General News Items

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21248, 30 July 1932, Page 5 (Supplement)

General News Items

WREATH SENT BY CONVICTS Convicts in Maidstone prison recently sent a wreath made by themselves to the funeral of Mr. J. C. Dunk, a prominent visitor to tho gaol. for many years Mr. Dunk had visited (he prison, and so popular was ho that he frequently took a class of forty convicts without a warder being present. g e was a popular figure at Maidstone, nnd his work as superintendent of the >laidstono St. John Ambulanco Corps earned him tho gratitude of thousands. EARLY CHRISTIAN CHAPEL Tho foundations of an early Christian ch3pel dating from tho fourth century have been excavated in' tho Roman town of Aquincum, near Budapest. Tho chapel, which belonged to tho military camp of Aquincum. has a sanctuary which forms three half-circles—a so-called cella trichora, such as thoso which wero built in the first cciltury, another examplo of which was excavated in Pecs not long ago- / Tho Aquincum chapel, of which only the foundation walls aro standing, is regarded as a proof that an early Christian community existed in Aquincum. LIVINGSTONE'S OVERCOAT A recent addition to tho objects of interest at tho Livingstono Memorial at j Blantyre, Lanarkshire, is an old overcoat j that was used by the explorer on his 1 last journey. It was worn by Livingstone about 1865, the beginning of his final journey, and he must have bartered the coat with a chief called Matoba for food. The coat was in 1877 acquired from Matoba by Bishop Chauncey Maples, of tho Universities' Mission, and was given by him in 1891 to Charterhouse School. It has been in the museum for 40 years, and now, by -tho kindness of the school authorities, it has reached the birthplace of its first ojvner. PROTECTION FOR BANK CASHIERS Bank managers at Reigate and Bedhill, England, have decided to take up a novel scheme for (ho protection of bank cashiers from robbers. It is proposed to instal mats behind the bank counter which, when trodden on, will light an indicator at the polico station. The suggestion was made by tho Chief Constable of Roigate, Mr. W. H. Beacher, who said: "M tho experts favour tho scheme, .1 seo no reason why it should not be adopted in the' London banks ulso. It shotild bo particularly effective in isolated areas, where ordinarily a thief can make a clear getaway before tho police have 'a chance of reaching tho scene. j VANISHING WILD BEASTS In spite of the establishment of nature teserves in various parts of the, Empire, there is still much , indiscriminate slaughter of' wild animals. Colonel A. If. W. Haywood, who recently investigated wild lifa in British West Africa, found that in some places community hunts occurred, in which natives surrounded a section of bush and killed ivery animal in it. In one case over seventy antelope were driven over a precipice and killed. ■The destruction of wild life now proceeding in Africa htfs its parallel in Asia. Certain species of animals, once fairly plentiful, are now almost extinct, and others, like the Nilgiri ibex, have only been' preserved by close supervision. ANCIENT COINS IN MUSEUM , j Important coins have lately been added It the British Museum's collection, including one of-the rarest gold coins of Augustus, struck in 16 B.C. Tho obverse is a bust of Victory, of high artistic merit, reverse is of historical interest, since it records an offering of vows by the Roman State for tho health of Caesar. Augustus is not known to have had an illness at that date, but his health was delicate, and the vows may have been inspired by anxiety on this score, and in view of the voyage which he made to Gaul in the/ course of the year. Only two other specimens of the coin are known. The other coins include a unique electrum of c. 600 B.C. from Asia Minor, and a number of coins of the medieval Indian State of Malwa. These coins are of great value in establishing historical accuracy. NEW USE FOR STRAWBERRIES Some time ago beauty-culture experts in Pans advised their clients to tako strawberry juice baths. Rather an expensive amusement, this, but one can get a really effective strawberry beauty treatment much j more cheaply. "Just cut a large ripo strawberry in two arid rub your face with it," says an English writer. " One berry is all you want for on 6 treatment, but you can repeat it daily while the strawberries are ' in.' Flowers/as well as berries, may figure in beauty treatment. A little