MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume IX, Issue 1410, 30 June 1884, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Chicage correspondent of thfr Dun din Star writes : — Upom my retnri> to Chicago I found t'.ie bon ton much, exercised on account of Matthew Arnold, the British expositor of light, sweetness, and human perfection. He came to Chicago a few mouths a^o with a great flourish of trumpets. His fame Imcl preceded, him, and great expectations were aroused. It i.s noiv unquestioned that Mr Arnold's mission, to Chicago was a failure. H.id not his expenses been paid, his- lectureprofits would not have <net tne board bills of himself, his f:i.ai!y. aod his dog. He w:ta ticketed from house to house, like an old time pedagogue who- " boarded round,'' liis liosfcs not expecting any more compensation thau such gleams of light and sweetness <i* he might be pleased to S»estow on them. He spent not- a cumo»- u>orethan he could help. He frankly told the people i.ha', he caiae «o T.iake uouey the money getting -runt was large and cunning — to get ail he oou'd and spend as little a» [x> ; /:il»is. Ha succeeded in one direction ; he got litiile and spent lilile. He imd tie desire for money getting wiiiioa 1 .. i.>e capacity to gratify ii. He hau goae home a fail u re. He was a failure in his manner and in his matter. He was a social disappointment souiefciojps to a degree which strained The liuiit of courteous toleration. Tr> make matters vovse, he had competition. Mr Maplesou, on the cue hand, and Mr Irving on the other, got the lion's share ; but Mr Arnold followed persistently and bravely, juid gleaued, if riot with the sweetness and palieuce of Ibut'u. at least wii.h a closeness to rue ground thai would astonish bo'jh. her and the lord of the harvest. He got £1,200 of our money, and waa biddea God speed. Since his return home he has written about Chicago. His strictures on her society, culture, and institutions, show him to be uic-atx and devoid.]of either sweetness r,r light. It is so ihickly covered with malice that he is shown to be nade of very commo\) clay, net above p<:tt,y revenge ai; the expense of chose qualicies which »x>uimend gentlemen to vvelL bed society. Had has gone luck horn* as well laden wii,h our treasu-e as did Mr Irving he would have written of Chicago with surpassing sweetness, and regarded her people a>> children of light, even those to whom he allude* sneeringly as " mercers, iro-iroongers, and packers, which latter -.errn is applied to dealers \i\ the class of food products derived "from tlie hog. I Bali? From • the laad of the Five.' — A western citizen, on being informed that in his absence a panther had Attacked his wife, and she had beaten off and killed the animal, merely shrungged his shoulders and said, •E f that panther had knowed her as well as I do, he'd never riled her up, you bet.* At Wellington recently a scoundrel jilted a young lady on the day appointed for their wedding because his prospective father-in-law would not see the expediency of endorsing a bill for him for .£4OO, to enable hiiuself and his prospective wife to journey to England, where, he averred, a legacy of £11,000 awaited him. A Sydney payer says: — "The yonn£ lady, who has been lucky enough to escape alliance with this contemptible scnllion, is to be congratulated. Let her cheer up. Shipping, insurance, Government, and banlc clerks are more numerous in Wellington than in any Other city in the world with ten times the population. The place actually swarms with them, but — here 1 * the r.ib it would take at least a baker's dozen of them io maintain one wife respectably. Consequently, we would advise the young 'ady next time ta look out for a journalist d* a commisssion agent. We are a journalist ourselves, we have been a commission agent, and we are still siugle, notwithstanding the plural way in wlvch we write. This is leap year. Need we say more, except that our add.ess is at the Office, Sydney, and we may add that we just pine down to our boots for a father-in-law whose name would be considered good on a bill for £400." The latest novelty from acro ss foe Atlantic, is the sand cure. It would appear that a resident in New York, suffering from an impaired digestion has cured himself without the aid of medical science, by taking a leaf out of the book of birds. He kept many o f them in a cage, noticed them picking up the grains of sand placed there for their use, and determined to try the remedy himself. Every day he took his regular dose ; everyday his indigestion became better ; and at length he presents himself to the world as a thoroughly cured man. A friend of his, a magistrate, suffering from a similar ailment, was also prevailed upon to eat sand with his breakfast with the most satisfactory results ; in short, the sand cure is now openly advocated by several journals across the Atlantic. One may expect therefore shortly to hear of sand doctors, who instead of advising their patients to go into the country or to the seaside, will send them to localities were sand of a superior quality is to be found. M, Jules Claretie says that a high medical authority told him lately that he attributed tlie great increase of drunkenness among women in Paris

