Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
14 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
LITERARY EXTRACTS. -
LITERARY EXTRACTS. CHARTERED COMPANIES. — Civilisation is only another name for gold lust and illegitimate conquest pad oppression. This is an argument that would have left all the fairest regions of earth to the greatest savages. Earth was full of f- dark jflacee*" which have gradually become more endurable to her people because the strtmger has gone ïøaccording to the divine ordering of these things snd brought the light of knowledge. Will it be con- tended for one moment, save by the criminally ignorant and wilful, that the horrors monthly and yearly perpetrated by negro tribes in their wars and sacrifices and massacres are not 10 times more dread- ful than anything done, for instance, of late in the feuds between Turks and Armenians ? The men who desire to stop the orgies of cruelty in Asia Minor cannot be deaf to the miseries of the slave gang and human sacrifices of Africa. If y0u throw into the scale against African organisation in the lustof gold, and all the swindling and petty gCandal trumped up against British and European jnanagement in Africa,you will ever find that tlisse fcick the beam when weighed against the abomina- tion that the abominable "go as you please" policy of "no responsibility" would 0' condemn you to help by your inaction! You may sneer at the missionary who usually begins these advances into the savagery of ages. You may harp Opon your neighbour getting more money than you think he should have in comparison with yourself, when he is forcing his way in to trade with the Astives. You may dislike the work under whatever name you give it, of "filibustering, land grabbing," or what not, but you must make up your mind to go along with the work and make the best of it, for it is ordered by a stronger will than one occupied with the petty scandals and jealousies and cowardice of the press paragraphist. The weightier matters of the Jaw ot nature are obeyed in the long run, despit t he gnarls of the lazy reviiers of those who act. The juiseries of the savage have been none the less because there has been no special correspondent to describe theiti. We know now by the help of our soldiers and explorers what they were and are, wherever the hand of the European is not strong enough to prevent the Arabs or black tyrants making hell upon earth. ■Jo those who do not care whether cruelties are alle- viated orwhether they continue, the fact of the use to the State of such a mode of inquiry into value will appeal. By encouraging a company to spend its money, the State not only gets some control over the adven- ture, but is able soon to judge if the work be worth. continuing. If the results are good, they can be praot'cally made the property of the State, or of tho gtates colony. If the value be little, the company can be left to it own devices, and its work be ignored. he chartering of one of the reforming influences has given us an opportunity of seeing that when a wrong fias been done to a neighbouring white man's state, it can be repaired by the fact that a charter existed and a mode of supervision provided. This is not the time, when an inquiry is being held, to speak of any alleged fault. Mistakes will occur in the best re- gulated family." That fact gives no cause to con- demn the institution of the family !—The Marquis 4f Lome in the Xinelecnth Cfiitur: AFRICAN MISSIONARIES.—In A Nature/list in JIid. Africa Mr. G. F. Scott Elliott, M.A., thus writes of the African missionaries I have known missionaries of every denomination, and of every shade of character and utility. Many would probably be of more use in teaching Sunday-schools in England, and some arc go dangerous and turbulent that they ought to be Eromptly removed. On the other hand, I should not be alive were it not for the kindness of missionaries and of thl;1 good that is done by those who are of the right temper and Sirit it is impossible to speak too highly. ie Roman Catholics, were it not for their disin- genuous political methods, always perform a valuable work. They have no interests outside it; they under- stand that manual, mental, and spiritual training go together; they have perfectorganisation and discipline; and, what is more important, they really love their flock, and strive to be their real friends in every possible way. On the other hand, the best type of Protestant missionary is incal- culaby superior, because a really good man has free play for his individuality; while the inferior type is utterly useless, if not positively dangerous. The ordinary mission boy (as a layman understands him) is an unmitigated scoundrel. This, tipvfaver, ()nO must expect, as no mission gets rid of any boy that affords the least promise. Moreover one must not expect so much from the Christiaf native in Africa as people habitually do. A boy wh<i is usually not removed by a single generation from savagery cannot be expected to show the truthfulness honesty, unselfishness, and purity which, as we know-, always invariably characterise European youths wh<i have been brought up in Christian teaching, an represent in their instincts about 20 centuries of hereditary civilisation. No liumanbeipg can estimate Or criticise the spiritual work that is carried on in an mission. The mental and manual work issoobviou 'I good that no sane person can have anything but praise to give. THEATRICAL STORIES.—Professor Anderson, th Wizard of the North, used to give one of his audience a rifle, some powder, and a marked bullet. Thq marksman was then requested to load and prepare t lite. Thereupon the Professor walked to the end oi the stage and invited the rifleman to shoot him Then, after the marksman had fired, he used to produce the marked bullet, insisting that he hacj caught it on a plate. On one occasion a friend of mine, who was an admirable amateur conjurer, offered himself as an assistant. He took the gun and the ammunition, and duly loaded. It was the custom of the Professor to give the bullet a final tap with hia wand to see 'hat it was rammed down properly, and this final tap, I have been told, extracted the bullet This my friend knew, and when the Professor offered his assistance it was politely declined. Anderson dia not insist, but coolly walked to the end of the stage, and called out, Now, sir, take a good aim at me, ana fire My friend hesitated, as he was well aware that the gun he was holding was really loaded! "Fire, sir, fire!" cried the Professor. My frienq lowered the weapon, and, saying he could not let it off, returned it to Anderson, who immediately, unde pretence of seeing whether it had been properl loaded, extracted the bullet. Then he gave the gun to someone else. But before the rifle was fired, he thus addressed the audience Ladies and gentler men, the person who has just resumed his seat knew my trick, and foiled it. If he had fired, this, pro- bably, would have been my last appearance before you But he