while ago someone in the United States decided that baths of boiled roses and lilies were a remedy for " that tired look." Champagne baths have been talked about a good deal at different times, but there is probably more legend than fact in most of tho stories about tlicm. One* film fitar, however, was formerly reputed as spending over £SOOO a year on baths of Eea water, milk and attar of roses. RIGID FRENCH CUSTOMS LAW Two English women (ravelling by ear from France into Switzerland took with them two Jolding-chairs bought in France. At tho Swiss frontier they were told that tho importation of furniture of any kind is prohibited in Switzerland, even though they wore prepared to pay customs'duty. Not wishing lo drive (lie car back on to French territory, the women got- out and carried the chairs across the I'rench frontier a few yards back, thinking (hey could leave them somewhere until (hey returned. When (hey came (o liie I'rench customs post, Jiowcver, they were told that they could nut lake the chaiis into France without paying duty. All explanations that they had just, brought the chairs from France were of no avail in tho face of I'rench frontier rules. linaily they paid the I'rench customs dues on the chairs and left them in one of the cafes. SURPRISES AT A LUNCHEON The culinary expc'ts responsible for tlio annual luncheon of (he Societc d'Acclimafation—the French Zoo—always set themselves out to furnish some surprises for the guests. Many parts of the world, in particular the French colonics, contributed to tho latest banquet. A dish / which mystified the connoisseurs was, it turned out, the hump of the zebu, an Fast Indian ox. Seasoned with n wonderful sauce, the secret of which > s known to M. Sairit-Eticnne, (he chef ®t <he Garo dc Lyon, it was voted most excellent?. There were tender and juicy , dromedary steaks, as well as succulent cuts from tho whale. What tho uninitiated at' first look to be, rabbit was "illy muskrat. The kangaroo, the bear, and the python were represented; and e ,r en the lizard crept into tho remarkable menu. Various exotic fruits appeared at dessert. It, was, naturally, considered the appropriate thing to introduce some liquors from the colonics, but as always, the rubv and golden wines of France deigned supreme.

QUEEN'S EXAMPLE AS HOUSEWIFE Queen Mary is " too good a housewife," in tho opinion of Sir Edward Wellington, who at tho ago of 78 years, has just retired. from the post or Treasurer to tho Queen. ■'l have ]>" id all the Queen's private bills since my appointment 13 years ago," says Sir Edward, " and not once had I to query her accounts. She is an examplo to tho housewives of Britain for wise shopping, careful spending and discriminating choice." EUROPE'S SCISSORS AND NEEDLES. A cartoon has appeared in a Swiss ■newspaper in two halves. The left-hand half shows the late President Wilson, Mr. Lloyd Georgo, and the lato M. Clemenceau armed with great scissors busily engaged in cutting up a big map of Europe. Tho right-hand half of tho cartoon show Mr. Mac Donald, M. Tardeu, and Signor Grandi sewing tlio pieces together again. The scissors were at work in 1919; the needles and thread in 1932. Tho two operations aro only 13 years apart. THE SPANISH INFANTA'S DRESSES Tho Infantas Bcatriz and Maria Cristina, daughters of the ex-King Alfonso of Spain, have been having their gowns and dresses made by the Madrid shops with which they have always traded, it is learned authoritatively. Tho Infantas, whose mother, Queen Ena, has always followed the Spanish custom o? dressing daughters of tho samo approximate age as twins, arranged with their old shops for noblo proxies to obtain dresses and send them to Fontaineblcaux whenever necessary. The Queen buys her own clothes in Paris. GOSSIPING POSTMAN SENT TO GAOL Tho courts in Paris have decided that inquisitivo postmen who read picturo postcards entrusted, to them for delivery aro bound by tho rules of " professional secrecy." 