BY THE WAY.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 82, 9 January 1896, Page 2

BY THE WAY.

Summer! Bnow fell about 2 a.m. this morning. Zimmerman, the champion cyclist, is not likely to visit New Zaaland. Russia has ordered 1,500,000 repeating rifles in France. . Coal ie dearer in Bouth Africa than in any ot.hor part of the world j it is cheapest in China.. The bouquet sent to America' from the gardens at Blenheim for the Duke of .Marlborough's bride was 12ft in circumference.' Opium, asserts a Wellington gossip, is smoked at sundry swell houses in that city, the pastime bainit carried on very secretly. Au old toper generally sat down when' ha took a drink. • He said he . cOuld stand I drinking, but he could not drink standing. Old lady (in a shoe shop) : " Hive you felt slippers ? " Small boy olerk (solemnly) : Yes, ma am ; many a time." The other day fifteen McCormick reapers and binders were conveyed to Mr Grigg'u Longbeach estate for $h8 purpose of assisting to cut the crops on that property. MrsO. s "Do you believe that cures can be effected by the laying on of hands ?" Mrs A. : " Certainly. I cured my boy of amok- ' ing in that way." . ..■-••-."_ One of General Booth's staff walked over to the press table at a Melbourne revival meeting tha other day, and, addressing the ' Argus ' man, remarked -. " Dear brother, I watt once as vile as you are." Tne scribe didn't look in the least flittered. The openly-admitted objects of Melbourne ( Caledonian Society,, are patriotism, the fostering of Scottish literature, the eating of haggis, and the drinking of whisky. A society to . induce Scotchmen to drink whisky ! 1 1 It is estimated that the gales on Saturday and Monday reduced tho promised yield of oats in North Canterbury by' fully ten bushels par acre. The birth rate at Qamaru lately, aays the Miil, has been fairly satisfactory from a population point of view, but that no doubt was in anticipation of a good harvest this year. At the London Ladies' Chess Ciub a wonderful display of blindfold chess was given by Miss Field, who carried on four games at the same time without the sight of the boards, a feat never before attempted by a lady. _ The system of election to the Upper House is rotten. A great evil is being done to N.Z. We consider that a comiuittee should be set up for the purpose of considering whether tne Government are not sacrificing the oountry and its interests for party power. — ' Brunner News*" In 1834, in fourteen ' Bast End publichouses, in a week, 142,553 men, 103,593 women, and 18,39 L children were counted going in, or at the rate of 2750 daily. A prospect like this would make a modern hotelkeaper's mouth water. - A Ohristchurch woman who resides in one of the most 'aristocratic suburbs was considerably flurried when, on leaving church on Uhnstmas Day, she discovered a tag'on her brand new Bummer hat bearing the legend :" Eeduced to 10* 6d." Ad, old 'man has died at Odessa leaving four millions of roubles to his four Mieeea. In order to check anything like pride in the fortunate ladies, he stipulates that previous to receiving the money they are to work for 15 months either as domestics, chambermaids or washerwomen. The ladies have gone into domestic service, and within a few weeks received nearly 1000 offers of marriage. It is dangerous to enclose the bulb of an electric lamp in any fabric, however light it may be. By thin practice. many fires' are originated. Experiment has shown that an incandescent lamp 'globe closely wrapped with paper, so that no air can pass between it and the glass, will cause fire in a very few minutes./ Stephen Cavanagh, 81 years of age, a j laborer residing at Ryal Bush, Southland, dropped dead at his bedside on Monday , morning, having just got out of bed, as was his custom, to make his wife a cup of tea. The Queensland Government are following in tha footsteps of our own in- the matter of the compulsory taking of land. They have just practically decided to purchase some 0000 acres of one of the largest estates in Queensland. The little economies that have made Japan so rich may be noticed everywhere. The dust of charcoal is gathered up and mixed with chaff of wheat, barley, and other grains, and with chopped straw. It is then moistened into paste, rolled into balls about as big as a billiard bill, and makes excellent fuel. ' A German has invented a device to prevent any fluid from boiling over, even on an open fire. It is a specially-constructed perforated .rim, through which tb.B overflow returns to tha ' pot. , Oae of tUirwijjftsfcnjt 5 this system is 'that milk can be kept boiling for a long time, and thereby sterilised milk, forming' a nutritious and healthy food for babies, can be obtained. • A Russian judge recently gave a decision worthy of Solomon. A creditor