MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, 3 September 1880, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

We extract the following from a contemporary : Some yeais ago we published tie following extract from a very rare old work in onr possession, and the two persons afterwards informed us they tried the experiment, and found that the moon did exercise the most powerful influence, as therein stated. We have been asked to republish it for genera} information, which we do without any responsibility :— ' To prove the wonderful orcult power which the ' empress of the night * possesses over the vegetable creation, proceed as follows ;— Take any given quantity of common peas, and divide the same into four equal parts, keeping them separate. Then on any spot of ground fit for vegetation, when the season ap» proaches for sowing them, sow the contents of the first parcel on the second day of the- new moon ; the second parcel near the same spot on the first or second day of the second quarter; the third parcel sow on the second or third dry before the fall moon ; and lastly sow tfae fourth parcel on the second or third day before the moon is out. Now the first parcel sown under the full moon will grow very tast, blossom most beautifully, tut will not bear fruit. The second will blossom and bear very little. The third will not only blossom b«u iPnllv, j but will hear frnit in abundance ; and the fourth and last parcel will scarcely rise above the ground. Likewise all fruit trees set at the new moon blossom, bat never bear fruit ; while all others set three days before the full moon bear abundantly. And in pruning the trees the same effect takes place, for a tree pruned at the new v om will shoot forth branches, but unbearable, and if prunad at the full they will be prolific' A London letter referring to George Eliot says :— Lewes's death was a terrible bereavement to her, one from which she will hardly recover. He was a great support to her ; and he encouraged her to write ; was her best and most stimulating critic ; and it is no doubt on ao connt of her loss, so severe 3nd irr * parable, that she has determined to lay a« ; de her wondrous pen. She U now 59. and childless, and though it mar not be called so, hers is a most melancholy ! widowhood. She was always referred to, while be liyed, as tile wife of Lewes. She never was bis wife ; she could not be, for Ttfrs Lewes proper still survives. Sin frequently contributes to loneevity. George Eliot's wrilings have been very profitable. Their value in the market has rapidly increased. For ' Scenes of Clerical Life ' she received but £300 ; for 'Adam Bede ' she got, all told, £3000 ; but something less, 1 fear, for ' Mill on the Floss.' ' Romola,' perhaps her most artistic and one of the most interesting of her novels, to cultured people, has i^r^r i;een fully appreciated. Jts earnings to (late, I am told, have not been over C2OOO- She has cleared from * Middle March,' issued by the Blackwoods, in eight divisions, the enormous sum o

£8000; and for 'Daniel Deroada ' aboa^^J the same. ' Silas Marner,' one /of tb^^H strongest stories, was not very profitable^^S while ' Felix Holt/ not at all equal to i^^H gave her sis times as much money. He^^H poetry— she has issued six volumes— ha^^H not been liked, nor does it deserve to b^^H liked in any measure with her norel^^H [ Still she prefers her poetry, and wouM^^J rather be ranked as a poet than a fictioo^^H ist. Her entire earnings hare b en abou^^H £50,000, and she could make a contrac^^f any day for a new story for which sh^^H could be guaranteed £8000. Hermoneyjj^H making power is not excelled by that ™^^| any writer in Great Britain. In,J>ei^H case genius has been rewarded. Qeors^^H Eliot is one of the most learned alitborS^H of ber time. The amount of her acquire-^H mentg is wonderful. She is mistress of^H French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, has a tolerable acqaaintano with Uomfnic and Russian, is up in all the sciences, is • critical Latin and Greek scholar, an ad« mirable historian, an arcLes )logist, under* stands music, painting and statuaryy and is a brilliant conversationalist. Beau'y she has not, and nothing like it. S>me persons count her very plain, even home];; others that she has a very in* teresting face. To me she is in no wise remarkable in appearance ; she does not look a bit like a genius— geniuses seld m do. She has gray eyes, rather l«jfl»|iM features, abundant hair streaked with white, a medium figure, neither stoat nor fl slender, and a pleasant welUmodulaWd ~^B voice. She has been extremely iodus* fl trious in her profession. She composes 9 rapidly orten, but corrects with greet S care, aud friq>»ently injures her healtb, fl n>t robust by any raeaas, by ber ex (J| ■ sire application. She is a pronounced ;fl rationalist in belief; in most respects a ■ wonderful woman, and surely a prodigious I intellect. ■ Victoria possesses 141 newspapers ; I New South Wales, 1 15 ; South. Austrafia I 36 ; Queensland, 49 ; Few Zealand, 115 ; I British North America, 55 ; Ontario, 1 26; Newfoundland, 2 ; and Fiji, 4. 7& M England 1834 papers are published, and IB of that number 365 are issued in Loa* M don. 1 Referring to the theft of the gold from I Oouktowa, people say they remarked at I the time that the bos was much lighter 1 than the others. The wharf at Cooktown 1 is about the third of s mile from the 1 bank, and the route running along the 1 main street. The Customhouse is a 1 wooden shed on the whaif. The lot gent bore three National Bank seals, but the box received bad no Bank sea's. but_ two without impression and one Custom house stamp, none of the other gold boxes had the Customs' seal. Mr Went worth, who negotiated the Trickett and Hanlan match in London, has written to a gentleman of Sydney aa follows:-' As I know you will bo very"" anxious to hear bow matters are progress* ing re Trickett and Hanlan, I have just > time to send you a few lines by the oujfr - going mail! having just visited Colonel Shaw, i he representative of Hanlan. ■ Every difficulty in the way of the pro-"* posed match bas been cleared away. I : have long since posted the £50 required under the conditions, &c, of the Sportsman Challenge Cup to bind the match. The money has been cohered by Hanlan's representative, and articles of agreement were signed this morning. The matob ia fixed for November 15, on the usual terms and conditions as tc further de* posits, and the rules of races on the Thames. We had Mr Gulston, the welU known captain of the London Bowing Club, with us, and everything has been settled and arranged in the most straight* forward and amicable spirit on both sides I am sure from what I have seen thaj Trickett will meet in Hanlan a foeman worthy of his steel, and one like himself,^ fair, honorable, and manly. We have it ale arr ngements on the most satisfactory terms with ihe River Company \ to secure steamers for both men—that is, jointly. It will rest with themselves, when they meet, to make their own at* rangements as to charge and details. There should be at least £600 to divide 1 c ween the men. I fear I shall not I c ! here when the match comes off, I have made all arrangements for Trickett, and will, no doubt, see him before I leave for | Australia. Judging from the feeling here respecting the merits of the Australian and Car aiian, I feel confident the betting will be 2 or 3 to 1 on Hanlan, notwith* tending which I think Trickett will astonish them.' | A rumor is very current in Beech* ! worth (says the Melbourne Argus) that ' some d ffiouhy has arisen in connection * with the plant of the Kelly gang. There is a large amount of their loot planted somewhere is undoubted, but where it is remains a mystery. If it is concealed in the bush, no one but the members of the gang knows of it. Ned Kelly is of course the only person alive who can tell where it is, and even had he an opportunity of -^ g ving his frends the desired informa* tion, it migh*,, after all, be ag difficult to discover as the pot of sovereigns which was hidden by Weiberg at the Tarwin river. It is rumored that a certain friend has managed to learn where the loot is — that he has sprung the plant and disap^ peared. We do not know who the Red Cross Knights of Ballarat are, but jadging from the manifesto they have issued against our Chinese fellowscolonists, they seem to be terrible persons indeed. This resound* mg manifesto begins by stating that tb )

