Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
16 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
r --------------i PANTHERS…
r PANTHERS AS PETS. A British official in an out-of-the-way Per- sian district invited me to stay at his house for a night," narrates a globe-trotter. "I accepted willingly. Just before dinner I was comfortably settled upon a sofa, when my rest was suddenly disturbed by a loud bang at the sitting-room door, which, flying open, admitted two enormous animals, which I at first took for dogs. "Both of them made at once for my sofa, "Both of them made at once for my sofa, and while the larger one curled comfortably roUnd my feet and composed itself to sleep, the smaller one seated itself on the floor and commenced licking my face and hands, an operation which, had I dared, I should strongly have resented.' "But those white, gleaming teeth and flashing green eyes filled me with something akin to terror. To, my relief my host entered at this juncture. 'Making friends with the panthers, I see,' he remarked, pleasantly. They are nice, companionable beasts.' "That may have been true at. the time. The fact remains, however, that three months afterward one of them devoured a uatiKo. cJ?ild,
[No title]
According to a return just issued the fees received by the House of Lords foi the financial year ended March 31 last amounted to £23.606. The two principal items were £ 20,309 on private Bills, etc., and £ 2,543 on judicial proceedings. I The Cardiff Health Committee decided to keep Ah How, a leper Chinaman, who was discovered in a city lodging-house, in the Seamen's Hos- pital pending some arrangement for sending him to a leper colony. When the presence of cobwebs in a public- house was objected to in the course of an appli- cation for the transfer of a licence at Chester. it was explained that they attracted Americans, and thus had a trade value.
- THE WORLD OF WORK.
THE WORLD OF WORK. SHIPWRIGHTS AND CONSCRIPTION. The quarterly report of the Shipwrights' Association just issued says the trade out- look is not reassuring. The, recent loss to their funds was only in the accumulated capital. They were now receiving P-2,000 a year, or £ 38 per week, less for interest on their invested capital, which would more than pay the whole of their superannuation claims every year. The report condemns the attempts by certain firms to force their employees to join the Territorial Force. It is, the report states, an attempt to introduce conscription, whereas a democracy with a real stake in their country would never re- quire conscription to defend the land of their birth. THRIFT IN THE NAVY. A return concerning Naval Savings Banks states that at the beginning of the financial year 1907-8 there was a balance due to de- positors of £ 224,683 16s. 2d., and during the year zC240,069 15s. 8d. was paid in, whilst interest accrued to the amount of £ 6,281 17s. Id. The withdrawals represented £217,383 8s. 2d., and the year closed with £ 247,199 lis. due to depositors. The banks have nearly a quarter of a million of invested funds and £ 14,337 12s. 9d. uninvested. At the beginning of the year 21,381 accounts were opened and 12,517 were opened during the year, whilst 10,890 were closed. "WOMEN'S LABOUR DAY." Under the auspices of the Women's Trade Union League and the Women's Labour League, a "Women's Labour Day" is to be celebrated on July 17. Earl's Court Exhibi- tion has been taken for the occasion, and in addition to the usual programme two meet- ings will be held which will be addressed by Labour Members of Parliament and ladies who have interested themselves in the condi- tion of the wage earners. Tickets of a'dmis- sion are to be sold at half the usual price, and excursion trains will be run from all parts of the country.. FOR THE COMMON GOOD. The report of the Federation of Master Printers and Allied Trades was moved at the annual meeting in London by the Lord Mayor, who said many matters of import- ance bad been successfully dealt with. He put in the first place the fact that the Con- ciliation Board had been successfully estab- lished. With regard to conciliation boards for all trades, it was, highly desirable that all uneasiness and all fear of difficulty arising should be dispelled, and that they all should work together for the common good of the trade. In reply to a question with regard to the Trade Boards Bill, the secretary said the President of the Board of Trade, in an inter- view, had admitted that the principle of