General News Items

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21314, 15 October 1932, Page 5 (Supplement)

General News Items

LINK EUGENIE The death recently occurred at tho Chateau of St. Pierre, near Rochfort, France, of Mme. do Barolet, widow of Col. Do Barolet. Mme. de Barolet, who was 91, was the last survivor of Jhe the Ladies-in-Waiting to the Empress Eugenie at tho Court of tho Tuilleries. MAN "WHO NEVER SAW A JOKE " He never laughed, and he could never see a joke in life," said Mrs. Minnie Ridley, giving'evidence at an inquest at Camberwell, England, on her husband, Thomas Ridley, aged 59, a glazier, who had gassed himself at his home. A noto left by Ridley read: "My health has been bad for a long time, and I have never got any life in myself." The jury returned a verdict of suicido while of unsound mind. A 2030-YEAR-OLD CAULDRON On tho site of the old Roman ennip nt Colchester, England, excavators Lately unearthed a remarkablv fine bronze cauldron of the Celtic period shortly before the Roman Conquest. About 2000 years old, the cauldron is nearly 2l't. across, and has two large drop handles. It is supposed to have been tho loot of a Roman soldier. A large quantity of early British and Roman pottery, brooches and bron/.o ornaments have also been discovered, to gether with traces of several ditches of u Roman camp. MYSTERIOUS EARTHWORK Sussex archaeologists are hoping that arrangements' will shortly bo made to excavato Castlo Ring, a mysterious earthwork on 'the Downs near tho Dyke. At present nothing is known of the purpose of the earthwork, which is quite unlike any other on the Downs. Tho opinion expressed at a meeting of archaeologists on the site recently was that it is an example of a " motte," the earliest type of Norman castle. Such castles, it-was said, merely consisted of a " motte," or mound, surmounted by a stockade and surrounded by a ditch VELOCITY OF TENNIS BALLS If a tennis ball were an aeroplane it could fly across the Atlantic in 35 hours, for it covers 93.3 miles an hour when in action. That is the speed which tho balls attained when one of the players volleyed in the Davis Cup match between Germany and England. Service balls sped across the net at " only " 68.5 miles an hour. Even the slower balls sailing 30 or 40 times from base lino to base line went at a rate pf 31 miles an hour. In tho match between Henry W. Austin and Daniel Prenn the balls travellel a distance of 23% miles, for which purpose 2000 shots had to be exchanged. GRETNA GREEN MARRIAGE A Finnish officer and his fiancee lately made a special journey from their own country to! Gretna Green, fulfilled the requirements regarding residence in Scotland, and were married over the anvil. They had a special interpreter to attend the ceremony in the blacksmith's shop, •where Mr. Rennison, the blacksmith, conducted the ceremony. Mr. Rennison refused to disclose the names bride and bridegroom, saying that he had been asked not to reveal their identities. He stated that they belong to well-known Finnish families, and that they were accompanied from Finland by two friends \yho acted as witnesses. " KNIGHTING " OF A DOG There was a bluff old sea dog called " Bill " on H.M.S. Nelson until the other day. Now he is called " Bill " no longer. When the King recently visited the Home Fleet, he stood on the quarter deck of the Nelson, which is the flagship, while the ship's company marched past. With the smart sailors waddled " Bill " the bulldog', the ship's mascot. When "Bill" saw the King and Admiral Sir John Kelly, he broke away from the man who was leading him and ran straight to His Majesty, grinning as only bulldogs can grin, and waggling his ugly old hindquarters in the friendliest fashion. The King stooped to pat " Bill, and a Eeaman murmured: " Oo! 