NEWS IN BRIEF.

The Italian Minister, of Agriculture has recently purchased in England a splendid stallion named Melton for .£IO,OOO. It is intended for the Boyal stables at Venaria. Leopold 11. King of the Belgians, is a tall, slim, and remarkably handsome man. He has a broad forehead, delicate features and a fine, fall beairf that has begun to turn grey. He. is 56 year? old. According to the Chicago Tribune, James Pike, the manager ef the Sterling Dyeing Company, who had diod suddenly the other day of apoplexy, carried' with him to the grave the secret of the only process ever invented of dyeing a perfect fast black. The Countess of Aberdeen is about to become the editor of a newpenny monthly magazine, which is to be brought out towards the end of the year under the auspices of the Haddo House Association. The publication is principally intended to interest young women and mothers. Emperor William has painted a landscape and ordered it to be hung up in his yacht. No. matter if it sinks or explodes the craft — how much the crew suffers from the presence of such a work of art, the order of the Emperor must be obeyed. That's where he has a big advantage over a house painter. Emperor Francis Joseph has decided that the eloctric light shall -be introduced into the chieE Palace in Vienna, 'the Hotburg, where till now wax lights have generally been employed for the purpose of illumination. About 8000 incandescent lamps will be required to light the building throughout. An oculist in Breslau hagr recently treated 300 cases defective eyesight, for which the cause was not apparent. Tt rose as suddenly as an epidemic, and was confined to men entirely. At last he found tho reason for it in a new fashion of veay tight shirt collars. He made the young men unbutton their collars, and their eyes got well. " Faith-healing," says the British Medical Journal, seems to pay, if it be true, as stated by an American paper, that Mr Mellinger, the Pittsburg clergyman, who describes himself as a " Specialist fir the Cure of Diseases by Faith," has by the exercises of his "miraculous " powers accumulated a . fortune of about ' two million dollars. Miss Alice Longfellow, daughter of the poet, is said'to be the best amateur photographer in. America. Her favourite field of operation is along the Massachusetts coast, and her snapshots there taken in the stormiest weather are attracting the attention of publishers, and her illustrated storms will bo a feature of a new book of Boa songs. The memorial on Plymouth Hoe, to commerate the third centenary of the destmction of Spanish Armada, which is fast approaching completion, was to be unveiled in the course of October by His Royal Highness the Duko of Edinburgh, rhe memorial, which is being provided by publio subscription, will have cost, when it is completed, about ,£4,800. _ A son of Nordenskjold is following in bis father's footsteps as an Arctic explorer, rhe young man is one of the three naturalists who have been sent to Spitzaergen this summer by Oscar Dickson, ;he Swedish millionaire, whose lar»e :ontributions ;on behalf of Arctic dfs:overy given him a world-wide reputation. A Chinaman arrived in Tacoma, U.S., recently, and started up Pacific-avenue, mt had gone bnta few blocks when ho md a howling mob at his heels. He was •escuedbyapolice officer, taken to the itation-honse, and placed on the outjoing train, promising never to show his :ace in Tacoma again. For four years n, • Chinaman has not been permitted to stay ihereJorjLfljngLLhDij|^^^^^_^^^^^^^^^^

An experiment' made in Berlin recently in transmitting opera music from the Opera-house. to the Urania Theatre of Science by means of a telephone was a complete success. It is hoped that it will be possible to make an arrangement with the telephone exchanges to furnish other places with music through the telephone. A new epidemic has, it is stated, made its appearance in a remote cornSr.'of Paris, near £he little commune of GSntilly. It , isa sort of infectious fever' described as partaking of diphtheria, cholera, and small-pox. Within a fortnight sixteen children have died, and manjr are still , ill. The disease is very rapid in its action, the patient often dying in fortyeight hours. Messrs Huber and Snler, both Swiss, and members of the Alpine Club, have successfully scaled Mount Sir Donald, ' one of the highest peaks of the Canadian . Rockies., . Its height is 14,000 ft above the i sea. " The journey took seven hours. The mountain, is reported to be more difficult ; teclimb.thantheJungfrau. All previous : attempts to scale this mountain has failed. ;AtAgnetebdorf, on the Riesengebirge (a chain of mountains between Silesia and Bohemia), one Herr Yogel has trained j a dog to perform the duties of & mountain ; guide. .The animal leads -the tourist in safety from Agnetondorftoßismarclchohe. Gaily he springs from point to point and gives confidence to the tourist. When there is a spot whence a special view of scenery, can be witnessed he stops and look's about him. Ayonng lady named Hilda Browett, of Edgbaston, a visitor to Tenby, and a gentleman named Walter Scott, swam from St Catherine's .Foit to Baldy Island. The distance; allowing for the drift of the [ tide, is more than four miles, and the feat was accomplished in an hour and a quarter. ■ ■' ' Anew industry, employing from 400 to 500 men, has been called into existence '• at Birmingham by the demand for quickfiring ammunition for the Hotchkiss and Nordenfeldt guns. Large, contracts for this 'class of ammunition were entered in ]SB7,by;tho Small Arms Ammunition Company and Messrs Kynock and Co. The former company have now made a new .departure. . , The title " Laureate " is derived from the ancient custom which obtained in our universities; of presenting a wreath of laurels to graduates in poetry and rhetoric. In France, authors are BtiU " crowned " thus.' , We have had twelve Poets Laureate during the last two centuries. , The Customs duties paid annually in Belfast amount to two millions sterling — to be .'exact .