County Observer and Monmouthshire Central Advertiser Abergavenny and Raglan Herald Usk and Pontypool Messenger and Chepstow Argus

THE LATE QUEEN'S YACHT. By King Edward's orders the work of preparing to place her late Majesty's yacht Victoria and Albert out of commission has begun. It was to replace this vessel that the King's new yacht, which is named after her, was [built. Queen Vic- toria had a great affection for the Victoria and Albert, which she used for many years. The Royal apartments were filled with various family knick-knacks, which she treasured highly. A boat cloak, once belonging to King William IV., was also kept in one of the wardrobes.

A RECTOR'S RECOLLECTIONS. The Rev. A. G. W. Blunt, who has resigned the 1 rcctorship of Chelsea after a service of 41 years, is (says the King) one of the few people living who knew Carlyle intimately. Carlyle," he said recently, had the key of my garden, and he used it." He also visited the old rectory, which stands in Church-street, where he would sit after dinner, pipe in mouth, and his reflections would How in a brilliant and incessant stream. When he began to abuse anybody or anything it was uti use trying to stop him. In particular he hated Huxley's writings, and detested all science. I remember Huxley-whose character grew sweeter and sweeter as years drew on—telling me that it was no use contradicting him. He was so great and so old. In fact, Carlyle was a peasant to the end. Carlyle did not often go to church, but somebody once took him to see West- minster Abbey. He was impressed with the build- ing, but not with the service and as for being buried in it," he growled, I should want a gaol- delivery first before I'd lay my bones there." The Hev. Mr. Blunt also knew Rossetti and Holman Hunt, and told the following story of Rossetti: When his wifd died he cast a volume of unpub- lished poems into her grave, and it was buried with her. But later on the argument of his friends as to the loss which the world suffered thereby induced him to have the poems dug up again, and they were then given to the world. The ex-rector is a white-haired, scholarly man of three score odd —an M.A. of Cambridge whose brickwalled garden contains a mulberry tree planted by the liaild of Queen Elizabeth.

——= I THE KING WANTED THEM. I An anecdote is just now being told in illustra- tion of the King's activity, which conveys a moral outside the immediate circles of the Court. A short time ago his Majesty paid a sudden visit to London, and a telegram in the morning reached one of the great departments that the presence of two officials would be required at three o'clock that after- noon ttt Marlborough House. The message found only one aged occupant of the office at work, both the two in question having left town. Aghast at the position, the sole representative of the depart- ment hastened to Marlborough House at the appointed hour, and informed the King that they were away. Report goes that he passed a painful few minutes, and was entrusted with a Royal message to the truants that such absence could not possibly be overlooked if it occurred again.

MILITARY HANDY MAN. I A young private of the 7th Hussars saved the iil;(, of a valuable horse -at King's-cross in a manner that suggests the presence of handy men in the army no less than in the navy. An artery of the animal's left fore-leg was severed in a street accident, and a crowd stood helplessly by until the soldier appeared. He pitched his whip and gloves to a by- stander, took off his tunic, rolled up his sleeves, and with the help of two men threw the horse on its side. "Now, then," he shouted, "any- body got a knife ?" A lady in the crowd handed him a sharp one. What can I do for tweezers ? Ah, Miss, kindly lend me a hair-pin." So with the help of these, some wire off a ginger-beer bottle, and the bowl of a wooden pipe, a tourniquet was improvised, the wound stanched, and the horse saved. Complimented on his skill, the soldier modestly said he had "read up about it," but had never before had a case.

WHY NOT TAX TALL HATS? Lord Ronald Sutherland-Gower writes to the Times: The tax imposed during the great war with France on hair powder caused the disuse of that absurd habit. Why not put a tax on an equally ridiculous frshion, namely, that of the hideous tall hat ? Even if a small tax were im- posed on that headgear the Government would gain an immense oum of money, and, what would be still better, the ugliest and most incongruous of head coverings would soon cease to exist.

