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

CURRENT SPORT. ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL CUP. I FINAL TIE.—VICTORY OE MANCHESTER I CITY. 1 The final tie of the Association Cup between Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers at the Crystal Palace on Saturday ended in a win for Manchester City by one goal to none. The game was remarkable for the fact that two Lancashire clubs were meeting in the final tie for the first time. The general expectation was that Manchester City would win., for they have played most consistently during the season, and both individually and as a side perhaps they were thought to be the stronger; but it was felt that the greater experience of Bolton Wan- derers in such matches might make a great difference. They had also shown themselves to be a fine fighting side in the earlier rounds of the competition, when they defeated in turn Reading, Southampton, Sheffield United, and Derby County. Manchester City, however, had, if anything, shown better performances in beat- ing Sunderland, Woolwich Arsenal, Middles- brough, and Sheffield Wednesday. It has often been said that the final tie does not as a rule show the two teams at their best, for the ten- sion and excitement are too great, and this was in some degree true of the game on Saturday. But although neither side gave a really great exhibition of football, the form shown was as a whole perhaps rather above the average. Man- chester City played the more scientific football, but as the game went there was not much to choose between the two sides, and the match was always interesting to watch from the fact that the result was in doubt up to the last minute. Bolton Wanderers deserve every credit for the fine fight which they made. They were not such a finished side as their opponents, but after Meredith had scored the goal for Manchester City about 20 minutes from tne start they played up most pluckily, and in the early part of the second half, when they re- sorted largely to "kick-and-rush" tactics, they had much the better of the game, and once or twice came near equalising. Both goalkeepers had a good deal to do, and both played finely. Davies in the second half made one particularly good save, and he had practically no chance of stopping Meredith's shot which scored the goal. At back, Burgess for Manchester City played a fine game, and he and his partner both tackled well all through, and were perhaps a stronger pair than Brown and Struthers. If none of the half-backs showed particularly brilliant form it was mainly because their chances were not many, and they all worked untiringly from start to finish. The Manchester City forwards were certainly better than those of their opponents. Meredith, on the outside right, did some wonderful pieces of work, while in the first half the left wing, Booth and Turnbull, made some fine runs, and the line as a whole often showed good combination. The passing of the Bolton Wanderers' forwards was not so accurate as that of their opponents, but at the beginning of the second half they got going, and Manchester City's defence was at the time hard pressed. The conditions on the whole were favourable for football, for the ground had not suffered materially from the rain, and there was very little wind. Manchester City, who won the toss, had what little wind there was in their favour in the first half. They soon settled down and began to have the better of matters. Occa- sionally Bolton Wanderers broke away, but the Manchester City defence was very sound, and Hillman made a rare good save from a shot by Taylor. Manchester City continued to do most of the attacking, however, and after about 20 minutes' play Meredith, taking a pass from Livingstone, got round the Bolton Wanderers' backs, and, getting close up, scored for Man- chester City. Bolton Wanderers played up well, but until the interval Manchester City were obviously the stronger side. Afterwards Bolton Wanderers pulled themselves together and made a fine effort to equalise. Their forwards never played a really scientific game, but their long passes across the field and their scrambling tactics for a time upset their opponents, who were for the most part placed on the defensive. Manchester City improved again towards the close of the match, but certainly their opponents had more of the play in the second half. The referee's whistle brought the game to a close ■with the ball in the hands of Hillman, and m the last few minutes no one would have been surprised had the game ended in a draw of one g°Mr.alA. J. Barker, Hanley, ahd Mr. W. J. Wilson (Surrey) and Mr. H. C. PI a ft /London) were the linesmen. The sides were:—Manchester City.—Hillman, coal- McMahon and Burgess, backs; Frost, Hvnds> and S. B. Ashworth, half-backs Mere- dith, Livingstone, Gillespie, Turnbull, and Booth, forwards. Bolton Wanderers.