MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Issue 16, 23 September 1878, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

Whilo growling nt licr husband last summor, a now York woman wns strucic by lightning nnd instantly Icillod. If you wish your wifo to soo this paragraph, out it out and pasto it on tho lookingi«lass. Tho Paris oorrospondunt of tho Daily Nows says— l havo reason to think thnt, should circumstances load England to toko posflossion of .Egypt, franco, so far from protesting would rojoico. Tho Govornmont of tboKliodivo id an nbotxu'nation, and Frcnoh sf.atcsmon feel that tho exploration and development of Control Africu, which would add to tho wholo world, and boncfit Franco proportion^-

tely, is a work whioh England alono enr nohicvo. A return of tho minornls ox ported from Tasmania during April last shows the gold and tin to bo valuod at £86,300---430 tons of tin from Launccston alone being worth £25,000. A Wellington paper is glad to not* thai tho Waka Maori i9 about to bo launched again. It states that tho wnnt of a journal printed in Maori for tho information nnd itnprovont of tho natifos, hns been greatly felt of late, and both Maoris and Palfohas have contributed to tho now ontorpriso by becoming shareholders in tho oompany formod for tho purpose ol starting ir. Tho ncoossnry plant has come to hnrid, and tho publication will bo commoncod at Gisborno without delay. Thoro is a landlord who plays many practical jokes on his neighbours. Ho onco told us a capital plan of giving notice to quit. In winter, a number of tho neighboring shepherds assemble at his house, to drink, and talk, and whilo away tho long nights. Sometimos they got quarrelsome. Whon a frny is browing, our hero puts a quantity of cayonno pop* per in a bit of brown y.aper makes tho tongs red hot, lift tho paper with them, and hold* tho paper at tho bottom of tho door. Tho rosult scorns almost magical. An invotorato sneezing commences, which is insjtantanoously succeeded by a rush to the door, and a dissolution of tho com" pany. _ .. In tho machinery room of tho Daily News offices. Bouverio«streot, London, ciizht Walter presses working simultaneously at tho rato of 104.020 porfoot copies per hoar, accomplish tho printing of no loss than 120,009 copios of the Daily News in timo for the departure of tho early nowspuper trains. A young man of twenty recently took to wilo a Pennsylvania widow of fifty, the rolo proprietress of a oouplo of paying petroleum wells. Of him it may bo said that 1 ' ho lovod not wisely, hut two wells." When discussing tho Waitaki High Schools Bill in tho Legislative Council, Colonel Brett Raid ho believed young people nowna-days were being very much over«cduoated. They wero crammed with Grcok and Latin, and mndo dissntiiiflnd with their position in lifo. Why not teach thorn farming, or sonio trado P lie thought a thorough good farmer was a highly oduoatod man. Evoryono should bo thoroughly taught ono occupation. Tho gallant Colonel pointed out tho greatest philosopher of all antiquity— Socrates to illustrate his argument I Why that great man's mothor was a midwife. Ho wai beginning to describo her tin fitness for that office but stopped suddenly, lookod up at the Indies' gallery, suw it wa9 ompty. and then oonoludcd by giving Sooratos' own opinion on his mother's abilities, whioh was a striking example of filial disrespect. A good story comes to us from Amorioa. A spiritualistic seanco was being hold, at whioh it was announced that tho spirit of William Shakespeare would pass through tho room. A sceptic took a handful of tin taoks to tho mooting nlaco and quiotly sprinkled thorn over tho floor. The solemn moment came, a ghostly' form entered, nnd took i\ noiseless stride forward. Thoro was a slight shivor in tho whito objoct, and a nwttorod no ; so was heard > n socond stop followed, nnt q'ltto so stately, and another tmiffhd rjiculation ; but at a third strido Shakospoaro'n disombodied form «at plumo down upon Iho floor and swore liko tho British ormy in Flanders.'— Tableau. Tho following curious advertisement appears in tho Auckland Star s— * Wanted for tho Thames, a polico sergeant, who must bo possessed of tho docility of tho African negro, without knowing too much. Proyious rxperionoo not wanted. Apply Scotland Yard, Thamos.' In tho same papor a letter appears stating that, there havo boon no fewer than fiyo different sergoantson the Thamos station during tho last twelvo months or so, addinjt that if tho presont demand keeps up, it is oxpootod tho Aeont-Goncral will have to bo communicated with in order to .rovido ti spooiol supply from London, Tin writer says that tho quarterly demand for n new sorgcant on ono station tolls a sad tilo of departmental petty tyranny, and adds— 'In h oonvorsation I recently had with a constable, ho told me that tho Thnmos was a perfeot Hussion Siberia fcr a polico sor« geant ; and of tho fivo mentioned, ono sank into an early grave, another was nearly driven out of his wits, a third h«d his professional offinicnoy stultified, and of tho oilier two I shnll say nothing fit present.' Unless theso allegations arc very much exaggerated there seoms to bo, if not, grounds for an ofllcial inquiry, certainly amolo grounds for grumbling, Somo inslruotiyo disclosures woro mado in a caso beard in tho Malton County Court recently. A horso trainer and a jookoy named Rugg claimod £32 19* from Mr Barker, an owner of racchorsos, for riding horsrs far him at racos. Tho pla ; n" HiT alleged that in nceordanno with Mr Barker's instructions, who did not wiih tho horso to win, ho on ono occasion gavo a horso a bucket of water and got blood dnubed on his nostrils, to mako pooplo ben Hove that tho horso had broken a bloodvossol. On another occasion ho pulled tho nniU our of tho horso's shoos, and in a third caso ptovenfcod tho hono from win" ning ; but in each insianco ho said he was to bo paid tho same prico as if tho horso had won. The defendant <?onicd having tampered tiith tho horses, and said that Bug?, boing a ' gentleman ridor,' could claim nothing, and that ho novor moant to pay him anything. Tho judgo said ho would nover givo a verdict to a plaintiff who in opon court cenfossod he was a suindlor.a? Rugtr had done! Ho did not boliovo thn ploa of tho defonco, booauso Barkor know tho plaintiff was riding for money, and thus tho two wore oonoerned in another imposition on tho public. Ho would not allow for riding, as it was all a swindle ; but ho gave tho plaintiff £5 for tho expenses of preparing and going about with tho horaos. A raaged littlo uvchin oamo to a lady s door, asking for old olothcs. Sho bronght him a vf st and pair of trousers, wiiinh sho thought, would bo a comfortablo fit. Tho youmc soipogrucn took tho garnwnts and examined each ; th»n, with a disoon* solato look, said " thcro ain't no watch« pock^f." Tho Nevada man who had seven homely daughters, got tho local editor to publish a rumor that ho was a desporato old miser, who had seven barrels of g,..1d buried in his oeMtir, and all his daughters woro mar« ricd off in four mouths from th^t date,