hadn't sufficient nerve to shoot me." When it dawned upon the house that Anderson had risked his life rather than confess himself beaten, the applause was deafening. In my comedy of "L. S. D." at the London Royalty, Mr. Garthorne, who played a leading part, had to appear at a ball in the second act to read an important letter. At rehearsal the words of this letter had been omitted, as it was understood they would be written out." I was standing at the wings, when, to my horror, Mr. Garthorne said to me in an agonised undertone, as the scene was proceeding. I haven't got my letter." I hunted for and found the epistle, but then who was there to convey it to the actor ? I could see no one. There was no time to lose, so I took the bull by the horns, and carried on the letter myself. Mr. Garthorne, who was for a moment alone on the stage, was extremely surprised to see me. I grasped him by the hand, and giving him the letter, •aid: My dear fellow, forgive the liberty of an old friend You dropped this out of your pocket. And now, pardon my departure—my bride awaits me and I hurried off. I admit that my solitary and momentary appearance from an artistic point ot view, w&s indefensible, as I created A T lnterest (never to be satisfied) as who I was and what on earth I and my bride bad to do with the plot; but I fancy I saved the comedy.-Grcen Room llecollcctions by Arthur W. a Beckett. THE passion for notoriety at all costs, which nowa- days afllicts the most completely insignificant people, compels them to seek the recognition they are other- wise incapable of securing through the medium of pro- miscuous and well-advertised entertainment. Reck- less of the essential difference between themselves and persons of distinction, whose lives are legitimate public interest, they endeavour to force themselves into prominence by converting their dwellings into public show-rooms, and inviting all and sundry to 3ome in, that the house may be full, and it pro- prietors "artistic rooms" and delightful old-world garden may procure him the notice which he could hope in no other way to achieve- World. NEARLY the whole of the City of Yemen, Texas, has been buried by sand-storms. The sand was swept in from the desert, and literally covered up the DrosDerous city. 1
PARISH COUNCILS. !
PARISH COUNCILS. The following queries, with their valuable editoiial repjies, taken from the columns of our authoritative j contemporary, the Councils Gazette, will be found, interesting and useful: Holding of Parish Meeting.—My (ecclesiastical) parish contains three civil parishes, on of which (" Vicar" writes) is so small that it has no Parish Council. This small (civil) parish contains no school- room or other public building of any kind, nor does it possess a public-house. Accordingly, last year the Parish Meeting was held in a room of a private house. This year, however, owing to a number of ownership and other voters having been added at the last revi- sion of the Voters' Lists, the Chairman of the Parish Meeting is afraid this room will not be large enough for the purpose and he yesterday asked me for permission to hold the meeting in the as school-room of another of the civil parishes in my ecclesiastical parish. I told him that, in my opinion, ¡ a Parish Meeting must be held within the civil parish of which it is the meeting, but as I could not be sure, I I promised to write to you on his behalf. Answer: In our opinion it is not necessary that a Parish Meeting should be held in the parish of which it is the meeting. Whether the Parish Meeting could claim a right to use a school-room or other public building outside their own parish is quite another matter, on which we express no opinion. Proceedings at the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council.—In our parish (says "X.Y.Z.") two assistant overseers had been elected, one be in* a rate collector and the other a clerk to the Parish Council. Are they to be re-elected at the Annual Meeting next April, or would the proper way be to call attention by one of the Councillors, and give a month's 43otice as to their dismissal? Our parish is divided into three wards. At the meetings held on March 9 for electing Parish Councillors no minutes were read. Shall we read and confirm the minutes of all the meetings in the three wards and those of the previous Parish Meeting at the annual Parish Meeting? Answer: (1) The question whether any fresh appointment is nectary depends upon the terms of the original appoint- ment. As to an Assistant Overseer, we think that an appointment in general terms, without speci- fying any period for which th9 appointment was to last, would be construed as having effect until the appointment was revoked. At to the Clerk of the Parish Council, the matter is not so clear, and we think it would be best to have a new appoint- ment, either specifying the precise period for which the appointment was made, or saying that it was to hold good unless revoked, or until the clerk ceased to be assistant overseer. In order to carry this into effect, the existing appointment should be revoked. (2) Yes, if that will be the first Parish Meeting held after the previous meetings. Lighting Act.—Cost of Collecting Lighting Rate.- The Lighting Act was adopted many years ago in this Parish (says Beta") for the whole parish, and the lighting inspectors paid the assistant overseer (who i. appointed by Guardians), a certain sum per year for collecting the same, and on his death, and my appointment to the office, I was offered the same remuneration, which I accepted, and have collected it some six years now. (1) Do I become the officer of the Parish Council, who took over the duties and liabilities of the inspectors, and, while performing the same duties, shall not receive less remuneration. Local Government Act, 1894, Section 81. (2) If so, does this require a specific resolution to pay me, and should the amount be included in the lighting accounts of the Council ? (3) Should all books used in the collection of this rate be paid by the overseers before handing over the amount of the precept to the Council ? (4) At the annual meeting fixing the amount to be expended for the ensuing 12 months, under this Act, a certain sum was named, but the Council, having taken over the liabilities of the late inspectors, find them more than estimated, and though they have themselves spent less, the amount, including the liabilities, comes to more by a few pounds than the sum fixed. In this case, what do you advise? To include all accounts, and pay them, if the treasurer will allow the Council to overdraw if so, would this be allowed by the auditor; or, leave the amount outstanding over and above the sum fixed, to be included in the next financial year, if the creditors will allow it ? Answer: (1) and (2). As far as we can see, the inspectors had not, before 1894, nor have the Parish Council now, any power to give you any special remuneration out of the Lighting Bate, for collecting that rate, where the lighting