General News Items

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21112, 20 February 1932, Page 5 (Supplement)

General News Items

BEETLES' COSTLY RAVAGES. Examination of the roof of the parish church at Chagford, Devonshire, has ■l s hown that its collapse, which occurred just at the close of a service, is due to the ravages of the death-watch beetle. The entire roof of both chancel and nave has lately been held up by scaffolding. i s estimated that lepairs will cost about £2OOO. HELP FOR BLIND LAW STUDENTS. j When William .Brown Hextall was making his will he thought out a, splendid scheme. He was himself a barrister and knew the amount of legal reading necessary for his work. Almost impossible for a blind person, he must have thought. And now there is a Hextall Fund, in Britain, for Blind Law Students, made possible by the money Mr. Hextall loft in his will. Grants will be made toward training fees, and the supply of Braille copies of /legal text-books is to bo greatly improved. •« SLIMMING/' WHILE RINKING. A roller skating boom has invaded the Potteries, in England, where the motto has become, " Lose it on wheels." Buxom wompn and stout men are to be found nightly in large numbers on the different rinks, supporting the claim that roller skating is a great weight reducer and indigestion cure. " It is possible to lose a stone, a month es the result of slimming treatment awbeel," one rink manager said lately. " We have installed weighing machines to prove this.'' FAITHFUL HORSE'S LAST DUTY. Bobby, a 20-year-old horse, performed his last service for his master recently when he drew the wagon carrying the body of Mr. Fred Barnard, a To-year-old Manchester carter, to the cemetery. The horse had never worked for any one but Mr. Barnard, and the carter's dying wish wafe that Bobby should take lnm to lus grave. The animal was restive during the two-mile journey. Lt seemed to miss the usual touch on the reins, tossed its head from side to side, and neighed and whinnied. Special permission was granted for Bobby to draw the waggon within the grounds of Gorton Cemetery. THE DAYS OF POMPEH. During excavation work near the, old church of the Jesuits at Trier, Germany, remains of Roman walls were uncovered which in part, bore paifttings. further excavations have brought to light ttu remains of the walls of a room painted in fine colours in the same patterns as are found in the houses in Pompeii. An elk, dolphins and various birds can still be recognised. That is the first discovery of the kind made in this,, old city, the former " Augusta Trevirorum," where the Roman Emperors of the Western EmSire had their seat from about 268 to 00 A.D. / SANTA CLAUS' LOST LETTERS. In a drawer at the General Post Office in London are some of the quaintest letters ever posted—all of them to a man who does not exist. They are a pathetic, yet amusing, collection of the many letters dropped by tiny fingers into pillar-boxes all over the country to " Dere Santa Claus." 1 This annual mail to the benevolent Old Man of the Snows, was again heavy last Christmas. " Many people say children do not believe in Santa Claus, but the number of these letters that we receive every year disproves this," a postal official said. " Only now and again does the address of the sender appear on the letter." GIRL SOLICITOR OF 21. Blackpool's youngest solicitor, and probably the youngest woman solicitor in Britain, is Miss Kathleen Rushworth. At the age of 21 she has passed with honours the final examination of the Law Society. She has never yet failed in any scholastic examination. After matriculating at Blackpool High School with four distinctions, Miss Rushworth was articled to a solicitor at the / age of 16. "It was entirely my own idea," she stated; " a sort of determination to be independent. Through passing matriculation I was exempt from the Law - Society's preliminary examination, and I passed the intermediate when I was 18." She studied every night after office hours. SHY GIRLS IN WALES. The girls of Llangollen, Wales, have beaten all records for shyness and modesty. For many hundreds of years the prettiest girl in the Vale of Llangollen has claimed the title of " The Fair Maid of Llangollen." and if her claim was judged to be fair by the townspeople, and if there were none other prettier than she, then the title was hers until death. The famous arid ancient title was held for more than half a century by Mrs. Jane Edwards, who, in her youth, was famous for her beauty. But since her death at the age of 85., in May last, no one has come forward to claim the title. The mystery remains unsolved, but it is not because there are no pretty girlj in Llangollen. BODY GIVEN TO SCIENCE. Directions wfere given in the will of Sir t Thomas Stanton, consulting engineer, of Middlesex, who died recently, that his body should be placed at the disposal of St. Thomas' Hospital for dissection purposes for one month and that afterwards •it should be cremated. Sir Thomas who was found drowned at Pevensey Bay, Sussex, left estate valued ■ altogether at £14,593, with net personality £12,894. In reference to the instructions regarding the disposal of his body an official at St. Thomas' Hospital stated: "It is not Unusual for a/ person to express a wish that his or her body shall be handed over to a hospital for dissection and experiment. Jt is rarely, however, that such offers are of real use to a hospital. It is not generally known that a man has not the right to dispose of his body. After "is death it belongs to the. estate." RELICS OF ANCIENT GREECE. The excavation of Ithaca, begun in 1930 on the initiative of Sir Ronnoil Rodd, and conducted by Mr. Heur! ley, the assistant director, and other members °f the British Archaeological School at Athens,, have again proved fruitful. In 8 year's campaign, further exploration of U the prehistoric settlement, 011 Pelikata a nd of the rave at Pollis—both in the northern half of the island—was made, At the former several more Early Helladic Vases were recovered: at the latter 35 complete vases and fragments of several ■ others were extracted from the water ®nd mud which now cover the original floor of the cave. In order to get the vases out, the workmen had to stand up to their thighs in '■ anr ' g ro pe about with their hands. The v ases are almost all of a specially interesting late Mycenaean class. The then moved to the south part If xr " le ' s ' aiK ' —'he. saddle between p Mountains; A'ctos and Merov'gli. Here, remains of a fairly extensive Greek town ;s,°i the fourth century B.C. were discovered.

