Random Readings.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 713, 17 October 1914, Page 6

Random Readings.

QUEEN VICTORIA'S QUARREL. Some interesting light is thrown up* on the married life of Queen Victoria by the book on that subject which Mrs. Claro Jerrold has written. Tho Queen and the Prince Consort had soon little of one another boforo their mar-» riage. It was inevitable, therefore, that the first months of married life should see -many littlo quarrels and considerable friction. Once, wo aro told, t}ie Queen left her husband in a violent fit of temper, but, repenting, returned to the room where she had left him, only to find the door locked. "Who is there?" called tho Princo. "The Queen of England," was the liaughty reply. And all remained quiet in the room behind tho door. Again and again Victoria knocked, and again and again camo tho same question and answer, until at last the Queen, conquerod, responded: "Your wife, Albert." Upon which tho door ws opened and the weeping Queen was comforted. SOME "VEILED LADIES." One of tho most famous cases of a man writer winning fame under a woman's name was that of the lato William Sharp, who kept his identity with "Fiona Maclcod" a close secret during his lifo, and it was only after his death that tho public woro mado aware that "her" romarkablo novels were tho work of tho well-known critic aiul o.ssayist. Their stylo seemed so characteristically feminine that even tho most antuto critics believod th.it they wero written by a -woman's hand , Another famous writer, Laurence Housman, known already im a poet and artist, made a third and mosit successful appearance before tho public as a "veiled lady." A romarkablo book appeared entitled "An Englishwoman's Love Letters," which nil tho critics praised and all the clubs and literary circles talked about. "Who was this woman who had laid her heart bare? Tho critics agreed that, whoever she was, she understood her box to perfection. Tho secret was kept very close for a timo, and then, to everybody's immense amazement, the real author was revealed as a man after all! Very few people probably will recall the undoubted that one of tho greatest of Victorian poets, Algornon Charles Swinburne, hid his identity occasionally under tho very mattor-of-fact feminine nom do plume of "Mrs. Horace Manfiors," 'whilst another and much beloved singer on the other r,id® of the Atlantic, tlio charming Quaker poet, John Grecnlcaf \Vhitiier, used frequently as a pen-name tho unromantio orc of "Mnrgaroi Smith." 200 KINDS OF CHEESE. *How many kinds of cheese are there P Most people could give the names of half a dozen off-hand, but a roport of tho United States Department of Agriculture describes 200 kinds, made in different part 3of tho world. Among them are: Jack cheese. Trappist choose. Gcx cheese. Potato cheese. t I-lopfen cheese. Geromo cheese. Sassenage cheese. Septmouecl cheese. Jack cheese is made in California, in 6J lb', rolls. Caraway needs are used in making potato checso in Thuringia. It ripens in fourteen days. Geromo cheese takes from six weeks to four months to ripon, and it is sometimes flavoured with aniseed. Gcx cheeses, weighing 141b., each, ripen in four months. They are made exclusively in South-Eastern France. Trappist cheese is made in a monastery in Bosnia, and under tho name of Oka clioeso is also mado by Trappist monies at Montreal. An English dairy export declares that tho number of different cheeses w almost countless. In England, which heads tho list, we havo at loast sixteon or seventeen different kinds, including: Cheddar, Stilton, Cheshire, Double Gloucester, Wensleydale, North Wilts, Moonraker cream cheese, Blu® Dorset, York Cream, Caerphilly, Loiceater, Little Wilt 3, Cream cheese, Derby, and lesser known varieties. France comes naxt as regards th® number of varieties, and then, probably, Italy, Holland, Norway and Sweden in the order stated. In our own country tho cheeses are all mado from cows'* milk, and without any adtyix? ture, save in the case of 'loaf Cheddar, which- is sometimos flavoured with sage-leaves, and which impart a nice twang to it. Roquefort is mode from sheep's milk, and Gruyere from goats' milk at Emmontliol, in Switzerland. Another well known Swiss cheese is ; the Schapziegar, a small cylindrical green cheese, used for grating on bread and butter, and valued "ha an aid to digestion. It has a very powerful and unpleasant odour. Camembert is made in the Carbon district of Franco, whore tho grass is particularly rich, and allows the cows to bo milked three times a day. The Italians are also great experts in cheese-making, their host known being Gorgonzola, Parmesan, Reggiano, and Cacciao-Cavallo. Tho last named is made up in tho shape of flagons and bound together with straw plaits. Iho Italian troops carry tlieso checso slung across their saddles in war time, as they are very compressed and hard, and a littlo goes a long way. •