HOME AND FOREIGN NEWS

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4384, 15 June 1901, Page 6 (Supplement)

HOME AND FOREIGN NEWS

. JEJIAaLNB BOATS. With reference to the five submarine boats being built by Messrs Vickers, Sons, and Maxim (Limited), Barrow-in-Furness, for the British Navy, the dimensions, says tho correspondent of “Engineering” are:—63ft 4in long, lift 9in beam, and 3120 tons displacement submerged. Tho "'boats will bo provided with means of expelling torpedoes cither with tho boat stationary, during the run on th* surface, or steaming at any speed submerged. Tho armament consists of one torpedo expulsion tube, situated at tho extreme forward end of the vessel, the muzzle-covering opening outward two feet below tho light water-lino. Interlocking safety devices are employed to prevent accident while operatin:-'-- - ’vcs, etc., for the expulsion of the torpedo. The plating and frames of the ho.;ts are to bo of steel of sufC tent size and th'ckivss to withstand V. r r,-~'-sure of depths over 200 ft. Tho u-- n , r; are to ho ewipned to give nigh eCi- lane-- : j the .joints. Tho bulkheads arc mailed not only to provide safety in the event of collision, hut to stiffen tlie hull as a whole. - Manholes will permit access to tho interiors of all tanks. The ,superstructure is to bo arranged to allow .of an above-water deck when the vess° is light lor surface running, also to have means" of stowing anchor and lines, and likewise to afford incor- ' ing facilities to tho vessel. A deck. 31ft long, will bo provided for use on .such occasions. Tho rudders are of steel plates, supported by skegs at tho stern of the vessel. Tho vessel dives like a porpoiso instead of sinking on an even keel, and for this purpose there are horizontal as well as vertical rudders. The conning tower has an outside diameter of 32in., and tho minimum thickness of armour is din, with ports for observation. Tho propulsion of tho vessel on tho surface is effected by a main engine of the gasoline type, and the vessel will carry sufficient fuel for a run of 400 miles with a miximum speed of nin P knots.

AN ARISTOCRATIC TRILBY. The .American newspapers, which dearly love any little romance of the peerage, have been moved to columns of sentiment by the fact that Miss Isola M. Norton Douglas Hamilton, who is Daughter of Augustus Maitland Ronald Hamilton, who is second son of Frederick Douglas-Hamilton, who was fifth son of Anno Douglas Hamilton (Queen Anne’s godson), who was third son of James, fourth Duke of Hamilton, has bean found earning an honest living as an artist’s model in New York, and has been restored to her friends through the instrumentality of Lord Pauncefote, the British Ambassador at Washington. It is true that Miss Douglas Hamilton’s father is first cousin of the present Duke, but this only happens because the death of the twelfth Duk o without a son in 181)5 caused the title to revert to a great great grandson of the fourth Duke, who, under ordinary circumstances. would have been far removed from the succession. The girl’s father is Mr A. M. R. Douglas-Hamilton, who was formerly a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. Her mother is a daughter of Captain W. B. C. Wentworth, and is said to be now in very humble circumstances. Miss Douglas Hamilton will bo nineteen in September. She is described as slender, graceful, and exquisitely moulded. She was born in Kensington, and was always a wayward child. • One story goes that she ran away in a suit of boy’s clothes at the ago of ton, and got employment in selling programmes at the Court Theatre, Sloano square. A few years later she ran away to Cairo, and was discovered selling jewellery in a bazaar. She is also said to have posed for the late Lord Leighton. She was the more willing to return hora o because, being “only a model,” she was requested to leave a students’ masked ball at the Art League in New York. a suicide's -alters. Letters full of pathos were read when Mr E. Yarrow held an inquiry into the circumstances connected with the double tragedy which occurred recently at Stoke Newington, when the dead bodies of Mr Altred William Adams, a city merchant, and his wife were discovered in the house. Mr Adams was found lying, partly clothed, in a bath which was full of water, and Mrs Adams had her head smashed in and her throat cut. The discovery was made by two neighbours, friends of the deceased, who had that morning received a letter from the deceased man inviting them to call at his house. This letter read as follows: —“My dear old friend,—Please come up at once to my house and take possession. You can get in at the back, and you will find Mr Chubb and Mr Dodd there. I want you to wind up my estate, and pay bills, etc. I should like you to have as many of the things as my brother, permits. Do please look after my, dear old cats. I should like them to go to a nice house, where there is a garden. Good-bye, dear friend, wo are worried to death, and I feel I am not able to do what is required to better things. I shotfld like my dear wife and I Duried together. I dreaded to go. it would break her heart.—Yours truly, A. W. Adams.”

