HERE AND THERE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1507, 17 January 1901, Page 14

HERE AND THERE.

For cycling (says the -uady's Pictorial’ ) the Duchess ot York has never carect. bat slie has lately fallen a victim to the motor craze, which has already seized upon the Prince or Wales. Whilst visiting iicrd and k-aciy Llangattock at the Mendre, Monmcutnshire, ail the sightseeing m the neighbourhood was dene by the guests in motor cars ; and the Duchess ot York expressed herself so

delighted with this means of locomotion that it is understood a motor car will speedily be added to the vehicles possessed uy the Duke and Duchess of York.

*## . * , The British people (says ■■London Times") have never allowed the feelings provoked amongst them from time to xiine uy certain aspects of Russian policy! and certain acts of Russian statesmen and of Russian soldiers, to diminish the high opinion they hold of the character or" the Czar. There has always been a general belief in jingiand that the jc.nipeior himself reciprocated the national sentiment towards him—that he liked and respected the British people, and that he cherished a real regard and. reverence for our beloved Queen, to whose grand-daughter he is married. The Czar has hitherto exhibited in his policy, viewed as a whole, the same attachment Mure cause of peace that he proclaimed wnen he proposed the Hague Conference.

‘ rX- '■£ * # How does the new Cabinet 'remarks the “Daily Chronicle ’) compare with the old in point of age? Of the "ancients j Cord Cross, seventy-seven, and Mr Gcschern, sixty-nine, have retired, and of the younger men Mr Chaplin, sixty, and Sir ivl. Whit e-Ridley, fifty-eight. There still remain three of -seventy years or more. Lord Haisbur.y, seventy-five. Tore! James of Hereford, seventy-two. and Lord Salisbury, seventy, and -ux who have turned 1 three score. The Duke of Devonshire, sixty-seven, Mr Chamberlain, sixty-four, Ford Ashbourne, sixty-, three, Sir M. Ricks-Beach, sixty-three. Mr Ritchie, sixty-two, and Lord Cadogan, sixty. Then- there is an "eleven”' who may he regarded as comparative youngsters. Lord Lansdowne. Lord G. Hamilton, and Mr Hanbury. all fiftvfive. Mr A. J. Balfour, fifty-two. Lord Balfour of Burleigh, fifty-one, Mr AkersDouglas, forty-nine, Lord Londonderry, forty-eight, Mr Gerald Balfour, fortyseven, Mr Long, forty six, Mr Brodrick, forty - four, and cord Selbourne, forty-one. inus of the five new members only one —Mr Hanbury—is over fifty, and Lord Selbourne displaces Mr Long as the “baby” of the Cabinet. The burden of years on the old Cabinet was 1168, giving them an average of just- 614. The new, in spite of its enlargement, only totals 1139, or an avearge of 57- A decided advance in the direction of rejuvenation.

Lord Salisbury has never provoked stoi'ins like those of his predecessor, 1.-ord Beaconsfield, or of his rival, Mr Gladstone, but he has managed to encircle his name with a halo of respectful popularity which has never failed. Me has always known how far it was Arise to advance, and has pursued a policy which lias been advantageous to England on all the continents, and which he has defended in his speeches in the prudent wtyle of a man sure of his facts. is remarkable tlia the has not mere enemies abroad than in England, and one cannot but congratulate the British nation upon the possession of such a man. —"Fremdenblatt/’ Vienna.

* -X- a * «• - A soldier who was recently sent heme under escort from the front has .just proved that he is himself and not ms brother, and has got his release. Some years ago he joined the Royal Artillery, while, as he says, his brother joined the ... Gordon Highlanders. Jtie himself was then discharged and arrested for being a deserter from the Gordons. As such he was sent to South Africa, althcugn he denied the identity. For some offence there he was sent back to Portsmouth.

Now he has once more declared that he is (himself —the Artilleryman, not his brother, the Highlander—and the War Office has set him free.

« * * * *• m Passengers who have been entertained by the toothsome quail on board the Atlantic liners will regret to learn that Ncav York is putting into tardy operation the Game Laws, which forbid having possession of game or exporting game from the State during the close season. The International Navigation Company has been lined lOOcJols for serving quails on. board their liners during the summer, and the New York dealer who supplied the birds had to pay lOOOdols. This action will not affect the London, market, which is chiefly supplied with qualis from Southern Europe and Egypt.

