HOME AND FOREIGN NEWS

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1536, 7 August 1901, Page 16

HOME AND FOREIGN NEWS

A PARSON’S LOVE AFFAIR.

Mrs Sarah Elizabeth Catherine Thompson recently applied to Sir Francis Jeune for a divorce by reason of the cruelty and adultery of her husband, th© Rev. James Henry Thompson. There was no defence.

: Mr Priestley, who appeared for the petitioner, said that the parties were married on August 14 > 1879, at , St. James’s Church, Poole, Dorsetshire. There was no issue of the marriage, but a child had been adopted by them. The respondent was formerly a lieutenant, but being drunk on parade he was dismissed from the Army. Later on, “somehow or other,” in 1889 he came to be ordained. He was first of all curate at Gulval, near Penzance. While there be caused his wife great unhappiness by becoming acquainted with a girl he (counsel) need only refer to as "Jane.” Subsequently he removed to a curacy at Beaulieu, Hampshire. Mrs Thompson had no suspicion until she found a letter amongst his things, which apparently had never been sent. It was dated May Bth, 1893, and commenced: “My own ever darling little wife.’’ Further on it ran, “Well, no* thing particular, except the daily and hourly worry of this awful separation.” And then, “It is love, and love of th© deepest, the fondest love that ever man was capable of, which is the secret of my complaint. My darling Janey, I do not think you will ever really know ho<w strong, how deep, how overwhelming, is my love for you, my precious little wife.” Then reference was made to someone- surprising them kissing in a railway carriage, and the letter concluded, “And now good-bye, darling, with fondest and deepest love and heaps of kisses, your ever-loving and devoted hubby.” About 90 crosses followed (laughter). Sir Francis Jeune: Do you say tins letter was addressed to the girl in the house ?—Mr Priestley : Yes, my lord ; “Janey” was referred to frequently m the letter. She was a menial servant at one time. Afterwards the respondent transferred his affections to another, a young scholar at Beaulieu schools, who, in July, 1896, was only 11 years of age, her name being Maud Young. He set to work in the most deliberate manner to corrupt this girl, and frequently there were intimate relations between them. In June, 1900, he changed his curacy from Beaulieu to Fawley, an adjoining parish, where he got a living, the rector having died. While there he taught Maud Young to write love-letters to him, and there were a number of such letters, partly in cipher. Eventually he was arrested, at the instigation of Maud Young’s father, for an office under the Criminal Law Amendment Act. On November 22 last Mr Thompson was j tried at the Winchester assizes, before ■ Mr Justice Ridley, and sentenced to 12 months’ hard labour. The petitioner was a woman who enjoyed good health j at one time; but when this trouble i fell upon her she broke down entirely, j and was now quite shattered in health. Mrs Thompson, who could scarcely ; walk, was allowed to be seated at the solicitors* table while she gave her evidenoe. She said that after the committal her husband professed great penis tenoe. He was pretending to be friend- | iy with her while he was in correspond- - ©nee with Maud Young. Sir Francis Jeune, in granting a decree nisi, with costs, characterised the conduct of the respondent to Maud Young as “abominable,” and said that no doubt it brought about the physical breakdown of the petitioner. J I IBP WHIPPING A WEDDING PARTY, j Whipping a wedding party is a comprehensive sort of punishment for which Cauchon, a coal merchant’s carter, will ; have to give full explanations before a Parisian police magistrate. Cauchon was walking by the side of his horse - and cart the other day, when he was : grazed by the wheels of an open car- | riage containing a joyous wedding party - r bound for the Bois du Boulogne. The j carter at once began to upbraid in the I strongest language ait his command the driver of the carriage, the bride, the bridegroom, and everybody else who was with them. Stung to the quick, Desieux, the bridal charioteer, stopped his horses, jumped off his seat, and struck the carter twice in the fade. Then Desieux, a very nimble person in. deed, rushed back to his carriage, and in tie twinkling of an eye drove away, the whole wedding party applauding his action and scoffing at the carter, j The latter resolved to have his revenge. ‘ He followed the party sub full speed, j and coming up with them near the Bois gates, where they were delayed, he slashed at their coachman with his j whip. Then he turned his attention to j the bride, the bridegroom, and their; friends, and whipped them. The bride j naturally shrieked, especially- as all her j orange-blossoms were scattered, and her j

