GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5314, 6 April 1878, Page 1 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS.

The Princess of Wales has expressed to Dr. Erasmus Wilson, in a very graceful and flattering way, her appreciation of the liberality and public spirit which he has shown in defraying the cost of transporting Cleopatra’s Needle from Egypt to England.

A visitor to Clerkenwell House of Correction says that he saw those interesting personages Messrs. Meiklejohn, Drascovitch, Palmer, and Proggart, the recently convicted detectives. They look healthy. Meiklejohn has a charge over the matmakers, Drascovitch over the tailors, Proggart over the bookbinders, and Palmer is also comfortably provided with some sort of superintendence. The Berlin correspondent of the Melbourne Argus says;—“Of the Continental Powers, Prance is determined to turn the Oriental question to account for her own special purposes. Wishing to present her little bill to Germany at the first opening, Prance refrains from interference in the East, and is preparing to settle with Bismarck should Bismarck venture to cry a halt to Gortchakoff. Pinding his every movement watched with this amiable intent, Bismarck, as a matter of course, keeps as quiet as a mouse, and purchases peace by apathetic neutrality. Indeed, though he has German interests to defend on the Danube, it is on the Khine that the immediate safety of this country is imperilled; and placed as he is before the alternative of present war in the West or future entanglement in the East, his sagacity leads him to deal with the danger at the door, and leave the morrow to it-elf. There is another consideration pointing Germany to maintain an impassive attitude. Whatever interests she has in the Bast are Austrian as well as German, and in the geographical situation of the two countries cannot lie well defended by Germany except with Austrian assistance. But of all neutral Powers Austria is the most neutral in the present complication. Though the Slavonic revival in the south-east threatens her with speedy decomposition, though a large portion of her Slavonic subjects, excited by what is going on in Bulgaria, are beginning to gravitate towards St. Petersburg rather than to old antiquated Wien—so conscious is the Hapsburg dynasty of extreme weakness, that Russia is permitted to dig its grave without let or hindrance. Were Hapsburg to apply to Hohenzollern in this crisis of European history, Hohenzollern, reinforced by Hapsburg, might succor the latter, and venture to offend Russia and France. At any rate, we have Bismarck’s announcement in so many words, a year ago, that he would consider himself obliged to save ■Austria from any serious danger, were it to arise in the course of tills affair. But poor Austria, it appears, is quite as much afraid of German friendship as of Russian hostility. Having in their domain nine million Gormans who would not be sorry to join Fatherland, the Hapsburg dynasty, placed between Germans and Slavs, regard their position as precarious in every way, and the Germans being the more powerful element of the two, prefer submitting to Russia rather than accept help from Der Deutsche Kaiser. Such being the cautious behavior of the more important parties concerned, the deportment of Italy is of comparatively little consequence. It may not, however, be superfluous to mention that Italy, upon the whole, is favorable to Russia, hoping to annex a few semi-Italian districts in the event of Austria going to the wall.” The Marquis of Lome and Lord Dunraveu have arranged a shooting excursion together in North America. They will leave England in the summer of 1878. It was at first proposed that the Princess Louise should accompany the noble sportsmen to Canada, and remain there for a time as the guest of Lord Dufferin, but it is doubtful now whether that part of the programme will be carried out. Lord Dunraven is an old campaigner in these regions ; and few, if any, European sportsmen have had more experience among the big game of the Red River and the Rooky Mountains. The Mark Lane (London) Express estimates the whole British home crop of wheat this year at 11,000,000 quarters (88,000,000 bushels), though some authorities set it as low as 9,500,000; and assuming that the country will require about the usual amount, 23,500,000 quarters, it will be necessary to import 12,000,000 to 15,000,000 quarters before next August 31, as the reserves of old wheat at the opening of the harvest season were insignificant. The Express does not anticipate any serious glut of the British market, but calls attention to the fact that the movement is apt to be large at this time of the year, in anticipation of the closing of the fresh water ports in the producing countries. It looks to see the , market largely in the hands of Americans, and expects no material change in prices. A heavy fall of snow has entirely prevented the ripening of the wheat crop in the north of Scotland

Dor the sake of showing, the Sunday Times says, that though this is not the age of miracles, wonderful things' do sometimes happen, the amazing fact must be recorded that in one short week two ladies have brought actions for breach of promise of marriage against so many gentlemen, and have actually failed to win the day! What revolution is coming over society? Well might Miss Becker buckle ou her armor, when Mr. Herschell announced his determination to bring in a Bill having for its object the total abolition of actions for breach of promise, for that lady evidently sees but too much reason to fear that unless she nips this movement in the bud, it will prove to be the beginning of the end. Twelve good men and true at Liverpool have given a verdict for the defendant in an action brought by a Miss Barrow against a Mr. Lund. The lady's story was good until the gentleman gave his version of the affecting circumstances. He admitted, indeed, that ha hid asked Miss Barrow to marry him, and that she had graciously consented to do so, but he added an item that would seem to have escaped the plaintiff’s memory. At the time of the proposal Mr. Lund lived at Bradford, in Yorkshire, but finding it necessary in the interests of his business to remove to Derby, he acquainted his ladvlove with the fact, and asked her it she would like to live at Derby, whereupon she solemnly declared that nothing ou earth would induce her to live at Derby—that, in shoit, she “ would not go there for any man.” We are not informed whether Miss Barrow’s cruelty greatly afflicted Mr. Lund. He made no complaint, but he not unnaturally considered himself rejected, and soon after married another lady, who did not object to live at Derby. The jury took the trouble to master these details, and then found themselves constrained to tell Miss Barrow that they were unable to take her view of the matter, and that painful as it was to refuse a lady anything, they could not see their way to giving her the damages she. sought. Who can deny that hers is a hard case. But it is not a bit harder thau that of a Scotch young woman who the other day demanded £2OO damages from a man for blighting her tender hopes. Now this damsel might have won her case, but for the trifling accident that, long before she made the acquaintance of the defendant, she had married another man, who had not been obliging enough to leave her a widow, and who, “ not to put too fine a point on it," is at this moment jilivo and well, thus proving how dead ho is to all right feeling and sense of duty. Truly, his wife has a good right to complain of the jury for refusing to award her substantial damages, on the paltry ground that she is neither widow nor spinster, but already a wife. If hers be not a hard lot we should like to know where one is to be found.

