Sessions Court a .lay or two ago. Whilst the learned recorder was in the act of summing up in a serious case of high- way robbery, and when it was necessarv that his own mind and those of the jury should be free from distraction, a voice was heard singing with peculiar sweetness the song ot Home, sweet home," and with much distinctness that at first no doubt was t entertained that it emanated from some pewon in court. The members of the bar, the witnesses. the prisoners, and the spectators all looked about to see the charming singer, whilst the officials, with their customary zeal in the suppression of all extra- neous noises, shouted "Silence in court." The recorder himself delivered a few interlocutory re- marks, demanding that the police should "stop that noise." It was thought, after a few moments' examination, that the sounds misiht arise from some one in the adjoining yard. Mr Inspector Newton, without further ado, assumed the detective himself, but, strangely enough, no sooner had he gone into the yard than the melody ceased, and there was a hearty laugh, Ha, hn, ha This was repeated with such heartiness that all the court who were not impressed with the gravity of the occasion joined in the chorus, "Ha, ha, ha!" The inspec- tor returned into court, and the singing was re- sumed—the refrain this time being Not for Joe." Where does the noise come from ?" was the stern question officially put to the inspector. "From the prisoners below," was the reply; and forth- with Mr Wallis, the prison clerk, descended the steps to the cell, and inquired who it was that dared to sing. The character of the song, Home, sweet home," gave weight to the suggestion that it must have come from some one yearning for a return to domestic bliss, but the universal answer of the prisoners was, How can we sing in this strange place?" and their weepings and moanings confirmed their verbal denial of any infraction on their part of the prison discipline. Thus baulked, the officials gave up the search, and the whole the officials gave up the search, and the whole affair remained a mystery even at the rising of the court.— Western Daily Press. A CAUTION TO PRACTICAL JOKERS.—The follow- ing amusing story appeared in the Monitenr of Fri- day — A lugubrious practical joke was lately played at a hamlet called Yseron. ill a mountainous dis- trict near Lyons. In this hamlet there lived a harm- less idiot, of herculean sta'ure, who habitually did a good day's work in the fields, hut was a standing butt for village pleasantry, and was coriiiionly called the 'Innocent.' One day some young men told the Innocent' that a neighbour was dead, and that he would have to join with others in sitting up all night to watch the corpse. He made no objection, and was introduced into a cottage where a man simu- lating death was stretched on a bed. The outline of his face, seen through a sheet thrown over it, formed a ghastly spectacle, which, when once seen, is never forgotten. Two candles and some pots of incense weFe slaced at the head of the bed. The party sat round for some time in solemn silence, the idiot behaving with as much propriety as anyone else. Put one hy one the others slipped away, and the Innocent was left alone in the death chamber. The intention was that the corpse should jump up, walk about, and frighten him out of his poor stock of wits. The conspirators remained within a few yards of the cottage to watch the working of the plot. In less than a quarter of an hour they heard piercing screams, and holding their sides already with antici- pated laughter, they rushed to the cottage to mock their victim. But as they neared the door they found to their great surprise, that the howling voice was not that of the Innocent,' but of their comrade who had agreed to personate the dead man. When they entered, they found the Innocent' beating the corpse with a broken flail, and, but for timely succour, the part which he had undertaken to play in joke would have been sadly earnest. When he jumped up from his grave clothes, the Innocent,' instead of being frightened, said, colly, 'Dead man, lie still,' and proceeded to belabour him with a force which the joker was utterly incapable of resisting. BRUTAL MURDER IN IRELAND.—The Leinster Ex press gives the following particulars of a murder com- mitted on Sunday, the 5th instant, in the Queen's County. About ten o'clock on Sunday morning, a labouring man, named Philip Tierney. was seen by a woman to leave the house of a cousin of his, named Me dian, and euter the Lisduff Wood on the Erill side. Soon after this woman heard a shot fired in the direction taken by Tierney, and here her know- ledge ceases. Tierney, it seems, was a desperate poacher on the preserves of the Right Hon J. W. Fitzpafrick, M.P., and known as such to one of the keepers, named William Holmes, by whom he had been summoned several times before the magistrates -at least so it transpired before the coroner. Late in the day the friends of the deceased became anxious as to his whereabouts, and a search was in- stituted, when the body of Tierney was discovered on Monday morning, lifeless, stretched on a pathway leading through the wood and when examined it was found that two bullets, one larger than the other, were lodged in his brain, while a third bad pene- trated through his forehead. Suspicion at once pointed—whether correctly or not remains to be shown—to .the man Holmes and on search being made in his house a double-barrelled gun was found, one of the barrels of wKch appeared to have been recently discharged. There were also a couple of pistols found, neither of which seem to have been used for some time, along with some lead bullets of two different sizes. In addition to these facts, it was stated at the inquest that death must have been caused by a pistol placed close to the man's head, as evidenced by the large quantity of hair singed. If the shot was fired from a gan placed in such close proximity to the man, the three bullets must have gone thrugh the head altogether. The verdict re- turned at the inquest was, That the deceased, Philip Tierney, came to his death between the morning of the 5tli and 6th instant, from wounds inflicted on his head by bullets fired by some person or persons unknown.' Much excitement was exhibited during the inquest, and the people assumed so^ threatening a manner towards Holmes that it was deemed neces- sary to bring him to Maryborough to prevent his life being endangered. Lp to the present no clue has been found that conld lead to the arrest of any per- son. Deceased was preparing to start for America in a short time. It also appears that the gun which seemed to.have been used was fired by a man early in the morning of Sunday. The Right Hon. J. W. Fitzpatnck, M.P, has offered £ 100 reward for any person or persons who shaH give such information as will lead to the arrest and conviction of the mur- derer. BREAKFAST.—EPPS'S COCOA. -The very agreeable character of this preparation has rendered it a genel a favourite. Invigorating and sustaining, with a refined and grateful flavour developed by the special mode of preparation applied, this Cocoa is used as the habitual beverage for breakfast by thousand who never before used Cocoa. Cocoa stands very much higher than coffee or tea,' Dr. Hassall says, and 'contains every ingre- dient neceesary to the growth and sustenance of the body. It is made simply by pourirrg boiling water or milk on the preparation as sold, ia ^lb., lib., and lib. packets.