'Bill's'' been knighted." Now the Home Fleet talks about " Sir William." EONOUR TO WILLIAM PENN Opening the British Legion fete at Deal, England, on September 1, the mayor, Captain C. P. Davis said that thatday was the 250 th anniversary of the departure of William Penn for America. On or about September 1, 1682, Penn boarded in the Downs off Deal, a ship hamed the Welcome, and sailed west to found and colonise the State called Pennsylvania. To-day all America cherished his memory with that 'of the Pilgrim Fathers. Captain Davis said he mentioned this because that day the Postmaster of Deal had received over 300 unstamped envelopes, addressed to museums and to stamp collectors in America, and had been asked to put stamps on them, and then stamp them with the official die bearing the words, Deal, September 1, 1932," find forward them. This ho had done. BLESSING THE SEA CEREMONY On the crumbling cliffs in Suffolk, close to the vanished cathedral city of Duntvich, impressive were held in August, and pilgrims from all parts of East Ajiglia participated. Early in the seventh c.entury, when Sigcbert became King of East Anglia, Dunwich was chosen as his capital, and it became tho nursery of Christianity in Eastern Britain. Through several centuries Dunwich suffered from tho inroads of the sea, and in 1570 after a terrible storm, appeal was made to Elizabeth, but the wealthy old port was gradually engulfed, only a few relics remaining. In the month of August for the past few years, services of remembrance have been held on the cliff near Dunwich. In a Inrge tent pitched in ft meadow on the top of the cliff Mass was said in tho morning by Father Davidson, and in the afternoon there was a procession of pilgrims to the remains of the ancient cemetery on the cliff edge, where the ceremony of tho blessing of the fcea took place. LONDON'S DRIVERLESS TRAINS Five years ago the General Post-office, London, opened a " tube " railway, 80ft. below the surface of the ground, between Whitecbapel, Mount Pleasant, and Padtlmgto.u, a distance of miles, for trains tarrying mails only. There was a 22-hcurs' feervice dealing with 23,000 mailbacs a tlay. At the end of last year, to make economies, tile Post-office gave orders to change the rolling stock. This has just been completed, with the result that the capacity bf the ra'lwav has been increased to 88,000 bags of mail a day, though at present it has only to deal with 36.000. I'lie speed of the trains has been increased from 35 to s-5 miles an hour with smaller engines.' This little railway, one of the most romantic in the world, runs almost bv itself—the trains have no drivers, but are controlled by men at tho eight stations on the route. The ma.'ls are sent underground by 'chutes, and packed into trucks, which are added to tho trains. When they reach the i destination the trucks aro taken off, and the bags put on to endless belts which tonvey them to the surface. The railway riTcw\s the streets of nearly 2.000 mail vans a t day. and the saving in time, rs--1 "ela!ly in adverse wp»t-b<?r conditions, i.; fc/'.orFi>««<ii " s

SNAILS' " DERBY " RACE A new betting craze has sprung up in the South Wales valleys. A man walking along a Western Valley road found a crowd of men watching tho movements of live snails which were crawling toward a cabbage leaf a foot away. Tho men had bets of cigarettes on the snails, and the progress of tho " Derby " was watched with intense interest. PARROT AS GAS-METER GUARD At the ripe old age of 87, Polly, a white cockatoo with a yellow crest, is acting as gas-meter guard in the house of Mr. L. A. Dore, of Becontree, says a London newspaper. The precaution has been taken becauso of tho number of gas-meter robberies that havo taken placo there rocently. " Polly is the best guard wo could have," said Mrs. Dore. " If any strangers were to como here sho would scream and they would havo to look out for their eyes." LLOYD'S FAMOUS COFFEE HOUSE The exact dato of tho establishment, of Lloyd's Coffee House, London, from which Lloyd's sprang, and its precise situation have always been matters of doubt. In a paper read not long ago before the Royal Society of Literature by Mr. W. R. Dawson, lion, librarian to the Corporation of Lloyd's, detailed reasons were given for concluding that Edward Lloyd became proprietor of a coffee house between March, 1685, and March 1687; and that the sitei of the coffee house was toward the western end of Tower Street, adjoining Eastcheap, in the parish of St. Dunstan's. MYSTERY OF A TRAGIC RELIC The " Licking Stone," a tragic relic of the days of border warfare, still affects the emotions of visitors to the dungeons of Carlisle Castle, where tho Scots and English alternately tortured prisoners for confessions. Food and water were denied the prisoners, and finding this stone, which for some unknown reason is always wet, they licked it half away. To-day it is still the same, and tho