Flintshire Observer Mining Journal and General Advertiser for the Counties of Flint Denbigh

EQUIVOCAL.—A boarder looked very discontentedly at a beefsteak, and the landlady, having observed him, said, "Don't the steak suit you?" "Well," said the lodger, it's good enough what there is -of it; and there's enough of it, such as it is."

THE BALLYMOTE AFFRAY. The trial of the men charged with the Ballymote affray concluded at Galway on Saturday. The Roman Catholic prisoners, Patrick Hynes, Francis Hynes, Richard Mullen, and James McLaughlin, were indicted for unlawful assembly, and for assaulting three persons named Murray, father and sons. The Protestant prisoners (the Murrays) were indicted for a common assault. It will be remembered that the affray took place on occasion of a Nationalist demon- stration in Ballymote, county Sligo, on a Sunday in January last. It was proved that the Roman Catholic prisoners formed part of a mob that stopped opposite Murray's house and threw stones at the ^lurrays, one of which, thrown by McLaughlin, struck old Murray, and inflicted a wound which lay .bare his skull and endangered his life. McLaughlin also caught one of the sons and assaulted him, and in the struggle which followed a revolver which Murray had a license to carry for his own protection went off, and inflicted a slight wound on McLaughlin. All the prisoners were convicted, and,. with the exception of McLaughlin, were allowed but on their own recog- nizances to come up for judgment when called upon. McLaughlin was sentenced to six months' imprison- ment.

THE Mooxi.l' See the moon," said a lady to her nephew, a bright little boy of five, as they sat looking out of window the other day. The moon!" said the little man. You can't see the moon in the day- time." Yes, you can," continued his aunt; there it is over the trees." The little fellow bad to admit that lie saw it, but added, 'Tain't lighted up anyway." A GREAT CUROSITY.A plate of butter from the ream of a joke. i Do TIIEY ?-A young man in a Nevada barber's shop was particular about having his moustache nicely perfumed. "Going to call on a young lady, I sup- pose ?" the barber asked. The young man with much dignity replied, See here, my friend, do you suppose I put perfumery on my moustache because I am going to see a man, or a boy, or an old woman, or a babe in arms ? Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles ?"

SPRING TROUT FISHING IN DEVON. The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News says We have known the main stream of a river to become utterly unfishable in a night through a violent storm in the hills above, while the tributaries flowing into it from the lower ground were in excellent order for fly-fishing. This is a secret worth remembering. Again, in a flood, fish lie in backwaters, behind stakes, projecting boles of trees, and the like—anywhere, in short, out of the main stream. When it is impossible to throw a fly on a river's eddying, porter-like currents, many a nice fish may be foxed out of these side-shelters, the skilful fisherman's eye having caught sight of the least disturbance of water at such places, which tells him plainly enough that a fish is lying safely there out of the weight of the stream, and glad to receive any fly which may float near it. On many midland streams a trout is careless as to the wind's direction in fact, we knew an East Anglian stream which (like Loch Leven) fishes best in a keen east breeze. In Devon trout are particular. Before rain, or in an east or south wind, in come rivers, it is hopeless to attempt fly-fishing. But here again a man of many expe- dients, like Ulysses of old, need not go home dis- comfited. One reach'of the river, it is true, may be ruffled with the keenest of east winds, but a mile lower down there may be a high bank on the eastern side covered with brushwood, under which the current is smooth and the air balmy. Here the flies can be cast in comfort, and on the opposite side, under the fringe of ferns, and the boughs of the alders and wild cherries, lie in all probability two or three good fish. Even if one only be taken, what can be more plea- surable than the budding sprays opposite, the gently waving catkins, the clumps of Lent lilies (wild daffo- dils), shining through the dark boughs like Lorenzo's sky, "thick inlaid with patines of bright gold ?" There is sure to be a blackbird singing its best in the coppice, while overhead in the tall elms a couple of starlings are murmuring their quaint love songs. In the meadows behind the angler ca^v noisy wrangling rooks from the hall just visible through its ancestral trees; southdown Iambs frisk about, in spite of their black legs and faces looking so much cleaner than any other lambs; and skylarks warble as they only can warble in a Devonshire spring. Several such landscapes rise before our mind's eye and compel a contrast between them and certain Midland rivers, which we also wot of, running through lonely sodden meadows and the most dismal of ploughed fields. He who knows spring trout-fishing in Devon is spoilt for fishing anywhere else in the kingdom until May.

