GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19215, 2 January 1926, Page 3 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

A COW'S ESCAPADE. Becoming frightened in a Nottingham street, a cow dashed along for about two miles, scattering people in all directions. Attracted by its own reflection in the glass of a big store, the animal rushed into the shop, smashing a window. The cow then attacked a man in the entrance to another shop, and ho escaped by throwing himself on the ground and crawling under the animal's body. Eventually the animal was captured and driven off in a cattle lloat. TREASURES OF LAMBETH. Some of the most beautiful old furniture in London has passed into tiie safe keeping of the English Church for ever. It, is the historic collection in Lambeth I'alace, the. home in London of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and includes more than a thousand'pieces. Up to now each iifw Archbishop has had to buy the furniture, but a few churchmen have just jriven enough money to buy the furniture for the church. * KING'S VOW TO QUEEN MOTHER. " The King has let it, he known that he leads a chapter of the Bible every day of his life," said Engineer-Rear-Admiral \ R. Ennlin, speaking at a recent demonstration arranged by the World Evangelical Alliance. In 1312 the King, in answer to an inquiry, declared that he had promised Queen Alexandra as long ago as 1881, when he was a boy of 16, that he would read a chapter of the Bible daily. Ever since he has adhered to the promise. FASHION AND ELEPHANTS. The fashionablo woman's passion for rings and bracelets mado from elephant s hair set in precious metal is being followed up by a craze for all sorts of ''elephant novelties." It is the desire of every woman to have elephants carved from ivory round about her, either one or a regiment of elephants. Elephants are carved in ivory in many sizes, and these are used for all manner of purposes. The last word is probably represented by a necklaco of ivory elephants. In the ornament of this order seen recently in London, there, wero nine ivory elephants, the largest and central animal being between three and four inches long. THE AMAZING AMAZON. The Amazon is the king of streams. From first to last, it receives over 1200 tributaries, of which more than 100 are large-sized rivers, and rise so far apart, and have their floods and ebbs at such different, seasons that the Amazon is at about the same height the year round. As some points on its lower course one bank is invisible from the other. The beholder seems to be looking on a yellow sea of fresh water. Its mouth, including that of the Para, is 180 miles in width, and it is navigable for large-sized ocean steamers for 1000 miles from the sea; and so vast is the flood that the ocean is tinged with yellow for 400 miles from the coast of Brazil. JEWEL RAIDS ON WOMEN. A gang of young men, known as the " Deerfoots " on account of their speed, is believed to have been responsible for an epidemic of pendant-snatching that has occurred recently in the theatre district of London. During recent weeks no fewer than twelve such robberies have been committed by " snatch and-run" thieves. The thefts usually are committed as the theatres are emptying and when the streets are crowded. The latest victim is Mrs. J." 0. Cock, of Shrewsbury, whose pearl pendant was snatched while she was waiting for a taxicab after leaving a theatre in Shaftesbury Ave-nue. The pendant was a large circular one with a black pearl, and was attached to a platinum chain. BABIES BURNED IN TENT. Because he had children, Richard Hughes, a Pontypool miner, could not get rooms, so he had to live in a hell tent with his wife and their three children. While he had gone to meet his wife, •who was shopping, sparks from a fire outfcido set the tent on fire, and two of the children, both babies, were burned to death. At tho inquest the coroner commended Llewellyn Reed, a collier living in a neighbouring hut, who pulled the children from the blazing tent and saved the life of a third child. The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death. Hughes was wounded and gassed in France. His wife was formerly a private governess, and passed through Swansea Training College. SILK FROM SPIDERS. The weaving of gowns from gossamer, which is now so much in evidence, was suggested in the 18th century. Le Bon of Languedoc prepared a " silk " from npiders, which was afterwards woven into gloves and stockings. lUruis XIV. of France possessed a coat Jnnrie of cobweb, and in 1877 the of Brazil presented Queen Victoria with a dress composed entirely of ' cobweb which, for fineness of texture and beauty of fabric, surpassed the most valuable silk. Nevertheless, cobweb " silk " is not likely to become a commercial proposition, for the voracious spider eats every day 27 times its own weight of insect-food, which is, of course, expensive, aid produces in return only half a grain of " silk." ALPINE WIRELESS. The