CLIPPINGS FROM HOME PAPERS.

Evening Star, Issue 3556, 16 July 1874, Page 2 (Supplement)

CLIPPINGS FROM HOME PAPERS.

The debate and comments of the English Press on Earl Russell’s question respecting peace prospects have occasioned considerable excitement on the Continent.

A fat French lady says : “I am so fat that I pray for a disappointment to make me thin. No sooner does the disappointment come than the mere expectation of growing thinner gives me such joy that i become fatter than ever.”

Long depatches have been received b}f the French <j!overament from the Governor of New Caledonia regarding the escape of the Communists prisoners, but they have not been published. Strong precautions will bo taken in the Colony to prevent further escapes.

Mrs Harriet Beecher Stowe has an orange orchard which presents the strange whim of refusing to grow any but black oranges She attributes this to a lack of sufficient lime in the soil, but the neighbors declare that the oranges were not black before her arrival, and assert that Providence, has rewarded the author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” for her love for the negro by endowing her oranges with the color of her favorites.

The other day, a porter at the Bridge of All-in railway station found a squirrel’-'* nest in the wood above the village, containing two young ones These he brought home and placed along with some newly-born kittens Marvellous to relate, the mother took to the little strangers with the s one affection that she bore to her own young. One of the squirrels has, unfortunately, departed this life, owing, it is said, to a fatality from which carelessly-nursed infants are not exempt; but the other still continues to thrive, and is uursed with the utmost tenderness by its feline mother. the struggle throughout the Eastern counties betweed the farmers and the laborers increases in bit emess, and extends in area. A fortnight since hopes were held out of ■ome influential medium likely to issue in reconciliation, but nothing further has been heard of it. While some landlords, including Sir Edward Kerrison, have counselled friendly co* cessions, others are prompting the fanners to ruthless extremities, and one has pledged himself to reimburse his tenants all their losses. The farmers have a fixed resolve to destroy the Union, and all arhitration based on the recognition of the right of the men to combine has hitherto been declined. A great demonstration has taken place in Exeter Hall, presided over by Mr Morley, and meetings of sympathy have been held in bheffleld, Nottingham, Liverpool, and other large towns. Several trade societies are making large contributions towards the support of the locked-out men, who received 9i per week. Some lab rers having applied for palish relief have been insultingly refused. Their attitude is calm and peaceful. Hundreds are weekly drafted northwards or induced to emigrate. Arrangements are in progress for a performance at one of the principal theatres for the benefit of the widow and children of the late Mr Shirley Brooks. Cut off, as he was, at a comparatively early period, Mr Brooks had not been able to save much for those so near and dear to him. No one was more ready than he to extend a helping hand, and by his pen or otherwise to aid in raising funds for others in need, and there can bo no doubt that the present appeal on behalf of his family will meet with a fitting response from a public for whose amusement and instruction he labored so long and so well. To quote his own words from a document in his handwriting, dated April 29, 1873, found after his decease, “ All I have in the world I shall leave to the absolute disposal of my dear wife, who has helped me to make so much of it. Should I die suddenly, 1 have no objection to a theatrical performance or aught else that will enable her to live comfortably and educate the boys,” The proposed benefit performance, therefore, is in harmony with his wishes. Charles Dickens—how did he die? This question is put by a contemporary, and answered thus ;-The life of Charles Dickens teems with interest; his death gives a most salutary lesson. An eminent medical writer gives a short summary of the various shocks to the system of Dickens, which naturally weakened him and predisposed bis frame to affliction, and gives the most conclusive evidence that paralysis, which ended the great litterateur's earthly career, was due almost exclusively to that very act of his life which drew admiring thousands to listen to the delineations in person of the leading characters of his published works. On leaving the platform after reading “ Copperfield,” so laborious, earnest, and pathetic were the exertions made by Dickens, his whole sonl being thrown into the work, that the pulsations of hia heart numbered 96, being 24 in excess of the ordinary pulse, 72j after “Marigold,”