AN International fencing display with foils (French style) and contest with the duelling sword (Poule a Ve pee), took place on Saturday at Blenheim Palace, Woodstock. The display was organised by Mr. A. Spicer, of Bladon, at the request of his pupil, M. Gourney, who was anxious to show his great appreciation of his reception in England, and who undertook to provide the "French team. The French team received a hearty welcome. In the sword duelling contests the Frenchmen scored 17 hits as against ten recorded by the English team. The members of the French team were MM. L. Gour- nay, Soutoul, Porct, Ettlinger, and P. Gourney; whilst the English team was composed of Mr. Ivor Guest, Mr. C. F. Clay, Dr. W. Duigan, Mr. H. Balfour, and Mr. R. Doyne. Exhibitions of fencing were also given by different members of both teams during intervals in the principal contests. ACCORDING to the New York World the director of the Comédie Franeaise is about to a sons a one of the most popular customs of the Paris* stage-the free laundry privilege. This privilege allows the actor to send, at the end of each month, his bundle of soiled clothes to the theatre laundry, which returns them in due time (.•lean and got up, free of any charge whatever 'i.'his happy state of affairs came about several hundred years ago through the King's desire to 'i.'his happy state of affairs came about several hundred years ago through the King's desire to see his actors clothed becomingly.

GENERAL BULLER, RELIEVED OF HIS COMMAND. GENERAL FRENCH APPOINTED. The following announcement has FOJ JI issued from the War Office: In consequence of the speech delivered by General Sir Redvers Buller, V.C., G.C.B., on October 10, the Commander-in-Chief, after full consideration of all the circumstances and of the explanations furnished by Sir Redvers Buller, has recommended that he be relieved of his command. Action has been taken accordingly, and Sir Redvers Buller has been placed on half-pay. The King has been pleased to approve the appointment of Major-General (local Lieutenant- General) Sir John French, K.C.B., to succeed Sir Redvers Buller in the command of the First Army Corps, the appointment to take effect when Sir John French's services are no longer required in South Africa. Pending his return, Major-General (local Lieutenant-General) Sir H. Hildyard, K.C.B., will command the force at Aldershot." GENERAL BULLER'S CAREER. At a moment like the present the nation will (observes the Daily Telegraph) gladly recall the many eminent services which General Buller has rendered it throughout the long and distinguished military career, which has now been brought to a close. Entering the army at the age of 19 as an ensign in the 60th Rifles, he first saw fighting in the China War of 1860, and then, 10 years later, took part in the Red River Expedition. Viscount (then Sir Garnet) Wolseley, who was in command of that expedition, noted the excellent work that Buller then performed, and selected him as Deputy Assistant-Adjutant-General and Chief of his Intel- ligence Department in the Ashanti Campaign of 1873-4, which ended in the capture of Coomassie. For his services he was promoted to the rank of Brevet-Major, and awarded the C.B. It was due. however, to his dashing gallantry in South Africa that Major Buller's name came prominently before the public for the first time. During the Kaffir war of 1878-9 he commanded a body of irregular cavalry, which was the terror of the Kaffir tribes, and in the Zulu war he added still further to his laurels, It was he who conducted the reconnaissance before the battle of Ulundi, which finally broke the power of Cetewayo, and he was repeatedly men- tioned in despatches, thanked in General Orders, made Brevet-Colonel, and appointed Aide-de-Camp to the Queen. The story of how he won the Victoria Cross by rescuing Captain D'Arcy. Lieutenant Everett, and a trooper from certain death, while his little force was retiring down a precipitous mountain, closely pursued by a horde of Zulus, is known to everyone. Colonel Buller. it is not too much to say, was the popular hero of the Zulu war. During the Boer War of 1881 he served as Chief of Staff to Sir Evelyn Wood, but the hands of the latter were stayed before he had time to accomplish anything. Egypt was the next scene of Colonel Buller's activity. He served once more under Sir Garnet Wolseley in 1882, and was pre- sent both at Kassassin and Tel-el-Kebir, returning home with the honour of K.C.M.G. Then, in 1884, he was second in command to General Graham throughout the Suakin campaign against Osman Digna, and led one of the two infantry brigades at El Teb and Tamai. It was mainly due to his splendid coolness on the latter occasion and to his skilful handling that disaster was averted, for the dervishes had suc- ceeded in breaking one of the British squares, and the issue of the day hung for a moment in the balance. That ill-starred expedition, which ac- complished nothing definite, was ended by the recall of the troops, but Buller was soon on his way to Egypt again as Chief of Staff to Lord Wolseley in the Gordon Relief Expedition. It was he who withdrew Sir Herbert Stewart's desert column in safety from Gubat to Korti after its failure to reach Khartoum in time, and after Sir Herbert Stewart had been wounded—a hazardous operation with the enemy hanging on his rear even after he had beaten off their determined on- slaughts for the possession of the wells at Abu Klea. He had already been promoted Major- General, and the K.C.B., which the Queen bestowed upon him, was splendidly earned. From 1885 to 1899 Sir Redvers saw no more fighting, but was busily employed at home. After a short period spent in Ireland, restoring order in Kerry and Cork, he was made Quartermaster- General in 1887; and, at the end of three years, became Adjutant-General to the Forces in suc- cession to Lord Wolseley, being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General in 1891 and General in 1896, and obtaining the G.C.B. in 1894. His work as an administrator has been most highly and deservedly praised. Then, in 1898, he succeeded the Duke of Connaught in the Aldershot command, and when, in the following year, hostilities broke out in South Africa, he was chosen by the Government to take supreme command of the British forces —an appointment which was greeted with a unanimous chorus of praise throughout the entire country. Into the details of the Natal campaign there is no need to enter. His conduct of that campaign has been fiercely assailed, notably his strategy at the battle of Colenso, his unwillingness to assert his supreme authority at the battle