THE CRIMINAL DYER.

Thames Star, Volume VI, Issue 1816, 28 October 1874, Page 2

THE CRIMINAL DYER.

_ Charles Dyer, who lies now in the condemned cell under sentence of death for murder of Eliza Battersea, apparently realises the full enormity of his offence. He listens readily to the ministrations of the minister of the Gospel, and seems to retain his faculties in undiminished force under the awful circumstances surrounding him. . Yesterday, Colonel Balneavis, the sheriff, received a statutory intimation from Wellington, stating that his Excellency the Governor declined to exert his prerogative of mercy on the evidence and statements submitted to him, and, therefore, tbe last dread sentence of the law must take effect. Dyer seems to be perfectly resigned to his fate, and does not appear to trouble himself with earthly matters, devoting the short time allotted to him to prayer and religious studies. We learn that Dyer received the intimation from hia Excellency yesterday with unconcern, having been already prepared for such an answer.—Cross.

THE DRESS COAT.

Why should the dress of waiters be precise y {he same as the evening attire of gentlemen? It would be more easy to say why it should not be so, than why it is so. Everyone is arcare how. constantly blunders are made by-persons who, in a crowded supper room, or in the hurry ot getting away to their carriage, mistake an inoffensive young gentleman for a servant of. Jhe house, orfor a hired waiter, and who go home with a perturbed conscience .us a result of their unmten. tional error. ,In many cases,, indeed! nervous ladr s arc afraid to ask for their carriages lest they should be addressing some other guest who happens to be lounging at the .doorway-;- while the confusion which falls on anyone who* in the crush of a supper room, happens to ask another visitor to go and fetch him a plate, is one of tho most distressing experiences which can fall to the lot of man. j.iie remedy is simple. Our servants and waiters might wear green ties. The objection to asking them to wear a different sort of coat as that at present them are glad to get tho cast-off coats of"twir masters. -But the green or, bright re<Mie would be a sufficient beacon, to guidofrte most nervous and short-sighted' of dowagers who happens to be in search of a lemon ice. One cannot always' tell by the physiognomy of a person whether ho is a waiter or a gentleman. There is one certain method of distinguishing between the two, however, which may "as well be mentioned. Where there is a large number of people in a comparatively small supper-room, the gentleman who is an amateur waiter generally manages to spill some salad dressing over the dress of the lady on whom he is attending: A professional waiter does not do so."'He carefully places the dish containing the lobster-salad at the edge of the table, so that the lady shall dip her sleeves into it inadvertently. The result is the same, the^spoihng of a 30-gumea dress; but the modest operandi in each case has its special features, which are worth recording, and which serve to distingai«h between the waiter by courtesy and tho waiter by trade.—The Daily News.

Why are firemen hke a probate judge ? Because they both work with a will. '*•■■■ Selling a v Wipe and Family.—A' strange tale, the>authenticity of which is guaranteed, comtes iroxn Lesconet, in the South of France,*: W^are Sold that a small farmer of that commune,after some lengthy negotiations with a widower who was anxious once more to court happiness in the grand lottery of marriage finally bargained to transfer to the widower in question his wife, half kia children, and half his furniture, for the sum of 1500 frances, or £60. Both parties are said to have acted in, good faith and the bargain was seriously made on both sides, the husbajfcs.raising. but few questions as !to the uttimate ownership of his lawful spouse. Anxious, to receive the money, the man" was not loni' in moving the stipulated half of his furniture into the house of the pufch^aw,and then came the turn of tho wife. Here the difiiculty commenced. She refused to leave her home, or to recognise the contract entered into by the kusband, and in her indignation she went to complain and lay tha matter before the mayor of the commune, who could hardly believe hi ears. The magistrate sent for the hugdand, and remonstrated with him, telling him of the immorality, shame; and cupidity he had shown in consenting to make such a bargin, and managing after some time to reconcile husband and wife, altogether the former evidently regretted not having received the £60.

The Strength of Matkbiais.— Gold may be hammered out so that it will only be 1-360000 of an inch thick; Still chemistry tells us that there are ultimate parts which are absolutely indivisible. These atoms are attracted to each other by the attraction of cohesion, and repelled by the force of repulsion. By the action of both forces the atoms are kept in a state of rest. The solidity of a solid depends upon the fact that each pair of atoms is in this state of equilibrium. These atoms ar^ supposed to be of an oblate spheroidal form. An iron bar would support its own weight if stretched out to a length of 3f- miles. A bar of steel was once made which would sustain its own weight if extended' to a length of 13| miles. Our ideas of greirc aad small are no guide to be used in judging of what is truly great and small in nature. When bars of iron are stretched until they break, those which are the strongest increase in length .less than the weaker ones. A piece of wood having a breadth and thickness of three inches and a length of four^feet, if supported at its ends, would be bent one-millionth of an inch by the weight of three pounds placed on iit ■ centre, and a weight of one-tenth of Km ounce would bend it one-seventh-millionth , of an inch.

Pay of the Russian Aemy.—The pay of the Russian army is anythingJbut excel* sive, even when a considerable increase is made in time of war. During peace a general receives only £297 15f. a jeajt; a colonel, £120 los.; a captain of the'iine, £64 Bs. j and a lieutenant, £54 15a. '^In the time of war, however, the following are the increased rates. —A general, £446 155.; colonel, £181 2f.; captain, £96125.; lieutenant, £82 2s. In addition to pay, quarters, fuel and light are given to each officer, or in lieu he receives lodging allowance, varying according to Tank. But if the pay of the officers be. thought imall, what must be thought of that allotted to the privates. And what • would a Briton' say if he were asfcedio ■ act for.id.per day, with rations of 2 01b peeled barley, 0051b salt, and an average mess allowance of lid per day. The mesi allowance is - supposed to. provide the soldier with £lb of meat on each of the 196 days of the year on which be ii. allowed by his religion to eat meat.

Two housewives in Fifeshire, who had gone out to give tho pigs tlieir supper, met; at a gate, and naturally took advantage of such a fayorable opportunity for a "taw-handed crack." . " Losh, Peggy woman,*' said one to the other, " I hear folks say there's a man i' the nioon." " Ou> ay,' 1 returned Peggy, "I've heard about him ; but he canna be very fofid o 1 liisainwife, for he's aye glowerin' this way." It is told of a certain Glasgow bailie that, when visiting Paris as one of a deputation to Louis Philippe, the King said to him, when showing ihe party through his library, where he had many of the English classics, "You will know Milton very well?" "Oh, bless you, ye«," said the bailie, cheerfully, delighted that ho did know. " Yes, your Majesty, I know Milton (he meant a suburb of Glasgow) very well; we're just building »laughter-h6uses there ! " .