Evening Express

VOIC OF THE POOR To Mr F. J. Beavan, J. P. I BY LLOYD MEYRICK I Yesterday I walked down Conway-road, and saw on the pavement opposite the house of Mr. F. J. Beavan, J.P., an envelope. I stooped for the purpose of rendering a service to an old public ser- vant, for whose character and ability I have the greatest admiration, and with the intention of dropping the letter into his post-box. On closer examination of the envelope I found the words, "This is an open letter. Anyone is at liberty to publish it." The keen scent of the writer in search of copy was at once aroused, and I opened the envelope and give its contents to my readers. AN OPEN LETTER TO MR. F. J. BEAVAN, I J.P. Dear Sir,-I am a grey-haired old man of seventy. I am one of life's failures. Who my parents were is immaterial. I had a college education and good chances, but I have drifted downwards. I have hungered for days and have chewed the leather of my boots to dull the agony of starvation. I have been a bootblack in Melbourne, and earned a not unreasonable profit. I have dug in New Zealand for Kauri gum, that fossil product of long vanished trees. I havq washed sheep and herded cattle and broken horses. My last address was Boiler No. 23, Sydney Wharf, and I have spent idle days among the outcast, and long nights amidst the sobs of the wastrels and the forlorn. I have anticipated the Christian's Hell, and have known agony which makes a mockery of flames and the lurid tortures of the grid- iron. Now, I have drifted to Cardiff. Why, God knows. I have always drifted, and have been a flotsam on the stream of life. I wonder whether the public wanta to heaa* some voice from the under-world, some aching heart groan from the sad music of the world's outcast. Whether it does or does not the mood of expression is upon me, and I will voice the sentiments of my peers. I have wandered the world over, and ha.ve lived under Monarchies, Republics, and Despotisms, but nowhere have I found the strident voice of the poor raised on high. Loug oenturies havo attuned it to whisper- ing humbleness, joined to the bent back of humility. Some faint echo of my mother's teaching comes back to me, and I hear the golden words, Blessed is he that con- sidereth the poor." Whait do I find? The Cardiff mind stirred to its depths, by no new evangel, by no gospel of sweet hope and greater sympathy, by no question of housing the aged and the unfortunate, but by talk of palatial mansions for the guardians! The Latter are too cold in winter and too warm in summer, and a squeal of anguish arises from the comfortable homes of the middle classes. That the Tatter object to pay unne- cessary rates I can well understand. 11aybe they see at last the humbug of the demand. The poor, it is said, are too great a burden on the rich, but the poor to whom I have always belonged know the hollowness of the cry. Eleven shillings in the £ are paid for administration, and only 9s. in the £ for the needy, and the poor know the fact. The intelligence of the world has moved its pivot, and its bright light glowers gloomily among such as 1. We object to this new cnlh% ment of Bumble, and the clothing him in broadcloth and gold lace. I have been in every country in the world—one of dumb hundreds who have waited with the patience of cattle for the sop of grudging and casual labour, and have kicked my heels for the doles of charity in some of the finest edifices in Europe, and have tramped to Cardiff to find Bumble in the throes of self- exaltation. Can you, sir, wonder that Socialisim grows, that its menacing rumbles are heard disturbing the foundations of the most ancient States? From every common lodging-house in South Wales comes the mocking laugh of the human driftwood, and the common toast is To the guardians, who are too cold in winter and too hot in summer." The gnawing irony of the whole thing. If the public are rated and taxed for the poor, why is it that the poor do not come into their heritage? I have spent one night at the Cardiff Workhouse, and know the present accommodation for the guardians. What utter cant to say that the latter are not sufficiently housed, when one-third are I only called to tihe recollection of the poor when some fat appointment is in the market. If you, sir, find there is money to spare, is there no demand by the deserving poor-no widow to whom some small additional pit- tance would be 31 Godsend, no underfed family to whom increase of food would mean the minimum of physical well-being? We are told that "when the poor have cried Caesar hath wept," and some of us harshly say that the tears of Caesar, the State, fill no hungry bellies. I started life, Heaven knows, with a wealth of idealism, and have known the cold rigours of the Russian fortress and the Bible-soaked charity of a Salvation Army Labour Colony; but I yet look for one corner of God's earth where the poor get the value of the pound raised for their benefit. How we shall gather at the Cathays Park and feel honoured at the goodly pile! Can you, sir, blame us if a. whisper goes among the throng, with the dulled eyes of hunger raised to your great edifice, "We asked for bread, and they gave us a stone"? But I want to undeceive the public. Their money is not wrung from them by the needs of their unfortunate brothers and sisters. Suppose, sir, we had real guardians of the poor—men alnd women who. without cost, administered the huge millions raised on our behalf. Would there then not be enough to give old-age pensions, and gild the declining days of honest poverty on the dusty road to death? The human pc^aweed reads and thinks, and joins hands with the overburdened ratepayers for the laws of common-sense and fairplay. How I should like to act as doorkeeper to your new Gathays buildings. Suppose some fine after- noon, as is the habit of doorkeepers, I slum- bered at my post and in my dreams I was visited by the pale Galilean, who asked what was done for His poor. In spite of post or pelf, I would give vent to a spirit of savage irony: Poor! Well, permit me to show you the new board-room and the chairs for the guardians of the poor. You see the clerical staff housed like princes, and the relieving officers dispensing charity blended with a south aspect. The harsh winds of winter are tempered by the latest appliances, and the hot breezes of summer are cooled by a number of aged poor waving fans. The poor, again you say. Where are the poor always? In dirty alleys, in reeking fliuns; man and God forgotten. There you will find the poor. This is the modern apo- theosis of Bumble, and the spirit' of Dickens has died out in the land. In the same way as Christianity has run to seed in a man-made theology, so has the spirit of charity clothed itself in velvet and built for itself a lordly pleasure-house. "Do not the public support the poor?" you inquire. Second turning on the left in another build- ing you will find teak counters, supported by marble columns, upon which struggling tradesmen deposit their hard-wrung tribute. I was disturbed in my dream by a party of guardians, who wanted to know why the fires of the Turkish Bath had run down, as they wanted a massage before the labours of the weekly meeting. What became of the palo Galilean I do not know; perhaps He hungered for the days of the stern R-oman, who threw with careless hand bread to the poor. but, at any rate, did not mock them with the frozen music of architecture. Now, sir, to end, I hope you will pardon me. I am a rough man with rough ways, and am sorry that I have so long come between the wind and your nobility. But, pray place the saddle on the right horse. Don't use the sacred name of the poor to disguise schemes for the mere aggrandise- ment of a governing body. The poor have no part or lot in your fantastic attempt further to make lean the public purse, from which only the pence ever reach the poor. If you be really guardians of the poor, make, I pray, some little sacrifice of comfort for the cause you profess to serve. I and my class sympathise with the ratepayers, because they are sweated for useless ends under tihe specious guise of helping their more mn fortunate fellows. If, sir, you wish to reply to this letter; I regret I can give no more definite address than Arch 50. The Thames-embankment. I leave Cardiff. I could not see without team tJhe erection of your new pa;laoe.-Yotirs most respectfully, ONE OF THE FALLEN. I make no comment. I leave this strange letter for the great consideration of my readers.