the Bill was unsound, but said the Government felt strongly iabout certain sweated indus- tries in the country, and did not know what other action to take. SCHOLARS AND TRADES. An endeavour is being made by the Hamp- etead Borough Council to convene a confer- ence of Metropolitan Borough Councils on the subject of elementary education in Lon- don. The council holds that the present system leaves much to be desired in fitting scholars for practical work on leaving school, and suggests the conference should consider whether the education in London elementary schools cannot be put upon a more practical footing, so as to fit the chil- dren to enter skilled trades and prevent them from drifting into casual employment. UOOT OF A BTHIEE. Some remarkable figures relative to the cost of a strike were given by Sir William Holland, M.P., at a meeting of the Fine Cot- ton Spinners' and Doublers' Association, in Manchester. The first and most potent cause of the reduction of the year's profit from £ 800,000 to £ 357,000, he said, was the dispute in the cotton trade last autumn, when production was stopped for seven weeks. Their loss in profit from that cause j had been estimated to run into six figures. If other concerns in Lancashire had suffered in similar proportion, j the loss to the cotton spinners of the county attributable to the stoppage would amount to a round million sterling. The case of the operatives was harder still, because time once lost could never be regained. It had been stated that the funds of the trade unions connected with the cotton trade were depleted by the strike to the extent of £ 2430,000. NO FOREIGNERS. The Newcastle correspondent of the "Shipping Gazette hears that at the insti- giati-an of the Admiralty all foreigners who are not naturalised, employed in British Shipping Gazette hears that at the insti- gation of the- Admiralty all foreigners who are not naturalised, employed in British shipyards doing Admiralty work are being discharged. It is doubted, he states, if the number of foreigners employed on the north- east, coast, or in any British shipyard, is ap- preciable. There may be, however, it is added, a number of premium apprentices learning the shipbuilding business to. whom the regulation would apply. THREATENED SCOTTISH STRIKE. There is grave fear of a strike amongst Scottish miners. The men's leaders an- nounce that they cannot withstand the pres- sure of the rank and file. Large coal con- sumers are ordering extra supplies, and Scotch railways are gathering large stocks at the depots. The miners' delegates in Glas- gow have decided to abandon the monster demonstration of 80,000 miners which was to have been held at Stirling to mark the coming into operation of the Miners' Eight Hours Bill.' WAGES IN THE CHAIN TRADE. The Cradley Heath district has been "visited by the 'Board of Trade representative, the object being to collect information frairt the principal chain manufacturers and fepresentatives of the men in the hammered "ranch of the chain trade, which branch it is Proposed to include as one of the sweated in- dustries in the Wages Board Bill. The Chain Manufacturers' Association recently issued ra statement setting forth the attitude of the employers in connection with the current ^ages dispute in the Midlands. The associa- "on states that during the last 13 or 14 advances in wages amounting approximately to 50 per cent. have been conceded by the employers in the factories, and the last ad- vance of 10 per cent, (in February, 1902) was, it is further stated, given on the dis- tinct understanding made with the represen- tatives of the operatives that if at any time the chain trade should be again depressed the men would willingly agree to reduce their prices to the former basis. The outworkers, owing to want of work and the absence of any effective organisation, have reduced their wages time after time, until at the pre- sent moment the wages which employers are required to pay in factories are, the statement asserts, in many instances 50 per cent. above what the same chains can be bought at in out-shops." AUSTRALIAN MINERS' STRIKE. The decision of the Port Pirie Miners' Unions to return to work on the terms of the Arbitration Court's award has resulted in the collapse of the Broken Hill strike. Mr. Tom Mann and the Union leaders have ad- vised the men to return to work. The struggle lasted twenty weeks and is estimated to have cost altogether £ 500,000, including £ 280,000 tn wages, t
TEA TABLE TALK.
