GENERAL NEWS ITEMS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18025, 25 February 1922, Page 2 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS ITEMS

WANTS TO BE QUEEN. Princess Mm,, the 12-year-old heir to tho Dutch Throne, does not disguise her great hope of being Queen some day. She finds the waiting somewhat long. I am longing to be Queen. • I do so want to be Queen,' 7 she said, talking to some women ot the Court, " but mother says I must not count upon it too muoh, as perhaps I never shall be; one can never tell what may happen these days."

KILL IN THE LARDER. A fox was killed recently by the Moynell Hounds in the larder of Wychnor House, Burton-on-Trent, a few yards from the spot where the pack had met a few i hours earlier. IJound on ft* outskirts of the park,'the fox made for Dunstall, some miles away, and, then turning, ran right back to Wychnor, and, dashing into the. kitchen, ran past the scared maids to the larder, followed by hounds, who promptly made an end of him. (

DIAMONDS IN EGGS. A passenger travelling between Eydtkuhnen and Berlin showed such nervousness during the examination of his luggage by tne customs officers that, although nothing incriminating was found, they decided to make a careful re-examin-ation. The result was that the traveller's luncheon, consisting of bread and butter and eggs, was found to contain gold and diamonds. Pores of the bread had been filled with gold and carefully covered with butter, while the eggs had been emptied and refilled with diamonds.

GAOIi FOR MOTOR-GARS. Imprisonment for motor-cars is one of the innovations contemplated by the Paris Prefect of Police in the strufjgle which he has undertaken with the traffic problem. Every car responsible for an accident it is proposed to lock up for a period of detention in the Fourriere, a kind of city "pound." This system, says the Prefecture, would permit of a close examination of the car and would prevent the frequent excuse of drivers that their brakes refused to work. Five hundred new traffic policemen are undergoing a special course of training in Pans.

SIAMESE TWn.'S SEPARATED. How the life ol one of girl Siamese twins was saved by her being severed from her sister, who was on the point of dying, was described by Dr. Lefiliatre at the last sitting of the French Academy of Medicine. When the twins were three months old they were taken ill with an infectious disease. A turn for the.worse was noted in one of the girls Madeline— and an operation was resorted to. It was extremely difficult, as the viscerae were intermingled. Madeline died three days after the operation, but her sister Suzanne is now a healthy girl of eight.

30? SXCHAHGE SPECULATOR, The fever of speculation which has led many people to iuvcefc French francs in German marks seems to be penetrating downwards to schoolboys, to judge from a singular scene witnessed in a Paris bank recently. A boy of about 12 walked into the establishment, and in a clear, childish treble thus addressed a clerk: " Will you pleasu give me 'one frano's worth of Germau money? Or would- it. perhaps, be better for me to buy Hungarian money? , I saw in Uie newspaper this morning that the mark has gone up and Hungarian money has not, but, as Hungary has quantities of corn. I Bhould think it soon would, don't your '

?• DOZE" DANOE CAUSES STIR. A stir has been caused in the town of Nutley, New Jersey, on account of the action of certain parents in appealing to the school board to stop alleged improper dancing at school entertainments. One mother, describing what she saw at a students' dance, wrote:—"l do not know what th? dance was, but the students called it 'The Camel Walk.' The girls rested their chins on their partners' right shoulder, shut their eyes, and swayed to and fro. Some of them appeared tc doze' right off and remained without moving. A girl student has replied that in school the students are taught folkdances, which, "if w* danced them in public, would cause us to be arrested.**

SEA SICKNESS 2XPERIHENTS. Unusual experiments have been carried out in the endeavour to find a remedy for sea sickness by Dr. Pozerski, of the Pasteur Institute, Paris. With the help of an ingenious machine constrndted by'an engineer friend, Dr. Pozerski is able to reproduce the movements of a Bhip in a heavy sea. This machine was manned by a mixed, crew, including cats, dogs, pigeons, chickens, rabbits, and guinea pigs. It was found that the dogs were most seriously affected, but the rabbits and guinea pigs gave no signs of noticing the rocking of the machine, after six horn's appearing as fresh as when they were placed "on board." Dr. Pozerski intends to take this immunity of rabbits as a new starting point for research into the cause and prevention of sea sickness.