area extends over the whole parish. Before the Parish Council can pass any resolution for giving you such extra remuneration, they must be able to point to some section giving them power to do so, and we cannot find any such section. In our opinion, an auditor ought to, and probably would, disallow any such payment. The proper course is to make some addition to your inclusive salary as assistant-overseer. The charge would then fall ultimately upon the Poor Rate, and not upon the Lighting Rate. (3) Yes. (4) There has been an irregularity befe, which we see no means of correcting. Neither the inspectors nor the Parish Council could legally exceed the limit fixed at the meeting. Having illegally done so, the members of the Parish Council may be personally liable, but we do not see how they can raise the extra expenditure out of the rates. An over-draft is equivalent to borrowing from the trea- surer, and is clearly illegal, and no manipulation of the accounts ought to be permitted so as to show an 0 apparent compliance with the Acts, when, in fact, they have plainly been transgressed. The proper way out of the difficulty would be to raise the excess of expenditure above the limit fixed at the meeting, by public voluntary subscriptions. Holding of P.C. Meetings.—Repair of Public Road. —(1) After election of new Parish Council on March 9, 'have (asks Clerk of Parish Council") the old Parish Council power to hold meetings and act until April 15—the time they are out of office, and the new councillors come to office ? (2) Is the Dis- trict Council legally bound to repair every public road in their district, whether it was or was not repaired before by the town- ships ? (3) Is the District Council bound to repair bridges on footpaths when such footpaths are open to the public? If not, who is responsible ? (4) Have a Parish Council power to make new road from one parish to another parish, or is this power confined to the District Council ? Answer (1) Yes. (2) The Rural District Council, as the new High- way Authority, who are bound to repair any highway which was not repairable by the old Highway Authority. Of course, if the old Highway Authority neglected their duties, the high- ways which they ought to have repaired (but did not) were still repairable by the Highway Authority, although not in fact repaired. (3) rrirna facie, bridges are repairable by the County Authority, and not by the Highway Authority (though they may in some cases be repairable by some private individual). But every so-called bridge" cannot be said to attain the dignity of a county bridge. It has been held that two planks and a hand-rail," or a mere culvert over which a footpath passes, does not constitute a county bridge." In such a case the bridge may be regarded as part of the footpath, and repairable by the same authority as the footpath. (4) The Parish Council have no such power and the District Council have only power to pay a portion of the expenses of making new roads. The Management of Parish Highways.-An in- fluential meeting of the members of the various Parish Council in the Bolton U, nion was held in the Central Hall, Bolton, recently, to consider the ques- tion of securing some amendment to the Local Government Act, 1894. There was a large at tend- ance of representatives, and Mr. W. Poole was elected to preside over the proceedings. It was explained that nearly 12 months ago a depu- tation representing the Parish Councils in the Bolton Union had an interview with Lord Stanley, M.P., on which occasion it was urged that more local control should be granted to these newly-consti- tuted authorities, particularly in regard to the management of the highways and main roads. At that interview the hon. member pointed out that as the measure was a new one they should give. it a 12 months' trial, and then, failing any improvement, take steps to secure the necessary amendments through Parliament, he, along with Mr. Walter Long, M.P., promising to do all they could to I support by their efforts the views then expressed. At the last meeting all the speakers except one expressed themselves strongly in regard to the apparently power- less position the Parish Councillors were inasto doing any real or tangible good for their constituents. It was urged that the measure was not hins but a farce, and that the condition of the roads generally was worse under the new arrangement than was the case when the parishes had the control of them through their local surveyors. Several speakers argued that the first thing they should aim at was the recovery of the right to manage their own roads. Ultimately it was re- solved that a strong committee be formed to deal with the matter, it being understood that the Parish Councils constituted by the pending elections shall elect two representatives each (accompanied by the clerk) to this Consultative Council. It was also agreed that the various unions in the country be in- vited to co-operate in securing some much-needed amendments to the Act. This was carried unani- mously.
EGYPT AND THE SOUDAN.
EGYPT AND THE SOUDAN. 100,000 VOTED.—SlIiDAR KITCHENER AT ASSUAN. The Sultan having demanded an explanation regard- I ing the Dongola expedition the Egyptian Govern- Ily ment have replied that, in accord with England, their intention is to recover valuable territory tem- porarily lost by revolt. The Commissioners of the Debt held a meeting in Cairo on March 26 to consider the request of the Egyptian Govern- ment for an advance of half a million from the re- serve fund for the purposes of the expedition. The French and Russian members demanded a delay, on the ground that the European Powers are still discussing the question. They denied the com- petency of the Commission to decide such a matter, and declared that any decision taken in their absence would be illegal. They then withdrew, and the other members of the Commission voted in favour of the grant. A citation to appear before the Mixed Tribunals was shortly afterwards served on the Commissioners, with a protest from alleged creditors against the disposal of any part of the re- serve fund. A similar citation and protest have been served on the Egyptian Government. Sir H. Kitchener, with his staff, the North Staffordshire Regiment, nine Egyptian battalions, and a Maxim battery, reached Assuan on the evening of M&rch 26.
KECRIMINATION IN ST. GEORGE'S.
KECRIMINATION IN ST. GEORGE'S. EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT CONCLUDED. At the trial on March 26 of the recriminatory charges against the petitioner, in the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court, the evidence in support of the charges was concluded. At the suggestion of Mr. Willis, Mr. Jelf then indicated the cases on which he should reply. Mr. Baron PoIJoek intimated that they would Tlet trouble Mr. Willis in regard to the charges of treating and undue influence. Re- butting evidence was proceeding on behalf of the petitioner when the Court adjourned.
IMPORTANT TRADE MARK JUDGMENT.