whole of the persons connected with the wedding had to attend the nearest station office, where a summons was taken out against the carter, and was signed by everybody concerned except the bride, who remarked that she u.d not want to go to law on her marriageday. After that the people of the matrimonial party amused themselves as well as they could in the Bois. THE SULTAN OF MOROCCO. Mulai Abdul Aziz is to-day some 20 years of age. He rides a bicycle, photographs, and enjoys th© cinematograph. So lavish has he been in obtaining all th© newest inventions and toys of Europe that on© trading Jew alone, whobrought him a real circus to the capital, has received some £20,000 of the country’s revenue, drawn from the custom house of Mazagan. It is the custom, unfortunately, for Oriental monarchs to hoard their private fortunes and to draw upon the resources of their country for their private amusements. In appearance Mulai Abdul Aziz is tall and wellbxult, and he would be good-looking were it not for an unhealthy complexion, probably due to not taking sufficient exercise. As yet he is possessed of neither beard nor moustache—for the Moors never shave either. In bearing he is very dignified, and he appears to be a good rider. On public occasions, in his loose whit© robes, he looks, and is, a Sultan. His life is one of great simplicity. He rises at dawn and prays at th© regular stated intervals throughout the day. His food is simple and eaten according to the custom of his country, without knife and fork. He gives a certain number of hours a day to the affairs of his country, and be is, adds the correspondent of the “Times” at Tangier, very much married.

“NOT GUILTY, BUT DON’T DO IT

AGAIN.”

Quarter Sessions —-before County Court Judge Moore, K.C. —a labourer named Michael Dunne was charged with the illegal possession of several rolls of tweed, the property of the Foxford Convent. Th© material had been consigned to Mr Bernard Cavanagh, a draper in Roscrea, and was missed from a railway waggon at Roscrea Station.

Head-Constable Sheil deposed that thefts fro-m railway waggons at Roscrea Station had been going on for the past two or thre© years, and suspicion had been directed to the prisoner. Witness searched Dunne’s house, and found the tweed concealed under the seat on which his wife was sitting. Complaints had also been made as to larcencies of brandy, tobacco, and other articles, and m the prisoner’s house some bottles of brandy and a quantity of tobacco corresponding to th© stolen property had been found. The defence was that there was no evidence that the tweed had reached Roscrea, amid that the tobacco and brandy had been sold to th© prisoner’s wife by a pedlar. The .jury, after half an hour, returned a verdict of acquittal. His Honor, addressing the prisoner, said—You have been found not guilty by th© jury, and, of course, I discharge you. Don’t do it again. Don’t steal again, but try and live an honest life.

Apparently the verdict of “Not guilty, but don’t do it again,” is not the monopoly of the comic papers.

CYCLISTS KILLED.

A distressing cycling accident is reported from Shackleford, near Godaiming. A party of young lady assistants from Messrs White’s, Aldershot, were out for a ride, and on descending Windsor Hill, just befor© reaching Shackleford, one of them, Miss Florence Emma Lew th waite, aged 22, of Balham, collided with her friend who> was riding immediately in front and both fell. Miss Lewthwaite, who sustained serious brain injury, was picked up unconscious, and died a few hours later. Deceased was described as a rather daring girl, but was a competent cyclist.

James Watts, widower aged 35, Derby, has succumbed to injuries received whilst cycling at Winder, near Matlock. He was returning to Derby with two friends from the Peak district by the favourite, but dangerous, Cromford read. In descending a hill the foremost rider was thrown and th© others ran into him. The police found two of th© men lying in the roadway, just recovering consciousness, and Watts in an adjoining field, with his bicycle 20 yards from him. Both machine and rider must have dashed over a ston© wall nearly 3ffc. high. Watts sustained terrible injuries to his head, and never recovered consciousness. His companions were badly hurt.