* =$ * *■ . * “Marconi, whom I first interviewed for ‘The Bulletin/’ in 1896,” writes cur London correspondent, “has of late accomplished two victories of enormous importance. He has realised in practical working what might be termed ‘Duplex Wireless Telegraphy/ and he no longer needs a ‘receiving’ mast towering into the atmosphere with a ‘lightningconductor’ to catch the coming message and turn it into the instrument for interpretation—now the instruments may lie on the ground. In ordinary telegraphy the duplex system allows of a message from one end of the line passing without confusion, a message from other end simultaneously being transmitted. Thus lines are economised, and

one made to do the work of two. The current from one end is ot a different strength’ to that from the other, and they do .not j&ash or ‘melt’ together. Marconi accomplishes liis duplex thus : Each of his receivers is put in tune with his fellow transmitter, so- that when the latter calls from 6(J to 70 miles distant, though there may be a dozen receivers on the same table, only those accurately attuned to the calling transmitter will register its signals. This was tested severely by placing a transmitter at (say) each of two angles of a triangle and two receivers (of divei.se tunings) on too of each other and connected to the one mast wire at the remaining angle. One transmitter signalled in French, the other in English, and the messages came through without incoherence and without, confusion. He is -a* great, modest young man. is Marconi, who would be greater were he not so modest, for the baby-puppy-blind! G.P.O. has snubbed him so that if lie had any conceit he would have shrivelled up and passed away m one of his own Hertzian waves."—“Bulletin.” 7 ft

Mr F. C. Gould has a characteristic cartoon in a recent "Westminster Gazette.’’ John Bull is sitting in the stern of the Government boat. The boatmen are Lord Salisbury. Mr Balfour, Mr Chamberlain, and Sir Michael JtiieksSencb. and they are ail resting on their oars. The sea is troubled, dark clcuds overhead, and the boatmen look very dissatisfied. This is the dialogue: s?oatinen : We don't want to hurry you, Guv’nor; but we want mere money before we goes any farther. Mr Bull : More money! Why didn’t you ask me before I took your boat ? Boatmen : Well, ye see. Guv’nor, we didn’t want you to take t’other boat.

It is a new departure (writes Mr Labouchere in a recent issue of “Truth") for the Secretary of the Colonies to arrive at a British possession beyond the seas in a warship ; to be received as though he were the Emperor of the Empire, and for 1000 rockets (Government property, presumably) to be discharged as a feu de joie. However, we must accustom ourselves to new fashions as part and parcel of the Birmingham Imperialism. As tlie Governor of Malta happens to be a first cousin of mine, my family feelings lead me to hope that our Imperator will reward him for playing his part m this wondrous Ave Caesar.

* # * *• Some interesting particulars cf the veteran masters of hounds are given m the “County Gentleman.” Mr John Crozier is entering upon his 62nd season as Master of the Bleucatlira Fox Hounds. Mr George Race, who is still master of the Biggleswade Harriers, has shown sport to the followers of his excellent pack ever since 18T0. Mr John Lawrence, the nonagenarian master of the Llangibbv Foxhounds, commenced to hunt hounds as long ago as 1826. Ireland supplies such veterans as Mr Robert Watson (master of the Carlow and Island since 1845). brother of Mr George Watson, who has an almost equal record here, and Mr W. de Sails FiJgate (master of the Loutli Foxhounds since 1860.) In Scotland there is Mr J. W. J. M. Paterson, who lias ruled over the destinies of the Eskdaill since 185 o; and Wales can boast of Mr J. P. Vaughan Prvse, who is entering upon his 42nd year as a master of harriers.

A curious story is told about General Chaffee and.his Irish attendant. When the American general was only a captani, in 1878, he AA'as stationed in Arizona, and passed a winter in the field. The weather was. very bad, and the captain ordered his personal attendant, an Irish veteran known as Muldoon, to bring some dry wood. The Irishman said, “Captain, there don’t be any.” But Chaffee was imperative, and Muldoon Avent forth in the mud on a hopeless quest. He did not return and Avas regarded as a deserter. Taw) years later Chaffee, having become a major, was in command of Fort McDowell, on the Lower Verde, a hundred miles south cf the point where Muldoon had disappeared. The major was sitting on the verandah sucking a cigar when a figure came staggering along Avitli an immense armful of mesquite, and in the richest of brogues exclaimed, “Capt’in, x ve brought ye th’ dhry Avood.”

