NEWS FROM ALL QUARTERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 85, 11 April 1931, Page 3 (Supplement)

NEWS FROM ALL QUARTERS.

UNDERTAKER'S RECORD. Reputed to be_ the biggest, if not the heaviest woman in the world, Mrs. Alioe May Belcher, aged 44, who weighed 35 stone, was recently buried at Worthing, England. Eight bearers carried her coffin, which was 3ft wide and 7ft long. BEAUTY INSURANCE IN JAPAN. That old reliable publicity stunt, "beauty insurance," is having a flourishing vogue in Japan. Now the little girls of the dance halls axe taking out policies on their bnobby little legs, and a. movie actress who has a rather nice nosa got her picture in the papers by insuring. AQUITANIA BABY. At the height of a gale a baby boy was born aboard the Aquitania to Mr. and Mrs. Harry Grube, a Latvian couple bound for the United States. Mother and child were doing well. By English law the baby becomes a British subject, but on reaching 21 he can choose his own nationality. PAVLOVA'S LAST DANCE. Mr. Kraus, Madame Pavlova's impresario, revealed that even as the famous ■ballerina lay dying in a coma, she unconsciously performd some of the movements o£ ber exquisite "Dying Swan dance. Mme. Pavlova had a premonition nearly a week before her death, th.it she would not recover from her illness when she confessed to a feeling that she was nearing the end. ART OF AUTO-GLIDING.

To demonstrate that a steep hill and a length of rope are unnecessary for tbe taking-off of gliders, Colonel the_ Master of Sempill gave the first exhibition -ot "auto-towed" launching at Han worth aerodrome, Middlesex, recently. The scheme, which lately attained wide popularity in America, is for the glider to be attached by a long rope to the back of a cax. The latter, moving oft at a .rapid speed, causes the glider to rise into the air. When it has gained sufficient momentum the pilots cast off the tow-rope and continue to cruise unaided by use of rising air currents.

"ABOMINABLE" CASE. Describing their conduct as "abominable and outrageous," Mr. Powell, a West London magistrate, sentenced to three months' imprisonment _ Mary Lightfoot, aged 52, married, and Lily Hawarth, <Vo6u 50, widow, who .pleaded guilty to stealing goods worth £14 from a West End stare. The women were seen in the store accompanied by Mrs. Lightfoot's eight-year-old daughter. On several occasions,- it was stated, they took the child to a counter, placed her between them, and then directed her to take goods from the counter and place them in a large paper bag. Mr. Sydney Smith, denfending, said the child had no knowledge that the articles were stolen. On the contrary, her another had told her they would DC paid for on the following day. DOG'S SEASON TICKET. Chum, a two-year-old dog of Cheam, Surrey, is luckier than many suburbnu housewives. He has a season ticket to town, and can travel to London via Waterloo whenever he wishes to do so. He was the first dog to achieve the distinction of being a Southern Railway season ticketholder. When the first three-monthly ticket was issued for him a few months ago it bore the number 001. Chum, who is described as a Shetland sheepdog, although his owner secretly fears he may be a mongrel, belongs to a,Westminster 'business man. Every morning, when his master runs to the station to catch the up-town electric train, Chum goes wirh him. He accompanies him to the ottice, sits in the railway carriage with him, mcl enjoys every piece of the landscape. VIA PETTICOAT LANE. The secret having been revealed that worn silk stockings go to Japan to be unravelled and remade like new, it has, now been discovered where discarded siJlc jumpers go. It wil probably surprise many to learn that the Loudon girl s jumper cast aside last summer is now being worn with pride by some dusky belle in the wilds of Africa. Similarly, the pair of striped trousers which once graced the legs of a city clerk-may now be giving distinction to a coloured chieftain. How do these clothes get to Africa, Usually by way of Petticoat Lane. Second-hand garments are sent in large quantities to Bechuanaland, Basutoland, and Swaziland. Altogether, clothing worth neaily £'2.000,000 is sent to South Africa every year, and the smaller populations m the British West Indies and British Guiana also take £70,000 worth.