Whilst cycling, on a return journey from Ripley, alongside a four-horse brake, containing a number of his companions, Edward Leary, aged 30, of 46, Stanley road, Fulham, collided at Esher with one of the leading horses. The brake passed over him, and he died at

t of Mark Robert Howard, aged 67, a' > solicitor, of Highgate, whose death re- '• suited from a cycle accident on Whit i Monday.—The jury returned a verdict > of “Accidental death.” i ■i " i ■ i 1 , MR lIOOLEY AND THE CYCLE COMPANIES. I j ! In th© London Court of Bankruptcy before Mr Justice Wright, the affairs of Mr E. T. Hooley came up on an issue directed to be tried between Mr F. Bowden, of Nottingham, and Mr -Basden, the trustee of the bankrupt's estate, in regard to a proof for about £SOOO made by Mr Bowden. The no! roe of rejection alleged that there was no valid agreement between Mr Bowden and the bankrupt, and that the arrange-1 ment as to other shares was cancelled by mutual consent.—Mr Bowden said he understood from Mr Hooley that he had made a gross profit of £25,000 on the Humber (America) flotation. The expenses could not have exceeded £lO,000, leaving a net profit of £15,000 to divide between witness, Mr Rucker and Mr Hooley.—Mr Reed : Are you aware that the Westwood Rim shares were never issued to the public? Do you mean that you claim £IOOO for shares which were never sold?—Witness: The shares were sold, but Mr Hooley bottied up the company in the interests of the Dunlop crowd (laughter).—Mr E. T. Hooley asserted that Mr Bowden had • paid nothing for th© share of profit . which he claimed. So far from having J made a profit over Humber (America) 1 - all he (Mr Hooley) received were shares, 1 which he sold for about £4OOO, with a 1 view to providing th© company with , working capital, as the underwriters declined to carry out their contracts. After allotment £5 shares fell to £2 Mr | Bowden had mad© “tons of money” out j of him, but as soon as he had to pay him (Mr Hooley) a little money he kept away, and did not come near him for i two years (laughter). He purchased the American rights for Humber for £SOOO and sold them for £30,000. —Asked whether he could fix the day, month, or year when the agreement to pay Mr Bowden part profits was cancelled, Mr Hooley said that he did not intend on this ©arth again to fix the date of any-, thing for anyone (laughter;.—Mr Basden, the trustee, said the books showed that : about £26,000 was paid away in con- : nection with the Humber (America) pro- ' motion. The item included a payment - of £SOO for Press notices and a gold 1 wat<fh. A further sum of £13,000 was i lost in attempting to make a market ! for the shares after the public subscrip- j tion had failed.—His lordship, in giving i judgment, said that Mr Hooley was i clearly entitled to deduct promotion ex- ; pensea from the gross profits, but the J item of £13,000 could not come under ] this head. On the other hand, there ] was no evidence before him that the ] shares which Mr Hooley received. as : the purchase-price were disposed of at ] a profit. He should admit Mr Bowden’s ! proof for £7OO, but should not allow ! the ccsts of the motion. ! ' THE ARMY IN SOUTH AFRICA. j j ■ ! -j A War Office return issued on May 23 contains the following particulars of -j l the Imperial forces in South Africa, the j I “present strength” dating for the Ist ! May:— *

The total number of officers and men f 1 who have left South Africa is 76,582, of £ whom 22,081 ar© not invalids, 47,739 in- 1 1 valids, 433 colonials. !

J ■ HUSBAND AND WIFE. At West London police court the other : day William John Manson Smart, an, iron-driller, who had been working at 1 Thorny croft’s, was charged with wounding his wife by cutting her throat with ' a razor. —The wife said her husband; threw up his work at Thornyeroft’s. H© came home and accused her of having 1 been with a man at Canning-town. Af-> ter knocking her abc.ut with his fist he 1 threatened to kill her, taking a razor off the shelf and cutting her throat with < it, while holding her by the back of the shoulders. Her little girl tried to pud j him away, and screamed for the land- 1 lady.—The Magistrate: Have you given 1 < him any real cause for it? The Wife: 1 No; he has been accusing me for the ] jMt „p„[r.—Constable Doyle. 51 TR, {