99; “Sikes aud Nancy,” 118; “Oliver i wist,” 124. Thu-, wuile his audience were rejoicing over his talented hLtrionic display, the efforts of the re >ier himself were driving nails int> his coffin, hr aking down the dedcate wills o the nervous svsfem of the brdn, flooding that grea organ w th an inundation of fluid, which ■io-med the bir hpiace of Pickwick and a host of other interesting characters of English fictitious history. In Scotland there are 132.230 landowners, with possessions of the gross annual value of L 18.698 804. Seventy-five proprietors have '-states of upwards of 40,u00 acres. There are considerably m >re than seventy-four estates of that area but several landowners possess more than one such. The total area in the hands of these seventy-five proprietors is at least 9,100, 100 acres, or not far off half the whole acreage of Scotland. Amongst the principal landowners are the following: —Duke of Sutheiland, acreage 1,176,574, valuation L 57.147; Earl of Bread duane aud trustees, acreage 458,358, valuation L 58.292; Duke of Buccleuch acreage 432,347, valuation, L 184,142 ; Earl of Seafield, acreage 305,891, valuation L 71,884; Duke of Richmond, acreage, 269,268, valuation. L 60,378; Earl of Fife, acreage 252,815, valuation L 72.312 ; the Duke of Athole, acreage 194,975, valuation L 40.758 ; Duke of Argyll, acreage 175 114, valuation LSO 842 ; Duchess of Sutherland, acreape L 9 879 valuation L 11.792; Earl of Dal housie, acreage 138 021, valuation L 59.051 ; Duke of Montrose, acreage 103.760, valuation 1.23,099; Maiquis of Bute, acreage 93,270, valuation 1.47,772; Duke of ortland. acreage 105,456, valuation L 41.527; Duke of Hamilton, acreage 147,941, valuation LI 14,063. In Aberdeenshire there are five estates of over 40,000 acres ; Argyllshire, 12 ; a ryshire, 2 ; Banff, 3 ; Caithness, 3 ; Dumbartonshire, I ; Dumfreishire, 2 ; Elgin, 2 ; Forfar, 3 ; Inverness, 20; Kincardine, 1; Kirkcudbright, 3 ; Lanark, 2 ; Naim, 1 ; Orkney. I; Peebles, 1 ; Perth, 5 ; Ross, 10 ; Roxburgh, 2 ; Selkirk, 1 ; Stirling, 1 ; -Sutherland, 2 ; Wigton, 1. In Berwick, Clackmannan, Cromarty. Edinburgh, Fife, Haddington, Kinross, Linlithgow, Renfrew, and Zetland, there are no estates over 40,000 in extent. The Queen’s Balmoral estate is set down at 25,350 acres, of the gross annual value of L 2,932 16s. The Prince of Wales has an estate at Ballater containing 6,810 acres, of the annual value of LSI 6 12s, and the Secretary of State for War two holdings—one of an acre in extent, value LI6O, and the other of two acres, value LSOO.

A correspondent of the ‘ New York Her -Id ’ writes as follows; - “ Here ia a gO 'd story which has not yet found its way into print, but for the truth of which I can vouch. Lord George Gordon, a young man of four-aud-twenty, wishing to marry a certain young lady, went quite recently to ask the permission of his father, the ‘>nke of The duke, a pompous little man, replied in effect : ‘My son, since our house has been honored by being united with the royal family, I have thought it right to delegate a decision on all such matters to yonr elder brother, the Marquis of Lome. Go, therefore, and consult him.’ The Marquis of Lome, on being applied to, said : *My dear brother, iu a case of importance like this, 1 should think it right to ask the decision of the Queen, tim bead of the Royal family into which I li u e married.’ The Queen, on the matter being laid before her, declared that since her terrible bereavement she had been in the habit of taking no steps without consulting the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, the brother of her deceased husband. To the duke, then, the case was referred, and from bim a letter was received telling his dear sister-in-law that recent political events had induced him to do nothing, even as to the giving advice, without the express concurren eot the Emperor William, before whom he had laid the matter. The Emperor William wrote a long letter, declaring that though he was surrounded by counsellors there was one only who had on all occasions proved himself correct, loyal, and faithful, and without whose advice he (the Emperor) would give no decision Therefore he had referred the matter to his faithful Minister, i' rince Bismarck. And it is narrated that wh ’.n Prince Bismarck was made acquainted with the subject, he roared out: ‘ Gott in tiimmel! what a fuss about nothing I Let the boy marry whom he pleases, so long as she is young and pretty ’ ” Mr Barry Sullivan has been summoned before the Police Court at Liverpool for an assault upon a stage carpenter. Our old friend was playing Richard 111. at the time, and was so wrapped up in the conception he had formed ©f the overbearing attributes of the crook-backed tyrant, that for the moment the actor was lost in the king. Everyone knows the scene in which Richard offers his kingdom for a horse, and the necessity there is at this portion of the tragedy to keep upthe excitement by an imposing display of warriors aud the prompt shifting of the scenes. It was at this juncture thao Richard, sword in hand, was waiting at the wing for a change, of scene. she trumpets brayed, the drum rolled, but the scene remained unmoved. The prompter was mad with rage. R*y! to the fore there!” he shouted. The scene ! the scene I” but the carpenter was so lost in admiration of the fight that he forgot his duties, until a sharp slap upon the back irom the monar ih’s sword brought him to his senses, and warned him that “ the stage was waiting.” This was the assault complained of, and the magistrate,

