EUROPEAN ITEMS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3000, 5 February 1881, Page 4

EUROPEAN ITEMS.

At a ball at Sehwarzenberg, Saxony, ;■* young man entered, having what appeavod to be a cigar in his mouth. Ho went to tho ohandelier as if to light ifc, and a terrible explosion ensued. The lights were extinguished, tho wall partly gave way, dancers of both sexes were covered with blood, and the youn£ man was blown to pieces. He had resolved on committing suicide, and had adopted a dynamite cartridge for that purpose. A watchmaker afc Copenhagen, of tho name of Sonderberg, is roportod to have mado a watch which roquires no winding up, inasmuch as it performs that work itself by means of an olecfcric current. An elcctri* magnet fixed inside the watch keeps the spring perpetually in a state of tension. All that is required to keep the watch going is to preserve the battery in proper working order, for whioh purpose one or two inspections in a twelvemonth aro said to be sufficient.

The safety of the Czar from domestic conspirators is purchased afc a great price. We read that during His Majesty's recent journey from Livadia, ten peasants and two soldiers were stationed as watchmen along each versfc of the entire distance from Sebastopol, making a total of 36,000 men on foot, with 1,700 mounted. .As these were on guard two days and a night, it must be supposed that half were reliefs. The cost of the3e watchmen, after making allowance for compulsory service, is estimated to have been at least £15,000.

The promised Koman Derby of 1884, for the winner of which the King of Italy has decreed an exceptionally large premium, has infused an unusual spirit of emulation into the breeding stables of the Koman Princes. As the race' is to bo run by the three-year-olds bred on the' Eoman Campagna or in the province of 'Rome,' the competitors 1 have imported from England thoroughbred mares already in foil, whose progeny may be thus entitled to take 1 part in- the contest. Prince Borghese has established his breeding stud at his villa outside the Porta del _ opolo. The approaching season in Rome promises to be brilliant, more especially as the cloud which hung over the Quirinal last winter has been dispelled by Queen Marghorita's happy restoration to health. The other day Her Majesty gave striking evidence of thatcouruge, presence of mind, and goodness of heart, for which tho house of Savoy are so distinguished. She had alighted from her carriage and was walking along tho road outside the ''orta Anglica when two gentlemen and a lady on horseback approached at rapid canter. Seining tip suddenly on recognising her majesty, the lady's horse fell, and in a moment the Queen sprang forward, seized the bridle with one hand, and with the other helped the lady to rise before either of the gentlemen could leave their saddles or her own attendants offer assistance.

Juab before Christmas the retail newspaper vendor looks forward to a chance of making a little evtra profit, owing to the popularity of the Christmas numbers of certain illustrated journals ; but this year Certain firms of advertising drapers and general warehousemen have spoiled the market, using the Christmas numbers for advertising purposes. The plan has been to buy up laivp quantities of these numbers at the publishers', print the advertisements of the firm upon the margin, and then sell at cost or less than cost price. Having paid 2ls for a quire of 26 or 27 copies, these people sell them retail at 10jd, and even BJd. Of course there is no possibility of a check on the part of tlio publishers, and tho public get the advantage ; but such a plan of advertising is hardly fair either to the journal which is advertised upon or to the newspaper trade m general. We cannot be surprised at the bitter complaints of the newsvendora.

A distinct, if not a very important, step has been taken towards the demonstration of the possibility of constructing a tunnel Tinder the Straits of Dover. A shaft, wo are told, has been driven down to the depth at which the tunnel, if practicable would have to be made. The semi official account of the result of the explorations is, that " although in the upper strata there was a good deal of water, there is no infiltration of it in the gallery, which is in the solid rock " —the " gallery " we presume, being the intended submarine passage. A second shaft is to be driven through the bed of the straits, and the directors of the company say that the tunnel might be completed in four years, if, as they cautiously add, "no unforseen obstacle arises."

