GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14925, 24 February 1912, Page 5 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS.

BUSINESS MANAGER s FOR A TOWN. The town of Staunton, Virginia, has* engaged a " general manager." He has put the place on a business basis, its finances have been reorganised,-and the town is flourishing. FINDS IN AN OLD.♦ COAT. ' The wife of a' . Walworth labourer bought an old . coat . for her son at' a rag shop in -East Lane, Walworth. ; In. going through the pockets her son discovered lour ±J5-notes, two 'postal, orders of recent date, and a -railway season ticket issued on - January- 1, 1911. " "- WORKER'S SAVINGS..; ' i As the result of' 44 years' ; > work; as a warehouseman' in • the ■ service_■: of -a, Manchester firm,, Mr.. Isaac .Oilman, of Warrington, left mi ,-estate which was s proved at £8689.. That, he possessed this little nest egg came a surprise to his friends, as Mr. Gilmani had .always. lived in very humble circumstances. ! ■

EVERY -BONE- BROKEN. • , ' A Norwegian emigrant, returning. home ,from: America ,to Christiania, travelled by the emigrant train from Southampton to Hull, and, when two miles north of Grantham he fell from the train, and was struck by a passing express, being - killed instantly. .. Evory bone in his -body was broken. - - ' - • ■'' : -■■••■■■■. EGG LINING AS A SUBSTITUTE. ': ■ Dr. Max ' Staller, "of ; the • Mount Sinai Hospital "in Philadelphia, claims to have discovered a novel- substitute for human skin in grafting operations. The doctor declares that the white lining of eggs is a thoroughly efficient substitute, and that his discovery will > revolutionise the pre sent science of skin grafting. He;argues that from the .thin skin of the egg shell the chicken is produced, and after three months' experiments lie has 'found that placed on s. • burned, surface the cells in this skin multiply so rapidly and the membrane becomes so large that it spreads over the entire affected surface. ■ ■ . ■■■'!■ ' / : '.. • . FISH POISONED IN; THOUSANDS. : Thousands of fresh-water fish of /many varieties have been .poisoned t in the , River Wear in the neighbourhood of Chester-le-street, and found lying on their baeks under' the banks. The vast majority, were; dead. They were removed by the poorer people 'of/the district in great bade, and many salmon obtained weighed over 51b. Some were cooked, but they smelt and tasted of gas and were uneatable. >■ It is believed that they must have been poisoned by gas water from the collieries. i

HEIRESS PROPOSES TO A CLOWN.

Desire Forger, a circus clown, > was, arretted some months ago for burglary. He managed to escape, but was caught again and tried. The doctors declared him to be irresponsible, and he was sent to a lunatic asylum at Clermont. He escaped from the asylum, is charged with committing some more burglaries, and wafi arrested _in the Paris : suburb of St Denis. Now a wealthy spinster, 14 years younger than himself, who has never seen Forger, has taken advantage of Leap Year to propose marriage to him through hi« lawyer, the Paris correspondent of the Express says. She is 29 years of age, Ferger is 42. He has no money. She has £800 a year in her own right. ' Ferger has accepted her proposal, and the marriage will take place in prison before the trial.

I PRIMA DONNA'S REST CURE. j Mine. Lina Cavalieri has invented a new rest cure, the following particulars of I which are given: —Lie down on the floor j and stretch out your arms and logs. i Breathe in slowly, counting up to eight ' the while. Then 'breathe out at the same ! rate. The nerves will thus be unstrung ! and rested. The next-thing is to lift the ! left leg slowly until the knee touches the i chest, after which you let it drop heavily 'to the floor. Proceed likewise with the i right leg. Then lift the left arm slowly j mid let it drop, and .continue with the ; right arm. This rest cure should be prac- ' tised every morning. If, moreover, the i patient never touches wine or spirits, ! drinks only sterilised water, eats very 1 little meat, 'and not much of anything else, i and finally never worries, he or she has j a reasonable chance of - preserving eternal ! youth. THE RIGHT TO HISS. The practice of hissing in a theatre re- , reived the sanction of a Vienna law court i in a, case just tried, although this was j only a side issue. At the recent premiere • of a piece entitled "Papa", in the People's ; Theatre two neighbours in the stalls quar- | relied. Herr Alt, a manufacturer, - who | applauded the piece, was much,annoyed ; because a merchant named -Dub- sitting j next to him hissed it, and finally gave the I latter the benefit of his opinion that " it's ; low to hiss, and a, sign of bad manners and I defective education." For this insult Horr j Dub ? brought an action, and the > judge j fined Herr Alt 4d, remarking that himj ing is just as permissible as clapping, and that persons of excellent upbringing may legitimately have recourse to it when irritated, ; for instance, : by the senseless applause- of a claque. '