Mr Henry Dodd, a chemist, Stok e Newington, said he had known the deceased for ten years. He also received a letter from Mr Adams asking him to go to his house and to take possession until Mr Pliem arrived. In the bathroom on the first floor he found Mr Adams, lying face downwards, and in a kneeling position, partly immersed in water. The body, which was lifeless, was partially dressed. In an adjoining bedroom was the dead body of Mrs Adams lying on the bed. Her head was covered by the bedclothes, but there was a large quantity of. blood about the room, and the witness at once informed tli* police. The Coroner read the following lettoff, which Mr Adams had written bo a brother at Leicester:

“Dear Harry.—My poor wife and I •>re worried to death, and I am almost itad. Do forgive me, for I cannot leave ifcr behind. I did love her so. I have written to a friend to come and look tfSer the house, etc., and tell the law3«s to square up. I am out of my mind and made mad by sleepless nights. Do forgive me, dear brother.—Yours affecbicnatoly, Alfred.” The jury found that Mr Adams had murdered his wife before committing suicidp. REMARKABLE STORY FROM PARIS. Hie latest Parisian marvel is affording » ehemist of Saint Germain a unique experience. A girl, sixteen years old, a domestic servant at a grocer’s on the Marche Neuf, has been going to him several times a day to have needles diawn from her desk. He keeps on his table for the purpose three pairs of nippers of different shapes, and an electromagnet. She will come in quite suddenly, and remark that she feels a needle in her arm, or under her eye, or in her JMck. The chemist is aware there is net a minute to lose, for if the point of the needle is not caught at once as

it appears at tbs EUifoco of the skin, it disappears, and wanders to some other part of the body. H. Mouchy has already extracted 120 needles from this girl’s body, and every day others are appearing. Th 0 greater number come to light in the left arm or the left hand, and round the right eye, but he has drawn needles from tho cheeks, the ear, the shoulder, the breast and the feet. Tho arm is swollen and covered with little scans. The needles come out as if they were new. The giG) 'vho is well-made and healthy, was eleven years of age when she made bets with other girls as to who would swallow the largest number of needles. One day she swallowed 49. They went down her throat, she says, as easily as bread, but once she nearly choked, having by mistake swallowed her needles points downwards. Sh e feels a slight itching as tho needle makes its way through the skin. Tho extraction is painless.

A CLERGYMAN AND MONEYLENDERS. In tho King’s Bench Division, London, recently, Mr Justice Ridley gave judgment in the case of Wilton and Co. v. Osborne, which was brought under the new Money Lending Act. Plaintiffs are money lenders, and the defendant a clergyman holding a living worth £2lO a year at present, but valued at £240 in 1807. In that year ho answered a circular of tho plaintiffs asking for a loan of £4O. For this ho gav© a promissory note for £4O at three months. The note was renewed fourteen times up to November, 1900, each renewal costing £6, making a total payment as interest of £B4. Defendant, being desirous of paying off tho capital sum of £4O, gave plaintiffs a promissory note for £56, payable in four instalments of £l4 at periods of three months. In default of payment of any cno instalment, the whole became duo. His Lordship worked out the interest at the rate of 160 per oent per annum. The rate of interest ho regarded as excessive, but it seemed o him at the same time that th 0 circumstances were not such that a court of equity would grant relief. The defendant was not overreached, nor was advantage taken of Ills necessities, no pressure having been put upon him though the bargain was improvident and foolish. There should be evidence that th« transaction was “harsh and unconscionable,” or otherwise such that a court of equity would grant relief, as in his opinion a court of equity would not interfere. Ho would give judgment for the plaintiffs. A stay of execution was granted, with a view to appeal.