EIGHT-MILE RUN AT 75. A man of 75, Mr. A. E. Pordage, of Southampton, competed in the Hampshire Amateur Athletic Club eight-mile road raco at Southampton a few weeks ago, and completed the course in 95 minutes. Air. Pordage, who was a well-known runner 50 years ago, was quite fresh at the end of the race, and said lie wished Uie distance had been 10 miles. CUPID IN A COURT. A nineteen-year-old girl and her twenty-year-old sweetheart, whose parents had forbidden them to marry because the youth was earning only a small wage, appealed to the Stratford magistrates, at Stratford, England, recently for their permission. The application was granted by the chairman of the bench, who gave the couple 10s for a wedding present. BREAD IN THE DUSTBIN. The refuse carts of Plymouth tip 520 tons of good bread in the dumps every year. This discovery has been marie by the city corporation following information concerning a lb. loaf, two lib. loaves, and two half-loaves being found in a refuse cart. It has been estimated that the quantity of bread wasted in Plymouth would supply each of the city's unemployed with nearly a pound of bread a day. MEDICAL STUDENT AT 92. Krauz Kabina, the oldest, Czecho-Slovak-ian student—he was 92—has died at Pressburg, the capital of Slovakia. The "eternal student," as he was called, had worked as a lawyer at Budapest, but after the breakdown withdrew into private life. Several years ago Kabina. began to study medicine, but. death prevented him from graduating as a physician. The whole medical faculty attended his burial and deposited a wreath with the inscription: " To our oldest colleague." SCHOOL FOR HORSEMANSHIP. Would-be horsemen and drivers learn the tricks of handling the reins upon wooden dummies at an unusual school of horsemanship just opened at Buhleben, Germany. It provides classes both for equestrians, who ride for sport and for teamsters and tradesmen who drive grocery and milk waggons. The pupils hold reins which consist of weighted ropes passing over pulley blocks while a teacher criticises them. Instruction is also given in correct posture while seated on a horse. Both men and women attend the school. LONDON'S OLDEST CYCLIST. Sir James Fortescue-Flannery, who was aged 80 year recently, claims to be the oldest cyclist in the City of London. " Cycling in congested traffic helps the nerves." he said. Sir James made his first bicycle more than 60 years aco. It had wooden wheels Since then he has used bicycles of practically every type, from a 54in ordinary to his present modern low-built machine. For a healthy life, including nearly 30 years of Parliament, and more than 60 years of business, he gives all the credit to cycling. STRANGE CREATURE IN A WELL. It has been reported from the village of Podvelezh, in Herzegovina, that peasants drawing water were alarmed to hear a heavy flapping inside the well, and looking down, saw a strange animal. They immediately rushed for their rifles and riddled it with shots. One of the bravest of the peasants allowed himself to be let down the well by ropes, and brought back the creature, which is described as resembling a hen, but 10 to 35 times larger. Its left side is covered with thick reddish-brown fur, while the head and left side are black. It was handed to the hospital at Mostar for identification. BRITISH BUTLERS PRAISED. America is still the land of opportunity for Europeans willing to enter domestic service, according to the manager of one of the biggest employment agencies. The demand for trained household servants has been unaffected by the depression, and jobs can be had at any time. Britons make the best butlers and menservants, the authority said. French and Hungarians are the best cooks, and Scandinavians and Germans the best housemaids. Americans make very bad servants. Americans, he said, had too much " independence " to acquire the proper attitude necessary for really efficient domestic service. £9OO GEM IN RUBBISH. A gleam saved a £9OO diamond from being swept with some rubbish into the sea at Brighton, England, lately. Mrs. Van der Elst, of Woodingdcan House, near Brighton, went to the Palace Pier with her husband and Commander LockerLampson, M.P. They visited the shooting gallery, and then about a-quarter of an hour later Mrs. Van dor Elst discovered the stone was missing from the ring she was wearing. Mr. Van der Elst ran back to tlic gallery, and the attendant handed him the diamond. The man said he saw a gl.eam in some rubbish he was sweeping along the floor. There was a trap-door in the floor, and had the gem not been seen it would have gone into the sea with the rubbish. * CANADA'S PENSIONS BILL. To those who served in the Great War and to their dependents the Government of Canada at the end of November had assumed an annual pension liability of more than ,£8,500.000 apart from provision for retroactive awards. This was an increase of £BOO,OOO in the past 18 months, a period in which new legislation liberalising the pensions had come into force. On March 31, 1930, 011 the pensions lists were the names of 56_.996 war veterans for disabilities and 19,644 dependent pensioners, these hitler consisting of widows, orphans and parents of men who have died, making a total of 76,640. Twenty months later pensions were being paid to 73,787 011 account of disability and 19,485 as dependents, a total of 93,272 and an increase of 16,632. PAINTING OF FINGERNAILS. French women appear to have at last succeeded in adapting to their own use the American fashion of painting their fingernails. When this practice reached France is was widely adopted. In every small Paris restaurant and on every oilier cafe terrace bright red and sometimes gilded finger tips were to be seen. The general verdict seems to be that they were not a success. They generally had the effect, of making the hands look clumsy. A few months ago gaudy nails began to disappear,' and the so-called "natural polish " returned to favour. Now, however, according to an authority on manicure, well-dressed women are having their finger-tips coloured to match their clothes. Delicate shades of green, blue and yellow, harmonising exactly with the evening gown that is to be worn with them, have been devised. The colouring is all washed away at the end of the evening. Before very long, it is prophesied, the great, dressmakers will be advising their clients about the fingernail colour scheme to be used with each evening gown.

