THE FLANEUR.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2635, 19 June 1877, Page 3

THE FLANEUR.

(FEOM TBTTTH.) A piece of official snobbishness that could well be spared is ibvariably practised in announcing the arrival of a troopship .For instance, the Jumna arrived atjportsmouth on Saturday from Bombay, haring on board, amongst others, " six officers' ladies" and .?"sixty-two soldiers'wives." I should, like to Know whether an officer's " lady "is something more or less than bis wife. Any way, I am sure there is not a married officer in the service whose wife would-not individually object to the doubtful appellation of "an officer's lady/ "I am the captain's lady," said the wife of a captain in a marching regiment just arrived in-Dub-lin, to an Irish sentinel, who forbade her to walk.over a grass- plot over which he kept guard. "Very sorry, ma'am,".replied Pat, " but I could not let you pass even if you were his wife;" The effective armies of Europe are as follows :—Russia, 1,789,571; Germany, 1.248.834; France, i;i18,525; Austria, j 964,268 ; Italy, 871:871; England, 655,808 ; Turkey, 629,736 ; other countries, 476,321 ;,total, 7,754,935.1 Allowing only £30 per head for the cost of each man, £282,648,050 per annum is expended for the maintenance of these enormous armies. As they are drones in the hive instead of workers^ it what they might earn be added to what they cost, this permanent system of "blood andiron" is maintained at an expenditure to the hive of about £5C0,000,000 per annum. And we rejoics that we are born in an age of civilization and progress ! But the most yejnarkable fact in the statistics of Euro-

pean armaments is tliat France has two more ironclads than we have. The numbers are, France, 63; Great Britain, 61. Sumptuary laws have never been a great success, and i; may roa«rnably 1-e expected that the conduct of the iiev. Robert Burton, vicar of gr. at Tey, Essex, will not Ond many imitators. The R<-v. gentleman recently issued an order tliat the girls attending the Sunday-school should not wear either collars, cuffs, artificial flowers, feathers, brooches, lockets, or earrings. Eight girls who darfd to i disobey the injunction were ejected from j the school on Kaster-day, the result being | a general stampede of the other girls, j Good Mr Burton is now.said to be h.esi- J tating whether he shall withdraw' the ■ decree, or prepare a similar order for the ; ladies who attend his church. (l-aOM THE WOEIiD.) - I believe that the real story of Hobart Pasha is this. He has sold his interest in all salary likely to accrue to him from his position in the British Navy.. Were his name, therefore, to be removed from the Navy List, others, and not he, would suffer. A.Mr Henn insisted the other day at Dublin upon being introduced to the Duke of Connaught, because, he said, his son had sat next H.B.H. when both passed their,examination for the army. I was then, observed the Duke, between two birds, for on my other side sat a Mr Peacock, and none of us were plucked.