Abergavenny Chronicle

BANKNOTES AS FGOD. I We often hoar of accidents to, and dis- appearance of, valuables, attributed ta animals. Jackdaws aie well-known offenders among the bird tribe. Not long ago, two uii:mond rings, carelessly left on a diesiing- table by an own window, mysteriously dis- appeare d The o'?i<. appeared. The owner, who kept a jackdaw, iaan«diate!y susp* cted the bird cf tiie.'t. After a very long eearch, which extended over weeks, and titer vnctioe had been given to the icccl police, the rings were discovered by a little boy w ho, seeing an object glint- ing in the sunshine, climbed a tiee in the garden and di-.<cover<«d them in a- c<!«t. A LittJe time back a miser .ied. and on hid relatives searching the ?-c?<; fi'?m top .to Ln.t?m—-the pi?M ?'? in a most neglect/d conaition—di-vt owred 3 jm.?'f; nest n.nde up ainjo?t eat?Iy cf rubbled bsnk-nutes v<?rth ?2()0. In f:f2'o:i district of Caiiforu a. some rabbits had -I out a small burrow, throwing1 cut 'with their strong Liud legs quantities ef eacd and gold dur-t. A miner happened to 1" the spot one day, and being at once a by the gold dust, proceeded to destroy the rabbit buriow and to dig a large hole. Ke was eventually rewarded by lindiag a nugget worth, several thousand pounds.

I 1.. C1 1) r   INSECT FULlCEMm i 4 Some birds eeem to have instinctive kr.ow- i. kdge o £ \<hevher a is healtnfui cr not; ;A ^eatieiaa;! .ivi;:g in India noticed that tiie c-iows, w hich lived in hundreds in tne. trees round his hou.-e, were leaving, and no sooner was the last gone than cholera brolce out, As soon a.4 tJe dí.J.ÄfK) di«s-ppe:trod crows came again. Swaiiaws and other ?i?-m-tory birds iavaiiably saun pieces i?- foe.ted by noxious microbes, und seit-ct as- t?Ctrtf?t. p -rar y hc?iie.j?he ?:st hca.it?i'J? ?Ti?t, <? ti'm .district. D<:?-= a? d'e-t?ct?€ A It'oumcmcu.th 'j.?-kec?'r })?cx:d t.?uc suga^ guaranteed' to bs best Dcjv;erara in one of hi., hives. The bees prc-aptiy turned it out.- I Much amazed, he analysed some of tho crj'slaJ^, and found that were merely a' chcap and nc-?ty ij;ita'?n. TLcu al-o w h?vc inct poiuvmcxi. The most familiar w. ith in this capacity are th hdyhirds, ?Lich kM? tho aphis or ??sn liy cR the hop? and r. ■ o—

I FOR STAMP coiisctcns. Tiiere are, as many p<'cple know, y 1'ttle cTiriositie.j abO-lt various .-tamps which the ordinary observer .B&vex notices. It is fald that on stamps bearing the efTt^y oi King George V., that with -ins aid ef a magnifying-glas.s cue can see on tuc royai r,,E- le "!I(, (r.A ti inL., of a f,- j11 her hat. The eyes of the King form the hat, and the eyebrows the feathers: the body is formed by tire white of 'the elwek, and King George's beard forms the compete outline of a gown. Some of the S'erbiau oiitl,ne of a goi%-ii. Lf 'r?,e pression, when turned upside-down, of if t)<ath'$ ?'?? complete h every form. Dur- hg the French Revolution, etacips ve?c i. su<d bcar?i? a willow-tree, bat on clove in- H?"ctloc' t'?!<*rc cou!d bo ?(VTt the out?cc of? i??u's XVI. c?pVFrly hicdpu among the b?r&h?s. In h0rt, tht? ht?np was a ?ir.d of picture puzzl. The c!T?-y of Louis XVt. was of course, in feuded to be seen by thoso who recognised his sovereignty.