USE FOE LUMINOUS PAINT. The application of luminous paint to danger spots along the highway is advocated by an American inventor of Boston, who has built a model to illustrate his plan. The paint, absorbing energy from the sun during the day, would glow at night. The inventor wants fences, curves, arid telegraph poles to be painted. He suggests that large vehicles also be painted, so that small cars could pass them with greater safety. LUCKY IN LOVE AND LIFE. Policemen are fortunate in love, and their IoL in Britain, if not a happy one, appears to bo extremely healthy. Bates of mortality among officers 011 the active list arc extremely light, while police pensioners live to a ripe old nge. These facts are contained in a report bv a Government, actuary on police pensions, which discloses that 79 per cent, of officers in borough and county forces, and 78 per cent, in the. London Metropolitan force, are married. RECORD CHRISTMAS PARCEL. TIIO largest single package that has ever crossed the Atlantic, is said to be an embalmed whale weighing 65 tons. It arrived at the Royal Albert Dock, London, recently. The parcel was 70ft. long, I,3ft. high, and 9ft. broad. The biggest commercial floating crane in the world lifted it off the steamer. Two years ago the whale was caught by the Pacific Whaling Company, and it was sent to London to be exhibited at a Christmas circus. DITTY FOR THE OPTIMIST. Sir Henry Coward, the compose;- and conductor, sang a charming ditty over the telephone from Sheffield to a reporter in London, who rang him np to congratulate him 011 his 82nd. birthday recently. The ditty, said Sir Henry, was sung to him by his mother more than 70 years ago. Ifn still hums it when things such as demands for income-tax turn up:— I never meet trouble half way, Or fret about things of the pnst, If misfortune is cominc m„v wav. 1 nm happy—because it. can't last!