of Spion Kop, and his now famous telegram to Sir George White. But the nation has remembered that, despite any mistakes he may have committed, he did succeed in accom- plishing the task he set himself, and that the a,rmy of Natal did eventually fight its way into Ladysmith, and never lost for a moment its enthusiastic confidence in its chief. Nor has the country forgotten the fine work he accom- plished in clearing the Boers out of the Biggars- berg and the northernmost passes of Natal, his able handling of his troops at the battle of Dal- manutha, and his pursuit of the enemy through the Lydenberg Hills to the north of Pretoria— operations carried out in 'some of the most diffi- cult country to be found in South Africa. Sir Redvers Buller remained throughout the idol of the officers and men who served under him. He re- turned home last year, receiving a great public ova- tion and the G.C.M.G., and soon afterwards re- sumed the Aldershot command. Only about a month ago it was announced that he would command the First Army Corps under the new scheme of re-organisation, and it was his public reply to the criticisms passed upon that appointment which has led to his being relieved of his command, THE NEW COMMANDER. I In the first instance Major-General French was not intended for the army. The son of a naval officer, he was trained for service afloat, but, like Sir Evelyn Wood, he had no love for the sea, and after a year under the White Ensign, decided to transfer his services to the land forces. He crept into the Army through the Militia in 1874, when 22 years of age, old for commencing his career anew. He entered the 8th Hussars, and within 11 days transferred into the 19th Hussars, of which six years later he became adjutant, and was destined to rise to command in a period of 15 years, in which space he leapt from most junior subaltern to be colonel. After three years as adjutant to the auxiliary forces at Newcastle, he accompanied his regi- ment as major, second in command, to the Soudan, in 1884, and under Lord Wolseley saw much arduous outpost duty. He went with Stewart's ill-fated column across the Bayuda Desert on the forlorn hope of rescuing Gordon. It was Sir Redvers Buller who rescued the force from the inflamed Mahdists, and led it back to safety with consummate skill. General French was with the 19th Hussars on this occasion; he fought under General Buller at Abu Klea, Gubut and Metommeh, and received from this officer :his first mention in despatches, which was the initial step in his career. The next notable incident in his life story was his appointment to command his regiment in 1889. Twelve months after relinquishing this position, four years later, he was chosen as Assistant Adjutant-General of Cavalry on the Staff, and then went to Headquarters as A.A.G. in 1895: He remained at the Horse Guards for two years, when he was transferred to the South-Eastern District as colonel on the Staff and brigadier in command of the Second Cavalry Brigade. From May 1, 1897; until January 11, 1899, he was thus employed, and then he was chosen to serve once ( more under General Buller, being given the First Cavalry Brigade at Aldershot, with the tem- Dorary rank of major-general. His energy and resource in these years, when he was assisting to train a portion of the cavalry who were so soon to be tested at the front, were quite ex- ceptional, but even as late as 1899 he was not entirely free from that criticism which had been levelled at him six years before, and on the occasion of the Canterbury manoeuvres in 1897. However, when the war broke out, Sir Redvers Buller, according to well authenticated statements current at the time, strongly recommended this dashing commander of cavalry for service in the field, and he was ordered to South Africa as major- general in command of the cavalry in Natal. A new phase in the career of this popular General opened when he sailed from South- ampton in October, 1899. He was compara- tively unknown, but his exploits soon made his name a household word in this country. From the first he showed himself the equal in tactics of the enemy; indeed, he out-manoeuvred them on more than one occasion, and at Eland's Laagte he was in sole command and practically "wiped out" the Johannesburg commando. Many days were to pass before British anxieties were to be relieved by news of another victory. He fought other engagements under Sir George White later on, and then as the investment was being drawn round Ladysmith he slipped away in the very last train to leave the besieged town. When he approached Colenso, as the engine swept through the Boer lines on its way to Maritz- burg, bullets fired by the enemy's outposts struck the carriages. From Natal he was sent to the northern part of Cape Colony, where he was given the command of a small force of mounted troops, and won still further distinction in harassing and pressing back the foe. He was then lost to view for a time, and it was eventually discovered that he had been chosen by Lord Roberts, on the strength of his earlier exploits, to command a cavalry division on the Modder River. General French was approaching the crisis in his career. He had been successful east and west; how would he acquit himself of the great task of relieving Kim- berley, with which the Commander-in-Chief, it was learnt, had entrusted him ? The thrilling story of the turning of the Boer flank, the race to Kim- berley, the relief of the town after a four months' siege, and of his quietly sitting down uncon- cernedly to an excellent dinner within an hour of his dashing achievement is familiar. He became one of the heroes of the hour, and immediately Queen Victoria promoted him from the rank of Colonel to be Major-General. It is unnecessary to trace at length his subse- quent services. He is reputed to be the one officer in the field who has never had a fall, who has always been equal to the strategy of his opponents, and who has always checked and harassed them most mercilessly. He com- manded the Cavalry Division of Lord Roberts's forces throughout the operations ending in the capture of Pretoria, and since this event has been almost unceasingly engaged in successful work. He has been on war service already over two years, and it speaks well for his energy, acute perception, and soldierly qualities of the most modern type that he has seldom been found want- ing, though he has repeatedly had to deal with the redoubtable General Botha. For some months past he has been in command of the forces in Cape Colony. He is a native of Ripple, Kent, and 11 years ago married Margaret, a daughter of Mr. Wm. Eccles.