I AMERICA'S V.C. One of the tr.ojt sparir.gly grantedof wat decorations is t've Cbjigr-e-ssioriai VI^ ee. l of Honour, An?eriea'» V.C. It is conferred by Social Act of Cougretw. la the Spanish War !cns tJ?u twe:Üv cf thh?e M&t?Is ?cre 1, awarded a!tc?<:thcr. In tbe Phin:pi?-s c?m- !p?i?u, which iasted off <?xl -su icr ?"'<??1 yca\ sttH *cwcr \\1O ?&?it<t. Tho Medal of honour is of br?xc, Itd i 5 sl?? ? ?:n,t o? & ?vp-ponit?d tar, v<th, iu t?? 'e<;u? :?, the hp:?d of I?i?crva., th? E?!m:i Co:HcH?. of War, surrounded by the wo"Jc, "Uuit?d Htat?? of America.' It is em-?m?as?ed by a laurel wreath, and is worn auspeydod uy ti ribbon from a trophy representing an eagle on a bar, the lutte-r inseriix'd with the single word "Valour." Like our Tv .C., the C.M.H. recognit»es no rank. General cr private, admiral or ordinary seaman, is equally eligible to wear it. —————

WHERE THEY EiT LITTLE. I A diet of energy value astonishingly email even for the tropics, has been noted by 3 pro- fessor. The daily food of a Chinese, Tamil, or Ma.tny student was fonnd to Ix, capa ble ef supplying only 1,000 calories, although it h¡., Ijeen rdiown that in Anglo-Indian re- quires an average of 00 the Filipino 2,630. A suggested possible .J." 'J-' 't1. t ¡' ^lanation is t-he t atmosphere of .C" pore, which, by reducing Iosh- of heat by evaporation, khSCItS the food requirement. The students do as—much brain work as European students elsewhere, but tend to slight physical exercise—which may be anothcr factor in keeping the diet low. j another fa"tar in  the diet low, i

"The di5erea.ee .between a proper ^mbxi- lahce end a mot-or lorry, 1.1 the wvu-:rVj_"d. jis the diflareoco betv.*?ea Heaven and JldL"- Bi:?hcp of London. Dr..Ann?toi.-?'-sd:.mMt?'T of ?'?, t/pa presented at Shrewsbury School with his ,port'ai .in oi1 lq P¡d ?'a??I?ua 3!d Others M a., token of :'ppre-ci.?;ica. Interned Germans and the garrison gunrd- ing them in the. Isle .of are mainly re- sponsible for eurj>lus revelro I in the Isle of Maa.