TEA TABLE TALK. It is not so very long ago, says "The By- stander," that the Duchess of Sutherland writing to a literary gentleman unknown tc her on a matter purely literary, ended up her letter, of course, Millicent Sutherland Her Grace must have smiled when the answet came back to her, the envelope bearing the simple address, "Miss Millicent "Sutherland Stafford House." Princess Mary of Wales has now risen to the dignity of a. boudoir of her own, and hex Royal mother herself superintended the fit- ting up of the room at Marlborough House Like her mother, the young Princess is very clever with her needle, and some of the articles she has made lately will be offered for sale at one of the big society bazaars this season. # The habit of becoming "stage-struck" is as common among youthful Royalties af among less exalted persons. The Queen oi Holland once confessed that if she were obliged to choose a profession it would be that of an actress. During her girlhood she took a great interest in amateur theatricals and the little private theatre which she had erected at the Palace was often the scene oi her own dramatic triumphs. Queen Alex andra was at one time a clever amateui actress, and her love of acting is shared by her daughter, now Queen of Norway. Prin- cess Henry of Battenberg is another Raya: actress of great merit. Paris is now bringing into fashion the vin aigrette," so dear to Early Victorian femininity, when ladies were liable to swoon at any critical moment. The little silvei case, with its sponge saturated with aro matic vinegar, was called into favour once more by an influenza wave in the French capital, it being held potent to avert that distressing malady. «0 During one of her American tours, Mrs Kendal arrived in some out-of-the-way town. The dressing-room accommodation at the theatre was shocking. Mrs. Kendal sent foi the proprietor and declared that the ac- commodation must be improved. The pro- prietor refused. Mrs. Kendal promptly sent for their own manager, and asked him what was the penalty for breaking the contract by not appearing. She was told it would mean so many hundred dollars. "Draw a cheque for it at once," she said; "we shall not play here." The proprietor climbed down. A little incident is recounted concerning the Princess Royal and her Brighton resi- dence, which illustrates the very retiring nature of the King's eldest daughter. The Princess was walking along the parade to her house when, as she approached her own door, she saw a carriage waiting. Either "her Royal Shyness," as the Princess is called, was not in a mood to receive visitors in general, or else she desired to avoid these visitors in particular, for when she reached the house she walked straight past the gate. The. callers were informed that the Princess was out, and when the carriage had gone the King's daughter turned round again and went in. Mrs. Asquith is one of the most successful and elegant of London hostesses. Invita- tions to her luncheon-parties are much sought after, and it was at one of these that Mr. Winston Churchill was seated next Miss Maud Allan. The Cabinet Minister seemed moody and abstracted. Presently the dancer turned to him and said: "Do you know, Mr. Churchill, we have one unique thing in com- mon?" "Indeed!" he exclaimed, with some surprise. "Yes," she went on; "we have both been rejected by Manchester." *))! Engagement rings among the Egyptians were always of iron, to indicate the mutual sacrifices of liberty of the contracting parties. One of the very earliest adornments of betrothal rings was a loadstone, which symbolised the attractive force which drew a maid from her own family circle into that of her husband. The ring was used as an acces- sory of the nuptial rite long before the Chris- tian era. In early times gold money used to circulate in Egypt in the form of rings, and thus when a man placed a gold ring on the finger of his bride it was a token that he en- dowed her with his wealth. Secrets of the science of perfumery were re- vealed recently at a Chemists' Exhibition by a distinguished exponent of the art of blend- ing delicate odours. "Women are strangely fickle in their choice of perfumes," he said. "Tired of the scent of single flowers, they are now demanding subtle blendings. More than a hundred thousand pounds is nowadays to be made from the evolution of one new per- fume. An art in itself is the colouring of the perfume when it has been obtained. Pure vegetable colourings chiefly are used." H.R.H. the Princess of Wales, like so many of the members of our Royal family, is blessed with much tact. On one occasion the Prince and Princess were present at a ban- quet in a large provincial city, when her Royal