imprints of the prisoners' fingers as thoy clawed tho 15ft. thick walls to moisten their parched lips can bo seen round the stone. " When I have described the stone to them many people are moved to tears," Mr. R. Rose, the official guide at tho castle, says. STAMPS STOLEN FROM TSAR A remarkable set of proofs and essays of stamps to celebrate the tercentenary of the Romanoff dynasty, which cost £50,000 to produce, were exhibited with a collection of other rare stamps in London recently. They were highly valued by the late Tsar of Russia, and were stolen from him. Eventually they came into the possession of an English stamp collector, who, it is understood, has decided to sell them for the benefit of a London hospital. They took four.years to produce. Included in the exhibition is an envelope addressed to the 'editor of the Daily ExSress in 1919, sent by the pilot of the lartinsyde airplane, bearing the first stamps struck in commemoration of the first air post across tlio Atlantic. r STAGE COACH GOES TO EGYPT There was embarked from the London Docks,, recently, on board a ship for Egypt, an English stage coach, improved by lattices in the side panels, and by a raised roof to admit of ventilation, thus making it better adapted for a hot climate. It is intended to run between Alexandria and' Cairo. Two sets of harness for four horses accompanied the vehicle and an English coachman, inured to tropical climates, has been engaged to superintend the establishment in Egypt. This is the first step to the introduction of public coaches for travelling in Egypt, and it has been undertaken with the sanction of tho Pasha by one of his officers, who visited England many years ago. Orders have been given to make carriage roads between Alexandria and Cairo, and between Alexandria, Rosetta and D'amiet-ta. SCHOOL FOR DOGS Canine pupils at the Wallasey School, England, where dogs are taueht to serve as guides to blind persons, have acquitted themselves so well in their recent " examination " that the committee of tho Guide Dog Fund, which is affiliated with the National Institute for the Blind, intends to proceed with the project on a more extensive scale. The dogs are trained not merely to obey orders, but also to take the initiative -in any situation which may arise. Signals are communicated by means of a semistiff handle attached to / tho animal's harness. At a curb or dog pulls back; at sight of approaching traffic or other danger it sits down, and it leads its mastgr around obstructions. Abotit three months are required for the training of a guide dog, and in the last three weeks of the period the animal and its future master are trained togetheh Dogs which have successfully passed the final examination receive a certificate declaring them officially trained and qualified to act as guides. Hitherto Alsatians have almost monopolised the craft, but the committeo hopes to throw tho profession open to other breeds. MAKING OF A SILK HAT Silk hatters havo to learn their job. It is a trade that requires a five-years' apprenticeship. A silk hat is made wholly by hand; there is no robot machinery to make the body or finish it, as there is with felts, hard and soft, writes " Hatter" in tho Daily Telegraph. There are probably not more than a few hundred men in England—tho silk hat country in excelsis—who are engaged in the making of silk hats. The silk hat is a fascinating piece of work. Calico is stretched upon a frame and thickened with a varnish of shellac. This stiffened calico is then wound round a block, the shape of the crown of the hat, and the top and brim are ironed on. It is covered with size, and then merino is stuck on tho under-part of the brim by ironing. Tho silk plush is cut in pieces from tho roll and handed to " trimmers," who sow on the top and ioin the ends, so that tho joining of the latter runs diagonally at one pide. This plush covering is put on the stiff calico body so that it sticks to fhe size. The " finisher" sees that it has a gorgeous sheen, and that the stitching cannot be detected. Tho "sliaper" then takes it in hand and is responsible for the brim. WOMEN'S FIGHT OVER MUSIC Women can be very unkind to orio another. A Parisicnne who was trying to make a living by soiling gramophones was rudely repulsed by the concierge of a tenement building. The saleswoman was about to ascend the stairs when