News Of The World.

Manawatu Standard, Volume 4, Issue 119, 26 April 1883, Page 3

News Of The World.

At Kumara sports recently (says n contemporary) there was a barmaid race of 100 yards, m which about half a score of blooming belles, some of them weighing nearly a quarter of a ton, toed the scratch. The winner, Miss Jacobs, who skipped along like a young angel without wings, was made happy with a beautiful new bonnet. The, second prize was a hatj the third a pair of stays, and the fourth a— ,but no, we will not put the fourth article m black and white. Another exciting contest look place between a portly lot of publicans, male and female, the fair sex represented by a'couple of weighty "widders." The uaited exertions of these fleet-footed fairies created an earthquake, and raised a cloud of dust which made it quite impossible to distinguish the winner— but the {'winders," as might be expected, carried off the first and second prizes. A whale. fifty feet m letigth has been washed ashore on the north-east point of Bird's Island, near Nelson. Mr Alfred Harley, m describing it m a letter to the. local paper, says — " I wns very curious to see the size of the swallow on account of poor Jonah. I entered his j*ws, which are large enough for a dozen people to sit down m, but the swallow iB very small — not more .than two inches. The mouth has no teeth, but is furnished with a kind of Bieve formed of thin strips of whalebone, such as is used by ladies. Inside the mouth is a kind of hair like the mussel beard." Mr Herbert Gladstone m love! Thai is the story. The youth looks fair too wise to be guilty of any act of folly of this kind. But when he was inGlafgow the other day a Scotch girl set her cap at him, and Robin's caught. Hismotherleftthat" grand old" man," sleepless and voiceless, to go off to Glasgow. • The explanation is that « he telegraphed to mammy to see the lady, before he proposed to her — a most dutiful and proper family is the Gladstone family-— and now all that remains is to fix the«ay. The lady is the daughter of one of the wealthiest . of Glasgow merchants, and the engagement' is the result of .a chance visit of Herbert Gladstone to spend afew days. And. yet people think all the romance is out ot life ! It was reported recently to the Fitzroy (Victoria) police that a child had been born, m Simpson's road,^having one head, tWbpaies, two feei on one leg, eight fingers on one hand, and four on the other. A etory is going about to the effect that down South a press 'reporter was taken for His Excellency the Governor, and loudly cheered by the crowd. It was only wheo, on. removing hishat to acknowledge the compliment, a piece,. of corned beef dropped bnt, that ..they discovered their mistake. Then: that ;repprter,fled; pursued by the enragecf multitcide, dropped "en route" a . boot-fible, and a coat■kewer. . • '- ] ' • « " All apprehensions regarding the fate of Jeremiah Murphy, who mysteriously disappeared' from his home early on the morningof the24th ult., and was supposed to have drowned himself, have been set at rest by the receipt of a telegram from Constable Collerton, who'is m charge of the police station at Tenui, stating that he was working at a form m: that district . The New York Foundling Asylum, which in'af ewiyears has grown* from a mere nothing to be a large flourishing institution, during the past year has shel«i tered and provided for 2458 children and 457 homeless mothers, and since' its or« ganiaation has placed nearly two thousand children m; happy homes. A fish of solid gold, of the bullion value --■ f :ffcOO. ia reported to have been dug up m Guel -xiauimuj ■■■ ■'■»« wuiffuuft Saxony Ober»Lausitz the border land between Sazony and (Silesia .Its : surface is said to be incised with mythological £gr urei, wrought after ..archaic Greek pat-, terns. -;■;/;-,; , ;.;.;; /:' Referring to certain phases of public opinion m England, ; the "World " says that no thinking man, who does not shut himself .up behind the quickset hedge of fool's paradise, can doubt that the subject of wealth and its distribution the concentration of landed property m a few bands, will be dealt with by the Legislature before many years are over. The <( Post" states that all the members of the Ministry are expected to re» assemble m Wellington toward the end of this month to commence the active preparation of their measures for the approaching session of Parliament. It is understood that the Bankruptcy Bill which was introduced last session but not proceeded will be one of the earliest measures submitted to the Houseof Representatives. A writer m the Hawke's Bay Herald thinks that Mr Bryce's love for Te Kooti is'so great that it is certainly within the bounds of possibility tnat he " may see his way clear to recommend his Excellency the Governor to appoint Te Kooti to a seat m the Upper House— -aye, or even th c Cabinet, and persuade Her Majesty to raise him to the peerage with the title of Lord Massacre of Poverty Bay." Intelligence has been received from Spain that the ill-fated balloon Saladin and car, which were lost with M* ; Walter Powell, M. P., about twelve months ago, have been found m the mountains of Sierra del'Piedroga. The Hawera Star received the following letter';—" To theEditor of the Star. Sir, — Will you kindly insert this ; If the gentleman who called on the widow lady on Tuesday; last, with a book of salvation, will kindly call again with clothes and food, they will be thankfully received for Jier orphan children.— l am, &c. P.S.— * PKs he is a reader of the Star." The war- schooners on the Australian station are to be sold, by the order of the Admiralty.. They are to be replaced by two gunboats — the Goshawk, of 430 tone, and 480 horse power; and the Swinger, of 430 tons, and 520 horse power. It is intended shortly to give an exhibit tion of a game of chess, at Dunedin, m which the pieces are represented by living persons, m aid of a local charity. Two of the best players m Dunedin will conduct the game. . • * 'Thb welMraown Kennedy Family of Scot-tish vocalists, includiag"papa" and Helen, Marjeryy Maggie, and Robert, Billed from London for Melbourne m one of the P. and O. boats on March 14 last. They are to appear m Melbourne m May next, A man m .Glasgow recently laid a wagger that he would woo, win, and marry a young lady who, with his companion's, he had just seen arrive at the hotel where he was living. He introduced* himself to the damsel, she a niled upon his suit, a minister was called m, and they were married within an hour. TJe wagger, of no considerable amount was handed over to the bridegroom, who left with his bride the following day. In was afterwards discovered that the couple had long been man and wife, and that they had bsen travelling about playings the same trick at various hotels. Spun glass napkins are a recent addition to the supplies of luxuries, whiph people who indulge a taste for oddities will probably uot cowpier too high-priced at 100 dollars a dozen. One on exhibition m St. Louis is pearl-shade, the size of an ordinary breakfMt napkin, »nd almost as pliable Mfilk.