—D. Davies, goal; Brown and Struthers, backs; Clifford, Greenhalgh, and Freebairn, half-backs; Stokes, Marsh, Yenson, White, and Taylor, forwards. After the match the cup and medals were pre- sented to the winning team by the Right Hon. Alfred Lyttelton, the Colonial Secretary. He said that he was sure that Manchester City would not object to the first word's being said to Bolton Wanderers, who, in playing a losing game so well, had given one of the finest tests of pluck, energy, and endurance. As one who had taken part in the game of Association foot- ball, he congratulated Manchester City on their splendid victory. < The Prime Minister then proposed ft vote of thanks to Mr. Lyttelton. He said that Mr. Lyttelton spoke to them as an expert, but he only spoke as an admiring ignoramus. He was delighted that the final was fought out by two Lancashire clubs, and he was sure that the company would excuse his rejoicing at the suc- cess of Manchester City. Tho match was wit- nessed by 61,374 spectators. THim L-ZAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP.. The results of the matches in the First Divi- sion of the League last Saturday field Wednesday beat Aston illa at Sheffield by four goals to two; Small Heath beat Notts County, at Small Heath, by two goals to none, Liverpool beat Blackburn Rovers, at Blackburn, by three goals to two; West BromwiCh Albion and Sheffield United drew, at West Bromwich, two goals all; Stoke and Derby County drew, at Stoke, one goal all: Notts Forest and Middles- brough drew, at Nottingham, one goal all; Bury and Wolverhampton Wanderers drew, at Bury, neither side having scored. SECOND DIVISION GAMES. Preston North End v. Lincoln City. Thetfc elubspfyyed a drawn game at Lincoln, nothing bein& aeored. Manchester United v. Burton Unitfecl.—Played at Manchester, the United win- ning by two goals to none- Stockport County v. Biii-nley.-In the presence of 5,000 people, at Stockport, these clubs played a drawn game, each side scoring two goals. Bristol City v. ■Rnrslem Port Vale.—At Bristol, the home club beat Burslem Port Vale by two goals to one. Barnsley v. Grimsby Town.-At Barnsley the winnrng by three ford Citv v. Blackpool.—At Bradford, Blackpool won a rather scrambling game by ^vojoals to none. Glossop v. Gainsborough Tr «y-^ Glossop, Gainsborough Trinity won by two g to none. THE SOUTHERN LBAGUE. The results of the matches in the Southern League On Saturday wère :-Millwall betofc Brent- ford, at Millwall, by two goals to none Bristol Rovers beat Wellingborough, aiy Wellingborough, by three goals to one; Luton beat Kettering, at Kettering, by two goals to one; Reading beat Brighton and Hove Albion, at Reading, by three coals to none; Plymouth Argyle beat Ports- mouth at Plymouth, by two goals to, none; United drew, at Fulham, one goal all. T western League, Southampton beat ToSertL Hotp»r. at* Southampton by one coal to none. The match between Queen's-park Rangers and Everton, at Kensal-rise, ended in a victory for Everton, who won the- game by four goals to one. RACQUETS. » At Queen's Club on Saturday, the final tie of the Amateur Singles Championship between Mr. H. K. Foster and Mr. E. H. Miles ended m a win for the former by three games to love. Mr. Miles won the toss, but was at once put out by a hard low return. Mr. Foster, then scored a sequence of five chiefly by brilliant service. Mr. Miles only replied with a single, and his opponent, who made some beautiful "drop" shots, added six to his score. Some good rallies followed, and Mr. Miles increased his score to eight before Mr. Foster won the game. The second game was easily won by Mr. Foster, whose service was at times unplayable. In the third game, Mr. Foster reached 11 to his op- ponent's two, but Mr. Miles played up pluckily and brought his score to 11 before Mr. Foster won the game and the match. The winner played in fine form, his service and hard return being remarkably good. His judgment in plac- ing, too, was a considerable factor in his victory. The loser played pluckily, but his style suffered in comparison with the winner's. LJAGKOSSE Sussex and Middlesex having played a drawn game at the Essex Cricket Ground, Leyton, on March 19, replayed their tie at Woodford on Saturday. Another eve-i struggle was seen, but the good play of the brothers Douglas and Gil- bert Tosetti on attack gave Essex the advantage and they won by nine goals to four. For Middlesex, Scott was not as trustworthy as usual i-ti goal, but the loser's defence was otherwise very sound. MONDAY'S "SOCCER." The championship of the Association First League was decided on Monday, for Manchester City5 were defeated by Everton in their last match, at Everton, by one goal to nil; and thu3 Sheffield Wednesday finish in the first position for the second year in succession. Two matches were played on Monday in the Second Division of the League with the follow- ing results:—Woolwich Arsenal and Burslem Port Vale drew at Plumstead, neither side having scored; Bolton Wanderers and Man- chester United drew, at Bolton, neither side having scored. Woolwich Arsenal thus finished the season with 49 points, securing promotion to the First Division next year. In the Southern League, Tottenham Hotspur beat Northampton, at Northampton, by one goal to none. In the London League, Brentford beat West Ham United, at Canning Town, by three goals to two, and Fulham and Queen's Park Rangers drew, at Fulham, neither side having scored. Southampton beat Aston Villa, at Birming- ham, by three goals to two.