IMPORTANT TRADE MARK JUDGMENT. In the House of Lords, on March 26, judg ment was given in the case of Reddaway v Banham and others, involving the right of de fendants to sell machine belting bearing the words "Camel Hair Belting," which it was con tended was the trade-mark of appellants. At Man Chester, where the original trial was heard, the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, but this finding was reveised on appeal. On Thursday their lordships in giving judgment for the plaintiff with costs. observed that the fact that camel hair was included in the ingredients used by defendants, was immate- rial. The evidence clearly showed that in marking their goods with the words Cainel Hair Belting,' defendants desired to pass their goods off as those of another firm, and so deceive the public.
STATUE OF THE QUEEN.
STATUE OF THE QUEEN. At a meeting of the City of London Court of Com- mon Council on March 26, at which the LordMayoi presided, the Town Clerk read a letter from Sit A. Seale Haslam, late Mayor of Derby, ofTwing to the Corporation, for his fellow-citizens of London, a bronze statue of her Majesty the Queen, by the late Mr. C. B. Birch, A.R.A., provided a suitable site; in the City could be found for it. The site he himself most favoured was that in front of the Royal Ex- change. The statue was 9ft. high, and the grani'e pedestal was also 9ft. high and 6ft. 4in. square. It was said to be the finest statue of the Queen yet exe- cuted. The gift was accepted with gratitude, and the letter was referred to the City Lands and Greshara Commissioners to consider the question of the Bite.
THE COLONIES AND THE DECEASED…
THE COLONIES AND THE DECEASED WIFE'S SISTER. The Agents-General for the Australian and Seuth African colonies, with the acting High Commissioner for Canada, met on March 2G at the office of Sir Saul Samuel (New South Wales) for the purpose of con- sidering instructions received from the colonial Government with reference to the marriage with a deceased wife's sister question. It was resolved to approach Mr. Chamberlain with the request that the Government might promote legislation to recognise in England marriages with a deceased wife's sister which had been legally performed in the colonies. The Agents-General afterwards had a long conference with Mr. Chamberlain at the Colonial Office.
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MR. JAMES DRYDEN HOSKEN, the "postman poet," who has just issued a little volume of plays entitled Christopher Marlowe and Belphegor," was born at Helston in Cornwall. Practically self-educated, he came to London and became an outdoor officer at the Customs. It was while he was in this capacity that his first little book, published in Penzance in 1891, attracted the attention of Mr. Leslie Stephen. Phaon and Sappho pleased him and other well- known critics, such as "Q," and "A Monk's Love" increased Mr. Hosken's reputation. But Mr. Hosken's health was weak, and he changed bis vocation for that of a rural postman But the daily rounds exhausted him, and a new position was found for him as a night sorter at the 11 General Post-office. Health failing again, he returned to the country but at last a congenial occupation was secured for him tt the South Kensington Museum. He has written lyrics and narrative poems, but his favourite form is the classical drama of the Elizabethans, and n this, though hie character- drawing is weak, he has achieved a high degree of luccess.
,J. SCIENCE NOTES. -
J. SCIENCE NOTES. A TELEGRAM from Edison isceived by Lord Kelvin announces that a better fluorescing material than platino-cyanide of borium, for use with the Rontgen rays, is tungstate of calcium. This yet remains to be tested. In the meantime, it is interesting to note what real progress has been made in the application of the new photography" to surgical purposes. With improved tubes, rapid plates, and increased knowledge of the requisite conditions, it has been possible to obtain accurate photographs of all the joints of the human body and even of the bones in the thickest parts. The medical papers are full of interesting cases we hear of more than one con- sulting-room specially fitted up for the purpose and beside us, as we write, lies the last new achievement, a splendid photograph of the lower half of a skull showing the attachment and continuation of the vertebras. ON the Continent several attempts are being made to produce Rontgen rays without a Crookes tube. We do not include M. Le Bon's lumicre noire," which is emitted by a paraffin lamp, because what- ever it is, if it be anything, it is not the same as Rontgen's rays. M. Troost, however, has announced to the Academie des Sciences a discovery which is interesting, if true. He claims that Rontgen rays are emitted by hexagonal artificial blende (zinc sulphur), which is a substance phosphorescent in ordinary sun- light. After excitation by means of burning magne- sium wire, the rays are said to have penetrated a black envelope and produced good images on a sensitive plate. Apropos the blue-blood corpuscle," supposed to have been discovered by a Philadelphia phjsician, Dr. Lauder Brunton writes to suggest an origin for the phrase blue-blood, or sang re a-iil, which is supposed to have come from Spain. Before the Moorish invasion the rulers in Spain were all of Gothic race, fair-haired, fair-skinned, and with the veins showing blue on temples and hands as they never do in the olive-skinned races. He notes that in one of his famous pictures at Seville, Murillo has painted the Madonna with dark skin like the women of his country, whilst he has given to the Christ the fair complexion of a Northern child. A GERMAN chemical journal commends the use of paraflin as the best method of making porous corks gas-tight and water-tight. Allow the corks to remain for about five minutes beneath the surface of melted paraffin in a suitable vessel, the corks being held down either by a perforated lid, wire screen, or similar device. Corks thus prepared, the writer says, can be easily cut and bored, have a perfectly smooth