THROUGH OUR EXCHANGES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1850, 25 May 1888, Page 2

THROUGH OUR EXCHANGES

An extra rdlnnry sequel to tbe respite of the Cardiff murdreßs Is supplied by the laiolde of a looal Bhowraau Darned Beckett, There had been a great difference of op'nlon m Cardiff as to whether the woman would be hanged or not, and Beckett raada a heavy bet that the extreme Density of the ia* would be carried oat. Upon hearing that the sentenoa of death had been commuted to one of penal servitude for life/ Beckett took- np a razor and cnfc his throat bo severely that he died a few hoars afterwards. boulanger's address* General Boulanjjor has issued his address to the electors of the Nord, m whtih be rays:-- "When 1 was a Minister I. said that if I deßired war I should be a madman, but that if I did not prepare for it I should be a villan. My sentiments have undergone no change. In contlnnatlon, the address deolares that the inaction of Parliament and recent events have proved that the Chamber has oeaaed to represent the aspirations of the oountry, and that the two no longer understand eaoh other, The only remedy for the impotence of Parliament is, says General BualuDger, a dissolution of the Chamber and a revision of the constitution. THE IKVBNTOR O* PHOHOGRAf HY. Mr Isaao Pitman, the inventoi of phonography, is m his 76th year. In fait , habits he is almost ascetic. Neither wlne, r beer, or spirits, fish, fleßh, nor fowl enters his lip 0, and be Is also an antHobaooonlst, In religion he is a Bwedenborgian, and be has written' and published several works on this aubj ot. His hair is soft and Bll^oiy, and bia voice clear and musloal, U>tl he was 50 he never took a holiday or felt that be needed one, and for 20 yean daring this period he was at his desk 14 hours a day. He Is an agree >hle converbitonaltst, preferring to talk oil topios of the day rather than on his pet subjects, •• Phonography " and the " Spelling Be* form." tie rises early both summec and wiut-T, and before breakfast spends some time at the Phonetic Institute, walking there and back. His house is beautifully situated on the brow of a hill overlooking the charming Avon valley. . ° AN EMBARRASSING PRESENT; . _, According to "Truth," the King of; Dahomey has considerably embarrassed the invalid King of Portugal by sending him a present of a consignment of half-a--dozen negro girls, with a meisage that they had been aeleoted from the prettiest and plumpest damsels. On reaohing Lisbon these nymphs were attired much after the fashion of the Garden of Bden, but they have atooa been decorously 'dressed by order of. King Louis, They were first sent to the Marine barracks, where they were kept for a few days In a carefully guarded wing j but this arrange* ment oaußed both scandal and inoonvenlence, and they were relegated to a house m the Botanloal Gardens, where they still remain. TO THE! MEMORY OF A MEDICAL HKBO. A memorial window has just been completed for the Chapel of the Bristol Royal Infirmary, to put on permanent record the heroism of a yonng surgeon m that Institution, Mr William Oonnor Lyaaght, who saorlfioed his life In a case of diph* theria. The patient had aubmitted to the operation of tracheotomy, and after the tube bad been fixed the throat beoameso clogged that, despite all the efforts of the faonlty, It conld not be olesred to admit of respiration. It was a case of life or death ; m a few minutes he mast have died. Young Lyaaght, forgetful of himself, at onoe plaoed his lips to the tube, removed the obstruction and gave the sufferer relief, though only for a time. Lysaght soon found that by his haxardoui deed he had infected his own throat, and to the Intense grief of friends his noble act caused his death. The memorial, whloh has been ' subscribed for by his friends and brother officers, is a triple window with Illustrations of Christ healing the siok as the principal subject, and lv three lower panels pourtrayed tbe charitable deeds of the Good Bamaritan, and Peter and John healing, the slok \ and at tha base the inscription, " To the Rlory of God, and In affectionate remembrance of Win. Oonnor Lysaght Bairn May 8, 1861. Died July 24, 1887." CHILD MUKDER UNDER PECULIAR CIBOWC* STANCES. Miss Bellina Prior daughter of the late Colonel Prior, was arrested at the rest* denoe of her mother. Vicar's Hall, Armagh, and charged before the magistrates with having drowned An.n Slavin, aj/ed three years. Tae evldenoe showed that Miss Prior entloed the ohlld Into her house, gave it sweetmeats, and then drowned it In tbe kitohen boiler. Prlsoner said ahe committed the orlme because she tojb treated unkindly at home, and she did not care if sh.o were hanged. Sbe was remanded. ACCIDENT AT A MEET. A serious accident occurred to Miss: Popham, of Littlecote, near Hungerford. Misa Popham was hunting with the Craven hounds, near Marlborough. The hounds, having drawn Habley Copae without success, were taken to another spot a few hundred yards further, and the gorso was being drawn when Miss Popham's horse, a spirited bay, suddenly reared and " bucked." The young lady was thrown completely over the saddle, with the stirrup, m which he foot retained its hold, with her riding habit torn off She hung suspended her head downwards, sometimca striking the ground, while her horse ran furiously round and round with its hoi pleas burden. A.t last the stirrup gnvo way, and she fell to the ground m. sensible, while her horse galloped off. It was thon found that she was bleeding profusely from a bevere wound on the temple, and there was another wound bohind the ear. Miss Popbam waa boa* voyed to r bouse m the neighborhood, where she received the requisite attention.* Her injuries were found to be of a serious nature, and Bhe now lies m a very precarious condition. Immediately afte* tho accident, the hounds were whippeq off, and the whole party quitted the fields PECULIAR IPHNTIJIOATJON. A mun was found dead on the top of a Liverpool tramcar. Nothiog was found on him to lead to his identification, but he had with him a oouplo of carrier, pigeons. To one of these was attached a piece of paper with the words. "Come to the detective offico at once, and the bird was set at liberty, Iv half-an-hour a man man arrivod at the detective office, and stated that the deceased was his father, and had been very unwell. He had gone put for exorcise, and to f|y the pigeono. TWILVB THOUSAND POUNDS ''fS A fILiiCR. Last December (writes a Paris oorrespondent) tbs Stiite came into a large fortune which was left it by an old man named Meyer, who said m his will that he had no relatives. When the inventory of Meyer's goods and chattels were being made a stone filter wqb thrown aside because broken and unfit for aoy use, but tho other day, when it wbb being oarried away as rubbish, 1 -a bundle of papers fell out. On examination they were found to be debentures and other stock, payable to bearer, and at the present rate of the 3took market, worth £12,000.