TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 5477, 7 February 1885, Page 5

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

[From Om Lonijon Correspondent,]

London, Deeembor 11).

If it is true, us proverb-mongers aver, that v green Christmas makes a fat churchyard,

Ihe prospects of tho undertaking trade are di.-tinctly looking up, For the last three

weeks the weather has been depressing, enough to drive even a .Bradiaugh to

suicide. Rain, rain, rain, nothing but rain all day long. Everybody is damp and

and moist and rheumatic, and everything if either splashed or soaked or sodden. Last Thursday I wont to the Cattle Show. The Agricultural Hull was tilled with an odorous steam arising partly from reeking beasts,

partly from wot corduroys (a delicious per fume), partly from a muggy, dank, per

spiring humanity, and partly from a disinfectant Known as Sanitas. Tho effect on our people's nasal organs was hidescribablie. Ono great cattle show always seems to mo exactly like another. Of course tho beasts aro different, but. it would take an export to swear to the fact. Tlio most ntl'jßting sight 1 saw on Thursday was in tho piggery. Tho attondimt on tho gold medal prize porkers had fallen asleep in tho styo, and lay between his tyoobo-o chargos, an arm alfurtionately thrown across the feminine gruuterV shoulder.

Miss Fortrseue-'s doings still monopolise a good deal of space in certain "soi'ioty" papers. The young lady has thrown up her part in "Our Hoys," at the Strand Theatre, and is about to "star" tho provinces as Ualatoa. (iilbort has drilled hor, and will, no doubt, tako cam Unit sho is passably good. A Klriingu story is current about tho famous jewellery lettor, tho good sense nf which was so unanimously praised when read out dining tho r'inney ■ CJarinoylo trial. A wretched pressman declares that ho has discovered tho epistle (unexceptionable seiitiinoiits and all) in "a polito letter writer" published by Koutledgo, and avors tlmt Miss Fortcscuo must havo copied it thence word for word. If true, hero is a terrible cvposi', No wonder poor liumboil hu.iital.od übiiiit milking a i:ii'\ of scanty education and scantorcleanliness a real live countess. Ton thousand was ;i cheap "let oil." Ono of the moat rcmarkdblo "tit-bits" of gossip now current in aocioty refers to the rumoured re-marriage of tho Duke and Duchess ot Marlborouyh. 1 daro say you may remomboi what an esclaudi'i! there was about threu years ago when the Blandford divorce ease was tried. Lady I'■landlord (as she was thun) proved gross cruelty and infidolity against hor lord, the ovideiice showing amongst other tiillet that on one occasion ho had struck her when iiinin/c, and on another badly bruised her bosom. The Marquis excused his behaviour in long, philosophical letters, in which ho analysed his temperament, talked much about "cougenial" natures und "twin souls,"and vainly endeavoured tc p&l|jf>t; t ' l)ja gcaiidalous behaviour. Lady Blaudford, ituiay oe romoi.;bored, didn't apply for a divoivo until she found tho heir of tho Churcliilla settling money on his illegitimate children by Lady Aylcdford. A recouciliation has recently been brought about by mutual friends, ami should tho pair succeed iv agreeing as acquaintances thoy will in all probability ho re-married. Tho Queon, I understand, strongly disapproves the idea. A Btra&as JVJateh. Tho British aristocracy has of lato been exceptionally assiduous in recruiting itself from the commonalty. Events of a domestic nature prevented Lord (larmoyle from carrying out his matrimonial intontious "'ith respect to Miss Fortoscuo. Hut only a little while ago Lord Savernalco, son and heir to the Mijiquisuto of Ailesbury, niirrieii Mis 3 Dojjy Tc;;ter, \»ho used tj stiinorts a bright particular star i;i tho tralaxy of tho ballet at tho Empiro Theatre. Now anotlier )iieinbor of tho Tostor family finds ; hor.-elf placed at the gate of the peerage. Sho Ims just bosn married to the gcntlonian who will some day, if ho lives, bo Lord Lyvedon, a barony founded for tho preferment of Vornon Sn ith, a groat character in nn. oUleu Parliament. Miss Kate Yanghan, who, in spite of hor marriage to Colonel Wellosloy, is still nightly on tho stage, is not brought in direct lino for a countess's coronet; but sho is not far out, und tho accident of a couple of deaths would make her Lady Cowloy. The<o aro only some recent casoa Impponing within the last two years, where members of tho peerage have gone among tho commonalty for .vives. Perhaps tho Held of choice is a littlo restricted, but the enterprise is in itself most wholesome. Attompt to Blow up London Siidgo.

