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Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2941, 19 July 1878, Page 2

A Sydney journal writes :—" A terrible bow has been dealt to sentimental Australians. The two young survivors from the wreck cf the Loch Ard are not to be married. This is too bad ; such persons are always married in novels. Tom Pearce and Miss Carmichael are of the same age ; she inherits a fortune, but the colonists are collecting one for him ; and any disparity of education and solid position is more than compensated by the indebtedness of the young lady to the young gentleman for her life. How fitting it seemed that tlie^s two should ffaLe ! The Rev. Thomas Jones, the poet preacher of Melbourne, iv the course of a sermon, ventured to stiggest the propriety of marriage in this c ze, and one of the daily papers heartily endorsed the idea. It ce^rns to be the popular opinion that all romances should, if possible, wind up with marriage, and the s^ory of the survival of the two yojng pejple from tbe Lock Ard was romantic in the very highest degree. But according io the Herald's Melbourne correspondent, Miss Carmichael engag id herself to a gee tieman in the E'lie* Jd Isle'-before she c.j'led for Aus'raPa, and means to retrrn shortly and marry him. So tbe dream of thousands of poetic" young lades :i the colonies has been rudely shattered. Numberless people will have thei' raith in the fiction of the period rudely shaken. They will, when they hear the marriage bells at the end of the third volume, be tormented by the thought that the novelist does not hold the mirror up to Nature. And if the girl of the period loses faith iv the novel of the period, who shall console her? Does she not derive three-fourths of her happiness from following the fortunes of heroes and heroines through fire, and flood, - and battles, and wrecks, to the triumphant weddings with which all the adventures are rounded off? At the same time, it would be very hard on the gentleman in Ireland if he were dismissed, m d his life blighted, because a young midshipman had the opportunity of saving the life of his betrothed."

The Auckland St-r^a special supplies the following items regarding the reception, of Earl Be coisfie'.d and the Marquis of Salisbury ca their retu. i from the Berlin Congress:—Thous ud.i took part in the welcome to Earl Be :consfield and the Marquis of Salisbury on their return from the Berlin Congress. Eeplying to an address, Earl Beaconsfield said England brought pe..ce about honourably. He hoped for a long eont'.nuance of peace and prosperity.—The training ship Eurydice, sunk in the Channel, has been floated, and was found to contain many bodies.

At the Latds Court to-day the business was the same m yesterday— cross examination of witnesses in the Te A^oha c?se by. the advocate for the counter claimants. We understand that the counter ciaimant3 hare made a very good case, but the decision is considered as almost certain to be against them. The cross-examination by Ahi Pipene (the counter claimant's advocate) will occupy to-morrow.

A coNCEKT'in aid of the choir fund of the Grahamstown Wesleyan Church will be given in the Theatre lloyal on Tuesday evening next, when the cantata entitled ■" St. Cecelia's Day " will be performed. We believe this piece has not yet been produced here, so in addition to its intrinsic merit it will also have the charm of novelty, and from the time the piece has been in rehearsal, we anticipate a careful and satisfactory rendition of it. The second part will consist of songs, duets, glees, &c, by members of the choir and other friends, full particulars of which will be duly announced in our advertising columns in the course of a day or two.

This morning was certainly one of the coldest we have had this season. In some places the ground was completely covered ; iwith,hoar frost, and all the stagnant water frozen. One gentleman showed us a cake of ice nearly an inch thick.' We have heard it asserted that the-climate of New Zealand is getting colder year by year; this is, however, a question for meteorologists to decide, but ,we have seldom experienced/such biting cold on the Thames as was felt this n:orning. • ■

; An amusing fact has come to our (Bay of Plenty Times) knowledge. A certain Southern gentleman at present in nego tiation for a block of land at laaketu, forwarded from Duuediu by the Taupo, ou-'Sur. day,' two hundred weight of lollies for distribution among the native children at M-Itetu. — vr.b sap. I

Thehe was no business at the E.M. Court this morning.

The foundations of the monument erected in tbe cemetery to the memory of the late Lieut. Col. St. John hare subsided, so tbat the column is now out of the perpendicular, and bids fair to topple over altogether. The monument was erected by subscription amongst the deceased officer's comrades and others. We do not know whose duty it is to look after its maintenance, but we think the Government might fairly incur the very slight expense necessary to restore it to a safe condition. In his lifetime Colonel St. John did good service to the colony.— New Zealander.

A new Masonic Lodge under the English Constitution was opened at the Hi Jng Sun Hotel, Newton, on Wednesday evening, to be called the Eden Lodge. There was a large attendance, and amongst those present were Brothers G. S. Grrham, D.G-.M.; E. T. Wildman, D.D.G.M., and the followiug Graud Lodge officers: Brother Rev. C. M. Nelson, D.G. Chaplain ; Brother C. F. Goldsbro', D.G. Treasurer; Brother H. G. Wade, D.G. Secretary; Brother E. Willcocks, D.G.D.C.; Brother Hesketh, Organist; Brother Eat tray, Pursuivant. The masters an^ officers of mc^tof the 01-':er lodges v.i the district were also present, rs well as many visitors. The DisL-iet Grand Master presided, and the lodge was consecrated in accordance with ancient custom. The following officers were installed: —Brothers J. Warren. W.M.; D ; . Chapman, S.W.; J. Carlaw, J.W.; W. J. Suiter, Treasurer ; W. Johnson, Secretary ; E. W. Morrison and J. Moore, Deacons ;T. Walker, 1.G.; C. Westmoreland, Tyler ; and Tho3. BarneLt, Steward. At the conclusion of the ceremonial, which was carried out with the usual solemnities, the lodge was c~lLi off. A banquet was subsequently held, at which the customary toasts were proposed.

The contest for the seat vacated, by Mr Lumsden for Invercaigill, whicli took place on Wednesday, was a very close one. A telegram of Wednesday's date says:—The election for Invereargill today resulted thus:— H. Feldwick, 2CO; J. W. Bain, 2i9. There was tremendous excitement in the town all day, most strenuous exertions being made to bring up every available vote. The roll for Invereargill contains 764 votes; absent and missing bring that number down to about 600, of whom 430 were brought to the poll—above a third more than polled at the Provincial v. Abolition contest. Mr Feldwick is one of the proprietors of the Southland Daily News, and a thorough supporter of the Grey Ministry. Mr Bain is proprietor of tie Southland Times, and is on the opposite side of politics.

The King of Pain, where coming has been heralded for some days by particolored posters, handbills, and other advertising media, is expected to arrive by to-night's steamer, in order to give his amusing and unique entertainment, as described in the bills. Amongst other bits of vocalization to which the Professor treats his audience is that celebrated war song, said to have been received at the London Music Halls with a perfect furore, the chorus of which runs—" We don't want to fight, but by jingo if we do, We've got the pluck, the ships, the men, and the money too." He will " dig down " a la Frank Weston, and if his entertainment is as amusing as Frank's, the King of Pain will become a popular remedy for many diseases.