BEARS AND THEIR KEEPERS. In London, on Tuesday, at the Worship-street Police-court, the adjourned hearing of the summons against Henry Utting, an officer of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, charging him with having committed wilful and corrupt perjury in connection with a prosecution by the Society against Hezekiah Moscow, for cruelty, was resumed before Mr. Hnnnav. Mr. Blackwell prosecuted; Mr. Montagu Williams defended. The principal statements in which perjury was alleged were that the man Moscow used the butt end of a whip to make the bears jump; that the animals moaned with pain and that he dealt one of them some crushing blows with the whip. Four wit- nesses—including Moscow-were called at the last hearing, and their evidence went to rebut the defendant's sworn testimony. Mr. Blackwell now called a ticket collecter named Jeaks, in the employ of the Great Eastern Railway, who said he was present at the performance in question—on the 12th of January. He saw the whole of the proceedings, and he was able to swear positively that Moscow, who was in the cage putting the bears through their per- formance, did not strike a single blow with the butt end of the whip, nor did he give any blows which the witness considered severe. The next witness called was Joseph Abrahams, who, Mr. Blackwell sai d would give the "scientific" evidence. The witness described himself as a "Katuralist," of St. George's- in-the-East-road. He said he examined the fou beasts in question at the Aquarium on the 1st February, the day of the hearing of the summons against Moscow. They were all in good condition, except that one of them had shed its hair, which was a perfectly natural occurrence, and took place yearly, sometimes during a single night. The witness took the whip produced into his hand, and said he thought it would not hurt any bear. Bears' hides were very thick, and witness knew that heavier whips were used upon bears. It- was not a weapon a man would use if he wished to inflict pain; and if Moscow held it as stated-a little way up the handle, and did not strike with the butt end—witness did not think cruelty could have been caused. Bears were accustomed to make a peculiar noise; and more so when they were pleased than other- wise. Mr. Blackwell I lay no stress on that. Mr. Hannay You can scarcely say whether they were pleased or not with a whip. (Laughter.) The witness also further stated that it would be dangerous for a performer to use undue severity to bears while confined in a cage with them, as they might become savage and make an attack. If a performer struck them cruelly while in the den, the witness did not think the man would come out again alive. After some further evidence, Mr. Hannay expressed the opinion that it was a case which should go before a jury. A formal adjournment for the completion of the depo- sitions was then taken prior to the defendant being committed for trial.

THE NATIONAL FINANCES. The Standard of Wednesday, in a loader, remarks The Revenue Returns published this morning bring the totals up to within seven working days of the end of the financial year. It is, therefore, possible to form an approximate estimate, not only of the fiscal results of the year now expiring, but also of the pro- spects for next year. Up to last Saturday night the Exchequer receipts were, in round numbers, £85,200,000. That is, roughly speaking, within 11,450,000 of the final Budget estimate; and, as it is highly probable that the receipts between the date of the present Returns and the 31st inst. will approach, if they do not actually exceed, S2,000,000, it is obvious that the expectations of the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be at least fully justified. Somo branches of income appear to be sluggish. Thus, at the end of last week, there re- mained upwards of half a million to be collected to bring the Customs receipts up to the Budget Estimate. The Post Office, too, had still three hundred thousand pounds to make good, and the various items comprised under the head of Miscellaneous were short by over a quarter of a million. On the other hand, Property and Income Tax bad already yielded about a hundred thousand pounds more than the estimate for the whole year. Taking the figures altogether, therefore, it must be admitted that the Revenue has come in well. The Chancellor of the Exchequer will cer- tainly realise a larger income than he anticipated when he submitted his Budget in April last. At the same time, the expenditure has, to all appearance, been kept carefully in check. It is less by. nearly S3,000,000 than the amount paid out at this date last year, and fully three and a quarter millions below the Budget estimate. Probably enough no small portion of this show of economy is illusory. The money may be owing or ear-marked," but, as the figures stand, the national accounts seem to be very encouraging. We have been indulging in small wars, and a certain strain has been laid upon the Exchequer not only by the Soudan campaign, but by such domestic and utili- tarian arrangements as the Parcel Post. Yet, in spite of all this, the balances of the Government at the bank are at present E2,500,000 larger than they were this time twelvemonth, and for no other apparent reason than that the revenue has been good and the expenditure restricted.

HAS TO BE SOUGHT FOR A true girl has to be sought for," remarks a writer. Of course she IJoes, and any mother will tell you the same thing. Look for her in the parlour hammering a waltz out of the suffering piano if she isn't there, she'll be in front of her toilet glass, admiring her hair; should she not be there, maybe she's swinging on the gate with a young man who is the happy possessor of a tender mous- tache if not there, she is promenading the streets and flirting with a drummer. Oh, you'll have to hunt for her. And after you find her, say that her mother is washing the dishes and needs her assistance. CHINESE JESTS.—A physician, who was about to remove, said to his neighbours, "I have given you much trouble, and now have nothing at parting to present you in token of regard; accept a packet of medicine." The neighbours excused themselves, say- ing they had no complaint. The doctor replied, Only take my physic, and I warrant you will soon be sick enough."