husband, who in answer said: “I did not do it. I found out that my wif® had been away with another man, and when I accused her of it she took th® j razor off the mantelpiece, and said, ‘ITI i cut my throat, and get out of the way of it altogether.’ I struggled to get the razor from her, aud 1 got my left hand badly cut.” The little girl was called, and corroborated the evidence of her mother as to the prisoner taking the razor off the shelf and cutting her throat with it. —The prisoner (who appeared in a highly nervous condition) said, “I honestly swear I did. not do it.” WARSHIP DAMAGED BY FIRE. "X destructive fir© 111*011© out recently at Barrow, alongside which H.M. firsts class cruiser Euryalus, recently launch* ed, was moored. The wharf, built of creosoted and other timber,, caught fire from the accidental upsetting of a lamp, and before the cruiser could be hauled away into the middle of the dock her teak sheathing caught fire, and considerable damage was done to her. This was soon, however, extinguished, but it was found that much internal damage had been done to the ship in the form of buckled plates, frames, etc. The fir© on the wharf raged for several hours, with the result that the structure was practically destroyed. Manjj men on the cruiser, alarmed by the fire, jumped into the dock/ 3 as they could not get down the gangways. The wharf was only recently erected at a cost of £20,000 by John Aird and Company. It is estimated that the damage will amount to £20,000 to the wooden, wharf, and from £20,000 upwards to th© Euryalus. It was ascertained next day that the fire was caused by an explosion on the wharf.. Messrs Vickers had one or two naphtha barrels on the pier, and a man was passing these barrels with a bueket of hot tar, when the oil caught fire and tJie barrels exploded. = THE CARNEGIE TRUST. Particulars of the deed creating the Carnegie trust for the Universities of Scotland have been issued. Mr Carnegie, having retired from active, business, deems it Ins duty, and one of bis highest -privileges, to administer the wealth which ha,s come to him as a, trustee on behalf of others. He transfers to the trustees bonds of th© United States Steel Corporation of the. aggregate value of 10 million dollars, bearing interest at five per cent., per annum, and having a currency of fifty years. The trustees are :—The Earl of Elgin (who is to act as chairman), th® Earl of Rosebery, Lord Balfour of Burleigh, Lord Kelvin, Lord Reay, Lord Kinnear, Sir Henry Campbell-Banner man, M..P., Mr A. J. Balfour, M.P., Mr Bryce, M.P., Mr John Morley, M.P., Sir Robert Pullar, Sir Henry E.. Roscoe, Mr Haldane, M.P., and Mr Shaw, M.P. The fullest power is given to an executive committee to deal with the income in promoting the objects of the trust. One-half of the income is to be applied towards the imp'rovement and expansions of the Universities of Scotland in the Faculties of Science and Medicine, in history, economics. English literature, and modern languages. The other half of the income is to be devoted to paying the ordinary class fees exigible by the universities from students of Scottish birth or extraction, and of 16 years of age or upwards, or scholars who hava given two years’ attendance after th® age of 14 years at State-aided schools in Scotland, or at such other schools and institutions in Scotland as are under the inspection of the Scottish Education Department. The benefits of the trust aro available to students of both ©exes. INDIAN DISTRESS. The Secretary of State for India has received the following telegram from the viceroy dated 12th June:“Famine.—Number of persons in receipt of relief: Bombay, 384,000; Bombay Native States, 43,000; Baroda, 27,000; Hyderabad, 19,000; Madras, 5000; Central India States, 4000; Central Provinces, 2000; total, 484,009.. “Distress in Bombay has been much less than was apprehended.. Prices fell during the spring, and although now prices show a tendency to rise, they are 50 per cent, below those of May, 1900. “In Gujarat grain is everywhere' obtainable at 16 seers per rupee, and in the Deccan and Southern districts at 12 or 13 s®ers. “In Deccan th© percentage of population on relief is: Ahmednager, 13;, Sholapur, 10; Bijapur, Poona, 6; elsewhere, small. “In Gujarat, Karra, Panch Mahals, 5; Aiimedabad, 4;. elsewhere small. * Total number on relief works and gratuitous relief only 40 per cent., of the anticipated, and estimate of famih.® expenditure this year reduced by Bombay from over one crore to 34,50,000 rupees. “With present raupe of prices num-

