ITEMS BY THE MAIL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume V, Issue 1518, 6 October 1868, Page 7

ITEMS BY THE MAIL.

It seems that two centuries ago tho Islo of "Wight must have possesed ono at least of the features of the Happy Islands which poets have sung from the beginning. At the end of the 17th century there was not a single lawyer living in the island. One come to live there about the year 1688, but he was driven away by the people, who, if they had any legal business to transact, took it with them either to Southampton or to Winchester.

In tlie Court of Queen's Bench, on July 7, Mr. J. Gwynne, a modeller and designer, of Whitefriars, brought an action against the SouthEastern Railway Company for libel. The company had placarded the plaintiff at various stations on their line as having been convicted by the Lord Mayor for travelling without a ticket between London-bridge and Cannon-street and sentenced by his lordship either to pay a fine with costs, or go to prison for three days ■with hard labour. The Lord Mayor did impose a fine, but said nothing about hard labour. At the trial both parties went very fully into tho facts of the case, and ultimately the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff—damages, £251 — being £150 more than claimed.

The two boys, Arthur Forrester Smith, aged 14, and Hector Augustus Smith, aged 12, who were charged with a "grievous assault upon an old woman named Mary Ann Nunn, on the evening of the Ist of May last, were put upon their trial at the Central Criminal Court on July B.' The story of this horrible outrage is well known. The unfortunate woman was at length able to appear in Court, although she walked with some difficulty, and her head and face still gave evidence of the murderous assault committed upon her. After Mrs. Ifunn's evidence the juvenile miscreants were convicted and sentenced, the elder to seven years' penal servitude, and the younger to eighteen months imprisonment. In passing tho sentence, tho Lord Chief Justice spoke forcibly of the pernicious influence exercised upon the minds of boys by " literature" of the kind with which it appeared the 'prisoners were familiar. In this case there was only too much reason to fear that the knowledge of the moans of committing crime has worked the worst effects, and that the outrage of which the two boys had been convicted was only the last of a series.

(On Wednesday, July 15, n very violent storm burst over the Kennet-valley, Berkshire. It vras most severe in tlie neighbourhood of Theale, near : Heading, where hailstones of great size fell, and 1 the lightning was frequent and vivid, while the peals of thunder were really terrific. An immense quantity' of rain fell, and the Great Western Railway at Theale was partially flooded. A row of cottages standing near the mills of the Kennot Paper Company were struck by the lightning, and a stack of chimneys fell, but fortunately no one was injured. A great quantity of corn was completely beaten down. Several trees were also struck with the lightning.

Professor H. Morley, of University College, has discovered in the King's Library of tho British Museum, an. unpublished poem by Milton. It is in the- handwriting of Milton himself, and a blank page in the volume of " Poems, both English and Latin," is signed with his initials, and dated October, 1647. It is entitled simply " An Epitaph," and is fifty-four lines in length. The French Ambassador has engaged the Falconieri A r iila at Frascati, for the summer, where he has fortified his position against brigands with a good store of arms for. his household, a military garrison of four French soldiers, and a patrolling party of Papal gendarmes. The villa is delightfully situated, and it is to be hoped that the Count de Sartiges will enjoy his three months' villeggiatura.

An American paper states that the ramie plant, which was introduced into tho States from Java, to the soil of which it is indigenous, is attracting much attention in the South. It is claimed that, if properly cultivated and worked it will eventually take tho place of cotton, and supply any deficiency in that great staple production. It fibres are said to be much finer and stronger than the best flax, that they are as fine as Sea Island cotton, and that, after cleaning, they become very soft and white, and take colours as readily as the finest wool or silk. Several articles of clothing made from this fabric were exhibited recently at an agricultural fair in Alabama, and attracted attention by the strength and beauty of the mateial. The cultivation of tho ramie plant is said to have succeeded on a number of plantations in Alabama.

Tlie Union do la Sarthe relates tlie following : —Tlie Abbe Salvy, vicar of Senonches, had been appointed to tlie Cliurcli of Saint-Denis-des-Puits, in tlie Canton, of La Loupe. Three inhabitants at the latter place arrived at Senonches to remove his furniture, When on the point of starting, the abbd placed some bottles of cider in a corner of one of the wagons to refresh the men on the journey, and with them he brought a smaller "bottle, well covered and tied up, which he told them they must not touch, or permit anyone to touch- "When about six kilometres from Senonches, the day being very hot, one of the men said, " That must be right good stuff which the cure told us not to touch." " No doubt," replied another, " it must be far better than the cider." " Let us try it," said all three. The bottle was produced. The man who took a good sup said it was not good. " See," said he, handing it to one of his companions. The second, tried, and pronounced a still more unfavorable opinion. "As it is so bad," said the third, " I shall not have any; let us pack the bottle." Scarcely was this done, than the two who partook of the liquid fell on the ground writhing in dreadful asony. In a short time both were dead. They drank a solution of nitrate of silver, which the abb 6 used for photographic purposes. • The circumstance" had such an effect on the abb£, that he requested permission to remain in Senonches, as he did not like to enter upon a new parish under such an ' inauspicious beginning.