The Definition of" Idle." NOVEL SEQUEL TO A CONVICTION A novel point ca/me before the Lord Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Darling yesterday, when Mr. W. W. Grantham moved on behalf of Mr. J. A. Kensit for a rule nisi calling upon the magistra-tes of Bristol to ehow cause why a conviction of two men, named Chivers and Brunning, who had been sent to prison for fourteen days in default of finding sureties to keep the peace for six months, should not be brought up with a view to its being quashed. The learned counsel said the defendants, who were supporters of Mr. Ken- sit, were charged with having behaved in a disorderly manner, and caused an obstruc- tion in Pembroke-road, Clifton, and the magistrates convicted them of disturbing the; peace. He submitted that the prosecution failed to prove the charge preferred against the defendants, namely, that they were Idle and Disorderly Persons Mr. Justice Darling: Do you suggest that if a man is a busy man, but still a dis- • orderly man, the magistrates have to say that because he is a busy man he cannot be convicted of being disorderly? (Laughter.) Mr. Grantham: I should say not under the words of the Municipal Corporations Act. Mr. Justice Darling: What is the definition of "idle" ? Mr. Grantham: I have not a dictionary with me. (Laughter.) Mr. Justice Darling; I should say if a man is disturbing the public peace he is a disorderly person. Mr. Grantham; There must be evidence that these defend-auts were idle persons. Mr. Justice Darling: Wha-t would yon describe as an "idle" person? Mr. Grantham: I should say an idle person is one who Never Does Any Good for Himself I or anybody else. That could not be said of these men. They were preaching at the time. (Laughter.) Mr. Justice Darling: But supposing the magistrates thought that that was not doing any good to anybody? (Laughter.) Mr. Grantham: The men were in regular employment at the time. Therefore, they could not be called idle. Mr. Justice Darling; I do not agree altogether with that. E-veryone is idle at times. I only wish I could be idle oftener. (Laughter.) Their lordships declined to grant a vnle, and dismissed the application.

HUNDREDS OF LETTERS. LASS WHO LOVED A SAILOR j When "Boy-boy" met Mabel Dora. Bentley six years ago she was a schoolgirl of four- teen summers and he a few years older. To-day he is Lieutenant Alfred George Hawkes, R.N.R., and as the lady is still Mabel Bentley she brought an action for breach of I promise against him in the London Sheriff's- court. CounBel told the court there were hundreds of letters to choose from. In March, 1901, the defendant wrote:- My own little Darling,—I have just finished dinner, and Boy-boy is going to write you a few lines to once again tell you that nothing on earth can or will happen to part us. Yes, dearest, I do love you so much. The defendant's father (added counsel) is a wealthy manufacturer of Birmingham, employing hundreds of workmen, and he himself is engaged in. the mercantile marine at 14s. a day, besides drawing a parental allowance of L200 a year. The defendant used to walk home with the girl, and was received into her parents' home as her acknowledged suitor. The I engagement lasted for six years. At first the Bentleys would not hear of. fixing a date for the marriage on account of their daughter's youth, but the lover was persistent, and in 1904, when he was about to start on a year's voyage on one of his Majesty's ships, it was agreed that the: wedding should take place on his return in July, 1905. In the summer of 1905 he came back to England still very much the lover, but said nothing of marriage, and went off on another voyage. On his return this year the father of the plaintiff pressed him to carry out his contract, but his only reply was a letter, abusing the girl's mother for having pre- vented the marriage earlier, and referring them to a solicitor. The jury returned a verdict for the plain- tiff for E150, with costs

