OTHER LANDS

Northland Age, Volume 2, Issue 44, 12 June 1906, Page 2

OTHER LANDS

There may be monarchs, like the Shah of Persia, who owns treasures more costly and more splendid than King Edward can boast, but none of them can eclipse the British Sovereign in the range and interest of rare possessions ; and, even if we consider only the wonders of gold and precious stones, our King has many which may challenge comparison with anything to be seen in the Royal palaces of Persia or Turkey.. To mention only a few of those regal treasures, there is at Windsor a single magnificent candelabrum exquisitely wrought in solid gold, and weighing 2 cwt. ; there is an enormous tiger, sheathed in solid plates of gold and with flaming eyes of crystal ; and the daintiest bird in all the world, with a plumage that is one blaze of precious stones. These treasures—-the tiger and the bird — once made the eyes of Tippoo Sahib flash with the pride of ownership. At Windsor, too, is probably the finest gold dinner-service in the world, a full table equipment for 140 guests, a single dish of which is sufficient burden for one man, and with gorgeous centrepieces which would tax the strength of three men. There are huge shields of gold, one # of which, composed of snuff-boxe§, is said to be worth £IO,OOO ; Marge golden tankards and goblets encrusted with gems, cupidores and candelabra, and other treasures of precious metals and jewels, a mere list of which would fill columns.

Of late years the number of writers among the Cherokee Indians lias“ greatly increased. There are historians in the tribe whose works are used as text-books in the London schools, and who are cited as authorities not to be disputed. There are also Indians who have written codes of law which before being put in permanent iorm had been handed down from generation- to generation. The Indians of to-day obey those laws with a greater reverence than they do the laws of the United Stages. There are even Indian novelists who devote their time to entertain the Indian mind with romance, with entangling plots and blood-curdling climaxes. These books are popular among the Indians Numerous editions of some works are published, and they are read by warrior and squaw alike.

The clock of Petersborough Cathedral is said to be the oldest in England, and dates from the year 1320. It is supposed to have been constructed by a monk, and is of a very primitive type. Movement is produced by a lead weight of about 3301 b. suspended from a rope 294 ft. in length which runs on a wooden windlass, and it requires winding every day. The hours are struck on one of the big church bells, which weighs over 1-J tons ; the weight of the hammer is 79tb. The ordinary works of the striking part are a few yards apart and connected by a small rope. There is no hour dial, the hours being marked on the escape wheel, which revolves once in two hours.

Notwithstanding that it is one of the most risky duties a sailor in the British Navy is called on to perform, there is never a dearth of men to undertake the duties of a diver, Jack being always anxious to earn the extra pay attached to this department. Cruisers, battleships, torpedoboat destroyers, all have their compliment of trained divers aboard. In fact, every vessel in the Navy is compelled to carry a certain number of men experienced in this form of work. Jack is by no means compelled or urged to join the diving classes, which are held at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Devonport ; volunteers only are taken, and even then a most severe medical examination has to be undergone, as the one essential point is to be sound in wind and limb. To demonstrate the precautionary, measures adopted to obtain only the healthiest men of a crew for the work, it is only necessary to add that if Jack is endowed with too florid a complexion or a short neck, he will find it impossible to gain an entrance into tae divingschools. What is termed the ‘ closed” diving dress is now in general use, and was perfected by Mr. Siebe, the notable marine engineer, in 1837. To the dress, which is composed of sheet indiarubber, covered with tanned twill, a hose supplying air, and a line by which means messages are conveyed to those in the boat, or at the top of the divingtank, is attached. The helmet-is made of tinned copper, in which are fitted three strong plate-glass windows, protected with guards. A diving apjiaratus including the dress, costs, roughly speaking, about £l4O.

El Dorado, which in Spanish means "The Gilded,” was the name of the reputed king or chief of a fabulous city of great wealth named Manoa. During the fifteenth century this city was supposed to be somewhere in the north of South America, and it is narrated that this king was, at regular periods, smeared with oil or balsam and then sprinkled with golddust until he appeared to be gilded. Numerous expeditions went in search of this phantom. In ordinary or poetical language the name has been given to the imaginary city or country. The story of El Dorado is supposed to be founded on the yearly ceremony of an Indian tribe near Bogoha. The chief, it is said, was smeared with balsam and gold-dust, after which he threw gold, emeralds, etc., into a sacred lake, where he then bathed.

The death of the Marquis of Anglesey removes one of the quaintest figures from the English peerage. The head of an ancient family, he frittered away opportunities which come to few even of the nobility. When seven years ago, he succeeded his father, he came into a patrimony which can only be described as superb. The income from his real estate alone was reckoned at the considerable sum of £IOO,OOO a year. The young peer, however, had an absolute mania for clothes and jewels, and spent enormous sums on the most trivial objects. His fondness for acting is well known ; and, if magnificence of dress has anything to do with dramatic ability, few actor* can hope to reach the standard set by the late Marquis. The ultimate end of all these foibles is almost tragic. A hopeless bankrupt, with creditors in possession of his family castle, be has died In a fareisa hotel.