MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume IX, Issue 1437, 29 August 1884, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

Regarding the small-pox epidemic in London, the «• St James Gazette of June 6 says : — " It appears, from the Registrar-General's last weekly return, that, on the last day of May, 1057 small-pox patients were under treatment in the various institutions of the Metropolitan Asylum Board, showing a further increase of 133 upon the numbers returned in the 10 previous weeks, which had increased from 148 on March 15. The Asylums Board have now in use six hospitals, situated in various parts of registration London, which contained, however, only 151 patients. Of the remaining 906 patients under treatment, 155 were in the hospital ship Atlas, and 751 in the convalescent camp, both situated within Darenth registration sub-district, outside registration of London. With regard to the rate of mortality of hospital cases during the present epidemic, it may l>e noted (the Lancet says ,that 700 completed cases of small-pox were recorded in the Metropolitan Asylum Hospitals between Feb. 23 and May 31, including 167 deaths and 583 recoveries showing a mortality equal to 23.6 per cent. During the last epidemic in 1881 the mortality did not exceed 16.4 per cent. It should, however, be borne in mind that these hospital statistic overstate the mortality during I ! the earlier period of an epidemic, as the fatal cases terminate more rapidly than the recoveries, the convalesent cases accumulating before they can be taken into account as completed cases." A cyclists' encampment has been held at the Alexandra Palace after the manner of the riflemen at Wimbledon, and a cyclists' church parade took place in London on Sunday, In a, trial race one mile was accomplished on a tricyle in less than three minutes, and two miles were covered by a tricycle in rather over six minutes.—Christian World. England bought a few years ago 176,602 shares in the Suez Canal Company, for "which the prices was £4,000,000. At the present market price they are worth £10,000,000. Some years hence they will be worth half as much again. Good housekeepers are frequently annoyed by oil marks on papered

