GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9184, 13 October 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS.

A parson's character. I SHOULD not, says the London corresnr> dent of the Liverpool 'Mercury, have be- , lieved the story which was told rne lash' night if it had not been established by i rre .' fragable evidence. A well-known company wishing to appoint an agent in a country district was referred to the parish clergy, man for the character of an applicant. Xho reply ran thus : —" He has an excellent character so far as I know ; I have heard nothing against him, can therefore s- lV nothing against him ; but he is a Liberal. ,, A ROMANTIC STORY. Another rather romantic story is rr o ; n r, the round of the Glasgow Exhibition. X few weeks ago a gentleman, while making some purchases at a stall, was unfortunate enough to lose a diamond ring which e wore on his little finger. It was only after he had left the building that he discovered his loss, and, not knowing where it mi"ht; have dropped off, he advertised in all the papers, and only as a last resource wont; back to the stall. The pretty attendant there was very glad of his reappearance, as that morning she had found the ring at the back of some goods. Naturally, the gentleman was overjoyed at its recovery, and stayed a long time chatting to the finder. The next day he was back again—in short", it was the old story. The sequel is that the diamond ring has again gone off his finger—this time transferred to the third finger of a pretty little hand—a certain exhibitor is looking out for a new assistant and a quiet marriage is on the cards. DEAF MUTES IN THE UNITED STATUS. Professor Graham Bell has been directing his attention to the way in which deaf mutes are cared for in the United States. He finds that the ratio of increase of deaf mutes in America is out of all proportion to the increase in the rest of the population, this being due to the fact that they arc taken, in the majority of instances, from their families very young, and are placed in asylum?, where they become acquainted with each other to the exclusion of the rest of the world. The consequence is that $5 per cent, of the deaf mutes intermarry, and that already 33J per cent, of the offspring are born deaf and dumb, and the ratio will go on increasing until, Professor Bell says, an alarming state of things is reached. DO LIBRARY COOKS SPREAD INFECTION ? A good deal of discussion having taken place on the subject of the spread of infectious diseases by means of the books in circulating libraries, the Dresden municipal authorities have had a thorough experimental investigation of this question conducted. A number of much-used volumes from the town library were taken for the purpose. The dust from the leaves and covers was sown in nutrient media and cultures reared, the result being that no microbes belonging to infectious diseases were found—the duss being, in fact, nothing but ordinary dust of a harmless character. Again, the dirtiest; leaves in the books were rubbed first with the dry linger and then with the wet finger. In the first case scarcely any microbes were found on the linger; in the second case plenty were found, but all appeared to be of a noninfectious character. Especially is it noted that there were no tubercle bacilli. Lastly, books were soaked for two days in spirit; containing 10 per cent, of carbolic acid. This treatment destroyed all the bacilli, and proved harmless to the volumes. The conclusion arrived at was, says the Lancet, that the danger of circulating libraries spreading infection is very slight, but a recommendation is given to dust books well before reading them, and never to wet the linger in the mouth for the purpose of turning over the leaves. a lover's leap to death. At Lewes, the other day, an inquest was held on the body of Isabella Victoria Henwood, described as a fine-looking young girl, and daughter of a Lewes tradesman, who committed suicide under extraordinary circumstances. Deceased, it appears, had been keeping company with a young man, but her parents objected, and insisted that further communication between the two should cease. She dressed with scrupulous care, wrote a letter to her lover, and, having posted it, made her way to the top of one of the large chalk pits on the outskirts of Lewes, from one of the highest points of which she deliberately threw self over in the presence of a number of persons who were passing in the road below; She fell a height of over 100 ft., and when recovered her body was a mangled and lifeless mass. "try a little AFFECTION" !" An elderly man asked the Westminster magistrate a few days ago what he could do with his wife. She had concealed from him the whereabouts of his son since 16185, when he went away from home. Mr. Biron : Is it not rather late to complain ? What is the meaning of this sudden curiosity on your part? You have been content for three years. Applicant: I have never been contented. I have been all over the place looking for my son, and have lost my work to do so. Now there is strong ground for suspicion that my wife has all along known where he might be found. Mr. Biron : I can't make her. Better coax her. (Laughter.) Have you tried that? Applicant (decisively) : No. Mr. Biron : I thought not. lam afraid you try shaking your list at her. Try a little affection. Truth to tell, the applicant, as he left the witness- ' box, did not seem at all to appreciate the '. advice. A TRAGIC STORY. The tragic story of the young Pesth, who ' threw herself under a train, has had a fatal sequel. When she arrived at Pesth a photograph of the young man she had been disappointed by was found in her pocket, and also a letter addressed to him, in which she begged him to attend her funeral, and to place a camellia on her coilin. He went to see her before she died, and as he approached her bedside she said, "If you had known this would have happened you would have arranged matters differently !'' He stooped over her and kissed her forehead. She smiled, an-: , quietly passed away. The scene is describe! as one never to be forgotten by those who witnessed it. SMOKING AND DIGESTION. It is very unusual to find in a grca!» smoker a healthy appetite for plain food, and medical opinions may be had in any number as to dyspepsia caused by smoking. To whatever degree the habit "effects the nervous organisation, it appears to be certain that the process which is regarded as soothing is really destructive. Sir Benjamin Brodie must have known what he was writing about when he declared that " the poison of tobacco acts by destroying the function of the brain." In a Russian hospital in ISS6 a Dr. Chadnowski took the liberty of examining by means of a pump the digestive powers of six smoking and as many non-smoking soldiers, and he recorded that "in the former the time required for digestion averaged seven hours while in the case of the non-smokers the mean period of digestion was only six hours." With the present enormous consumption of tobacco the social consequence?, apart from those concerning the bodily and mental powers of the consumers, are important. A WIFE OR A CIGAR. A peculiar action for breach of promise is engaging the attention of the Sheriff at the Glasgow Sheriff's Court. Damages are laid at £500. The defender in the "ease stated that the young lady, by letter, had severely remonstrated with him for smoking— abstention on his part from smoking having been, as she contended, a condition of the engagement. She had given him a final choice between her and a cigar. He contended that he was thus at liberty to choose ; and having gone in for a cigar, the young lady had no claim for damages. The Sheriff closed the record, and said lie would take time to consider the correspondence and pleadings. A TERRIBLE FALL. On August 17 Mr. Collier, the deputycoroner for South East Middlesex, held an inquiry at the London Hospital into the death of Lily Rosina Turner, aged 4, lately living at 34, Cambridge Buildings, Mile End, New Town. Sarah Turner, this wife of a labourer, said that the deceased was her daughter. On Wednesday last, at 8 a.m., witness went into a room adjoining the one that deceased and four other children were in. During her absence the children started playing afc " schools," and the deceased said that she would be the " dunce." She then got upon a table next the window, and, leaning back, the window suddenly flew open and the child was precipitated into the street below, a distance of about. .SO feet. The window opened outwards, and the only fastening was a little bolt the bottom. The deceased was taken at once to the hospital, where she died half-au-hour after admission t