KASPAR'S WALLET.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XVII, Issue 4192, 15 May 1897, Page 2

KASPAR'S WALLET.

"Civis" in the Otago Witness thus amu« inaly summarises a case when recently c-tme before Mr Justice Hjivvkios. Tat decision of the learned ju^go w a aaked iv ■>. prosecution for gambling broug t "at the instance of oue Hawke, who, untrue 10 his name, is agent for the Anti-gambling Leugu , aid Hawke pouueed upon a boot maker, wh^se nanu) singularly enough is Duun. Dunn won thu case in the lower court, so iiawke was done. But; Hawke appealed, and this time he was not done, but Dunn was. Dunn had done i usiuess without any paraphernalia. The volune of it was not disclosed, but what Dunn had done was done ia good faith. Tho caw ia peculiar, for as a rule a bookmaker does no expect to be done. And the Havke his chosen a purbuit which matches ill with his name."

Here is a story about a bicycle and a mouse which it ia almost unueces*ary to say is credited to an American source :—A man suspended his bicycle from a hook in the ceiling, near to a hanging shelf, on which was food. In the still, dark night Game a small mouse, intent on prey. He climbed up the wall, and, with the object of getting to the shelf, jumped on the tyre of the front wheel and tried to run up to the top. The wheel started and the mouse went all it knew to get near enough to the shelf to spring. But ib didn't have time to jump ; it had to keep on running, and when the sun was high in the heavens the mouse was found still running gamely, but very much exhausted. A cyclometer attaohed to the wheel showed that ie had run twenty-nine and three-quarter miles!

Chicago has just built a new piggery, which is the largest in the world. In the language of the West, it is a "600,000 dollar hog-house," and is a new addition to the stockyards of the city. It has taken iwo years to build, and is capable of holding 220,000 pigs, for which all the most recent improvements and a perfect water supply have been provided. It contains no fewer than 36 blocks of 100 pens each, on two floors, one above the other; it is in two parallel sections, each 3000 feet long, and connected with each other by 22 floor passage ways. It covers 49 aores, and in its construction 18,000,000f0 of pine, besides oak girders throughout, have been used, while between 400 and 500 workmen have been constantly employed in its erection. Seven railway companies have sidings from which pigs will be delivered into this gigantic piggery, and for the offices of these two story buildings have been erected, one at each side of the " hog-house, and will give accommodation for 75,000 head more pigs. The old building is to be added to the cattle buildings, and will be capable of accommodating 10,000 head more than the markets can deal with at present."

Profebsor Dorsier has just published an interesting work on the gigantic seaweed known as the " nereocystis," the largest marine plant, and probably one of the highest on this globe. Its stem h>s been found to grow as much as 300 ft long. It was first discovered not far from the Alaskan coast, but has since been found floating in various parts of the Pacific Ocean, along the American and Asiatic shores. This seaweed grows in a very curious manner. On loamy bottom large thickets take root, aud from it a stem of the thickness of ordinary cord grows upward. At its top there is a pear-shaped balloon, which grows with the stem, and when it reaches the surface of the water it often measures 6ft and more in length, with a diameter of 4ft 6iu. This balloou has an upward tendency, and keeps the stem growing until it floats on the surface. From the t"p of this balloon a large tuft of strong thick spade-like leaves grqws out, which originally are not more than 2fc Ion?, and which grow and split until from the balloon a rose-like growth of from 60 to 65 feet in diameter covers the water. This gigantic weed grows in suph quantities that near the shore large meadow-like islands are formed, which impede navigation. The natives of the Aleutian islands use the plant for many purposes. From the strong drie^i stems they make ropes from 200 to 250 feet in length, while the balloons of this weed furnish them with larga vessels, after they are dried, the smaller ones being used in their boats to bail out water. The long leavfs are first dried, and tLen cut into narrow strips, and used for wicker- work, the making of basketß and other articles of furniture,

Among many other curious possessions of a London private enquiry agent is a piece of paper on which ia die rough outline of a man's face. It has a peculiar history. The possessor of it was oncejin the London detective force, ai)d the circumstances under which the piece of p^per pame intp his hands are as follows: —

Very lace on? night a man was found by the police in the neighborhood of Leicester lying on the pavement. It was found that he hud been assaulted and robbed, and he appeared to be in a flying condition. From a letter in his pocket it was discovered that he w»s an artist. Ou hia arrival at the lio>pital the doctors declared that nothing could be done for him, and as he was conscious the police ende&youred to obtain from him a description of his assailant. He seemed to understand their questions, but appeared to be too weak to reply to them, and simply made a gesture aa if his interrogators worried him.

The detective sat beside him waiting for him to speak or for the end to ooine, when suddenly the man seemed to rouse himself, and commenced to move his i aad rapidly over the coverlet < f his bed. An idea occurred to his watcher. Taking a piece of paper put of his pocket, he phoed it over a book, and held it in front of the man, at the same time placing a pencil in his hand. Upon the paper the man drew a rough outline of a face. As he completed the work his hand fell upon the coverlet. He had spent all his strength in that last effort. A minute or two later he was dead. The portrait was that of his murderer, and through it the polipe were able to identify the perpetrator of jbhe deed.

A prosperous Manchester tradesman owes bis present (affluent c:rcuinstances to the train in which he was travelling being snowbound, Many years ago, when a youth, a line in the north of England over which he was journeying became blocked by a snowdrift, and the passengers were fain to take refuge in a most unpretentious inn until breakdown appliances and men should arrive f.om the nearest town. The travellers, some dozsn in number, made, with one exception the best of the untoward occurrence.

This exception was an elderly gentleman, who 80 snarled and grumbled at everything and everybody thafc by general qpnsent he was expelled from the circle gathered round the roaring fire and compelled to vent his spleen in solitude. Hia evident decrepitude, however, excited the pity of a young man, who by expostulation and persuasion regained him at length a place by the warm hearth. Nay, more, observing how affected he was by the cold, he handed him his flask and bade him take a pull.

Evidently the old gentleman highly approved of ifes CiDntentß, Cor when, the line bßing cleafed, ; they 'were enabled to proceed on their journey, he requested, having in view the bitterness of the weather, and his own advanced age, its loan till he should have reached its destination. The young man, having given him an address to which to return the Hash, good-naturedly acceded to his request, and in a few days forgot all about the matter. V !

Imagine his surprise when he received a letter in which the writer said th it, although ho had retained the flask as a memento of thoughtful consideration so rarp in youth, he had inclosed what he trusted would be a compensation. The letter had neither signature nor address ; the inclosure was five Bank of Englind notes, each for £100. 1 With this mQney he was enab'sd to buy a small share in that business which, by his steadiness and diligence, now bears bis name alone, &ABF4B.'