•K* *3s* # If A hint at an explanation of the failure of. volunteers as route keepers in a crowd 1 is afforded 1 by an experience of a correspondent. He found a volunteer endeavouring in vain to stop the encroachment of a stout gentleman. “I tell .you I can’t get back,” said the trespasser; “ the croud’s pushing me forward.” Then an officer came along. “Won’t get back P Make him,” said the officer. “Put the butt of your rifle in his chest. Don’t tell me you can’t. You are the stronger man.” The private hesitated. “Yes, sir. I knoAv I’m the stronger man/’ he said. Then desperately he added, “But lie’s the head cashier at our office, sir.”

A characteristic story of Mr Rhodes and General De Wet is told by the Kimberley correspondent of the “Glasgoiv Herald.” “Hoav you must hate Rhodes !” a burgher now on parole remarked to. Christian De Wet, not long ago. “Not at all,” the intrepid! raider is credibly reported to have cried. “He tried to patch up matters as long as he could; but. when things got to a head lie sided with his own country, and I should have despised him if 'lie had done otherwise. I, too, have sided wth my country, and when it is all over I shall not mind shaking him by the hand.” This anecdote

was carried to Mr Rhodes, who replied promptly. “I think De Vvet must oe a. verv hue fellow."

•* * * . * * Sir Arthur Arnold claims to have become in the days of iiis youth, the repository of Bishop Wiiberforee’s wittiest saying. It seems that a female devotee of the famous bishop, who had many female devotees, asked wliat he had found most difficult in me. It was a solemn question solemnly puc. “Oh/’ replied the bishop gaily, “i have no doubt on that point. It is to keep a dinner napkin on a silk apron."

A Welsh clergyman writes: —"BadenPovveil has a Welsh family motto, and on account of its containing one cr two obsolete Welsh words, put together in an ancient Welsh style, Welsh scholars have for some time been at a loss to discover tiie correct reading ana interpretation of the old proven.) thus adopted as a family motto. However, this particular motto has at last been discovered uv a Welsh scholar m ancient MSS. re contains but live words, “R md pwyil, pyd yw.’ The correct interpretation of wm-cn is, where cave, or discretion, or prudence is not exercised, there is danger. "Whenever the motto comes to be inscribed cm any article to be presented to the Major-General, it is to oe hoped that the above version will be faitinully followed.’’

=* Sfc & # **- # Some whale of a knight had a scrap with liis attendant, get.a drop on the King, and put him cut of the ring, iiien his son took the throne, but be had no kick coming, for with.the throne he got a mortgage on the coffers of the realm and the bulge on all comers. This choice bit of American language is verbatim from Professor Thatcsers leoture on English history to women students at the Chicago University—an institution largely endowed by Kockfeller millions. It appears to have been too idiomatic even for the American girl, for the class handed a written protest to the surprised instructor. “He will have,” said one of his fan’ pupils, flushed with enthusiasm ;fcir purity ef language, “to take a tumble; to himself or get off the rostrum."

**. * * * Hie oCOth anniversary of Chaucer’s death was the 100th anniversary or the birth of Thomas Babington Macaulay. Born with the century, he died when he and it were 59. But lie had begun his mental career so early that lie was in reality, bv all but years, an older man. His name is as familiar today as ever it was, when many', even most, of the names of liis contemporaries are halfway to oblivion. His power of talking and writing with equal fluency made him unique. Other writers of a whole shelf of books have been mostlv silent men. But Macaulay! Brougham’s description remains—that of frantic men running at night into tlieir clubs, fingers in ears, crying, “Heaven help me, I met Macaulay at dinner.”

* . * * *■ Mr Burleigh tells a true story ot what befel a raiv neiv comer, a subaltern, who went out early in the morninp-. after his arrival by a coal truck, to enjoy a bathe, taking Avith him soap and tOAvsy toAi'el. He Avas caught by a Boeree, either a wild one, or a felloAv in ten thousand. All the enemy did to the subaltern AA-as to hold a pantomime coiwersation and commandeer the cake of soap, which was a sample of a much adA-ertised kind. Nothing else, not e\-en thei towel, did the enemy exact from his captive. Then lie released the subaltern, and slinging the Mauser OA'er his shoulder, strutted away richer by a cake of soap. I have not learned whether he ate it, adds Mr Burleigh, or Avashed and died.

*** , * A Hooligan coat of arms, designed by a reclaimed Hooligan, has a shield divided into four quarters with birch rods and other insignia, the supports Ayere on the one side a Avorking man, and on the other a lad in cricketing costume, and the motto was, “Love ’em and lick ’em.”