I CARDIFF TRAMS COLLIDE. I I PASSENGERS STARTLED AND SHAKEN I The people in one of the Cardiff Corporal tion cars which was passing through Mill. I lane about half-past seven on Wednesday evening were much startled and shaken. A Roath workmen's car was going towards the Hayes Bridge and a Cathays car was travelling in the opposite direction. As the former was crossing from one line to another: the two collided, but as they were both. moving at a slow pace none of the passengers were hurt. The Roath car was empty, having just finished its day's journeys, while the other oar contained three people only. The fronts of both oars were rather badly battered. The driver of the Cathays car stated that rain had been falling for a. few minutes, and had made the tram lines greasy, so that when the brakes were applied the wheels skidded along the rails.

'YOU ARE TWO BLACKMAILERS' I There was an extraordinary scene in Lam- beth County-court yesterday at the conclu- sian. of a, suit by Mr. Haorry Jacobs, pro- prietor of Wonderland, Whitechapel, against I Mr. Oarl Hooper, a variety agent, and his wife, who is known on the music-hall stage as Viotoria Monks, for money which, he alleged he lent them. It was stated that Mr. Jacobs told Mrs. Hooper that he had only to say a word to his East End gang and her husband would never be seen again." The judge decided in favour of Mr. and Mrs. Hooper, and Mr. Jacobs and his brother protested loudly in court, and called out to Mr. and Mrs. Hooper, You are two black- mailers Several East End pugilists who were in court also made a hostile demon- stration. The judge called Mr. Jacobs back to the witness-box and threatened to commit him unless he apologised. He apologieed, and Mrs. Hooper then said she was afraid to leave the court. The judge ordered the court to be cleared, and then Mr. and Mrs. Hooper were escorted to their carriage by the police.

Z-=7- I "BAG OF BONES" ON FOUR LEGS David Hodge, a coachman in the service of Pat Rafferty, the Irish comedian, was charged at the South-Western Police-court yesterday with ill-treating a horse by work- ing it in an unfit state. The horse was employed driving comedians round the music- halls at night, and a i)oli-nstable, dis- covering it well-nigh exhausted, ordered it to be taken from the shafts of the brougham. A brother of Pat Rafferty stated that the horse was taken out of the stable in error. The Magistrate: I warn you not to work the animal again. (To the accused): You will go to prison for fourteen days. Mr. Leslie Smith, solicitor, applied for a reduction of the sentence. The Magistrate: Certainly not. The animal is a bag of bones.

I A BOOK TO KEEP. The fashion of copying out recipes in a book kept for the purpose has long since died out. Recipes, nowadays, are scattered broad- cast through the pages of newspapers and magazines. We housewives generally read, mark, and criticise them; finally—quit« by accident—we lose them. Everybody knows tha-t the greatest ft-vourites among recipes have. for a long time past, been those dealing with Currant Cookery. These formulse are among the favoured few which we have read, marked, criticiwed—and finally cut out and pasted in a. reference book. Keep all these cuttings— they will fftill come in bandy-but add to them a little book-" Ourrants A Few Recipes," with which your grocer will present y-ou. This little volume ohit" to be an exposi- ¡ tdofc. of oommon-sense Ctarrant Oookery. Get a oosts aad. appraise it youraelC, am

i"Move On, Move On." I POLICE AND GERMAN GIPSIES The encampment of the German gipsies lay last night seven miles away outside the old- world village of Colsterworth. To the disgust of "his Majesty" Rhyil Keany fifteen miles were covered during yes- terday. The atterdemalion horde wandered through one mile and a half of Northamp- I tonshire, two miles of Stamford borough, a stretoh of Lincolnshire, seven miles of Rut- land, and made a second excursion into the fen county. "King" Rhyll protested at Wothorpe when the staott was made that he would go ten miles only, if he went at all. He insisted that his cattle needed rest. He displayed a, broken centre-pole, and declarer that it would take a full day to repair it. The police spliced the pole with stout oords, and a couple of stalwart Lincolnshire cart- horses were hitched to the "royal" blue van and it was dragged into the lame. A dozen constables caught the gipsies' horees, harnessed them to the rickety vans, and urged them along at an unaccustomed pace. Thousands of people witnessed the start. This was the opportunity of the persistent beggars. Mary Anka, the dark-eyed fortune, teller, with the other women amd girls, danced the cake-walk, sang popular melodies, and incessantly badgered the onlookers fop "Cigarette, pfennig, and geit." In Stamford the horde raided a fish- monger's and invaded a butcher's, where they so mauled some legs of mutton that the proprietor was glad to sell them for a few ooppem The gipfries also did well in a grocer's shop, where one changed a sove- reign. Just beyond Stamford the "King" sold two horses for £7 and f,2 to a dealer, who told a press representative that their cattle were excellent, and that one chestnut mare was worth fully j630. Their police esoort is coeting more than .£60 a week, and since their arrival at Leith on April 2 the oost has amounted to more than £ 2,000.

