NEWS OF THE WORLD

Evening Star, Issue 21079, 16 April 1932, Page 7

NEWS OF THE WORLD

, WOMEN’S FIRE CHAIN l INTERRUPTION AT BALL Women in evening dress helped to light a lire which broke out at the Cloisters Hotel, Bickley. Kent, recently, at midnight. A ball was in progross when one of the guests detected the smell of smoke. The dancers at once went to the assistance of the staff. The water at the six baths in the house was turned on, and the women formed a chain along which they passed pails, buckets, jam jars and flower pots to the burning room until the fire brigade arrived. The outbreak was then soon subdued. IN NATURE’S CLUTCH TEMPLE SEIZED BY TREE When given lime. Nature plays many strange tricks, and few of her pranks are odder than this one. In the dense forests of French Indo-China a temple has stood for many centuries. Many years ago a tree began growing from soil which had lodged .between the cracks of the rocky roof, and in the course of time the roote twined themselves around the temple. The building is helieved to have been erected about 1000 years ago. There is no record of when the tree began to grow. Each year it takes a firmer grip upon the little temple and shoots its roots farther and farther into the surrounding ground. Now only the steps and the entrance are clear. FAMOUS SOLDIER’S SWORD GIFT TO LAFAYETTE COLLEGE The sword which- the Marquis _de Lafayette carried during the Revolutionary war finally has found its way to the college which bears his name. The Baroness von Miltitz of Bartzdorf, Germany, presented the weapon to President William Mather Lewis of Lafayette College, Easton, Pa., recently. Lafayette was forced to surrender the rapier to the Prussians when he was captured in 1792, and it has been in the family of the' baroness since that time. The college has a statue of the young French soldier who was (of such great help in winning American indpendence. It has been making a systematic collection of relics,, associated with his career and has assembled an impressive displayCALL TO SPANISH PEOPLE ' ALFONSO WANTS REBELLION Former King Alfonso XIII and his uncle, Alfonso Carlos; traditionalist pretender to the Spanish throne, have issued a call to the Spanish people to overthrow the new Republic in Spain, a member of Prince Alfonso Carlos’s-entourage said recently. In-the manifestos the former King accepted his uncle as head of the family and nroposed restoration of the monarchy as a form of provisional government, which would collaborate with legislative chambers representative of the people, “in giving Spain a truly Christian constitution.” The two monarchist heads had an affectionate conversation during a recent visit to Vienna, the spokesman- said, when the outlines of the manifestos were drawn up. These were issued through followers of the two members of the House of Bourbon before the nephew left recently for Greece. Both held to the principle that everyone must unite to “save Spanish society from anarchy and communism. IRISH CIVIL WAR SCARS PASSING IN DUBLIN A few years ago visitors to Dublin saw all about them piles of debris, shattered and blackened walls, and other 'scars made by the civil war. Now, however__in the 10th year of the Irish Free State —these marks have been obliterated and a reconstructed city greets the eye of the tourist. The Four Courts, which formed the chief stronghold of the Republican remnant in 1922, have been restored. In that year the tine building was gutted by an explosion which not only made havoc of the roof, dome and interior, but totally destroyed its law library and records. Last October the courts entered their old home. Another restoration is that of the Custom House, said to be the finest building in Ireland. It was destroyed in 1921. The General Post Office is still another building that has regained its. former distinction. SUFFRAGETTES AGAIN CHAINED TO SENATE BENCH \ humorous incident, reminiscent of the days of the Suffragette manifestations in England before the war, took place in the French Senate recently. A Bill concerning railways was being discussed when a woman rose in one ot the public galleries and shouted to the - senators —who are proverbially opposed to the granting of woman’s suffrage—“We women want votes I” When the ushers went to expel the woman it was found that she was fastened to the bench by a pa dl °cked chain. She was surrounded by other women, who joined in the shouting, and the session wsa immediately suspended. After the chain had been cut, she and her companions were taken to the Senate office and warned that any such scenes In future would be followed hy severe punishment, and they then allowed to go. CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLE CRUMBLING AWAY Cleopatra’s needle is crumbling away. The millions of Londoners to whom it is a familiar landmark on the Thames Embankment have come to regard it as something almost everlasting. It stood in Egypt when Abraham walked the sands. Queen Cleopatra saw it, and Moses played round it when a child. Three thousand years of the sun and sand and rain of Egypt left it undamaged, but 50 years of the London atmosphere have been too much for it. It was erected in its present position m September? 1878. . Experts who examined it lately discovered that the edges are becoming blurred, the stone is rotting, the surface is becoming pitted, and it is feared that in another few years its familiar outline will be altogether lost unless some means can ue found to save it, or it is removed to a more friendly air. The London County Council has ordered a special inspection to be made at once to find the extent of the damage. Sulphuric acid is the agent at work. It comes from the sulphur in chimney smoke. Mixed with the damp air this forms the acid which settles in the fogs of the stonework and gradually eats it away. Mr Alan E. Munhy, the architect who has made a special study_ of the subject, said that in his opinion the only way to save Cleopatra’s Needle would be to wash it down with clean water from hose pipes at least once a month.

