NEWS BY THE MAIL

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8669, 11 September 1891, Page 6

NEWS BY THE MAIL

AN ENGLISHMAN'S WINNINGS AT MONTE CARLO. An Englishman, named Wells, who is staying at Monte Carlo, has won no less than £•20,000 in three days. Each day at noon, the hour at which play begins, he was among the first to take his place at the roulette table, and there he remained, losing occasionally, but for the most part winning stake after stake until the closing of the establishment at eleven o'clock. So engrossed was this fortunate gambler in the conduct of his operations that never once did he stir from his scat or partake of food during the eleven hours of play. He won several • stakes of 20,003 fr., and twice consecutively backed the number one " en plain" successfully for 8000 fr., the maximum amount allowed. A ROMANCE OF THE PEERAGE. The celebrated " Berkeley Peerage Case," which has been before the public at intervals during the last SO years, and was re-opened on the death, in ISSB, of Randell Mowbray Berkeley, alleged to be the seventh earl, was, on July :Jl, decided by the Committee of Privileges in accordance with the judgment of the House of Lords in 1811. Among all the romances of the peerage which Sir Bernard Burke lias gathered together, the Berkeley romance is one of the most striking, and might furnish materials for a sensational fiction of absorbing interest. The Berkeley family is one of the oldest in the English aristocracy. the barony dating" as far back as the year 1295. A Lord Berkeley served atCrecy and Poictiers, another held Berkeley Castle for King Charles I. In 1079 the fourteenth baron was created Earl of Berkeley, and the title descended from father to sou till Mm death of the fifth earl in 1810. Some time toward.-? the close of the last century the fifth Earl of Berkeley fell deeply in love with Mary Cole, a girl of eighteen, in a humble position in life. This girl he certainly did marry in the year 1796. But the question arose on his death whether he had not been privately married to her eleven years before. Three sous were born before 1793, and three after that date, and the peerage was claimed by the oldest of the first three, who undertook to establish the earlier of the two marriages. The case was heard before the Committee of Privileges in 1811, and decided against the claimant, who, as some compensation, was created Lord Fitzhardingc. Tliq eldest of the three younger sons, Thos. Moreton Berkeley, was consequently regarded as the sixth earl, though lie never assumed the title. He died in 1882, and, his two brothers having predeceased him without leaving any heir, the legitimate descendants of the sixth earl were extinct. The title next devolved oil Randal Mowbray Berkeley, the direct male representative of Augustus, the fourth carl, though lie, too, declined to take it. At his death in 18SS his son Randal Mowbray Thomas, claimed to be recognised as eighth earl, which claim lie has now succeeded in establishing. It was opposed bv the present Lord Fitzhardingo, the son of Maurice Berkeley, the second of the three sons born to the fifth earl before the marriage of 1790. This claim necessitated the rehearing of the whole case, which had been decided in 1811. But the committee came to the conclusion that no fresh evidence had been adduced justifying them in a reversal of the former .judgment, which was founded on evidence of a singularly weighty character. ATTEMPTED SUICIDE OF MDLLK.

VACARESCO. The Hungarian panel' Lupta, nf BiulaPesth, states tliiit M:llle. Helena Vacaresco, who lias been in attendance on the Queen of Romania in Venice, endeavoured to commit suicide on August "). The Queen, adds this account, snatched the dagger from the wouldbe suicide's hand, and prevented her from carrying out her intention.

FOOLHARDY MARINERS. Captain Josiah Lawlor. who set sail for England from Boston, United States, in the Sea Serpent, a boat 15 feet long, on June *23, arrived at Coverack, near the Lizard, on Tuesday, August 4. He left in company with the Mermaid, another loft, boat, on Board of which was Captain William Andrews, the two agreeing to race across the Atlantic Ocean for a stiver cup and, 3000 dollars. Two hours after leaving he lost sight of the Mermaid, and did not see her afterwards, during his long voyage. The voyage was eventful. Heavy seas were encountered, and on July 1 Captain Lawlor fell overboard and was rescued with difficulty. The vessel twice capsized, and once a shark attacked her. In this latter dilemma the captain took a patent yacht salute, making a noise like a Gfllb caunon, lit the quarter-minute fuse, and wrapped it in a newspaper and threw it overboard. The shark went for it, and just as lie turned to seize it the salute exploded.

SHOQKTNG BATHING FATALITY. A despatch from Porto d'Anzio, on the coast near Rome, gives particulars of a distressing bathing accident which occurred at that watering-place on August 7th. Some American students of the Roman Ecclesiastical College were bathing at a place called La Neroniene, on account of its being near soma ruins of one of Nero's palaces. Mi'. Gerry J. Dnsing, of St. Louis, Missouri, aged twenty-one, entered the water first, and got beyond his depth. -Mr. Lucian _1). Johnstone promptly went to his assistance, caught him by the waist, and held him up, while the others, who had not yet undressed, ran for help. After holding his friend for fourteen minutes, Johnstone was beginning to get tired, when an Italian sailor swam out and relieved him of his burden. Johnstone then swam ashore, and begged the people at the bathing establishment to put out at onco in a boat to the rescue. They, however, appear to have lost their heads, and did not realise the imminent danger in which the young student was placed. Finally J ohnstone and the other students secured a boat themselves, but arrived too late—tlie Italian sailor could hold his burden 110 longer, and was obliged to let go just before assistance reached him. The body of the young American disappeared in the waves, and was carried out to sea.