STARTLED HORSE BOLTS Llansamlet Farmer Killed. Through his horse bolting and coming inta violent contact with a telephone pole yesterday afternoon, Mr. David Davies (78), a farmer, of Tallywendda Farm. Llansamlet, lost his life. Mr. Davies was driving home from Neath, and when near Maesygwelan Farm. between Skewen and Llansamlet, the tail-board of his cart fcll off, and this started the horse, which bolted. Mr. Davies, who was riding on the front of the cart, was thrown off, and sustained a fractured skull. Deceased had had a lot of family trouble, three of his eons having met with tragic deaths.

DISCREDITABLE P Nancy Vey, the young and well-dressed wife of a Cardiff boarding-house keeper, was charged at the polioe-oourt to-day with steal- ing a silver lever watoh, value L2 10s., from the person of Henry Stanton, in Edwards- terrace, on November 14. The prosecutor was not in attendance. Mr. Harold Lloyd defended the prisoner, The police, in the circumstances, applied for a remand until Tuesday. Mr. Harold Lloyd raised no objection to the remand, but said if there was a remand he should certainly apply for bail. Prose- cutor had made a charge under discreditable circumstances—a dharge which his client had instructed him (Mr. Harold Lloyd) to emphatically deny. At the same time, the prosecutor, having made the charge, had not the courage to be there, although he bad been summoned to attend. Why, therefore, should the woman be kept in custody through no fault of hers? The Magistrates (Messi's. J. Andrews and F. H. Lambert) accepted bail for prisoner's appearance on Tuesday, the woman herself in £ 5 and one surety in a similar amount.

THROUGH THE HOLY LAND The Dowager Lady Bute and Lady Mar- garet Crichton Stuart, who have been at St. John's Lodge for several weeks, are making prepamtions for their journey to Palestine and the Holy Land, where Lord Bute owns extensive property. After visiting Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives, where her hus- band's heart lies buried, the Dowager Lady Bute will go through Syria to Damascus. Lord and Lady Bute, who have been stay- ing in London, are leaving on Monday for Mount Stuart, where they will remain over Christmas. Lady Bute, who is an ardent Celt, is promoting the formation of a Bute branch of "An Comunn Gaid Nealach" (the Gaelic Association). She and her supporters are to hold a preliminary meeting in Rothe- say on St. Andrew's Day, and have arranged to give a Gaelic concert in the same town on December 21.

CALLED TO SEE THE BUILDING I Some romiarkable evidence was offered yes- terday at Bow-street, when Emanuel Michaels, aged nineteen, a clerk, was oharged with a series of frauds and thefts. In one case, it was alleged, he called at the Euston Music-hall and asked to see the manager. Being told the manager was out, he waited in his office, and represented he was a son of one of the directors, a.nd searched through the manager's papers and helped himself to his cigarettes. When the manager returned he repeated his story, and the manager stated he knew the family of tho director in question, and did not recog- rtise him. The prisoner then stated he had only recently leturned from Bombay, and said he wished to see the building. When he went away the manager missed his gold pinoe-nez, JE13 in cash, and a. cigarette-case. The prisoner's story was found to be untrue. The police said there were about fifteen cases against the prisoner, who was com- mitted for trial.

PLENTY OF SUMMONSES I Joseph Martin, of 20, Mysydd-terrace, Landore, a steelworker, was charged at Swansea Police-court to-da.y with persistent cruelty to his wife, Sarah Ann. The prisoner was alleged to have kicked her and turned her out of the house. The defendant gave evidence, and told a long and pitiable story to the bench. He said that everything in the house had been pawned to get drink. He also remarked that he had had enough summonses. to paper his house. The Bench said they were sorry for hima, after 2Z years' marriage, and said that they could not make a separation order, but he would have to pay 7s. a week towa.rds his wife's maintenance, and have the custody of the children.

"DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS YOUR COW' A good story is told in the ourrent "Woman's Life," which shows how a soft answer is better than wrathful verbiage. It had been giren out that Peggy, one of "The Dairymaids," at the Apollo Theatre, would try to milk a oow! And a goodly number of people assembled to watch the attempt, including several newspaper re- porters and photographers. There was some difficulty in obtaining a nice tractable cow for the purpose. But one was at length discovered, and everything got in position, with Miss Moore on the stool and Dan Royl-at (the comio sailor of the piece) leaning up against the cow, waiting for the milkmaid to hand him a glass of milk. The group was perfect. Then, up strolled a. haughty official, who eyed the scene with a terribLe glance. "Look here, miss," he said. "You m-nstnt do that, you know." Carrie looked up at him with her great, innocent eyes. "Oih, I'm so sorry," she said, apologetically. "I didn't know it was your cow." And. amid a burst of laughter, that official glided away.

FULL, TRUE, AND ACCURATEI A summons has been issued, and will be heard at West Ham Police-court on the 28th ivst., against Mr. Charles Henry Patterson, borough treasurer of West Ham, who, it is alleged, refused the Local Government Board auditor's request to sign a declaration that the accounts of the West Ham Education Comlaittee were full, true, and accurate."

BARMAID AND "BREACH" I In the Kmg's Bench to.Uy Blanche Williams, formerly barmaid at the Jæners' Axma, Camber well, Tra? awarded iC1401 d&nM?ea agadnst Vernon Edgar Croes, whose father is the owner of several public-houses, for breach of promise of marriage.