DEVOTION OF A OAT. A cat's wonderful devotion and sympathy for its dead master and friend were witnessed by hundreds of people at Newport, Monmouthshire, lately, at the funeral of John Henry Davies, a miner, who was killed by a fall of coal at a colliery. The cat, the constant companion of Mr. Do vies, was so distressed at the death of its master that it sat on his coffin until t.lia body was lowered at the graveside. It then looked piteously down at I lie remains of its master, and had to be carried away by mourners. PARSIMONIOUS CONSTITUENTS. At one period of British history members of Parliament could hardly have regarded a proposal to reduce their remuneration with equanimity. Their salaries were, to say the least, rather parsimonious. In . the 15th century, John Strange agreed to act as (lie representative ior JDunwich for a " cade full of herrings, no matter whether the House holds long or short." At the same period the member for Weymouth was recompensed for his Parliamentary services by an annual grant of 500 mackerel. GOLD UNDER A CITY. In the heart of Johannesburg is a reef rich with gold that cannot bo worked because the South African laws prohibit mining under cities and towns. Workmen excavating a si to for a great now post office in Von Brandis Square struck tho reef six feet below the surface. According to a South African mining authority in London, it has long been suspected that gold lay under Johannesburg. " The geological ' lie,' " ho adds, " may load to the tracing of the reef to points beyond the city where mining could be undertaken." GERMAN SWORDS IN BRITAIN. Ton thousand British naval and military officers are to-day wearing swords made in Solingen. Germany. All officers—there are more than 28,000 of thorn—buy thoir own swords, but. only 18,000 buy tliem with blades of British steel. 'J'liis disconcerting fact has been revealed to a Sunday Express representative by a London firm- of swordmakers. A Whitehall official said : "An officer's sword is his own property, and so long as it, is of regulation pattern lie can buy it where lie likes." A representative of the London sword firm said : " The low cost of material om the Continent and the low wages paid to labour have made ii possible for German firms to send blades to England at a price below the cost of the raw material here. A British sword can bo bent double without breaking. Rome of those German swords would snap under the slightest strain."

HER VIEWPOINT. " Look, my dear," the husband said in desperation to his spendthrift wife, "if I buy you all those furs and frocks I'll probably have to go before the Bankruptcy Court after a while." " 6li, George, wouldn't it be wonderful for you to have me in the court better dressed than the wives of the judge and barristers can dress? Wouldn't you be proud of me, dear, and wouldn't they feel annoypd ?" CHANGE OF SHIRTS. Adjutant:* "When did your men change their shirts?" Sergeant: "A week ago." Adjutant: "Then let them change again to-morrow." Sergeant: "But they cannot, sir; (hey have no spare shirts." " Never mind," said the adjutant, " it must bo done; i('s the general's orders. Let them change shirts with each other." A FELLOW FEELING. The stout passenger on the liner radiated good humour as he strolled about the decjji. The sea was rather choppy, but he, at any rate, was not. distressed. When he came across two little girls seated on deck chairs he stopped to speak to them. " How old are you. dearie ?" ho asked the taller. " I'm six. sir." she replied meekly. " And what are you, little girl?" he inquired of (he other. " P—please, sir" she faltered, whitefaced, "I'm sick, too!" NOT VERY HELPFUL. Tho Court was fense with excitement. A critical moment in (ho case had arrived. Counsel for the defence rose and waggled his finger at the man in the witnessbo\'. "Now, sir," he commenced, " (he whole evidence linngs on (lie destroyed letter. Think before you answer. What did (ho postmark say?" _ , Tho witness went through the actions of deep thought. " I remember," he said nt last. " The postmark said: 'Every homo needs a telephone.' " GOOD STAYING POWER. Two city magnates were returning from a sumptuous lunch when a (bird man, of a less successful looking appearance, passed them and said "Good morning! to one of them. " That's Jones," remarked the man who had been greeted; "ho works for me." His companion looked after the retreating figure, then remarked: "Hp's an honest-looking fellow. Has he any staying power?" " He has that." replied the first. " He began at the bottom of the 1900, and he's stayed there ever since."