ex- terior, may be introduced and removed from the neck of a flask with ease, and make a perfect seal. A LEADING medical journal recently advised the profession to take up the cure of personal blemishes, instead of leaving them any longer in the hands of quacks. To take one branch only of the science of beautification, the ordinary depilatories are mostly made of quicklime, soda, and a combination of sulphur and arsenic, which is applied as a paste, and washed off when dry. This concoction acts as a desiccator, and dissolves the hair shaft, but it is an irritant at the same time, and will cause a scar if left. The Jews in the East use a mixture of orpiment and slaked lime as a cure for stubbly beards. The effects of this chemical shave last for a week or two, and are enviable but risky. Occasionally chromic ointment or other caustics are applied to the hair bulb with a needle, and are generally followed by severe inflammation. The safest and most satis- factory method of removing hairs, upon the whole, and in judicious hands is electrolysis. The process is slow, not more than 30 hairs being extracted at a sitting, and it leaves email red marks, which, however, are not permanent. The electrolytic action appears to destroy the papilla whence the hair springs by de- composing the products formed in it, which it ii thought are probably caustic alkalies. HERR BERSON, of the Berlin Meteorological Ofilce, who has made many ascents in free and captive balloons, condemns Andree's project as foolhardy, and predicts that it will end in disaster. He thinks, however, that captive balloons are not utilised as they might be in Arctic expeditions, and regrets that Nansen did not take one with him as he intended. According to Herr Berson, the temperature rapidly falls at great heights, and, moreover, the velocity of the wind is often very high there. M. MOISSAN is one-of the most distingnisl ed French chemists, and his opinion on the opium question is worth something. He has made a careful analysis of the opium smoked in China, and finds that it is not crude opium, but a preparation called Chandu, which, when heated to about 250deg. Centigrade, yields a smoke consisting of volatile perfumes and a small quantity of morphine, which does not appear to produce more ill effects than smoking tobacco. The commercial quality of opium is, however, very different in its effects. The residues of opium smoking are usually sold as dross, and when heated to 300deg. or 325deg. Centigrade give uff toxic com- pounds. CAPTAIN BALFOUR, of H.M.S. Penguin, has taken the deepest soundings on record just east of the Kermadec Islands, in the Pacific (lat. oOdee. 28min. south, and longitude 176'39 west). The cast was one of several taken in wliat appears co be a depression, and the depth was 5155 fathoms, or 30,¡;}U feet. The bottom was red clay, consisting of fine matter mixed with pumice, green crystals of angite, and red crystals of pelagonite. The Kermadec Islands are 000 miles north-east of Auckland, N.Z. IN Himmel und Erde," Dr. Carl Miiller gives statistics of the destruction of trees by lightning in Germany from 1879 to 1890, by which it appears that 56 oaks, 20 or 21 firs, three or four pines were struck, but no beeches. Yet the proportions of the Various trees in the German forests are 70 per cent. of beeches, 11 of oaks, 13 of pines, and six of firs. Beeches would seem to be practically immune" from lightning stroke, and therefore a comparatively safe tree to take shelter beneath. Trees standing in wet ground are more liable to the stroke than if they grow in dry soil. Trees rich in fatty matter and resin during summer are less likely to be struck than trees poor in oils. Wood pines, though rich in fat during winter, are poorer in oils during summer. Living wood is a worse conductor than dead wood, hence trees with dead limbs are more likely to be struck than sound trees. THE planet Venus has long been thought to turn on her axis once in 23 £ hours or thereabout, but lately Schiaparelli maintained that her period of rotation must be 224 days, that is to say, about the period of her revolution round the sun. The moon, we know, revolves round the earth in the same time as she turns round her axis, hence she always presents the same face to us. Astronomers found it hard to believe that Venus, a planet so like the earth, could have so different a period of rotation. M. Perrotin, the director of the new observatory on the top of Mount Mounier, near Nice, has, however, made some excellent observations, which tend to confirm Schiaparelli's view. He finds that the period of rotation certainly lies between 195 and 224 days. M. BERTOT has given the following method of taking impressions of plants. A sheet of paper is lightly oiled on one side and folded in four. The plant to be impressed is placed in the second fold and pressed so as to receive a slight coating of the oil. It is then placed between two clean sheets of white paper and pressed so as to leave oily impres- sions of its surfaces on the sheets. -Ibese impres- sions are then dusted with fine black lead, which adheres to the oil, or with coloured pigments to imitate the colour of the plant. A little resin can be mixed with the pigments to fix the colours by exposing the print to heat.
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PRINCE CHARLES OF DENMARK, the Princess elands betrothed, is described by a close observer as a tall, handsome looking man. His appearance id wt military, but rather that of a cultured gentleman- whose interests lie in the civil walks of life. He has not the typical Danish complexion, but dark hair and eyes." He is further described is a most domesti- cated-looking young man. TIIB Great Western is the oldest English railway company, having been so called in 1835; the South- Eastern was so known in 1836; the London and South-Western received its present name in 1839; the Midland in 1844; the Brighton, Great Northern, and London and North-Western in 1846. This does not give the dates when the railways were made, b"t merelv when thev took their uresent names.