CLARKE'S BLOOD MIXTURE This famous Madleln* wffl I .-leanae the blood from an Impq. rities from whatever oaose arising. & øat. remedy for Ezzomik, Bad Legs, ScrotuA. Blood Poison., Sores of all ttafe, BaUa, snip UoaI, Ulcer*, CWiinflnlax Svet UnCB, Ac. Of all atoraa, ta, Jortr yeaw ommm Dtwu. of Iwttitlw

Cardiff Warehouse Fire I CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE. Considerable damage was done by a. fire which broke out Last night at a. warehouse in Nora-street, Cardiff. The building, whioh belongs to Mr. George Jenkins, trading as W. Thomas a.nd Co., flour merchants, contained a, cable, which was used for packing the flour, and this coming in contact with the match-boarding, caused the flames to spread to the roof. The fire brigade, under Superintendent Geen, were soon on the scene, but before their arrival the fire had been, practically extinguished by a hose from the Boath Police- sta-Hon. The ground floor is need as a stable, occupied by Mr. Dodington, grooer, Bute- Btreet. There were five horses in the stable when the alarm was raised, but they were brought out by Polioe-constable King (46 C), and sent to a place of safety.

IS. WALES MINERAL RAILWAY The Briton Ferry fticline The old scheme to avoid the Briton Ferry incline on the South Wales Mineml Railway is being revived, and a. great deal of interest is being taken in it in the Neath and Port Talbot districts. This incline has proved a serioue drawback in the working of the railway, and has, no doubt, checked the development of the rail- way and the extensive mineral area through which it passes. The general maaiager of the lime, in reply to our Neath representative, stated that while it waa true that the scheme, which was talked of many years ago and has been under consideration on several occasions, had not yet token definite shape, it was hoped that ultimately an arrangement for the construc- tion of an avoiding loop would be made.

SUNK IN COLLISION. Cardiff Steamer Lost Advices were received at Cardiff to-day that the steajnship Mon.troae Abbey, owned by Messrs. Pyman, Wotaon, and Co., Cardiff, has been sunk through collision in the Bordeaux river. The circumstances of the collision have not yet transpired, but it is understood that the crew are all safe. The Montrose Abbey was pitwood-laden.

INSURED HER SISTER At Aberoarn Police-court to-day the Boyal Liver Friendly Society were summoned by Mrs. Eliza J. Rees, of Aberoarn, who claimed L12 16s. money alleged to be due under an. insurance policy, which the complainant took out on the life of her sister. Mr. Matthews (from the office of Mr. T. 6. Edwards, solicitor, Newport) appeared on behalf of the complainant and Mr. C. D. Lewis, Tredegar, defended. Mrs. Bees insured her sister, Mrs. Sand- grove, on August 21, 1905. On the 25th of August, 1906, the sister died from acute rapid consumption. Dr. Ithomas, Newbridge, said that fourteen months ago he examined the deceased, and then found her to be in good health. The company re&isted the claim on the ground of misrepresentation at the time that the insurance iorni was made out. The liench, after hearing the case, adjourned it for a fortnight, and expressed the hope that, it might be settled.

MILLION DOLLARS MISSING. The CW-on,iclo of ftan Franoieco haa set afoot an inquiry into allegations of mis- appropriation of moneys sent for the relief oi sufterer3 after the great earthquake of last spring. It is alleged that a million dollars is the shortage, but at present details are lack- ing, and not even the investigators can tell yet the full extent of the defaioatk/na. One parcel, consigned by the Wells Fargo Express Company, and valued at 10,580 dollars, is missing, amd it is alleged that the robbery took place by the help of forgery, the operating thieves taking advantage of the confusion in San Franoisco at the time to impersonate the relievers. President Roosevelt hao ordered the strictest investigation to be carried out by the Post Office officials with regard to further sugges- tions that the mails were tampered with- The President declares tha.t nobody who is guilty will be allowed to escape, but that for such a crime a fitting punishment will be found. Wi.ld rumours are in circulation, but at this moment it is dangerous to give the names of those who, it is whispered around, are involved in the scandals. Some of the names are of person, high-standing in the political world.

WEST WALES ASSIZES. At the West Wales Winter Assizes, held at Carmarthen to-day, Thomas Page, 48, labourer, of the migratory class, was sen- tenced to three months' hard labour for stealing 2s. 4d. worth of cheese, the property of Thomas Lewis, Llandilo. Alfred Nugent, 25, labourer, who is at present undergoing twelve months' imprison. ment for felony in Pembrokeshire, was sen- tenced to five months' imprisonment for stealing eleven keys from the rectory at Llan- dowror, the sentence to run concurrently.

"SHOPLIFTING" FOWLS. At a special sitting of Brynma-wr magis- trates to-day Maria Evans, single, 163, King- street, Brynmawr, was charged with steal- ing a. silk wrap, valued at 6s., the property of Mr. Gerson Ballins, draper, Brynmawr, on the 14th inst. The prisoner, it appears, went to the shop to sell fowls, and after she had left the wrap was found to be missing. Some time after informatioTi had been given to the polioe the prisoner brought the wrap back, and said the fowls must have plucked at it, and asked to be forgiven. Prisoner said that it was an accident, and the prosecutor not being anxious to press the charge, prisoner was dismissed with a caution.