'A mail-carrier at Douai has been sentenced to six months' imprisonment for having talked too much about other people's secrets which ho learned from their correspondence. A friend of tho postman was kept informed all that his wife wroto to a cousin in Paris. These revelations ended tragically. Having read one of his wife's communications, tho husband found her keeping a lovers' tryst near Paris and shot her dead. Ho was acquitted, but his postman friend whose gossip led to the tragedy was punished. BABIES AT THE BERLIN ZOO Thero is a children's playground in tho Berlin Zoo where tho baby animals are put. A visitor recently saw thero little boys and girls of three and four sitting in a big chair nursing baby lions and bears, whilo a picture postcard was being photographed of them, 'lhe tamest of monke3 r s, baby elephants and camels, rabbits and guinea pigs, baby pigs, lambs and kids, all enjoy a nursery life. Except for a few exceptions, there aro no cages or bars, all tho doors are open, and the children just play with tho baby animals, carrying them in their arms and playing with them as playmates. One iittlo tot of three was burying a fat pig in the sand, and tho piglet thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a children's paradise, although perl>aps the grown-ups get the most fun. ANCIENT PEAR TREES Three ancient pear trees, planted at Versailles 250 years ago by La Quintinye, gardener of Louis , are expected to bear fine fruit this year. The garden in which they stand now belongs to the National School of Horticulture. The pear trees are the curiosity of the place, for they are among the very few trees of Versailles which can show an authentic pedigree dating back to tho Grand Epoch. The other trees in the great park surrounding tho palace, it has recently been revealed, belong to much later periods. Nearly all tho original trees were sacrificed by Napoleon when he ordered them cut for the construction of tho gigantic rafts he was having built for his projected invasion of England. DIAMONDS WORTH A MILLION A million pound diamond exhibition wis held in London recently. Tho diamonds occupied seventy scintillating square feet. The life stories of great queens were in their shimmering facets; romances and tragedies lay in their shining depths. One diamond was known as tho PorterRhodes diamond, an enormous emerald-cut stone found at Kimberley in 1880. It weighs 150 carats and is valued at £40,000. Another was the colour of a rose, <t third held the pale reflection of the blue sky, and a remarkable lemoncoloured marquise was a joyous sight. Then there was the Nassak diamond. It formed part of the booty taken when Bajerow, the last independent ruler of Nassak. surrendered to the British in 1818. The conquered Indian princo had taken the stone from tho Temple of Shivae. Finally it was purchased by a marquis who wore it on the hilt of his sword on State occasions. STORY OF A QUEEN BEE The queen-rearing branch of the beekeeping industry, says the Manchester Guardian, has achieved one story good enough to have been invented by Mark Twain One of the sons of the, great Marquess of Salisbury, an ardent beekeeper, had ordcrcd'a queen bee from an expert queen rearer, requesting that it should be sent by passenger train to the 1 fat field station, and that ho should be notified of I lie tiino of (lie train. In response lie received a telegram informing him that " (he queen " would arrive at Hatfield station by tho 1.30 train on the next day. The news leaked out, and at the appointed time a.crowd of loyal citizens assembled at the railway station to watch the arrival of their queen. As tho train drew in they saw, with astonishment, (he noble bee-keeper walk lo the guard's van and receive from the guard a tiny package, which he slipped info his pocket as he strolled nonchalantly off tho iicene. In the package was a cage containing the " queen." SNAKE WITH A GLASS EYE A Madagascar boa at the London Zoo is not as other snakes arc. It has a glass eye. Thoso who admire snakes discern in this one rare beauty, but it was not to preserve its looks that the glass eye was added. Tt was to prcservo its health. Snakes shed their skins at intervals, as human beings cast a clout when May is out. But, though tfic snako strips its skin as completely as an undcrvest, the discarding process sometimes causes injury to an eye. That was the sad case of the boa in question. The snake's health suffered after the injury, and it was ovidently in pain. But it had a friend in tho 'honorary ophthalmogist of tho who first iornoved tlio injured eye. That was good enough for the boa, which at once regained its spirits and its appetite. Its surgical friend was not quite satisfied with tho result, nevertheless, for a snrke with ono eye looks strange, and, the Madagascar boa was something of a professional beauty. Consequently _ tho friendly ophthalmogist fitted it with a glass eye. None can perceive the difference and the snako appears to bo perfectly satisfied.

