GENERAL INFORMATION.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XXXVII, Issue 1985, 23 April 1906, Page 7

GENERAL INFORMATION.

There are more tunnels, viaducts, and railway bridges in Switzerland than in any other country, in Europe. Within the past four years France has recorded 20,000 suicides, while in Italv the number has been only 8,000. ' ,T. Russia lias no castles like those of the old feudal nobles of England or of the Continent to connect past and present. * .T----—*r Few ladies are aware that they carry some forty or fifty miles of hair, on their head ; the fair-haired may even have to dress seventy miles of threads of gold every morning. * England's grand total of army expenditure from Imperial and Indian funds for 1901-5 is £53,193,100 as compared with £34,758,920 for 1880-1. „ , .J. ■- The ink-plant of New Granada is a curiosity. The juice of it can be used as ink without any preparation. At first the writing is red, but after a few hours it changes to black. "j. Queen Christina, the mother of the King of Spain, possesses a magnificent collection of playing-cards, including packs from Egj.pt and Arabia of ancient date. She has an ivory pack which is believed to have belonged to Prince Eugene, who fought with the first Duke of Marlborough. * For a long time the police authorities of Paris have- been looking for a certain thief, of whom they possessed six photographs taken in different positions on the occasion of previous convictions. These photographs were sent to all the. towns in France. A few days ago the detective department received from the commissary of a small town the following letter :—"Sir,—l have duly received the photos of the accused persons you are sacking. I have already arrested five of them, and the sixth has been tracer! by my officers, who hope in a short time to capture him." In private, the Queen is far more vivacious than those who have only observed her placid dignity when before the public gaze would imagine. [ Her tact is always conspicuous—indeed, it has rendered her greater service than any other quality she possesses. The Queen, whose mother was a German, and who has naturali ly had much intercourse with German princes and princesses at her own Court, speaks the language of the Fatherland with much greater ease than any other. Somehow, she has never quite mastered the intricities of English "as she is spoke." When first she came over to her husband's country, her knowledge was of the most elementary sort, and the Duke of Edinburgh, then a jolly young sailor, amused himself with teaching her every imaginable slang exprcs-* sion, which she, quite innocently, adopted. Queen Victoria's surprise may well be pictured when her daughter-in-law once naively remarked at table that a certain great statesman was a "slap-up trump," and that she hoped that her Majesty felt a "jolly lot better for her forty winks." * As a mother the Queen shines preeminently. Every morning at nine o'clock, when her daughters were stiil children, she paid a regular visit to the schoolroom, looked through every exercise they had written, and generally made inquiries as to the progress of their studies. Her Majesty manages to keep up a continual correspondence with the members of her family, to whom she is most fondlyattached. She never allowed a day to pass without writing to her mother, the Queen of Denmark—whose death proved a terrible blow to this most devoted of daughters or to either-of her sisters, the Dow-ager-Empress of Russia and the Duchess of Cumberland. Without being particularly accomplished, the Queen is a very pretty singer and performer on the piano—Sir ' Charles Halle was her "professor"—whilst the zither is her favourite instrument She is also forid of painting in watercolours, and shows'a good deal of taste in art needlework. Nor does 'she despise plain sewing and dressmaking. Everyone knows that Miss Balfour is devoted to her brother, and, in order that nothing may distract hiin from his political work, she manages most of his affairs, but few know to what extent she carries her solicitude Not only does she superintend the household arrangements, but she also takes in hand many matters which men as a rule make their own particular care. Let the hall-door require revarnishing, the chimney repairing, or the roof retiling, and it is Miss Balfour who sees the defect and gives the necessary orders. Miss Balfour buys the carriages and the horses, and is an excellent judge of both. She will examine a horse's hoofs or teeth with the best of experts, and rarely make a mistake. As an instance of her care for her brother, some time ago she had a special brougham made to meet his requirements, attending to the details herself. Now,.when Miss Balfour desires to go out for a drive and there is a possibility of her brother wanting the conveyance later on she orders out, not as in usual with the ladies of a family, the best carriage and. ■the first coachman, but the second carriage and the second coachman, leaving the former at home. 1490.'