Not A r ery many years ago Britons used to be proud of their railroads, and contrasted the comfort and the speed of the trains Avith those of foreign countries. In both particulars they are now beaten. The best trains all round are in AustriaHungary. The carriages for all classes are much superior and the fares are much cheaper. Yet since these changes haA r e been made the railroads haA r e earned more money.

*• . # * * The Church of St. Spiridion, in Missolonghi, in Avhich AA r as deposited the urn containing the heart of Lord Byron, is about to be rebuilt. When the town of Missolonghi was takeln by the Turks in 1823, this church destroyed, and the urn buried under the ruins. Every effort is noAV being made to discover the priceless relic, in order to place it in a prominent position in the neAV building.

* * * * Mr Brodrick has achieved the rare distinction of never having made a mistake either as Under-Secretary for War or as Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs. He will return to an office with the business and personnel of which he is Avell acouainted, and he will bring to a task that might daunt an older man proved Parliamentary courage, a- clear head, and energy that has not yet been chilled by failure. Truly this is the age of young men.

* * * * # A red-tape story was told at political meeting by Captain Oliver Young, who was aboard the Beacon at the bombardment of Alexandria. During the Egypt-

lan campaign of that time, after having been in hospital, he was reported dead and buried, and a tombstone was erected to his memory at Saukiin, and still stood there. The \Var Office insisted upon his paying a guinea to cover the cost of nutting his name on the stone.

* * * #■ <4 Sir John Cowan. Bart., of Be ef lack, Midlothian, who died recently in his 86th year. at his residence. Pencuik, was chairman of Mr Gladstone’s election committee during the memorable campaign which preceded the return of tne Liberals to power in 1890. In business Sir John Cowan was a paper maker, and was also interested in several other commercial schemes in Edinburgh. He received in 1894 the dignity of a baronetcy, which, as he leaves no male heir, now becomes extinct.

* . * *- *• * It isn t necessary for an American to sympathise with Chamberlain to read the iesson of the general election. The lesson is that the people of any civilised country believe in standing by their Government in time of war. It is all right for Americans to sympathise with the Boers, and to lend them aid and comfort as private citizens: but for a man who owes allegiance to the British flag to do this while the Boers are aiming their guns at the breasts of British soldiers is evidently looked upon by the mass of British voters as a species of treason.

___ At a Parliamentary election in the North of England a candidate was persistently heckled by a chimney sweep, who appeared at the meetings in his full “war-paint/’ that is, attired in his sooty garb, with bag on shoulder and face and hands unwashed. It was difficult t-o shake off .-.is literal “bete noire,'' but at last the persecuted candidate disposed of him in a polite manner, with, "if the gentleman in mourning—-—” Ho had no need to go further, for the crown, tickled by this description e’i his opponent, drowned the rest of the sentence in roars of laughter, and the inquisitive sweep was heard no mere.

•Jf y- * -Jr * A case which lias created a great deal of excitefment and interest in aristocratic circles in Rome, both at the Quiriual and the Vatican, lias just been decided Last winter Prince Ch.gi, who is Marshal of tlie Conclave, sold a very valuable picture of the Virgin to an agent trom England. Now to sell art treasures out of Italy without the permission of the Government is contrary to law. Consequently Prince Chigi was prosecuted. The court condemned Prince Cliigi to pay the Government the price he had received for the picture (about £12,600). Tlie general opinion is that lie got off rather cheaply, because in a former case of the sort the defendant was sent to prison besides having to pay the value of the objet d’art.

Sir M. Hicks-Beach, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, touching upon the unity of the Empire, said that Avith an expanding Empire we ought to have a much wider spread system v of contribution to Imperial defence than Ave at present possessed. The whole history of the South African campaign showed that the colonies came foiward voluntarily in a matter Avhicii at first did not concern them. They all placed their men at the disposal of her Majesty’s Government for me safety of the Empire, and he was convinced that our colonists in America, Canada and Australasia had a feeling that they would not impose on the mother country any more than they ougnt to bear for Imperial defence.

* . » <■ * charming story of “Booties’s jbuuv" is given by the Paris “NeAv York Herald,” from Rambouillet, Avhere the x<th Chasseurs are quartered. The little damsel in this case was found at the most tender age in a railway carriage—a circumstance which suggested the name she has receded. “Marie Joseplie Dutrain” —and she must have had a wealthy mother, to judge by the costly linen she Avore. Dr Aritignes. the regimental surgeon, adopted the baby when she Ava« found last March ; but when the unmarried officers of the regiment saw her they insisted on sharing the adopted parentage. They have clubbed together to provide her Avith a dot, and spend all their spare time in petting her and bringing her playthings. Apparently of rich parentage, Marie Josephe will probably become a veritable heiress, for the garrison is- devoted to her, and Avhen any play occurs at the cafe or club the winnings go straight to the little one’s savings bank.