I BRITISH IN THE YANGTSE. STORY OF A PADDLE-BOAT. Some curious and important statements are made by a naval officer in the Pall illctll Gazette with reference to the British in the Yangtse Valley and the action of the Germans in this sphere, which has always been considered to belong to this country. The finest and richest province in this region, Sze-Chuan, is reached up one of the most difficult rivers for navi- gation in the world. It was while going up the rapids that the British Woodlark wus thrown by a heavy swirl on to a rock at the Niu Kan Tan rapid and crushed in all her bow section. This correspondent relates the stoxy again, and it bears retelling: "The Woodcock was with her, and both crews hauled the Woodlark on to a sandy patch-there are jolly few on this river—rigged shears and took off her bow section; they took a bulkhead down from the ward-room and another one from somewhere else, and col- lected other odd plates together and made a new bow and shipped it. She was ready to go on in eighteen days again It was good work, done miles from anywhere. They had to make 1200 rivets. The job was so well done that they have always left the bow on, and she has not been touched since. The Ad- miralty thanked all concerned in the repairs." At present one of the British ships on the river .S what this correspondent calls a misfit, with paddles, too much beam and drought, and other dis- advantages. The tale of her acquisition is given by this naval officer. The Foreign Office hired the eraft as a refugee ship at Chung-King during the scare last year, at F-3000 the first month and £ 2000 the succeeding months for six months. Then they bought her for E32,000, without troubling to ask Admiral Seymour, the expert on the station, if she was any good or worth the money, or if she could do the work. The Foreign Office did it off their own bat; Admiral Seymour was sick about it, asid so were the Admiralty. When new they say she cost £ 17,000." The naval officer records that the Hamburg- American Line are building a ship for the upper river at Shanghai; they say they will show their flag at Chung-King. If merchants in England will not work the navigation of the upper river above Ichang, very soon it will be too late, as whoever starts the business on a good footing, with heaps of capital, will make enormous profits, and will have an unassailable position. If we are content to let the Germans do this, good-bye to the Yangtse trade, as whoever has Chung-King has the trade of the Yangtse in his hands. The Germans have offered X, late master of this ship, £ 80 a month if he will take the ship they are building up to Chung-King. He does not want to take the job if he can help it, as he is very patriotic, but the offer is tempting. He has a plan himself, very well worked out; if it was taken up by people with capital, I am certain it is the only method of working and making to pay steam navigation on the Upper Yangtse. He showed it to me, and I thoroughly approve of the ideas, so did Admiral Seymour when he saw it, yet we are going to let the Germans step in here. What is the good of British gun- boats policing the river up there for the benefit of the Germans ?" In conclusion, the writer states that "the Ger- mans will never leave Shanghai again. There will always be a German permanent garrison here. They are just now building fine new barracks on about the best site in the settlement, and say themselves they have no intention of leaving. We should get a decent British regiment out here at Shanghai as soon as possible, because having Indian troops lowers our prestige, however smart they are; and anyhow there are so many hun- dreds of camp followers attached to a native regiment.