AMERICAN HUMOUR. -
AMERICAN HUMOUR. HAVE you what t^ey call a cuckoo-clock," h.8 asked, as he entered a jewellery store. "Yes, sir," was the reply. Yes, >» have the finestcuckoo-clocks in town. That is one erer there." What does it do ?" queried the man. "I will show you. Now t L,-n, when it, strikes, the cuckoo will call out. Hear that ?' "That is a cuckoo, is it?" Yes, sir." "Just goes 'Ooh-hoo! Ooh-hoo! That's it, sir." "But what is the object?" "Object! Why you get the tones of the cuckoo instead of the sounds of a bell. Hear that!" Yes, it goes Ooh-hoo! Ooh-hoo That's the way a live cuckoo goes, is it?" Of course, I guarantee it to be a perfect imitation. How do YOU Jiko it?" "Don't get mad," said the customer, as he looked at the clock in a puzzled wav, but I really can't understand this thiDg, Thisis *a cuckoo-clocii ?" Yes, sir." When it strikes, the cuckoo calls out Ooh-lioo! Ooh-hoo!' "Yes." "And that's all ?" That's all, of course. What do you expect of a cuckoo-clock ?" "Diinno, but my wife has called me a cuckoo so often that I thought it amounted to more than this. No, I guess I won't take one." Half an hour later the man returned with a smile on his face to say I made a mistake about that clock." li How so?" I said my wife was always calling me a cuckoo when things didn't go right at home. I got it wrong. It's a lulu she calls me, and if you have a lulu-clock perhaps we can make a dicker." THERE were five of us who got to the crofsiDg of Raw river at the same time, and we found the old scow which did duty at a ferry boat on the far side, with the ferryman dangling his baie feet in t he water and evidently taking things easy. Say, you!" called a cowboy from our side. Wall, what is it?" "We want to cross over." Yes, guess ye do." Come on with the scow." "I don't have to till I git re&dy!" When will you get ready ?" Can't tell." It was evident that we had bumped up against an eccentric character, and as no one was in a hurry we waited patiently for him to take his time. After fifteen or twenty minutes he called: Mebbe ye hain't heard the news!' i, What is it ?" asked the cowboy, who had been delegated to do the talking on our side. The price fur gittin' over used to be a quarter, but it has riz." What is it now?" Half a dollar." And I've news for you Wall The price of cartridges used to be 50 cents a box, but they've come down to a quarter and I kin afford to waste a dozen or so Shootin' at what ?" At you! I'll give you five minutes to make a start:" c, Kin you plunk that?" asked the ferryman ns he held up his hat on a stick. You bet!" replied the cowboy af he sent two bullets through it. Th,t's 'nuff, and I'll come over! This is my bluffin' day and I hate to crawfish, but if I must I must. That's the trub".»le out in this ktntry. You bluff an Injun and lick a Chinyman and sit all swelled up over it, and then along comes a critter who shoots t-vc-handed and makes you eat grafs. Mighty pecooliar how the price of catridges fell down jest as my price riz up, hain't it!" I wAs toiling along the mountain trail with a knnp- sack on my back when overtaken by a man on a mule. He asked where I was going, and when I replied that I had been directed to stop for the nigfat at Hopkins' cabin he said I am jest gwine up to Tom's placo myself, and we'll jog along together. I hev to see Tom about his taxes." How are taxes assessed up here in the mountains I asked after a while. "Oh, kinder so-so." Nothing more was said until we reached the cabin. Mr. Hopkins was cutting fire- wood in the back yard, and he came around and welcomed us and queried of the man with me: Wall, Sam, what brings you up this way ?" Cum to see about yo'r taxes, Tom.' Shoo How ar' taxes thisy'ar? "Wall, Tom, taxes is up a leetle. I'm sorry to say." "How much up?" Yo' dun paid seven dollars last ya'r, I believe ?" 'Bout seven. And they've riz up to about nine this y'ar." Shoo Sam Davis, who riz up them taxes on me?" The State D'od, I reckon." And whar mought the State B'od be at?" Nashville, I take it." Shoo Jest wait a minit." He entered the house for a moment and then reappeared with a long-barrelled rifle and dropped the butt on the ground as he said: "Sam, I ain't gwine to stand no riz up in taxes! Thar's no call fur it. I've got them seven dollars right yere in the house, but I dun doan' pay no mo'. What yo' gwine te do about it?" Won't yo' pay no mo'?" "Not a blamed cent t" And yo' doan' keer 'bout the State B'od ?" "Not a bit!" "And yo'll shoot befo' yo' pay any mo'?" "Sure to!" "Wall, then, I reckon I'll take along them seven dollars and call it sqtiae, and if the State Bo'd doan' like it they kin cum artcr the rest. How's Pete Small on taxes this y'ar?"' "Pete won't pay a cent." "And ole man Harper?" H In i's waitin' fur yo'with a gun!" "I see. Wall, I won't bother 'em, I reckon. Biing out them seven dollars, Tom, and take a receipt, and if you hev any cja- juice handy I might be coaxed to wet up the roof of my mouth ?" I WAS sitting with the "sheriff in front of the town courthouse when he suddenly stood up, shaded his eyes with his hand, and looked across the street, and then called out I Heab, yo'! Is that yo', Jim ?" A coloured man, about 50 years old, who was slouching along the other side, came across the street and replied les MarsRenfog, dis am me." "And what ar' yo' doirg heah?" Ize jist walkin' out, sah. I dun though I'd drap down and see my darter." How did you get out ?"' Jist made a [hole threw de back wall, sah." or Look-a-heah, Jim," said the sheriff as lie sat down and picked up a stick to whittle on, "I nin't gwine to stand this fussin' no mo'. This is nigh seven times you's broke out 0 pd. Yes, sah nigh 'bo'it geben times, sah, but don't be hard on me." "You'; got out by the doah, the windows, the floor, the ceiling and the walls, and yc us put me to trouble and the county to expense. Now yo' can't go back th:*r no mo' Please, sah No, sah, yo' can't do it I've given yo' a fair show and yo' can't expect no mo'. Yo' can jest take yourself off." But. \iurs Renfog, I'ze dun bin pot in jail on a hog case an I'ze got to stay dar till the cotehouse meets!" pro- tested the man. I know you were arrested and examined and bound over, nnd all that, but I'm t rred of the fussing. I ain't going to stand by and let nobody damage the jail. You's got out and come back, and now I won't abide it no 11;0' I Jist take yo'self right off and don't come back to my jail again unless you want to be hard used. If .1 find yo' breakin' in I'll shoot yo' shores yo'r bo'n! "Won't yo' try me jist once mo:?" pleaded the prisoner. No, sah I've drawed the line and now