* * * # * On 20th August, Captain Johansen, in company Avith his son, aged 12 k years, left Gibraltar in the sailing boat Lotta’ 29lft long only, Avith the intention of endeaA'-ouring to reach a port on the coast of Florida. After leaving thei “Rock” the little craft was caught in the bay in one or two squalls, which nearly brought her to grief, and might very Avell have deterred a less intrepid navigator from proceeding further Avith his enterprise. No tidings came to hand, and it Avas feared that the Heat had foundered. Much relief AA r as experienced when the captain of the port made public the following telegram, which Avas received on the night of 20th October : “La!tto arrived!; all Avell.” Th(e wire Avas from Punta Garda, the nearest toAvn to the harbour in Pine Island, to, which Captain Johansen Avas bound. The time taken on the voyage must have been 61 days, or one day over the approximate time that had been calculated in victualling the boat.

The “Tailor and Cutter” waxes sarcastic in an article descriptive cf dress in South Africa. In Johannesburg, says the writer, the men did not dress at all in the proper acceptation of the word. Nine out of every ten men he met witn in the street had the appearance of Having had theii' clothes “chucked on” from a distance. It was a common sigiic to see some prominent business men minus a collar and tie, with head covered witn a battered old “smasher’' hat, and a suit made up of a coat and trousers of two distinctly antagonistic shades.

They tell this story of a*ducal owner of racehorses. He was visiting his trainer's stables and found a lad bathing a. horse’s foreleg. "Water’s far too hot,” said his Grace, who fancied 1 himself on his knowledge of veterinary matters. “Too hot?” said the trainer. “Oh, 1 think not, your Grace. If it was my foot I coulckeep it there for ten minutes.” “Bet you a ‘tenner’ you can’t/’ “Done, youi Grace.” “Funny thing,” said the trainer to the stud groom afterwards, “in all these years the Duke’s known me 1m never knew I had a cork leg.”

Mr Spencer Carrington, M.P., is well over eighty years of age, but he has been capable of doing hard labour in Parliament for many Sessions, and is prepared to continue it in the future. The secret of his vigour, he says, lies in the drinking of beer. “Every day at home I drink beer for my dinner, and when the House is sitting I may be found every day at the dinner hour with a tankard of beer in front of me. I always tell my friends that if you would get on and live long you must drink beer.”

There is a bicycle story in connection with the Presidential election which has not before found! its way into print. Three American young ladies were discussing the election and the candidates over their bikes. One of them sagely remarked, “I shall call 1113- bike McKinley, because it is sound.” The second said, “I will call mine Roosevelt, because it is a rough rider.” The third, who nact been inflating the tyre, thoughtfully added, “And I will call mine Bryan, because it is full of wind!”

Tiny bits of the armour plates of the ill-fated Maine are being worn by many of the United States sailors on service in China in the way of amulets. They are expected by the superstitious salts to ward off the bullets from the “Boxers’ ” rifles. The charms, enclosed' in leather cases, are on sale in most ot tae Eastern States seaports. Such are shrewdly supposed to be mostly shams, as far as the Maine armour is concerned, the alleged amulets, being merely pieces of ordinary ‘scrap-iron.

A great service to the civilised world is about to be rendered by the Imperial Government, which has begun to construct lights at Mocha and three other points in the Red Sea. The lightless condition of that great highway is a standing peril to the shipping of all nations, but many complications have hindered the doing of the obvious', since these waters fall within the sphere not only of the Imperial Government and the Indian, but of Turkey and 1 Egypt, which is clogged, when it is willing to spend money cui useful objects, by the jealousy of certain people.