THE HOLY COAT OF TREVES. Bishop Korum, assisted by 100 clergymen and the Mayor, had the wall at the rear of the altar broken open on August 5, and the Holy Coat was taken out by them and declared to be intact. It was at once enclosed in the treasury of the church. The entire city is in a state of great excitement, and the enthusiasm is inteuso. Seven hundred new

houses of entertainment have been opened for the benefit of pilgrims, and 100 new policemen have taken the oath of office in view of the large crowds expected. In the year 1844, when there were no railways, when the pilgrimage to the Holy Coat was more like an act of penance, and was undertaken by believers rather than sightseers, 1,200,000 souls visited Treves. This year the excursion trains will, it is expected, carry about 4,000,000. Even from America three steamers are on the way, each with 900 pilgrims, bound for Treves, About' twenty excursion trains will arrive ■- xily during the exhibition of the Holy Coat, anil a special station has been built for the pilgrims. The .bauds of .pilgrims led by priests, will only be permitted to remain one night in the town. Arriving one evening, they will march the next morning in procession to the church. Nearly 00 citizens of Treves have sent in petitions for a license to keep inns and public houses, and nearly every private householder is making arrangements for receiving visitors during the six weeks of the exhibition. The town administration is doing its best to increase the means of communication during this time. Extra tramway lines are being laid, and there will be a market every day. Even in Berlin the influence ot the celebration is felt. Pictures of the Holy Coat are to be seen in every shop window ; millions of these representations, in all sizes and shapes, on paper, on handkerchiefs, :..id china, have been produced and rapidly . sold. If the Catholic world attributes much to'the importance of ! this event, the . rest of ; the nation looks on rather coolly at all the preparations. Everywhere one hears the people talking about the " nonsense" in Treves, and shrugging their shoulders. A member of the Chapter of Treves Cathedral before his death eased his conscience by a written statement to the effect that the coat was riot genuine, a circumstance which caused the bishop last year to appoint a special commission to declare once more the genuineness _of the coat. The doubts as to the genuineness of the coat are almost as old as the coat itself. Luther, in his "Warnings to His Dear Germans," edited by his friend I'll. Melancthon, in 1846, says about the exhibitions of the Holy Coat in 1531 and 1545 : " How they run to the pilgrimages! What fables have the Popes, bishops, and monks spread abroad or silently approved,' causing deluded folk to lose their, money! Think only of the trickery at Treves with Christ's Coat. What a fair has the Evil One held there, and how many false miracles has he sold!' The apologists of the genuinness of the Coat of Treves, on the other hand, explain the existence of so many other relics claiming to be parts of the Holy Coat by saying that Christ will probably have had several garments during the 30 years of His life. Therefore they; all may be genuine, but the coat at Treves was that which Christ wore on the day of the crucifixion. THE SITUATION IN CHINA. The 'New York Herald publishes the following cablegram from Shanghai, China;— " The situation' at Pekin is grave. The Ministers of England,' France, and Germany, in behalf of the others, have daily interviews with the Tsung Amen. The Imperial-: edict is a dead letter, Hunan is the centre of the trouble. The bulk of the army is composed of Hunan men and they deny the _ authority of Pekin. The Ministers insist that the secret societies shall be suppressed, that Hunan shall be opened to commerce, that the mandarins who were implicated in the riot shall be degraded, and full amends given for the outrages, with assurances for the future, or that the Powers will take immediate concerted action. The Government recognises that the old tactics of playing the Powers against each other are futile, and it is aghast at their unanimous demand. The Emperor is anxious to avoid war. The Chinese openly favour a pure Chinaman for Emperor, and advocate the expelling of the Tartar dynasty. The attitude of many of the viceroys is suspicious. Li Hung Chang is sitting still, keeping the fleets away from the scene of the troubles. The cost of twenty foreign warships in Yang Tse Iviang is heavy, but if they are moved the outrages will be repeated. HORRIBLE MASSACRE IN PARAGUAY. Harrowing details of a horrible massacre of inoffensive residents of an isolated village in Paraguay by the half-savage natives have reached New York by mail. According to the advices 150 men, women, and children were wantonly slaughtered, and then the butchers • celebrated their victory in wild orgies. The affair occurred on the night of March 10, and the news was delayed in reaching here by the lack of facilities for communicating with the outside world. According to the details which were published in La Demoeratia, at. Assumption, Paraguay, a band of the most lawless natives, angered by some political differences with the residents of the neighbouring village of Isla Pan, descended on the latter place and began the slaughter by an attack on the house of Judge Gauna. The attacking band was headed by the notorious bandit Benito llenitez, and numbered about fifty men. Arriving at Judge Gauna's house, the desperadoes surrounded it, and opened fire from the rear. There were but four people there at the time Judge Gauna's aged wife, his two sons, and daughter. The Judge himself and one of his sons were absent on • business. The lire of the desperadoes was returned by the men in the house, the women aiding them by loading the guns as fast as they emptied them. When the ammunition of those in the house was exhausted, the desperadoes entered and killed the two sons, and took the women prisoners. At the beginning of the attack some of the inhabitants, attracted by the firing, rushed into the streets and fired into the mob.butadetacimientof desperadoes speedily rushed upon them and murdered ttiein and their neighbours, pillaging and burning their houses. Humble homes and the homes of luxury were destroyed by the tire, not even the churches were spared. At the Church of the Immaculate Conception mass was being celebrated at the time, and when the raiders were denied admission to the church they forced an entrance and waited patiently for the conclusion of the services before they began their bloody work. ■v A priest was among the slain. In the looting the edifice not an article of the slightest value was left by the raiders. Many who sought to take refuge on the opposite shore of the Paraguay river, that flows near the city, were devoured by sharks. The attack on the home of Judge Subeldia, at the other end of the village, was desperately resisted, and several of the raiders were killed, the leaders, Benitez and Martinez being among them. In all eleven raiders and 150 of the inhabitants were killed. The latest news from the scene of the terrible slaughter stated that the Government troops were pursuing the outlaws.