IN THE FOULTEY YAfife. I %r COCECKOW. I REARING DUCKLINGS. Ducks are much more easy to rear than fowls, and it is therefore diiiicv.lt to find ik., i .-a.son why they are not it-o.red. mere thau tlit-y" ur-0. They are hardier ^.han fowls, less liable to contract disease, and it looked after c-n I yield quite respectable profits. Of course, to say that ducklings will not contract. di&ea;se would be the limit of the ridiculous^ for all branches of poultry are apt to suffer from at least minor ailments. Ducklings are most liable to suffer from cramp, sun' stroke, and breakdown. These three things it scorns are what poultry-keepers Say suffer from most. But even these complaint* Ix; qyoided witii a little care. The ilrstj cramp, can be avoided by rearin g in sui t- able surroundings. It stands to reaeon tint poultry reared under unsuitable condi- tions is bouud to suffer. If tiiey live in •:malT, dirty, wet run?., sleep on wet beds, or if the walls are wet and damp, you must ex- pect the ducks to suiter. from cramp. Give clean surroundings, and you remove the ii.L- of cramp. On farms one seldom finds ir.elc,? suffering from cramp. It is the :f.-Tiia.l" man. the man who breeds for a hobby, who is the chief offender in t:h: m?tt?r. Ducks I?vc w?ter — evervhüd."J knows thd-but if duckliKgs are allowed t) kii<)ws tlj-t-I)ut f(t U4C M i8 .-Ii re rllcwed er tlil water whe-I it "3 it tcnsc- l y col(i thev may perhaps become attacked with thc,r rizy li.r haps i-coine atOi3oked ivitli »a»ily prevented by providing the ducklinsjs with shade that is effect:ve. PiaoviDS You must bell' in mind that Shade. both cicefeMve heat "and iu- tense cold are bad for the rouiig ones. When the ducklings are run- ning about with their mother it is a mistake to allow the parents sufficient liberty to •?tray far away, for if the voting ones fot :e.ught in a storm or heavy rain at. a (L- ta;c3 from home the results may be fatal to i number of them. When thoroughly chilled the ducklings 6tagger, turn ever on their b;kf, and not being able to right them- selvets very quickly tiuccumb. For the first- few weeks it is best to keep them on short turf, with the mother corfnitd in a- coop; if this can be so plaoed M to be shaded by 1-c-cs, so much the better, a6 great heat is a frc-quent cause of apoplexy. If no trees 'jpftx?>y near it, supply artlnoial Bhade, in some ■- form; this can easily be done by driving stakes into the ground, and covering with n'd sacking stitched together, or anythi?-? mutable which may be available. Limb we a kn most commonly known as bixakdown, is usually caused by not pro- viding the young birds with Tuk rrorru sufficient phosrhate of I:me Foods. in the food. It is surprising how rapidly the ducklings if given the proper food, and it is a,lrto fiurpruung how stunted is their growth how miserable they become if fed iU1- p.roncrly. Fish meals ihvj young .birds are very 'fend of, and as this contains much good nutriment it should be given them. It is a very fine fiefh and bon", former. I baVe riet verv,-I;e-w of breakdown among (luck" that have been giinfish meal—iind that in itaelf is worth coiioi-iering. Who or what is the, dhick's greatest, enemy? The anuwer at once is the rats. These are very fond of ducklings, arid THE R.\T you must b-'v/axe of Da:geii. Therefore, ycu should take groat care aa to whore you Ten the birds. Eats inhabit the hedges during the summer months, and it is wise, therefore, to select a gpet .far .reinoved from the hedges. Place the coops, if possible, in the liiiddle of a field which is fiurrcunded not by hedges but by a fence. Have co-ops with boarded floors and fronts cf detachable boards which can be placed in position at I night-the time when the rnts arc on the prowl—and so make sure that the ducklings cannot be reached by the enemy. ———— "j Chickens needed for table purposes as quickly as possible- should not be given their liberty. Immediately FATTBNrNG they are big eaough to Chickzss. take a good amount of fat- tening food they should be kept in runs of moacrate size, and, if pos- sibie, moved daily on to frcc-h gr-.iss.. quicker they can be got ready for marketing the better they pay, and, with just a litLe exercise and IJi-cuty of good food, a glout ingjrbvtiment in the time required can be made. In normal times there are some foods which ehould be omitted during hot weather (says the "smallholder '), Si'MMjra but just now, when all feri- Fejsding OF ing-stuSs are so ecarce ajid Fowls. so dear, it is largeW a ques- tion of what one can pro- cure. Obviously a heating food should ?e avoided. If, however, one has no option hut to use such a food, the disadvantage can be .overcome to. a larga extent ..by. us" 1-1 P14-tv I t) ?.' FO I? II of green food. It must never be forgotKri that during the spring and summer fovis fe -ble very largely to i uppcrt themselves tke'y Have access to good meadoHv or t Su- ture land. Immediately the hay is cut they should be allowed to run over the meadow s, for they are able to procure a very laiige number (joC wozvts an d fruit in this way, rtie land h&v^fg. 1.d ni stock; U'})Onlt Itir (-Mc time. Whatever Artificial foods are pro- vided, green food is a very necessary iHm in the diet during hotweather. If the "o^ls have 1 a free range they can generj-lly .oSirlin all they want, unless ,tfi £ weatli-ai- b o r'Ay hot and the soil parched, It is matter, however, with fowls in confinement, and these should be liberally provided w|tU garden refuse. Failing this, boiled stinging nettles arc excellent, having a good medi- cinal effect. A pretty instance of local tyranny (says I tho Daily Express") is recorded by tne "Volksfreund": A largo A FOWL number of poultry farmers Mutint. haw- (. not fulfilled tMir obligawiojis TC tHe regular ddiyerv of the s Till, of eggs. In consequence, the town magis- trate ha^ withdrawal the hc;i-keepers' nugtir cards. Sonic o the",pol]try ffcrmfers ^efu^ed, absolutely to ive up their sugar cajds. on the ground that it was ri&t their fault If hens became broody and refused to lay egll. The authorities, curtly declining to acc<|>t this excuse^(.^a^re wow that i I poulti-y farmers will be refused all ration cards next wo,-k