THE MAYO CONSPIRACY TRIAL. The second trial of the persons charged with being implicated in what has been known as the Mayo con- spiracy began on Tuesday at the Cork Assizes, before Mr. Justice Lawson and a special jury, summoned under the Crimes Act. It is already a matter of record that the venue in this case was changed from the county Mayo to the city of Cork for the purpose of securing a fair and an impartial trial. Seven persons accused of being concerned in the plot were tried at the Munster Winter Assizes, and, after a trial lasting a week, one of the traversers named Matthew Halloran was acquilted ai-id the jury discharged with regard to the remaining six. These men were arrainged to-day, the technical charge against them being one of conspiracy to murder James H. Scott and William Wills. They pleaded Not guilty," and their defence has been entrusted to Dr. Webb, Q.C., and others. The Crown is represented by the same counsel who prose- cuted on the previous occasion—namely, the Attorney- General, Mr. P. O'Brien, Q.C., Mr. Wall, and Mr. Adams, instructed by Mr. Murphy, Crown Solicitor. The special panel was called over upon fines of JE20, and about 130 jurors answered out of the panel of 200. When the prisoners were put forward and the police endeavoured to marshal them, it was observed that each man took the seat in the dock which he had occupied during the trial at the Winter Assizes. The Attorney-General asked to have the jury sworn, when Dr. Webb challenged the array of the special jurors on the ground that two of the jurors had died, so that it was proposed to select a jury to try the case out of a number different from that which was provided by the Crimes Act. After a long argument, his lordship overruled the challenge. The Attorney-General then proceeded to test the case, and said he might tell them at the outset that this was not one mere isolated conspiracy to murder. The case the Crown would present was that these per- sons entered into and formed a conspiracy, having for its object a general wholesale commission of crime and outrage. Ho then described the society formed in the county Mayo to bring about a subversion of the established order of things, and to "keep down tyranny" by shooting and the commission of outrage. This society was of Fenian origin, and the principal in the conspiracy was the prisoner Patrick William Nally, the centre for the county Mayo, and under him was acting M'Caulev on the barony of Tirawley, in that county. The learned gentleman then described the operations of the conspiracy up to August, 1881, and related the circumstances under which the informer Coleman was forced to enter the society and to obey its orders. Through him the poll" obtained information, and were thus able to protect many persons who were marked Gut for outrage. After 1881 the commission of outrages by the society began, and counsel traced the movements of the prisoners, especially those of Nally, in the nefarious work. The Attorney-General then described the attempts made on the lives of the persons named in that indictment, and the plot for the assassination of William Willis, the managing steward of Miss Gardiner. To the communi- cations of Coleman to Mr. Ball, the sub-inspector, that gentleman owed his life. The killing of Mr. James Hawkshaw Scott was plotted and was very near succeeding. Mr. Scott was a land agent, residing in the neighbourhood of Ballina, and a brother named George Scott, who was also one of the persons upon whom an attempt to murder was made. About the month of March, 1882, the prisoner M'Cawley told Coleman that James Scott was to be murdered. He told him that he was going into Killala, where arrangements were to be made for his murder. The Attorney-General next detailed the circumstances of the attempted murder of Mr. George Hawkshaw Scott, of Michael Leonard, Constable Batty, Thomas Ruane, Joseph Hogan, and John Valentine Knox, and the systematic and heartless way in which the prisoners sought to accomplish the crimes. Andrew Coleman was the first witness called, and described his connection with the society, and the arrangements made by Nally to procure revolvers. A meeting of centres was held at Kettala in reference to James Scott, and when M'Cauley returned from the meeting lie told witnoss that Mr. Scott was to be shot, witness was to take part in the shooting, and was to fire the first shot from a double-barrelled gun. There were to be two others with him, who were to be armed with revolvers. Mr. Scott was not shot, as the place was too near the village. A man named Leonard was to be shot because he prosecuted Daly for cutting turf, and it was arranged to have the deed carried out as Leonard was going to mass, but the arrangement failed, and M'Cauley said it was lucky as there were policemen lying in wait near the spot. A Mr. Knox was to be shot because he had had a lawsuit with two of his tenants. It was intended to poison Con- stable Batty at the Killala Regatta, but that having failed an infernal machine was to be made by means of a box and explosives. The constable was to be in- formed that a box containing revolvers lay concealed, and when he opened it he would be blown up. A man named Ruane was to be shot because he was disparag- ing the society, and a similar fate was intended for a man named Ilogan, because he was a land grabber. Mr. J. H. Scott and Mr. G. Scott were examined as to the attempts made on them, and Constable Camp- bell swore that when lying in ambush on one oocasion he saw two men conceal themselves in a plantation near which Mr. Scott would pass on his way home, but Mr. Scott received a timely warning, and thus his life was probably saved. The case was adjourned. The trial was continued on Wednesday, when a re- markable incident in the proceedings was the exami- nation of Dr. M'Cauley, brother of one of the prisoners, who had not been examined before, and his production by the Crown excited considerable interest, and evidently took the young man in the dock by surprise. His evidence, however, had reference only to the illness of one of the witnesses who was unable to appear. M. Leonard was the first witness produced, and he deposed to the prisoner Daly threatening to make a Micky Browne" of him, a term which was explained by Michael Browne stating that before the threat to Leonard he was shot through the right leg, the persons who fired at him stating that it was because he had taken a farm from James Scott, which was previously occupied by a man named Carabine. Martin Flynn and a coach- man in the service of Colonel Cuffe having sworn to seeing some of the prisoners loitering about near the residence of one or two of those marked out for removal," Constable Beatty (whom, according to Coleman, it was decided to poison after the infernal-machine plot had failed) swore that he was at the Killala Regatta, and was offered a drink from a person he never saw before. Joseph Hogan swore that he was shot and wounded in the right thigh on the evening of the 6th of October, 1882, and that he saw Monnelly near the place where he was shot. Evidence was then gives incriminating the prisoners with referenoe to other outrages, and tracing the proceedings of Nally in both England and Ireland with reference to his efforts to induce others to join the Fenian society and the Mayo conspiracy, to procure arms, and to his connection with other conspirators, a portion of the evidence applying to the other pri- soners also. Letters which were found in M'Cauley's box when he was a prisoner at Castlebar were given in evidence in proof of a conspiracy, and other letters found with a man named Ftiggins, who was a suspect in Kilmainham, were proved to be in M'Cauley's handwriting, and were also handed in, after which the Crown case closed. Dr. Webb then addressed the jury on behalf of the prisoners Nally and Melvin, and contended that the story of a con- spiracy which had been detailed to them was a pure fabrication on the part of the informer Coleman, who had concocted it from the basest of all human motives —the hope of gain. The case was again adjourned. The trial was continued on Thursday and con- cluded on Friday, when the prisoners were found guilty. Judge Lawson sentenced M'Cawley, Nally, and Daly each to ten years' penal servitude; Monelly to seven years, and King and Melvin to five years each. On being sentenced M'Cawley said there were plenty left behind to avenge them, and Nally said there were men in court who would not be alive when they (the prisoners) were released.