Chinese in the Colony are sometimes guilty of crimes especially towards women and children, offences that are, of course, unheard of among European", and proofs : We, as Red Cross Knights until the foul murderers and violators of our young children be brought to justice, j solemnly swear before Almighty God to | hold the whole body, from the Emperor of China, Kong Meng and Co., down to the meanest subject of the Chinese nation, as the deadliest enemies, and swear this by our honourable order of Red Cross Knights.' That is very good for high, and if ' Ihj Emperor of China, Kong Meng and Co,' do not qoiil when they read it, they must be very daring and foolhardy persons. We have no information as to the style of warfare the Ballarat Red Cross Knights purpose to adopt against the Emperor of China, whether it will take the form of a Nibilist conspiracy and the blowing up of his dining.ball with dynamite, or whether it will be limited to passing resolutions and oc« casionally roughly handling an unfortunate Chinaman when this can be done with safety. It would be interesting to get further information on this point. At present the Red Cross Knights are in danger of being viewed as a party of cilly agitators who like to bear themtelves' orate,' and mistake tall language for strength, and foolish, empty titles for c unity.— Australasian, 7th August. London Society is awaiting witk some interest the d«el a loutranee which is about to be fought between the Pall Mall Gazette and the fit. James Goe<»tte under thair riva' editors. Mr Frederi< k Greenwood has a reputation as a swordsman of the Press ; be gives thrust very rapidly, and it was supposed after his intention was announced of setting up an opposu tion journal, that be would spit his enemy, the proprietor of the old Gazette, rpcn las steel pen in a pass or two. Bat now that gentleman has appointed es the generalissimo of his forces no less a person than Mr John Morley, a foe man in every wsy worthy of Green* wood's steel pen, and as Art* mus Ward sb/ts. • Thar will be a fisht.' The name of the new organ does not seem to me a happy o^e, and is sadly wanting in originbl ly, for there is already a Bt. James Chronicle (not remarkable for esprit) in existence. Therd is no room for two ive2'9g papers in London of tbe same <ype (and price), and that one of them will perish in the contest is certain, a«d thin, of course, will greatly enhance, as it has done from the earliest times, i he intern*, of the spectators. Mr Conyer*' letter of June 18, 1879. re bonus to bims'elf baa. been laid upon tbe table by leave. It is as follows :— ' I have the honor to submit for your approval a voucher for the boons which you were so good as to promise me last July m lieu of an increase of salary. It being yocr opinion that it would be more conven ; eat that the increased re« numeration (winch you were pleased to consider me entitled to) should take the shape of aa annual bonus rather than of an addition to my salary, I have ventured to put the increase at £500. I do not, however, presume to dictate or eves to suggest, bat desire in respect of tbe amcant to place myself entirely in your hands.' Mr Conyers urges that be has bad disadvantages not experienced by General Managers on othei- lines in New Zealand. He says :— ' They, when taking office, find ready to their hand an organised system of machinery in per* fact working order, and an experienced and thoroughly trained staff. In South* bed I liad to instruct and organise a h'-aa, and when my eh»rge was extended to the No'fh I b«d tj contend with disorder, jll«dißcipline, and incompetency ; *!)d it devolved upon we egai i to create a nlzf oat oi tbe most unpromising materials. It ia a fact that where I bad one man wbo possessed a little know* ledge of railway work, I bad a dozen wbo bpd everyti'.iag'to learn.' He quotes the salaries of fctjeial tv.anagevs— Great No'-lbevu, £3500 ; London aad Nortb We.'te j, equal y liberal { London, Chatham, and Dover, reoofed at £7000 He does not roach for the ezsct emornts, but be neyo tbe manager and secretary of a small railway in tn«» West of Enel«nd, 76 mi^ii in lens'h, Rets£J^OO. Re maplv ailaflps »o these as showing <he value which is oet in England urtnn the acquirements, qualieations. fiivi exp*n*e* which enab'e r» ; l* ways to he ftdnrinifitered sace^sfoily. The lotfcr i« nd^resped to the Minister for Publifl Works.