CLIPPINGS FROM THE HOME NEWS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 166, 11 July 1878, Page 4

CLIPPINGS FROM THE HOME NEWS.

Brillat Savarin said, fa^ peop i 0 who 1 risked 1 - their frioo . _ ( 0 c _li_iier> Were reeponsiblerfor *_ Q happiness of their f n ®_ u ; w _.'l* under *°eir roofs. Hosts, it is to b'j feared, do noV always accept the obligation. In nothing is this more strongly shown/than in the wines they t&blice us to drink at their tables. The tricks Splayed upon the unauspectiog are positively, wicked. We all know, or ought to knowi tbe Hambro' sherry; which with brazen impudence is called Amo'dtillado/thecb.oapagDe -which is neither Vouvray nor, gooseberry, but o deleterious dooootion of petroleum or Moutons and Clog Vougeots which are ttieM meanest of '■ Gladstoniau vms ordinctiiyss. . What 'morning pangß wait apod-the thoughtless- who indulge in these dishonest drinks dinners-out can unhappily give evidence. ;It is some comfort to . think that the pure juioe of the "grape is really to be had and in increasing quantities. 'Although British prejudice is strong, f Australian wines are rapidly growingrinr-oateem in tbis country. Ihose who.baya, bad the good fortune to ij f,_ete some "of. the best Fairfield viota&es from South Australia, or the wines produced by the enterprising Mr Fallon, New South Wales, are ready to admit that Australian sherries, ports, and hocks can hold their own well, not only against spurious imitations,; but against <tbe real wines of these names. Their flavor is perhaps somewhat new, and, therefore, peculiar, but the purity and wholesale qualities df • the wines will soon secure tbera,_ high. prestige. A warm welcome has met the plucky eleven which has j list come all the way frcm the Antipodes to try their strength with our best/cricketers. Nottingham, :' where their first match is being played, was en fete to receive them. The fine old town, which has in recent years' so .rapidly developed in wealth and prbsjjerity came out quite strong. Triumphal arches, crowds at the railway-Btaiion, in the streets, and in theyrßpaciouß market-place— one of the largest and best io Englaud of its kind — and the crowds in Nottingham we as well dreesed and turned out os anywhere. iPlay has commenced, \ and so far gone against the Australians) but considering the state of tbe ground, which is soddeued and saturated by recent heavy rains; there is ; sbme excuse for strangers, jußt landed 1 from a Joßg sea voyage .being somewhat ,",out of. form." By-and-by when more accustomed to our style of play we may expect some hardly fought.. struggles both at Lord's and at the Oval. ° Al-readyEnglish-hospitality-is-trying-a more insinuating method of overcoming the Australians, and a series of banquets, the first 1 of which is ; to be ,?*t Nottingham, may develop friendliness but perhaps spoil sport. , Travellers returniog from Russia (according to the Times correspondent in ParisJ'say that there is an uneasiness which is:;- ill-concealed. Great hostility is manifested towards General Xgoatieffi The friendr. wbO;; told me thia said be had heard last week in one of the most brilliant drawing-rooms iv St. Petersburg a conversation in which a young Russian proposed to wager a large sum that General Ignatieff could not speak ' for three minutes without one of tbe following phrases : — " I never tell falsehood.?." <? You may be.lieve what I say." "I ; tell you- it, -so it is true." /'I am like ray father, I always speak the truth, on my word, of honor, and you know I seldom give it." M Believe what I tell you." " What interest have I in concealing tbe truth from you ?" ; «' People are iwron'g not to believe me." „s. ,s Falsehoods are useless when one has goo_d intentions." •' I have done everything,' and I am the moat attacked." " Schouvaloff has alwayß jeopardised 4 the bucc.ss of our schemes.'' "If I had been listened" to that would not bave occurred." "The Turks -know that I have; done it, /or their good; I need not go/on if you do not believe me." I bave written these .sentences at the dictation, of my friend. The curious thing ia that everybody io the company, even official personages, laughed, and that nobody accepted, tbe 5 wager; rStill, this is the general who but yesterday directed the; Whole Susaian policy, and the very persons who are amused at this criticism . ot him . woold; not dare to blame him before the Emperor. ; Details have* just arrived of the destruction of the torpedo factory, at Otchakoff, near Cronstadt, a week Ago. The establishment was a large one, and; employed several hundred hands. The; .fexplosion took place at three o'clockin; the morningj and seems to have been almost as dreadful as that which took place at Eritb some years ago. Tbe torpedo shops, the naval laboratory* the eheds, containing stacks of torpedoes ready y for use, and 'an immense quantity of pyroxoline . were blown up by three separate explosions, the , second- occurring two minutes after the first, and the third five minutes' later. The shocks were. felt miles away, and iv Otchakoff .a. panic ensued,, the inhabitants fancying that the r _3uglish fleet was bombarding the town. The factory, laboratory, and most of iha torpedo stores were found to ihave, entirely disappeared, while the flames from the garrison stables lighted. up '^ith yiyid effect five rows of barracks, tha windows of which had been shattered, aed in some instances the roofs carried away. .When the, ;'fire-eaffiaesj came upon ihe scene; tbif nairies were! rapidl^^pVcachib^'a-^agezine near; thj9JPf(i(Storr; )itf which/ were stored! tweaty.ona barrels cf gunpowder and

five fcohs of pyroxoline. By the courageous^ exertions of the garrison, these dangerous stores were removed before the fire reached the building. Letters from;: the; spectators speak in terms of ( highest admiration of the heroic conduct of the soldiery, who coolly rolled away the barrels of powder and carried off cases of dynamite under their arms 'while the .sparks" were falling. like rain among them. All the buildings. within two 'miles of tbe seat of tbe explosion suffered damage of a more or less serious ; character. Daring the day •peasants came into Otchakofi with bags and torpedo'caßesj whichibad fallen at a distance of five miles from the town, ;and ships at sea picked /up wreckage of the factory ten miles, away from laud.\ ! The cause of the disaster, is supposed to have been " Bpontsneous ! combustion." The damage doric ; to Govern-, ment and private buildings at., Otchskoff is described in the official report as immeuse. Fortufaatoly the loss oHife was not so great as it might have been, only, twelve persons being supposed to have peerishcd. The Emperor of Russia '(writes the Paris correspondent of tbe Times) is ieaid to be very downcast. The explosion of the sentiment of which -the • acquittal of Vera Sassulitch is the signal, the rumours of the movement in JBulgaria, the attitude of the'.'lipumanians, jthe probable policy of the Turks, and ; the hostility with which- Europe- has [ received the 'treaty of which General Ignatieff claims the paternity, seem to iweigh.heavily on him. . AIL these, .con-, jsiderations, added^to a need of'lmoVejf} f which is becoming daily most pressing, leads to the supposition^ fcbat^Russia will abandon her unbending .attitude, ; and will agree to a compromise which ivill enable her to conform to Eurgp^kti 'liw I without wounding the national' susceptibilities. _.„'.' I A