I TWO GREAT STRIKES. I HUNGARIAN RAILWAY EMPLOYEES CAPITULATE. Two strikes of magnitude and importance are proceeding on the Continent, those of the railway workers in Hungary and the French Mercantile Marine. In the case of the former, intercontinental traffic has been seriously impeded, but Count Tisza, the Hungarian Premier, has from the first adopted a strong attitude, reminiscent of Mr. Irving in the case of the labour strike in Victoria recently. One thousand arrests have been made since the middle of last week, and it was proposed to call in reservists of the army and supplant the 60:000 men out on strike. Reuter reports that as a result the strike com- mittee have announced that the men are prepared to accept the terms of the Government and return to work immediately. A deputation was sent to communicate the strikers' decision to the Minister of Commerce. I FRENCH MERCANTILE MARINE. In the case of the French strike it appears that certain officers of the merchant marine having been put ashore at Marseilles, in consequence of a complaint made by the syndicate of maritime conscripts, the association of captains of the mer- chant marine, officers of the coasting trade, and engineer officers of the merchant marine decided to go on strike until the officers who were put on shore have been restored to their commands. .-I-Messages to this effect were sent to all the French ports-Toulon, Havre, Brest, &c.—all of which have expressed sympathy and solidarity. As a result the shipping companies at Mar- seilles have decided o lay up their vessels, and have landed their crews. The naval reservists are ready to return to their ships as soon as arrange- ments can be made for officering the vessels, whether with officers of the navy or with officers of the merchant marine. No untoward incident has occurred on the quays. The Ocean-going Captains' Association and the masters of coasting vessels alike protest against the intention of the Government to place naval officers at the disposal of the companies for the maintenance of the mail services, and threaten that if this is done they will carry the movement to other ports. The tug companies have notified the shipping companies that the officers of their boats have left them.

Columbia University has granted Fellowships to Chin-yung-yen, of the Imperial University of Peking, a student of American Constitutional Law, and Mr. William Campbell, of Durham University, who is already in receipt of -2300 a year from the Carnegie Institute for the study of the physical properties of steal. From the tit-bits column of a German perio- dical "Contributor" has culled the following:- "A very strange but none the less true fact is that the predecessor of the late Queen Victoria of England was at one and the same time William the First, the Second, the Third, and the Fourth. He was William the First of Hano- ver, William the Second of Ireland, William the Third of Scotland, and William the Fourth of England." The Czar and Czarina in their private inter- course speak English and German, French and Italian being but seldom spoken by their Majes- ties when alone. The Czarina did not lear4 Russian till her betrothal, but, though she as yet speaks very slowly, it is with a good accent and great distinctness. The population of China has always been a subject of dispute among statisticians. The Chinese Government has now, however, com- pleted a census, the returns of which show that the Chinese Empire is peopled by 426,000,u00 persons. This vast population is very unequally distributed. Tibet, Mongolia, Turkestan, anU Manchuria are sparsely peopled, but in the great provinces, such as Shantung and Honan, every available foot of soil is occupied. The Executive Committee of the British Cot- ton Growing Association have resolved to take immediate steps towards placing the association on a legal basis, and to apply for a Royal j Charter. In order, it is stated, to preserve the Imperial and philanthropic character of the asso- ciation, it has been decided that, if any profits are earned during the first seven years, they shall-not be divided amongst contributors, but shall be devoted to the cause of cotton growing. The Sultan of Turkey, when a Prince, learnt carpentering, and became an expert carpenter himself, and has always continued to take great interest in it. One of his first acts when Sovereign was to establish a complete joiner's. factory at Yilaiz, in which he superintends the manufacture of all sorts of articles of furniture, mostly of his own design. The Church of St. Nicaise, in the City of Rheims, is surrounded with pillars. When a certain bell in the tower is rung the top of one pillar sways to the extent of 7m. on each side, although the base is immovable, and the stones are so firmly cemented as to seem like a solid piece of masonry. Notwithstanding that each, of the four bells is about the same distance from the trembling pillar, none of the others has the "slightest effect on it

VICAR AS LABOURER. I The Bishop of Leicester has just reopened a church in Leicestershire which the vicar, after two and a-half years' hard work, has restored with his own hands. Day by day the Rev. J. G. Bailey has adopted the dress and done the work of an artisan, and all the time he has been preaching as usual to his parish. The plucky clergyman has raised floors, involving the use of over 65 tons of ballast and con- crete. He has fixed the lead lights in 11 tracery windows, fitted the internal woodwork, in- cluding the internal circular vaulting, internal roof with moulded ribs and carved and moulded cornices, 66ft. long. He did the carving and decoration of the oak bosses, and painted and decorated the chancel roof in gold and colours. Further, he rebuilt and renovated the organ in a new loft, and did a score of other things. The labours of the vicar reduced the cost of the I restoration to £ 1430, and only a small balance remains to be raised.