to the/war. During the siege, especially, they contracted the habit, when there was little to eat and they wanted to keep themselves up. Fifteen years ago, he says, habits of intoxication were rare among Parisiennes. According to a report published by the company for excavating the canal on the Isthmus of Corinth, the worlcs will be finished by the year 1887. The canal, twelve miles in length, will unite the lonian and Mgean seas, a>ul save the voyage of 120 miles rounn the Cape of Mntapau. Southern Italy and Sicily will derive the greatest advantage from the new ronte. The London Lancet says that a remarkable instance of so-called " healing by faith" is reported in England, ■where a girl , who had been sutfemig from paralysis of the neck for twenty mouths, unable to raise her head mmi the pillow, was suddenly healed, sat up in bed without any assistance, and has since been dressed and able *;o walk about. The instantaneous effect was produced during the prayers, some blue-ribbon friends. In New Caledonia recently^ soldier ■was sentenced to four years' hard labour for having robbed a uativa, and was dragged before all the military in a public place. His .soldiers' buttons were cut off, the stripes corn from bis. trousers, and he had to Stand bareheaded, while the troops passed in front of him. The trade in Whifcby jet is immediately affected by any national calamity, as, the death of a member of the Royal Family, or anyone for whom there is general mourning. Wbet» the Prince of Wales was in danger, "VVhitby was thronged wi&h buyers prepared to pay almost auy price, who lost heavily by his happy recovery. Some leading members of the ** c Middle party" anticipate the new elections will result iv the return of several erstwhile prominent politicians to the House. Mr Ovnioud's retura for Napier seems certain, as does also that of Sir Julius Yogel fer one of the "Wellington electorates. Mr Ballaoce is Bure to try fora seat at this election. T^e Middle party believe there will ba a, great infusion of new blood. Tb.3 extreme Oppositionists mournfully declare that parties will come back again much as they are ab p.eseut, and that the same disorganisation will be manifest; while the Ministerialists confidently anticipate heing able to face Parliament with a good working majority. Time will show which party is right in its views. An advertisement appears in ; he Dublin papers offering a reward of JJ2OQO for the recovery and lodgment, either with Cardinal M'Cabe o»- in vie Dublin Prubate Court, of the last will and testament of Mr James E^au. The testator, who had cariied ol> the bnsiuess of a woolen manufacturer aod merchant, in High street, Dublin, <x<>3 died in 1866, bequeathed the bulk o< : his enormous .property, amounting to o'os.& on £1,000,000 sterling, to t>ht I Ate Cardinal Cullen for charitable purpo^ s. This testamentary disposal or" tlit- p»o perty formed gronnds for len^'tiie.'ed litigation by several of Mr Egun's relatives, who claimed sharts the testator's money. The aristocratic Rue Royal? Cl..b, Paris, at a general meeting, the P-io.ie de Sagan in the chair, declared iU*l£ dissolved. No allusion, was made to the well-known cause, namely, that one or more members had been gn.il ry of cheating at play with marked -j&rrls. The club will be re-formed under another name. Emperor William on his birthday lecoived two splendid vases from some person whose name is not g'.ven. The Emperor was delighted with the ilvt, which is believed to be iro-n P--Hs:<i jat Orevy of France. Bismarck t>:ud iie hoped the day would soon come, wh«;». he could have a chance to uiul<3 France as happy as some one bad luaao the Emperor. The Panama Canal will not bo straight or of uniform width; the general width will be about 50 yards, with expansions along the line to parmit vessels to pass one another with ease. The cut at the deepest point will be nearly 150 to 160 yards deep and 800 yards wide. In the naval dockyards of Russia there is now far more activity than for some time past. Six new war vessels were to be launched before the end of the present summer. The strategic railway line between Bailystook and Baronovice, and that from Houoel to Lunienvinviec, which were botbr surveyed last autumn, are to be constructed with all possible dispatch. The latest compliant of American protectionists is rather amusiug. The Central Ohio Butter and Egg Packers' Association is up in Arms against European poultry. A large number of eggs being imported- from Europe free of duty, the association vehemently protests that the "infernal activity of the pauper hens of Europe is considerably damaging the home industry, and the sooner Congress takeg steps in the matter the better. America is suffering already from the hostility of European Governments to the American pig; and that the European hen should beat the American hen is a thing not to be borne. With Indian wheat at 82s a quarter and eggs coming in from Europe, American farmers will soon be complaining of agricultural depression."