SCISSORS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 4825, 27 January 1887, Page 4

SCISSORS.

On November 15, and avalanche overwhelmed the Leaclvillo ana Aspen stage couch, containing nine persons on the top of a mountain 15 nvles east oi the lati-ci place, iv the United States, and the eut>re outfit -was earned over a precipico iUiut high. Tive of the passengers were k'Heu. "Mr Dion Boucicault is preparing' tor publication a collection of the plays he has written, in collaboration with a number ot unnamed dramatists. Itwi 11 he issued in New York, and will do interspersed with autobiographical memoranda, aud with remmiseeness of some of the more famous ot his professional contemporaries. Mr Joseph Jefferson is understood to bo devoting such lcisnro hours as he enjoys -while "on the road" in. -writing a book, which will constitute a record of his professional life. If it is half as bright as his conversation, and only one-fourth as interesting as his acting, it may be safely prophesied that it twII be as entertaining a volume as that of Colley Cibber. On the evening of the 15th of November, during the performance of "Jacques Bonliomme" at the Iheatre de Paris, a young man 20 years of age fell from the upper gallery into the balcony fautcuih. He was conveyed to the nearest police station in an insensible condition, but was found to have sustained no seilous injury. As soon as he had recovered he insisted upon retiming to the theatre to witness the rest of the performance —"which he did. The Theatre dcs Nations, wb ich belongs to the municipality of Paris, is about to be opened en the 00-opeTative principle, for the performance of popular dramas. It will be managed by a coimrittce of five act<r.-s and actresses on behalf of a company of ■■ eleven. Onc-ioiuth of the profits w.'U bo divided amoujj these, one-fourth w.'Hbe set apart for a ponHion fund, one-fouufch wiH go to the municipality, aud the remaining iovrth will Lc earned to the reserve fund. The elections for tho Councils-General in Franco have rosuHod in a slight gain for the Conservative party, the Republicans liav.bg gained 05 suits and lost 1.1.0 ; but iv viii" years the number of tho former has dec 1 i.iicd, while that of the latter has 'ucroaml. At present tho position is this — 2,810 members are Republican and 1,907 arc Conservative ; and these figures furnish, a tolerably uccurntc estimate of the relative strength of two the parties in the nation. In a letter to a theatrical newspaper, Sir Cluirlcs L. Young repels the charge of having borrowed the stoiy of " Jim the_ Penman " from a German play, of tho existenco of which he has now heard for the first time, aud ntutcs tliat his Ji.'ama was suggested by the career of a man of education and position, a barrister, who was convicted oJC forgeiy many years ago, aud sentenced to a lung term of penal servitude. He was launvii to tho police by the epithet which the dramatist has bestowed upon his piece. 3lr Maltliow Broiiic/wlio will be remembered aw one of Miss Do Grey's comedy compuny, "writes to one of tho London papers complaiuing that .some mischievous person has been inserting a notice of l>is jruirriugoiu a Liverpool joiu.ial. " I wish," Lα Kiya, "thitt by inserting , this in your widely-read columns you would do mo ihe Llndness to contradict tho report, and to reassure the numerous heiresses and ladies of title of my ae'-juniutance that I am still in tho market." It is very rarely that an actor remains so faithful to the fortuues of a theatre as M. Lnndrol has done to those of tho Gyronase 51 Pails, on the boards of wHch ho made his dobul at the age of 17... This was 40 years ago, and he has never accepted an engagement elsewhere. Ine management have just concluded a fresh engagement with him for four years. M. Dnmas says of him that ho never knew a eomecUan who so completely transform himself in every new character he assnaes as M. LancK'oi does. A telegram in The Times calls tho attention of the British Government to a new I petroleum engine invented by Herr Siegfried Marcus, of Vienna, and wl'ich he is supplying to the German na\y for its torpedo boats. The machine is set in motion by electro-magnetism. It has far more power than a steam engine of the same size, is , less liable to derangement, and is not subject to explosions. Moreover, the f uol which feeds it takes up imich less spape ; than coal. A", the experiments made with this engine have been satisfactory. When tho last ma? l , left France, grtiat preparations were being made in the capital to celebrate tho hundredth birthday of M. Che\reul, on the Ist of tho present month. Among other features of the fete, which was to have been held in the Museum of Natural History, was an exhibition of all the scientific discoveries he has made, and their applications to industi/. Theso would include coloring matters and dyes for textile . fabric's, printed stuffs and papers, stearine candles, glycerine, djaamite, decorations for porcelain, and that marvellous classification. .of colors which has proved to be of such inestimable" value to the national manufactory of Gobelins tapestry. Society in Rome has been somewhat ngirated by a theatrical scandal arising out of the loss of a valuable bracelet by a lady of high rank. Some weeks after f "st misfiiig it, happening - to attend a performance at tho Teatro Nove l, !, sho perceived the ni inmont on the aim of an actress named Gcrbino, and setit a po 15 ce officer to cla ; m it as stolon property. Signorina Gorb , " to refused to give it up, on tho groimd that it was presented to her by an anonjjious sdnrver, but Las been summoned to tho police court fa , receiving a purloined article. The actress has met this by bilnging an action for defamation of character against the original owner of the bracelet, whose husband must be passing a bad quai ler of an liouv. :.•