i walls against which careless or thoughtless persons have laid their heads. These unsightly marks may be removed by making a paste of cold water and pipe-clay or fullers' earth and laying it on the surface without rubbing it on, else the patera of the paper will then likely be injured. Leave the paste on all night. In the morning it can be brushed off and the spot will have disappeared, but a renewal of the operation may bt necessary if the oil mark is old. A remarkable application of science to the art of reporting is now to be seen nightly in the Bouse of Commons. The ' Times' newspaper has there fitted up a number of telephones communicating with the operators seated at type composing machines at the office in Printing House square, and the reporters may, if they like — for the matter is opitional — dictate .the terms to the type settlers without writing their reports at all. A considerable portion of the Times' parliamentary reports is thus set up nightly from dictation through the telephones, with a little gain of time upon the old method, and with much saving of labor on the part of the reporters. The system is still imperfect and tentative, but it promises to revolutionise the art of reporting, so far as Parliament is concerned. According to the great { Times' every married commissionaire is bound to bring his wife and family to see the officer of his division within four days after joining. A commissionaire marrying after his admission must observe the same rules within a fortnight of his marriage — that is, he must bring his wife and family. Such an achievement might have been accomplished by the Jupiter of ancient mythology ; but can the Jupiter of the Press expect degenerate mortals in these latter days to rival his prototype? Madagascar appears to be latest El Dorodo. Several persons living in the intei ior of Madagascar have written freely respecting the discovery of gold and percious stones in the interior, one gentleman, writing by last mail received, says: •• Gold has been found to exists in considerable quantities, aud diamonds also ; the diggers are beginning to move in units, but there is no clanger of a rush." Another says that " the prospects of the country are good, as gold has been found, and precious stones also. 1 ' Aurora, an Indiana town, is gloating over a capital sensation, the tarring of a woman by a divorced wife and throe other jealous women, in which the feathering was omitted on account of disappointment in not getting the material. Mrs John Hortou, or rather the divorced wife of Mr John Horton, had her jealousy excited by the fact that John Horton, her former husband, • had rooms in the same building with a Mrs Amelia Owens, a widow. It was a tenement house that was thus occupied bj the suspected pair, and Mrs Owens lived in the second storey of it. Mrs John Horton. with three sympathising women, set out with a pot of tar and a paint brush, arriving at the house of Mrs Owens at four o'clock in the afternoon, and proceeded to business. Mrs Owens was first gagged and then stripped and thrown on the floor. Mrs Hortou's three assistants, all able-bodied and determined women, held the victim down while Mrs Horton, with the paint brush, painted her thoroughly from head to foot with tar. This process was kept up for a long time in expectation that a woman who was to get a lot of feathers would arrive with them, but she failed to put iv an appearance, and so the feathering was omitted. The women then made Mrs Owens promise that she would not reveal their names, whereupon they took leave. Mrs Owens immediately forgot her promise to keep the secret, called for help to get the tar oft her body, and told the names of her persecutors. The worst cold may be promptly cured if, within twenty-four hours after it has been taken, the patient will keep warm in bed and eat nothing for a day or two. A writer in the Paris 'Figaro' gravely relates how an English nobleman, "Lord Somerset," is to be seen playing a piano-organ in the streets of London. The correspondent discovered him at four o'clock in the afternoon in Duke street, Manchester square, vigorously turning the handle of the instrument, upon which was inscribed "For Charity." The nobleman in question is described as a young man of about twenty-eight years of age, faultlessly dressed in evening costume and followed by his valet. He is in the habit, it would appear, of begging at street-doors and of passers-by, all in the interests of the London poor. The Irish population of the earth is as follows : — At home, 7,500,000 ; in England, 2,500,000; in Scotland, 2,000,000 ; in Canada, 2,000,000 : iv Australia, 1,1)00,000; In America, 12, I 500,000 ; elsewhere, 5,000,000 ; total in round numbers of 32,500 000, ; At Paris, on June 10, a Miss Prettyman, who was visiting the French capital with her parents, jumped, while suffering from delirium induced by ao attack of fever, in her night-dress from the fourth storey of the Grand Hotel into the court-yard below. The window was 40ft above the pavement of. the court yard, and 10ft beneath the window is a wide ground-glass projection. She crashed through the glass, cutting herself painfully, but not dangerously, and instead of being dashed to pieces on the pavement, as seemed to the spectators to be inevitable, she by an extraordinary chancn landed on the neck of one of the ex- ' Khedive's horses that happened to bo '