BLIND MAN AND HIS MOTHER Dr. Nils Juringius, a young mathomatican blind from birth, has obtained the highest university degree it is possible to get in Sweden, nnd lias qualified for tlio high honour Doctorate of Philosophy. All honour is duo to tho young doctor's mother, who for years has read aloud to her son to help him with his studies, and has acted as his secretary. NEW CAREER FOR GIRLS A firm in Britain which tests materials for making soles of boots and shoes employs girls to walk at least 12 miles a day in shoes provided with an apparatus to register tho number of steps taken. After walking 300 miles tho shoes arc examined and the material adopted or rejected. Tho walking girls find it very faftguing to keep up the required miles, and at tho end of their 300 miles they are relieved by others who tako their place. MYSTICS SLAIN IN A CAVERN Two members of a mystic sect called " The Innocents" were killed recontly, near Petrunia, Bessaria, by police who raided a secret ceremony in a cavern many years as a temple. In the eerio light of torches 100 nude celebrants gave battle to the gendarmes, whom they greatly outnumbered. They wero winning when the police resorted to their pistols. Two of the Innocents wero fatally wounded, and 20 others were arrested. Tho rest fled. SCHOOL MILK CLUBS Milk clubs in schools in England aro increasing in number. On tho Merscysido the first milk club was formed in 1928; now thero are no fewer than 300 such clubs attached to tho schools of the district. It is reported that 50,000 Merseyside children regularly obtain milk. Tho milk is supplied at tho low price of a penny for a third of a pint. It is supplied in sealed bottles, and the children aro given straws so that they may drink it cleanly and comfortably. In tho wholo country thero are now some 800,000 children belonging to school milk clubs.

CAESAR'S ANCIENT SENATE Professor Bartoli* who lias charge of excavations in the Roman Forum, has recovered a large part of the chief hall ot the ancient Roman Senate, built by Julius Caesar. Work is very difficult because of the Church of St. Hadrian, which has been built over it, and though it is now possible to see the original marble floor and the double row of marblo seats used in Caesar's day, the church above lias not suffered in the least. The low,er floor of the older church and part of the crypt had to bo removed and now the arrangement for grouping the " ayes " and " noes " is perfectly clear. The right side of the floor, of which about fifty-five feet has been cleared, \vas for the " ayes " and tho left for the " noes." Very often senators changed their minds under tho influences of a speaker's oratory and they merely walked over to the opposito side of the hall. Ihrce broad steps made movement between tlie scats on either side quite simple. FALL OP A CHURCH TOWER A curious dispute has arisen between a ratepayer and the Mayor of Crasville, near Cherbourg, Franco. Tho ratepayer, Dr. Thomas, has asked the Council of the Prefecture to declare the mayor of the commune personally responsible for the damage done by the collapse of the local church tower. Dr. Thomas says that the mayor and members of I ho municipal council had been duly warned that the tower was in danger of collapse. The structin/) could, he said, have been made safe for £24, but the mayor contented himself with a certain amount of " inadequate patching," and so was an indirect cause of its eventual collapse. As the result the commune is saddled with a bill which means that every ratepayer will have to pay. a franc and forty cents a year for twenty years. Tho Council of tho Prefecture has shelved the disputo for tho moment by declaring itself incompetent, on the ground that it- has not previously been called upon to consider tho difference between ratepayers and the municipal council. REMEDY TOR LATE HOURS Parisian tenants of flats or rooms who keep lato hours have learned with dismay of the latest outburst of a concierge—in this case a woman. For the most important duty of a concierge is to pull tho " cordon " which opens the main door for those who want to get in and for those others who want io get out. This particular occupant of tho lodge held it as a grievanco that sho was thus disturbed regularly in tho early hours of tho morning by a young woman named Marie. When Marie returned homo very lato on a recent night sho was set upon by a mask'ed female, who' seized her by the throat and ordered her to give up her handbag. The girl's screams attracted other tenants, and the bandit vanished in the blackness. Though the concierge at first denied that it was sho who had played tho role of bandit, she eventually admitted tho fact to tho police. Her excuse was curious. " This girl," sho said, "is not only a dancer, but is continually at the cinema. Sho is ' picture mad,' so 1 thought T would give her a greater thrill than sho gets from the movies, and thus cause her to return at a decent hour."