NEWS OF THE WORLD

Evening Star, Issue 20985, 26 December 1931, Page 7

NEWS OF THE WORLD

PILE DWELLINGS REPRODUCED ORIGINALS DATE FROM ICE AGE A pile-dwellers’ settlement of five houses from the Bronze Age ”*bout 1100 8.C.) has been added to the reproductions of pile dwellings built in the Lake of Constance in 1922, the originals of which dated from the late Ice Age. The houses are equipped with all the furnishings used in those ancient days and are believed to be exact copies of the originals, as far as the remains of these make reproduction possible. HARDY MEMORIAL UNVEILED HOW WOMAN SAVED HIS LIFE 'Sir James Barrie unveiled the lifesize bronze statue, by Mr Eric Bennington, of Thomas Hardy, at Dorchester, England, recently, and told his story:— When the child Hardy was born the doctor thought him dead and dropped him into a basket. That was an anxious moment for this country. But a woman slipped forward to make sure, and found he was alive. A statue to this woman—Mr Bennington could hav e done worse than give us that. “What interests me still more is this: was Hardy shamming in the basket? If so, it was the only time in hislife that he ever shammed. Yet, knowing what we know of him now, we may think that at his first sight of life he liked it so little that he lay very still. “There was never any more faltering. The undaunted mind. That was Hardy. That is a statue I see.” ODD SMOKING METHODS REPORTS PROM AFRICAN EXPEDITION. A study of tobacco and' its uses has led a scientific expedition of the Field Museum of Natural History into the wilds of Africa and as far as the Island of Madagascar. Antelope horns, gourds of many species, crude bamboo pipes and a hole in the ground partly filled with water arc a few of the aids to smoking devised by the natives, according to the report of the pbrty. They report that the plant is now chewed, smoked and snuffed all over the Dark Continent and on the neighbouring Island of Madagascar, _ although tobacco was not introduced 'into Africa until many years after its discovery in America. Some natives were seen to smoke tobacco through their flintlock muskets. They filled the priming-pan with tobacco and drew the smoke out through the muzzle. All Africans smoke, or at least use tobacco ih one form or another. TO OUTWIT THIEVES , RECTOR’S OFFERTORY DEVICE The rector of Hayes, Kent, England, has adopted a plan to stop the rifling of the parish church offertory boxes, which have been repeatedly robbed during the last few months. A heavy metal box which replaced the old W'ooden boxes did not prevent the thefts, so the rector has now had made from his own design a receptacle of solid steel with slot, which has been built into the wall of the church. This thief-proof offertory box has a special lock secret which is known only to the rector and officers of the church, and the safe-like box is guaranteed to resist everything but a charge of dynamite. A similar contrivance is being fitted at Farnborough parish church, and it is expected that other victimised churches in the neighbourhood will adopt the new steel box. MURDERED MAN’S TEETH MARKS CLUB TO CRIME A strong set of teeth and the imprint of teeth marks on a hairdresser’s chair have revealed tM identity of a man murdered three years ago. During excavation work at Gonsenheim, near Mayence, workmen discovered in the ground a skeleton with bullet holes in the head. The skull had a complete set of teeth was an object of general police inquiries a barber was found who remembered a former client whose fine set of teeth was an object of general ■ admiration. . . .. The man, who had disappeared three years before the skeleton was' found, had been in the habit of lifting the barber’s chair with his teeth, and the clear imprints of a perfect set of teeth were still visible on the chair. When the marks were compared with the dead man’s teeth it was found that they fitted perfectly, and the police were enabled to establish the dead man’s-identity. THE POOR ARE DANGEROUS SO SAYS BERNARD SHAW George Bernard Shaw, at 75, is still as great a mental tonic as ever. In a recent speech at Letchworth, England, some of his remarks were: “If you made me King of England I might fall short In many ways of the ideal, but you would not object to me on the ground that my speech was disgraceful.” “If you made me Archbishop of Canterbury 1 could get away with the talking part.” “If you made me Lord Chief Justice I could sentence you to death in a way that would do honour to the occasion.” “Never give anything to the poor. They are useless, dangerous, and ought to be abolished. Until this country becomes determined that it shall never again have a poor man or woman or child in it, it will not be a country worth living in.” And finally, “It was the British Museum Library that made me communistic, and I shall live and die a Communist.” PRINCE VISITS LOURDES KNEELS IN MUD FOR BENEDICTION The Prince of Wales, flew to Lourdes during his recent Biarritz holiday and witnessed the ceremony of the Blessing of the Sick, incognito, and accompanied hy a few friends, the Prince knelt down in the mud for the Benediction. Not since the days of Charles 11, it is believed, has the heir to the British Throne been present at the solemn Roman Catholic ceremony of Benediction. After the ceremony, the Prince made his way to the Grotto, escorted by a group of English Brancardiers (ambulance-men), who formed a cordon. For a long time the presence of the Prince was unknown except to those in his immediate neighbourhood. Then a woman cried out “God bess the Prince of Wales 1” His Royal Highness followed the proceedings intently, ami gave a start of surprise when suddenly the voice of Monsignor Myers rang out in English in the Invocations, and a roar of response came from the English group of pilgrims, which happened to be just by the Prince. Then, when the time for the final Benediction came, the Prince knelt in the wet like everybody else and received the Blessing.