the guardian of tho flats emerged from her lodge and sternly forbade any attempt to add fo the musical equipment of the place. On fhe visitor attempting to continue ' her way «p there ensued a fiorco struggle and so the police was called in. Tho concierge, when sued for damages, stated that the proprietor of the block had ordered her to refuse admission to sellers of gramophones. Under cross-examination, however, she made it evident that she had a deep-rooted personal dislike of music There are already four gramophones and three wireless sets in tho habitation of which the woman is the custodian; and the output from these, instoad of soothing her breast, had engendered a violent antipathy toward travellers in this particular " line." The hardfiess of the lot of a woman whoso oars are assailed every night Jiy silly serenades and the jig-jig-jig of jazz apparently appealed to the magistrate, lie awarded the saleswoman only a very small proportion of the damage* sli» Jin't oinimedi

PROPOSAL IN ESPERANTO With a ring of plain gold, Princess Sibylle of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was recently formally betrothed to Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden at Callenberg Castle, Coburg, When asked, at the recention which followed, in what languago ho had proposed to tho Princess, the Princo replied: "In Esperanto." ERRORS ON MEMORIAL TABLET It has been discovered by members of the Legislature of Massachusetts that the tablet placed in tho Stato Houso at Boston in memory of recipients of the American Congressional medal of honour contains two misspelled words. Two of the law-makers, both veterans of tho World War, havo asked AdjutantGeneral John 11. Agncw for an investigation to determine tho responsibility for tho acceptance of the work. Tho words " conspicuously " and " intrepidity " appear 011 tho tablet as " conspicously " and " intrepedity." SAVED FROM THE " BOILING POT " The only man who has ever fallen into the seething flood of the Victoria Falls, on the Zambesi River, in Northern Rhodesia, without being drowned, is Major K. A. T. Dutton, Chief Secretary of the colony. Major Dutton was sightseeing at tho fall recently, when he fell into the cauldron known as " The Boiling Pot." Tho eddies carried him near some rocks down stream, and with the aid of people who had rushed to his assistance ho scrambled to safety. Tho Victoria Falls aro a mile wide and as high as St. Paul's Cathedral, London, (420 ft.). It is computed that during high water in the river, 100,000,000 gallons of water a minuto flow over the falls. The spray of the waters dims the carriage windows of the railway trains which pass more than half a mile away. CONSUMPTION OF MILK A report, comparing tho milk consumption in various cities in Britain and abroad, published recently by the Empire Marketing Board, stated that tho consumption of milk a head, excluding cream, was lowest in London, Paris and Berlin, tho amounts being:—New York, one pintdaily; Hamburg, four-fifths of a pint; Copenhagen, threequarters of a pint : Berlin, two-fifths of a pint; Paris, one-third of a pint; London, midway between that of Paris and Berlin. Professor R. B. Forrester, of the University College, Aberystwyth, who made the survey, considers that the consumer gets the best service in New York s and Chicago, where all milk is compnlsorily pasteurised and practically all delivered in bottles. He adds that in London and Copenhagen most of the milk is now " processed "

WAY TO HAPPY MARRIAGE American co-educational colleges are a happy hunting-ground of romance, in the opinion of Dr. Paul Popenoe, director of the Institute of Family Relations at Los Angeles. One American marriago in six ends in (ho divorce court, but among marriages of those who were students in co-educational colleges only ono out of 75, it is stated, ends with this drastic cutting of the knot. " One of the greatest contributions the schools can make toward individual happiness," Dr . Popenoe says, "is to socialise their student bodies, even if this means renouncing somo of the monastic ideals to which some of them still desperately cling. So far as educated Americans are concerned, more marriages now result from meetings at school or college than from any other source. Those marriages turn out conspicuously well." CHURCH WELCOME FOR HIKERS The Council of the