THE ALLEGED MATRICIDE. I COMMITTAL. I At Melboum, Cambridgeshire, on Monday, the lad Frank Rodger,3 was charged with the murder of his mother, by shooting her at Meldreth on April 12. He was represented by Mr. F. Low, K.C.; Mr. Williamson prosecuted! on behalf of the Treasury. Winifred Rodlgers, whose previous evidence was read over, stated that there was no quarrel at supper on the night of the tragedy. Her mother was half asleep, under the influence of drink. Her drinking habits seemed to worry her brother Frank a great deal. He was very fond of his mother, and they called him "Mother's boy." He had been very quiet and irritable lately, and complaining of headache. Her mother had never SISl-treatedl her sister Queenie. Dr. Ennion said the deceased woman, to his knowledge, was frequently under the influence of drink. Frank told him on the night of the tragedy that the went and) got a revolver, and went into the breakfast-room. He, felt an impulse to shoot his mother, but refrained1 from doing so, and went out. A voice afterwards dis- tinctly tolidl him to' do it quickly. He did) not remember firing or loading the, revolver. He remembered a muffled report, and then stumbl-ed against the door. For two or three months, he said, he thought his mother was constantly behind him, and) that when he looked over his shoulder he caught glimpses of her, but she immediately disappeared). The doctor further stated) that an uncle of the, boy dlired; in an asylum in Australia. The prisoner's brother .stated! that he went to the British Queen, and saw Frank reading a newspaper. He said to him: "Do you know what you have done?" He replied: "Oh, don't worry me." The witness added that Frank was restless in his sleep, and! would) get out of bed to lock the door in the middle of the night. In January last Frank,savedl his mother from being knocked) under a /train at Royston at great personal risk. The Chairman of the magistrates, after addressing the prisoner in the usual terms, and getting no reply, said: I .suppose you do not wish to say anything? The boy, with a shake of the head, replied, in a low voice: "No, sir." He was then eommittedf for trial at the next Cambridgeshire Assizes.

QUARANTINED PRISONER. I A curious dilemma arose on Monday at Tod- mo r den Court. A young carter named' William- Arthur Price has a wife who officiates; as servant in the small-pox hos-pital at Sourhall, where a number of patients are at present confined. He went to the institution drunk on Saturday night, and demanded to take his wife away. This he was told1 was impossible, as she was not dis- infectedi. He persisted, however, and when the door was closed against him, commenced kicking it, and broke a large) frosted window with his fist. The attendants rushed out, and a, violent struggle ensued before Price was secured and handed1 over to the police. The magistrates were about to commit him to prison without the option of a fine, when their clerk pointed out that it would! not be safe to send a man to a public prison after he had been in close contact with an infected) attendant. Dr. Thorpe, the medical officer, was Mlkedl his advice, and said it wouldl be a great risk to commfit him to gaoli under the circumstances. He suggested that the best course was to vaccinate the prisoiier and quarantine him for a fortnight in, the hospital. Price agreedi to this course, and in consideration, the magistrates dealt leniently with him, inflict- ing only a. nominal penalty of 5s. and costs, to I include the damage committed1. 1

CHASED FOR SIX MONTHS. After a search extending over six months, the police have captured at Hurton-on-Trent a man named William M. Lucas, described as a stock- broker and company promoter. He made a dash for liberty as he was being taken to the Burton police station, and an exciting chase by Superin- tendent Hickling and a detective ensued before Lucas was recaptured and lodged in gaol. Lucas has been living in good style at leading Burton hotels, and in the intervals of securing support for companies he was floating is said to have become engaged to a local lady, to whom his early marriage was announced, He was arrested under instrue- tions from Bow-street officers.