Highness sat next to the Lord Mayor. Soon he confessed that he was greatly worried about the printed address he had presently to read, and that he would far sooner say a few words" that he really felt. "Very well, then," replied her Royal Highness sympathetically; "let us hide that printed speech behind this flower-pot!" This they did, and the Lord Mayor made a little speech that rang true instead of reading his address. The recent changes in the Turkish monarchy will alter the lives of many people, and not the least so affected will be the ladies of the late Sultan's harem. These ladies lead a very strange life. Up to the age of Ir twelve, Turkish girls lead free, untrammelled existences. After that day, however, they are women, and must take their places in the parts of the house set apart for the women- the harem. Here they apparently are free, j but really they are prisoners. Their servants' spy upon them, and report to the master of the house. Their letters are scrutinised. They may only go out in pairs, and attended by watchful servants. Queen Wilhelmina, Europe's only female ruler, is twenty-eight years of age. Until her birth, the Salic Law, by which no woman could reign, had been in force, but this was put aside by Wilhelmina's father in his daughter's interest. This applies also to the little Princess Juliana. It is said that, although Princess Wilhelmina was her father's constant companion, she did not realise her Royal position until the latter's seventieth birthday. As she stood at the window listening- to the crowds that cheered the King, she turned to her governess, and ,,vaid, with an air of dawning intelligence: "Why, the King is my father!" Lady Colebrooke, sister-in-law of Lady Paget, famous alike for beauty, accomplish- ments, and skill as a political hostess, has a complete carpentry and wood-carving shop at Abington, Lanarkshire. There she has not only turned out some excellent pieces of work, but she has taught some of the village girls on her husband's estate how to fashion wood by hammer and chisel. Just before a marriage ceremony in Lithu- ania the bride's ears are boxed. This is in the interest of the bride, should the mar- riage prove unhappy. She can sue for a divorce, and assert that she was forced to marry:
-' ICLUB WINDOW
I CLUB WINDOW- Two of the most treasured possessions of the famous violinist Kubelik are a cross of the Gregory Order and a rosary, both of which were presented to him by Pope Leo XIII. "The cross I give you," said the Pope on that occasion, "because you are a master of your art; the rosary to remind you that there are things more precicvs than fame." The fact is generally recognised in the art world that the three most accomplished living etchers in the kingdom are Scotsmen. The Bishop of Ripon, who lately attained his sixty-eighth birthday, was one of the most popular of London preachers for many years before he was elevated to the bishopric in 1884. Queen Victoria, to whom he was honorary chaplain, was very fond of his ser- mons. Someone once asked Dr. Carpenter if he felt nervous when preaching before the Queen. "I never address the Queen," was the reply. "I know there will be present the Queen, the Princes, the Royal household, and the servants, down to the scullerymaid—and I preach to the scullerymaid." During the last few days the Sultan of Turkey was shut up in the Yildiz Kiosk he is said to have smoked over thirty cigarettes every hour to "cool his nerves." For years Abdul Hamid has smoked dozens of strong cigarettes every day, and it can be said with- out fear of contradiction that he has been the most ardent devotee of the fragrant weed that was ever seated upon a throne. The Marquis of Stafford, who comes of age next August, is heir to the most extensive domain, if not the largest rent roll, enjoyed by any subject of King Edward. Nearly a million and a half of acres of land in Eng- land and Scotland belong to the holder of the dukedom of Sutherland, which, in the course of nature, will some day fall to the young marquis. Dr. Robert Gregory, the popular Dean of St. Paul's, who has just been congratulated on reaching his ninetieth birthday, succeeded J '"an Church in 1891, but he was appointed a canon of St. Paul's as far back as 1868. Travellers through Servian villages are confronted by dolls suspended inside the win- dows of cottages. Sometimes these dolls are of orthodox wax, but very often they are mere bundles of rags. They signify the im- portant fact that a marriageable daughter or widow lives in the house. The present Czar of Russia has the finest collection of miniature men-of-war and other vessels in the world. It contains more than fifty models, each most beautifully and ac- curately