THINGS GKH WOULD RATHER HAVJI LliFP UXSAID.—■ I was so sorry not to be at home when you called, Mr. Binks I Oh, pray don't mention it! It didn't matter in the least, I can assure yon!"—Punch. WASTED TO KNOW.—Is bunting the proper material for street flagging ? Was the "tile" that was loose manufactured by the celebrated insane hatter ? Is a reel of cotton a fashionable dance ? How many tons register is the bark of a dog? Are zliip'a doctors medicinal salts?

THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN. In a telegram dated Souakim, Sunday, the special correspondent of the Daily says The Sheikh Kadr, lately commandant at Tokar, has withdrawn immense quantities of grain from that place to a spot in its vicinity. He incites the people to further revolt, but the tribesmen refuse to follow him. Osman Digna has been seen with a handful of followers near Tamanieb, in the same ravine where he used to conceal his slaves during his trading days. In spite of the proclamations of pardon, the Sheikhs are afraid to come in at present. The following telegram has been received at the War Oflice: FKOM MA.JOU-GESEKAL Slit G. GIJAHAM. SOUAKIM, March 20,1 p.m. The troops marched, in yesterday, leaving a reur guard in nearest zereba with stores. Rear guard marched in this morning, and all stores cleared. Troops came in cheerfully, scarcely a man falling out, though the distance from advanced zereba is nearly seventeen miles. Abundance of water was supplied from stores on road. The following troops from India have embarked this day in Jumna, which sails to-morrow: 10th Hussars. M-l Battery Royal Artillery, 1st York an 1 Lancaster, 2nd Royal Irish Fusiliers, details of ;ta;Y and departments. The following sick will embark this evening in Jumna: Five officers, 69 non-commissioned officers and men. 11 Roval Marines all sick doing well. including three cases of sunstroke. General health of troops very good. Sick rate below two per cent.