CORNERING BRITISH POTTERY. The English pottery manufacturers were greatly dismayed by the report of an endeavour on the part of an American syndicate to obtain the com- plete control of the china and ball clay industries of this country. The failure of the attempt is explained in an interview, published in this week's Cornish Guardian," with the gentleman who acted as agent for the syndicate during the negotiations with the clay merchants, and who holds a responsible posi- tion under the American Government. This gentleman informed the interviewer that he had the backing of a powerful group of Ameri- can financiers, at whose head is Mr. Pierpont Morgan. The syndicate wanted to buy all the china clay works, and the terms offered were half the pur- chase-money in cash, half in shares, and at least 10 per cent. of the profits for thirty years. Some stood out for higher terms, but men like Mr. Pierpont Morgan, prepared to pay a big price, were not prepared to wait." Other tactics will now be adopted, said the gentleman interviewed.

MR. CHAMBERLAIN AND CHINESE LABOUR. Mr. Chamberlain, in a letter to a correspondent respecting Chinese labour for South Africa, says that, when Colonial Secretary, he laid down the principle that the Imperial Government should offer no objection to the employment of Asiatic labour if it was desired by the great majority of the white inhabitants of the two colonies. He assumed the Government had satisfied themselves that that condition had been fulfilled. If so, it would be dis- astrous to override the wishes of our fellow subjects on the spot. So far from competing with white men's labour, Chinese labour would, if successful, pave the way for the introduction of a much larger number of British workmen than would otherwise find occupation in South Africa. Such an increase of British labour was desirable on political and social grounds.

J THE GENERAL ELECTION. Mr. Chamberlain presided on Monday at a meet- ing of the Imperial Tariff Committee in Birming- ham. Subsequently, at a meeting of the Midland Liberal Unionist Association, the right hoh. gentleman expressed the opinion that a gehefal election could not take place before next year.

f years ago. the working day in all French factories was one of twelve Sours; a year later tLWaS ,?ieve? faours> and then it catae down to L "I, f AP'U th° vyomng day will be one of ten hours. It ia ated that the same rate of wages will be paid BiSeu "vel™ bout.

MR. WINSTON CHURCHILL'S I BREAKDOWN. Mr. Winston Churchill's dramatic breakdown in the House of Commons last week end during the Trades' Union debate has naturally caused a con- siderable amount of anxiety among his friends. Mr. Churchill may not be universally popular as a politician, but everybody recognises that he is a power to be reckoned with in the future. Inquiries made on Sunday go to prove that there is no serious trouble to aceount for his sudden and complete loss of memory. Mr. Churchill spent the dav out of town. The inability of Mr. Winston Churchill to con- tinue his speech in the House of Commons is by no means an isolated instance of lost speeches on the part of hon. members. A certain gentleman who sat in Parliament some years ago for one of the divisions of Leeds was so lavish in getting away beforehand to the reporters the full text of a speech he was about to deliver that he on rising to make the speech found he had quite unwittingly given away his own copy. The consequence was:a halting address quite differ- ent from that which appeared in the papers the next day. It is told of the late Right Hon. W. E. Forster that on rising to deliver a statement full of facts, which he had marked down in due order, he couldn't find the document anywhere. A cabby who on one occasion drove a stout, elderly gentleman to the House of Commons found soon after he had dropped his fare a heavy bundle of type-written matter on the floor of the hansom. He drove back rapidly to the House and made for one of the officials, as the documents had no name on them. Soon through the lobby went the cry, "Anybody lost a speech?" It proved to be the property of Sir William Harcourt, who gave the man a sovereign for his trouble. But on another occasion of this sort, a member who did not own the speech claimed it, and kept it back from Sir Gilbert Greenall, to whom it belonged, till just before the House was rising. In point of fact, the speech-which is said to be one of the very few that Sir Gilbert ever intended to deliver—was never heard. j

DEATH OF MR. FRED MACCABE. The death took place on Friday of last week at Ormakirk *.of Fred Maccabe, the versatile enter- tainer of a former generation. Born in Liverpool seventy-three years ago, of Irish parents, he early showed talent as mimic and ventriloquist, and for over forty years was one of the foremost enter- tainers in the country, his personality being linked with the song, Begone, Dull Care." He visited America and Australia several times, and made much money, but subsequently met with financial reverses, and latterly he lived in poor circum- stances.

THE WRECKED SUBMARINE. The Court of Inquiry under Captain G. A. Callaghan, which is investigating the circum- stances attending the loss of Submarine A 1, continued its sittings at Admiralty House, Ports. mouth, on Saturday with closed doors. A further examination of the hull of the vessel, which was lying on the bottom of the deep dock, has revealed the fact that it has not sustained much injury. It has been removed to a smaller dock, where the examination was continued, and where the vessel is to await the decision of the Admiralty as to Whether" it is to be repaired for further service or broken up.