STABBED TO THE HEART. The Birmingham, Stidendiary . the iother day remanded John Joyce, labourer, on a change of murdering an old man named John Nugent. A feud had .existed between the two families, and Joyce was stated to have entered Nugent’s house and thrown a lighted lamp across the kitchen. When Nugent ran out to call a policeman Joyce followed' him, and, it is alleged, stabbed him to the heart with a shoemaker’s knife. The old man staggered into the street and fell dead. I'' . • MURDER AND SUICIDE. A shocking double tragedy wa© en- • acted at Chardstock, near Chard, England. Owing, it is stated to long-stand-ing differences in family affairs, some ill-feeling existed between Thomas Genge * and Sydney Deane, his brother-in-law, and th e former concealed himself in a linhay and fired at Deane as he was passing. The charge lodged under the left shoulder, and the injured man expired in the afternoon. Genge afterwards adjusted the weapon in the linhay and shot himself fatally. THE WADAI INSURRECTION. From Tripoli (Barbary) intelligence' comes that the Sultan Ibrahim of Wadai has been' assassinated, and the civil wax has ceased. Wadai is a semicivilised Mohammedan State situated sduth-eafit of the Sahara, and having dependencies covering one hundred and seventy thousand square miles with a population of two millions. By the Anglo-French Conventions of a few years ago it was recognised to be within the French sphere of influence. A revolt against the sultan broke out some months ago, and early in April it was reported that the Sultan, finding himself helpless, had appealed to the French and had received a promise of aid. A subsequent report stated that he had taken flight, and had been replaced by Ben Ali, who was said to be devoted to the French. A FORGIVING WIFE. ‘Tve forgiven him for his drunkenness. I’ve forgiven him for his faithlessness, and I’ve forgiven him for his cruelty—but at last I really thought I should have to go for a divorce. And I did.” That is how Mrs Jane Trend —a pretty woman with red roses in her hast—explained her, position in London Divorce Court the other day. Her husband, who was (she said) a drunken, cruel, and unfaithful shipping clerk, is now fighting the Boers in South Africa. Before he ’listed, he twice threatened his wife with his (volunteer) bayonet, and on these fearsome occasions she stayed out on the doorstep all night. Then one day he wrote her a confession of his unfaithfulness.

“151, Manor Road, Broekley. “I, John W. Trend, do hereby acknowledge. . . . etc.”

On another day his wife followed him out of curiosity to Vauxhall, wher© the attractions of a lady and a coffee shop in the Vauxhall Bridge Road beguiled him.

To-day Mr Trend is hunting for De Wet a single man once more ; for Sir Francis Jeune has separated him from his wife after hearing her tale of woe.

ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE OP CON- ] VICTS. |

Great excitement was occasioned at Parkhurst Prison, Isle of Wight, recently, by the escape of two convicts, both of were undergoing sentence of five years’ penal servitude. While 30 convicts, in charge of a warder, were engaged in field labour, two of them, Samuel Ray, an ex-clergyman, and William Walker, formerly a Naval stoker, dashed off in the direction of a 7ft. wooden fence, the only barrier between them and freedom. Before the warder realised what had happened, the men had scaled the fece. He promptly raised his gun and fired, slightly wounding Kay; hut the runaways were gone the next moment. A hue and cry was im-J mediately raised, bells being rung and whistles blown. Although the men had had less than a couple of minutes’ start from their pursuers, they were very soon lost in Parkhurst Forest, which adjoins the convict establishment. A score of warders, a force of military from Parkhurst Barracks, several members of the Isle of Wight police, and some volunteers, who were at rifle practice in the neighbourhood, took up the pursuit, *nd 200 Northumberland Fusiliers, under Major Isaacs, .searched the forest for hours without discovering any trace of the convicts. The coastguard authorities were informed of the incident, and a sharp look-out was kept, with the result that at 11 p.m. th e runaways . were recaptured. At Newtown the fugi- , tives encountered a man who, posing as , their friend, promised to bring them a j loaf of bread. This simple strategy had the desired effect, for when he returned to the brick yard in which he had left them with two coastguards and a gamekeeper, the men were still there, and

tional clothing was procured, and Jhe men were disguised and driven back to the prison. They appeared'greatly chagrined at their capture scarcely more than a mile from the coast.