TERRIBLE OUTRAGE IN PARIS. A so-called Englishman, giving his name as Edward Smith and his age as 43, but refusing to say where he lives in Loudon, is in prison here (says the Paris correspondent of the “Daily Express”) charged with attempted murder and burglary under circumstances that invest his crime with more than usual Interest. At about three o’clock on Saturday moring occupants of the house at No. 29 Avenue Henri Martin, one of the most fashionable thoroughfares of Paris, were alarmed by cries of murder, which proceeded from the apartment of Mdlle. Louise Kolb. Police wer e summoned, who, on entering Mdlle. Kolb’s rooms, found her lying in the hallway, her face and hands smeared with blood, but conscious, and able to toll th e following story. She said that being awakened by a noise in her bed-room, she had suddenly turned on the electric light, when sh e perceived a masked man standing by the door. Finding himself discovered, the intruder dashed towards the woman and tried to prevent her screaming by strangling her, while he showered blows upon her head with his fist. She fell back fainting upon the bed, an c | the man moved hastily towards the hall. Then, in a burst of energy, Mdlle. Kolb sat up and screamed for help. The burglar dashed toward her, and, picking up a glass goblet from the night stand, struck her on the head with it repeatedly, breaking the glass. The police found the burglar in an adjoining room in his shirt sleeves and without shoes, calmly bandaging a handkerchief about a wound on his hand caused by the broken glass. On being removed to th e police station the man would not, or could not, speak a word of French. The police are convinced that Smith is an old criminal, as his hands show signs of having performed prison work. Mdlle. Kolb always slept with a small revolver under the pillow, hut th e attack upon her was so sudden that she had no time to use it. Smith also carried a heavy steel ball attached to a piece of elastic fastened up his sleeve, a most murderous weapon. Fortunately the elastic broke, or a blow with the ball would assuredly have killed his vietim.

A MILLIONAIRE’S QUEER IDEA. Strange things emanate from the land of the almighty dollar. One of the latest takes the form of a legacy of three million dollars, which hangs on the exemplary conduct of a little girl. Nicholas Creede, a Californian mine-owner, when staying at Los Angeles used to watch a little baby girl play in- in the garden of a small house which was overlooked by his great mansion. The child’s mother was giving her lessons in the art o ( walking. Nicholas Creede was a lone old man, and the outcome of his watching was that hd suggested adoption bo the child’s mother, Mrs Scott Basford, who was a widow and very poor. . The mother’s love was shocked at the thought of parting with her child, and, in spite of the old man’s millions, she replied, “No!” Subsequently she went with her baby to San Francisco. Here, Nicholas Creede followed them, and the mother becoming ill and entering a hospital, her daughter, little Dorothy, was at last, with many misgivings, handed over to the care of the millionaire Creede. For one year the little girl, who was now called Dorothy Creede, lived with the old man, and learned to call him “Papa!” For twelve months Nicholas Creede had the great joy of possessing a daughter. Then he died, and little Dorothy Creede was restored to the arms of her mother, who meanwhile had recovered, and was livin San Francisco. Before he died, Nicholas .Creede made a will, leaving all his wealth to the baby girl who had cheered the evening-time of his life, provided that, when she attains the age of 25, she has led “a proper and virtuous life.” Knowing that little Dorothy was destined to be beautiful; and realising the temptations of beauty, and the snares of the world, the old man admonished the heiress to goodness and purity by the peculiar terms of his will. Dorothy is now five years old and in charge of her mother, who, like a sensible woman, is endeavouring to bring her daughter up to meet the conditions of the will. Nicholas Creedo’s divorced wife and hosts of his relatives are watching, and doubtless will continue to watch, Dorothy’s life and behaviour day by day with lynx-eyed scrutiny, for upon the child’s smallest delinquency hangs their greatest hope. A DRAPER’S BREACH OF PROMISE. At th e London Sheriff’s Court recently, before Mr Under-Sheriff Burchell and

a jury, the breach of promise base of Mason v. Venner came on for assessment of damages. Mr Ellis J. Griffith, M.P., said his client, Miss Adelaide Mason, was tho daughter of a widow living at Hove, near Brighton. The defendant was the son of a retired licensed victualler and was now in business as a draper at Eastbourne, trading as Shannon and Co.