constructed. It is said that some of these models have cost close on one hundred pounds each. e Great Britain has many crowns; and every Visitor to the jewel room in the Tower of L ndon will see strange barbaric specimens, it), :etching right back through English his- t fry almost to the Saxon Kings of a thousand y ars ago. The crown used at the Coronation or. King Edward, on August 9, 1902, was that kaown as St. Edward's Crown. It dates back /t the Restoration, being specially prepared for the Coronation of Charles II. No man has a greater love for animals than Archdeacon Wilberforce, and it was while speaking at a meeting of Our Dumb Friends' League that he told an amusing story of the days of his youth. He and a few chums escaped from school, and saw Blink Bonny, whom they each backed for £ 1, win the Derby The horse won at twenty to one. "It ran as no other horse ran before," said the Archdeacon, when telling the story, "but the bookmaker who had our money ran a good deal faster." Mr. Walter Craig, "the Surrey Poet," is the man whose rhymes on cricket and foot- ball, and the men who play the games, have sold by the million. His witticisms are f amous; At Lord's one day, after a short speech to a group of spectators, who were being told of the literary gems he was willing to dispose of for one penny, a coarse-witted listener shouted out "Liar!" "Yes," said Craig, "there are two of us, and the man who lies for nothing is a fool. I make money by it." "Good did Craig!" remarked a listener; "he always gets his own back." » To Mr. Joseph Lyons is attributed a story concerning a gentleman from New York, who was dining with an English business man at the Trocadero one evening. This man com- mented upon the appearance and size of the restaurant, and compared it with his own palatial mansion on Fifth-avenue. "I guess," said he, "that you never saw such a beautiful mansion as mine is. Why, the study is forty feet long and thirty feet broad, the billiard- room is so large that I've got eight tables in it so as to accommodate all my friends, and the dining-room—;well, I should like you to see my dining-room! Why, the room is so lofty that when I want the ceiling decorated they have to erect a scaffolding! "Is that so; replied the business man soberly. "Now, over here they go to the other extreme and make our ceilings much too low. Why, the dining-room of my house down at Maiden- head is a fine big room, but the ceiling is so low that we always have flat fish for dinner!" Lord Charles Beresford is extremely fond of a good cigar, and his love of the soothing weed was once the means of incurring for him the displeasure of one of the custodians of Windsor Castle where he was a guest. After being shown to his bedroom, Lord Charles soon proceeded to light his accus- tomed cigar. Presently the smoke reached the nostrils of a custodian somewhere not far away, who asked the guest not to smoke in the bedrooms. The Admiral went into the corridor and continued smoking there. The custodian again came, and said: "Smoking is not permitted, sir, in any part of Windsor Castle." Lord Charles returned to his room, where a happy thought occurred to him. There was an open fireplace in his room. He lair down oh his back on the floor, put his head up the chimney, and began to smoke there. This time he was undisturbed. Be- fore, the smell of the cigar had betrayed him; now the smoke went up the chimney. The Commander-in-Chief of the Indian forces, Lord Kitchener, has been described aa one whose work is his hobby-a man with no recreation. This, however, is a mistake. Pol many years past Lord Kitchener has devoted his spare time to gardening, and takes a special interest in orchid culture. There is no more enthusiastic amateur than his lord. ship, and it is said to be his intention, when he settles down in this country, to purchase a small estate and collect orchids on a rather large scale. King Edward likes cigars, cigarettes, and pipe. His everyday cigar is said to be speci- ally made for him in Cuba, of the finest tobacco. Once when the King was miles out on the Yankee prairie, during his American and Canadian travels, he produced a cigar, and his companions followed his example. "A match, please," said his Royal Highness. A match There was but one match between the whole party. The position was tragic, for the wind was tearing over the prairie. In order to decide who should attempt to keep the solitary match alight in the wind lots were drawn with blades of grass. The dire respon- sibility fell upon the King. He lay on the ground, and his companions gathered round him with outstretched coats as shelter. The match was lighted, so were all the cigars.
HUMOUR OF THE WEEK .