A Strange Story of < redulifcy and Fraud •was told at the Bow-street Police Court tho other day. Mrs Hart-Davies, a lady of fortune and large expectations, made the acquaintance of a married couple uaraed Fletcher, who persuaded her that in trances they received messages from her deceased mother. One of these messages was that Mrs Davies should give all her valuables to the Fletchers, ■which she did, thus disposing of diamonds, sapphires, pearls, plate, and lace, worth about 4,000 dollars. Tbe Fletchers took her -with them to America, where Mrs Davies found she had been duped. Mrs Fletcher was apprehended at Greenock, brought before Mr Flowers, and remanded for a week.

A very sensational canard has just flown to us from Paris. Prince Bismarck, it is BPid, has taken a page out of the book of Lord v alisbury, and following the precedent of the Anglo-Turkish Conveivion, has induced the Porte to surrender Crete to Germany. The mere idea of such an arrangement is enough to put al! Europe in a blaze. Crete, it will bo remembered, was, in the opinion of many experts, the island which England ought to have made ifc her object to secure rather than Cyprus. If Germany were to become a great naval Mediterranean Power as well as a great military Empire, the whole course of European history might be changed, and the Eastern question would certainly enter upon anew phase. There is, with tha exception of Austria, not a Power •which would regard such a step with equanimity, and the first result of any attempt in this direction Mould probably be a European war. The acquisition of Crete by Germany would wound French pride to the quick, and would scarcely bo viewed with indifference by England. Lovo may laugh at locksmiths, but ifc must not make fun of tho High Court of Chancery. Mr Frederick Arthur Law, a minor, had an opportunity of learning this salutary lesson the other clay. He had, it seems, married a young lady, a ward of Court, with a fortune of £7,000, not only without the sanction of the Judge, but whilst under an express injunction not to write to or address her in any way whatever He made false declarations as to his age and hers to the clergman, and lie had, on tho whole, committed the crime of contempt of Court in its most audicious form, lie has accordingly been sent to prison pending an inquiry which the Vice-Chanceller has ordered to be made into the validity of tho marriage. There is no getting over the fact that, rightly or wrongly, these young people have committed matrimony, and after fretting and fuming over their conduct, the Judges can only say that they had better each plead peccavi and, after a cautious settlement of tho ward's property is arranged make the best of an unpleasant business. Electric Lighting is progresing. Edison and Swan are not the only inventors in the field, for ifc seema that Mr Hiram S. Moxim has succeeded in producing an incandescent lamp, which -was recently shown at work in the house of Professor Henry Draper, of New York. Tho electric lights with which tho London public is familiar are obviously not adopted for ordinary domestic use, and, as a matter of facfc, their promoters do not seek to supply private householders j but Edison, Swan, Moxim, and a few others have set themselves the task of providing a light suitablo for ordinary rooms, and three inventors have all adopted the thread of carbon rendered incandescent in preference to the arc itself. Moxim'a lamp appears to be fairly successful, but needs careful preparation, as the thread has to be |