Colonel Henry Knollys makes some interesting reflections in “Blackwood- s Magazine” on the strange patois by means of which Chinese and foreigners converse in the Far East. “Pidgin—the Chinese pronunciation of “business’—is not,” he says, “the imperfect broken jargon of foreigners, but a hybrid gibberish of our language, interspersed witn numerous Chinese and Portuguese terms. For example, ‘chow’ is food, and ‘joss’ is religion.’ ‘Savvy’ (Portuguese sabe) means to- know; ‘can do,’ very well; ‘no can do,’ lam unable. The officer commanding Royal Artillery is ‘No. 1 big-gun-man,’ and- the colonel of Engineers is ‘No. 1 bricklayer-man.’ A paddle steamer in allusion to its visible means of propulsion, is ‘outside-walkee-can-see’; a screw is ‘inside-waiK-ee-no-can-see.’ There is not a vestige of French, or German, or Italian Pidgin. Persons of those nationalities are compelled to transact their business with the inhabitants by English Pidgin. As for European languages proper, 1 seldom found them of avail in any ot the numerous localities in China which I visited, saving in Portuguese Macao. This universality of the English language, corrupted though it be, is surely irrefragable evidence of the overwhelming preponderance of English- influence, English interests and English rights.”

A remarkable piece of machinery is described in the current number of the “Stone Tracies Journal.’’ It is the mammoth lathe built by the Philadelphia Roll and Machine Company, of Philadelphia, Pa., for the special work cl turning up and polishing granite columns to be used in the erection of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, which will have- 32 granite columns, 54ft long by 6ft in diameter, and weighing, when complete, about 160 tons each. The lathe itseir is 86ft in length, and weighs, complete, 135 tens, swings 6ft 6in by 60ft long, and has eight cutters, each tool taking a cut 3inr in depth, the whole eight reducing the column 24in in diameter at. one pass over the length of the stone.

Notwithstanding that 20 millions of

up by speculators. according to the “Daily News’ correspondent., were never sold, the exhibition is regarded as a great success. And a comparison with the figures of 1899 would seem to bear this out. The “Morning Post” asserts that the total number of visitors to u iie 1900 Exhibition since it opened was oU.~ 600,000. In 1889 the figure was 30,000,000. This year 46,700,000 paying entrance tickets were taken at the gates, as against 28,149,352 in 1889. The entrances to the London Exhibition of 1862 were 6,211,103 : Vienna in 1873, 7,20-1,-689: Philadelphia in 1876, 10,000,000: and Chicago in 1893, 27,377,733. Tne .Paris Exhibition has received over 600.000 visitors in a single day, a figure that has never been approached anywhere.

* -:t * -* as. Among the many stories told at the New College Jubilee, which has been celebrated by old students from among the Congregational ministry, one of the best was that told by the Jttev Alfred Rowland. It appears tiiat Dr Lankester had undertaken to explode the hideous suggestion that the origin of man was the monkey, and, with a view to a lecture on the gorilla, brought to the college three stuffed specimens. At the gate a quarrel ensued between the doctor and the cabman, who demanded four fares! 111 explaining afterwards, Dr Lankester said:—“lt was not that 1 objected to pay; but it was the impudence of' the fellow in persisting that these gorillas, brought for the purpose of showing the} 7 were not our relatives, were yet to be treated as paying guests.”

.t*. * y , * According to private cvoher telegrams received at tliet Vatican (says the Rome correspondent,of the “Daily News”) it is rumoured that the illness of the Czar is not due to natural causes, but the result of an attempt to poison both him and the Czarina, the latter fortunately remaining untouched. All efforts, tins report says, dre being made to keep the affair absolutely secret, in order that the police may more successfully investigate what is thought to be an extensive nlot.

111 a vivid description of the operations in Ashantee, the “Standard” correspondent with the Ashantee Field Force describes Lake Bosomakwe, the Sacred Lake cf the Ashantees and Kokofus. No column, he says, has ever been to the lake before ;in fact, it was hitherto almost unknown to Europeans, and the report was current that we should, meet with the greatest resistance all along the road, which was said to, be stockaded. However, the guides’ stories proved to be without foundation, and we came across no stockades. After climbing ever several high hills we at last saw through the trees the lovely Fetish Lake, glittering like a slieet of quicksilver deep down below us. A hasty descent was made to the first village cn "the lake. The enemy was completely taken by surprise, and, offering no real resistance, immediately fled to the water and escaped on their logs. We then took a good l look at the lake. It certainly 'was a beautiful sight—a great stretch of shimmering silver} 7 water about eight miles long and five miles broad, with a loveU 7 range of hills rising sheer out of the water all round it, covered with the greenest of green woods, like glorified Clivede!n. The lake abounded with fish—little fellows —all kinds of cmaint colours and shapes, names for which it would have puzzled even the great Izaak Walton himself to discover.

