Dunedin.

Bruce Herald, Volume XI, Issue 1012, 24 May 1878, Page 5

Dunedin.

(From our own Correspondent.) ' , May 23. It will be no news to tell you that the Rev. Dr Somerville is in Milton, for the great evangelist left the smoky metropolis for your favoured township on Wednesday morning;

but although be has gone, it is difficult to get away from Dr Somerville— that is, as a subject upon which to write. During the past fortnight Somerville has pervaded the very atmosphere down here, until in the very air we breathe we can sniff the odour of scanctity. For a right down good sniff, my religious friends used to recommend the upstairs portion ot the Princess Theatre at about half-past nine o'clock at night. Somerville had somehow managed to enter into our very being, and having departed, has left us weak and helpless. Without being irreverent, I should like to remark that it is the same ■wpy with all stimulants, spiritu&l as well as spirituous, although personally your correspondent only claims to be an authority with respect to the ' latter. Where" shall we find another man who can draw £300 from the pockets of a Dunedin audieuce, call upon his choir to sing "Praise God from whom all blessings flow" three or fourjtimes, arid make his hearers pile it on until the pool reached £1133 odd. The scene at the Dunedin station where the reverend "doctor and the silvery voiced W. F. Somerville departed was quite -affecting to an outsider, and calculated to remind the unconverted of opportunities slipped by and gone for 'ever. Somerville Ptfre, and the nice young gentleman who has been so successfully playing Sankey to his father's Muody, had their hands almost shaken off by the hundreds of well wishers, who were there to wish them God Speed, and I do not exaggerate when I say that, but for that modern invention, the pocket handkerchief, the plat* form would have been sloppy with tears. With the words and melody of "Tne Sweet by and by " still ringing in my ears, let me with them farewell, more particularly young Somerville, whom I have admiringly described as " a good all round man "—whatever that m ay mean. Rattray-street was enlivened on Tuesday night by a lively encounter between a somewhat priggish and decidedly eccentric representative of the legal profession and a son of one of the oldest of old identities. The pair figured in the Police Court on the following day — Mr J. E. Denniston in the capacity of plaintiff, and Mr David Miller as defendant* The case resulted in the defendant being fined £1 with costs. From the evidence it appeared that Mr Bennlston Lad appear*! ft>* tfc* defendant in a case in which Mr Miller was one of the plaintiffs in the Resident Magistrate's Court a few days ago. Mr Miller was dissatisfied with the course pursued by Mr Denniston oh that occasion and; meeting him opjiosite the Shamrock Hotel, told him so,andalso made some uncomplimentary remarksabout Mr Denniston's papa-in-law, Judge Batbgate* Mr Denniston then applied the words " blackguard" and "scoundrel" to Miller, who responded by striking the legal gentleman with a lath he held in his hand. A " rough and tumble" ensued, both combatants falling to "the ground. Mr Miller was undermost, and Mr Denniston while in this position, took advantage of the opportunity and pommelled him as well as he was able, An intelligent policeman who had seen the encounter, then separated the two, and instead of locking them both up selected Miller and- let Denniston go. A constable capable of using such discretion in a case of emergency should get on in the force. The late terrible coach accident at the Horse Range has excited a very general and genuine feeling of. sympathy here, with the Weaved families f>i Mr Cfiflfl&l F. .Niftnols and Mr J. F. Maitland. Both gentlemen are well known and respected all over the Provincial District, and the loss of Mr Nicholsis one that will not easily be filled in commercial circles. Mr Maitlane has had more than the share of sorrowusually allotted to one man in the course of three or four years, having lost two brothers, a father, and a son during that time. The bodies of Mr Nicholl and Master Maitland were brought to town to-day. - . ; . The people of Dunedin are going to have "a good time" to-morrow, if the weather clear up. In the forenoon the foundationstone of the New Municipal buildings and the Volunteer Hall will be laid ; in the afternoon there will be a race meeting at Forbury Park ; and at night about a dozen concerts, banquets, and other entertainments are to take place. One little incident of the " night attack. * which took place on Saturday last, has not been mentioned fin the daily papers. A worthy couple, who reside just outside the city, heard the booming of the big gunl shortly before midnight, and, startled from their slumbers, thought that an enemy had really arrived. The head of the household did not arm himself for the fray, but immediately hitched his horse to a spring cart, placed his wife and a few other valuables in the vehicle, and struck for the Kaikora, where he spent the remainder of the night in a friend's house. He did not tell the story himself. * • .;, Dunedin is supplied with vegetables, principally by ten Chinese gardeners and hawkers, and very well supplied too. These yellow skinned colonists have not a Trade Protection Society amongst themselves, but they adopt a most ingenious and yet simple method of informing one another of the trustworthiness of their customers. When the housewife says " me owe you twopence John, pay next time," John replies, "all lite" in his blandest manner, but before he departs, and unseen by the customer, he makeß a small and almost imperceptible mark with pencil on the door-post, or elsewhere. This mark saves him the trouble of keeping books, and is a guide to the next Chinaman who may happen to call that way Moral for housekeepers with a fondness for " tick "■— " Wash your door-ports daily.**