MARRIAGE OF LORD INGESTRE. It would be almost impossible to imagine a prettier wedding than that of Lord Ingestre, son of the Earl of Shrewsbury, and Miss Winifred Paget, daughter of the late Lord Alexander Paget, which took place on Saturday at the fashionable London church of St. Peter, Eaton-square. The church was decorated with palms and white flowers, and lined by non-commissioned officers and men of the Royal Horse Guards, to which regiment Lord Ingestre belongs. The officiating clergy were the Bishop of Lichfield, the Sub-Dean of the Chapels Royal, the Rev. Arthur Talbot (cousin of the bridegroom), and the Rev. J. Storrs, of St. Peter's. The Hon. Harold Brassey, a brother officer of the bridegroom, acted as best man. The bride was given away by her brother, Mr. C. H. A. Paget, and on arrival at the church was pre- sented with a bouquet tied with the regimental colours by the non-commissioned officers in charge of the guard of honour, on behalf of his comrades. The wedding-dress was of soft white satin, embroidered in true-lover's knots and sprays of wheat-heads, wrought in silver, pearls and diamonds. The long court train fell from the shoulders, fastened by hanging chiffon flowers, and was composed of silver tissue under chiffon, caught 'with chiffon flowers. The lace veil fell over a tiara of orange blossoms, and the ornament was a pendant of diamonds, with a black pearl, the gift of Lord Ingestre. The tram was held by the Hon. Maynard Greville and Master Brassey, dressed in ivory satin Charles 1. cos- tumes, with cavalier capes lined with red satin, matching their shoes and stockings. There were six bridesmaids-two grown up, Lady Violet Talbot (the bridegroom's sister) and Miss Staple- I ton Cotton (the bride's cousin)—and four children, Lady Diana Somerset, Miss Joan Poynder, Miss Gladys and Miss May Beckett. The two elder wore ivory satin Henrietta Maria costumes, with scolloped basques and skirts and lace Vandyke collars, and large white cavalier hats, with red ostrich plumes, and the little girls had satin frocks of the same period, coming to the ground, with lace aprons and close fitted lace caps. All wore red shoes and stockings and had bunches of red roses tucked into the corsages, in honour of St. George's Day. They carried prayer-books bound in brown leather, the gifts of the bride, the bridegroom's gifts being old paste buckles. After the ceremony Lady Alex- ander Paget held a reception at 8, Chesterfield- gardens, lent by Sir John and Lady Dickson Poynder, at which a crowd of distinguished guests were present. Later in the afternoon Lord and Lady Ingestre left for Warwick Castle.

I FATHER'S DOUBLE MURDER. A shocking tragedy took place at Upton-park on Sunday. William James Falkard, employed at a butcher's in the West-end of London, and occupying rooms at 214, Qneen's-road, murdered his two children, a boy, aged seven months, and a girl, seven years old, and then attempted suicide. After being away from home for a week be re- turned in the early hours of Sunday morning, and asked by his wife what he was going to do, said, You'll see, presently. You can take the two bovs, I'll take the girl and the baby. Where I go they will go." Mrs. Falkard left the house for a few minutes, and on her return she found that her husband had cut the throats of two of the children and had made a determined attempt on his own life. Falkard carried the baby from the kitchen to the second floor and murdered it. Then he went to the room where the other children were in bed. He told the eldest boy, aged nine, to go downstaiis and tell his mother that there were burglars in the house. Immediately after Falkard was heard calling out, It is all right now, I have finished Grace." After cutting his own throat Falkard made a deep gash in his thigh. He was conveyed to the West Ham Hospital in a critical condition.

The Natal House of Assembly has passed, on the motion of Sir James Hulett, a resolution ex- pressing appreciation of Lord Milner and con- demning interference with his position. Protests from European merchants have re- sulted in the United States Government sus? pending the regulation providing that the, original invoices o £ exports to the United States shall be shoton to the American Consuls. Charles Downing, who was sent to prison for a month at the Newington Sessions for stealing a mowing-machine, was said by a detective to have gone through a fortune of £ 75,000. A new process for extracting sugar from cane, which gives promise of revolutionising the sugar industry in the West Indies, is being tried in British Guiana. It is hoped to obtain from more sugar from the cane than by the former process. During a twenty-mile motor-cycle race- from Pavia to Binasco, a youth named Orini, known Mthe best rider of Milan, was thrown from his machine against a tree and killed instantly.