In 1899 the young people were employed in tho same drapery business. They became very friendly. The defendant gave plaintiff a verbal promise of marriage and subsequently he confirmed that promise in numerous letters. In all he wrote nearly 300 letters. For example, on August 22, 1899, he wrote : “My darling Addle, —1 stopped talking to your mother for about an hour. Of course, the whole conversation centred upon yourself. lam now going to post this and then going to bed to dream I am with you, darling.” A little later tho defendant wrote: “Everywhere I go I always feel so lonely and long for you to bo with me. But still, darling, one day you will never leave me. Won’t it be glorious? They say there is an end of everything, but there will never be an end to our love.” Continuing, Mr Griffith said the defendant had at Eastbourne a very large shop. He brought out a new style of hat—which he called the “Adelaide” hat, after the plaintiff. Ho said it was a very sweet hat In November of last year the defendant, without any ostensible reason, grew cooler, and broke off the engagement a little later.

The plaintiff, a tall, prepossessing young lady who gave her age as twen-ty-three, said the defendant told her that his business at Eastbourne cost £7OOO and that his father had given it to him. Cross-examined by Mr Mathew, the young lady said the defendant had never given her an engagement ring. He took her to se e his parents, but he did not introduce her as his future wife. In the course of her evidence Miss Mason several times hurst into tears.

Mr Albert Edward Venner, tho defendant, examined by Mr Mathew, admitted that ho was engaged to the plaintiff, but he denied that tho Eastbourne business belonged to him. At the time the business was acquired witness had not a farthing, his father finding the money.

The jury awarded the plaintiff the sum of £IOO. with costs.

QUEEN VICTORIA’S SARCOPHAGUS. The sudden intractability of the Artillery horses at Windsor Station was not the only hitch in connection with th 0 funeral of Queen Victoria. There was another and even more awkward one in the mausoleum at Frogmoro. The contretemps (writes a St. James’s Gazette” correspondent) did not occur under the public eye, and was kept a profound secret by the Court officials and the few workmen who were cognisant of it, but in th e neighbourhood of Windsor it has now leaked out that the late Queen’s coffin was made too large for the granite sarcophagus in which it was intended to be placed. The mistake was discovered only on the night on which the remains arrived at Windsor Castle. The measurements then taken showed that the coffin was six or eight inches higher than the receptacle in which the Prince Consort’s remains rested, and where a space was provided for her Majesty’s body. The discovery created great consternation among the Court officials and employees at Windsor. Orders wore at once given to have an attempt made to deepen the sarcophagus, and stonehewers were occupied at this work in relays all night. Not being accustomed to work in such a hard substance as granite, and the space being exceedingly circumscribed by the Prince Consort’s coffin, little progress was made. Since then, it is understood, heavy mouldings of granite, from the same quarry in —berdeonshire from which the stones frv the sarcophagus were hewn over thirty year* ago, have been ordered by thr- King. These additions to the saroophagust have been shaped and polished in Aberdeen, and when completed they will be fixed into the' casquet, which will then he permanently sealed. it will consequently stand six inches higher than it did originally.

A HUSBAND’S INFATUATION. A Mrs Lucy Oldham sought a judicial separation in the London Divorce Court recently, by reason of th e adultery of her husband, Mr Charles Furley Oldham. The parties were married on April 30, 1889, at St. Gabriel’s Church, Warwick-square, and they afterwards lived together at Weybridge. In 1891 they made the acquaintance of Mr and Mrs Volpi and aftr a time Mr Oldham paid marked attention to their daughter. in consequence of which, in 1897, petitioner brok e off their acquaintance altogether. Mrs Oldham remonstrated with her husband, but with no effect, as he had become infatuated with this young lady. On April 27 last respondent left hom e for business as usual and in the course of the day his wife got a telegram from him stating that he would not be home to dinner. He wrote her a long letter, setting out that it was immsaihlo to go on living any longer in the way they were del. -. that they were '‘r,i;'cliedly miserable,” and that he had decided to take Miss Volpi away, adding that he had never disguised that he had loved her for years, while she loved him. The letter went on to stat e that he was “devotedly attached” to the petitioner, but that he could not give up this young lady. After that efforts wer e made to bring about a separation, but they failed. , Last June he was found to be living at an hotel at Caversham with Miss Volpi, they passing as “Mr and Mrs Oldham,” and when he was served with the citation he said he did not care. Sir Francis Jeune granted a judicial separation, with costs.

