GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9118, 28 July 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS.

«, m BRER-DRINKING AMONG WOMEN. •i< C o-i HE truth is somefc unpalatable * said a Chicago reiitawcUeur, "but- it i=' tact that I can assert from observation ILI many women in Chicago are beer-drinkers. Ten years ago the SL 8 S of a woman drinking beer while lunching was 80 rare as to cause comment? Vol they come in droves and order ■ with'th£ familiarity of veterans their favourite brand* the flrv ny of them have 50 far cultivated the failing of their masculine brethren thafe they are not happy unless they also have 'a plate of Limburger. Wines and «tr drinks are little called for, but the So® nnrt al^ eer t n g hablt is astonishing and, although I am in the business, to™ it is really alarming." ' w ma

LOST HIS LEG IN MOCKERY, ' James O'Meara, a robust man 'soma twenty-five years of age, was at BowdS Square, Boston, the other evening, and while there a wooden-legged man passed along. James created considerable merriment by his imitations of the cripple Almost instantly the leg corresponding Sth the lame one of the man whom lie was mock ing became rigid, and the joker was obliged to lean up against a building, as locomotion was impossible. A physician declared it ? case of sparmotic contraction of the muscles, 0 Meara was taken home, weepino-i v (?«. the misfortune to be ° judoment fat hts mockery. tul

A TERRIBLE DOMESTIC TRAGEDY IN FRANCE. AtlSimes a man of seventy-five years nf age . murdered his wife and son. He had six children, and to set them up in the world he had been some years ago prevailed on bv his wife and children to sell a house. Ha soon regretted having done so, and gradually fell into a morbid state of mind, lie dined with his wife and one of his sons on Sundav and showed a good deal of illwill toward them. Shortly after dinner, the old man whose name is Crespe, followed them, and without saying a word, stabbed his wife to the heart a knife. She fell dead on the spot, Ahe son sprang up to interfere ; bub he, too, was struck down dead with a blow from the same weapon: . This cold-blooded double murder committed,- Crespe waa arrested. Far from expressing sorrow or repentance, he told the police commissary he , could not feel satisfied because he had only killed his wife and one of his children and what he wanted was to kill .all his family. ' LORD WOLSELEY ON THRIFT. At the annual general meeting of the depositors in the South Eastern and the Metropolitan Railways Savings Banks, Viscount Wolseley occupied the chair, and among those present were Sir Edward' Watkm, Lord Folkestone, Mr. Myles Fenton, Mr. Bell, and others. The report was a very favourable one, and Lord Wolseley, in moving its adoption, said : He trusted they were all deeply impressed with the advantages of thrift. He could not think' of any man who had made it a practice from early life of living within his income who was not successful, and he thought ha might say that those who failed in life failed from reckless expenditure or from indulgence in drink. How frequently they found that an unthrifty man was a man who indulged in intoxicating liquor. Ha was glad to see many women present, and that led him to remark that if there was thrift in a household it must be practised by the women, but he had observed that there was a tendency in women of all classes to spend a great deal more on dress than their position justified. (Applause.) He was glad to hear that applause, but he was afraid it came from the men and not from the women. (Laughter.) The difficulty with thrift was in beginning when the habit was once formed it lasted. ; WHAT A DERBY WINNER MAKES. ' ' At one time the amount of money paid to a Derby or Oaks winner was considered a big sum : for the six years ending with 1880 the entrants and runners for the former race yielded stakes of £4950, £5570, £6150, £58*25, £7025, and £6370 respectively, while in the same years winners of the Oaks wer« credited with the following amounts— namely, £2925, £4300, £4150, £5000,. £4425, and £4500, making a grand total, for both races during the six years, of £61,100, every penny of which was found by the owners or nominators of horses which took part in, or were entered for, the races named. During the four years ending in 1887, the amounts of the Derby stakes have been as follows• £4525, £4700, £4525, and £4900 respectively'; in the same period the Oaks stakes have averaged a little over £3300 per annum. a LADY'S DREAM. When a lady begins to dream dreams and see visions look out for her, for there is "no knowing what she will do. I know a young lady who is troubled with a husband and a year-old baby with curly golden hair. The other night she had a dream. She dreamt that she was dressing before the lookingglass in the back parlour. Looking into the front parlour through the folding doors-she beheld her husband in much too earnest conversation with' two young ladies. One of the young ladies seemed greatly interested in what he was saying, and their chairs gradually drew closer. and closer together till it came to pass that the watcher on the other side of the folding doors observed her husband's arm steal round the waist of the young lady. This was more than the indignant wife could stand, and she crept quietly up behind the preoccupied couple and aimed a slap at the girl which would probably have lifted her head from her shoulders. So powerful was it that it knocked the whole scene completely out. The dreamer awoke, and so did her husband, and likewise the baby. The gas was turned up, and revealed a very suprised-looking group. The baby was the most surprised of all. The slap intended for the dreamer's rival had alighted full on the curly golden head of her son. The baby looked all over to find out what had struck him. He was far too much astonished to cry, and finally quieted down and credited the shock to one of those atmospheric phenomena, which, a3 Lord Dundreary used to say, "no" fellow can understand." THE salvation army AT THE city TEMPLE. The other evening a public demonstration to consider the position of the Salvation Army in the salvation of the world was held in the City Temple, under the presidency of General Booth. The platform presented a very picturesque scene, native representatives from China, Palestine, Australia, Syria, India, and other nations being present in their country's costumes. The temple was crowded by members and persons interested in the army. The field state of the army at present shows 1317 British corps, with 3214 officers and 1096 :orps abroad, with 547 outposts and 3177' officers. Sergeant-Major Pantoni (an Australian aborigine) testified to his conversion ay the army. Ching Wing (a Chinese convert) sang a Chinese song and gave his testimony. An Indian female officer spoke it th difficulties which she at first experienced on her conversion, and pleaded with the women of England to give up their extravagant ideas of dress, and help India. After a Hindustani song, the General gave a short address, narrating the early experiences and progress of the army, now in its twenty-third year, and emphasising its world-wide character. He declared"that the Church of Christ could go and save the world when it wanted to, and explained the success of the army as due to the possession of a real enjoyable salvation, the determination to give salvation to everybody, special organisation for that purpose, and the willingness to pay the price. ADMIRED by THE czar. Some years ago there was a popular actor in St. Petersburg, one of whose warmest admirers was the Czar. Meeting him upon the street one day the Czar stopped him, and after a little chat asked him to perform a certain piece at the theatre that evening, promising to be present. The Czar came, but to his disappointment the performance announced was not the one he had requested, and the actor he was so fond of did not appear in the cast. Sending an aide-de-camp to the manager to inquire why his request had not been complied with, the Czar learned that the actor had mysteriously disappeared. The police were called to hunt him up, and promptly reported that he was in prison. "What for ?" ' roared the Czar. " For addressing your majesty on the street to-day," answered the head of the third section. An order for the actor release was at once written and carried to the prison. The actor was brought into the Emperor's presence. An apology was offered him. and the Czar, much mortified, asked what he could do to compensate the actor for the annoyance and mortification he had suffered. " Nothing," replied he ; '"only please don't speak to ms on the street again,"