I KILLED BY KURDS. I A CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY MURDERED. Dr. Labaree, of the American mission in North Persia, has furnished for publication particulars of the recent murder of his son, the Rev. B. W. Labaree, by Kurdish robbers. "Word was brought to Dilman," writes Dr. Labaree, the Government seat in Salmas, that the body of a Christian had been seen by tra- vellers on the main road between Salmas and Khoi. Mr. Labaree was expected to come from Khoi .to Salmas that day. It was feared an accident might have befallen him. A search party, accompanied by three cavalrymen, stsrted out, and some 10 or 12 miles from Dilman they found, lying in the road, the dead body of Israel, Mr. Labaree's ser- vant. "Near the place where this body was lying they found tracks showing that there had been six horses, two of which must have been Mr. Labaree's. After following these tracks for some miles they found Mr. Labaree's body lying on the ground stripped of all clothing except the underwear and shirt, while an old pair of native SOCKS were on the feet, and near by an old pair of shoes. He had been killed by blows from a dagger (khanjar). The tracks of the horses were followed on further till they came to books and papers belonging to Mr. Labaree, most of them torn to pieces. "The place where Mr. Labaree was killed is between the. villages of Chicak and Kanagari, where the papers were found some distance from Hamza- kandi. The next day the bodies were taken to UIa, in Salmas, and arrangements were made for sending them to Urumia. We have every reason to believe," concludes Dr. Labaree," that the assassins were three Kurds, from near here, and a fanatical Seyyid, who has been terrorising the Christian villages near his own for two years past."

If the Grand Duke Cyril ever becomes Em- peror it is probable the Russians will build little chapels all over the country to keep alive the memory of his wonderful escape from death. There are to be seen now near Russian railway stations chapels in commemoration of another special Providence—that which saved the life of Alexander III. at Borki. In some of the South Lincolnshire staek-yards there is said to be almost as big a plague --of mice as rats. Over 1500 of the little rodents were killed recently during the process of thrashing a single corn-stack.