THE HEALTH EXHIBITION. Referring to the approaching International Health Exhibition, the Times has the following article Little as the subject of this year's exhibition at South Kensington might seem to promise that would be likely to attract the million, it is already clear that, under the direction of men who know their public and what will interest and please them, the International Health Exhibition will certainly equal, if it does not exceed in popularity, the Fisheries Ex- hibition. The general committee, now numbering some 400 gentlemen, work in seventeen sub-com- mittees, and bring their special knowledge of various matters to the assistance of the executive council for the illustration and practical demonstra- tion of a science and its cognate arts, which, comprehensively understood and rightly followed, should, it seems, prolong the life, multiply the joys, and diminish the cares and pains of every man, woman, and child 111 the kingdom. As far as may be the exhibition is to show what has been done in the past, what is being done, and what may be done in the future by education, by recreation, by the building, fitting, furnishing, warming, and lighting of dwellings, by the clothing of the body, by cookery, and the choice of food and drinks, to make existence more tolerable. Obviously, to interest people in what so greatly concerns them it is necessary to show them familiar things in a new light. So the visitor will see a laundry with machinery at work, shoe-making, hat-making, glove-making, jam-making, confectionery, ice-making, and soap-making, lace-makers from Kerry and Buckinghamshire, and straw bonnet makers from Dunstable, at work. In the building in which lifeboats and life-saving apparatus were stored at the Fisheries Exhibition there will be along line of bakers' shops with bread-making by machinery, the motive power for the kneading troughs supplied by gas engines where the great whale skeleton, lent by the Marquis of Exeter, stood last year, there will be a new structure, housing a Vienna baker; in another new building, opening out of the great gallery now cleared of its exhibits of boats and appiicances of the British sea fisheries, and to be devoted to the exhibi- tion of food stuffs, there will be dairies with live cows, and butter-making, and cheese-making, going on; Dr. Carrick will have the process of making koumiss. shown with milk freshly drawn from mares and on the opposite side of the gallery a house will be appropriated to the National Bee-keepers Association, who will exhibit a model apiary in operation. Else- where incubators and the artificial rearing of chickens will be seen. Scarcely less fascinating than the dis- play of the skill of handicraftsmen or the sight of living animals, as all exhibitions have proved, is machinery in motion and of such exhibits about 100 tons are already known to be coming, and to supply motive power for these an engine of 120-liorse power will be in use, with two steel boilers, 26ft. long and weighing ten tons each. Several new buildings have been, or will be, erected in the gardens. The open space, in which the work- ing of a great ballast-lifting and excavating machire was shown last year, will become part of ancient Cheapside; between the central gallery where the Netherlands court stood and the lifeboat building, will be placed the pavilion, to be fitted up under the supervision of Colonel Sir Francis Bolton on behalf of the eight water companies of London; the court allotted to the Belgian fisheries will now be filled with all kinds of baths, and Belgium will share with exhibitors of ambulance appliances a new building between the re-stocked aquarium and Queen's-gaie. To the south of the British sea fisheries gallery will be a building called La Ville de Paris, intended to illustrate by mod els and diagrams the sanitary arrange- ments of t.beFrench metropolis. In redistributionof space it is probable that the Canadian. American, and New- foundland courts will be given up to foreign exhibits; school and workshop fittings will be found where Norway and Sweden were represented completely fitted-up furnished suites of rooms will be placed in what was the Dutch court: the Spanish annexe is to be given to the collection of sanitary appliances; heating and cooking apparatus will be put in the eastern corridor, the strip of garden between this and the former colo- nial court being roofed over and appropriated to wall papers and furniture. China holds its own and even expands, opening a tea-garden and a restaurant, with a promise of providirg Chinese cooks, a race who have no equals in some departments of their art, and whose skill in pastry and confectionery making would excite the envy of a French or Italian chef As no Chinese banquet is considered complete without music, arrangements are unde- consideration by which the ultra-Wagnerian harmonies evoked by native per- formers from Chinese stringed instruments may for a time be heard in our midst. Dietary forms naturally an important feature of the exhibition. The School of Cookery, under the direc- tion of Mrs. C. Clarke, undertakes to give special demonstrations of the art they profess to teach, and, with instruction, cheap dinners. The Vegetarian Society of Manchester, of which Professor F. W. Newman is president, propose to open" an educational vegetarian restaurant and to provide sixpenny din- ners. The Jewish inethod of cooking is to be ex- plained by a lady. Frozen meat from New Zealand is not only to be shown in refrigerators, but is to be cut up and cooked in a grill-room specially prepared to afford the public an opportunity of testing the quality of this colonial produce. The old fish market will be given up to the cooks, who will be visible, through glass screens, at one end of the hall. preparing soup, meat, and vegetables to form a shilling dinner for those who choose to enter one section of the room. or a diner a la carte on the Duval system for those who prefer a cheap Parisian meal. For visitors who wish to be exclusive and to dine in comfortable quiet, the rooms over the quadrant arcades will be fitted up in a style borrowed from the French, and from these prettily-furnished rooms a good view may be had of the grounds in the evenings, two in each week, when, fries will be given and the gardens will be brilliantly illuminated for musical promenades. More thrifty people may taste cooked tinned provisions, which are to be supplied at a reasonable tariff; there are to be cheap coffee stalls and Lockhart's cocoa rooms, in which also tea and coffee will be sold. Of electric lighting there will, it is anticipated, be a more varied and beautiful display than at last year's exhibition. Promises of co-operation have been received from twenty-two patentees, firms, or com- panies, whose exhibits will include all the well-known systems of lighting. Approximately there will be 5000 incandescent lamps, and between 300 and 350 arc lamps. The motive power will again be supplied by Messrs. Davey, Paxman, and Co., of Colchester whose engines will be capable of developing 1250- horse power. The illumination with the electric light of a fountain display, under the direction of Colonel Sir F. Bolton, is expected to provide a novel and remarkable feature of the evening fetes at the exhibition.

MYSTERIOUS MURDER of aSOLICITOR'S CLERK. On Saturday evening a brutal murder was perpe- trated in the offices of a solicitor in the very heart of the City of London. Mr. Thomas Henry Bartlett, a solicitor, occupies No. 2, Arthur-street West, a thoroughfare adjacent to London-bridge. The office was closed about two o'clock on Saturday, and it was believed that all the employes had left. Between five and six in the evening a charwoman, who is in the habit of cleaning the establishment, on going there for that purpose, on opening the door saw that blood had been spattered along the passage, and the stairs. Frightened at what she saw the woman went to the adjoining premises which are used as railway receiving offices, and requested the manager of the establishment, to search the place. He responded to her request, and noticing that there were signs of a severe struggle having taken place, felt sure that a murder had been committed, and sent assistance to the police-station in Upper Thames- street, which is close by. Inspector Carter, who hap- pened to be on duty, hastened to the spot with a ser- geant and a constable. They traced the blood to the basement of the building, and in the coal cellar found the dead body of a young man. The corpse was in a shocking state. and it was impossible at first to discern what had produced death, for the head and face were covered with blood and coal dust. Dr. Thorpe, the surgeon to the city police, was sent for, and attended immediately, and. acting under his orders, a shell was procured, and the body conveyed to the City mor- tuary. Here Dr. Thorpe made a careful exami- nation of the remains. He found a terrible gash on the left side of the throat, which had nearly severed the head from the trunk, another gash under the chin about three inches long, and about half an inch in depth, and a contusion on the base of the skull which had evidently been in- flicted by some blunt instrument. There were some severe bruises about the body, which were probably caused in the struggle. The deceased's clothing was saturated wftli blood his pockets were ransacked and turned inside out. The body was identified about midnight as that of Edwin Perkins, aged 22, lately residing in St. James's-road, Bermondsey. The deceased was a clerk in the service of Mr. Bartlett, but it is not known how he came to be in the office after it was closed. His friends state that he was wearing a watch when he left home in the morn- ing, but neither watch nor chain have yet been discovered. The police carefully searched the house, and from indications they have discovered they hold the belief that the deceased was in a room at the top of the house when he was suddenly set upon. He appears to have struggled violently with his assailants, as the state of the room show. The cut on the left side of the neck must have pro- duced death, as it severed the windpipe and all the most important arteries. There was a deep cut on the poor fellow's right hand, between the thumb and forefinger, which shows that he had clutched the weapon which caused the injuries. The murderer or murderers appear to have acted with great delibera- tion after they had despatched their victim, for they dragged the body into the basement and flung it amongst some coals in the cellar. They then went into the office and wiped their hands upon a towel, for it bore marks of fingers covered with blood. No weapon was found, nor could it be ascertained how an entrance could be effected, for all the windows were secure.