ENGLISH GIRL HIDES GERMAN STORY OF THE WAR How an English girl hid a fleeing German raider is told by Mr Lowell Thomas, in “Lauterhach of the China Sea.” Escaping from the Emdcn when she was cornered in the Indian Ocean, Captain Lauterhach made his way, after a further scries of sensational escapes, to Shanghai. Mis picture had been posted by the British in all the cities of the Far East. Hunting round for a refuge, he suddenly remembered an English girl, whom he calls Adda, living in Shanghai. She smuggled him into her home, a very large house, and kept him there. Her parents, who were told of the plan agreed to keep it a secret. Adda gave up her room to him and made him a new disguise. Finally, he escaped to the United States travelling as a U.S. naval officer. He reached Germany in 1916. “Maybe some day,” this amazing book concludes, “you will find me back in the China Sea.” 1 CHILD’S SECOND DEATH KNEW MOTHER WHEN REVIVED After being dead for 40 minutes, a child came back to life and recognised its mother before dying a second time, 12 hours later. This drama was described at a Portsmouth inquest recently on Edward William Cook, aged seven. The child had a small operation in hospital. Then, said Dr J. E. Myers, he ceased breathing. ' A restorative failed. The heart was next massaged by Dr MacPherson, the medical superintendent, who said this caused it to pulsate strongly. Respiration was resumed and the child’s breathing became regular. . The doctor added that the child was actually dead 40 minutes, and recovered sufficiently to recognise his mother. A verdict of “Death from misadventure” was recorded. AWOKE FROM FROZEN SLEEP ONLY CASE KNOWN TO SCIENCE Lt.-Colonel Sir Reginald Rankin, a great traveller, said to have been the only man known to science who awoke after having been frozen to sleep, died recently at Bryngwyn, near Hereford, England, at the age of 60. In 1902 he climbed Mount Aconcagua (23.080 feet), on the border of Argentina and Chili, and on his descent was overtaken by a blizzard at an altitude of 20,000 feet, where ho was frozen to sleep. Later, after terrible experiences, he got to safety, and his toes were subsequently amputated. Sir Reginald began travelling at an early age, and while in India shot the biggest snow leopard on record. When the South African war broke out he joined Rimington’s Guides as a trooper, and was promoted lieutenant for bravery in the field. He acted as a war correspondent in Morocco in 1908, and with the Bulgarian forces in 1912. MADMAN IN AIRPLANE SETS MACHINE ON FIRE A fight for life with a madman took place recently in a passenger airplane from Munich to Berlin. The machine, with a crew of thrde, and eight passengers, was flying at a height of 1900 ft. when a man in a back scat got up and went to another compartment, A few minutes later the passengers were startled by a loud explosion, and the guard quickly broke down the door of the compartment and found it full of smoke and on fire. The man had a bottle of liquid in his hand, to which he was about to put a match. The guard snatched it, closed with the man, and, with the help of passengers, overpowered him, and the fire was put out. Police at Furth were told of what had occurred by wireless, and when the airplane came down several policemen were waiting for the passenger. His name was Hutte, and he was formerly a mechanic. ‘ TORONTO MUSEUM DISCOVERY ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SCARAB A scarab of the reign of Shabaka, King of Abyssinia, who conquered Egypt and set up the 25th Egyptian dynasty in 712 8.C., has been discovered in the Royal Ontario Museum, Tox-onto. For nineteen years the scarab has been in the museum, its significance unrecognized. It is valued at least at 8100,000. “This scarab is one of the most important things in the museum. There are few historical inscriptions of the reign of Shabaka, and those which we have are very precious,” said_ Professor Mercer, the discoverer, “It is the basis of such information that we have on this scarab that the histories of ancient peoples are reconstructed. This is the best discovery in the field of Egyptian history that has been made for many years.” SWEDISH SMUGGLER KING MINED RIVAL GANG’S REPRISAL. A notorious Swedish smuggler king. Captain Carl Malraberg, and four of his men perished recently through the explosion of a mine laid in the track of their vessel by a rival gang. As a reprisal, Malmberg’s gang mined their enemies’ boat, killing four others. The first explosion occurred when the motor-boat Cam was on its way from Reval to Hanga, on the Swedish coast. The boat sank almost immediately, and Malmberg and his four men were drowned. Later, the motor ship Colon, the property of a rival gang, went down, the captain, named Stranberg, who was saved by a Swedish boat, declared that they had been mined. Four members of Stranberg’s crew were drowned. The rest swam about until tlxey were picked up by fishermen. It is believed that the second mine was laid by followers of Malmberg as an act of revenge. YOUTHFUL CRIMINALS INGENIOUS FRAUD Two 10-year-old girls were recently charged in a London Police Court with stealing purses. To the horror of the Court, it was revealed that one of these babies was already an “old offender’ who had been previously convicted of a particularly ingenious fraud. Her method was subtle. She had entered a shop, and had succeeded in stealing a box of paints. Later in the day she returned to the shop, presented the box bearing the firm’s name to the assistant, and explained that this was not the kind her father wanted. The assistant, naturally unsuspicious gave her back in cash the value of the paints. The money was spent on sweets! Another case, one of the most shocking on record, disclosed that txvo boys, eight and nine years of age rcspec. tively, had indulged in the unnatural joy of maiming cattle. This is the sort of juvenile crime that the authorities are trying to stamp out.