Church of England Men's Society has issued useful information for its branches concerning the methods by which hikers in Britain can receive a wclcomo in their Sunday excursions. Branches are reminded that hikers should be welcomed to the services, and that Church of England Men's Society members might act as guides to tho church or places of interest in tho neighbourhood. Two Yorkshire dioceses —Ripon and Bradford—have prepared a list of churches where hikers are welcomed to the services and (ho Bishop of Ripon arid Bradford have attached a messago, in which they state: " In any of these churches you can find quiet to sit for a few minutes and think of God, your Father, and then to kneel and pray to Him. Make this a bit of each Sunday's programme, and it will bring a new meaning and beauty into tho day." TOWN CftlEßS' CHAMPIONSHIP Twenty-four georgeously-clad men had a really good cry in the hot sunshine at Lynrie Regis, Dorset, recently when tho town criers' championship of England and Wales was held. Mr. W. Abbott, of Lynne Regis, won tho championship for the third year in succession, thereby doing the cocked hat trick. A tall, soldierly-looking man clad in an aldermanic gown, with a plated bell rs a shoulder badge, and a cocked hat, Mr. Abbott is the sergeant at mace and major's officer, and his office dates back to 3200. Ho has a pleasing, arresting baritone voice which carried well over the 80 yards where tho three judges sat behind a screen. Tho most picturesque figure was Mr. J. It. C. Taylor, of Bury St. Edmund's, Suffolk, dazzling in yellow plush breeches, brown gaiters, black silk hat with gold braid, and a cut-away blho coat. An ex-service man, ho wore nine medals. The oldest crier was Mr. W. T. Eliott,. of Berkhampst.&d, Hertfordshire, who said that ho was tho only travelling town crier in England, and that during IP3I he criftd in HO towns and 11 counties. Mr. •T. Cox, of Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, is said to have a voice that will carry seven miles across water.

TACTFUL YOUNG MAN That a certain young man is wise beyond his years was proved when ho paused before answering a widow who had asked him to guess her age. " You must have somo idea," sho said. " I have several ideas," said tho young man. " The only trouble is that I hesitate whether to make you ten years younger on account of your looks, or ten years older on account of your brains." FATHER-IN-LAW'S SHARE " What happened to that young fellow who was proposing to marry your daughter ?" asked a friend. " Him!" sneered tho father-in-law. " Immediately after ho married tho girl, tho bounder touched me for £500." " You got something back from him, I suppose ?" said Gadon. " Yes, a week later," said the other. " My daughter." VERY UNUSUAL A lawyer whose name was Strange lay dying, and, by way of sympathy, a friend nsked what ho would like inscribed on his tombstone. " Just put " Hero Lies An Honest Lawyer," ho said. " But," said the friend, " that will not tell people who it is." " Oh, yes," replied the lawyer. " Many a passer-by will say: 'That's Strange.' " CRUSHING RETORT As it happened, tho lift was unusually crowded, and when an inoffensive-looking man accidentally stopped upon another's toe ho roused nil tho evil in the latter's soul. "You clumsy idiot!" roared tho injured one, nnd ho bent down and massaged his foot. Confoun 1 you, sir, you might have broken my instep! " An abject apology from the offender failed to appease, however, and once again the loud voice rose. " Do you think my feet wero made for an idiot to walk on ? " he demanded. " It almost seems as if they were," was tho quiet rejoinder; and tho loud voice was heard no more. WHAT ABOUT IT? Snipps had gone to consult the doctor. So badly depressed was. ho that ho determined to seo what a course of medicino would do for him. Tho doctor sounded his heart, felt his pulso, and looked nt his tongue. This having been done he proceeded to deliver his verdict. " Tho trouble with you is the same as that with another patient of mine," ho said. "Ho worried and got nervous dyspepsia. He was worrying himself to death about his tailor's bill. Now ho is cured." " But how did you cure, him ?" asked tho new patient. " I told him to stop worrying, and ho has," replied the doctor. " know," was tho doleful answer—■" 1 know lie has. But I'm his tailor!"

