OUR LONDON LETTER. (From Our Own Correspondent.) London, February 8.

Otago Witness, Issue 1950, 4 April 1889, Page 17

OUR LONDON LETTER. (From Our Own Correspondent.) London, February 8.

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE OF WIMJAM' BATES. I , All the cplonies know of Bates*, the famous Yorkshire, cricketer, who .visited 'Australia in 1887 with, the Hon. Mr Vornon's team. Onnthat occasion he was struck in the,.eye with ,a~ball while at practice, ans the sight, of the organ was entirely destroyed. So much has .this weighed , upon the poor man that be r wan' often heard to say, he " was as good as, done for.'! On his return'he opened business 'as an athletic outfitted, but did not succeed ,',and his depression growing on him he^fctempjted-suioide- last week by cut ting his throat with a razor. At first all hope of saving his life <was abandoned, but he has been improving ever since, and is now likely to recover. 5 . ' .■ , \\ -'.- -■ >- '-• i , THB, DEATH OF LADY GOBDON. • . From Malta we learn the death of Lady Gordon, the wife of Sir Arthur, onoe your 'Governor. She was on her road., home from Ceylon v as her health has been failing for 6ome time p.ast, apddjed on arrival, at Malta on the 26th. . She was the eldest daughter of Sir John Shaw-Lefevre. - ° .". i ' A HIGHLANDERS ApVENTURH IN FBANCE. A person arrayed, in full Highland costume caused jf says the, Paris correspondent ofr.ttie Daily. Telegraph) fcerrible commotion in a rail-way-carriage <ab the r Perrache'' station, near Lyonsl Two, ladies who were m the, carriage shriekeii as ,ihey M saw ,the, awful spectacle ,pr|iBe.nte4.by, the.entry into^thejr [compartment of a man>, without pantaloons. , The Highlander, who was 6d his way to Nice, neverfcheleas, took, his 'seat with Caledonian coolness, whereupon the .Indies screamed, the; louder. Ife.,waB in vain that the apparition in the garb of old Gaul apologised and texplained the situation in bad : Frenob, and' equally, f atile were the efforts of the stationmasteiy who assured the ladies that the gentleman, with the dirk, the sporran, , and the tartan accessories or properties wag perfectly harmless. > ** You don't run the shadow of a risk, mesd&mes," insisted the etationmaster in his blandest tones. "The gentleman comes from a country where the men .wear, petticoats and do not. wear trQueera.2 Despite everything, fco|v-ever,-which waa said in order to oalm their apprehensions, the over-timed lady travellers had to be placed iv a carriage at a safe distance from that in. which, the Caledonian stern and wild had taken tip his position, >.. ; ' '_ i; ; „ jtoOTON; February.23J :\'- t ,;^ anno domihi, 2000.;. >j *j , ,1 have seen, an advance copy ot Sir Julius, Vogel'sbookStWhichhasnotyetbeenissaedhere,tboogh the colonial edition is beings despatcbjed' i(theahiipo^es. ;3?h>;,p]wi of the^^evi*; „ if ft story ,of o^orW;

120 years hence,- andf, has for its subtitle -Wqman'4 Ftfture.!' This sub-title will give you some notion of [.the moral .of thf novel, if novel ft can ; and^o make his meahing,clearer Sir, Julius has addeda statemenbin explanation pf hispufpoße.- "Hisobjects,are-^fir^,tpr9hqw% tbj»t "a jl, l recognised dominancb";bn tbepart^of Neither sex is, unnecessary, f9r ,iv 2000, 4-fi-ra wqpianfis guiding the destinies of (the( the Federated Britain ; secondly, -to, convuiqe ,his r, readers materials are at hand; for :the formation of a federated empire, capable of, defying jbhe tjfprld; thirdly, to J suggest ;a .means, of meefing.la^d ,beutralising.the great, evil pf-povirty and jnisery Fin'Jow';cla^s.life.. Hq^'all 'theseends are^acepmpluEedL.le't the reader<cdisbover *for:^umsfcrf.' plf hecar^eto openthe.'Jbbok'he will learn of. |he fortunes of, Miss Hilda Richmond Pitzherbert, the>member for Dunedin in the New Zealand ■ Parliament, a and Secretary for. Foreign Affa^sVin the Federated .Parliament, afterwards yDuchees.: 0f,., New/ Zealand, .and finally," Consort ,6f .the\ c Emperor, „"of, t|ie Gfreater .Britain.' That fcb,eße. fprtunest are very exciting, or anything above, the average of fortunes,, cannot well be said, .but they* are on a somewhat different plane, and may possibly ba followed with some, interest, /For a fow,partioula,rs, such as flying'cars/Sir Julius.hasbeen anticipated!.by the Kevl'H.,o. U. Watson,lot Christchurch, in his romance, ?f Erchomenbn," ,übli^bed some, eight -years! .ago by,-Mesßra Sampson, Low, and Co. Oh the whole^ifc occurs tome that the book will be read more;for the name.of the author, than fo.rvany great intrinsic merit or interest., Messrs Hutqhinson, the rpublibbers,. are. a' yery enterprising,.and vigorous, firm, aa a/young firm should-belaud deserve?to-succeed for their boldness and vgnturesomeness, I may add that Jhe book' is dedicated to the' Earl of Carnarvon, who, by his successful'efforts lo consolidate the-, Cauadiaix dbmiuion, has so materially aided the pause of federation.,, ..Thaprice is B*6d for the cploniaj edition, aod 6s for.the English edition. - Mr Loui§ Brennan, well-known in Melbourne, of. torpedo fame,'is a.newly/admitted member of theSayage/jplubrjj -H^-telSs me that he is about to bring out ail.invention, should be of as great importance to the world as the phono-, graph; > -1 -' > > <•"■''.' ■ ■'' ••' •' ' - , Mr; Hume Nisbet and, Mr Batherell, who .went out to' Australia and New Guinea for Messrs Cassell and Co. to work' up illustrations and letterpress for 1 their -"'Picturesque' jAusfcralia/wY have .coljaborated. *in ia - well-written 1 and .pretjilyVillustrated-article ,in. ,the,:Qraphic of Ftibriiary 2.. The article,is concerned with life on aP. an&O. liner. Mr Nisbet, I urid^rstand, intends ,■ starting 1 for.New Guinea again -very -shortly; j,,- <„..,,,<... ,-v -„., -<\ , „;„<>-. -,;; The cßev. Charles Melville l Pym, < rector. of Chefr^burton, East Yorkshire, died suddenly, at his residence,on Saturday .morning. , Ho.wasiu his usual health up to Friday. Now Zealauders will remember him as a missioner in that colony some years ago. He was formerlj in the ftrmy, and was a cousin of Mr M.Pvm, late,qf Dunedin. .- ':': ' ; ■ i /''