Mr. Joseph Sinift, convicted of striking, boy, was sentenced at Salina, mas, 'to pay JC1, avd ta attend church for ten con- secutive Sundays.. The son of a Danville, Illinois, man figkt- I ing in Franoe h-i.3 been woundod in the.«MWne way and. at the same locality as h",s father in tEe ra War. The Berlin "Ix>ka|an^i^er" states that, | scandal has beta caused by 'the Beriiri burgomaster aid his asswtants c r, c ti L cauliflowers which they took home in opito of the ra.tiouing order.

ciiis wrniow. I 1 Lord Eoeeberv is superstitious. One Sun. day afternoon, while walking iu his grounds i at The Durdans, he found a dead hedgehog on the pMh by the Epsom course. Lord Hosebciry halted. "I woroer what that means?" he said. "Had I stert it larit Sun- day—the Sunday before the Dei by (which he had won)--in place of the day after, I should have been 111 a state One ran across my path at Eton just I ran hiy fLr.¡.t rjico. Isn't it strange?" When Mr. Augustite Birrc-il wag at the 'Bar he once 1/sojc up a poor tiient's ease for notiiiug. He won the his needy client sent kirn be turn of fifteen shijiings a small token of hia gratitude..Mr. DinoU kept the nicucy, M he did not wiAh to give, offence, but a colleague, reprw-ched him for his unprofessional conduct in taking less t-han gold. "Bless me," jetorted Hirrell,, "I txl- a I I the poor beggar had! I (Qn't consider that in the least unprofes- sional General Sir William E-oIktIsoh, General Officer Coi^i:n and i u .g-i n C h: e f for Gieiit Britain, is a rougii-and-rtady pol^ier, with- out an atoui of "side." One dy Jur) ng the early stages of the war, whert, in his capacity of Quartermaster-Genera], he wad busily otgaiiising the traiwifort arrange. Ksmts Jbotween Calais, and the Er;tisli field b. 1)¡(J stopped oy the way to "lend 4 hand" iti hoieting a heavy rhotcr lorry out of a ditch. Returning to his car, which had halted some little distance off. ho passed, a scntrvl The man failed to present arms. Sir Wil- liam Robertson, who, despite his complete lack of official "March," is a stickler for military etiquette, paused, wheeled round, and walked up to the sentry. "Why didn't y salute me?" he ashed. "P-p-p!ea«e, sir, I didn't know who you were." Robertson' glanced down at his none too smart uniform. giimcd with cil and dust from close contact \yitlu.the lojrry,an<l,isir:itl(;d g;i,mly. "Well," h? cafd, "I may hot lock jusit" liow like a blankety general. But I aui one." fling 4^1p^ofe^o colkcts spoiting trophies, but his rrtost curio-us hoblv i his collection of the things which have from time to time endangered his life. Thus, he keeps a large S-toac upon which, he-once fell and struck his head, and also tHe skin of one rf the horses which was killed on his v.'ecldivK-day—'that memorable occasion when hJ an." his young bi-jcle so, narrowly eseaped fi-ol-i the plot of the anarchists. Many stories are told of King Alfonso's go-odn-ess ,of heart. Once, while motoring between Santander and Madrid,, he two women tramping- a i-ely f'hrcugh the cold and the rain. Drawing up, he tn- quired their destination, and learning that they were going to Madrid he the two women, one cf whom had a child in her arms, and deposited them at the village a,r,?s, aii d t 3 t(,- f.rareist tho capital. Once his Majesty had a rather unpleasant experience. After a day of continual rain and snow at the end ??i s?,ow at t l ,.c (113<1 of the winter season, he desired to pass some hours hunting in the mountains of El Pardo. Night-fell before he was able to undertake the return journey to Madrid. The King lout his way, took the wrong turning, and very soon the automobile an'ived at a foot- path, could proceed no farther, and sank up to the axles in clay and mud. Eventually tha car., wr.s pulled out by -'oxen. In the meantime, nitrht had advanced, and Don Alfonso had li 'It' a fire. Four hours after cbrk jc automobile arrived at the palace. Tho clay had icacked as high as the lstcps, and the King and his party were coveicd ..with mud. M Sir Henry Wood, of music farve, tells tho following story "I once asked a young man," he says, "how he CdGe to be a per- former on the bass viol. 