NEWS BY THE MAIL. .

Evening Star, Issue 3672, 28 November 1874, Page 3

NEWS BY THE MAIL. .

REGULATION WAISTS. Some pleasant and instructive reading is afforded by a little volume entitled “Art, the Handmaid of Nature.” the object of which is apparently to prove that wnmen, whatever may be. said of men, are not only mentally but physically imperfect beings, requiring the assistance of the milliner to supplement the work of nature, a small waist is the great desideratum, and here is the experience of “Nora” to prove how tiny that portion of “the human form divine” may become with judicious care and torture. “ When I left school at seventeen,” writes this heroic young lady, “my waist measured only thirteen inches, it having I een formerly twenty-three inches in circumference. Every morning one of the maids used to come to arsist us to dress, and a governess superintended to see that our corsets were drawn as tightly as possible. After the first few minutes every morning I felt no pain, and the only ill < fleets apparently were occasional headaches and loss of appetite.” “Occasional headaches and loss of appetite” —not much certainty ! So long as a waspish waist is obtained, of what consequence is health and comfort? The milliners have spoken I Foma locuta est ; causa fimta est. Pinch, screw, torture, suffer the horror* of martyrdom, and obtain as a reward—a tiny waist and a ruined constitution. A PERILOUS VOYAGE. A balloon ascent, which took place on the 31st August, caused a great sensation, It was on afetejdayat Calais, and M. Duruorf, the French oj-onaut, was announced to ascend in his * Le Tricolor,’ but the Weather was very bad. and the atmospheric currents driving towards the German Ocean To attempt an ascent was hazardous in the extreme, and had M Duiuorf yielded to persuasion, and his own common sense, and decided to postpone the ascent, but some illdisposed persons in the assembled crowd be,'an to taunt the aeronaut with cowardice, and worked him up to such a pitch, that spite all remonstrance, and saying to his wife (who accompanied him), “Let ua show these people we are not afraid to die,” they inflated the balloon and commenced the ascent, and drifted rapidly towards the North Sea,' and this when getting dark, about seven in the evening. N’o one hardly ever expected to hear anything of the ill-fated couple again, as it was hardly possible for them to reach the coast of Norwa ■, aid if they dropped in the open si a the chances were dead against their being picked up, or dropping near a passing vessel. But through God’s mercy they were rescusd in an exhausted condition by the crew of a fishing vessel, who left their nets and a f ier an hours chase managed to succour them, and this nearly inhnid-ocean. They lost their balloon, and a subscription uas op ned on theia behalf in Calais, and also a subcsription in this country on behalf of the crew of the fishing smack, by Mr Glashier, and towards making good to them the hj ss of their nets. M. and Mdm. Duruerf marie an ascent at the Crystal Palace on the 14th September, for their benefit. One of the persons who reproached them, and caused them from a mistaken sense of honor to taka this rash voyage, committed suicide, leaving a note stating his remorse for his share in the matter. * CRICKET. A mat :h has been played between the United South of England Eleven andTwentytwo of New Cross Albion Club and District. Mr Gilbert Grace was imb cky, and lost his wicket bv plaviug a ball on to bis pad, which rolled into his wirket His brother and Jupp were again the top scorer?, the former batting in ap’endid firm, and the latter fully maintaining his well-earned reputation. The details of the play were as follows:—In fine thouoh somewhat dull weather, and in the presence of about 2,500 spectators, play was commenced shortly after noon, the eleven, who headed their opponents only 17 runs on the first innings, being again represented at the wickets by Mr Gilbert Grace and Jupp, the bowling being entrusted to Newland and W. Coppinger By steady play the score was advauc- d to 28, when the champion unfortunately played a ball on to bis pad, from whence it found its way into his wicket, to the intense disappointment of the spectators, who indulged in the vain hope that he was in for another three figure innings. Mr Gilbert next faced Jupp. and the pair made a good stand, brinsiing on some changes of bowling, despite which the total was augmented to 66 when the amateur played a ball of Long’s on to his wicket. The next comer fell to the same bowler without adding to the score, and Mr Fred Grace joined Jupp. By their joint efforts the score had reached 87 by dinner time, and subsequently Mr Fred (-race played very finely, but was not aßogether free f-om luck. Three times in succession he hit N ewland for fonr, amongst other items of importance, and so effective was his hitting, and so steady Jnpp’s play, that they were not separated until they had pat on between th< m 102 runs, of which number 74 were made by Mr Grace by no less than ten fours, a three, and two twos, when he was caught at mid-on, the telegraph denoting 168 for four wickets. Charlwood was the new-comer, but five runs only bad been added when Jupp was caught by the long stop for another capital innings of 51, including six fours and three twos. He ought, however, to have been run out. Silcock next faced Charlwood, and they increased the total to 202, when the Horsham hero was bowled for a good twenty, in which were two fours. At 208 Pooley, who followed, was bowled, and at the same total Lilly white, both filling to M'Canlis. Soon after, Silcock, who had played s'eadily and was joined by Southerton, was beaten hy a ball of Fre man’s, the total being 212 Willsber whipped in, and having made a counle of fours, was caught by third man, the Kentish bovler carrying his bat out for four, the innings thus terminating for