first Wireless Rescue Station in tho Alps has been fitted up. It is at St. Marguerite's Hut, 5250 ft. above sea-level, on the route to the summit, of Monte Rosa. It is expected that it will be of great assistance in saving human lives. Many victims are claimed each year from the great number of mountain enthusiasts. Usually, if a climber or even a whole party of climbers be in danger, the guide is forced to spend many hours in getting down to the valley in search of help, and it has often happened that the rescue party arrived too late to save the victims of a crevasse or an avalanche. Now, from this wireless station, it will be possiblo to summon aid from the mountain itself, and half a day or even more will be gained in circumstances in which even minutes may be of the utmost value. OFFICERS' TRAGIC " RAG." The story of a " rag " which ended in tragedy at the Royal Marine Officers' if ess, Chatham, was told at an inquest •'it the Royal Naval Barracks on Submarine Lieut. Dun,aid Charles Deacon, 24, of Brighton. Lieut. Lionel Arthur Taylor said that he. and Deacon attended the mess as guests. After dinner they played pool and had a sing-song. ■ About midnight there was a general scrap," in which the officers chased rint; another from room to room. Deacon, In avoid his pursuers, ran into a sub'ivay, from the balcony at the end of which lie apparently and fell into the water on to some steps 30ft. below. Surgeon-Lieut. George Geoffrey Newfnan and Lieut. Edwaul Ashley Brown hgreed that the lagging was of a. friendly pain re. The jury returned a verdict of -accideath.

PRINCE LOSES A SOUVENIR. The Prince of Wales has lost a highly treasured solid .silver ink tray, which disappeared in an unaccountable manner. fhe inkstand, which tho Prince had owned for a number of years, was taken on board the Repulse, and was continually used by him during his recent tour to South Africa and South America. When tho journey ended the tray was packed away with other luggage, but when the Prince s effects were unpacked at York House the ink tray was missing. Since then Scotland \ aid and court officials have been vainly endeavouring to trace the missing article. GALLANT GUNNER. A hen Driver A. E. Johnson, Royal Artillery, saw a pair of horses attached to an Army waggon galloping through High Street, Aldershot, ho threw himself at their heads. As he hung on to thera they mounted the pavement and wero brought to a standstill. As one of the horses fell Johnson seized a little child who was in danger of being crushed and pushed it through a doorway into safety. In Aldershot orders the C1.0.C.-in-Chief, General Sir Philip Chetwode, commends this gallantry, and directs ail entry of it to bo made in Johnson's conduct sheets. FISH FROZEN ALIVE. a It seems a shocking thing to freeze fish alive to keep them fresh for the market at tho journey's end, but it has been found that when they are unfrozen they are just as lively as before, and show no sign of injury or illness! It was noticed that fish in Siberian rivers that are frozen soiid in winter came out all right in the spring, and this gave an idea for experiments which have been going on for some time. The sj'stem is now being adopted in America as a regular thing. The fish are* put in a tub into which oxygen is forced, and after being kept three days just above freezing point they are frozen, and the blocks of ice, stripped of the tub, are wrapped up and put into cold storage. THE GENERAL'S HAT. A traveller who has visited Chinese Turkestan tells a merry tale about what happened one day in Yangi Hissar, near Kashgar. Only five Europeans have ever been to this place, but this was a distinguished soldier, much liked by the people of the country, and he was entertained one evening at dinner by a native general of high rank. The general, on taking his seat at tho table, gave his hat to one of his attendants to hold. But the poor man already had a sword and carbine to encumber him, and there was no peg on which the hat could be hung. So he took the hat, all richly bedecked and trimmed with costly fur, and stuck it on his own head, where it remained until his master required it again at the end of the banquet. WOMAN PILOT'S ADVENTURE. A woman pilot was lost, for a time while engaged in a trial solo flight in her aeroplane. The woman, Mrs. Elliott Lynn, le:ft the London Flying Club at Edgware at halfpast two with the intention of passing a test for. her pilot's certificate. In these tests the area of flight is limited to three miles from the aerodrome. When Mrs. Lynn ascended, however, the visibility was bad and a mist hung over the district. Nothing was seen or heard of her until some time later, when it was learned that she had made a forced landing at Slough. Mrs. Lynn was nono the worse for hci experience, nor was the machine damaged in any way. Sho has been actively associated with the women's athletic movement for a considerable time, and was the first woman member of the London Flying Club.