'Well,' 110 replied 'w?n I d'2cdcd to be a mu?i'nn 1 got father to promise to buy m? a Mu!c. Hut father alv ay. was one cf tho.oe men 'who want to get as iuuzh as possible for their Fr. Alfred Letter, the comedian, can tell a good story. One relaxes to a rery ragged j individual who invaded the office o £ > a Illil- lion aire one day, and started describing his woes and sorrows in so grapii a manner that the man of money as more affected [ L,-i he had ever been before in his life. At last, with tears ia his ejes, lie rang the bell for his servant, and when the latter arrived he said to him in a broken Voice, "John, r,-zt this poor fellow out at ouce. f life's breaking my heart." ,?ir W. E. IIiime-Wima.]?, *h? famous counsel, iB a remarkably mlt ,jrian. [ O- while pte?KLi:)?, iV hi.? c?iJacity of r Recorder of Norwich, over a complicated ajbi?'ation cn?c, afit'r a. !on? invi-t?r'?icn ? of the facts he publicly confessed that his ,know!e??c was not ?u?tc?jtt to enable., JM)? to d<'cid? it. "And pray, sir," said the exasperated plaintiff, "do you expect the 1 community to pay. you for yonr ignorance?" "I do npt," .meekly aa-were-d the Recorder. "The coihmniiity pays M:G v/ell for v/hat I know. If it were to pay me for what J do hot knov-Y all the money in the world would not suffice." t The privilege of keeping tie Ticad covered in the .prtiicncc of Royalty is. an..hereditary one in the family of the De Conrcys, Barons c of RnTsii:fe. It was '-gthtifaS By Kh5^ «?ohn in 12C3, under the fallowing circumstances: King John and Philippe II of France agreed to settle a dispute resrwcting, the Duchy of .Normandy by single coxa bat. <$o|iu .Pe C^urey, Vakti of. tiller, was the JtnglLlh champion, and no .'sooner made his appearance than the French champion put I spurs to his hom3 and fled. The King I the Earl what reward should be given hiin, and ho replied, "Titles and lands I want not, of those"! have enough; but in reinem- brahoe of tMs day I beg the boon for myself and successors to remain covered in the. pre- sence of your Highness and all future Sovereigns of the realm." The privilege is not. however, confined to the representative oï this iioblo hôu. It is also held by < Lord Forester, under a grant from Henry NIII. Dr, Rusbv, the famous schoolmaster, re- fused to uncover when Charles II. was pre- sent, because, he said, it would never do for him to appear to be without authority be- fore his scholars [ ijarl Winterton had the amusing Mtperi- 1 enee of being mistaken for himself. Shortly lifter he had ceased (1:0 be -40M Turnottr he icas at a Lig^crueK at the? \P.st End, nd a f strang" er addressed him "11, can't quite place you." said the stranger, "but I, seem to remember your face "1 am Lord. \-Vin- I t.erton," replied thev tall, young-looking in an. "Oh T' said tfie man. "Fot the I moment I mistook you for that young pup Turnour." Earl WiA ntertoilt-ook it well. Lord Beresford had juet won his t t an election, and a few days afterwards he was driving with the Prince of Wales (now j ,Kilig) th.caig-h St. John's Wood, wh they pasfwd a frSwsy-headed dame who wag evi- dently under the influence of liquor. As she beheld the distinguished occupants of the carriage, she,boed, genially, and, ikaa-ing her haiid to" the ex- claimed: "Chawlie, I do declare! An' yer't-e got Wyles with yer this mawnin' Hi3 Royal Highness turned to Lord jBeres- ford and remarked: "Really, you seem to have made a great many political friends."