£1,967,453— being nearly double what is paid in Glasgow, and only 1 a little below that paid in Liverpool, and the Inland revenue comes to a million more, so that the city pays a thirtieth part of what is raised in all the United Kingdom. >':■.., ■ ' '— The Duke of Sutherland, who is something of a musical enthusiast, has erected a large organ in the gallery of the. grand hall at Stafford House, London. The in- . strument, which is the largest and most complete of any in private residences in England, is blown by a hydraulic enfiine, ana cost' 30,000,0005. , , Poultry breeders; may read with interest,the following statistics which have been collected for the French Department of Agriculture. The income derived by the French people who rear fowls, according to the latest market returns, is 337,137,00qfr, of which 153,500,000fr represent'the 1 value of the flesh and 183,600,000 f r that of the eggs. The quantifcy,.sold,in poultry-yards is immense, as is also the number used in the homes of those who rear fowls'. These figures do not find their way into the above statistics. ________ __ \ "Just in Time." R. Hannah and Co. have just received ex " Arawa," a splendid selection of Ladies' Kid Lace and Button Shoes, the prices ranging from 63 6d. They haye 1 also just received a nice assortment of Ladiesr 1 and ' Girls' cheap Tennis Shoes, just in time for the present season. and they Ifeel .confident 1 they will, find, a ready 'sale at the prices' at 'which they 'are marked off. Cricket— Seeing that the Cricket season is now opening, R. Hannah and "Cm-have taken' care to 'get in a good supply /of ; Cricketing ' Shoes,- which' they areselling at 6s 6d:per pair. We have also a" good supply of Gents' Tennis Shoes; and. all kinds of Gents' light. Slippers. Our Colonial Department' is well stocked withall kinds of Men's Watertighte.frbm 10a 6d 2 -Men's half- watertight^, from 10s ■ 6d; Men's ' Elastic-sides, from 10s 6d ; Men'a'Shoes, from 8s 6d; Men's Bluchers, from ss~6d : Leather Slippers, from 3s:6d ; Women's strong Balmorals; 'from 8s 6d ; Women's Dairy Boots, from 7s 6d ; Women's 1 ') Elastic-sides, from Bs '6d; Youths' strong-nailed Lace,' from 7s 6d; Women's Leather Slippers, from 3s 6d. All the Colonial Goods are our own make,' and we guarantee to give better value / than\anJ!6ther;'h6uße/{ti_ the trade.— R. Hannah and C 0.,. Victoria Avenue, WmwppjW',-'-. ;.:,;.; : ' . *■. - . • t'A; ,tew things ■. worth' knowing^-Th at borax and brown 'sugaiHra' one of. the best; cures for Catfarrh; a strong lemon squash, taken at bed-time, is one of the best things in the. world for Cold s; a dose of i quinine will cute Colic or Cramp at any time ; that a roasted onion poultice on the.throat and chest is a sure cure for Croup and Bronchitis in children; that the... common' black (dark green) .field thistle will cure 'Neuralgia when all other remedied fail; that a syrup made from the prickly pear is one of the beßt Cough syrups known, and has no equal for Whooping Cough ; that common bating soda applied to Burns and Scalds gives instantaneous relief | '.that <. an eminent ph'ysicjan cures every caso of > scarlet fever with'nothing else but warm lemon squash and gum arabio ; that anyone suffering from.Corns or Bunyons will find a certain cure by wearing Crichton's arid Newmah'B Boots and Shoes.— Advt. y At Crichtbii' and Newmans you. can have your repairs neatly executed; also any kind of Boots; or Shoes ; made to order at the ruling-casfcprices. We keep - a large stock of English and Colonial sole lea.tb.eron hand. .We use only the very best. material, combined with first-class workmanship, and guarantee to supply a first-class article.— Aavt , -, SANDER . & SONS* EUCALYPTI EXTRACL-rUnde'r the .diEtinßui*6d patronage of Ms Majesty the King of l^ly, . as per communication made by the Minister for Foreign affairs through the Consul-General for Italy,at Melbourne I4th March, 1870.' "''Awarded Diploma at theAmsterdam'Exhibition,lßß3. Acknowledged by Medical , Clinics . andr .Universities'all over the* Globe.' • ' There ore imitations of Eucalypti Extract in the market, products of simple distillation, forming crude resinous oils. In order that hese crude oils may not be taken for oni Pure Volatile Eucalypti Extract, which* '.ii?7recognised by the medical division'of'the Prussian Government to be 61, -perfectly pure origin, as per information forwarded toA us through the Consul at Melbourne, 2nd March, 1878, we state i- 5 -. :•,'■.;, ,; ' It is proved by tests made by the Medical Clinics of**the Universities at Bonn and Greifswald (Pruesia), and reported by Dr Shulz, Professor of Pharmacology J. Bonn, and Professor Dr Mosler, Director of the Medical Clinic at Greifswald, that only products that are saturated , -with oxygen and freed, of acids, resinous and other substances, adherent to primary distillation, will -develop the sanative qualities proper to the plant. All crude oils or so-called Eucalypti Extract are to be classed- according to the same authorities among the turpentines which are of insignificant medical value,, and abandoned' long since as an internamedicament. These crude . oils, or socalled Eucalypti Extracts, are desoernible — ' I. ' . . - ' 1. By their deficiency in pungent odou (which our product, the only genuine Eucalypti Extract, develops most freely through its surplus of oxygen). 2, By their alcoholic, thin and mobile appearance being reduced in specific density through the presence of acids. By their taste, the result of the con- ' tractirig tendenoy of ' resins and tanate. If these crude oils, or so-called Eucalypti Extracts are applied by_ mistake in oases of croup, .bronchitis, diptheria, internal of oroup, bronchitis, diptheria, nternal inflammations, dysentry, &c, the consequences are most appalling. For safety sake ask always for Sander and Sons* Eucalypti extract.— Sandhurst, Victor^. Australia^ SANDER & SONS 1 •" '' "''■"' '•' '" "" „77^