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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 11, Issue 819, 19 January 1867, Page 4

The Nautilus Shell. — Addressing the editor of the Argus, Charles R. Thatcher sa y S: — In your report of to-day, of some curiosities displayed in the South Australinn Court of our Intercolonial Exhibition, you mention a group of nautilus shells, and say " they are singular, as the habitat is the semi-tropical seas of the Fiji, Solomon, and other islands in the Pacific." This is correct as regards the common nautilus, but not so with the paper nautilus (argonauta), ■which is the particular variety exhibited, and is widely distributed. I have four magnificent specimens, got by my brother on Flinders Island, and the same day he obtained them no less than twenty-six were blown ashore. I should have exhibited the four specimens referred to, in conjunction with the largest and finest collection of Australian, New Zealand, and Tasmanian shells in this part of the world, having devoted fourteen years to antipodean conchology, besides supplying the museum with the rarest and most valuable volutes, &c, but the amount of space and the quantity of glass cases required have debarred me from doing so. "I Believe" and "I Expect." — These two phrases have acquired, in common parlance, meanings essentially different from their true signification. We say we believe when we simply expect, and that we expect when we believe. "I believe ifc will be fine to-morrow," does not imply that the speaker feels certain the weather will be pleasant. He means that from the appearance of the clouds, the direction of the wind, atmosphere, &c, he supposes or expects the weather will be clear. This is not the sense in which the ancients used the words of which belief is the English equivalent. The Hebrew word aman, from which comes Jieemin, " to believe," signifies fixedness, positiveness, and hence amen, Avhich is 'commonly rendered, "so be it," but which really means, 50 it is — the fact is established beyond peradventure. The Greek pisteuin, " to believe," also expi'esses unalterable conviction. It is not proper, therefore to say we believe so and so will occur, when wo hnoic that the event, though probable, perhaps may not happen. Half our cvery-day beliefs are little better than guesses, more or less random or rational. "I expect," is shamefully warped from its legitimate acceptation. It refers exclusively to the future, yet how often do we hear it applied to the past ; as, for example, " I expect he went to Boston yesterday." " I expect that is my boy coming up the road," says a father, recognizing his son's figure, his gait, and other personal peculiarities which give assurance that it can be none other than he. The speaker, in this case does not expect at all, he believes. It is essential to precision and clearness in speaking and writing that we clothe our ideas in the words which accurately express them. Above all, let us avoid the egregious blunders of saying we believe when we swwise, and we expect when we believe. A New Market for Wool.- -An experiment of an interesting nature is about to be tried in exporting wool from Victoria. To test the United States market, a fine ship — the Isabella Hercus — has been placed on the berth for New York direct, carrying wool. If the Isabella Hercus finds a good market, a new trade (says the Argus) maybe opened up. j