STORIES FROM AMERICAN PAPERS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 209, 2 September 1911, Page 17

STORIES FROM AMERICAN PAPERS.

- A LUSTY INFANT. Mr and Bin Cody, of Mount Airy, Georgia, have a son, James, who promises to be a veritable Goliath. He has only just , turned two, but he weighs BJst., and his ' measurements are in proportion. He Is 14in. round the neck, 36in. round the waist, 16in. above the knee, and 13tn. below. His appetite is in keeping with bis else. For breakfast he eats blscnits thickly spread with bacon fat, batter, and syrup, and drinks two glasses of milk and a couple of cups of coffee, while for dinner and supper he enjoys a big plate of boiled bacon and vegetables. Then he likes a snack or two in between meals. This young Anak's parents are °niy of normal size. SKIN-GRAFTING EXTRAORDINARY. Cases of sking-graftlng are becoming fairly common nowadays, bnt one reported from Los Angeles la probably unique in the history of such cases. Miss Alice Holgate, a pretty young college girl of Redlands, California, was shockingly burned some time ago in a motor cycle accident which resulted in her dress catching Are. For three weeks her life was despaired of, and even when she began to rally so serious were the burns that the doctors said there was no hope of her own skin growing again. They suggested skin-grafting, but so much was needed that it was impossible for any half-a-dozen persons to supply the necessary amount. Miss Holgate's school mates at Redlands discussed the situation, and no fewer than 100 girls offered themselves as subjects for skin grafting. Small portions of skin were taken from each of these plucky volunteers, and the doctors now announce that the operation has been successfully concluded, and that the patient is fairly on the road to recovery. THE LONELY WIDOWER. The American reporters haTe fastened with joy on the case of a widower who is tired of the freedom of bachelor life, and longs for a wife "to scold him"' occasionally, and advertised for a wife. The advertiser added the words, "No triflers." after an invitation to ladles of about 40 to call upon hiin with a view to matrimony. His first visitors were newspaper men, to whom he ,unburdened his mind. He has been a widower for 11 years, owns a bungalow, and other property, and earns £4 a week, and he says he is tired of being alone. "I want no French heels clicking around my bungalow, however," he remarked. "I don't want show girls, or anything like that, but I would rather have some one at the house to scold me if I come In late." The newspapers are seeing to it that the lonely widower shall not lack applicants. " KING OF THE APACHES." One of the many dangerous ruffians in the streets of Paris, ever ready to slay without mercy, received a well-merited sentence at the Paris Assizes on the 11th ult. Though a slrippling, he was a veteran in crime, named Plessis, and known by his lawless associates a 6 "the King of the Apaches." in November last, at a football match at the Bois Colondes, outside Talis, an acquaintance of his named Benoitin came up to greet Plessis, holding out his hand u him in a friendly way. Flessis drew a revolver and shot him dead. He escaped, emptying his revolver at Ms pursuers. A few days later the murderer stopped a pedestrian in a street of a Paris suburb. After unsuccessfully trying to pick a quarrel 'With him, Plessis tired thTee revolver shots at him, but happily missed. Plessis was found "Guilty," and was sentenced to penal serritnde for life. LEVEL CROSSING TRAGEDY. Owing to the recklessness of chauffeurs who refujse to halt motor cars at level crossings to see whether a train is coming, fatal accidents in all parts of America have been very numerous for years. Late on the afternoon of July 18, four married women, all prominent in Saratoga society, New York State, and belonging to wealthy families, were killed at a crossing near Troy, and the chauffeur, who also lived at Saratoga, sustained serious internal injuries, besides a fracture of both legs and one are. Mrs Grant, owner of the car, had only recently been recommended by her doctor to take up motoring for the benefit of her health, and was one of the victims. The chauffeur snw a passenger train approaching, and shifted his gear from low to high in an effort to get across the tracks first. While shifting the gear, however, the sparking plug went wrong, and the big touring car stopped in the middle of the rails. A terrific crash ensued, and all the occupants, mutilated and Mcediup:, were thrown helterskelter on either side of the track. Mrs Wells and Mrs Grant were killed immediately, and Mrs Kobiuson and Mrs Tates, the other two ladies, died while being carried to the nearest doctor.

The railway companies hold themselves blameless for all these accidents, saying that motor car parties will persist In crossing the lines without first assuring themsclves that no train is in sight, and that the chauffeurs alone are responsible. BACHELORS GUARD OF BULLDOGS. Mr. Ramos MacVeagh, a son of the Secretary to the Treasury and Ohicago'6 most eligible bachelor, bewailed recently with comic despair his indiscretion in confessing recently to an interviewer his regret at being unmarried. Since the appearance of the interview In a Chicago newspaper, Mr. MacVeagh, who is forty years of age and wealthy, has been inundated with passionate love-letters from young women who are anxious to become his wife. Mr. MacVeagh says that the letter-boxes of his Lake Shore mansion, as well as of his business offices and club, are stacked with epistles from maidens eager to assume the title of Mrs. MacVeagh. His indignation is particularly aroused at the familiarity of some of the correspondents, who address him as "Dear Earocs" or "Eainesey,*' and ask him to meet them, assuring him that they are confident of making him happy. "I have received at my club this morn ing fifteen letters from Chicago women stating theiT qualifications, such as possessing a musical training and a knowledge of domestic science. I desire, in view of these communications, to make the following public announcement:-1 would pay no more attention to a woman who would write a letter of proposal to me than I would think of flying from the top of the Masonic Temple in an aeroplane. - ' Mr. MacVeagh adds that he has stationed several furious bulldogs in front of his garden for the purpose of welcoming the many ladies who have notified him of their intention of calling at his residence for a personal interview on the ■object of matrimony.