standing in the court yard, and thus almost miraculously was saved from death. Beyond the shock of the fall she sustained no serious injury. The following letter appears in the Melbourne 'Argus': — "It has been , stated that the small-pox which has broken out in Melbourne has been introduced through the goods we as I Indian hawkers, sell. The statement is a cruel injustice to us. We are un- | offending British subjects sojournii.g in a British colony, and endeavour to ; do our best to conform to the practices of the English nation. It is said that the contagion is secreted in the goodswhich we sell. Now, sir, by what possible- means can such a statement be justified ? Does it follow because we cao>e from India that we must have small-pox about us? We have been here over two years, and surely the disease would have developed 'itself long before this. Further, everything, we get from Calcutta is thoroughly fumigated before sold. When the 1 goods are packed in Calcutta, large lumps of camphor are placed amongstlh3 clothing, and this can be proved by the Customs officers who examine* our goods on arrival in this Colony. If it had come from Galoutta it would have spread long ago, for we hate beei* here a long time. We are willing to submit our tenements and ourselves toa thorough examination by auy of the health officers. We have witnesses to prove that our goods are fumigated j and, on personal examination, it will be found that we are all vaccinated. — Abdul Musjii>, Yacoob Alli, on behalf of the Indian hawkers." Colonel Roosevelt, who preceded Mr G. W . Griffin as American Consul in New Zealand, and who was superseded in consequence of a not very creditable' transaction at the North Shore (Auckland), has narrowly escaped assassination at Bordeaux, where he is now stationed. The following account of the affair is given in a cablegram dated Bordeaux, June 16: — "At a baloon ascension at the Place Qninzaine yesterday, George W. Roosevelt (United States Consul) and bis wife were present A French soldier fired a pistol at the Americans. The bullet passed through Roosevelt's hat, contused his head, and knocked him over. The wounded man pointed out the soldier ; but the latter, with two? companions, escaped. It has been learned that tho soldier mistook the Consul for an- officer in civilian dress, agaiust whom he had a grudge. The commander of Bordeaux has ordered au> iuquiry." ■ The question •What is a lodger V need not perplex anyone. It is simple enough. A lodger is a man whomaintains impecunious people in affluence. H« provides his landlady with tea and pocket money, and his landlord with tobacco and pipes. He furnishes the domestic cat with fish, spirits, cold meat bread, sardines, glass, earthen ware, books, and fruit Ho saves his landlady's eldest son tha necessity of buying collars, ties, pocket-handkerchiefs, or gloves, and supplies her daughter with boots, scent, prouiade, brushes and combs, writing paper, and envelopes. He pays tlm bll for the whole household, and keeps the establishment in coals. — 1 Exchange.' Mr Harry Webster Lawson, of the " Daily Telegraph," will in the course of time be a millionaire and something more, if all that is said about him be correct. Mr Lionel Lawson left his nephew (Mr Edward L. Lawson )L800,000; and Mr Henry Lawson (the latters son) alike sum. The fortunate young man will, of course, succeed to his father's L300,00(>; his grandfather will leave behind him at least L 1,000,000,, 000,000, not to mention his share (seveu-eightK) iv the "Daily Telegraph." Altogether, in time he may expect to have an inootne of some thing like L 90.000 a year. He recently married one of Sir Henry 'd# Bathe's daughters and is now thinking about getting into Parliament, Mrs Langtry has been figuring in a new role in New York ; and has been getting aprae experience of the law. She was sued for a full week's salary by one of the leading members of her company, who had been dismissed at the close of his engagement, but who claimed that he had bsen verbally engaged for a longer period. Mrs Langtry stated that the acting of th& pursuer failed to satisfy her, and she therefore, at the termination of the engagement, intimated to him that hisservices would not be further required. The verdict of the jury, which was iv favor of Mrs Langtry, is worth quoting. "May it please the Court/ said the foreman, " I wish to state that we have not been influenced in reaching: this verdict by the great beauty of the defendant, nor by the rank she occupies in the profession; but we find" for her because she has justice en her side." * Truth ' states that a private- in the Royal Marines was tried by. Courtmartial on board the Queen Adelaidefor "refusing to execute the lawful commands of his superior officer; '*' The offence was that he had refused to take off his greatcoat when ordered todo so. Captain Hayes deposed that it was raining ; that he told the prisoner to take off his coat ; and that he did not do so. He admitted that he might have said " I don't care a , I won't have the men working in their greatcoats, whether it is raining or not"; and alsu that he sent the coxswain for his own mackintosh. Tho unfortunate private was promptly sentenced to three months hard labor ; but no censure was passed upon Captain Hayes, who would do well to cultivate a more conciliatory manner in speaking to his men. Hop Bitters has restored to sobriety aivl hoalth ;> -rf<-et wracks from intarupenuict. Puiusu all.

The rain was coming down by the \>arrelful as Gilhooly stepped into Mose Schanmburg's store, Hose wore a very gloomy look. 4 Why, Mose, -what makes you look so blue ?' « No vouder I looks plue, Mister Gilhooly. It rains so much all de times, and I has got a pig stock of umprellas on hand.' «I should think that rainy "weather would be the very time for you 'to make hay while the sun shines,' so to speak.' 'No, sir; dot vos a great mistake. You see it rains so steady dot de peebles can't put their ximprellas long enough down for them to be stolen.' 'Well?' 'Veil, don't you see? It the peebles don't put down duse umprellas on the corner dere vas no umprellas stolen, den der ■vas do new ones pought' Just at this moment the sun shone out from behind a cloud, and its rays fell on the Tiead of the smiling Israelite, who looked like one of the pictures of a ■saint with a beatific smile, and a halo about his head, by one of the old masters