THE Rev. G. J. Campbell Sumner, rector of Seale, near Farnham, and a relative of a former Bishop of Winchester, has announced to his parishioners that he has been compelled to place his resignation in the hands of the Archdeacon of Surrey on financial grounds. The living was not worth more than Y.129 a year, and his private in- come, through no fault of his own, was £ 70 less than when he went to Seale. He had spent £ 1500 of his private income on the parish, and £ 600 on the rectory house- Engineering gives an account of a lighthouse at the South Cape of Formosa. The interest attached to this station lies in the fact that it was built in a part of the island inhabited solely by savages, and bad in consequence to be fortified. The lantern tvas protected by steel revolving screens, and on the. gallery of the tower, which was of cast iron, a machine gun was mounted on racers. Round the base of the tower was built a wrought-iron refi-ige, or fort, communicating by bullet-proof passages with all the rooms in the keepers' dwelling-houses. Both fort and tower were fitted with suitable ac- commodation for the staff in case of siege, had water-tanks in the basement, and were supplied with a stock of provisions. The station was further protected by a loop-holed wall and a dry ditch, flanked by two small towers of caponieres. armed with 18-pounder cannon.

ROYAL COLONIAL TOUR. I AT HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA. The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York arrived at Halifax on Saturday morning and were enthusiastically received. His Royal Highness laid the foundation-stone of the memorial to the Nova Scotians who have fallen in South Africa, and afterwards reviewed several thousand troops, sailors and marines from the fleet being also mustered. The Royal Marine band from the Ophir played as the soldiers and sailors marched past. PLANS FOR WELCOMING THE DUKE AND DUCHESS. Escorted by the Channel Squadron, the Ophir, with the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York on board, are expected to arrive at Spithead about one o'clock on the 31st inst. She will be met outside the Nab lightship by the King and Qneen, aboard, probably, the Victoria and Albert, and on meeting the Royal yacht a salute will be fired by the squadron. The Portsmouth flotilla of destroyers will head the way into the harbour, which the Ophir will enter as near as possible at two o'clock. The fortifications will be manned and guards of honour mounted at the south railway jetty, when the Lords of the Admiralty will be among those present to greet the Royal tourists. An address having been presented by the Mayor and Corporation of Portsmouth, the Royal train will leave for London about five o'clock. It is now definitely stated that the reserve squadron will not take part in the naval welcome to the Duke and Duchess. In reference to the Ophir's difficulty in getting freejof her mooring buoys on leaving Halifax (N.S.), due to the wind and tide, the Halifax corre- spondent of the New York World states that the Royal yacht collided with the buoy, causing con- sternation on board. The Ophir, it is added, had a narrow escape of grounding. A robbery is reported to have occurred on board the Royal yacht. It is supposed that the thief or thieves gained access to the quarters of the Duke of Teck, from which were taken a gold watch and a wallet containing a number of sovereigns. The watch is much prized as an heirloom.