taking all the circuinstances into account, let the tragedian off with a fine of 5s and coala. In >he excitement of acting tragedians are very liable to lose their tempers upon one occasion, when Macready was playing Macbeth, the man who had to prepare the “blood” in the murder scene, omitted to have it ready. On the instant the enraged actor tapped the man’s claret, and, returning to the stage with his hands covered with blood, he exclaimed, “ 1 have done the deed! Did’st thou not hear a noise?” “ [ heard the owl shriek,” is the reply ; and the man goes by the name of “ The Owl ” to this day. A formidable rival to cremation has appeared in the form of a project for petrifac-

t on, suggested by an eminent Italian medico. By this means, instead of ornamenting our chimney-pieces with the urns containing the ashes of our forefathers, we are to embellish our staircases, conservatories, and gardens with our dearest friends, turned to stone in the attitude we liked them best in life. Apropos of cremation, the Cambridge University Union has adopted a motion in its favor by 101 to 42 votes, while in the United States a case of cremation has actually occurred. The “ cremates ” was George Opdyke, son of Or b'rancis Opdyke, a native of Heidelberg. The body, which produced “ a quart of whitish grey ashes,” was burnt in a chimney of “peculiar construction,” which had been constructed in ptre Cpiyke’s house, and the ashes, placed in an urn, now ornament bis study mantelpiece. There is one other little fact, however; the experiment cost 2,000. The German Parliament was prorogued on the 26th April by a speech from the Emperor, after passing the Army Bill by a majority of ninety one ; a Press BUI, the provisions of which were mitigated to please the National Liberals ; and a measure enablmg the Imperial Government to exile rebellious bishops The defiant prelates hare been encouraged by published letters of Count Arnim, who virtually condemned Bismarch’s ecclesiastical legislation. The mat's official indiscretion has led to a rap-

tare with I'rance. Hi-, letters of recall were presented to Marshal MacMihou on -9th April, and he has resigned his appointment t > the Constantinople Embassy. The latest reports from C-dcutta state that in the famine districts f India there are now 1,342 000 persons on the relief works, 200,000 receiving chvritabla relief, and 4 0,000. supported by advances or sales f grain. The condition sf the people ia gener dly better, but severe distress cocassionally breaks out, famine telling cruelly upon tbe children, hundreds of whom are nearly fleshless. Distress is extending rapidly among the cultivating class, who eagerly seek grain advances. Uaius have been falling in seme districts, but not in sufficient quantity to allay anxiety.

The new Bill amending the Licensing Act was introduced on the 27th Aprii, and has incurred the condemnation of bath publicans aud teecotallers. There is to be a uniform extension of half an h<>ur for keeping open pu tlichouses. The special provision against adulteration is abolished, and liquor sellers are left to the ordinary law. The endorsement of trivial offences o.i the back of tbs license is withdrawn. The exemption in favor of night houses is repeated. On the sth inst. the victuallers held a conference, at which resolutions were passed declaring their confidence in Mr DUraeli’s Government.

In Oommitte of the House of Commons, Mr Brassey raised a discussion on the necessity of a better organisation of the Royal Naval Reserve. Until last year the reserve had fallen off, owing to the difficulty of securing sailors belonging to the mercantile service. Labt year 24,000 men joined. The Government promised attention to the subject.

< Mr Steven Mitchell, of Glasgow, who was killed by fa ling over a precipice near Moffast a few weeks ajo, hj is, it is stated, bequeathed the sum of L 70.000 for a free library at Glasgow. At a meeting of the Glasgow Philosophical Society, a committee W'S appointed to co-operate with the Corporation and other public bodies, in establishing, in conjunction with the free library, a free museum.