Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

The' winning tkket for the first' prize
£240,000) in the Spanish State Christmas
ottery is No. 32,8*1. , This was divided
iito 10 shares, seven of which were pur
rnasea Dy a .Barcelona ftrm for their work
hen, who now have £168,000 to share
Imong them. The second prize is £120,000,
ind has not yet been claimed. The third
prize, £80,000, Roes to a cherry seller and
forae friends who clubbed together and
bought ticket No. 15,554.
j Prom Gloucester a singular case of sudden
recovery of speech is reported. Several
greeks a«o a young man named Arthur
Speck received a great shock by the sud
tlen death of his father. Shortly after
wards he was alarmed to find he had lost. I
his ordinary powers of speech. The other '
Uay while attending a football match he
forgot in his excitement that he had been
deprived of speech, and in attempting to
theer recovered his voice. He can now
speak as well as ever.
( For some time Nottingham iias been re
cognised as one of the foremost towns in
[England as regards the number of swim
mers in its midst. The leading club can
claim the distinction of having the largest
membership of any similar institution in
England, with close on 700 swimmers, in
cluding ladies. The Education Committee
ako do their utmost to promote the art
among the young, and at the present time
there are 1.186 girls and 2,118 boys under
instruction in swimming. During last sum
mer nine schoofcirls succeeded in swimming
two miles in the Trent.
A remarkable story is published of the
eccentric will left by a wealthy lady who
jdied in Paris. When her will was opened
'^relatives were astounded, for it set forth !
\Vit out of her fortune 70,000fr. ( £2,SO0)
Ijid to be spent on her funeral. The exe
ators, however, conscientiously carried
-Bt this order. Several doctors were en
jjged to embalm the body, and the coffin
?vas the best and most expensive that could
fc obtained. The funeral was a sight to
?e. For an hour the bells of St. Suipice
Church rang. Both inside and outside the
?hurch there were black hangings, edged
tith silver. The coffin was literally cover
« with rare and costly flowers.
| The German .State railway is much
?impted to encourage the Emperor to tra
?feJ as often as possible, for each journey
je takes is a considerable sum in the
jocket of the nation. His Majesty travels
h great splendour. As a rule, there are
jwo special trains— one for the Emperor,
ind one for the Empress. These are the
broperty of the Prussian State; but the
[ravelling expenses are i-aid by the Empe
ror himself. The Court trains are charged
jit the same rate as ordinary special trams.
[Thus the journey from Berlin to Elbing,
near the nortl'4-east frontier, costs rather
over £300; and the same fee is, of course,
'charged for the return journey.
Among the strange uses to which
churches have often been put may
| be mentioned that of a blacksmith's
shop. This curious smithy is to
be seen at the ancient town of War
wick, and an interesting history is connect
ed with it. At a very early period there
were no fewer than 10 churches in War
wick. Of these churches four still remain,
and are used for divine service every Sim
day. The rest have passed away, with the
exception of St. Michael's, the one now
used as a blacksmith's shop. Warwick is
probably the only place where it is possible
to find a smith living in a church who will
nail a shoe to the hoof of your horee while
you wait. '
$