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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 5, Issue 232, 16 November 1861, Page 6

The Physiognomy op the Romans!— Though I make the remark with the fear of the artist world before my eyes, I should hardly say myself that the Romans of the present day were a very handsome race ; and of their own type they are certainly inferior both to Tuscans and Neapolitan*. The men are well formed and of good height, but not powerful in build or make, and their features are rather marked than regular. As for the women, ■when you. have.. once perceived that hair may be black^s coal and yet coarse as string, that bright sparkling eyes.may. be utterly devoid of expression, and that an olive complexion may be deepened by the absence of washing, you may grow- somewhat sceptical as to the reality, of, their, vaunted beauty. All this, however, is a matter of personal taste, about which it is useless to express a decided. opinion. I must content myself with the remark that the Roman peasantry, as depicted year after year on the walls of our Academy, bear about the same resemblance to the article provided for home consumption as. the ladies in an ordinary London ball-room bear^'the portraits in the " Book of Beauty." The peasants' costumes, too, like the smock frocks and scarlet cloaks of old: England, are dying out fast: On the steps in the " Piazza di Spagna," and in the artists' quarterMa^ove, you see some score or'sO of models with "tne Taraided boddices, and the head-dresses o%|olded linen* standing about for-hire. -The braid^rit is true, is "torn ; the snow-white linen dfrt-besmeared, and the ; brigand looks feeble and offensive, while the hoary patriarch, plays at pitch and toss, but still they are the saiiie figures that we know' so well — the: traditional Roman peasantry -of the " Grecian" and the " Old Adelphi." Unfortunately, they are the; last of the t Romans* In other parts of the city tbe peasant's dresses are few and far between ; the costume has become so uncommon as to'be'nbw a fashionable , dress for "the Roman' ladies at Carnival time and other holiday festivals. On^Suijdajs and " JTestas," r in the mountain dietrictsi you can still find real peasants' with real peasants', dresses.;, but even -there- Manchester. Btufia are making their, way fast, and^vecy year the old-fashioned costumes grow rarjj||aiid rarer. ■~-R<me in. 1860. By Edward Dicey ~ The Tdatssg).— To many persons there is something unpleasant, in the flavox^^- this -excellent firuit. -' It has, however, long been used for culm-; ';.: ary,pMp<^s'in many.parfcs.of Europe, vDr. Ye§p :- net, a professor of Borne celebrity, -considers itr&al ■-,- invaluable article of di?!ij ,? n d ascribes to it many 3 'impprtantiinedicinal .properties; , He declares—l. i That^heqt|«na.to, is i : ;thjß most, .ppyverful degx.pbst^om^^^jp^hp Materia":Medica;, and tjjjajt.in %, all t^o*#e^pciu)ns!'.of^^^the'liver^and other tjjrgans « wheretcsEfem^ii^uiaicated; ifris probably tHe'most *i effective "arid leaa^^^Jiarmful remedial agent known |>; vtp '^bj9'^^E>feßsidai.-»^^^biat:-;a > ohemicalsgexj^act g'^vilf be obtamed fejbm^it wticl|i;wili aitp^j^^ sii--pHpersede tHe: use o^/calpTOelin ; the^pure of 'diseases. - |s.3i Jpim^eihaS^Bueoessfuli^dured "diarrhcoa ■■vritU a)one. •> 4. -ThafciwbJeja .used., a|i,an.jir|rtide:o^ diet, it; is a Boveraiga^emedy^for

dyspepsia and indigestion. 5. That persons in ordinary health should make use. of it, either raw, cooked, or in the form of a catsup, with their daily food, as it is the most healthy article in tbe 'materia alimentaria.' A writer in the Farmers' Register says — " It has been tried by several persons with decided success. They were affected with chronic cough, the primary cause of which, in one case, was supposed to be diseased liver — in another, diseased lungs. It mitigates, and sometimes checks a fit of coughing. The method most commonly adopted in preparing this fruit for daily use, is to cut them in slices, and serve with salt, pepper, and vinegar, as' you do cucumbers. Tp stew them, remoVe them ripe from the vine, slice up, and put them in a pot over the fire without water. Stir them slowly, and when done" put in a small piece of good butter; and eat them as yoti do apple sauce. Some add. a little flour .and fine crumbs of bread."