OUR MAIL BAG.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 718, 31 March 1900, Page 4

OUR MAIL BAG.

y NEWS FROJIIE VEBYWHERE. A PECOMAR.rrtEAK.' •■ I There recently arrived in London for etI hibition at the. Royal Aquarium (says tbe ' Sporting Times ') probably the" most extraordinary freak of nature ever . born, viz., a • living man (James Barnes), the upper part of whose person is human while the lower resembles that" of a horse. This Centaur (whose mother was bitten some five months prior to his birth by a vicious horse) was borno in Crawfordsville, Arkansas, U. S., July, 187 G. His appearance is startling and extraordinary, but not repulsive. He runs [ on alljfours, trots, paces, and whinnies like a horse. He is a musician as well as a freak. NOT A SUCCESS. | Some time ago what was termed a " Matri- • monial School " was started at Chicago, but it has turned oiit an awful failure. It was started with the idea of making ideal wives and husbands. It has ended by breaking up three homes in a very short space of timo. A result of a visit to the School of Matrimony was that both men and women looked for a higher standard in each other. The ideal wife and the ideal husband were set before them, painted in beautiful colors. Then they realised what awful specimens of husbands and wives tbey really had. . This led to all sorts of awakenings. Instead of idealising each oilier, the pupils began to analyse each other, and the results wero shocking. The tbro3 homes were brokeuup because the wives, in their new enthusiasm, insisted on making their husbands' shirts, and determined that they should wear them. The husbands preferred to leave home altogether. Tho genoial verdict now is tbat marriage in Chicago cannot be idealised ; and tbe last word of the marriage school is that the old problem may be best solved by wife and husband seeing as little as possible of each other. This is very cynical. But when a society that starts with the idea of reforming creation ends in a week with breaking up three homes, it may be forgiven for feeling a little sore. A LOUDLY JOHN. An application has been received by the Premier of New South Wales from Mr Quong Tart, for Kang Ye Wei, v very prominent Chinese gentleman, to be allowed to visit the colony untrammelled by tbe usual restrictions applicable to newly-arrived Chinese. He was a strong supporter of the young Emperor of China, but when the Dowager Empress assumed control, he had to flee from the country and take himself and his reform principles on board a British man-of-war, where ho was protected. Since then ho has been to various localities, being always well treated by the British, and is now at Singapore. Kang Ye Wei, if no obstaclo is placed in his way, will be accommpanied by a suite of distinguished Chinese. GERMAN I'NTEItI'IiISE. ' F'eilden's Magazine ' makes the remarkable statement that " representative American and German firms, wilh the sagacity, foresight, and push which ehniacterise their 'commercial ~ dealings, have at ihe present moment a number of representatives in tho Transvaal absolutely measuring up all damage dono to bridges, railways, towns, etc., and are actually now making the missing or damaged parts for delivery on the spot as soon as the war is over. We muot take," urges our contemporary, " time by the forelock, and not allow ourselves to be led into the error that the vastly increasing trade of the Transvaal will come to us as a matter of course on tbe termination of this war. The most strenuous and sagacious efforts on the part of our manufacturers and traders are required to retain ami expand it." A LIVELY TIME. __ A settler at Castletoii (N.S.W.) named Sutton recently had a desperate encounter with a wild bullock while engaged in cattle trucking. With Mr Hetberington he had succeeded in rushing several animals into a truck. Before the assistant could bolt the door one of the beasts angrily burst through it. Mr Hetherington, with presence.of mind, threw himself down in front of tho truck, and the infuriated beast trampled over him, and made for Mr Sutton just as he was climbing the fence. The animal caught him about the middle of the body on his horns, which were incurved, and carried him, with his head and feet hanging, towards the end of the race. About Bft from the end tbe bullock tossed its head and landed Mr Sutton on the top rail of the 7ft fence, where he remained. The bullock careered along madly to the end of the race, and there broke one of its horns against the iron bar. PIIISONEKS AT PRETORIA. Letters from the prisoners at Pretoria come in more freely. Tbey usually breathe a spirit of contentment ;' the men acknowledge that they are being fairly well treated, and make light of the hardships of their lot. One young officer writes to bis friends that their great delight is to watch the colonel washing his shirt. The colonel, as refined as he is brave, washes the garment daintily and dubiously, fingering it far more nervously than he would a live shell. Of course, there are plenty who would volunteer lo relieve him of the unaccustomed task, but the Boers have made it a rule that each of their prisonns must do his own work. This rule applies as between ollicer and officer as well as between officer and men. The men are kept entirely distinct as a measure of precaution, so that in tho event of their attempting to break their bounds they would not have the officers to lead them.