Professor Perry’s address to the Institution of (Electrical 'Engineers, of which he is president, may be described (says “The Standard’; as “rousing." It told disagreeable truths in the plainest language. But one may fear that a young man, conscious that he is no genius, will not be encouraged tc take up the profession when he learns how quickly electrical engineers of the average ability are used up. It appears that the men who did well enough in 1882 were “not worth twenty shillings a' week” in 1894, and had to go ; but those who replaced them were “wedded out” in their turn two or three years later. “And so it has gone on ever since. ’ The revelation is discomforting for students of no more than ordinary talent. But does it not explain in some measure the predominance of Fleming and German Hollander, Huguenot and Hebrew” as the Professor put it, in the higher branches of electrical science, among us ? These are “the pick” of their respective countries, and they carry their ability to the best maz*ket—which is London. At the same time it is certain that our educational system deserves all the living ridicule which Mr Perry bestowed upon it.

Seventy-four men and two women divide among themselves the governments of the world. In other words, there are 76 rulers. Of these 22 govern as Presidents, 15 as Kings. 11 as Dukes, six as Emperors, five as Princes, and five as Sultans. There are two. Khans, of Baluchistan and of Kiva; two Ameers, of Afghanistan and Bokhara; two Queens, Queen Victoria and Queen Wilhelmina; one Khedive, of Egypt ; one Shah, of Persa ; one Bey, of Tunis; one Mikado, of Japan; one Maharajah, of Nepaul; and one Raja, of Sarawk. When it comes to. civil lists, the Emperor of Russia, who is said to be the richest man in the world, can show the largest- bang account, £2,400,000 being his yearly income. The one who obtains the bulk of his income in the most

who raises it by fines. He has men whose business it is to watch his subjects who are making money, and as soon as a man gets something ahead he is charged with some crime, and the result is a fine. If a man has amassed £6OO, for example, he is accused cf some crime, and to save himself from prison or death. must pay a fine of £IOOO. The Crown Prince is often sent cut to collect the fines. —"London Sun. ’’

The annual Parliamentary Blue-book on the Metropolitan Police for the year 1899 is full of instructive facts and figures. The metropolitan area covers 688 square miles, with a mean rateable value, for police purposes, of £42,557,150, and the total number oi police available is 13,836, their pay amounting to £1,287,393. Under the head of principal offences we find a diminution of nearly 1100 cases as against 1898. The number of burglaries and housebreakings has slightly diminished, while the value of property stolen is the lowest since 1890, showing a decrease of £37,282 as compared with ISOB. On the other hand, in four out of the 21 murders committed in 1899 no one has been made amenable. In regard to tne licensing cf public carriages tile most notewortny statistics are those relating to the increase in the rejection of obsolete or worn-out A'ehicle.s, and the withdrawal of electrically propelled hackney carriages. Finally, out of 39.551 articles found in public carriages and deposited in the Lost Property Oitice, 19,804 were restored to their owners. The variety of these articles is, as usual, amazing, the fauna of the Lost Property Office, comprising dogs, cats and several live birds, including an owl.

The largest vineyard in the world is at California. It lies in the heart of the Sacramento Valley, about 200 miles north of San Francisco, and embraces an area of six square miles, every acre of which contains 68 separate vines. Here, indeed, is a city of grapes—laid off in blocks of 1400 vines, and travel's* ed by streets and alleys of geometric regularity. In late June, when the fruit begins to ripen, and through July, when in a wash of golden sunlight and silvery moonlight, that purple perfection is reached which marks the vintage, earth holds no mere impressive scene. Now come the harvesters, a thousand and more, working from vine to vine, and singing in the sunlight. Waggons patrol the long reads, gathering the boxed product, and wine-presses creak throughout the day and night, draining the secret blood of the soil, red witii essence of sun and moon. Thousands upon thousands of tons a rep acked and sent away. So great is the production of wine and brandy that the' Government has found it necessary to build a warehouse upon the ground's—a warehouse two acres in extent, where tne casks are stored and the taxes estimated. —“Harper’s Magazine.”

Here are some curious Japanese bridal customs :—The Japanese bride, dressed in a long white silk kimono- -and white veil, sits upon the floor facing her future husband. Two tables stand near, and upon one are two cups, a bottle of saki, and a. kettle with two spouts. Upon the other side a miniature plum tree, typifying the beauty of the bride ; a miniature firtre, which signifies the strength of the bridegroom; and a stork standing upon a tortoise, representing long life and happiness. The two-spouted kettle is put to the mouths of the bride and bridegroom alternately, signifying that they are to share each other's joys and sorrows. The bride keeps her veil, and it is used as her shroud when she dies.