At the Barnsley Police Court, (Yorkshire), on February 9, Sarah Ellmore, a married woman, was charged with professing to tell fortunes. The evidcuco given by three young girls was very extraordinary, one of them, Martha Ann Casement, stating that she had had her fortune told several times by defendant at her house by means of the cards. She said she could bewitch witness’s mother, who was then staying at Low Valley, and advised that a toad bo got, and then filled with pins,

and this would have the effect, so defendant argued, of wasting Mrs. Casement’s existence away. Witness’s father repeatedly seat witnes- to look for a toad, but she never found one. Sarah Ann Hinchliffe, aged 16, said she had been several times to defendant’s house during the last six months, to have her fortune told. She was to have plenty of sweethearts, and she one day cut ■ her toe and finger-nails, wrapped the parings carefully in a piece of paper, and then placed the paper in the ashes. She was told that if she did this she would get her future husband that night, who would appear to her while she slept. He didn't, however (laughter). The mayor sentenced the defendant to three mouths’ hard labor.

The East Goftar relates an affecting instance of sisterly devotion. Baiba, a young female of Dhundhuka, while on a pilgrimage to Benares, heard of the transportation for life of her brother on a charge of highway robbery. With the instinctive faith of a sister, Baiba refused to believe that her brother could be guilty of such a crime, but as the poor man was already transported nothing remained for her but to resort to quite a romantic way for the establishment of his innocence and his subsequent release. For this purpose she disguised herself as an ascetic, and went about from place to place, and at considerable personal discomfort and humiliation, gathering proofs of her relative’s innocence. The devoted sister is said to have visitedDhaudhnka, Dhrole, Wadwaa, Abmedabad, and several other places, beseeching official intervention in behalf of her banished brother. After incredible exertions she fouud herself iu possession of written evidence showing her brother’s innocence. Th s she “ laid at the feet of ’’ the bon. Alexander Rogers. Mr. Rogers went through the whole with the patience of a kindly nature, and at last found the accumulative mass of evidence irresistible. Thus at last was the exemplary devotion of this young woman crowned with success, aud Mr. Rogers communicated to the happy sister the news of her banished brother's release. But the romance of the whole story is spoilt by the news of the sudden derangement of the released prisoner’s faculties, on hearing of his good fortune. The poor man arrived at Bombay only to be sent to the Colaba Asylum. Baiba, the heroine of the story, belongs to the class of hereditary minstrels, known in Gujerat and Kattywar as “ charans,” and is said to have inherited the gift of impromptu verse to such a large extent a-i to be able to make Mr. Rogers the hero of some songs which she might be heard reciting to admiring crowds in Bombay,

A Montenegrin Princess. —We did not see the Princess, Milena Petrovuo, but procured a good photograph of her, which shows that she must be strikingly handsome ; and in default of personal observation we will quote a description of her written by a German some years ago. He says ;“ In her beautiful, highly attractive, and perfectly regular features, the Servian type is unmistakable. Her large brown eyes have that moist, glimmering brightness which in Europe I have only seen in Servian eyes. This expressive beauty of the eyes consists in their form and long eye lashes, as well as the peculiarity of their glance. Her hair was rich and dark, rolled iu bands at the back of the head, and covered with a back gold embroidered veil which hung down over her beautiful shoulders. The splendid Montenegrin costume—red, encircled by a broad girdle flecked with gold—showed to the greatest advantage her well-proportioned figure ; and a gown of dark brown silk reached from her waist to her feet. I was dazzled by her blinding beauty, and must confess that never in Western or Eastern lands have I seen a lady of such splended aud attractive beauty."— Btachtvood’s Magazine.

We understand (says the Morning Post) that a projected revolution in ladies’ dress—or, at least, in the materials of which it is composed—is now agitating the town of Barrow-in-Furness. A local firm claims to have discovered the art of spinning jute into a fabric combining the gloss and fineness of silk with the softness of wool rnd singularly capable of taking the most, delicate dyes. In order fittingly to introduce the new texture to society, a great ball is in preparation for a day in January next, when 1 ical patriotism counts upon a decisive demontration of the boasted superiority of the new competitor for the favor of the world of fashion. What can be more ludicrous, than the latest developement in ladies’ dress, with its,, “pulled-backs,” “trains,” “lead-us-into temptation pockets,”and so forth? The “ pulled-back,,” was clearly intended to impede locomotion ; and the only object served by the “ train” is to keep it fastened up out nf the way with a little pair of pincers. How would a modern belle, shuffling along with a bundle of drapery bobbing against her heels, compare with a Hindoo girl gliding gracefully with a pot of milk on her head ?