HUMOUR OF THE WEEK "WHAT DO THEY KNOW OF ENGLAND?" In view of the recent celebration of Empire Day the following essay on "The Empire," actually written by a schoolboy, is of inte- rest: "We live a mile and a half from the Empire. It is a music-hall with two houses a night. There is clowns and acrobats in the Empire." r' ESPECIALLY THE BARREL. "In an aside Mr. Healy expressed the con- viction that the Budget is wrong, lock, stock, and barrel."—"Daily Chronicle." AN APPROPRIATE WEAPON. Magistrate: "With what instrument or article did your wife inflict these wounds on your face and head?" Michael Mooney: "Wid a motty, yer anner." Magistrate: "A what?" Michael Mooney: "A motty-wan o' these frames wid 'Home, Sweet Home' in it." THE CLIMBER. rr or "Resolved—That the Borough Surveyor obtain tenders for dashing up the walls of this property, and submit same to the next meeting. "Local Paper. DELICATELY PUT. Mexicans have a nice, delicate way of say- ing even unpleasant things. A young Mexican lady, talking with a prisoner in the penitentiary, politely asked: "How long do you expect to be away from home ? A lawyer in Mexico writes, politely, of a certain client: "I have written to Senor about the documents, and I am awaiting his reply. He has not answered, although there has been plenty of time. I hear he is in jail, and that, of course, handicaps him to some extent." A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. A man entered a barber's shop for the pur- pose of being shaved. As he was somewhat hollow-checked, the barber, as is the custom in some country districts, put his thumb in the customer's mouth in order to press out the cheek. Suddenly the razor slipped, mak- ing a great gash in the man's face, and he sprang to his feet with a yell. "Shut up, man," said the barber, holding up his hand, "I've cut my thumb! WHAT LANGUAGE ? A woman was charged at the Thames court with disorderly conduct. A constable stated that she made use oi obscene language. Defendant: Oh1 my dear sir, I was speak- ing Gaelic. I never swear. (Laughter.) The Chief Clerk (Mr. Glanville): Was she speaking Gaelic? Constable: I could not say, sir. It sounded very much to me like bad language. (Re- newed laughter.) CLASSICS AND CRICKET. A certain schoolmaster, better versed in classics than cricket, was taking a party of ladies to watch one of the school matches. Perceiving when he arrived on the ground that the game was already in progress, he called one of the pupils to him and asked how the score stood. The boy replied that they. j had taken seven wickets for eighty runs. "How very singular!" said the pedagogue. "I always thought there were only six wickets." WORTH IT, TOO. A man recently was tried on a charge of assault. The prosecuting counsel brought j into court as the weapons used a stick, an axe, a pair of tongs, a saw and a rifle. The | defendant's counsel exhibited, as the other man's weapons, a scythe blade, a pitchfork, a pistol and a hoe. The jury's verdict is said to have been: "Resolved, that we, the jury, would have given ten shillings to have seen the fight." WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HIGH-WATER MARK. From a letter in "The Western Morning News ":— "And the high-water mark of indignation is raised to its zenith when an official resi- dence is used for a Frenchman's showroom." CA UGHT It was a wizened little man who appeared before the magistrate and charged his wife with brutal and abusive treatment. His better half was a big, square-jawed woman, with a determined eye. "In the first place, where did you meet this woman who, according to your story, has treated you so dreadfullyp" asl-,ed the magi- strate. "Well," replied the little man, making a brave attempt to glare defiantly at his wife, "I never did meet her. She just kind of overtook me!" YOUTH AND AGE. Pretty manners, and especially respect for age, are so rare nowadays that we were pecu- liarly gratified at an incident which came under our notice in a Tube the other day, says "Punch." The carriage was full and a youth was standing in front of a small boy in spectacles. Suddenly the latter said, "Excuse me, sir, but how old are you ? "Fifteen," answered the youth. "Well, I'm only fourteen," answered Spec- tacles, rising. "Take my seat, I pray you." v TOO MUCH QUOTATION. Former President Patton, of Princeton University, the other day delivered a sermon at Fifth Avenue Collegiate Church, his sub- ject being "Faith." He spoke of the blind faith of the client who puts