WORST OF ALL Two married men wero exchanging confidences. " I know nothing .worse than letting your wife find a letter you'vo forgotten to post." said Smith, hastily, turning out his various pockets. Jones grimaced. " I do," he replied " What's that ?" asked Spiith. " Letting her find one you've forgotten to burn," replied Jones. GROWING IMPATIENT The offico boy knocked timidly on the door of the manager's private office. " Well, what is it?" nsked the manager testily, when tho boy entered. " There's a salesman outside—a man with a moustache," replied the boy. " Tell him I'm in conference," snapped the manager " I did," the office boy informed him. " Now ho wants to know if you'll bo out of it before he has a beard, too."

NAME FOR THE BABY They talked of Medora, Aurora, and Flora, ■' Of Mabel, and Marcia, and Mildred, and May; Debated the question of Helen, Honora, Clarissa, Camilla, and Phyllis, and Fay. They thought of Marcella, Estelln, and 'Bella; Cons'dercd Cecilia, Jeannottc, and Pauline; Alicia, Adela, Annette, Arabella, And Ethel and Eunice, llortenso and Irene. Ono liked Theodora, another Leonora; Some argued for Edith and some for Elaine, Fi-r Madeline. Adeline, Lily and Thora; And then, after all, they decided oil Jane.

NOT THE CURATE'S FAULT A clergyman, called away suddenly and unable to officiate at tho services in his church, entrusted his new curate with the duty. On his return home he asked his wife what sho thought of tho curate s sermon. " Tho poorest I ever heard," she declared; " nothing in it at all." Later in the day the clergyman, meeting his curate, asked him how he got on. " Splendidly, sir," replied the curate. " I didn't have time to prepare anything myself, so I preached one of your sermons." WHEN THE TIDE TURNED " Is it not possible, my dear, for you to keep theso children quiet for a moment ? " asked the tired business man of his wife. " Now, Jack," she auswered, " don't be unreasonable with the poor innocent little darlings. It's only natural for them to bo full of spirits, and they're being as quiet as they can." " Hum! Perhaps," camo the doubtful rejoinder. " But if I thought I could have a moment's peaco I'd sit down and fill in that cheque you've been worrying me about." " Children," called tho mother sternly, " off to bed at once and sharp about it; and if there's any noise upstairs there'll bo trouble in the morning." WHEN DINNER WAS LATE Dinner was late again. This was the third time it had happened that week, and the whole domestic machinery was thrown out of gear meroly because Mary, tho cook-general, would persist in gossiping over tho garden wail instead of attending to her work. Mrs. Smith felt sho cojld stand it no longer. Noxt morning she went to tho kitchon with a sovero frown on her usually placid fflce. " Mary," sho said, severely, " if this occurs aga'n I shall bo forced to get another servant." Mary smiled brightly but meaningly. " I wish you would, mum," sho exclaimed. " There's quite enough work for two of us, and well you know it! " WILLING TO EXPLAIN A certain schoolmaster was a great believer in simplicity and clearness and ho never lost an opportunity of driving homo his po'nt. Consequently, when a member of his class, ill writing an essay, used a quantity of abbreviations and technical terms, the master's gorge rose higher and Ir'ghor as he road tho pages. " To think," ho exclaimed, " that after all my kind teaching and perseverance a boy in this class should perpetrate such an infamous work! Don't you realise, Browne, that th : s essay should have been written so that the most ignorant of men could understand it ? " But Browne, who had written the essay with one object in view, saw his opportunity and was ready with a ques t, on. " What part' of my paper is not clear to you, sir ? " he asked.