— Victorian Agricultural Gazette. ■ ■ - - Tight Boots. — Of the consequences of ill-fitting shoes there are here some terrible instances, not only to the wearers, but to others ; for even great battles have been lost and empires ruined, by the vigour of the soldiers being destroyed through the results of wearing ill-made shoes. An army surgeon will reject a recruit* for unsound or illconstructed feet; but the youth. who is passed perfect in this respect is immediately handed aver to become unsound, and have his feet and therewith his health injured, by the contractor who supplies the shoes without having measured a single man ; and it is a curious but well-ascertained fact-, that the "more healthy a foot is, the longerthe boot or shoe is likely to last.. Peeii rendered deformed or partially -mis-shapen by shoes whichdo not fit them, wear out whatever covers the misshapen member more quickly than a well-shapen, well- washed and healthy foot. The MelbournerExhibitiqn furnishesan amusing practical suggestion of what remains as tbe colony's share .of the gold got. The- only things in the way of crude gold exhibited were gilt plaster models of the Welcome and Blanche Barkly;|mggets! The substance gone, the shadow remSfcls. "We have read somewhere the story of a Scotch Highlander who had the rare good fortune to possess'a real gold sovereign, the first ever "seen in. Jihat , part of the country. Friends and neighbours plocked to see the coin, button, course of. time necessity'compelled its owner to, part with it, and the only thing which he show future enquirers was the veritable bitfnoT rag in which the sovereign had bean, rqllediip. „* * "" , ,CEINOI.rNE-PBOSOEIBKD v AMOlir<3- MlLIi GIBES.—* An order was recently issued fit' two. of. the most extensive flax mills in Drogheda, that all females .employed must consent to. div.estl themselves of 1 the hoops,', or leave" theemploymerit. r On their passing through the streets the .following day in. hundreds, it- was plainly discernible : that they- ', Had; adopted: itheS. former, alternative, . throwing [aside tne * expansive - contrivance/ '_ . ,;; ■;, ' ;

' THE CANDIDATE'S CATECHISM. Candidate — Having thus detailed my own political convictions, has any gentleman anything to ask of me ? . First Elector — What is your opinion of the Solar System ? C— -That it is arbitrary and oldfashioned, and unsuited to the present age. I will do my utmost, if elected, to have the planets placed on an equality as regards size and distance from the sun. " Second Elector — Do you approve of the Music of the Spheres ? C. — Certainly not. It is calculated only to please the upper class, and, if elected, ■I will do my utmost to have popular tunes substituted. - Third Elector — How about the Equator ? C. — If elected, I will labor night and day to have that odious line of exclusiveness abrogated. Fourth Elector — Will you abolish primogeniture ? C. — It shall be the aim of my life, if elected, to do so. I consider that no person has. ,a right to come into the world before anybody elSe>;: Fifth Elector — Will you put down bad harvests ? C. — Bad harvests are caused by the land of the . country being in wrong hands, and, if elected, I will endeavour to rectify this territorial grievance. Sixth Elector— Are you opposed to compulsory Vaccination ? C. — Decidedly. I know no right that a government has to prevent a fpee citizen from being ill with the small-pox if he likes. .The great Mirabeau was so marked. (Exeunt mob, cheering. Then exit candidate, remarking " Walker.") — Press. '" The Dtttch Trare Mania of 1634.