kept in a state of incaudescencein an atmosphere of gasoline vapour until it acquires a uniform resistance. The vapour is then removed, and the lamp with its carbon in a vacum is ready for sale. Which of the three most successful lamps will ultimately become the popular favorite remains to be seen : but it is probable that the electric light will ultimately replace gas. Tho death of Blue Gown, the Derby winner of 1868, while on tho voyage from England to New York, is a great loss to Mr J. °R. Keene, the well-known American sportsman, who gave the Cobham Stud Compay £5000 for it about a month ago. The name of the horse calls to mind the Hastings' era on the turf ; and, perhaps, there never was a more sensational Derby than tbat won by Blue Gown. It was in that year that the mania for hrvivy belting was at its most feverish point. The Marquis of Hastings owned the favorite in Lady Elizabeth. The Duke of Newcastle stood to win an enormous sum on Pace. How the latter broke down in a preliminary canter, and how Lady Elizabeth finished last of all and nearly broke the heart of her owner, will long be remembered. Then, again, besides Blue Gown, Sir Joseph Hawley, his owner, ran also Rosicrucian and Green Sleeves, and had backed this pair in preference to Blue Gown, who, however, was the pet of the public, and it was their money, and not Sir Joseph Hawley's which made him second favorite ; and public opinion was singularly confirmed by the colt winning. The cause of death is, no doubt, attributable to a rough passage, tbe steamer in which Blue Gown was shipped arriving at New York several days late. Unfortunately Mr Keene had omitted to insure him. It would seem that with Blue- Gown's death the last link is severed between the Hastings' era of' the turf and the present. Tho Dundee Free Presbytery bave "acknowledged the hand ■•■i God " in the Toy Bridge accident, and havo resolved to invite the General Assembly "to devise means for removing temptations to Sabbath travelling." A reverend fanatic expressed his conviction that the disaster should be regarded "as the judgment of God upon mercantile' trickery in building a bad bridge." But it seems rather hard lines that tlio innocent passeMgevs- should suffer for the sin of the parties thus accused. A " new departure " has been taken in the diocese of York. On a recent Sunday at Selby Abbey, Canon Harper read from the pulpit the article on " The Proper Use of City Churches" from the Nineteenth Century. He stated that, though he did not agree with all its arguments, yet he felt sure it"would interest the congregation. Lord Beaconsfleld has taken a nine years' lease of his new house in Curzon-street. This shows that he still looks forward to a considerable period of active political life. The house which he has taken is one of the largest and most commodious in Marfan-, and it is- the intention of the noble earl to make'iti a centre'of great social and political influence. He is to give a series of Parliamentary dinners during the season. He is to hold f l eqitefnt receptions, to which those whom he lias any hope of winning to the Conservative ranks will' be invited. He-is about, in fact, to play the" part of a great social as well as political leader. All his novels, notably his latest, show tha* in Lord Beaconsfield's view social management has much to do with political success, and it shows great spirit on his part that he should in this way seek to revive the shattered prospects of his party. The salon of Lord Salisbury will also bo a very brilliant one during the coming season. At the sitting of the Assize Court in Galway, on Dec. 14, Mr Baron Dowse said that before the business commenced he wished to mention a matter of public importance. On coming downstairs to his sitting-room that morning he found a letter directed to " Baron Dowse, Connaught Assizes. Galway," in a very good hand. It had the Limerick postmark of Dec. 13,1880, and the Galway postmark of Dec. 14, 1880. As the time for delicacy was altogether passed, he thought it was better to read the letter in full. It was wr'tton in a disguised hand, evidently with the hit hand, and was the work of a person of more than ordinary education. It was couched in the following terms :—" Irishtown, Limerick —Dowse, you infernal Protestant, take warning by Lord VJountmorres, for you will surely meet his fate, even on the bench if you convict any Land Leaguer. Wo all at last know our power, as you now see. Wo frightened in Cork, so we will you, or any other tyrant like you—A County Limebiok Man.— To hell with Victoria la Heine! Vive Parnell, notre Hoi!" There was a coffin with the name "Baron Dowse " on it, and two words he could not make out. It was hardly necessary to say nothing of the kind would deter him or any of his brethren on the bench from doing their duty. He handed over the letter to County Inspector Cullen, in tho hope that he might be able to take some steps to bring tho guilty person to justice. The courthouse was crowded, but there was perfect silence during the reading of the letter, and no manifestation of feeling occurred afterwards.

It is a remarkable fact that all great men havo been bad penmen. There is an old story of Horace Greeley having when in power sent a letter to a farmer, ordering him to remove a certain fence by a certain date, but as no one within 500 miles could read a single word, the farmer jumped at the conclusion that Greeley's epistle was a railway puss, and actually travelled free on all the lines for two years, none of the officials being able to contradict his statement. Without going to the land of peanuts and presidents, however, we have a worthy example ourselves in the person of sir John Robertson. Everyone from Carpentaria down to Wilson's Promontory is aware of Sir John's abilities, and a good idea may be formed of his penmanship from the fact of one of his old sweethearts having told me the other day that the first love letter she ever received from Sir John was so knotted up, criss-crossed, and tangled around in general that she took it to be a sketch of the Crimean war, and had it duly framed and hung up over the parlor mantlepieco. Our hands evidently do not keep pace with our heads and the probabilities are, some of us have got our anatomies mixed. Anyway I'll write and see what Professor Huxley thinks about it. —Flaneur.