MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1076, 19 April 1882, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

♦ . — • ■ The Agram Gazette (Austria) gives vominence to an account of a domestic o-agedy which recently took place in Oarlstadt In that town there is a celebrated military ' school, the chief aaster of which up to a few days ago was Major Thalheim. When the stuclents hej#l»«mbled in his college some ten days agd they were surprised at the non-appearance of their professor who, was_ always punctual After waiting nearly an hour for the Major, two of the cadets went to his residence, Madame Thalheim was not in the town, and "house was still closed. They rapped atj the door, and rang the bell but on receiving no answer they broke open a window md entered the house There,, a spectacle ipet their gaza The Wo so# oi the Major were lying dead on the breakteAb-vobm &oo*. The '|^|to )^f|^ ? V'^ n^ from a nog in the^ejling. The servant, a young girl, was found in the passage to «tll appearance dead. On the table lay a b^ttleconteining morphium. An alarm', was soon given, and a doctor c^me to attend the girl, who was brought" roiiii^.^Sne said the Major spoke about a delightful drink he had pm-cimaed,' antr^vMclt h« wanted them ;air'j^t^eV. , ' ; Clii th^eir expr^^sirVg a wish to try #, ie gave each of them a wine -glrisit fttß. She must have taken very liwle. Tw^ Mayor evidently hanged himself immediately after seeing the result of the poison. ■ f Mr^' W 'Escott, a cpnsin jot Earl Car^v^is ipje, w^ter of the series of poUtioal ■sketohebs i which have appeared in the London World, over the signature < Jr that tpe German Grovern/menth«W given notice to ftll<' th 6 landowners in the suburbs of Kiel that the .w^^^f^lcuupJE^n^g. t^be. $ity. into a fcirlrbM ipottld b^« cdmmended waxe'•dfiitel|i' r/ijfl ''' ■ ; '" : - ! ' v " i>; ■''■ *' ■'ThWe 'was an amusing spfne in the B. M. Court oil the 24th' ultimo. tgtyg tfce'HaVkes Bay Herald, when tiie shocll ( 6i.earthq[uake was i felt As .(ayeiyb^yj^ows, the plaster on the cefiintf aptto dome* down in lttVg^ jlec^, and if one of the pieces < &tf^n;# man tiie probabilities are that he "would loee thfl number of his mess." The earthquake caused the rafters ol the room to crack loudly and 'ominously. Everybody, with two exceptions, made for the doors in a menstroua fright Witnesses tumbled * -w*r Bpeotetort, > gpectfttot^ over polioenten, policemen over lawyers, and . Uwyers over reporters. The guardians of the law shot out at one door, and tfcfe jJr&wmer left; the dock, and vanished through anoti^BP f door, Only the ' magiitMbe T*y»ton) and the clerk reti^ned tisir seats unmoved. The foi^det was weU protected by the wooden «nopy over his head, and Mr Ctillen seemed too astonished at the unexpected "dissolving view" presented to his gaze to think of his own tttf e^-r-or perliaps he could not recolJectany Aqtof Parliament, qt even a precedent, regulating the conduct of business M the event of ah Earthquake. The shock over, the prisoner smiliiigly returned to his dock, the policeman resumed $me platees with an air which plainly dfeclare^ iiey had never moved, . and the lawyers again took their briefs in band. '%':yikßfc asi ardent Presbyterian ielfl^yman #lt Geeleng has unburdened hW soul on the iniquity of old English Tayres, and other similar means of extracting money, from unwilling pockets for church purposes. Presbyterianism i^gards all such methods as unholy. 6ome humorous correspondent quotes with effect the following esctract from the Weekly Scotsman of January 14 : — VMr J. Bell, seconding the transmission ci the overture motioned ttiat in co^l-* nection with a Presbyterian bazaar, recently held, a room was set apart called ' Elysium,' into which only a gentleman and lady were admitted at a time on the the pay meat of ft certain sum, and in this room Wilt hung a bunch of mistletie.* The mile race for the championship of ITew.Zealand and £100 takes place at Dunedin on April 29th between Fagan, of CBffittchurch, and W. Burke, of Dunedin. The second deposit of £40 was placed in the Treasurer's hands last week. At one of the Government schools near New Plymouth, the teacher had in a very proper manner, explained to his schoolboys the roundness of the earth we inhabit^ its rotation around the sun and so on, and we learn from the Taranki Herald) having concluded, proceeded to test the practical effect of his exposition. " What round thing do we live on Vhe asked boy No. 1 ; to which question boy No. 1 promptly replied " Spuds !" The Admiralty has been trying experiments with a view to get at the best way of reflecting the electric light ■without loss, a problem that is likely to concern the photographer very closely

ere long. Most of ouf battle ships carry the electric light for the purpose of sweepingtheseas in searchof torpedoboats contemplating a night attack. It would be the aim, of course, of the. the torpedo launch to destroy thefHght apparatus as sooa as itcould^ and for this and other motives the swill little craft is armed with small, but powerful guns. The battle ship, on the other hand, is seeking to protect its source of light behind armor and then to bend the rays in the proper directioii^ by some suitable ap^araiu* ?BoJh taer and reflectors have beo| tri&f on l#rd the Sultan at Portsmouth, and her captain has come to the conclusion that a dioptriclens is by far the best apparatus to employ.. A reflector made of Chancels glass, and carefully silvered, proved tolerably fierviceable, but the light travelled a much greater distance when aided by the lens. The smoke and steam of a,torp^'3(B|^j^|p, plainly 1 teen ft mile off,--for,thejf»yfl! strike against the vapor asitw^uld against a solid screen. ' i ' A. Torpedo: il'^^tt^SSStof : pcata vwere submii^d regardm&^pi t6rp^ochioke&latelyihventedi»M|Jwj A specimen chicken has bofen secra^ by- the committee, and its workings ex-; hibited. The invention is not sts deadly as at first supposed It is loaded witih 4oz. of bird shot and 2oz. of powder,! and placed on ■Whe^ i ,||.^ 1 reached for a catch W thrown opt' of; place, a powerful spring set in motjto^, and the hammer fitrikes and explodes a percussion cap. The shot are thrown, out in every direction, and within ten seconds after the explosion, a dark figure is seen galloping down the alley, and ft husky voice is heard inquuing, 'Ponj ddLttwd'f But what has de White folks got now V The committee closed its reitoitasfoflow*^ Having pushed de investigation, an'kiyered aIL de grouttj'^we beg leave to be discharged from f urder qonsiderashiim of de^tibject, an' to respectfully inquar 1 ol our respected president, r Kin this tbi^edo chicken be suppressed ? If not, vrmt shall do? An' We will eber pray/ *As to sttppreoun' de invenshire, I see,, lio way to accomplish it/ replied Brother Gardiner.; 'As to w^at shall we do, I have been seriouly reflectin' fur de last ten minits, an' it am solemn belief dat de bes' bes' thing de culled race kin |^o am to cultivate a taste for some order sort o' meat'— 'Detroit Free Press, 1