Miscellaneous.

Clutha Leader, Volume XX, Issue 1035, 25 May 1894, Page 7

Miscellaneous.

Wife-selling exists in Russia. A peasant recently disposed of his young wife to a bachelor neighbor for 160 roubles. A few weeks afterwards the husband rued his bargain ; but the wife, being satisfied with the exchange, declined to return to him. He brought an action for her recovery, but was nonsuited. Wives are, apparently, much cheaper in England. A laboring man in a Croydon lodging-house sold his wife to a fellow-lodger for four-penny-worth of beer, and received a receipt for his money. The Hon. Maurice Gitford sends a graphic account of the last stand made Major Wilson and his party, derived I from an Induna. or Matabele chief. The Induna said that ' as the supreme moment came the Englishmen who were still able to rise stood shoulder to shoulder, took off their hats, and joined in a song, the kind of song that he (the Induna) had heard missionaries sing to the natives.' Mr Grifford surmises that it was ' God save the Queen' which these poor fellows sung just as they were overwhelmed and assegaied. Dr Talraage, who will shortly visit Australia, is a splendid business man. In spite of the recent falling off in the receipts of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, his income from his congregation was L3OOO a year, but for many years he made about twice that sum by lecturing. He had also a contract with a firm of publishers to be paid L 2,500 a year for the advance publication of his sermons, which are transmitted all over the world. Shortly before h«* set out on his last journey to Europe he was offered a sum of L 12,000 do<vn for a series of lectures, the tour and the dates to be subject to his convenience, but he declined the offer. There are easier things than getting one's tongue glibly round the corners of the following nicely assorted sentences : — Six thick thissle sticks. Flesh of freshly fried flying-fish. The sea cpaseth, but it sufficeth us. High roller, low roller, lower roller. Give Grimes Jim's great gilt gigwhip. A box of mixed biscuits, a mixed biscuit box. Two toads, totally tried, tried to trot to Tedbury. Strict, strong Stephen Stringer snared sickly silky snakes. She stood at the door of Mrs Smith's fish-sauce shop, welcoming him in. Swan swam over the sea ; swim, swan, swim ; swan swam back again ; well swum swan. It is a 3hame, Sain ; these are the same, Sam. ' Tis all a sham, Sam, and a shame it is to sham so, Sam. An Italian deputy, Achille Fazzari, has sent word to the. King of Italy, the Pope, Crispi and various members of Parliament that he means to retire to his estate on the shores of the Gulf Of Squillace, in Calabria, live there as an agriculturalist and fisherman, and found a colony called ' Cassiodoro,' in memory of King Theodoric. Signor Fazzari has drawn up rules for the regulation of his colony, to which all who take part must adhere. The rules enjoin the abandonment, by legal act, of all personal property ; the renunciation of all reading, whether it be newspapers manuscripts, letters or telegrams, which, should they arrive, will be burnt ; work to be in common ; members to live in seperatehuts. It is prohibited to teach the children that may be born to read or write. The colony will be advised by a chief to be elected annuully. On Sunday a Catholic priest will say Mass and proclaim the laws of the Italian State, which will be obeyed. No punishments will be inflicted in the colony, but unworthy people can be expelled. Men and women will wear the same costume The food of the colony will be soup, meat and fish ; wine produced in the colony will be drunk. There is a movement on foot in France to prevent the publication of all proceedings relating to the prosecution of Anarchists, and a member of the Chamber of Deputies has introduced a Bill with this object. The supposition is that dynamiters are the victims of inordinate vanity of the kind that courts notoriety, and that the stoppage of the reports in question would seriously discourage them. In this connection some one had unearthed from the old Moniteur a letter from Napoleon I. to Fouche" from which it clearly appears that the French Emperor was alive to the effect of^the I love of notoriety in creating crime. ' I see,' said the Emperor, ' that Cangiano, the chief of the Maino gang of brigands, displays the greatest audacity, and has circulated a sonnet in Maino's honour. This is not extraordinary, and if you are foolish enough to. give | celebrity to these brigands by newspaper paragraphs and proclamations, a succession of fanatics will make their appearance. Do hot let the gendarmerie trumpet forth their captures of these men as great victories.' A young lady was recently introduced to an old lady as 'sister of So-and-so, the artist.' Instantly the exclamation followed, ' I should have known the relationship, my dear, -by the resemblance. Why, it is positively startling ! I never saw two faces rnor« exactly alike in candour and ' 'But,' interrupted the girl, in a meek small voice, ' I am only his sister-in-law.' ' Which makes it all the more remarkable,' continued the old lady, without the least, embarrassment or hesitation,