MARRIED FROM PRISON. A strong-minded young woman visited the Berlin Public Prosecutor a few weeks I ago. " My, young man," she said, "is in j prison waiting his trial for burglary. But i I want to get married, and therefore I ; beg you to let him' out for 12 hours. I j promise faithfully to bring him back in ! good time. The public prosecutor hesiI tated. but the young woman was so firm that be finally arranged matters for her and the young man was released at 8 a.m. next day. Punctually at 8 p.ra, a cab drove up to the prison door Out stepped the young woman in bridal dress and i helped out her exceedingly intoxicated j bridegroom. _ "I am sorry," she said, ; " to bring him back in such a condition, j but the only way to get him here at all was to make him drunk."

WOMAN ENGINEER. Miss Victoria Drummond, daughter of Captain and Mrs. Drummond, of Megginoh, Perthshire, who has just completed her apprenticeship as an engineer at the Lilybank Foundry, of the Caledon Shipbuilding and Engineering (company, Ltd., Dundee, celebrated the event by treating a large company of her workmates to an evening at the King's Theatre, Dundee. Miss Drummond; who belongs to one of ihe pldest Perthshire" families, is a goddaughter of the late Queen Victoria. From early childhood she has shown a mechanical bent,- making interesting little toy models. She began her engineering career in Perth, and during the war came to Dundee, where she has worked ever since. She has been made a graduate of the Institute of Marine Engineers, and hopes shortly to go- to sea as an engineer.

WORDLESS MAN'S 'HONESTY. The chance finding of a valuahle poarl necklace has yielded a reward of £100 to a young Birmingham jeweller, and is likely to give him another start in life. Mrs. Stanley Johnstone, wife of the president of tHe Birmingham Jewellers and Silversmiths' Assocififtion, dropped the necklace when about to re-enter her motor-car and advertised for its recovery. Joseph Sedgeley, 'a<ged 24, of Heaton Street, Hockley, found it, and was able to tell that the clasp was of three genuine diamonds set in platinum. Even then its real worth was not realised, but a sister of Sedgeley's sweetheart saw the advertisement and called attention to the similarity between tho description and the necklace he had found. "It was just an ordinary find, but it is a Godsend for us," Sedgeley said. "What shaft I do with the money? Well, three-fourths of it is in the bank, and I have given some to my. aunt, with whom I have lived since my grandmother died. I am a jewellery* mounter by traxk"

CHEAPER WHISKY. Scottish grain distillers haTe decH«*j J'' reduce their prices 6d per gallon II January 1. The mhictw will not I*3 the consumer at present; the reS™ has been made possible by the falliifa price of grain. The taxation 'J& *M of whisky is 8s sid in England '

CHEAP AIR TAXIS. An aerial taxi service which C nt. *v price of ground taxi-cab service CbS inaugurated by the Berkshire aS Company, with head quarters in Birm „ ham. It will enable Birmingham $$& men to make speedy trips to plac« ]g Norwich. Hull, and Bristol. If *&3M to catch boats at Holyhead, ftSffi Southampton the aerial taxi service'lii accommodate them. The charges ™ based on a mileage rating. w

RED-INKED BUST STARTS FIGRt \ At the University of Ro me , fo IVI . presence of many distinguished S the bust was unveiled of Oberdiv? ' martyr of Italian independence, tti, '* Senator Barzilai removed the cloth cow? log the bust Oberdauk's features KB found to be splashed with red ink. P demonium broke loose, Fascisti tM Sedilionists) students attacks ftm munist students. In the midst of a*? lent affray with fists and sticks an. volvcr aliot rang out and made the r«2 worse. Calm was not restored uatfl S afterwards by the intervention of the mm ftssors and the quieter students P

WIFE'S LOVE HELPS WCTH 38C05J .The blessings of the first wife of M Orraham, an aged coroner of Durham abled him better to enjoy life's J second wife. He pa.d a tribute to \$ at the funeral of the second. Wh u j£ services were over he turned to the grave on tho plot and placed a »S?' °A,V vith t l ie foUcnv i r 'g kwiplffiTo Jennm at rest. In grateful m L, brance of her husband's happy wSg her or nearly 36 years, which er2 him to enjoy her blessings and much a 2 sequent happiness with her coaallv-kT successor." * }

PENCIL THEFT TO GET 818,, J. H. Guy applied to poKce.hy. quarters at Goshen, New York, for M ing, and was turned away. He ttealL Orange County gaol, a few blocks a» sr and. when admittance was refused, »« nounced he was going to do mm desperate. He went straight to an M forced an entrance and stole two MM' oils, which he exhibited a few *j£u later to Patrolman Samuel Van S. convince him that he was a bm $fim titled to a night's lodging. He is'aS in the county gaol waiting theacfa' the grand jury and quite satisfied: '