- Tho Queeii lias created a new iiaval and ir'"tiiry order for " rewarding individual instances of aioritorious and distinguished services in wir." It is to be called tlie " Distinguished Servieo Order." and to consist of the Sovereign and such members as she eliall appjint. Actual holders of commissions are alone eligible and the nominations are expressly conf necl to persons mentioned bynomobythe aclVral or commander-in-chief ii despatches "for meritorious or distinguished service in the field or before tlio enemy." Tho appointments ; arc to 1>' O by warrant, under tho sign-manual, r lD(1 cuimtersigncd by a Secretary of State. Th G order is to rank nest after the orde\. o f the liuJ-aa Empire, and the inembe™ aro to •wear a badge. Fanny Cento, who made her v fet appearance m London on the nigh tof the memorable Taiubunni not, at Her Theatre iv 1840, and tooktL Btorm by her exgi-sito dancing, is Jivin- in rearement a* Pussy near tlxo Boisde I3outonge. # Her society is much. Bought after by the aristocracy ot Paris, but she is more o iieil to be found at tho Lerlsldes of the sick poor oi -her district -thpjx at fashionable saloons, as her tme cr jd income are largely devoted to jovka rj cliarit gho C 6, an* quitted tho st age 31 years ago, owing to the '.nja-aessnes-asta^edhythe An li AOi La J ' VlB d 0 Fctl - Sfle iS tlle vho°a- ' t ' of nn Italian offieerof high rank, ; -ccompanied Napoleon on his disastrous MW ptiign to Eussia iv 1812.

On tiio Oth of November, 1876, the famous 1 comeduin Poufß6, tvLo -was tlie delight of the ransianpubJiofrom 1821 to 1857, celebrated liia golden -wccHing by a ptiblic thankaeivmg m the church of Notro Damo, at A-uteml. He vns then 77 years of age, find v. foir of the brilliant throng- who assembled to -witness tho re-mnrriage of the venerable couple anticipated Ihcy would reach tlie 0"-c of four score. M. do Villranessant, who led tho cortege, is dead ; v? is the Abbe LamaHoi , ., afterwards tho Bishop of Limoges, -who performed the nuptial ceremony, while thr clmrch itself, which was Iniilt iv tho featelf -\ century, has been palled down since- t> , and anqther edifice creoted on its l ' Nevertheless the veteran actor and bir •{ ■wile still ]i\-o, and on the 96h 3Tot p"f° "last they held their diamond weddinj- , ™vl a stream of author*, artists, act/ j\' a Bocfal celebrities made a piLnimag , c to Hamcanßeranger, to congratukitf'j'the ccfco 6 genarian couple, -who are both. ia!e I hearty on this memorable anniv /ersaly d were sensAly touched by the cJioras sunjr in tieir honor. °