... Z- A PROGRESStVE I -TEA. Father, said Jenny, one bright Mitumn morn- tpg as the family sat at the breakfast table, I have invitations for Thursday to a progressive te& at the house of Mrs Newform. Will you go with me ? Wal. now, darter, replied Uncle Timothy, I've drinked utmost every kind o' tea.—old hyson M' yoang hyson, oolong an' gunpowder, an' I've tasted o' Japan, though I can t ...

... AMICABLE SETTLEMENT. At a joint conference in London on Tuesday by representatives of the master builders and opera- tive plasterers, Mr E. T. Cook, editor of the Daily News, presiding, a settlement of points in dispute between the two bodies was arrived at. With respect to the employers' allegations that the plasterers attempted to coerce foremen and super- intendents into membership of their ...

... DREYFUS INTERVIEWED. At Last I Can Speak, A correspondent writes from Cayenne anent the interview of Judge Darius with Dreyfus M. Darius, who is Acting President of the Court of Appeal of French Guiana, was instruc- ted by the Minister of Justice to see Dreyfus on Devil'a Island. The order was accompanied by a sealed letter,which he was to open only on land- ing on the island. It contained ...

... LOCAL AMUSEMENTS. Theatre Royal, Cardiff. At the Royal thi;; week Mr Alfred Selwyn's company will produce. The Three Musketeers. This is a dramatised version of Dumas' well- known romance. Grand Theatre, Cardiff. U Driven from Home, whkh will be produced at the Grand Theatre this week, is a strong domestic drama, similar to those which have been made a feature ly the management of this ...

... BURGLARS AT ABERCARN. Early on Friday morning a daring attempt was made !o hurst open the safe iu the office of the NewpoU-Abercarn Coal Company's Cely- uen Colliery. The means adopted appear to have been to fill the lock with powder to which a piece of fuse was attached, thus causing an explosion within the safe. The atLeuipt, how- ever, proved fruitless, as, bevoud knocking the mechanism of ...

... ACTION FOR LIBEL. I At Wilts Assizes to-oay (before Mr Justice Grantham) an action for libel was brought by Mr Ernest Carpenter, proprietor of the new Queen's Thoatre, Bristol, against the proprietors of the North Wilts Herald. The a,llegel libel was in reference to a poster illustrating a scene in the play, Greed of Gold, which was described as Debasing, demoralising, and debauching. After ...

... t By Old Stager. Apparently the Welsh match is being awaited with uusually keen expectancy in Scotland. Preparations are being made on an extensive scale at Inverleith, the ground recently acquired by the Scottish Rugby Union, and tbsre are indi- cations that as at Swansea a record crowd will be attracted. Latest information from Edinburgh is to the effect that the Scotsmen will take the ...

... THE FAR EAST. (Press Association Special Telegram.) Pekin. snuaay--The French Minister demands as compensation for the recent imprisonment of a French missionary the sum of 1,200,000 taels, togetherwith certain mining rights in Sze Chuan. These demands are considered exorbitant. The Chinese state that the rebellion was not due to any lack of energy on the part of the Government, since during ...

... I Position of the United States. NEw YORK, Wednesday.—Mr Alger contradicts the statement that instructions have been sent to General Otis at Manila to wage an aggressive warfare against Aguinaldo. Opinion generally 'in Government circles is that the ratification of the Peace Treaty by the Senate is not sufficient justification for the establishment of American government throughout the entire ...

... I Servant Girl's Siranga Conduot. At the Lssex Assizes now being held Elizabeth Walxord was indicted for administering strych- nine to her mistress, Mrs Marlar, the wife of a chemist at Halstead. It was stated that Marlar had had occasion to complain of the prisoner sending letters to a, young man, a.nd her, mother also gave her a talking to on the same subject. The prisoner on the following ...

... A HERO OF TEL-EL-KEBIR. Drunk and Disorderly in Cardiff. At thq Cardiff Police Court to-day Thomas Matthews (42) was charged with being drank and '••orderly in c0wbri d«e-road on the 7th inst. and assaulting p c jAmei Harrjs The constable aving described prjsoner's rough method of i.anaii«g him, Matthews was asked to make his UP and eXteDdiK hlS chest Matthews Sftid he had been in the Army ...

... Wolverhampton January Meeting. V A Postponement. A severe frost dnrinpc the night rendered the cour.-o very hard indeed, and although the sun shone cut with considerable power throughout the forenoon the frost was but slowly dispelled. It was clear to all that racing was not possible with safety, but tile stewards did not arrive until 12.30, when Messrs Johu Lees and Stavcley Hill decided to ...