ART AND LITERATURE. « A Summer Evening is the title of a poem by King Oscar of Sweden and Norway, published in the" Pall Mall Magazine." It opens with the lines: The wind grows calm," its force absteis and dies away far off in spaae; Against the mast the white sail, wearied by the fray, clings with soft grace. Then, at the end, comes night- 0 fair night. 0 Charmer, wrap me round with thy breeze from the far West, And tired of love and joy, on the calm waters at ease take thou thy rest. The rumoured intention of the Society of Oil Painters to become a close society, and to admit to its exhibitions only works by members and specially invited artists, marks (observes the "Globe") a tendency which has .been developing during the last few years. It may be taken as a protest against the excessive desire of art workers of all sorts to appear in public whether they are fit for it or not, and against the consequent in- crease in the labours of all selecting juries, who have to wade through masses of stuff which has not the remotest chance of acceptance, in their search for reasonable material for exhibitions. The system which the Society of4Oil Painters pro- poses to adopt is apparently the same that has been followed for many years by the New English Art Club, which requires an invitation signed by two members to be presented by every outsider who wishes to submit work to the jury. As this restriction has been found by the club to work excellently, there seems no reason why something of the same sort should not be helpful to the Society of Oil Painters. There is at least a difference of opinion in regard to the alleged distaste of women for severe and systematic reading. One critic in the National Review asserts that neither for pleasure nor on principle do they study books which would culti- vate their minds and give them broad and stable views of life. Another makes the comforting statement that the good, or, as they are called, the solid," books taken by women from English circulating libraries are in the proportion of two to five-a very creditable average. M. Ernest Quentin Bauchart has shown us, in Les Femmes Bibliophiles," that many rare and beautiful volumes were for two centuries collected and treasured by French ladies, from Margaret of Valois to Marie Antoinette. How far the pleasures of a collector merge into the pleasures of a student is always a delicate point to decide, but Mr. Andrew Lang is of the opinion that some of these ladies loved their libraries, even to the reading point. Books and art," he says with happy tolerance, were probably more to Mme. de Pompadour's liking than the diversions by which she beguiled the tedium of Louis XV.; and many a time she would rather have been quiet with her plays and novels than engaged in conscientiously conducted but distaste- ful revels." La Duchesse de Montpensier-" La Grande Mademoiselle "-liked only serious and scholarly books. The frivolous ones, she used to say, wearied and plagued her. La Grande Mademoiselle was by no means the wisest of women; but the choice does credit to her taste for amusement. The romances of her age were a shade less diverting than mathematics. A peculiar interest attaches to such an exhibition as that of the drawings and studies by Sir Edward Burne-Jones which has just been opened in the Leicester Galleries in London. It shows in a very convincing manner what a sincere desire to master his art guided him throughout his life, and how he spared no effort to arrive at the results which seemed to him to be most worth striving after. These studies, with their astonishing variety of motive and method, their beauty of execution and charm of style, make a most fasci- nating display. They belong to various periods in his career, so that they illustrate adequately his de- velopment from precise and elaborate realism to that wonderful freedom of imaginative design which distinguished the accomplishment of his later years. There is nothing in the collection (the cc Globe" asserts) that is unworthy of him; the series has been very well selected and within its ii mits is remarkably complete. In the same galleries there is to be seen a collection of old stipple engravings which summarises some of the best and most characteristic features of an art which, if not actually lost, has scarcely retained to the present day its earlier purity of style. In this collection there are over a hundred and twenty examples of the work of the most famous engravers who used this particular reproductive method, and the majority of these examples are printed in colours. In most instances very perfect impressions have been secured, plates which show the highest develop- ment of the skill of both engraver and printer; and many of the prints are after pictures by artists of the highest repute. There is a large section of the public to which this exhibition will make the strongest possible appeal. A memorial parchment is about to be published for the German colonial soldiers who fell in South- West africa. It has been designed by the marine painter, Herr Hans Bohr, on a sketch made by the Kaiser. It represents an armed Germania, wear- ing the Imperial Crown, leaning upon the Prussian shield and holding a laurel-wreath outstretched. On the streamers of the wreath are inscribed the name of the fallen soldier, and the words He died for Emperor and Country Honour to hi8 memory." There are those who holdfthat at certain times and seasons there is no reading quite so delectable as the dictionary. It would indeed be difficult to find a more delightful book than the "Dictionary of Contemporary English Quotations," by Helena Swan. The quotations are almost all from writers who have flourished in the past fifty years; many are from writers A ho may still be expected to make valuable additions to the great and wonderful storehouse of English literature. Here you get Tennyson, Browning. Mr. Swinburne, and Mr. Austin Dobson, all of whom the man who is in the habit of quoting poetry is supposed to know. But there are passages fx c m authors who had not been heard of at all ten yez- vs ago, and there arejgems from people whom one has the misfortune never to have read or to intend to read. Even these are nice to have at hand. One can imagine circumstances when it would be quite pleasant to be able to remind oneself that Where love makes plenty of snnshine, there poverty casts no shade." The book is well printed and indexed. Much has been written about the Elizabethan Court, but one may always return to Miss Strick- land with pleasure, for in her Life of Queen Elizabeth," of which an abridged and newly-edited version with notes is now published, she imparts a fascinating individuality to her subject, especi- ally in the early days when oppression, suspicion, and imprisonment fell to the lot of the future Monarch. Miss Strickland often charms by her romantic treatment of the story, and perhaps she may nowadays be more valued as a writer than as a historian, though there can be no doubt of her qualifications in the latter capacity. The Eliza- bethan Age has. since Miss Strickland's day, attracted much closer investigation than she gave to it, and the discussion of the Queen's character and supposed intrigues has produced such differences of opinion among hard controversialists that the unprejudiced reader may find some difficulty in making up his mind on the subject. He could not, however, desire a more agréeabJ8 introduction to it than the present book, wherein Ida Ä. Taylor has exercised the function of editor with much discrimination. A new picture, a Hogarth, has just been added to the British Section of the National Gallery. The Hogarth is the portrait of James Quin, the actor, which was recently sold at Christie's when the Townshend heirlooms were dispersed. It Shows Quin nearly full face looking slightly up. wards, and wearing a wig and a light-coloured coat trimmed with gold lace. It has been placed with the other Hogarths in Room XIX. It is gratifying to know that the exhibition at the Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts is proving a great success. The attendance is large, and the total sales for seven weeks amount to close on F,4000, which is the highest in the institute reeordSt That clever artist, Miss Bessie MacNicol, whom fine Vanity was one of the best pictures at the International, has sold all her works on exhibition and among the latest pictures showing the red sea) is Mr. Beattie Brown's "Evening on the Tay;1* Sargent's well-known group the Wertheimer Children has been removed according to arrange- ment, but Frank Brangwyn's "Burial at Re* makes up tor that loss.