GLEANINGS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 889, 15 March 1889, Page 5

GLEANINGS.

A LESSON IN PUNCTUATION. The following sentence is a celebrated, punctuation puzzle, and if properly punctuated makes good sene : ‘ If Moses was the son of Pharoah’s daughter then he was the daughter of Pharoah’s son. INDIA RUBBER PAVEMENT. Experiments have beeo made in Berlin with ludia rubber pavement. It is said to be very durable, of course noiselesq and uneffected by heat or cold. As a covering for bridges, it is said to have peculiar merits, its elasticity preventing vibration. The Princess of Wales is more than ever discarding laces, satin 3, and furbelows in public places. She dresses with studied simplicity. Extravagance in dress among American women appears to have reached high-water mark, and some of the influential women in the larger cities are talking of forming a society for temperance in dress. A reaction in favour of a finer simplicity and purer taste would be a needed reform.

The Duchess of Galliera has bequeathed upwards of £400,000 to Empress Frederick, but the legacy is heavily charged and encumbered by troublesome conditions, so the Empress will probably find an expedient to refuse it.

An ordinary elephant produces 120 pounds of ivory, worth £6O. England consumes 650 tons (of which Sheffield takes one-third), for which it is necessary to kill 12,000 elephants yearly.

A remarkable double-headed child waß recently born to a French family named Reoulbault in Manchester, Maine. The heads are both perfect, and are joined to the body by two well-shaped necks. It uses its mouths and eyes apparently at will in eating, crying, waking, and even sleeping. The parents were much shocked at the appearance of their baby, and went at once to Montreal to avoid the notice of their neighbours. The child is likely to live.

The forcing process makes children confident and over-bold, but if they are so trained that they have no company manners, they may be modest in the presence of strangers, but never unbecomingly or awkwardly bashful. The social hour at home is the best school for the training of good manners, and good manners will ha a powerful element in life. Good manners, on a foundation of good morals, will always secure friends. As the old proverb says, * Manners make the man.’

* The immovable boy ’ is the latest device to attract notice to a shop. Ho stands outside the door without moving a muscle, winking or smiling. He is so noticeable by his impassiveness that one naturally inspects everything that he wears.

Princess Christian, The Lady’s Pictorial states, has suffered much more severely from weak eyes than was anticipated, having to be confined in a darkened room for six weeks without intermission whilst in Germany,

The Great Eastern has been sold at Liverpool previous to the dismantling, which will occupy over 18 months. The old iron plates and rivets fetched £12,230, tho total sum realised being £58,000.

Mistress (to new servant)- —‘ Can you dreßS potatoes, Bridget.’ Bridget—Sure and I can that same, mum !’ Mistress —‘ How do you do them ?’ Bridget—ln their jackets, mum.’ Mistress—‘ls that the only way you can dress them’’ Bridget—‘Sure, an’ I niver heard that a pertaty iver wore anything else than a jacket.’

A Persian died, leaving 17 camels to be divided amoDg his three sons in the following proportions : —The eldest to have a half, the second a third, and the youngest a ninth. Of course camels cannot be divided into fractions, so, in despair, the brothers submitted their difficulty to Mohammed Ali. * Nothing easier !’ said the wise Ali; ‘ I’ll lend yon another camel to make 18, and now divide them yourselves.’ The consequence was, each brother received from one-ninth to onehalf of a camel more than he was entitled to, and Ali received his camel back again ; the eldest received nine camels, the second six, and the third two.