complained that he was unable to gat his money from a debtor, although the latter was in a position topiy. The debtor declared that ho had promised to pay on St. Henry's Day— a saint unknown in Russia. The Judge ordered him to pay on AU Saints' Day, "for that day includes all saints not mentioned on the calendar." At Fielding recently several persons were poisoned after partaking of some raspberry syrup. -An analysis of the syrup points to the presence of arsenic, and the analyst is Btrongly of opinion that it was arsenic in the essence ofraspberry, in the form of arseni&te ' of rose-aniline, which must have been used for the purpose of giving coloring and flavor to the syrup. A terrible, tragedy has bean enaoted" be- ] tween gipsies in a Bohemian foreat near Pilsen. Two men fought for a woman, who watched the fieht with a keen eye, but without interfering or trying to separate them. When after awhile the stronger of the two stabbed the other in the heart, and he fell dead at the woman's feet, she drew a revolver from her breast and shot the survivor in the bead. She allowed herself to be arrested near the two corpses. Man with awful toothache meets a friend, and tells him his woes The friend : " Ah, I had just es bad a toothache as you yesterday, and I went home, and my wife patted me, and kissed me, and made much of me, and the toothache disappeared. You take my i tip." The achey one : "Is your wife at home, do you think ?" Two of the best billiard players in the officers' mess in India ones arranged a match of 500 up, one to use his left baod, tbe other to use his right, but to play standing on the left fooj; only. The latter was allowed to sit between strokes, but had to proceed from his seat-hopping and make his stroke only when standing on his left leg. The lee was the favorite, but the resulfc proved that billiards require two feet to play them, for when game was called the officer playing with his left hand was found to be more than 70 ahead of his opponent. A somewhat daring robbery was committed at the Wellington Polioa Station, on New Year's Day. During tho day Constable Johnston, who sleeps at the s'atioDj was away on duty, having left the keys to a cheat of drawe- a in ths pocket of a pair of trousers which was banging up in £he room. On his return he found the keys in the chest of drawers, several of which had been ransacked. He discovered that L3 lo*. which bad been in one of the drawers, had been abstracted. The thief had apparently been disturbed, as a L 5 note which was also in one of the drawers had not been taken.At Sydney the other day Mr Justice Simpson compelled a lawyer to withdraw an expression about a witness " turning dog." He characterised the term as vulgar slang, suoh as one was more likely to bear from prisoners in the dock than from a gentleman at tbe Bar. Tne recant suit which a feirl waiter, aged 18, brought against the proprietor of a Lon- . don coffee tavern for wrongful dismissal, developed the fact that waitresses worked 20 hours out of the 24 for 12s a month, and were glad to get it, as many hundreds were ready to fill their places if vacancies occurred. , During the last twenty years it is claimed that the consumption of alcoholic liquor in England has fallen off one half, while it has doubled in France. Recently, a letter of introduction was handed by an actor to a manager, which described the presenter as an actor of much merit, and concluded : "He plays Virginius, Richelieu, Hamlet, Sbylock, and Billiards. He pl*ys billiards the' best." Enoch Carter, a Glasgow miner, has gained the first place in advanced greek, although men of exceptional ability were oompoting with him. He has averaged about 13? or 14s , a weak, is the eldest of a family of six, lost' his father at 13 years of age, and has since had a struggle to keep the wolf from the door. More power tp him 1 . " Poverty parties " is the latest fashionable device in America. The invitations, printed on coarse brown paper, require those who attend to dress with all possible plainness. Any guest who dons jewellery or too costly attire is fined, the proceeds being devoted to .charity. A correspondent of a contemporary, to Bhowtha advance of oivilsation, states that when at Wiljsher Bay, Port Molyneur, he knocked at tha door. The knopk was answered by a buxom Maori wench, bluer lipped and scroll-chinned. It looked an oc- ! casion for ths exercise of Maori lingo pure and simple, and accordingly he inquired "Koro te Pakeha?" whioh is the most approved method of putting the query, "Do you understand English ?" for about a moment the fair native looked puzzled. Recovering, she rushed inside, calling out at the top of her \ voice: "I say, raither, mither, there's a drunk man at the door. See if you can make oot what he's speerin' aboot."