I THE OROMER WEDDING. THE GREAT PROCONSUL'S PRESENT PROM THE KING. Despite the drizzle and the mud a large crowd gathered long before noon on the 22nd inst. in the courtyard of the Church of St. Thomas, Portman- square, London, to witness, if not the wedding, at least the passing of society to the wedding of Lady Katherine Thynne to the Earl of Cromer. The handsome church was handsomely decorated with white flowers and palms; the service was not only fully choral," but exceptionally good, includ- ing the Lohengrin wedding music. The bride, dressed in ivory satin duchesse, walked up the aisle on the arm of her brother, the Marquis of Bath, who subsequently gave her away. Lead Kindly Light" was sung and then the in- evitable The Voice that breathed o'er Eden," and to the strains of Mendelssohn's "Wedding March." Lord Cromer, white-haired, but gallant and hand- some, walked down the church with his bride. I THE RECEPTION AND PRESENTS. And then there were calls for the carriages of the Marquis of Bath, of Lord and Lady Granville, Lady Ashburton, the Marchioness of Blandford, Lord Revelstoke, Viscountess Castlerosse. Lord Suffield, the Countess of Antrim; and subse- quently the bridal party drove off to Manchester- square, where the Dowager Marchioness of Bath held a crowded reception. The presents, which were many and of great value, made the tenth commandment an awkward and difficult one to keep, and included a silver inkstand from the King, with the Cromer crest and inscription, To Evelyn, Earl of Cromer, on his marriage, from Edward R. and I. the King's signature being ac- curately copied by the engravers. The Earl of Cromer presented his bride with a tiara and a gold pin with K." in diamonds, diamond necklace and pendants, and other jewels that most women would break their hearts to wear. r FROM THE BRIDE'S FAMILY. The Dowager Marchioness of Bath presented the bride with a gold-mounted dressing-case, a most gorgeous accessory to a travelling outfit; and the Marchioness of Bath presented a green leather gold-mounted dispatch-box; and the Marquis of Bath himself gave his sister some very handsome diamond ornaments. Early in the afternoon the Earl and Countess of Cromer left for Holkham Hall, Norfolk, for a few days, but the greater part of the honeymoon will be spent in Egypt. That the bride's travelling dress was of a soft cloth in a purple shade may be of interest to many ( people also the fact that it had revers of purple I and white stitched alternately.

I THE DUKE'S MUSEUM. In his recent letters the Duke of Cornwall, it is stated, has expressed his intention of establishing a museum in his household which shall remind him of his remarkable tour. His Royal Highness and the Duchess have received so many presents that they have been embarrassed occasionally by them. In addition to this, the Duke has revealed a capacity for collecting. It is supposed that this private museum will be established at Marlborough House, which, it is now generally understood, will become the Duke's London home.

EXTRA TOES AND FINGERS. Mr. Wynne E. Baxter held an inquest at the London Hospital on the 21st inst. on the body of Albert Hodgson, the 18 hours old son of a com- mercial traveller, residing at 11, Gill-street, Lime- house. It appeared that when the child was born the midwife noticed some remarkable abnormali- ties, and suggested that it had better be taken to the hospital, where it died. Dr. Woodruff Chapliy 1 ouse surgeon, whp made the autopsy, deposed to finding all the intestinal arrangements external, on each hand there was an extra finger, and an extra toe on each foot. Death was due to shock following deformity at birth. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical testimony.

I THE KING AND QUEEN. RETURN TO LONDON AFTER THEIR STAY IN SCOTLAND. Unpleasant as the weather was a number of people put in an appearance outside Euston station on the morning of the 22nd inst. to give a welcome to the King and Queen on their return from Scotland. At a quarter past eight the pilot engine ran into Euston station, and almost im- mediately afterwards broughams and other vehicles for the conveyance of the Royal party and suite to Marlborough House began te arrive. Punctually to its time the royal train drew up alongside No. 1 platform. There was a general uncovering of heads as the special came to a standstill, and the doors of the royal saloon were thrown open. Queen Alexandra was the first to alight, and graciously acknowledged the respectful greetings of those on the platform. She was closely followed by the King, who was attired in a black lounge suit and a hard felt hat. His Majesty ap- peared to be in excellent health, and showed prac- tically no traces of his recent indisposition, save that his movements were perhaps a little more deliberate than usual in stopping from the car- riage. Princess Victoria then alighted, being dressed in deep mourning, as was the Queen. The King and Queen, with Princess Victoria, entered the leading carriage, the second was occupied by those in attendance, while the third was devoted to the young Prince and Princess of Cornwall and York, who were affectionately greeted by their grandparents as they passed. The Royal party at once drove off at a sharp pace, being loudly cheered by the crowd. The route to Marlborough House, which was by the Euston-road, Endsleigh- gardens, and across Oxford-street, was lined by constables stationed at short distances apart. Marlborough House was reached at a quarter to nine. A considerable crowd of people had gathered in Pall Mall, by whom their Maj esties were res- pectfully saluted as they passed through the gates of Marlborough House.

