The Star
Largest Circulation of Any Evening Paper in the Kingdom.
LONDON. WEDNESDAY, 31 OCTOBER, 1888.

MAINLY ABOUT PEOPLE.

We shall have to take out a patent for our "Mainly About People." Here are three London papers running races with each other with more or less colorable imitations of the real, original column. The Echo calls its imitation "Men and Things." The Pall Mall makes "To-day's Tittle Tattle" its feature in chief (vice feuilleton deceased). The St. James's calls it "Miscellanea." Please, good public, "éviter les contrefaçons."

It is expected that Mr. Irving will be able to arrange the "Macbeth" revival at the Lyceum for the second week in December, if not before.

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THE MYSTERIES OF MASONRY.
Two Ladies Get a Private View, but a Grand Committeeman is Expelled.

The Grand Masonic Lodge of Scotland, which holds its quarterly meeting at Edinburgh to-morrow, has to consider among other business the "expulsion of Brother William Edwards and special censure of Brothers J. O. Fraser and W. Robertson, office-bearers of Lodge Celtic, Edinburgh and Leith No. 291." The offence of which the brethren stand convicted is that of admitting two ladies to the Funeral Lodge meeting of the branch, held of 8 May last, in memory of a late brother. A sub-committee formed to inquire into this business finds that "two females were admitted to the inner approach to the organ loft, where they saw and heard through the partially-open glazed door a considerable portion of the proceedings which were being conducted while the lodge was tyled in the Third Degree; that the ladies in question were so admitted by Brother Edwards, Acting Past Master, who was called out of the hall at their request; and having possessed himself of the key of the door, he deliberately broke the tyling of the lodge and placed the tyler inside along with the ladies, with instructions to attend to them; that he went back to the hall, and remained there until the ceremony was nearly concluded, when he returned to the organ-loft and had the ladies removed." The sub-committee recommends the expulsion of the offending brother (who has already resigned), and the censure of other members of the lodge for irregular action in dealing with the offence.

A Big Liberal Penn'orth.

On and after 3 Nov. the South London Press will be published at a penny, in place of twopence. This excellent paper, which contains as much matter as any two local London papers, will not be reduced in size, but will still consist of 16 pages. The South London Press is the property of Mr. James Henderson, and is Gladstonian in politics.

SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS.

Yiddish Against Jewish.

The Jews are going to do their best to elect Mr. Claude Montefiore in Tower Hamlets. There never has been a Jew on the Board, and it is held that the importance of the community in London demands a representative. The poverty as well as the wealth of the London Jews has strengthened their title to representation. Mr. Montefiore is a Conservative, but is considered a good educationist, though not going so far as Radicals. The Jews can justly boast that they manage their own schools well.

Mrs. Besant is in the field against Mr. Montefiore, and Mr. Lewis Lyons has addressed a manifesto in Yiddish to the Jewish working men on her behalf. Mr. Lyons has considerable influence with his class in the East-end, and he explains what the School Board is and why they should choose Mrs. Besant very plainly in their own plain jargon. The Jewish workmen already know Mrs. Besant as an earnest social reformer.

Husbands Vitriolised and Mutilated.

A middle-aged woman named Maschner, the wife of a respectable Viennese watchmaker, suspected her husband of infidelity. When her husband was fast asleep she poured nearly a bottle of vitriol on the lower part of his body. The man sprung out of his bed, writhing with pain, and screamed for "help," and the woman threw more vitriol into his face. His wife then poured some of the vitriol on the lower part of her own body, hoping to die with him and escape punishment. A deed in many respects similar was committed at a Vienna hotel a few days previously, but was hushed up. A woman named Bishop was deserted by her husband. They met by chance in the street the other day. The wife feigned to be reconciled with her husband, and induced him to take her for the night to an hotel. They supped together, and afterwards visited a café chantant before retiring to the hotel in question. When the man was fast asleep his wife, who had armed herself with a sharp carving-knife, inflicted horrible injuries upon him.

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FIFTH EDITION.

A Suicide's Written Reproaches.