-rThere was '. a tulip mania among the Mynheers in 1634.' The choicest flowers brought far more than their weight in gold. Eemarkable specimens were as eagerly sought as Spanish bond or railway scrip among us. Bargains were effected for the delivery of certain roots, and when, as on one occasion, there were but two in the market, lordship and land, horses and oxen, were sold to pay the deficiency. Contracts were made, and thousands of florina^ paid for tulips which t were never seen by brokerl! buyer, or Beller. 'For a time, as usual, all wori^ and nobody lost. Poor persons grew rich,- all, ranks traded in flowers, ordinary property was converted into money at ruinous prices ; the tulip passion was expected, to. last for ever,. and as foreigners caught the mania, the wealth of the worjd might locate itself on the Zuyder Zee. 2500 flofrins were paid for a single root^ 2000 was not uncommon; al new carriage,, with a pair of- grey;a> 'went for one bulb, twelve acres o{ land for another, and a prpfifc of 6Q,00Q florins, was made by a suc.cesajfal.fipristina few "weeks. ' .... .. '"?Nbnf<ld6k'er yer, Charlie, Jim might be afiV, honest nigger, and then, again he. moutent-;- but - •if I was a chicken, and knowed he was about the yard, I tell yer . wot,, nigger, I?d roost high, I would." .. . . . , - , : The age of a young lady is .now expressed according to the style - of. > skirti^y Baying eighteen springs have passed over her. &pad».., . . ,1

Mistaken Identity. — Sometimes even to know one man from another is a riddle that it takes 'more than a doctor to solve. Mall, a. barber's apprentice, was tried once at the Old Bailey for robbing a Mr. Byan, of Portland Street. All the witnesses swo^g positively against him, and he would have been found guilty, if it had not been : •proved that, at the very time of the robbery, he was standing at the same Old Bailey bar on trial for another robbery, sworn against him as positivetpiwhich alao he did not commit. He was the unlucky double of a thief. If he had only had a mole or a strawberry leaf ! says the. expert reader of romances. Well, there was a man, named Joseph Parker, tried at New York for bigamy, because, besides being himself and having his own wife, he was supposed to be Thomas Hoag, husband of Mrs. Hoag. Thomas Hoag might be known surely enough, for he had a scar on his forehead. So had-Parker. Yes, and Hoag spoke with a lisp* So did Parker. He had a curious mark on his neck. ,So had Parker. He had a scar on his foot. No, Parker had not got that, and the want of the scar on the foot supported his alibi, and proved the mistake of identity. — Dicfcens's "All the Year Hound" Not Ajoss. — Some days -ago. a -pretty bright; little juvenile friend, some five years of age, named Rosa, was teaaed a good_deal_by.a.gentlemaj|§Eho visits the family ; he finally wound up by saying — ' Rosa, I don't love you.' * Ah, but yoii'r&goffo love me,' said the child. *How so,' asked her tor* mentor. * Why,' answered Rosa, c the Bible says you. must lqv.e them that hate, you, and T am siire I hate you.' The Editor of the London Times, it is said, receives the same salary as the President of the United States. ■&$&• • - ■ •Wake up here, and pay your lodgings,' said the deacon, as he nudged a sleepy stranger with the contribution box. A sapient country gentleman, in giving orders to a bookseller to furnish his library, . after par- , ticularly requesting to have Pope, Milton, and 'Shakespeare, added, " If those fellows publish anything new, don't forget to let me have them !'* The following lines are taken at random from Puck on Pegasus, by H. Cholmondeiey Pennell. They are suggested by the rather droll 1 incident of a' fashionable "young lady, with a waterproof crinoline, floating down a river past a philosophic pig, whose reveriafSftd munching she disturbs ; — ; Prom thefpOTest shade primeval|g§wKJk- -. ' Piggey-wiggey looked out at her J%H£&" He the very Youthful Porker — ■' ■ He the Everlasting Grunter— .- GazecLiiponher there, andjWondejftL! Witudiis nose put, *okey-pokey~>i§S|| .. With his tail up, curley-wurley-^HJK. WonderU what on earth the row^fiiant, Wonder'd what the girl was up to> J •": WTiat the deuce ncr little game was. r - t \