THE ATROCITIES IN MANCHURIA. It is officially announced that Majorgeneral Orlov, of the Russian general staff, who was in command of the expeditionary foro e into Manchuria from the west, through Khailar, has received an “Imperial reprimand"' for having failed to carry out orders when acting in Northern Manchuria in the track of Major-general Rennenkampf. It is especially noted that the lightness of the punishment for this grave military crime is out of consideration for the previous good services of General Irlov. As a matter of fact (says the Moscow correspondent of the “Standard”) the lightness of the punishment is much more likely to be owing to the Czar’s personal perception of the actual facts of the case. It was this same General Orlov, of whom I wrote as appending to every one of his telegrams to headquarters the significant words, ‘‘l entreat to be allowed to spare th e peaceful inhabitants.” My information was that the general had been strictly ordered to kill without mercy, but it was suspected, from the tenour of his telegrams, that his orders were too abhorrent for execution by any civilised unristian. It now appears plain that the abominable orders issued to the armies in Manchuria, and to the military chiefs on the Amur river, emanated from the War Office at St. Petersburg, since no less authority than this could have secured

the public disgrace upon so highly placed an officer as General Orlov. As the War Office at St. Petersburg was in direct telegraphic communication with th 0 Amur region during the entire period of the troubles, it is very probable that upon that department also must be laid the blame for the atrocious massacres of Chinese men, women and children at Blagovescensk, ti’.o memory of which will still be fresh in the minds of newspaper readers the world over. It is, at any rate, very significant that up to the present time General Gribskiy, who bore the blame of that foul deed, has not yet received even so t much as an “Imperial reprimand.” It will be interesting to see if the Minister of War, General Kurooatkin, will think it necessary to find comopretext for presenting General Gribskly to the Czar for punishment. But as General Gribskly has already frankly declared that “the blame does not lie at his door,” it is probable no,steps will be taken, unless on the initiative of his Majesty personally, to deal with that particular stain upon tho good name of tho Russian people. Meanwhile, Major-general Orlov has deserved the gratitude of every Russian jealous for his country’s honour and the recognition of the world at large as the one highly-placed army officer who risked, in the time of war and in Russia, everything a man holds dear, to protest officially against the abominable deeds then being done upon defenceless Chinese in the Russian name.

AN ESCAPED LIEUTENANT. Colonel Kinder, commanding the Eleventh Regimental District, was President of a general court-martial assembled at Devonport recently for the trial of Second-Lieutenant Robert Harold Burkhardt, 3rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Prisoner was charged with stealing two £5 notes, the property of his officers’ mess, with receiving the same, and with breaking his arrest from the Crown Hill Barracks, Plymouth, on or about March 31. Th e prisoner pleaded “guilty” to the first and third charges and “not guilty” to the second. In the summary of the evidence Superintendent Lacon, Devon Constabulary, stated he traced the -tolen notes to ‘Bristol and Clifton. In mitigation of punishment, the prisoner’s friend, Mr Pearce, said that the prisoner was but a boy ana had given way to the temptations found in a gay town to which his corps had been attached. He had got into financial dfficulties and had gambled and betted, in the hope of recovering his p, ion, instead of which he had got into worse difficulties. He had been threatened with exposure unless he paid his debts and this made him desperate. He apologised for his conduct and had refunded the money stolen and threw himself on the mercy of the court. The court found the prisoner ‘ Guilty of the first and third charges, according to his plea, and “Not Guilty” to the second. The sentence was not known.

