Miscellaneous Extracts.

Hastings Standard, Issue 490, 1 December 1897, Page 4

Miscellaneous Extracts.

BLACKMAILED TO DEATH. A meeting of a unique body of men, calling themselves the " Society of Reformers," was held in London recently. The little society, which, according to the secretary, numbers 880 members, is composed of solicitors, cashiers, bank clerks, secretaries, and other men of good education who have offended against the law of their country in some respect on a single occasion, and, having paid the penalty imposed, are seeking to rehabilitate their moral character. The chair was taken by a venerable gentleman of some seventy years of age, who explained that the object of meeting was to see if some means could be devised for ridding them of the terrible " shadow " in the person of the blackmailer, who was constantly at their elbow to remind them of the past. It had, he said, now reached such a pitch that during the last twelve months their band had been decreased by no fewer than ten members who had died by their own hand, as they could no longer bear the strain. The chairman gavo a.ll instance of a tragic case, in which the daughter of a w r ealthy man " with a past" was about to be married to the son of a w 7 ell-known legislator. Everything was prepared for the ceremony, and the carriages were even at the door, when a blacknailer came up and whispered his demand for a cheque as the price of his silence. The result was an exposure and the stopping of the ceremony. At njght the bride drowned herself in the lake in her father's grounds, while the father was found dead in one of the bedrooms, shot by his own hand. DARING ATTACK ON A BRITISH F#RT. Startling news has been received at Simla from Mandalay. At night a gang of Burmans numbering 25, and armed with dahs—long knives—rushed the sonih gate of Mandalay Fort. They then made for the residence of Major Dobbie, but were driven off by that officer with the assistance of other officers and some Sepoys. Four of the gang were killed, and four others were wounded. On the side of the garrison Lieutenant Harrington aod two Sepoys of the S2nd Madras

Infantry were wounded, and also one private of the Royal Scow, whose injuries are serious.—Rtuce.r. The Rangoon correspondent of the Times sends further particulars of the attack. The Burmans were, under the leadership of a Buddhist monk, th.j object of the desperadoes being the slaughter of Europeans. "Insi da the south gate," says the correspondent. "the band met Private McLean, and Mrs Wiison, the wife of a soldier, whom they hacked so badly that she is not expected to live. They then attacked Major Dobbie, commanding the 4th Burmah Battalion, who used his revolver freely, Mrs Dobbie fetching him fresh - ammunition as he fired. Major Dobbie killed four, including the leader of the gang, and wounded several, and the rest fled. The alarm was given, the gates were shut, and several arrests were made, and the recklessness of the gang is evident from the fact that the European barracks are only a few hundred yards from the scene of the outrage." GREAT FOREST FIRES. A forest fire has devastated about 250 square miles of country on the line of the Canada-Atlantic railroad, between Ottawa and Montreal. It has been ascertained that fully 600 people will have to be temporarily assisted with food and clothing, and the Ottawa City Council have voted 1000 dollars for their relief. The chief sufferers are 500 inhabitants of the " lumbering " village of Casselmau. 40 miles from Ottawa. Rainfall prevented the spread of the bush fire, which otherwise would have caused the worst conflagration that the forest district of Eastern Ontario has experienced for years. The fires in the Casselton district are estimated to have caused losses amounting to a quarter of a million dollars. About 1000 persons have been rendered homeless, and the majority of them are penniless. It is feared there has been considerable loss of life, as many persons are missing, and already five charred bodies have been recovered. One woman, after fleeing from her home, which was in the path of the flames, gave birth to a child during a night spent in the open air, and died from exposure. A number of persons have been seriously burned. Besides the three villages already reported scores of farms have been destroyed and burned, and dead animals are to be found everywhere. The fire is described by those who saw it as literally a storm of flames. It travelled through the woods with incredible speed, and then rushed upon the farms, overwhelming them in an instant and reducing them in a few moments to smouldering ruins. Such a disaster is unparalleled in the experience of the colony. A STRANGE STORY. An extraordinary scandal is just now agitating the minds of the people in Southport, arising out of the escapades of a man who for seven years has been masquerading in the guise of a female. About seven years ago (the London Daily Mail says) a lady, accompanied by her daughter (appearently a woman of more than middle age) and a lady companion went to Southport. Tbey were accepted as members of a religious body. The daughter and the lady companion offered to work for the church, the first-named being given a class of older girls in the Sunday school, and the latter a class of young women, chiefly servant girls. The young lady identified herself closely with the scholars, visiting them during the week if they missed class on Sunday, and sending them cards on their birthdays. She generally greeted each guest with a kiss. So things went on until a year and a half ago, w r hen at an "at home " the teacher and the lady companion were the last to leave the chapel. Next morning the lady companion was found dead in bed. Some time ago, during the mother's absence for a few days, a young lady, an occasional teacher at the school, went to keep the daughter company. Shortly afterwards she returned home and told her mother that the supposed teacher was a man. This made a stir in a small circle, but nothing then leaked out in the town. A day or two afterwards mother and te daughter" left the town without saying good-bye. It was stated that they had gone to London, but the next thing heard was the mysterious person and the occasional teacher had been married in Manchester. The supposed young lady had assumed a man's dress, with a top hat and white waistcoat. The couple are believed to be now residing in a suburb of Manchester. The reason for the imposture is stated to be that the young man is an illegitimate child, and previous to his birth the father left a sum of money for the child if it should be a girl, otherwise the money was to revert to his own family.