ELEVIN ?E? V.6.?. i ELEVIN ?'r"fV V.ciii.i 4 i [PRIVATE WHO DEFEATED ENEMY ¡ ATTACK. S ¡ Eleven new Victoria Cro.SM? have been gazetted—two are posthumous, and in two 1 other cases the soldiers w ho won the coveted ( medal are missing. ] I The deeds for which the Crosses are given f' include;- IJfirate Arthur Pcuiter, W. Rid. R, ten occasions Private Pouiter carried badly wounded men cn his j kwk to a eaier Icca?ity, thresh a particu- ?r!y heavy artillery and machine-gun bar- ( Two of these were hit a second time I while on his back. lie returjied in full view I c-f the onemv, who were advancing, and car- ¡ I ried I)ack another man who had v bien left | behind wounded. He bandaged up over forty I men under lire, and was subsequently seriously wounded when attempting another rescue in the face of the enemy. I INDOMITABLE PLUCK. I I Private William Eeeslev, Rilie Brigade (Nuneaton).—He rusiied a post, and with his revolver killed two oi; the enemy at a ma- chine-gun. He then shot dead :.n ofiicer who ran across from a dug-out to take their place at the machine-gun. Three more officers appeared from the dug-out. These he called on to surrender; seeing one of thein trying to get rid of a map he shot him and obtained the map. He took four more pri- soners from a dug-out, and two others from a shelter closc by, disarmed them, and sent them back to our lines. For four hours Private Bcesley and a comrade held on to a pc-sition under very heavy machine-gun and rifle hie. The enemy then a dvanced to counter-attack, and the other soldier was wounded. Private Beet-sley carried on by himself, and actually maintained his position until ten p.m., long after the posts on his light and left hand had been practically wiped out and the survivors had fallen back. When darkness f:et in Private Bcesley rtt&de his way back to the original line, bringing with him the wounded carrier and the Lewis gun. He at once mounted the Lewis gun in thp trench aad remained in action unil {tilings quietened' down. THe indomitable phie;t, skilful shooting,' and good judgment in economising ammuni- tion displayed by Private Bcesley stamp the incident as" one of the most brilliant actions I in rceent operations.- RUSHED ENEMY POST. Sergeant William Gregg, D.C.M., M.M., Rifle "Brigade (Derby).—-lie rushed an enemy post and personally killed an entire ma- caine-gun tezlni and captured the gun and tour men in a dug-out near by. He then rushed another post, killed two men, and captured another. His party were driven back by an eucmy. counter-attack, but, r<F inforcements coining up, lie led a charge, personally bombed a hostile inachincguu, killed the crew,and ccptrfd the gun. Lieut. George Burdon MeKean, Can. Inf. Lieut. (T/Capt.) J?i.?n Rcyds Gribble, R. War. R. (who ?aa "s?u fi:g'hHng' to the I last"); T/Caot. Manlev Angell. James, M.C., Glouc R.; "Second LieutT Jtvieph Henry Collin, late R. Lane. R. (kiliec); T/Secbftd Licut. John SchoS-eld, late Lanes. Fus. (killed; after capturing .123 of the enemy); Second Lieut. John Ci:owe.r Wore. R. Cor- poriti (L/Ss"t.) Joseph Edwsrd Wood all, Rilie Brigade; and L/Cov?I. James Heivit- i son, R. Lanes R., each won the Cross under circumstances of exceptional bravery.