PREPARING FOR A LYNCHING A dispatch from Asheville, North Carolina, states that a nogro desperado named Wil-1 liam Harris yesterday shot dead two POlioo-l men and three negroes, and wounded a dozen other people with revolver shots. He was chased until he took refuge in a house ten miles from the city, where he is now sur- rounded. A posse in charge of Mr. J. A. Roebling, the millionaire iron and steel manufacturer of New Jersey, has left Aahe- ville by special train for the spot. It is practically certain that the man will be lynched.

ZELIG ZINGAR DISCHARGED The young Polish Jew, Zelig Zingar, was at Bow-street to-day for extradition charged with bomb throwing in Russia. No further evidence was offered, and the accused was discharged. The Magistrate (Sir Albert de Rutzen) said the accused's position was due entirely to himself, but there was no further evidence against him, and what evidence there was rather went to prove the fact that he was not the man. The action of the police authorities had been quite correct.

A NEW CLASS OF SCHOOLS The Archbishop of Canterbury has given notice of his intention to move a new clause to the Education Bill, establishing a class of State-aided schools, receiving no aid from the rates. These schools would have to fulfil ordinary requirements as regards premises, accommodation, equipment, teaching, staff, and curriculum, but the managers could provide religious instruction of a. special character, aild oharge school fees not exceed- ing ninepenoe a week.

HIRWAIN PUBLICAN'S FAILURE A meeting of the creditors of Bees Morgan Prothero, lioensed victualler and cab pro- prietor, Railway Inn, Hirwain, was held at Merthyr to-day. The statement of affairs showed: Gross liabilities, VN4 12s. lOd. liabilities to rank for dividend, E143 4s. 6d.; net assets available for distribution, jS25 13s. lid.; deficiency, 6119 10s. 7d. The debtor attributed his failure to loss of C93 since April last by accidents to and deaths of five horses, bad trade in both his businesses, ill-health of his wife, and the strike of 1904 in the neighbourhood.

HBKMAUJTB BREAD- Gave life an Inflnencs To their whole betnc." "fflrntfa of Atton*" A* V«w U

"MAUDIE DARLING." —————— .4 —————— Colonel's Alleged Familiarity with Landlady. HIS WIFE OBJECTS TO IT. An extraordinary case, in which an ex-Army officer, named John Warrington Oarrington Glynn, of South Kensington, was charged with assaulting his wife, Catherine Mary Glynn, was heard at West Ham Polioe-court yesterday. Mrs. Glynn, it was stated, was fifty years of age. and was married to the defendant in 1901. For a long time he had treated her with diabolical cruelty, beating her several times, and even on one occasion going to the length of biting her through her eyelid. Latterly they had been living in a lodging- house kept by a Mrs. M'Neil. A doctor stated that he saw Mrs. Glynn on October 12 and found bruises about her body and a few scratches on her face. He had attended her before on other occasions, when she alleged her husband had assaulted her, and onoe She Bore Distinct Marks on her eyelid of a bite. Mrs. Glynn, a tall, handsome, grey-haired woman, stated that her husband was addicted to intemperance. She had serious reason to complain of his familiarity with Mrs. M'Neil. He used to call her "Maudie darling," and kiss her. She implored him to leave the house, and he said he would never leave Mrs. M'Neil, so she (the witness) left the house. When she called on October 12, Mrs. M'Neil tried to prevent her entering, and called out to her (the witness's) husband. "Here's the beast, Jack; give it to her." Thereupon the defendant struck her in the chest. He repeated the assault, and she fell to the ground. In answer to questions by Mr. Newton, the witness said she did take some poison, after ahe left the house, and she wrote to her hus- band to tell him so. Mr. Ellis (for the defence): It was A Nicely Calculated Dose Yon recovered? The Witness: Yes. The Witness, in cross-examination, ad- mitted that on the Thight of her first intro duction to the defendant he stayed at her rooms. Mr. Ellis: Were you received by hiis family? —No. And you went to their house and made a "row "Oh, no. He stayed on my premises in a. different room. I nursed him, amd spent about L100 through his illness. He was a physical wreck?—Through drink, Is it true you pressed him to marry you?— No. Did not you threaten to commit suicide ?— No. Have you not twice taken poison?—After marriage. And it was through your Threats to Kill Yourself that he was induced to marry you?—Oh, no. The Magistrate: What was your social posi- tion when you married?- I had a smsaJl I allowance from a gentleman. Mr. Ellis: Haven't you been turned out of one shabby lodging and another through your jealous scenes and violent language?—No. Through his drunkenness. Haven't you tried to stab your husband?— No. Didn't you ran after him in Bond-street, shouting, Stop, thief "?-When he was going to pawn my first husband's watch. Didn't you cause him to leave the Army?— Certainly n<yt. He was drunk while changing guard once. In answer to Mr. Newton, the witness den-ied emphatically that she was an immoral woman when she met the defanda-nt.. The case was adjourned.

DUKE'S SIMPLE LIFE I The great Duke of Wellington seems to have been the eldest exponent of the simple life. His own room was plainness and simplicity itself. He always slept on a small camp-bed, and Lord Ellesmere, in his reminiscences, tells us that he was temperate and careless in his diet, stating that he believed his good health was due to the three years he spent under canvas in India, when he ate Little but rioe, and drank scarcely any wine. He continued to eat rice to the day of his death. He ate it with meat and almost everything, and his intimate friends took care always to place a dish of rice on the table when he dined with them. He was the first inventor of the mixture of ale and soda-water, but was quite innocent of any gastronomic fancies, scarcely knew one wine from another, and could not discern bad butter from good. His indifference in the matter of food was proverbial, a con- trast, says Lady Violet Greville in the "Graphic," to the present day. when diet forms one of the principal subjects of con- versation.