himself at the mercy of a lawyer in preparing an action for trial, and of the confidence of the sick in en- trusting themselves to the physician. "A case of blind faith," said the clergy- man. "The doctor writes out a prescription. Oftener than not you cannot read it; you don't know what it is. He tells you to take it. Yours not to reason why, yours but to do and die. MERELY A BIRTH-MARIT." An Irishman, who had just come from Dublin to Glasgow to seek employment, was informed that he had a poor chance of get- ting a job because he was displaying marks consistent with pugilism. "You mane that I've a black eye, sir, eh?" "Exactly." "Shure, that's only a birth-mark which I have. You see, sir, I was coming from Dublin on the boat, an' by a mistake I went into the wrong berth, and the fellow who was there gave me this." JUST AS PROOF. Mr. A. C. Plowden, the magistrate, tells of a man who had over-estimated his capacity for liquid refreshment and who was arrested. In the police-court the next morning the usual charge of intoxication was filed against him, and he was fined 20s., which he promptly paid. This done, he went out with a very worried expression on his countenance, only to return a few minutes later and cauti- ously approach the clerk. "Please, sir," he said, "would you just give me a receipt for that 20s. I paid you? I want to show my wife that I didn't spend all the money on drink." the money on drink."
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ROMANCE OF DIAMOND MINES.I…
ROMANCE OF DIAMOND MINES. I — There is a whole world of romance in the stories of South African mines. About a generation ago Joachim Prinsloo's farm of 3,300 acres, on which the Premier Mine is, ccmld have been bought for a pound an acre, and its Boer owner would have considered that he had much the best of the bargain. After a time, however, the farm was "pur- chased for £ 55,000, a price which is ex- j plained by the fact that the land was then known to be diamondiferous; and a few mouths ■ later, the Premier Company was Registered with a capital of XSOOoo in ztl What an enormous fortune was within the reach of any far-seeing person who had bought and held a few thousands of the original shares is proved by the following facts. -In two recent years the diamonds taken from this mine have been valued at £ 860.000 and X994,000 respectively; the de- ferred shares, of 2s. 6d., have been quoted at .£18 each.
CONSTABLES' DISGUISES.
CONSTABLES' DISGUISES. At Thames, William Larkin, described as a gas stoker, was convicted of keeping and using pre mises at Joseph-street, Poplar, for the pur- [ pose of betting. The evidence showed that before a raid was made on the premises under a warrant, which had to be executed by a constable breaking a window and entering through it, observation had been kept on the house for several days. One constable stood outside selling fish another frequented a public-house in which men and women wrote their bets on slips of paper before sending them to the defendant's resi- dence. A third watching constable said he would be ashamed to appear in court in the clothes he I had worn. The magistrate imposed a fine of q40,, and five guineas costs.
HOLBEIN'S " DUCHESS " SAVED.
HOLBEIN'S DUCHESS SAVED. All art lovers, and the public generally, will be greatly relieved to learn that, mainly as the result of a munificent donation of £ 40,000 bv a lady who desires her name to be unknown for the present, Holbein's masterpiece, The Duchess of Milan," has been saved for this country. It will be remembered that the Duke cf Nor- folk sold the work, which had been in the pos- session of the family for many generations, to Messrs. Colnaghi for, approximately, £ 62,000. The firm offered it to the National Art-Collec- tions Fund for C72,000, but the option expired. An extended option was then given by Messrs. Colnaghi, with the happy result stated above. Mr. Henry C. Frick, the Pittsburg steel mag- nate and former partner of Mr. Carnegie, was prepared to buy the picture.
FUTURE OF THE CRYSTAL PALACE.
FUTURE OF THE CRYSTAL PALACE. Speculation has been rife of late as to the future of the Crystal Palace, and the news that an official receiver has recently been appointed has given rise to many disquieting rumours. It is gratifying, therefore, to record that at a banquet given at the Palace the official receiver (Mr. Ernest Husey) said the appointment of a liquidator, so far from being the company's death-knell, was really the signal for its re- suscitation.