TERRIBLE RAILWAY ACCIDENT. . * . Marquis of Waterford, who apparently inherits sv.me of the family eccentricities, “ said to have offered the Great Western Bail way Company liberal comi)en?ation for all losses if th y would only afford him the opportunity of seeing two trains, empty of course, run into each other at express speed from opposite directions The Great Western Company did not think the game worth the candle, and refused to do anything of the sort ; hut had his lordship only known when the affair was coming off, he would have found that the Great Eastern Company were able to gratify him. Had he been at a certain spot on the line between Norwich and Brundall, on the night of the 10th Septtmber, he could have witnessed the desired Spectacle without paying anything at all,

and with the more thrilling accessories of full instead of empty trains. At Brundall station, between Yarmouth and Norwich, he line becomes single, and the up night mail from Yarmouth should piss the down express just before reaching that place. J{, however, it arrived at Brundall without passing tie express, it remained there for orders from Norwich. At Norwich, if the express was 25 minutes late, it was the rule to o tier up the mail from Brundall, and of course if the express arrived in the meantime to detain it until the si gle line was clear. Considering what was at stake, a heavy responsibility rests on the directors, who allowed the safety of the trains to depend on a happy go lucky system like this, where everything rested on the clear-headed-ufss of one or two overworked men, without any mechanical check, as in the “ block ” or staff systems. For years it answere I, but at last there came the inevitable break down of so flimsy a measure. On the night of the 10th ultimo the express from London was late as usual, and the night inspector at Norwich ordered up the mail from Brundall, itbin the next two minutes the express arrives at Norwich, and thiough some misunderstanding between a telegraph clerk, the night inspect r, who had ordered up the mail, and another inspector, it is sent on down the single lino, up which the mail is now whirling The mistake was discovered just too late, and the consternation at the station may be imagined. The inspector who had ordered up the mail was, according to the witnesses at the inquiry, “ ''ke one paralysed with horror,” and another official tore off bis coat and rushed down the line in a futile attempt t > catch the express. All in vain. No human power could now avert the catastrophe. There was nothing to be done but to prepare for the worst. Carnages were' lighted, the county scoured for surgical aid, places provided for the reception of the dead and dying, and all these provisions were actually being made while the victims were sitting in life and health, and utter unconsciousness of danger. In all the sad long history of such disasters never In.s there been so weird a feature as this. The crash came, and it was heard for miles around. The two eneiues, from their positions afterwards, must have reared tin perpendicularly, and then fallen over backwards. The inextricable confusion of tor tured humanity and debris was something appal iag. Altogether in this terrible catastrophe twenty five people have been killed, and about seventy injur ed. The coroner’s jun have found verdicts of manslaughter against the night-inspector who ordered up the mail from Brundall, and the telegraph clerk who sent the message. The moral blame, however, is not removed from the directors of the company by this finding, and ‘Punch, 1 in a clever cartoon last week, hits the right nail on the head. He is depicted pointing towards a number of railway employes, and confronting a pompous looking director, to whom he remarks with severity—“N'o, no, Mr Director, they're not much to blame. It’s your precious false economy, unpunctuality, and gen ral want of system that does all the mischief. It is due, however, to the Great ‘ astern Company to add that a second line between Norwich and Brundall was actually being made, and that part of it had already been co ■ pleted, and notice for its inspection been given to the Board of Trade ten days b- accid-nt. “it never rains but it pours,” i's an ada e which seems to apply more particularly to railway disasters than to any other occurrence-except suicides perhaps. • v, ince the Brundall catastiophe, acci* dfiits on the rai!roa.d have been of almost daily recurrence, and in one no less than twenty 7 people were injured. MISCELLANEOUS. The wonder ol VVinchendon, Massachuscts, just now is a floating island of about five acres, which is voyaging around Lake Monsmonank, a sheet of water of about 2,500 aerts in extent, lying partly 7 in Wincheudon, and partly' in Siindge, New Hampshire. It formerly claimed a residence in VVinchendon, but towards the latter part of May the litt e island was one morning discovered to have changed its place and moved about two miles up the lake beyond the state line ; then it floated back nearly to its old place, only a •ay or two after to sail north again. Its soil is firm, and many people have approached it bv boats and travelled over it; the entire surface is covered by a scanty 1 ve B e^a^on j there are more than 400 trees by count, varying from sft. to 25ft. in height, scattered over its surface. Floating islands are not very uncommon in the akes of this region, but one so large as this and given to so long voyages is remarkable.