&USTRIM FOOD. If)  ? SUrr?ES SHC?T BST'? AT THE FKOJST AND AT Mr. G. "iTHd Price, the correspondent with the Italian Army, who has talked with the Austrian prisoners yielded by this last great battle, sr.y» all those prisoners agree L-hat the Auntrian feed supply is seriously short, both at the front and at homo. Enemy soldiers say they gat the following daily scale: mx a.lU.,U:C,( coffee. ISooh: Soup or polenta (a kind of Yorkshire pud- ding made of maize flour), with a small piece of beef and turnips. Evening; Black soffee. As a bread ration each man gets half a small loaf daily made from maize (Jour. The tinned meat issued is said to be aorsellcsli. Horses which have died of ex- Í1;tí.stiou..arc at once eaten fresh, if the veterinary surgeon says the flesh is not dis- ?a';ed. As regards life in the interior of Austria- • EEungjury,. the Hungarians say conditions are not feally &o bad in their own country. White broad can be had almost everywhere, j and corn is lwiii,, brou-lit from Iloumauia and the Ukraine. The Hungarian news- papers maintain the contrary, so as to de- ceive Austria and Germany and prevent pressure from being brought to bear on Hungary to export food. The Austrian prisoners who-, were brought back from. Russia, s»m<j of whom have beeii identified as having fought in the recent -kwtrian oScusive in Italy, My that they gdonly a month's leave ?<? tkdr ?t?ni fronr-.f?uss? before bci:? c?h?ed? to rejoin theadity. ^hore have .co?s.?u?tiy been fre4iient trcuMps. Near Jnde?burg a party Df returned officers ?nd men took to the w,d8with their arms su? ammunition end resisted the police for some .time. Another band of deserters once broke into an officers' mess and murdered some of them. An ?fBocr among those t?,ke? prisoner says that hc Emperor is still pop?I?r, although Prince Fiirstenberg (presumably tfc'pb^fa^srG&eesrs- man Kai,,e r"c, .,In,4- one-?me J:)u partner in the "Prince's Trust") reoently tried, according to this officer, to engineer a plot to dethrone him. Hungary's hatred of Austria is as great as ever. The Hun- garians were keen enough on fighting the Russians and Roumanians on* the borders of their own country, but they have no par- ticular interest, in trying to invade Italy for the benefit of the Austrian* and Germans.

t HOLIDAY LAND. Maybe the author of the well-known song, "A Little Bit of Heaven," had in mind the j South-West Coast of Ireland, for of all the beautiful spots in the Green Isle,none can com- pare with the districts .of Kiljarney, Glen- garlf, gantry Bay, ^rfr^gh, and Parfenasilla. It is rich with wondroiis foliage, towering mountains, sloping hillsides, basin-like valleys, angry waterfalls, silvery streams, rushing rivulets, tranquil, lakes, and tiny islets. Good fishing and fino jjblfirig are to be had and en- joyed, with all the many pleasures that com- bine to work out a never-to-be-forgotten holi- clay. Attractive and interesting booklets are bu?hed f the use of inten^i^g tourists and rikt?'rs by, the Qr?at Sou?em and WŒtem C?ay. They ?n be hoo freelv if a let?r !-??ddr,?o d to the Tourist Office,Kingsbridge Station, Dublin. Why not write for them?

The Queensland 1913-1.9 sugnir crops, wTiich have been purch ased by the Federal Government, are valued at National Free Church Council reaffirm their support cf the League of Nations as "the indispensable instrument of "providing for the future peace of the. workl." Hongkong is making a further gift to the Imperial Government of X2-0,0,O towards the general expenses cf the war.