THE REVENUE. f The receipts on account of revenue from April 1, 1901, when there was a balance of V.5,596,918, to October 19, 1901, were £ 61,765,584, against E56,287,040 in the corresponding period of the Ereceding financial year, which began with a alance of £ 3,517,047. The net expenditure was £ 111,204,249, against E101,230,000 to the same date in the previous year. The Treasury balances on October 19, 1901, amounted to £ 5,325,545 and at the same date in 1900 to £ 2,865,886.

HOLKHAM HALL, the Norfolk residence of the Earl of Leicester, where the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall are to be entertained in December, is famous for its library, in which are preserved the valuable manuscripts acquired by Thomas Coke, who was created successively Lord Lovel the Earl of Leicester in the early part of the 18th. century. The Rinnuccini MSS. (says the Manchester Guar- dian) form perhaps the best-known item in the col lection but there are also many other documents Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Italian, French, and English, including copies of the Scriptures in whole or part, of the classics, and of the Fathers of the Church. The collection is especially rich in codices of Livy.

EPITOME OF NEWS. A GERMAN fire-brigade inspector recently pub- lished the statement that burning oils and fats can be extinguished more effectively and easily by heap- ing a quantity of chopped straw upon them than by any other means. This seemingly paradoxical method was tried recently at a conflagration that broke out in a large oil warehouse, and was attended with success. AT the old-fashioned inna and restaurants in Sweden it is customary to charge less for women than for men, on the theory that they do not eat so much. At some hotels in Sweden a man and wife are charged as one and one-half persons if they occupy the same room. A husband and wife may travel as one and one-half persons by railway, and also by the post routes, furnishing their own car- riage. THE Baluchistan (Asia) Railway is an example of rapid construction. Ninety-five miles were completed in about two months, and the last 20 miles were made at the rate of 3 miles per day. The gradients were about one in 2000 on a dry, barren, treeless, houseless plain, rising all the way. The desert was absolutely smooth and plain. IT is said that Americans spend more money in providing amusement for their children than any nation. The largest toy factory in the world is in New York. It makes 1607 distinct varieties of toys. The building is five stories high, and has an annual output of over a hundred million playthings. Last year nearly three million tin whistles were made, and the tin soldiers reached the enormous total of six millions. HERE is a story of the venerable Rev. Dr. Thurston, who is said to be much more at home in the mazes of theology than in the amenities of social life. Not long ago he was introducing to a younger clergyman a handsome widow, a formei parishioner of his own, no longer young, and ex. tremely sensitive to the fact. My brother," said Dr. Thurston, leading the lady forward, while his face beamed with genuine affection, this is Mrs. Almeda Jennings, one of my old sheep." HERR ANTON DVORAK has been accorded a rare distinction by the Emperor of Austria. He is the first musical composer who has been made a member of the Austrian House of Lords. Dvorak was born in a suburb of Prague in 1841. He was the son of an innkeeper, and evinced his musical genius at an early age and received his training in the Government schools. His" Stabat Mater" secured his European reputation. A HOUSE built of buttons is the latest thing in architecture, and a certain French musical cele- brity is building it. The walls, the ceilings, the rloors, the exterior, and the interior are all orna- mented with buttons of every description, from the very origin of their invention up to those of the present day. Those dating from the lower Greek Empire are of the most curious manufac- ture, but every country has been ransacked, and some very curious specimens are reported to have been brought to light. A LOVER of statistics has taken an average of the fines incurred by cyclists for running down foot-passengers, and has published the results in the form of a tariff. There has been a consider- able rise in the cost of running down a child. Last year it only cost Is. lid. This year the charge is 12s. lrrd. A curious feature of the tariff is the small regard shown for the fair sex. It costs lis. to run down a gentleman, but only 7s. 3d. to run down a lady, while if the lady has a baby with her the odd 3d. is knocked off. Policemen should be avoided, as they are rather expensive, being 8s. 2d. DR. RUTHERFOORD HARRIS, who at the general election defeated Mr. A. Spicer for Monmouth Boroughs