you's got to go and take keer of yo'felf. I'm t ell in yo' to scatter befo' I make yo' turn in and stop up that last hole in the wall!" The man" scattcred in a discouraged, dejected way, and as he was to sight down the street the sheriff growled: ó, D;¡:, a feller who don't know when he's being used 1 :1 bo'n gentleman.1a MAXIMA," said the little thing as she looked r to the three happy-looking little ones on the with their mother, I haven't clothes like have I?" No, dear." "And I ain't purty like them ?" No, darling, but you have a first-class ciise of whooping-cough, with measles on top of it, and you can hold up your head with the best of 'em in this town A YOUNG husband finding that his; pretty but extra- vagant wife was considerably exceeding their income, brought her home one evening a neat little acc book, finely bound, and looking very attractive. This he presented to her, together with 100 dollars. "Now, my dear," he said, I want you to put do.vn what I give you on this side, and on the other down the way it goes, and in a fortnight I will give you anoiher supply. A couple of weeks later he asked for the book. Oh, I have kept the account all right," said his wife, producing the little leather volume: see, here it is," and on one page was inscribed: "Received from Algy, 100 dollars," and on the one opposite, the comprehensive little sum- mary: "Spent it all." WILLIE: "I know sister would be glad to go skating with you." Ringway: What makes you think so ?" "She says she has been dying all wiuier to have you break the ice." "DAD. what's a running account?" "It's an open account with a dry goods store, my son, which keeps your mother running down-town all tho time to buy something." ARDENT LOVER If you could see my heart, Belinda, you would know how fondlv- 11 Up-to- date Girl (producing camera): "I intend to see it Hiram. Sit still, nlease THERE was oncea professor who, being asked WHAT he knew upon a certain subject, replied, Nothing I have not even lectured on it." DR. PILLS: "Who was the most suceessful of all the gills who were studying medicine with you ?'' D:, Squdls "IiEs Ketchem she got married?' DISAPPOINTED GUEST "I thought vou said there a an cxtecsive view from your hotel ?" Disappoint- ing landlord t il, YOU can see the noon you
-,,,-'-''-ART AND LITERATURE.…
ART AND LITERATURE. ITE. HAllO TiroRNYCRorr is likely to send to the, Royal Academy the model for his colossal statue of Sir Steuart Bavley, which has just been completed and erected at Calcutta. He has also some bronze medallions, and will probably show besides a bronze statuette, reduced from the fascinating Dancer," by which he was represented in the Academy last spring. TIIE second part of Volume IV. of the Journal of the Marine Biological Association, contains a number of articles dealing with practical fishery questions. Mr. J. T. Cunningham gives a detailed account of his observations, made at sea and in the market, during his recent visit to various fishing ports on the North Sea. The questions of the different races of plaice found on different fishing grounds, and the sizes at which these fish become mature, receive special attention, and the causes of the observed distribution of fish in the North Sea are dis- cussed. Mr. F. B. Stead gives a preliminary account of trawling experiments which have been carried out in the bays on the south coast of Devon, at present closed to trawlers. In addition to a number of papers treating of the marine invertebrate fauna of Plymouth and the neighbourhood, there are also articles dealing with the maturity of the common eel, the protection of crabs and lobsters, and the artificial culture of sponges, together with reviews of the reports issued by the Scottish, American, and Danish fishery authorities. MR. COLIN HUNTER has four coast and sea subjects for the Royal Academy, and probably one for the New Gallery. Two of these pictures are large ones, and the others of cabinet size only. The most im- portant is a great stretch of blue-green waves break- ing on a sandy beach studded with masses of dark rock. e second is a low-toned study of a dark sea 07erhung with clouds that suggest a coming storm in the foreground a fishing boat with a large, deep brown sail is rising over a long Atlantic roller. The smaller canvases are variations on similar themes, and have, like the larger ones, been studied in the Hebrides. PROFESSOR EDWARD DOWDKX, whose works upon Shakespeare and Shelley have won him considerable fame, is an Irishman by nationality. He was born at Cork in 1843, and entered at the age of 16 Trinity College, Dublin. He took his first class there in philosophical subjects, and then studied for divinity, but in 1867 be was appointed Pro- fessor of English Literature — an extraordinary I compliment to a young man of 24, but he soou repaid the confidence of hia University. He devoted himself to the study of Shakes- peare, aud brought out in 1875 his great work entitled Shakespeare His Mind and Art." This was followed a little later by a Shakespeare Primer, and Mr. Dowden has also written introductions for the Henry Irving edition of the Bard's works. In 1877 appeared his solitary book of Poems," mainly lyrical or autobiographical, and marked by a certain fastidious grace. But, apart from certain valuable essays, critical and miscellaneous, such as his Studies in Literature," and Transcripts and Studies," the most notable of his latter works is the famous Life of Percy Bysshe Shelley." Mn. ÅLFRED EAST'S landscapes are this year some- what different in character from those he has lately exhibited. The one that is likely to be most popular is a bright, fresh, summer subject, painted in the Rickmansworth district. It is treated with remark- able delicacy and subtlety of colour, and is drawn and handled with notable sense of style. His other works are a classic .1 landscape, low-toned and rich in colour, with an incidental group of figures and goats and a silvery evening effect seen over a valley studded with groups of trees and lighted by reflec- tions of the pale colours in the sky, repeated in a stream winding across the foreground. The colour scheme is a gradation of pale purples, blues, and grey greens. S'IGXOR ARDITI, who is about to publish his re- miniscences, should have a rich store of anecdotes, as he is now in the 50th year of his professional career. He started at Piedmont in 1846, and soon afterwards secured an engagement in the paradise of musicians, Milan. Engagements in America and many European countries followed, and then he was appointed con- ductor of her Majesty's Opera Company. Straust used to