SERIOUS FIRE AT A HOSPITAL. On Saturday evening a destructive fire, caused by the ignition of a joist built into a flue, occurred at the Hope Hospital of the Salford Union, the building and furnishing of which 18 months ago cost over £ 70,000. The hospital stands on high ground at Hope, and con- sists of eight separate pavilions, built at a cost of £ 60,000 to accommodate 800 patients and opened only two years ago. The fire was first noticed about half-past six in the "B" pavilion, in which were the most serious medical and surgical female cases. At first nothing more than an ordinary chimney fire was feared, but whilst this was being attended to a fierce blaze showed itself through a ventilator and a crack in the ceiling. The fire was favoured by an extraordinary chain of circumstances. On each floor there is a hose and pipe for dealing with fire, and this was run out, but was of no use, as the seat of the fire could not be got at. Then the hospital general brigade turned out; but the fire being in the top storey, and the pressure of water being inadequate they could not throw the water high enough to be of any use. There were no direct means of communicating with the chief fire stations; as a matter Of fact the fire had half an hour's start, and the roof had actually fallen in and been consumed before the brigade arrived. Meanwhile the hospital staff, nurses, and attendants, assisted by gentlemen residing in the neigh- bourhood, had with great courage, coolness, and patience been rescuing the inmates. As soon as it was realised that there was serious danger, organised attempts were at once made to get out the patients, who were most of them—being in the worst cases in the hospital—helpless. On the top floor, where the im- mediate danger existed, there were twenty-five surgical casjs, and on the next two floors forty-nine patients under medical treatment, all of them requiring great care in removal, as any violence or shock would have been fatal in some cases. The nurses worked splen-' didly and with remarkable coolness and tact, although a portion of the work had to be done with a roaring and crackling fire overhead. Within half an hour all the patients, some of whom had been bedridden for years, were got out of the building, and only just in time, for the last case had only just been rescued when the whole of the burning roof fell in with a fear- ful crash. The fire meanwhile was extending to the lower rooms, when it was vigorously attacked by the borough brigade when the steam engine was got to work. In the pavilion right and left were on one side a large number of sick children, on the other a hundred female imbeciles, many of them paralytic, and the fire having attained most alarming proportions it was thought prudent to clear out these pavilions also. Accordingly the children were all removed to some wooden hospital sheds in the neigh- bourhood, and there made comfortable for the night, and the imbeciles were distributed over other pavi- lions. Naturally there was great alarm amongst the patients, but it is believed that they sustained no injury worth mentioning. The fire was confined to the B pavilion, which with its contents was very largely destroyed. It was fortunate that there was no wind blowing at the time, or the sparks might have been carried to and set on fire other pavilions. As it was, it was only after working fully three and a half hours that the brigade got the mastery.

PROPOSED MONUMENT TO ADMIRAL COLIGNY. A numerous company assembled on Tuesday after- noon at the College dining-hall, Westminster, for the purpose of hearing addresses in aid of the fund for the erection of a monument to Coligny. Amongst those present were the Duke and Duchess of West- minster, the Dean of Westminster, the Dean of Chester, Hon. A. F. Kinnaird, the Marquis de Jau- court, Mr. R. H. Giraud, and Mr. Jacob Vincent. In opening the proceedings, the Dean of West- minster said they were not gathered together in the interests of any sect or party, but to do honour to one who, if they might not say with Voltaire was the greatest of Frenchmen, was one of the most illustrious sons of France. Under the shadow of that great abbey they could not help looking back upon the times that were past and the men that were gone. In the present case they had brought before them one whose courage, whose nobleness, whose steadfastness of character, were shown only to full advantage under adverse circumstances. Admiral Coligny was also a good representative of that vast army of French Huguenots whose final exodus from France enriched the lifeblood of the English nation. Coligny's memory was eminently worthy of honour, for he united freedom of conscience toward man with entire devotion to God. The Marquis de Jaucourt then briefly addressed the meeting, and said that the terrible catastrophe that put an end to the career of this eminent statesman, brave soldier, and faithful Huguenot appeared to have so darkened the air that the truth had been hidden and justice had not been done. Now, however, reaction had occurred, and the views held by Coligny, at the peril of his life, received ample toleration. The proposal had been exceedingly well received in France, the Government having voted a sum of £ 1300 towards the memorial, while the Paris authorities had granted an admirable site in the Rue de Rivoli, opposite the Louvre, and within a few paces of the spot where Coligny fell. The monument would repre- sent Coligny supported by the allegorical figures Patriotism and Religion. £12",° was wanted to com- plete the work, towards which he felt sure the Eng- lish nation would liberally contribute. M.Eugene Bersier next addressed the meeting, and, having sketched at some length the career of Admiral Coligny, he thanked those English friends who had already sympathised with the movement, and especi- ally the Dean of Westminster for presiding on that occasion.