by a majority of 688, but who was un- seated on petition, is to be presented by the Con- servatives of the division with a silver dinner service and an illuminated address. A STORY illustrative of the extraordinary number of nationalities to be found in a certain di strict in New York is told by a daily paper. A woman immigrant who settled in that district desired to learn the language of her adopted country. After some months of patient labour she succeeded in becoming proficient in one of the dialects of Bohemia, and she did not find out her mistake till she left the neighbourhood two years later, says the Globe. The missioner on the Amazon who had learned 47 languages, and hoped soon to be able to preach to the natives in the next village, was not worse situated. AN amusing illustration of the native precocity of the American child was noted recently on beard an outward-bound Atlantic liner. A little girl, barely seven years of age, who had tasted every dish at the saloon dinner on the first day out, was not asked by the steward in attendance whether she would have cheese. The man offered the little miss ice cream, fruit and cakes, only to receive a refusal in each case. On asking whether there was anything else on the tables she would like, the small diner replied with a great air of dignity-" Yes, bring me some Camembert and champagne, please!" IT is understood by the Sheffield Independent that the North-Eastern Railway Company, in order to avert a water famine upon their line, will resort to the discovery of water upon their system. It is intended to adopt a system by which water drawn from sources outside of the municipal or county zones is successfully softened for manu- facturing and locomotive purposes. A single plant is said to be capable of producing a million gallons a day. Public authorities have frequently discussed the right to refuse to supply industrial firms with pure and soft water in time of drought. Notes and Queries has recently been discuss- ing which was the first steamship to carry passengers from Europe to America. Mr. Everard Coloman claims this distinction for the Sirius, of Cork, and produces as evidence a copy of the New York Weekly Herald, issued in that city on April 28, 1838. This records the arrival of the vessel with 42 passengers. Eleven of these adventurous spirits were women, for whose comfort there was a stewardess. THE Pope calls upon all Christians to aid the Americans in the pacification of the Philippines. THERE is said to be £ 6.000,000 worth of trea- sure on Cocos Islands. All searches have failed. MR CECIL RHODES, accompanied by Dr. Jame- son and Mr. Beit, has arrived at Salsomaggiore, and is stying at the Hotel des Thermes. Mr. Rhodes is expected to stay there about a month. MR. ONSLOW FORD'S marble bust of Sir George Grey has been placed in St. Paul's. THE Duke of Cornwall is to be elected president of St. Bartholomew's Hopital, in succession to the King. SOUTHWARK BOROUGH COUNCIL has appointed Miss M. W. Richardson and Miss F. M. Nicholas as Sanitary Inspectors. As a memorial to the gallant Earl of Airlie, killed in South Africa, an oak organ screen has been erected in Portsea Church. THE Master of Elibank, who is a brother of the late Captain Edward Murray, is taking great interest in the reinforcement of Lovat's Scouts, and a party of 50 of the old men are on the point of going out to reinforce the corps which suffered so severely the other day. WE have heard (says the Hospital) of a gallant officer who told his physician that he had been taking a quack remedy, and asked what he thought of him. To this the physician replied, "I should have thought you entitled to the Victoria Cross." THE new road which is to be driven from Borough High-street to Long-lane, Southwark, will pass through the churchyard of St. George the Martyr. Readers of Dickens are familiar with St. George's Church as that in which "Little Dorrit was baptised and married. DR. CALMEITE, the director of the Pasteur In- stitute, who was bitten in the finger by a cobra about a month ago, and owed his life to the injec- tion of a serum against snake-bite invented by himself, has just found it necessary to have his finger amputated. THE first church built of stone in England is said to have been the Abbey Church at Monkwear- mouth, which was built in 674 A.D. Of course, the greater part of the present building is of later date, but the Saxon tower remains. This church has the further distinction of being the first whose windows were fLled with glass. RUSSIA is 13 days behind Western Europe in the matter of the calendar. The Orthodox Church stands in the way of an alteration, and the country clergy are one with the peasantry in objecting to any shifting of the numerous festivals which ara the despair of all who do business in Russia.