CRUSHED BY THE RATES. A pathetio story of a family which was crushed by the excessive rates was told ye-s- i terday at Lambeth County-court by Mrs. j White, the wife of a working tailor, named W. T. White, who is now in gaol for non- payment of his rates. Mrs. White said that her husband earned only 25s. a week, and had a family of ten children. On account of the size of their, family they were unable to obtain cheap rooms, and were forced to take a small house, but they were utterly crushed by the rates. She applied to have a committal order on a judgment summons rescinded. Judge Emden said that it was a shocking thing to send a man who earned only 25s. a week and had ten children to gaol for his rates, and he hoped the local authorities concerned would investigate the circum- stances, and at least see that nothing of the kind occurred again. He rescinded the committal order under the judgment summons.

H.M.S. MONTAGU I The Press Association is informed by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty that it has been decided not to carry out any gunnery practice at the wreck of his Miajeety ship Montagu.

I LANGUAGE OF COMMERCE French may be the language of diplomacy, but English is the commercial language of the world, with a numerical advantage which leaves all competitors far behind. Great Britain, her Colonies, and the United States of America produce together the fabulous total of 111,000,000 of English-speak- ing persons. Germany and Russia come next with 75,000,000 apiece, followed by France, Spain, Italy, and Portugual in the order named, with 51,000,000, 43,000,000, 33,000,000, and 13,000,000 each respectively. These and similar striking facts of world-wide interest are illustrated by means of maps and diagrams in Part 14 of the Atlas of the World's Com- merce (6d.), published by George Newnea (limited).

DEATH OF LADY SELBY Lady Selby, the wife of Viscount Selby, late Speaker of the House of Commons, died this morning at six o'clock aX Seaford, Sussex. It will be remembered that at the time of Mr. Gully's elevation to the peerage he took as his title the maiden name of his wife, who was the eldest daughter of the late Mr. Thomas Selby, of Whitley, Essex.

THELORD CHANCELLOR The Lord Chancellor passed a good night, and is going on very well, but there is no doubt that his lordship is seriously ilL He cannot walk yet, and is necessarily confined to his bedroom, an.d any hope that he can resume his official duties before Christmas is regarded as out of the question.

MERTHYR POULTRY SHOW The annual elhow of poultry, pigeons, and cage-birds at Merthyr was held to-day at the Drill-hall. There was a large number of entries, and in erery department there were some very fine exhibits.

ONE MOMENT, PLEASE! B. F., of Weybridge, wrltea: After I bad tateG the aecoad two I felt better than I had done for oiet tour yeara. Tb8 pain In my back haa octiraly ffona." Holdmyd's Gravel PUjø am a pamitive Oura for (travel and Paina in the Back, Dropsy, Dinem at the Kidneys, Gent, Sciatica, It. lid., all nhewtata. Pact free, 12 atampa.—HOIJJBOYD'S MKBJOAL BALL. CteoMtMten.

I Out-of-Work Tragedy. I SWEETHEARTS TAKE POISOH. I Youth Sentenced to Death. I At Manohest,er Assizes yesterday a, beardie^a youth named John Chapman waoJ charged with murdering his sweetheart, Martha Jane TV atts, and with attempted suicide. In the early hours of the morning cf Sun- day, August 5, Chapman knocked at the door of Mra. Scmith. Grove-street, Rusholme, pointed to his sweethca-rt sitting on a door- step a. few paces away, and said, Help her; never heed me; we ha-ve both taken poison." Mrs. Smith procured an emetic and tried to administer it to the girl, who, pointing to her lover, murmured, It's him as well as me." The poor girl's mouth, however, was so fearfully burnt that Mrs. Smith found it impossible for her to take the emetio. Chapman, however, swallowed some, and to it he Probably Owed His Life. La.ter he made the following st.a.t.emen.t:- We had both been at the Junction Theatre, and on ooming out she went to a chemist's shop. We then went t.o the police athletic ground and took both lota' of poison together. We had made up our milIlds a week ago to do it.. I did it because I was out of graft. To a nurse he added: Martha was in great pain, amd I carried her ne,arly half a mile. At the police-station he s«aid: If she dies I cannot live, and if I die she won t. I wish we had talsen enough to finish us. I was out of work and in trouble. That is why I did it. The evidence give-a by the girl's mother and other witnesses showed that deceased and Chapman were always on the most affeo "rrvfi?^6 terma- When picked up she said, lake me home to mamma." The jury returned a verdict of "Wilful murder," but strongly recommended Chap- man to mercy. Sentence of death was then pronounced.