MR LABOUCHERE’S CONTEMPT OF COURT.

A motion came before Justices Bruce and Phillimore in the King’s Bench Division at the instance of the Columbus •Company, Limited, to commit Mr Labouchere, the proprietor, and MrVoules, the editor of “Truth,” for contempt. The company, who are proprietors of a paper called “Commerce,” associated with the Article Club, recently sued to recover an account for advertisements. The jury disagreed, and pending a new trial strong comments concerning th© company and the Article Club'appeared in “Truth/’—The plaintiffs contended that the fact of the second trial having resulted in their favour in no way exonerated the defendants from a charge of having been guilty of contempt of court in respect to proceedings pending, and which they must have known involved a new trial. —Counsel for . Mj Lahouchere repudiated any intention to influence the jury, and pointed out that the jury in fact were not influenced, as the plaintiffs were successful at the second trial. —Mr Justice Bruce, in giving judgment, said he thought the article was calculated to prejudice the minds of the jurors who would take part in the new trial, and that it would interfere with the administration of justice. It was true that committal for contempt of court should be carefully exercised. He thought, however, that though th© article was contempt of court it was not one of a serious character, and they would impos© a fine of £SO against Mr Lahouchere and give costs against both defendants.—Mr Jus_ tice Philfimore agreed.—Judgment accordingly. AN IRISH HEROINE’S MENT.A brave deed has been done by a young woman named V r hite, living in a lonely part of county Galway, about ten miles from Ballinasloe. She is a herd's daughter, and lived with her father and brother in the usual thatched house. At an early hour the other morning she found the house on fire, and on -going into the room where her father and brother slept she found both lying unconscious in bed, overcome by the thick smoke which filled the house. At first she had to fly from the room, unable to reuse the men, but afterwards she returned and carried one after the other out of the burning building in her arms. She had scarcely tottered outside the door with her brother’s unconscious form in her arms when the roof fell in. As soon as assistance arrived the two men were restored to consciousness. The girl was badly - burned about the body. CIVIL UNREST IN HP AIN. In consequence of a warning sent by th© Prefect of Marseilles to the Prefect of Madrid, the gendarmes at Madrid arrested two Anarchists, an Italian and a SpaniardThe former, who showed a passport, issued at Bologna on November last, admitted that he was an Anarchist, and that he was on his way from Barcelona to Cadiz, whence he intended to sail for America. Th® men were afterwards released. In the encounter between Octroi officials on strike and the gendarmes two men and a woman were killed, while many others were wounded. The strikers used revolvers. Two of the persons injured in the rioting have succumbed to their injuries- It is stated Vhat the Go. vernment has dismissed tha Prefect owing to their dissatisfaction with his action. Several leaders of the workmen’s unions have been imprisoned. Th© Captain-General has undertaken to extend leniency to them if they will promise to modify their attitude towards th© authorities. -

EXPLOSION AT CORK !

An explosion of an alarming character ; took place recently at Cork Gasworks, ! by which a number of men sustained a severe shock. The gasometer at which the explosion occurred contained at the time a quarter of a million feet of gas, and was the principal holder in use since the commencement of the strike. After the explosion, which was heard for a considerable distance, the flames sprang out. Instantly the mains were closed and the fire brigade summoned, and they and the employees of the company at considerable risk succeeded in preserving the adjacent buildings from injury by fire. Medical assistance was soon at hand, but the only man so seriously injured as to require to be sent to the hospital was William Barry, an old employe© of the company, who had refused to join the strikers. As he was being conveyed to the South Louth Infirmary he was followed by the men ©n strike hooting at him. The company announced a shortage of gas, and the public were obliged to use oil

