ITEMS FROM ENGLISH PAPERS.

North Otago Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1198, 14 February 1876, Page 2

ITEMS FROM ENGLISH PAPERS.

Hippophagy in Paris continues to flourish. During the last three months 1446 horses, 67 donkeys and 5 mules were slain in the French capital for public consumption. The " Jewish Chronicle" affirms that Herr Solomon Rosenbauro, a coreligionist at Ludenscheid, has lately attained the age of 103 years, and is still in the enjoyment of great bodily vigor. The Republicans of Washington serenaded President Grant on November 6, and gave cheers for his school policy. The President made a short speech, in which he congratulated the country on the result of the elections, and said, " People now know what kind of money we are to have. I think we have the assurance that the Republicans will control the Government at least for four years longer," The father of the French PeerageLouis Charles Alphonse Savary, Marquis of Lancosrae — has just died at the age of ninety-nine. The House of Savary, originally of Toui'aine, and now divided into several branches, takes the title of Lancosme from an estate in Vendome, which had been, at the time of the Revolution, in their possession for four centuries, and which was created a barony by Louis XIIL, and a marquisate by Louis XV. in 1838. The " Politik" of Prague states that of his enormous fortune the late Emperor Ferdinand has left a legacy of six millions of florins (£600,000) to Archduke John of Tuscany, the author of the recent antiGerman pamphlet. The Grand Duke is reported to have at once placed the legacy at the Emperor's disposal, for the purpose of manufacturing new cannon, of which he says the Austrian army stands in urgent need. A young girl, named Denny,, has recently died at Bradford from hydrophobia, contracied by her permitting a dog to lick her hands and face. The animal belonged to Denny's aunt, who succumbed herself to the like malady from a bite of same dog in August last, soon after which the animal was destroyed. Shortly previous to the attack on the aunt the girl had permitted it to fondle her, and it is to this circumstance only that the origin of the present case can be traced.

It is said that the Queen of Holland speaks with fluency every language spoken in Europe ; and on one occasion, on receiving the Hungarian delegates of some learned society, among many others who attended, her Majesty addressed the gentlemen in Latin, pleading as an excuse that she had not studied the language of Hungary. She is able to speak with equal fluency the German, French, English, Danish, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Swedish languages. Singular exploits are recorded of a \rol£ at Brinilis. In a week he has killed about 50 sheep. In his last nocturnal expedition he climbed to the roof of a low barn, made a hole in the thatch, and then dropped into the midst of the flock, and worried 26 of the defenceless animals ; two only escaped by taking refuge on a Leap of peat. He then laid out the bodies of his victims in |a regular line, and commenced to strip the skin from one, probably to enjoy the warm flesh. He was, however, disturbed, and had to escape before making his repast. An extraordinary piece of embroidery was recently exhibited at the Washington County (New York) Fair. It was six feet long, four broad, contained twenty figures of man, women, and horses, and was composed of 1,857,600 stiches. It represented the death of George Douglas on the battle field after he had aided Mary Queen of Scots to escape frdm Lochlevin Castle. This embroidery, wrought in worsted, wa9 the work of iJks Keach, a venerable woman, whose husband was killed in the war of 1812, and she tiad spent upon it ten hours a day for 18 months. A remarkable escape from a burial alive happened in the town of Bradford, New Hampshire. A lady in the above town had been sick for some time, and to all appearance had died, and arrangements were accordingly made for the funeral to take place on the third day after her supposed decease. The preparations for burial had progressed so far that on the day of the funeral the lady was placed in a coffin, when it was observed that one of her eyes was partially opened. Nothing, however, was thought of il, as it was supposed to be the result of muscular contraction, and the arrangements for burial were all completed, "when the supposed corpse astonished the attendants by asking to be placed on her side. At last accounts the lady was doing well, with every prospect of a complete recovery. A novelty at the Centennial will be the mammoth grape vine, of Menticello, near Santa Barbara, California. This is to be transported to Philadelphia, and sent up there in the same way as it has stood in its native soil for over half a century. The body of the vine is over 5£ feet in circumference, its foliage covered over 10,000ft* and it has borne six tons of grapes annually. Eight feet from the ground it branched into 20 large limbs, one of which is 27 inches in circumference. This limb is the exact size of the body of the Queen's vine at Hampton Court, England, which is the largest and most celebrated growth in Europe. A Mr Alfred Pearl, of London, has beaten even the notorious Mrs Giacometti Prodgers, tho terror of Metropolitan cabmen, in litigious opposition .to paying his proper fare. Two years ago he was summoned at the Worship street Police Court for not paying a fare of 2d claimed by the North Metropolitan Tramways Company. The case was dismissed by the magistrate on a teclminal point, but judgment was subsequently given in favor of the company by the Court of Queen's Bench. Mr Pearl has consequently been fined Is, and ordered to pay costs, whicU on the company's side alone amount to L50. The " Nonconformist" publishes the following story, which it has received from a correspondent : — " At Fishergate, between Shoreham and Brighton, there resides a venerable Nonconformist minister, the Rev. John Taylor, grey-headed, and over seventy years of age. To this gentleman there came the other day a message from the local justices with a warrant, calling upon him to serve as parish constable, and presenting to him the constable's staff and handcuffs. This disgraceful warrant was signed by two magistra tes, one of them a clergyman of the Church of England, the Rev. John Goring, of Wiston. Mr Taylor refused to be the recipient of the staff and handcuffs, and the messenger left them with the warrant at the foot of the steps leading to the minister's house, where they are still lying. The clergyman, Mr Goring, has made use of an obsolete law to offer an insult to a brother clergyman, who belongs to another section of the Christian .Church."