THE WICKED OLD MAN. A little girl was crying in the street. " What's the matter, my dear?" asked a kind old gentleman. " I've lost a penny," sobbed (he child. The old gentleman put in her hand another penny. Her sobs ceased instantly, and she exclaimed with a frown: "Oh, you wicked old man! So you had it all the time!" WRONG DESCRIPTION. A young man gave a graphic description of a narrow escape lie had had from an enraged bull. " I seized him by (ho tail," he exclaimed, " an' there ] was ! I was to hold on and I dare not let go." " Between the horns of a dilemma, as it were," ventured a young woman, much interested. "No," replied (he young man. "I wasn't between (he horns at all. and besides he wasn't a dilemma —he was a Jersey."

FORGOT THE RULE. " Grammar," observed Cassidy to his friend Casey, " is a most confusing thing. I never can remember whether to say, ' It is I,' or ' It is inc.' " " 1 can give you a, good rule on that," returned his friend, ".lust say over (o yourself this rhyme: ' " It is I," said tho spider to tho fly,' and there you arc." A few days later the friend met Cassidy and asked whether the rule had been any help. " Sure, it would have been, but for wan thing," replied Cassidy. "I couldn't for me loife's sake remember if your rhyme was ! " It is T," said the spider to the fly/ or ' " It is me," said the spider to the flea.' '*

HIS WRITING WAS FARE. The proud parent was relating a colourful story of his son's abilities. " Young Jack writes a great deal, he said. " His things are read with a lot of interest by many people." His friend showed obvious surprise. " I'd no idea," he replied. " What does he write —humorous stuff?" The boy's father laughed artfully. "No: menu cards," he explained. THE PROPOSAL. Jane is <1 queer sort of girl, and (he other day she received a proposal from a man she had always regarded as a brother rather than as a lover. " Jane." he began, " you know I have a! vavs turned (o you, that I have always thought of you. May I—that is—would you—-er —oh, hang it, Jane, will you bo my wife?" '"Good gracious!" exclaimed Jane. "What a start you pave me! At first T thought you wero trying to borrow some

money." THE COMPLIMENT IMPLIED. Jinks mo ant well, but somehow ho was always putting bis foot in it. At the seaside carnival dunce ho was introduced to a young woman whose proportions were anything but meagre. Jinks asked her for a dance. " I am only froa for tho last, dance.' she replied, " and I cannot pledge myself for that because I'm afraid my people will be leaving early." Jinks thought ho saw a chance for a compliment, and said, " Oh, how empty tho place will seem when you have gone!" TWO OF A KIND. Father and daughter wcro touring the shops in search of Christmas presents. Presently ho stopped before a wcllladon stall containing dolls. " Now then, Betty," b c said to bis daughter, " what sort of doll would you like?" Tho shop assistant handed one of tho tovs lo the child. "How about that one?" he volunteered. " No, thank you." said the modern child. " I think I'll have twins.-" A SLIGHT DIFFERENCE. " Now, Mrs. Flceccm," said the lawyer, as the witness took the stand, " please remember that 3*oll are under oath, and that what you tell must be the exact truth, the whole truth, and nothing but tho truth." " Yes, sir." " You keep boarders, I believe?" " No, sir." "What's that? I certainly understood that vou kept a boarding house?" "That's different, Mr. Smart. I remember that I am under oath, nnd must speak only the exact truth. Ido not keep boarders. The boarders keep me."