used. The officials express no doubt but that the outrage was caused by dyna)mite, as marks on the ground clearly indicate the use of an external explosive. AN “ANTI-BURGLAR” PISTOL. Burglars may he interested to know that a new terror awaits them. A revolver has been invented with a miniatur Q searchlight attachment which enables th© householder to fire with deadly accuracy in the darkest room. With an ordinary weapon it is usually the biggest and most expensive mirror or the pet bric-a-brac cabinet that receives th© bullets, while the midnight inntrud-! er escapes in the darkness. But with this new revolver the householder has Bill Sykes at his mercy. A slight pres- • sure on the trigger lights a small elec- ; trio lamp placed in a tube beneath the barrel. This throws a strong beam of , light like a bull’s eye lantern. This ’ beam. shows exactly where the bullet . will strike when the revolver is fired, ! and by simply flashing it about the room, the intruder may be discovered. The weapon is provided with its cwn electric battery and may be used over and over again without re-charging. A GAY GORDON. Considerable surprise has been create ed in volunteer circles in Aberdeen at the elopement of a girl of 19 years of age with a non-commissioned officer of the Ist Volunteer Battalion Gordon ; Highlanders, who had been engaged on active service in South Africa. It ap'pears that when the volunteer disappeared his wife received from him a letter, which had been posted in Edin- I burgh, stating that he had gone off with a young girl to whom he was much ait- , tached, and that they were going abroad and would never return. Ho concluded by asking forgiveness forthe step he was about to take. The girl’s relatives also received a note couched in similar terms. The aggrieved wife at once communicated with the police, 1 and inquiries have been instituted to ascertain, if possible, the whereabouts of the runaways. The “non-com/’ was a draper to trade, but joined the High- . land Light Infantry. On leaving the army he became a member of the Gordon Highlander Volunteers, and was accepted for service at the front. He was wounded at Florida, and was invalided home in July last year, and it having been certified that he was unable tor active service again, h© found employment at his trade. The young lady with whom he has absconded was engaged in the same establishment in which he was working, and was a sister of his employer. It is beloved that the couple Intend to proceed to Capetown. BITTERNESS OF REMORSE.

At Southwark a youth named Sidney Easy, who appeared in th© deck in the uniform of the sth Royal Fusiliers Mili_ tia, was charged with robbing his employer, a pawnbroker of Newington Causeway.

After absconding and joining the Militia he wrot© the following letter to his employer from Hounslow Barracks : “With the greatest shame I am bringing to light a great deal of dishonesty on my part. It has been troubling me so much day after day,and playing on my conscience and nearly driving me mad-

“As you Know, my wages were extra- ; ordinarily small, and in trying to keep up with other fellows in their wages, 1 etc., I was led to dishonesty, and dis- ; honesty has brought me to thins. j “About last October I undid a ring pledged for £3 10s, and being very bad off for clothes, etc. I went and pledged it on purpose to get som© money to buy clothes with, as my money wasn’t enough by far. Later on my conscience was not strong enough to guard against so I took two ether rings. “I thought I could get them out by borrowing money of some friends, but I could not, and the last few we«ks I was in your employment it played upon my mind so much that on Friday night I left you in such a hurry I thought I was haunted. I walked about for some time, and travelled here and there, and then tried to join the Yeomanry, but it was useless then. I came and joined this Militia, like a, fool. !

“I would rather be dead than here, but I must grin andi bear it. It is like being in prison here at times, although ought to be there. It would be a bit now I bave come to myself I know 1 better if I could get in tffe regulars, but I’m not big enough across the chest, and if I left this I should have to starve—without a character —at least, a very bad one—and everything else. I can never go home again and face all this. I would much rather be dead than alive.

“At night you and Mr Bolton seem to haunt me, and I am nearly going mad over it. I feel like shooting myself when I think of what a fine chance I had to get on. I feel as though the river is the only place for me. “Up to now my poor old inother and father and my sister know nothing of

