CONTINENTAL CRIMES AND SENSATIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 72, 24 March 1906, Page 13

CONTINENTAL CRIMES AND SENSATIONS.

PAJvIC IN" A VIENNA CHURCH. A panic, in which one child was killed and 50 others were injured, occurred in a church in the Lerchenfeld suburb, Vienna, on Friday afternoon, February 9. during a special service for children on the occasion of the feast of Purification. The church was crowded, and at the moment when the priest was giving the benediction after the sermon a girl fell down in an epileptic fit. In the confusion which ensued a man raised a cry of "Fire!" The congregation made a rush for the main door, which was closed, and then crowded to the side doors. The. children, pressed from behind, stumbled and fell down the steps and were trampled upon by those who followed. A STRANGE ACCIDENT. A decidedly curious accident happened the other day at Bremen. Two goods trains ran into each other in a tunnel situated under the Hemmstrasse, resulting ln the tap of a benzine tank ear being wrenched off. allowing its contents, some 3000 gallons, to escape. The dangerous fluid ran through the gutters provided to drain off surface water into the sewers, a considerable distance away. Three men happened to be working in the sewer, using naked lights. A terrific explosion occurred, which lifted the paving stones in the street above and the three sewer men perished in the flames. MAMA FOR SILKEN TRESSES. A collector whose peculiar hobby brought him into conflict with the police was Robert S3 . who was arrested the other day at Charlottenburg, Germany, in the act of cutting off a young girl's plaits while she was looking in a shop window. . . A search at his lodging brought to light no fewer than 31 plaits of all shades and sizes, besides numerous loose locks of hair which he had collected ln the course of a few months. All these tresses were neatly tied up with silk ribbons, and had labels attached bearing the dates when they had been robbed from their fair owners. The culprit, ln his defence, stated that at intervals he was subject to an irresistible desire to cut off girls' hair. and. as a boy. had cut off his sisters' plaits. Strnngp to say, only eight complaints had been received by the police from victims of this maniac, but all efforts to discover his Identity had been without result. A MiTCHSELLEE'S LOVE-STORY. A tragic love story fu humble life, though not without its hnmorons aspects, was unfolded in the Berlin police court the other day. Friedrlch Hartmann, a kerbstone matcheeller, was, in spite of his 78 years, lnfatnated with the fair Amelia Nass, a j maiden lady of 62 summers, who piled the I same trade on the other side of the street. ' The course of love ran smoothly enough I until there appeared on the scene a rival matchseiler. Augusta Warczewski. aged 59, whose' unscrupulous competition soon led to violent altercations. The climax was reached when the intruder sarcastically remarked to Hartmann. "You old sinner, you ought to be thinking of your grave instead of hanging about women." This was too much for the aged Romeo. lie arose in his wrath and smote Augusta on the cheek with h's crutch. The hot-headed lover did not find the law on his side when confronted by the magistrate, and he has to go to gaol for five days. miLD IN A LION'S DEN. i A large crowd of spectators were at--1 traded to a menagerie at Auhray. France, ! the other night by the announcement that I a girl of ten years would dance in the , I Hen's den. The child had hardly entered j the cage and begun to dance when a cry of horror broke from the spectators. A i 1 linn had leapt upon the gin, and after knocking ber down with a stroke of Its i ' paw, carried her in its mouth to a corner 1 of the cage, and attempted to tear her ; : limb from limb. The trainer, armed with | red-hot irons, sprang into the cage and | rescued the- girl, who was terribly mauled. | The proprietor of the show has been ar- j ' rested. j BOY KIDNAPPED BY HIS TEACHER. A schoolboy named Szepsan disappeared j from his home in an Austrian town En 1901 at the age of 14. aud all search for him j proved futile until 10 days ago, when he was fou'.id iv the town of Meudeln, ,iv the ; principality of Leichenstcin. It has been i discovered that he was kidnapped by a schoo'mistress named Buehl. who had a strong affection for her pupil. She took 1 him with her on a tour through Belgium, and afterwards to Italy, Constantinople, and Jerusalem, finally abandoning him at the age of 19 in Mendeln. When first questioned Szepsan energetically denied his identity, and attempted to escape from his father, who came to claim him. On being \ examined by a judge, however, he confessed, j and gave details of his wanderings with ; Bu.bl. who, he said, supplied bitn with money and false papers, and made all arrangements for their journeys. He was I placed by her a* different times in convents at Rome, Constantinople, and 'Jerusalem. THE -'CIRCLE OF DEATH." A terrible accident occurred at the Coliseum, said a Lisbon message of last jnoat-Jj la c_na__cti<gi with a £.a__"or_n»nce

called the "Circle of Death." The victim was an artist named Manricla de Thiers, who, seated in an automobile, described a circle In a loop. Losing the direction of the track, she fell with machine into the arena. There was an audience of 4000 people, who were horrified at the spectacle, many ladies fainting. The performer ie not expected to recover, her chest bones and" arms being broken.

TRAGEDY ON A LINER

The steamer Tafna. belonging to the Cbmpagnie Mixte. arrived at Marseilles on Wednesday, February S. from Algiers, after a rough crossing. As she wa3 taking up her moorings in the Estaque Bay an English passenger*, the captain of a large English steamer belonging to a wellknown line, suddenly went mad, and, rushing from his cabin with a loaded revolver, fired at the other paiisengers, without, however, hitting any of them. A panic ensued. Capt. Gentile, commanding the Tafna, and his chief. officer, M. Manya. pursued the madman, and were about to seize him on the promenade deck when he jumped overboard and disappeared, despite all efforts to save him. The British Consul-General was at once advised of the occurrence.