MURDER OF A GERMAN OFFICER AT PEKIN. The “Lokalanzeiger” publishes a special despatch from it s correspondent at Pekin stating that the murderer of the German Capcain Bartsch has been arrested. The murderer is a young Chinaman named Ho Wan, who is described as having an evil-looking face and is of very insolent demeanour. Ho Wan not only confesses to the murder, but boasts of it. He was proceeding along the street when Captain Bartsoh, who was on horseback, overtook him. He respectfully saluted the Captain, but the latter dealt him a blow across the head as he passed. Ho Wan then drew a revolver of a very antique pattern, fired at Captain Bartsch, and ran aWay. The Captain pursued him for a few paces, but suddenly stopped his horse, dismounted, and sat down on a grave, apparently in great pain. Ho Wan caught the horse, which he subsequently handed over to another Chinaman, who was also arrested. The saddle and the revolver with which the crime was committed were buried together when the foreign police began to show extraordinary diligence in the search for clues. So frightened was Ho Wan and the other Chinaman that they also turned Captain Bartsch’s horse loose, and it was the finding of the horse which led to the discovery of the hid-ing-placo of th e culprits. They, however, had taken flight. , , Further energetic investigation led the searchers to a police post in a neighbouring district, where, among a number of prisoners, were found the two Chinamen, who had Deen arrested the previous day for fighting, and who proved to be the murderer and his accomplice. They •have been handed over to the German Prefecture, and their trial is now proceeding. • Bad TRADE IN GERMANY.

The “Daily News” Berlin correspondent says it is intended by the firm of Krupp to discharge 5000 of their hands at Essen, Buckow, and Kiel. The Erhaldt Works at Dusseldorff, recently freely mentioned in connection with the supply of guns for the British army, also contemplate a reduction of their working staff. In October last 26,000 men were employed at Krupp’s. Four thousand of these have already been discharged, and now another 5000 are to go. The “Berliner Tagblatt” publishes an article which will be read with interest by those who apprehend the victory of German industrial competition over England. The writer says that the lot of the poorer population during the last few months has been very bitter, and a long and bard winter, the high price of coal, and the increasing want of work have created conditions against winch all charitable efforts have been powerless. Living has become very difficult among masses of the people. The necessaries of life have to be severely restricted. The savings of years are in great part consumed, and debts for rent and food have been made, we repayment of which will influence the wellbeing of many families for a long time.

UNEMPLOYED IN RUSSIA. As a result of the unprecedented commercial and industrial stagnation in Russia generally, and in Southern Russia more particularly, there are at present close upon 35,000 artisans and labouring people in Odessa out of employment, in Nicolaieff 15,000, in Kharkoff 20,000, in Ekaterinoslaf 10,000, in Elizavetgrad 6000, and in all the other and smaller industrial centres proportionatenumbers of unemployed workpeople. This deplorable state of things gives both the imperial and local authorities much anxious concern, more especially during the latter days of Eastertide. From Odessa and the other towns abovementioned the police have forwarded to their homes in the interior at the cost of the Government all the unemployed people who have no natal right of domicile. In addition to this precautionary measure, the Odessa police have during the last twenty days arrested about 2400 persons known to belong to the disorderly class. Infantry and Cossacks have been drafted into all the places mentioned in readiness to suppress any popular tu-

mnlts which may arise. For tho time being all th 0 southern centres are held in a state of partial siege. The authorities are well aware that existent conditions present a favourable field for political agitators.

PEER AND GAIETY GIRL. Th e marriage of the Marquis of Headfort and Miss Rosie Boote took place at a registry office at the village of Saltwood, six miles from Folkestone, on the 12th of April, at half-past eight a.m. The witnesses were F. Valder, a villager, and Daisy Roche, an actress. The Marquis and Marchioness spent their honeymoon in Folkestone. The public announcement by the Marquis on March 1 of his engagement to Boote created some surprise, but subsequently it was stated that the marriage would bo indefinitely postponed. Miss Boote is the daughter of an actress well-known in the provinces, and gav 0 her ago at the registry-office as twenty-three. She made her last appearance in “The Messenger Boy” at ihe Gaiety Theatre on March 9. In this piece she had but a small part. Her husband, Geoffrey Thomas Taylour, fourth .Marquis of Headfort, was born on June 12, 1878, and is a few months her junior; he is the second but only suiviving son of the third marquis, who died in 1894, and his mother is still alive. His lordship entered the Ist Life Guards in January. 1899, and became lieutenant in March, 1900. He owns about 22.000 acres, the family seat being at Kells, Co. Meath, and he is entitled to sit m the House of Lords as Baron Kenlis.