CHARGE OF CHILD MURDER. At Uxbridge on Wednesday, Matilda Ryder, 21, described as a general servant, was charged, on her own confession, with causing the death of her child, Florence May Ryder, aged two years, by throwing it into the river Colne, near her father's house, at Uxbridge-moor. Annie Ryder, the prisoner's step- mother, said the young woman was formerly in service at Shepherd's-bush. She was unmarried, but witness knew she had a child, though she did not see it till two months ago after prisoner had been sentenced at Ham- mersmith Police Court to two months' imprisonment for deserting it in a public park in that district. It was then in the Fulham Union Workhouse. The prisoner came out of gaol on Monday, and arrived homo shortly before midnight. Questioned about the child, she said she had claimed it from the workhouse authorities and put it out to nurse for the sum of 5s. per week, which its father would pay. Her father left home for work at five o'clock in the morning, and about an hour later a man named Hughes came to the house and reported that the dead body of a female child bad been recovered from the river. Prisoner then became agitated and said, Mother, mother I have done it." She added that she would go out and do away with herself, but witness prevented her from leaving the house, and communicated with the police. Subsequently the prisoner stated to Inspector Mansfield that she left Hammersmith between two and three o'clock on the previous afternoon and arrived at Uxbridge after the public-houses were closed, and that she threw the child into the water on reaching her father's house. She did not say whether it was alive or not at that time. The magistrate having intimated that he would remand the prisoner to the House of Detention, her stepmother asked that she might be remanded to the workhouse in consequence of her approaching con- finement. The clerk said proper care would be taken of her in the House of Detention, and she was accordingly sent there.

THE CUARGB OF TUB "LIGHT" BRIGADE.— Three boxes a penny "-Plbnch I TiiE AGRICULTURAL OUT-LOOK."—Squire (to Farmer Gorgeby, who haa been entertained at luncheon on payment of his half-yearly rent). "Well, farmer, I hope you've enjoyed yourself." Farmer Gorgeby. Pratty weel, Squoire. O'iv* not made a overgude dinner, but I can make oop for't at supper, thou knows." [Horror of Squire, who thinks he shall have some difficu Ityro getting rid of his guest.] —Judy,

THE CHURCHES OF BERLIN. No capital of Europe is probably so badly off as Berlin as regards both the number and beauty of its churches. In 1875 there were only sixty-four places of worship for nearly a million of people but, as only seventeen per cent. of the population appear ever to attend, the want is not severely felt. The attendance on religious services on an average Sunday is, accord- ing to Dr. Schwabe, only two per cent. of the popula- tion. The oldest church in Berlin is St. Nicholas', some portions of the building dating from the thir- teenth century but the whole has been restored, and, in addition, has been furnished with two lofty towers. The interior is very picturesque, and exhibits the artistic styles of several periods. Here is the tomb of the noted Baron Puffendorf, Privy Councillor and Judge of the Court of the Great Elector Frederick William. The Domkirche, or cathedral, on the east of the Lustgarten, is an insignificant edifice, erected in 1747, and restored in 1817, in which eighty ancestors of the Royal Family are buried, and the virtues of some of them recorded on monuments. Frederick William IV. intended to erect a new cathedral more worthy of his great capital, and to this end the foundations were completed, and a part of a burial ground prepared -the Campo Santo for which Cornelius designed cartoons but the work was never brought to com- pletion, and the unfinished Campo Santo is now a kind of museum, with casts of the Greek statues and reliefs excavated at Olympia at the cost of the German Government. The two churches in the Genadarmenmarkt- the Franzokische Kirche and the Neue Kirche were built in imitation of the twin churches on the Piazza del Popolo at Rome. Each has a domed tower 230ft. in height. The Roman Catholic church of St. Hedwig. behind the Opera House, was erected by Frederick the Great, in imita- tion of the Pantheon at Rome. The Gothic Kloster- kirche, erected by the Franciscans towards the close of the thirteenth century, is the finest and best-pre- served mediaeval building in Berlin the oldest portions extant are the choir and stalls, and several tombs, all of the fourteenth century; an incongruous belfry, towers, and vestibule were added at a recent restoration. Of the modern churches no particular account is needed, although it may be noted, in passing, that the slender spire of St. Peter's, 315ft. in height, is the loftiest in Berllii.-Cities (,f the World.

