MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume V, Issue 39, 22 March 1878, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

Tho Auckland correspondent of tho Thnmos Adyortisor is responsible for tho following :— " Thero wns n nice littlo shnro swindlotlio other duy.but unfortunatcyj for tho chap who played first fiddle. A call upon n corlaiu company wns nindo. Ono holder thought ho could do tho dummy for n while. Ho got tho bogus lioldor, and put tlirco hundreds shares in his hand for snfo hooping. Tho poor innocent dupe, when ho found that ho had suddonly bocomo a l)ig holder, thought it his bounden duty not , to hold so many, nnd, to tho disgust of the owner, ho parted with a very largo number, just to got sorao pocket money. There was not ono who blamed him ; it was ouly a confidential trick rociprocatcd. Referring to " n strange guest at breakfust," tho Canterbury Press snys:-— On Saturday morning, as tho steward of tho Island Lily nnd some Chinamen, who were going in that vessel to tho Chatham Islandflj wero baring their breakfast in tho «ftor cabin thoy woro startled by a crash of timber. Tho planks botween thorn and tho half-deck wero dispinced and tho hoofs of a Clydesdale nmro came down on tho tablo in the middle of tho breakfast equipage. Tho author of tho disaster accompanied her gymnastic exhibition with a loud neigh, which rather scared Mongols. Sad to say, tho tablo gave way, and tho hnvoo amongst tho crockory was worso than if tho Island Lily had boon in a henvy soawny for a month. It appeared that n mare in tho lower hold had broken loose, nnd clambering ovor tho cargo to the hnlf-deeir, had burst through into tho cabin. Thero .«.ho whs jimmied, nnd tho boards had to bo out away nnd tho cargo shifted boforo tho animal wns got back into the hold, none tho worse, wo aro glad to say, for her strnngo ndvcnluro. . Tho crimo of sheep stealing has suddenly assumed a, serious macnitudo in Wellington. About ton dnys ago no fower than seventeen- vnluabfo imported shoep wero stolon at ono fell swoop from Mr JFinnimoro's paddocks on tho Ohiro rond. A Canterbury^ paper states that ft valu* nblo mnro had ft narrow escape tho other dny. This roaro is addicted to whnt is termed Blondinism nnd in ordor to excr*ciso horsolf in that rospoct sho took it into her hoad to try to cross a skeleton bri.lgo on tho railway near Saundors's mill, without putting her legi through tho nportures. Sho succoodod wondorfully well but just as fiho was going off on tho other side, ono of hor Mnd logs slipped through nnd received a slight graze Sho will probably bo moro careful when crossing skeleton bridges in future Writing under tho sarcastic namo of Laboratory Vintngo, Naturo says that tho ohcniists of Berlin havo boon occupied lately in analysing tho wares of tho wino merchants, and no littlo exoitoment l>as been causod by tho discovery that tho on* tiro stock of ono of tho largest houses c'onling in winos for medical purposes consisted of artificially proparod mixtures of spirit and sugar'solutions, flavored with various herbs. . A enndidato for a vacant vienrago announoos an involution of his own which may provo to bo useful. It is a peculiar arrangomont of tho pulpit, with a clock to civo warning. Whon,attho did of half an hour, the dock sounds an alarm, if tho preacher doos not conclude within throo minutos down comos tho pulpit with tho parson and tho rost of tho npponda<jos. A Choviot owe, which had boon drivon in a flock from Northumberland to Suthorlandshiro, was found ono day on hor own pasture followed by hor lamb, having traced hor way bnek hundreds of milos, probably from hill' to hill, with many dovious unrecorded waudorings. Anothor owe of tho samo brood found her way back from Caithnoss-shiro to Koxburghshiro Chio'cwood is an oxcollont bnromolcr. Whon tho flowers expand fully thoro nood bo uo four of rain for several hours. Should it continuo in that condition no rain will disturb tho day Whon it half concoals its miniature flowor, tho day is surotobo showery, and if it ontiroly shuts up or veils tho whito flowor with its green mantle, lot tho traveller put on his groat coat. Tho London correspondent of t/io Wes« torn Morning Horahl says :—■" Ono of tho most intorosting nutogrphs I h*vo ovor hoard of— ono that would bo worth Us weight in banknotes, belonged to tho Into Emperor .Napoleon, and most dooply con» cornod this country. It was a letter from Nana Sahib to tho Emperor, offoring to tnaUo him master of Ind'a if ho would dcclaro war against England. This lottcr Nnpoloon kopt as a curosity amongst his papors at tho Tuillorios and I proMumo it was destryod by tho Com-

munisfsi Hut what a losson it should bo for tho panicmoneors. At that data Nnpoloon wns the helo noir of the alarmists just as Aloxamlcr is now. Tempted ti» mnlcrt war upon u> nt a time of our sow distress, ho answered tho tomptor by n'luwinp; our troops n frco passage through Prince on thoir wuy to India. 1 '