At 5.40 p.m.on Saturday, December 18, tho whole of the city of London was thrown into a great state of excitement by tlio report of a terrific explosion, which seomod to come from tho neighbourhood of the Thamos. Saturday be-ing a half-holiday in London, there wore not many people in tho city, but large crowds soon gathered at the principal coruors, anxious to hear t:io causo of the shock which hud scarod them. In a short timo it became known that the scone of the explosion was London ]>ridgo, and vaguo rumours floated about that tho bridge had been blown up and many lives lost. Happily these nuppositions proved to bo unfounded. An excited crowd rushed towards tho bridge, but found it intact, though those who woro crossing tho river at the timo of tho explosion informod them that a violent concussion had takon placo, and frightened them out of their wits.

Ah yet wo know nothing of tho perpetrators of this foul outrage, or how it waa accoinpli"hed. AH that wo are sure of is this, that on Saturday night, shortly after half-pa«t five, a violent explosion took plnco under the second arch from tho Surroy side of London Bridge Fortunately no one waa injured, though soveral paseors-by were thrown to the ground j and thoro was a ntnmpode of pussongorn to cither end of the bridge Of courso, thoro are several theories na to tho explosion ; ono is that a bomb woh thrown over tho bridge, and exploded on touching the water; another, that a:i infernal machine, wound-up to go off at a cortain time, was placed on tho buttress; while a third idea is th^it a packot ot dynamite was thrown ovor from a boat under the bridge. Any oF those theories may bo tho correct one ; but the po'ico have n» yet no cluo, Ono strango thing is that tho bridgo presonts no mgns of being injurod in any way, though for half-tt-mile along tho river on both sides every pane of glass was shattorod to atoms. The report of tho explosion was distinctly heard soveral miles from London, and tho superintendent of tho Firo Brigade at tho West Ham (six miles from London Bridgo) ordered out his engine, thinking that tho report was a gas explosion in his own neighbourhood. And now as to the authors of this diabolical attempt. Thoro can bo no doubt that this is another of tho Fenian outrages of which the last occurred in tho summor, when simultaneous explosions took place at Scotland Yard, Trafalgar Squaro, and St Jamos-strcot, Evidontly tho American Irish did rot intand us to pass our Christmas without giving us a reminder that Uiey wore still hatching tlisir vilo plots. Ono circumstance points conclusively to tho Fact that tho Fenians had a hand in this outrage It is this: December 13th is tho anniversary of tho explosion at Clorkonwell Prison in 18G7, when the Irish party blew down tho prison wall in tho hope of rescuing Burke and Carey, who woro then confined there Fortunately, however, last Saturday's explosion proved as futile as that of seventeen years ago; though at Clcrkonwell tho lives of twelve innocent persons wore taken, whilo no 1,038 than ono hundred and twenty were sorionsly wounded. It is appalling to think how torriblo must havo boon the loss of life, if the dynamittirds had succeeded in their villainous objoct last Saturday. It is computed that there woro on tho bridgo at tho timo of the oxplosion at least fivo hundred foot passengers and about one bundled vehicle?. If the bridge had been blown into tho air, not ono of these would probably have escaped, while tho ell'oct of the explosion would have been to devastate the riverside buildings for some hundred yards.

Ui.fortunately, the police have as yet no cluo to help them in unravelling the mystery which surrounds the whole affair ; but they havo come to the bottom of other plots which have been, to outsiders, seemingly untraceable ; and the men who hunted down the perpetrators of the Railway Station explosions, and brought to light the Birmingham dynamite manufactory, may be trusted to elucidate the latest con-piracy of the American-Irish dynamitards.

'Ihe following notice was posted tho other d.iy in London on the outside of the Salvation Army Hall in Oxford street:—"Tomorrow, Band and Songsters going up. Another big (i. 0. Certain Victory. 7 a.m. Knee drill. Soldiers, where will you be? 11 a.m. Holiness, what is it? E.E.K.F. gi)d Y.S.A.E., wonderful trophies. 0.30 p m Great Snatching of Soulb from the Eternal Burning—you for one?" The words Eerf and Ysae are free and easy inverted. Could anything bo more blasphemous ?