In Pennsylvania two wonderful wheels have, recently been manufactured. Their combined weight is 124 tons, and their cost when in place will not be less than 50,000 dollars. One •of them is to stationed at the Hecla, and the other at the Calumet cooper mines in Michigan. These mines, by "the way, are the greatest copper producers in the world. The output, so far, has been deliberately reduced so as not to interfere with other cooper mining companies in this country. The great steam engine used at the centennial was the largest ever made in the world np to that time. It is now in use in that wonderful town of Pullman, near Chicago. George Essex Monifex, Lord Drumond, grandson of the Earl of Perth, ■and heir to chat title,' is at present employed as a shipping clerk in a -wholesale clothing store in New York. O i account of his marriage with a servant Lord Drummond quarrelled -with his grandfather, and, coming to this country along with his bride, ha 3 since resided here, and obtained employment under an assumed name* The "British Peerages" takes no notice of his marriage. Says the " Manitoba Law Jonrhal " : -r-tfnskilfulness in boxing, cricket and other sports shows itself in blind and fntile eruptions of nervous energy. The adept is always self-possessed, watchful and effective. The novice cannot keep still ; he must be continually lunging out at his opponent or the judge. If his adversary lay down a proposition of law it must be instantly denounced; if he contend that the evidence bears a certain complexion, he must be immediately contradicted ; if the judge asks a question, is assumed that only one person is capable of answering it ; and after a ruling is given, or a judgment pronounced, it requires several minutes to bring the wrangler to a knowledge of the fact" that he is beaten. The Object of argument is to convince the judge, not your opponent It should be borne in mind that the judge does not require aid in order that lie may retain his common sense, and that for an appeal to his reason, argument is more effective than noise. I

Locks of a very curious construction, known as " Apostle locks," were common in mediaeval times. These locks had on the front the figure of one of the Apostles, and on touching the hand of the figure the bolts flew back. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth one Mark Scalist, a smith, constructed a lock consisting of eleven pieces of iron, steel and brass, all of which, with a pip© key, weighed only two grains of gold. That great inventor, the Marquis of Worcester, who flourished in the reign of Kiug Charles 1,, devised a lock containing a steel barb, which was perfectly harmless as long as the right Key* was used but if a wrong key were inserted the barb sprang through the keyhole and " caught the hand of the intruded as a trap catches a Fox." [t is said that while the inventor was experimenting with this curious lock he was scarcely nimble enough in removing his baud, and was caught in his own trap.

The Times says : — The admission of •women to the parliamentary franchise is a point on which the House of Commons will be asked presently to proyouuce. The advocates of the proposed change are in earnest, and they are making strenuous efforts to secure a judgment in their favour. They have been holding meetings, making speeches, passing resolutions, presenting petitions, and exerting themselves in every way to bring influence to bear upon the Government and upon the House. The pleas urged are many and various, and so too are the proposals which they are employed to serve. Taxation and representation go together. Women are taxed — they ought therefore to be represented. They are capable citizens, potentially j( not actually, and they have given ample proof of their capacity by the way in which they have discharged the public and private duties which have been assigned to them under the existing laws. They do not fear to challenge a comparison with the large masses of agricultural and urban labourers who can barely write their names but who are to be admitted to the franchise nevertheless, while educated and cultivated women, owners of pro perty or the heads of refined homes are excluded. It is a principle of political justice that single and independent woman are to havp the franchise, on what principle can it be held that their married sisters are not to have it 1 If they are to have a vote for members of Parliament, why are they not to be allowed to sit in Parliament and to confer on the nation, aa legislators, the full benefits of which they think themselves capable ?