LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIII, Issue 15, 15 May 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

On Friday, 17th Inst., a dance will 1)0 held in the Midhirst Hall. We wish to draw the attention of our readers to the grand: fancy dress carnival to be held in the Coronation Skating Rink to-night.

Tlio annual meeting of tlio Strafford Acclimatisation Society will be held in tlie Borough Council Chambers on Wednesday, the 22nd hist.. at 8 o’clock. Ail sportsmen are cordially invited. Miss L. I. Reader, who lias for some years been lady attendant in Mr. F. V. Fussell’s- surgery, has received an appointment as probationer at the Gis borne Public Hospital. Miss Reader leaves to take up her duties on the 27th of this month. Stratford will be represented by the following team in the cribbage match with a Mount Egmont Quarry team at Mrs. Brown’s rooms this evening:— C. Kelly, H. Masters, J. Jones, R. Boon, W. Woisin, C. I). Sole, C. Jackson, Mick Harkness, J. Hurston, W. Collins, PI. Wilson, and R. Calvert .

It is not always safe to set loaded guns about premises. A Nelson farmer, who had been annoyed by deer trespassing, fixed up an appliance of this kind, so that an animal walking over the wire would explode the gun. Onenight the gun went off, but no deer could ho found, though about fifty yards away was one of the farm horses lying dead. Miss M. C. Smith, superintendent of the women clerk/, at the post office savings bank in London, is responsible for keeping the accounts for one of the greatest banking institutions in the world. She has lived among figures for thirty-seven years, and delights in her work. Under her arc one thousand clerks, and she is held to account for the accurate keep ng of .‘17,000 ledgers containing the entries of about 10,000,000 depositors, whose savings amount to £160,000,000.

There are evidently instances in which the simple plan of “feeding the beast” will not solve the problem of husband management. Mr. Plowden’s advice in the London Police Court to one puzzled wife, who says she bar 'trod all ways with her man, is tc “look anon him as a kind of baby: nurse him a bit.” The last way she tried was to smite the patient (whose trouble is bibulousness) over the head with a stick. The husband faded to annear in Court to testify against her. and she might seem to have given herself away when, in answer to the Magistrate’s hope that the man was not afraid to come, she remarked: “I expect he is.” Mr. Plowden took no advantage of that, however, and let her go with the “kind of baby” advice. We can only hope she will not take this as counsel to give him the bot-

The last act ol a love tragedy was played in the church of the Stcglitzer Cemetery, llerlin. Many hundreds of persons had assembled to pay the last honours to Martha. Stachovsky, a young girl who had poisoned herself because she believed the man to whom she was betrothed was faithless. She had been greatly beloved by the family she served as housemaid, and, in suite of her humble position, her gentleness and beauty made her many friends. The news of her death Isays the “Standard’s” correspondent! made so deep an impression that many who had not actually known he; followed the body to the grave. After the chaplain had begun the burial service, a young man, who proved to be the faithless lover, was observed to lie pushing his way through the crowd standing in the aisle until he reached the coffin. “Here is my place; by her will 1 die!” he cried. The sound of a revolver shot rang through the church, and the lover fell dead on the coffin.

The death occurred at Patea on Saturday of Mr S. R. Kennedy, manager of the local branch of the Bank of Xew Zealand. The Borough Council will meet tonight to consider the loan motions of llu i Mayor. On Monday next tho Council will meet to consider the year’s estimates. A reminder is given to the Boy Scouts that the list of those going to Wellington for the visit of the Chief Scout, will be completed at the Scout meeting to-night, after which no other names can be received.

The Stratford Dairy Company will pay out on Saturday £1306 for April milk, as against £3112 for the cor# responding month last year. Cardiff .will pay out £1059; Xgaire, £1895; and Lowgarth £l-128. In each or these latter, the payment is in excess of last year’s April payment.

Mr C. I). Husband, of Raglan, lias just received a cable message announcing the death of his son, Alexander, who was drowned at Seattle on May 7th. The young man was in his thirtieth year and had resided with his parents in Stratford until about six years ago, when, owing to indifferent health, he decided to go abroad. Mrs F. J. Crossley, of Cardiff, is a sister of deceased, and sympathy 7 with her and other members of the family will be’ expressed at their bereavement.

Last night the congregation of Holy Trinity Church, Stratford, gathered together to bid farewell to Miss Ethel Black, who, for a number of years, has been organist to the church, and pianist for the Operatic Society. The evening took the form of a social and dance, songs being veu by Miss Gladys Black, and the male quartette, Messrs Lewis, Wilkie, Landers and Liddington. The Stratford Orchestral Society supplied the music, and the -Misses MacDonald, O’Leary, and King the extras. During the course of the evening, the Wear, the Rev. W. A. Butler, on behalf of the parishioners, presented Miss Black with a Kellie Stewart bangle and a handsome matrix turquoise necket. Because, it was alleged he was a

stern disciplinarian, Captain Reetsch of the 18th. regiment of Infantry, was shot dead in the barracks at Osterode, Fast Prussia, on March 29th by one of the musketeers of his company named Ehnersleben. The musketeer then killed himself. The crime created a profound impression when it became known in German military quarters. The captain was strolling across the barrack yard in the company of a group of comrades when the musketeer fired'at him point-blank with a service rifle from the window of the adjacent company quarters. The shot struck the captain in the breast, and he fell mortally wounded, dying almost instantly. Before the captain’s brother officers fully realised what had taken place another shot rang out, which proved to be that which Ehnersleben had killed himself. The musketeer was serving his first year with the colours. After spending Christmas in Poland, ignaco Paderewski went back to his Swiss estate, at Merges; to pack ub for a five months’ tour in South Africa. Thence, after a short rest, Ed hoped to go to America. The huge sums earned in America have vanished, ail'd, though tired out, the great pianist must set tp work- again instead of quietly composing at hime. Generosity and rash, Speculatiohs have dispersed ids fortune. He keep's quite a' court at Merges, where'no appeal for help is disregarded. Though 51 years of age, Paderewski still enjoys the adoration of crowds of women, whom his wife wards off as best she can. He is a most devoted hnshand, and never receives a fair visitor without consulting her. She generally is present at the interview, to the discomfort of the admirers. She is five years older than her husband, and heartily sick of touring, hut always, goes, as he feels lonely without her. She is never so happy as when with her fowls at Merges’ where she spends all her time looking after chickens, which get prizes all over Europe.