I OUR LONDON LETTER, I ? i [From. our Special Corrttpoitdrnt.] I No doubt a great many people reallr believe that Government offices are full of fit. young men who ought to be in the Army, I and are sheltering themselves there while ¡ older, better, but rot litter men are in the tranches. "Comb out Whitehall" is an easy and popular cry, and, repeated oftn. I enough, it gets into the public mind the desired impression that there are thousands I of cohering "Cuthlerts" in Whitehall. But I the ease does not seem to be so very bad after all. Government offices are not packed t with men who are young and fit. A Whita Psper just issued contains the information i J; ':lw: that out of a total of 136.000 men toore are I only 2,242 under thirty-one years of in Grade I., and only 3,839 ever that age. So- that in the whole of the Civil Service there are only iust over 6,000 men who hav been passed as fit for general service. It may be, of course, that a certain proportion even of- this number could be released for the Army, but it is evident that the idea that Govern- ment offices are merely funk-holes for fit men is a mistaken one. I understand that the "comb out" of .-farm- workers, ir.uniticr.eers, and so on, ia yielding excellent material for the Army. Every depot has its quott of recruits. Those, of course, are men of the younger ageg and, according to one officer's statement, they are the finest lot of recruits the Army hz's had since 1916. A very larg e proportion of them are farm labourers or farmers' eons, a fact | which gives t>oint to Mr. Lloyd Gotbrge's^ appeal to the women to undertake work on the land. Unless tho women respond in large numbers it is to be feared that in the coming harvest the labour difficulty will be greater than ever. So far as I know, Sir Albert Stanley's cainc is not among the 47.000 in the German Black Book. Even Mr. Billing has not said that it is, but he did suggest in -a question- in the House of Commons that the Presi- dent of the Board of Trade-is by birth a German of the name cf Emittries, adding the kindly insinuation that Sir Albeit holds his position owing to the influence of "a German Jew named Edgar Speyer, who is now working cut the damnation of this country in America." The question was put to Mr. Bonar Law, who declared that Sir Albert Stanley had no German blood. Later on Sir Albert made a personal explanation to the effect that Knattries, the name he was born to, is an old English name, and has nothing German r.ibout it whatever. His father had changed it because it was difficult to remem ber and pronounce, and, because it might be a handicap for his chiluren. Sir Albert' said his parents were English, and- had resided in Derbyshire for ..generations. Whether this explanation set Mr. Billing's troubled mind at rest I do not know, but it amply satisfied the EousO of- Commons. If Mr. Billing intends to continue this kind of "stunt" he will get himself even more- generally liked than he is at present. How do the Germans find out these thing.;? That is a question often asked, and generally in a manner implying that they are a wonderful people, with most un- canny powers. Weil, sontctimes there is a simple, explanation ci a problem that. at first sight appears to be dark and full of mystery. Among- a batch of recently re- patriated prisoners from Germany wac, ono man who was captured in the early months of the war, ar.d had held every since a fctCl- ing of awe at the astonishing knowledge of the Germans as shown by the quest ions put to him by the officer who examined him when he was first captured. The battalion and regiment to which the man belonged j was known, and the German ofiicer, speak- | ing perfect English, fairly astounded the mail by bombarding him with questions about the officers oi the- battalion; speaking as though he knew tliern personally. How's Colonel So-and-So?" said he. "lit Major Gadzcoks still with the battalion?" and so on. The man was much, impressed, which, j of course, was just what his questioner wished. Yet the whole thing was perfectly simple. The German officer had merely consulted an Asmy .Li?t. where he found the names of the officers set out. The rest was e,8.BY, but it is the kind of thing that h:1-3 a powerful influence upon simple mini-i. Evidently all is not plain sailing in con- nection with the preliminaries for the luxury tax. A Committee \"ss appointed to go into- t tlie whole question, and to decide efactjy how and upon wlint articles the tax was to be levied..Tlie. Committee cannot have found its work easy, or it would surely have reported by this time. However that may be, one Commons member; lias resigned, and tw6 ladies have done th'3 &ame. No official reason has been given for the resignations, but there have been several unofficial ex- planations. It has been said that some of the l'csigning mem bcra have found it impossible to decide where to draw the line between lucury and necessity in the case of such a thing as furniture, for instance. Another explanation is to the effect that they object to the proposal to levy the tax upon articles of all kinds and sorts of Bi;, whether necessaries or not. Ono of Mr. Bor, Law's critics complains that he handed over to the Commuted a taslcv which he ought to have done himself, and that he did not do it himself because he caunot adequately discharge the double duty of Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons. The critic suggests 1 00 that he should therefore resign 6ne post or the other. Standard suits have gone up in price. You may say that you have never yet been able to buy a staftdard suit at any price, and' that nobody you know has had any better luck. I have no doubt you- speak trnih, but- nevertheless it is true that the pyice of made-to-measure standard suits has been in- creased by 5s.. with an additional charge of 3s. Gd. for lined trousers. The price of these made-to-measure suits is uow to be X4 176. Gd., 80 that there must already have been an increase in price of wliich I bad not heard, as the price was originally stated to be £4 4s. The clothes were to have been on sale more th&n a fortnight ago, but, I am now assured that it will be some weeks be- more the etiops receive adequate supplies. It is a disturbing thought that the price may go up again several times before we see the suits. A. E. M.

I 0ne redeeming .f<\atu"<?, nftcr fany "What is that?" "Tajy are very foiid of children."