An enterprising London firm of cinematograph exhibitors has patented an improvement to Edison’s invention which promises to give us something quite new in projecting t-b.d pictures. Hardly a movement can be detected in the illuminated space excepting the animation, while, instead of the indistinct features incidental to all present pictures, every object, as well as portraits, are clearly defined. Undeir this new method of projection an apparently stereoscopic effect is obtained, especially in pictures where crowds are prominent, are one appears to be looking, not on a screen, but through it.

* # * * * Insurance companies on the Continent now refuse to insure Sovereigns. King Alexander of Servia tried to insure his life for ten million francs with several companies, among them the Trieste Assicurazione General for one million and a half. The company, however, refused, giving as a reason that they did it on principle, since Anarchist crimes had become so frequent, and since they had to pay three million francs for King Humbert’s life.

•* . * * * * Addressing a meeting of the Philosophical Institution after a lecture by Mr Choate, the American Ambassador, on Abraham Lincoln—Lord Rosebery said that Abraham Lincoln was one of the great figures cf the nineteenth century. When they examined the peculiarities of this great dramatic personage, _ one or two of them explained the attraction and the glamour of his personality. It seemed to hint that Abraham Lincoln was the second founder cf the great American Republic. His strength rested on _ two rocks —namely, the bedrock of unflinching principle, and the bedrock of illimitnbi» common sense. There was, he ad-

elect, one distinguishing feature which disassociated Lincoln from all the other great men that had figured in history, and that was his immense fund of humour. It was by this that he was able to soften many outcries and' meet raawty arguments which lie could hardly have met. in any other wav.

There has just died at Roy ton, near Gldhain, an Irishwoman named i£eneaily, who is believed te have lived 110 years. She had resided during her later years with a daughter aged seventythree, who was the youngest of thirteen children, and those who knew the deceased some years ago state that some of her reminiscences dated as far hack as three years before the opening of the present century, biie came from the West* cf Ireland l over thirty years ago, and had been blind for ten years. Shortly before her death she accurately repeater! the Act of Contrition to Father Cusack tne local Catholic priest. She was bedridden and very childish during the ia*+t three or four years of her life.

_,pfh e following announcement in the Trirxenhead News” is calculated to make old-fashioned people ask what Christianity is coming to :—Conditional Iraniornutv Mission.—On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings, in connection with tne Conditional Immorality mission, three lectures will be delivered. • • • •_ The subjects will be: “Is the Lible a Safe Guide to Obtain ImmorDoes the Bible Teach Inherent or Conditional Immorality/’ etc. Tor the sake of our common religion, I trust (writes Mr Labouchere in “Truth”) we may regard this as a practical joke 011 the part .of some humourous printer. But at any rate it shows how easily the immoral may become immortal, and vice versa.

-Hoout two years, ago says a Manchester contemporary, the secretary of a local railway company received cheque for £llO, being the amount paid to, a gentleman in respect of injuries alleged to been received by him in a railway accident in 1868, accompanied oy a letter intimating that as he had never felt any after ill-effects, he could no longer still retain the money. A few days ago a further letter was received by the same company from the same gentleman, enclosing a cheque for £l3O, being interest on the £llO for a, period of thirty years, during which time The gentleman had retained the original payment mad© to him by me company.

The gloomy view of the commercial status cf the Metropolis was recently laid befor© the London Locks Commission by Mr J. Innes Rogers, on behalf of the Council of the Chamber of Commerce. He declared that London had ceased to be the entrepot of the world, and its trade was increasingly confined to. local business. The only effectual remedy for the existing disastrous state of things was the formation of a dock and harbour trust, resembling that which has been sc, successful in Liverpool. The Chamber thought that the port had fallen so much behind the age that a. temporary rate on all property in the Metropolis might be necessary.

Dr Donaldson Smith, before the Royal Geographical Society, told the story'of the journey which Ee-made from Berbera, on the Gulf of Aden, by way of Lake Rudolf to the Nile. In the course of his journey he crossed, mighty plateaus, great mountains, and fertile plains, and met thriving tribes, and tribes languishing under the scourge of other and fiercer tribes, as the way of Africa is. Very early lie was set upon by highwaymen, but he caught one and made of him one of his best boys. At one plaeo was a spring of natural seltzer water and- a great drinking place of elephants. ■ o fact, there were so many elephants that they became quite a nuisance. A uhndred hippopotami skipping in a lake were a little thing. Antelopes he fount! by the hundred species, and miles of cedar forests. And only once were natives hostile.