SOLD INTO SULTANS HABBK. Believed to have died at sea six jest ago while a passenger on Italian liner Anoona, torpedoed M M Germans in the Mediterranean, $mm Bufaletti, daughter of a Turin piail.;) now reported to be in the Imperial n2x» at Constantinople, After being rfsujj Signorina Bufaletti was taken to Biarfii, where, it is stated, she was sold a \ slave to the Sultan of Turkey, whoniadt: her one of his favourites. By him atoll said to have had two children. Stgsorini Bafaletti's family has now appb'ed to tb(i Queen of Italy to secure her liberation Her Majesty has promised to do everything possible. H PARLOURMEN" MEQU WJS. ; In spite of the in England, on essentially! fession is overcrowded with' men and deserted by women. A woma:j in t];e Wes^: ; End of London, after seeking in ivain to' a parlourmaid and getting scarcely s a single bona-fide answer to her tidyerfe ment., decided to substitute a man. Rcf advertisement drew scores of aiswersfroin men seeking the office of " parionrmin" and*they came from many ranks of :_lif(. including men of considerablei'educationalaccomplishments. Tliis experience is-tbJ; general one, and, if it is not simriang. at a time of unemployment that, ma should clamoup for snch a p<st, it isiardto discover whaft the «4«' j women are doing. ><■, '■'■> GOHGERT EXPLOSION. ■ An audience of 1300 attending a conctr* in the GovairTown Hall, Glasgow,jOT 7 thoroughly startled by an explosion vtif. occurred in the middle of a woman artist? song, and appears to have a boy's intense interest in chemicals- m explosion was accompanied by a dazapS flare of light and followed 6y chofong fumes. People began to roshto the dwrs and a disaster seemed inevitable, w«A Jack Chambers, a coloured comedian, w Mr. Harvey, the chairman of the rushed on to the stage, shouted thai p™' was no danger, and begged the audienca.. to keep their seats. When the confusion mf over it was found that one of a groap of boys in tho middlo of the hail W considerably tho worse for wear, his jacke* - having been tourn to shreds, while seven l who were sitting near him were scorclKfl. It seems that ho had in his pocket M bottles of chemicals, whose contents.« through the breaking of tho bottles or.jnsome other way, have come in conWi with each other and formed a highly* citable compound. I.

DINNER AND TOBACCO HERO. m Mr. Chamberlain, a customs office?-.. 1 * Wellington, who gave up smoking duny he war to help the French wounded M var orphans, has just been presented wi«\ he insignia of Chevalier of the .Leg*, if Honour. At the end of August, 1M». \fr. Chamberlain went to the French m iassy and explained that ho, had dea«» ■ ;o give up smoking and give the WW hus saved to help French vwmded-"*. var orphans. He handed in £2 anrt related his offering every month. JA** hinking £2 not enough, ho gave «F&« lonrse of his dinner even' day ana m teased the sum to £4. A few weeks w \l Jvsserand. the French AmMffl ailed Mr. Chamberlain to the Emty md told him that M. Briand fo"K rio to Washington had been *J ,f what he had done for France and -W. lie French Premier wished to on* grille legion of Honour. Tears came; to | j... Chamberlain's eyes ss M. J<*gg| pinned the little red cross on his M« a v and said: "I make you Chevalier of » Legion of Honour."

BURNING BOY MYSTERY. Much excitement tut* been caused a Hungarian spiritualist circles by m mysterious agencies which appaisnwy m at -work with a, 13-year-old peasantrWJ named John Farias, the son of a g| ger in tie country town of KiCSkeß - Since his earliest youth his simple tt>Bm ha,ve been frightened to see furnJt "J; moving when he was in the room gsj to hear whispers from empty W&gjS Since he passed his twelfth Wjm these uncanny happenings are 6aia have taken a, more MFv Mvsterious fires broke out in the Mm where he lived. The local i* l after investigations, put down Hie am of these fires to evaporations of ?»?"£. ■in the soil. The superstitious nllnfiJJ however, were not satisfied, and J . nl ' n .„ wr his mother were obliged to leave tM4gH and go to Budapest, Hero events m | themselves. At night flames flickered oa» . bed. where the boy slept, with his sn* burning in fever, and singed the F'Pk Very soon no house in Budapest w«% 0 • ing to harbour the dangerous tenant,'> : seemed unconsciously to bring in ™^ s and unwelcome guests. John is now &j, house of a prominent HiwflTW spiritualist, who hooes to solve the rw and who claims to have discovered » «*■ and 'brilliant medium for 6caji«*