“EAU DE SLOUGH” GIRLS GERMAN TRAINING A number of English girls are rapidly acquiring the art of malting a famous brand of eau de Cologne. When proficient they will pass on their experience to dozens of now unemployed girls at Slough, England. Great Britain’s new tariff policy has induced the Cologne firm to decide to manufacture in England for the British market. They have secured a factory at Slough, and it is hoped to start local production in April. A few German chemists and other experts will give the new undertaking a start. CHILD HANGED AT PLAY FATAL WEIGHING TEST I At an inquest at Thornton, near Liverpool, England, recently, it was stated that Ethel Edwards, aged nine, hanged herself while playing with a spring balance attached to a beam in an outhouse of a farm. Mrs Edwards said that the balance was for weighing potatoes, and the children were always weighing themselvesi A police constable said he thought the child slipped on the floor while looking at the dial and her scarf caught in a hook. A doctor stated that death was instant, due to dislocation of the neck. A verdict of death by misadventure was returned. A SULTAN’S REMINDER COSTLY TRIP TO LONDON Bluejackets from the U.S.S. Concord happened upon an extraordinary nautical milestone erected on the island of Zanzibar, recently. It tells the distance to London, 8064 miles, and to the neighbouring villages. The latter distances are insignificant in comparison, the greatest being 23 miles. The stone is said to have been set up by a former Sultan who had once made a trip to London. While there he was royally and, upon his return, found Zanzibar life comparatively dull. 'Although his visit had been very enjoyable, it had been highly expensive also, and the Royal treasury was well nigh exhausted. The Sultan decided, therefore, that he needed something to remind him that another junket to the British capital would be very long and very costly. So he erected this signpost, telling hiin that jolly old London was just. 8064 miles distant. This was effective in deterring him whenever he felt the urge to go travelling again. CUTTING ICE FOR STORAGE MOTOR-DRIVEN SAW Although much of the ice used for refrigerating purposes in the big cities is produced artificially, the business of cutting natural ice still is an important one in the northern State of America and in the provinces of Canada. The cutters wait until the ice on a lake has frozen to a depth of a foot or more, «ind then get to work. They mark oft* the surface of the lake with a marking plough, dividing it into small squares of a size easily handled. Then the ice is sawed and the blocks pulled up on an inclined chute to the ice house. Here the ice is stored in layers under a packing of sawdust. The sawdust keeps the air from reaching the ice, which usually lasts through the following summer or until it is used, some time in the succeeding warm season. NOVEL CLUBHOUSE BUILT IN TREE Eight American boys recently decided that they needed a club-house. They wanted their club to be something removed from, the commonplace, so they racked their brains in search of an idea which would give their headquarters distinction. Finally they decided to put it up in a tree. So they scoured the neighbourhood for odds and ends of lumber and dragged them to a selected spot where several trees were so located that tliey offered a good natural foundation for the building. They first made a sturdy platform, its ends supported by the trees. This was used for the floor of their house. With no more worries about floor or foundation, it ■was not so difficult to erect the walls and nail down the roof. The structure is furnished with a stove, oil lamp and chairs. The job was completed in a month. GHOSTS OF SPANIARDS ENGLISH HOUSE DEMOLISHED There is a certain house in rural England around which numerous legends have been built by the countryfolk of the neighbourhood. During thc'last few years the stories have become more and more fanciful under the influence of mysterious noises which have been emanating from the building. The neighbours maintain that these sounds, for which nobody has been able to account, substantiate their contention that the house is haunted. Wreckers are now dismantling the building. As they tear it apart stone by stone they seek some natural explanation of the mystery, but so far have been unsuccessful. The house originally was the home of Sir Geoffrey de Mandeville, who helped repulse the Spanish Armada in the T6th century. Below ground there are many dungeons, and it is believed that it is from these that the sounds have been coming. Some . say that the noises are made by the ghosts of dead Spaniards who have come to the spot seeking vengeance upon their ancient enemy, Sir Geoffrey. SIXTY SENTENCED TO DIE NATIVES KILL "WITCH” The most sensational murder trial in the history of Kenya concluded recently, when sentence of death was passed on (50 natives of the Akamba tribe for killing an old woman whom they believed to be a witch. The wife of one of the accused men fell ill some time ago, and the husband, believing that she had been bewitched because she was unable to speak, called together a band of young natives numbering 70. A hunt was organised for the witch and the old woman was caught. The unfortunatewoman was carried by her captors to the invalid woman’s house, where they ordered her to remove the spell which they said she had cast on her. After a long interval the wife showed signs of recovering from her malady, but the husband, rushing in and finding that his wife was only just able to articulate, declared that the witch had only partially removed the spell. The old woman_ then attempted to escape, and an exciting chase ensued, the whole crowd of natives pursuing her and beating her to death with thin sticks, according to the custom of the Akamba tribe. The mutilated body of the old woman was left lying on the ground for hyenas to devour. The Chief Justice declared that he had no alternative but to find the sixty natives guilty of murder, but he recommended them to the Governor’s clemency