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Scotch coalmasters are determined to fight iihe miners' demand for a minimum wage, and a meeting has been summoned in Glasgow to con- sider a proposal to post notices. As Fifeshire masters must give a twelve days' notice, a general stoppage could not take place before 1 wune 14.
-----A CENTURY OF LACE-MAKING.
A CENTURY OF LACE-MAKING. The present year is the hundredth anniversary of the invention of the first practical lace, lna-king machine, and an interesting article on this subject appears in the June number of "The Magazine of Commerce," together with Jeproduetions of ancient and modern machine- made lace and a picture of the first machine and its inventor. Everyone who knows the history of the frame- work knitting, or hosiery machine, says the writer, knows that it owed its origin to a lover's persistence and a lady's coyness. The story of the Rev. William Lee, of Calvertcn, Notts, and his successful efforts in inventing a machine to do the work which formerly had been done by the busy housewife's fingers, are well known. Visiting his lady-love, he generally found her so absorbed in her knitting that he coald hardly get any conversation with her. Therefore, in grim retaliation, he resolved to invent a machine which should eventually provide her with more leisure to listen to his ardent addresses. Out of that initial romantic episode the machine- knitting trade grew. In 1771, Robert Frost, a Nottingham frame-work knitter, a- man of an ingenious mechanical mind, invented an adaption of the knitting-machine which pro- duced the first piece of lacy-looking material having any definitely marked pattern From 1771 to 1808 this hosiery-lace machine, as it was termed, was the subject of continual im- provements, and various kinds of lacy effects were produced, many of them giving birth and names to distinct classes, kinds, and styles of goods. But it was in 1808 that the master mind o' of John Heatheoat produced a laee-ma-ing machine which not only eclipsed all others, but gave the lace trade its first strong movement forward. During the next year, 1809, Heathcoat brought out a wider a.nd improved machine. From then the machine-made lace trade may be said to date.
A CHANCE TO REFORM.
A CHANCE TO REFORM. A pleasant surprise awaited Wm. Banks, a man with many serious convictions against him, when he came before the magistrate at Manle- bone charged as a suspected person. It was clear, the magistrate said, that imprisonment had produced little or no effect on the prisoner. Detective-sergeant- Bow den pointed out that Banks had been released from Dartmoor only seven days at the time of his arrest. "I expect these poor men have a terrible diffi- culty to find anyone who will em-ploy them," 6 a id the magistrate. "I don't know, I am sure, what these convicts are to do. In mv opinion they are very, very often more deserving of sym- pathy than the so-called first offenders. They never have any chance at all when once they have been in gaol." The court missionary promised to try and help the. man, and the magistrate decided to place him under probation for two years in the sincere hope that lie would avail himself of the oppor- tunity and give up his criminal pursuits." L
FRAUD ON POST OFFICE.
FRAUD ON POST OFFICE. William Henry lies Davies was committed for trial at Bristol for alleged frauds on the Post- Office. It was stated that he obtained seven tlank order forms from a post-office at Lower Redland-road, but how he became possessed of them is a mystery. Orders were cashed at London, Bath, and Swindon. At one office gold was asked for, but there was a, shortage, end part of the money was paid in four £ 5 notes. Three- of these on being cashed led to pri- Boner's arrest at Paris-street, Lambeth, where he had been living in the name of lies. When arrested he said: "I blued it all in three months." The prisoner reserved his de- fence.
HOW SAILORS DARN STOCKINGS.
HOW SAILORS DARN STOCKINGS. At Exeter Sheriff's Court, Elizabeth Lilian Newman, of Dartmouth, aged 36, was awarded £ 25 in a breach of promise action against James Philip Merchant, a widower, of 49, and a first- class engine-room artier in the Navy. In one of his letters the defendant wrote "How about your stockings? Are you going to eend them to me for repair? There is only one way I know of repairing them, which is the Bailor's way—to stretch them over a bottle. Then you can darn them a treat." The de- fence was that the marriage was conditional on the defendant's daughter being married.