vict me, cannot you do it privately ? But I plead for mercy, because it would break my old mother’s heart (and I have not seen her for some time) if she knew what I had done, and so took th© wrong road of life. I would rather shoot myself than lefc her know what I had com© to. ... I can never face conviction. Show me mercy or I shall go mad.” - Easy was sentenced to three months' imprisonment. TERRIBLE RAILWAY SMASH. A freight train on the Lackawanna Railway had stopped near Vestal, New York, the other day, when another freight train crashed into its rear. The last ear but one on the first train contained dynamite, which was exploded by the collision, and a large number of cars wer© blown to atoms, while the remainder were burned. Six train «m. ployees were killed and three fatally injured. The houses of Vestal were much shaken, and all the windows were broken. The shock was felt for 30 miles. A SENSATIONAL AFFAIR. Tinned meat was served '"‘“"out for breakfast recently to the men of th© York and Lancaster Regiment in Fermoy Barracks, and about noon fifteen men showed symptoms of poisoning. Dr. Hartnett, who was in the barracks at the time, had the men removed immediately to hospital. Several were so bad that the military chaplains, the Rev. Father Rea and the Rev. T. C. Abbot, were at once sent for. Three men were in an especially critical condition, and in a state of collapse. The occurrence caused great excitement. THE LOSS OF THE FRANCE. News of the abandonment of the huge ship Franco in the South Atlantic has caused a great sensation on the Tyne, which she left on March 14 for Valparaiso. Tugs from Monte Video were sent to search for her, but without success, and there is every reason to believe she has foundered. Fears were en« tertained that her crew of 45 had perish, ed, but a telegram; received by the South Shields agents from Messrs Bordes, the owners, stated that the crew had been safely landed at The France was one of the biggest sailing vessels afloat, but not the largest. This honour belongs to the Potosi, a German built and owned ship, which registers 4027 tons gross, as against the France’s 3800 tons. PRO-BOER LYING CLASSIFIED. Speaking at Oldham, Lancashire, on May 18, Mr Winston Churchill, M.P.» and war correspondent, said : “Fast as shots have been fired, so lies have been told. Ido not suppose there has ever been a war in which there has been such an expenditure of mendacity and such lies, too! I never heard anything like them. . “There ar© many kinds of lies—white lies, black lies, Chinese crackers, the answer the young lady makes in the census paper concerning her age, and th© ministerial auswer to awkward ques—tions, but all these lies are poor, mean, insignificant things beside the real true pro-Boer. . . “The ordinary lie is a distortion, & perversion, an evasion of th© truth, but the pro-Boer lie has nothing to do with the truth at all. It is like nothing on the earth, above the e arth, or in the waters underneath. It is a remarkable phenomenon. There are some people who would make Ananias rise in his grave.” CLAIRVOYANT a’ STORIES. Dr Abraham Wallace, of Harley street, London, relates a curious story concerning the death of the late Mr P. L. Foxwell, th© stock broker, of Thames Dit_ ton, whose body was found in the river six weeks after his disappearance. On the night before he was missing, Mr Foxwell visited his aged mother at Fins_ bury-park, and the ol diady’s parting words were, “Oh, Percy, do take care; I feel as if something is going to. happen to you to night.” The lecturer explained that, being a lady interested in psychic matters, Mrs Foxwell last year visited a clairvoyant, who told her that she would be a widow within twelve months. After her husband’s disappearance she consulted another clairvoyant, Bind although not possessed of psychic powers, she saw in the crystal her husband’s drowned body. In the drawing-room at Ditton Lawn, some of the party were positive that the dead man’s spirit form was present. Subsequently letters from the dead man were read, and after his body had been found a communication, from him was received, in which he stated that, as his dead body ha dbeen found, he did not wish- to give any further particulars about himself, as it would greatly upset his dear wife.” In conclusion, ho said that nearly everyone of the incidents predicted by the clairvoyants had been, verified —a fact that Mrs Foxwell and others would willingly testify by affr* \

Officers. Men. Total. B.egular s 4,183 133,819 138,002 Colonials Imperial Yea. 2,478 56,343 58,821 manry 800 22,304 23,104 Volunteers , 244 9,141 9,385 Militia 763 19,341 20,104 8,468 240,948 249,416 Men include non-commissioned officers. The losses are given as under: — Officers. Men. Total. Killed Wounded Died of disease or 355 1,333 3,667 15,876 4,022. 17,209 wounds or accidentally killed ... 359 10,597 10,956 Disbanded and dis_ charged in South Africa 377 6,308 6,635 i In hospital in South Africa on March 15, 1901 (latest returns) 436 13,361 13,797