say that whenever be wanted a crowded house he announced he would play Arditi's 11 Bacio." MR. H. J. DRAPER is following up the artistic successes which be made in 1894 and 18P5 with his Sea Maiden and Ulysses," by painting a third ambitious composition. This will probably be called "The ATint,nge Morning." It is an astonishing arrangement of vivid colour, imagined with much poetic instinct, and treated with remarkable power, and will do much to strengthen the reputation he I has already made as an artist of great originality and techuical skill. He has also completed a smaller work, a life-size three-quarter length of an auburn- haired girl in a black dress set against a deep crimson background. A SUCCESSOR has been found to Mr. James Payn in the editorship of the Cornhill Magazine in Mr. J. St. Loe Strar-hey, the author of one or two books, and a journalist who has worked very satisfactorily under Mr. R. H. Hutton, of the Spectator. The original price of Thackeray's old magazine is to be restored, and various novelties are promised. Mrc. G. H. BOUGHTON has for exhibition a costume portrait of a lady in a Florentine dress of green brocade, seated on a white marble terrace overlooking a stretch of blue sea a three-quarter-length life-size picture of a girl wearing a high-waisted white muslin dress, a blue sash, and a white muslin cap, and carry- ing a pot of carnations a half-length of a dark girl, with a sensitive, strongly-marked face, well set off by a dress of dark purple and a deep blue-grey hat; and a Scotch landscape with delightfully composed flow- ing lines and charming passagesof tender colour. MR. C. D. GinsoN, who is now on a visit to London, is popularly known as the American Du Maurier." He is 28, and for 10 years his characteristic sketches have been familiar to readers of New York papers. He spends most of his time in Paris, where he has imbibed the best traditions of the Quartier Latin. In appearance he is well built, clean shaven, with a big, thoughtful-looking head. There are few harder workers among our younger black and white artists. O;E of the few artists of note who has on the easel a canvas of striking character is Mr. J. W. Waterhouse. His" HJlas and the Nymph" should be one of the sensations of the year, for it is perhaps the finest and most characteristic example of his admirable production that he has yet given us. The painting of the nude water nymphs, who are seen rising from a deeply shaded pool amid a targie of water-lilies, to draw down the youth kneeling on the brink, is quite excellent; and the treatment of the whole picture, with its scheme of deep greys, greens, and browns, against which the silvery flesh tones tell brilliantly, is especially well considered and complete. His smaller picture, a Pandora/' is quite as characteristic, and is only less noteworthy, because it happens to have been com- pleted in the same year which sees the production of what must so far be reckoned to be his master- [ piece. MR. E. F. BENSCX will make an experiment in the new novel he has just completed. Hit berto his books have professed to be studies of smart society. It will be remembered that in Dodo he wrote a roman a clef, and afterwards justified his pourtraying a well- known society lady, now the wife of a Liberal states- man. In his latest work be has written a story of Cambridge University life, and it is to be published under the title of The Babe B.A." TUEJa; are few more picturesque figures in the literary world than Julian Hawthorne, the famous novelist. Ten years ago he was reputed the hand- somest author in America; and though for some time he buried himself in a lonely Jamaica plantation, he has not yet lost his dandyism. Recently he returned to New York, on winning a prize of 10,000dols. for a story; and his military presence, arrayed in a light tweed suit, Alpine hat, and red nccktie, has attracted much attention.
[No title]
TIIK total numbers of the medical staff on the BII- Army establishment is 614, at a cost of £ iis, <o0 for home and E54,4,50 for the colonies respectively. Oxr, II C'i DREn tons of cats'tails were recently sold at once for the purpose of ornamenting ladies'apparel. 11 This means that, assuming an average cat's tail to weigh 2oz., no fe,ver than 1,702,000 pussies had to be killed. THE Czar of Russia is said to have among his household an understudy like him in appearance, who shows himself at the windows of railway carriages and the like when Hi Majesty does not wish to ba disturbed,
PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.…
PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS.—MARCH 26. PtJRLIC-IIOUSE I.KOISI.ATION. — -MARINE 1N3URANC3. The Archbishop of York moved the second reading of a bill to provide that public-houses in England should only be open on Sundays for an liemir in the middle of the day, though he undertook in Com- mittee to agree to an hour's opening in the evening also if it were the, general" Ish. After a discussion, in which the appointment of the new Licensing Com- mission was subjected to some criticism, the debate on the bill was adjourned. Lord Herscheli's Marine Insurance Bill passed through Committee. HOUSE OF COMMONS. THE NILE EXPEDITION. Replying to Mr. W. Allen, Mr. Carzon said the Egyptian (Nile Aralley) Expedition was decided upon by her Majesty's Government, in consultation with the military authorities in England, after previous communications with Lord Cromer and the military authorities in Egypt, who had expressed the opinion that a forward movement against the dervishes should be made. In answer to lr. Pickersgill, the Under Secretary said they bad no information as to the voting upon the decisions which had hitherto been taken by the Commissioners in regard to expenditure from the reserve fund, but it had never hitherto been suggested that a vote of the majority would not ha sufficient. FAIR WAGES. In reply to Sir A. Rollit, Mr. Buxton, and Mr. Ascroft, Mr. Balfour said the Government would appoint a Committee dealing with the subject of the Fair Wages Clause, and the terms of reference would be substantially the same as those contained in the motion of Mr. Buxton. NAYAr, WORKS. In Committee on the Naval Works Bill it was stated that notwithstanding the setting aside of the fu-plns for expenditure under the measure a larger amount would be assigned for the repayment of debt this year than had ever been assigned in any particular year befoie. A series of discussions on proposals in the schedule to the bill occupied the House until within 20 minutes of midnight, when the measure passed through Committee without amendment.