I BLEW HIS BRAINS OUT. ROMANCE OF THE MAINE RECALLED I A romance of the voyage of the hospital ship Maine to South Af rica during the Boer war has been re-called by the suicide at Buffalo yesterday of Dr. Rodman, who dur- ing an attack of scarlet fever blew his brains out. At the invitation of Lady Randolph Church- hill, Dr. Rodman joined the ship's medical staff. Amongst that famous company of dashing amateur nurses was Lady Randolph's secretary, Miss Eleanor Warrender, daughter of the late Sir George Warrender. Somehow the Boer bullets, Eontgen rays, and 'human love got mixed, and on the return of the surgeon and iiias Warrender to London their eng-agment was announced on March 4, 1902. That summer Dr. Rod- man was seized with illness and went to America (says the "Morning Leader"), where he fell in love with a hospital nurse named Edith Wyman. On July 15 he was carried into Jefferson Hotel, Richmond, on a stretcher. With a physician standing by, frequently adminis- tering restoratives during the ceremony, he was married to the nurse. One month later the "Herald" printed the following advertisement: The marriage arranged between Misa Eleanor Warrender and Dr. Harry Rod- n, inp-n, of New York, will not take place. The New York newspapers at the time en- deavoured without success to discover why Dr. Rodman jilted his fiancee. Exactly five months after his wedding with the nurse Mrs. Rodman died at the Presby- terian Hospital, New York.

CHELSEA HOUSE ROMANCE Ther,B ir, a myst(, There is a mysterious old house in Chelsea that has been shut up for 40 years. Th< owner was taking his bride home, and she fell dead on the threshold. The wedding breakfast was ready in the dining-room, but the bridegroom would not have a thing disturbed. He shut up the bouse, and went to live in a house opposite. Not until his death, says "Madge" in "Truth," will anyone see that ghostly dming-room and the wedding breakfast, which has possibly been eaten away by rats and mice. "I thought this rather romantic," saya Mrs. Humphry, as Madge" is known to her readers, "and told it to Richard." And he aaid-" "Well, you know what men are. lie saiiat If they had the &ense to lay the bottles on their sides, there ought to be some decent wino there.' Just like a man, isn't Romance! Does he care about it? Pooh!" But the thought of that shut-up Chelsea room brought back the remembrance cf Miss Havisham in Great Expectations," who sat in the bridal breakfast-room in bridal dresa I unil the end came.

BOY AND GIRL MARRIAGE The Belgian professor whose theory of early marriage has somewhat started us holds that boys and girls, if they wed in their teens, will avoid much of the evils and pitfalls of life. I am afraid (says the "Free Lance") that the professor will not find mainy to agree with. him. Already in the lower classes these baby marriages are a dismal failure. One has only to read the polioe-oourt news every day to soe what they mean. To start with, children of the age of nine- teen or twenty cannot know whether they are really in love with each other. The fairy prince may win his Cinderella as long as he is the fairy prince; but when the tinsel has worn away, and Cinderella becomes really the drudge again, and he is no longer of lover prince but a struggling worker for bread, what then? One cannot conceive a worse prospect.

MAGISTRATE v. JUDGE. Mr. Mead. the Thames magistrate, was in a mood for candid speaking yesterday, and did not hesitate to pit his opinion against that of the President of the Divorce Court. The case was one of a man summoned by his wife for desertion. She wanted a separa- tion, but a solicitor contended that, as the husband was perfectly willing to live with his wife, there was no necessity for his Wor- ship to make an order for separation. Mr. Mead said that, with all due respect to so high an authority as the President of the Divorce Court, he had hitherto failed to discover a.ny caae in which it would be of advantage to refrain from making the separation order when making an order for maintenance. Judicial separation granted, with mainten- ance order of 8a. a week.

HARMLESS DUEL CLUB 11- .ur. rauj j-,evuilerS. the president of a new dueUing club in Paris, has invented an inoffensive revolver bullet which at the usual distance of twenty paces will hit an adver- sary without hurting him. His clu;b has been formed to popularise the gentle art of duelling by enabling the members to fire on one another, with all the forms and ceremonies of the dud, and to hit eaoh other without harm. The bullets- look like the real thing in lead.

NOBLEMAN AND CHEQUES Count Fritz You Rosen, captain, in the Swedish Horse Guards, and a member of one of the noblest families in Scandinavia, was yesterday arrested at Copenhagen on a charge of having defrauded the Swedish military authorities of over £ 8,000. Count von Rosen is also accused of endors- in.g fraudulent cheques with the names of members of the Royal Family.

KILLED WITH A HAMMER Tee, I did it. I hit him with a hammer." This confessiou is alleged to have been made by Thomas Evered, 33, a blacksmith, of West Ham, when arrested for the murder of Thomas Howe at Stratford on Tuesday. Evered appeared before the West Ham magis- trates yeaterday. On the way to the station he said to Poliee- sergeant Clark: "I threw the hammer at him. He had been punching me in the face. That is all through interfering with other people's business." Accused was remanded. I

FATAL WRESTLING MATCH George Weethall, a South Shields wresrtler, was thrown twice in a public wrestling matdh last nigfnt at Sunderland, in which his opponent was H. Purvis, also of South Shields. The second time he failed to rise, and when assistance reached him it was found -that he was dead.

I -SFABS WELL AND 8PZVD WFJJ-" Wbae Jell bar KM GLAND'S GLORY HA.TCBXS you lime, Pxttooee, and lioocgr, aDd "ap*nd" w«0 bmaft you get the Acme of Vafr*. Bveu matoh Strikgw, Ughts, and Buras perfectly. MeAs at Bagfaw to illim.. Mateh wqgka. asomenew. ogalw I <