A REMARKABLE WOMAN. In the London Divorce Court recently Sir F. Jeune bad before him the case of King v. King, Francks, Gordon, Mainwarring, and Boyce. This was the petition of Mr Charles Xavier King, a civil engineer, of Whitby, near Newcastle, for the dissolution of his marriage with his wife on the ground of her adultery with the four co-respondents, none of whom were known to petitioner. Mr Inderwick, K. 0., stated that petitioner wa s married on August 26, 1881, and there were four children living of the marriage. The parties got on very well together till 1891, when the lady’s father died and she came into property worth £B,OOO or £IO,OOO. From that time the respondent took to intemperate habits and she often went away from home. The result was that on April 29, 1899, a separation was arranged between them, whereby the respondent was to have £l2O a year for the children, as there was an income of £4OO a year accruing to her. She came up to London and went to a place in Fitzoy square, where she met and was joined by Francks, who occupied a small room both there and at a house in Bayswater. There was another matter and that was a countercharge which the wife had made of cruelty against her husband, mentioning a specific case in 1899. The Petitioner in the course of his evidence said that his wife, after coming into her money, was constantly accusing him of being a pauper and of living on her money'. She said when he remonstrated with her that she would do as she liked with her own. On on e occasion she so provoked him that he slapped her in the face. Evidence of the adultery having been given, hts Lordship granted a decree nisi and iho custody of the children, with costs as against the wife generally.

THE RECOVERED GAINSBOROUGH. Under tho heading cf “The True Story of the Robbery, the “Pall Mall Gazette” says;—“We have already described the circumstances in which Gainsborough’s famous ‘Duchess of Devonshire’ came into the hands of Messrs Agnew. We are now able to give in a nutshell the facts attending its robDery and disposal. In May, 1876, a notorious American thief, Adam Wirth, alias Harry Raymond, was in London, where he committed numerous robberies while occupying luxurious chambers in Piccadilly over the shop of a well-known purveyor. He had several confederates, also Americans, and one of their schemes was to open a shop as agents for a firm of safe-makers to obtain orders for safes, and then by retaining duplicate keys to rob the safes when they got into the hands of their clients. Later they took a large hous e at Clapham Common, where the servants, footmen, and all employed about the place were professional thieves. In May, 1876, the idea occurred to Wirth and his confederates of stealing the Gainsborough, and on the 26th of that month, as is well known, the theft was carried out. Three men, of whom Wirth was one, were engaged in the robbery, and it is believed that Wirth was th e man who entered the gallery and cut the picture out of the frame, passing it out to a confederate in the yard. It was taken to a house in St. John’s Wood, and for some time was there concealed underneath a mattress. Eventually the picture found its way to America, where it remained up to the time of its recovery, and in the custody of a relative of Wirth’s. In 1893 Wirth engaged in the roboery of the Belgian mail, and was caught and sent to seven years’ solitary confinement at Louvain. Soon after his conviction we published an. article in the “Pall Mall Gazette” showing that Wirth was believed to be concerned in the rou-ery of the Gainsborough. At this tim e the picture had been taken to America, and it was kept in New Yo.*k. The stories about it being taken to the West are groundless. All the time th e American detectives had been on the look out for the picture, an! after Wirth’s release last year negotiations were opened with th e relative for its recovery. These were conducted on the American side by Pinkerton, the detective, with Pat Sheedy (whose name has been mentioned in the case), as an intermediary. We may add that we believe that Wirth’s present whereabouts are not very far from London, and it remains to he seen what steps the police will take to bring him to justice.”

A YOUNG WIFE’S ATTEMPTED SUICIDE. At Bow street, London, before Mr Marsham, recently, Kathleen Gruber (20), a respectably-dressed young woman, living at Seymour street, Euston square, was remanded on a charge of attempted suicide. A police constable said he received information from the Thames Police that the prisoner was about bo commit suicide. He kept her under observation, and about an hour and a half later saw her rush up the steps of Waterloo Pier. The officer ran* after her, and caught hold of her just as she was about to throw herself oyer into the river. Asked for an explanation of her conduct, she replied, “My husband has knocked me about and taken all my money. You ought to let me go and finish it.” At the police station a telegram form was found upon her on which was written —“Anton Gruber, — You have been so cruel to me that I would rather be dead than live anymore with you. I am quite right, although they may think lam not. So good-bye, and bless you, Anton; try and think kindly of vour little Kittio Gruber.”