SALARIES IN SPAIN. In Spain, the best-paid people are the entertainers. A Madrid newspaper discovered that the Prime Minister earns less per working hour than any of a number of authors, actors, athletes and others. He works 14 hours a day for a. salary of £1000 a year, and so his wage rate is only 4/ an hour. In striking contrast is the bull-fighter Caganclio, who earns an average of £220 for each bullfight. As a fight lasts two hours, he gets £110 an hour. In. 70 fights last season he earned £15,400. Next on the list conies Felix Quesada, a noted footballer, who earns £450 annually for playing in 50 matches of one hour and a half each. That is approximately £6 per hour. Actresses have to work hard. Senorita Xirgu, Spain's foremost tragedienne, works 13 hours daily for £1500 annually, or 8/ an hour. The President of the Supreme Court, Senor Morejon, receives £700 annually, works eight hours daily, and earns 6/ per working hour. VERIFYING THE BIBLE. Professor J. Garstang, the Liverpool antiquary and scientist, believes that he has discovered how the walls tf Jericho fell. He started out recently with his wife to secure, on the spot, a final solution of the mystery. Referring to the Biblical story of the walls falling down when the priests of Joshua blew trumpets and the people shouted, he said: "It looks as if the outer wall was undermined by the enemies of those in the city. The trumpets were not the cause, but were probably blown during the fall of the walls. There are traces of a tremendous fire—cracked stopes, charred timbers and ashes, and loads of charcoal. There is evidence from my previous excavations that the main defence of Jericho about 1400 B.C. comprised two parallel walls, the outer 6ft and the inner 12ft thick. The outer wall suffered most in the fire, and fell outwards down the slope. The inner wall is preserved only where it abutted upon the citadel to a height of 20ft. I have examined scores of Biblical sites, but my scientific discoveries have never proved the Bible story to be radically wrong." According to the Bible story Jericho was destroyed by fire by the Israelites after it was captured.

A DIFFERENT TAKE-OFF! \ Dr. Eckener, of Graaf Zeppelin fame, recently Iliad to borrow spoons and larks, as 'burglars bad entered hi* villa and stolen, all bis silver plate. Tbe police could find no trace of the thieve. IN FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS. Vittorio Mussolini, the fourteen year-old son of the Italian Prime M : nista* is following in tbe footsteps of bis lather and has become an editor. His father, it is true, edited a fully-grown newspaper, the "Popolo d'ltalia," of Milan, and Vittorio only runs a high school magazine, but hei is showing promise and is doing well."MISS RUSSIA." Mdlle. Mkriana Cbaliapin, a daughter o( the famous Russian singer, was dn Januar/ elected "Miss Russia" tby the of the Russian colony in France. Shef will represent Russia in the forthcoming 'beauty contest to .be held for the selectionof "Miss Europe." Mariana is eighteen years old and lives in Paris with hei* father. AND ALL FOR 5/. Public funds benefited to the extent of 5/ at Largs, Scotland, when William. Dick was fined ty -for having has chimney on fire. To get the 5/ aai hour of the court's time was taken up, while the authorities had to supply a magistrate, a clerk of the courst, the fiscal (lawyer), an inspector o£ police, a sergeant and three constables. Dick bad five witnesses present, while two newspaper reporters added to the Rather' inj?. TOMB 5200 YEARS OLD.

Official details were lately issued regarding the finding in Egypt by Professor Selim Hassan of a tomb containing a ■mummy wearing a gold crown and other jewellery. The tomb is estimated to be 5200 years old. A necklace round the neck of the mummy consists of fifty pieces of gold on a gold string. A number of artificial clay toes and fingers were found, and it is stated that this is the first tune such objects have been discovered.,

STOLEN PANEL WORTH £865. The police of Europe are co-operating in a search for a famous 'stained-glass panel, stated to be the oldest in Austria, which was stolen from the Church of St. Magdalena, at Weitensfeld, in Carinthia. Although the glass picture measures only about 16in, it is stated to be worth £865. Scotland Yard and the police authorities in other countries have been warned of the theft, and are taking every possible step to ensure that the panel is not smuggled into the country and disposed of. "BLACK MAGIC" IN SICILY. Superstition still runs rife in southern Italy, and the discovery of a worker in "black magic" in Sicily has led to extraordinary A witch doctor, Maria Velardi, a hag of 83, received as a "patient" a nineteen-year-old girl named Rosa Zangra, who was suffering from fever and hysterical convulsions. After being paid a small fee, the witch boiled up various brews, made incantations, and thrust a large needle into the girl's right foot. That needle was the first of many. As the girl's fever continued so was the treatment until, on the witch's advice, 64 needles had been thrust deeply into the leg, some of them so deeply that they disappeared in the flesh. The girl became so ill that she was removed to hospital. Forty needles, traced by X-rays, were extracted, and it was feared that the victim would have to have her leg amputated if her life was to be saved. Believing that the "witch" had occult relations with the Devil, the girl at first refused to teveal how the needles were inserted. Later, however, she confessed the full story, and the police arrested the "witch."