A inquest was held to-day on the man who cut his throat in a lavatory at Clapham Junction. He was a coachsmith named Thomas Lewis, and lived at Parma-crescent, Lavender-hill. His widow said her daughter by writing a letter to a solicitor had caused an allowance to be stopped. There had been some unpleasantness, and the solicitor had threatened to take them all before a magistrate. Two envelopes were found in the man's pocket bearing the following words, "Oh, Julia, how did you do it? May God forgive them. Your poor father." "All through old Nash and his daughter, and E. Short, of Waterloo Station." - Edward Nash said he had known the deceased for 30 years and was his foreman. They were the best of friends. Lewis lived very unhappily with his wife. - A verdict of temporary insanity was recorded.

Found in the River at Chelsea.

The body of a man has been found floating in the Thames near Albert-bridge, Chelsea. He is about 40 years of age, of medium height, partially bald, with complexion and moustache dark, and dressed in morning coat, brown check trousers, under linen of good quality, and side-spring boots.

Superintendent Dunlop's Successor.

Superintendent Fisher, of Hammersmith, takes the place of Superintendent Dunlop, who has retired on a pension of £300 a year.

ZOLA'S NOVELS.
Vizetelly Withdraws His Plea of "Not Guilty," and is Fined £100.

The Solicitor-General, in opening the attack upon Mr. Henry Vizetelly this morning at the Old Bailey, took care very early to make provision for the people who have been looking forward to finding in the newspaper reports of the case a careful selection of all the choice passages in "La Terre" without going to the expense of purchasing the book. In reciting the cases which define the law on the subject of obscene libel, he referred to a decision of Lord Chief Justice Cockburn, from which it follows that the publication in newspaper reports of the obscene libels complained of would, if the prosecution was sustained, involve the same pains and penalties as the original offence. Henry Vizetelly is an elderly man with a bald head, a nose that forces itself upon your attention, and white moustache, beard, and whiskers. He pleaded not guilty to each of the indictments. They refer not only to "La Terre," but to "Nana" and "Piping Hot" as well. His leading counsel, Mr. Williams Q.C., applied at the beginning that his client should not be compelled

TO TAKE HIS PLACE IN THE DOCK.

The Recorder said the matter was one for the sheriffs and not for him, and Mr. Vizetelly took his seat at the solicitors' table. Sir Edward Clarke opened the case in a very impressive manner. There were, he said no fewer than 21 passages in the one book, "The Soil," which were calculated to produce a pernicious effect upon readers. There were, he said, works by authors recognised as amongst the greatest in literature containing certain immoral and indecent expressions and passages, especially in the literature of 200 or 300 years ago. But nothing of this consideration was applicable to the filthy book "La Terre." Zola's book were filth and filth alone. There was never collected between the covers of a book so much bestial obscenity as was contained in "La Terre." There was not a passage or scene in the book that was not full of vicious suggestion and expression, and there was not a single character which was that of

A PURE AND DECENT WOMAN.

Counsel proceeded to read the passages upon which the indictment was based. He had not read many of them before the jury intimated that they had had enough of it, and after that the defendant's counsel called his client and advised him to withdraw his plea of not guilty. This was done, and, to the relief of the whole Court, the painful spectacle of the staid Solicitor-General reading aloud passages of disgusting suggestion was put a stop to. The Recorder fined Vizetelly £100, and ordered him to enter into an undertaking to withdraw the books from circulation and not to publish any other ones of a similar character.

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NEWS OF ALL SORTS.

Bernhardt Carries her Coffin.

When Sarah Bernhardt arrived at Vienna yesterday morning, her luggage and theatrical requisites very nearly filled the whole train. Conspicuous among them was her coffin, in an outer case of similar shape. The first performance took place last evening, the "Dame aux Camellias" being the piece selected. The sale of seats was so great that the orchestra was suppressed.

Tricycles for Police Patrols.

Dr. Richardson, President of the Society of Cyclists, in his annual address last night, said it had been suggested that the cycle should be used by the police. There should be four kinds of machines for the police - one for rapid communication, another a tandem, strong and light, a third a combined tandem, capable of carrying, say, ten men to fires or a tumult, and the fourth an ambulance cycle. Before long an experiment of police patrol on tricycles is to be tried in the suburbs.