THE GREELY RELIEF EXPEDITION. The Arctic ship Alert, presented by the English Admiralty to the United States Government for the relief of the Greely Expedition, was formally put into commission on Monday at the yard of Messrs. Green, of Black wall. The United States Minister hoisted the American colours at the peak. About fifty gentlemen assembled on board in response to the invitation of the United States Minister, among whom were Lord Northlorook, Admiral Lord Alcestor, Admiral Sir Cooper Key, Admiral Brandreth, Comp- troller of the Navy. Admiral Sir George Nares, Admiral Sir Leopold M'Clintock, Admiral Gore Jones, &c., &e. After lunch his Excellency proposed The Health of the Queen," which was responded to by Lord Northbrook, who in the course of his speech men- tioned how great an interest the Queen had taken in the expedition, and her pleasure in authorising the offer of the ship to the United States Government. Sir Cooper Key then proposed "Success to the Expedition," coupled with the health of Lieutenant- Commander Goodrich, who commands the ship on her passage to New York. The Alert, which will leave for New York very shortly, may be fairly classed as one of the strongest vessels afloat, and is thus admirably suited for the arduous task on which she has been and will be again employed. She is a double skin wooden vessel of 1270 tons displacement and 381-liorse power, and was built in 1856 for surveying service. In 1875 she was thoroughly rebuilt at Portsmouth, and specially strengthened for Arctic service under the direction of Admiral Sir Leopold M'Clintock,for the expedition com- manded by Sir George Nares, who had personal com- mand of the ship. After her return in 1878 she was again commissioned for surveying service, and was paid off in the autumn of 1882 at Sheerness. The ex- pedition she is now about to relieve was sent out under the auspices of the United States Meteorological Ser- vice in 1881, and though several attempts have been made to reach them nothing has been heard of them up to the present time. It is, therefore, with the hope of arriving on the scone as quickly as possible that all the work on board the Alert has been per- formed with great expedition. She has had new rigging and new spars, and a new rudder fitted for shipping and unshipping, which was necessary for Arctic work. She has been strongly protected at the bow with iron plates going entirely round the stem and 8ft. aft, and new green heart planks have been put in where the worst chafing had occurred on her previous expedi- tion. In all other respects such changes have been made as to bring her as early as possible to her previous condition as fitted in 1875. All the work has been performed under the personal supervision of Captain Chadwick and Captain Goodrich. Throughout the British Admiralty liave rendered all the assistance they possibly could while such old Arctic campaigners as Sir Leopold M'Clintock. Sir George Nares, Sir Allen Young, and Mr. Leigh Smith have placed their experience at the disposal of the new expedition.

PRESENTATION OF THE MAHDI'S STANDARD TO THE QUEEN. On Wednesday morning, Lieutenant Wilford Lloyd, of the I Battery of the B Brigade Royal Horse Artillery, left Aldershot for Windsor Castle in order to present the Mahdi's standard, captured by the British troops at the relief of Tokar, to the Queen. Lieutenant Wilford Lloyd, who is a relative of Mr. Clifford Lloyd, received permission to accom- pany the army in the Soudan, and on his return home towards the expiration of his leave was commissioned by General Graham to convey the trophy to her Majesty. The gallant officer, who has already seen considerable active service, left Trinkitat on the 5th of March, travelling via Cairo and Alexandria to Venice, where he was detained in quarantine five days, and thence to London, where lie arrived on Sunday. Lieutenant Lloyd, wearing the blue and gold uniform of his corps, arrived at Windsor about noon, and immediately proceeded with the flag to the Palace. The standard, which is about two and a half yards long and two yards wide, is composed of red and yellow silk. On one side is an Arabic inscription stating that it was presented by the Mahdi to the Governor of Tokar, and on the other a text from the Koran There is no god but God, and Mahomet is his prophet every one professes the knowledge of God." The Queen accompanied by Princess Beatrice, received Lieut. Wilford Lloyd in the corridor after luncheon, when the gallant soldier, who was introduced by General Sir H. F. Ponsonby, presented the flag on behalf of General Graham to her Majesty's, who was greatly interested in the trophy. Lieut. Lloyd, at the close of the audience, quitted the Palace, and proceeded by the 3.40 Great Western train to London, returning in the evening to Windsor Castle, where he dined with the Queen. Lieut. LLoyd speaks highly of the courage and steadiness of the British troops during the Arab onslaught at the battle preceding the relief of Tokar.

A HINT TO Go. Zeb," said a chap to his chum the other day, it seems to me you didn't stay long at Squire Folger's last night ?" No," was the reply. I was sayin' a few pleasant words to the daughter, and the old man came in and gave me a hint to go." "A hint, Zeb? What sort of a hint?" "Why, he gave me my hat, opened the door, and just as he began to raise his heavy boot I had a thought that I. wasn't wanted, and so I-I took my leave." A RETORT COURTEOUS.—New parlour maid: "Here's a letter, ma'am, if you please! New mistress: Pray, Mary, are you not accustomed to see letters handed in on a tray?" New parlour maid: "Yes, ma'am; but I didn't think you was." WOMEN'S WAYS FOR MAKING A LIVING.-Three maiden sisters who live in Philadelphia enjoy a com- fortable livelihood from the manufacture of dolls' clothes (says an American paper). They have a little shop in Eighth-street, where they keep a stock of garments fitting the popular dolls. Every garment is made as though for actual use. They take orders for dolls' trousseaux, and at Christmas time are so busy they employ ten seamtresses. These ladies tried faithfully to make a living by teaching, one being an excellent musician, and the other a fair artist. They failed in getting work, and next tried sewing-failed again; finally a lady gave them some dolls to dress for a Christmas tree, and was so delighted with the little garments that she secured them other work of the same kind, and now they have all they can attend to in this Jenny Wren employment,