NEWS AND NOTES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1618, 4 March 1903, Page 18

NEWS AND NOTES.

The success of the English herring fishing continues to have a remarkable effect on the matrimonial market. On a recent Sunday the banns of no fewer twenty-three fisher couples were published in Buckie parish church, Banffshire. On the previous Sunday the number was sixteen. At other risniiirr hamlets along the north-east coast of Scotland the success of the fishing continues to result in a large number of weddings. - * * * * *

A decree of very great rigour has just been issued by the general commanding the Italian Corps of bineers in Home. This is nothing less than an order prohibiting officers from smoking in any placo on duty or while wearing uniform. They may only use tobacco in their own homes or quarters. This is levelling the officers down to the rank and file of the corps, to whom smoking in public has been forbidden since 1822.

The profession of bridesmaid seems to bo growing in New York. For some time it has been the habit at weddings in that city to pay bridesmaids. At a recent wedding there were no fewer than fifteen bridesmaids, who wore all punctually paid. Besides the beautiful dresses given by the bride s father, they each received £5 apiece tor appealing in the wedding train. There are young ladies who accept so much as £2O for their office of honour. One girl who is much sought after for her beauty has appeared as bridesmaid at more than 200 weddings and has in a short time amassed quite a goodly sum besides receiving many costly presents.

About the famous Roquefort cheese the following legend is told: —A shepherd lad, having more luncheon than ho could eat. laid a large portion of his bread and cheese upon a natural shelf in on© of the caverns near by. He forgot all about it until several months later, when ho found the cheese, instead of being dried up or rotten, was rich, moist, creamy, and streaked with green-ish-blue veins. He shared his piece of cheese with others, and the villagers were quick to recognise the improved texture and quality. Henceforth all * their cheeses were taken to these caves to ripen. The caves are now owned by a company, who employ six hundred women to tend the cheese. ****** In a fewweeks there will be opened at Romo a very interesting establishment, the asylum founded by Verdi for musicians in their declining years.. It is for both sexes, is replete with modern comforts, and attached to it are.charming gardens. The apartments of the men and women are entirely separate,

but they will have saloon and diningroom in common. The men will wear a coat and soft hat similar to those usually worn by the founder. Attached to the establishment will be a Verdi museum, full of the personal belongings of the founder. There will be accommodation for six men and forty women. A friend of Verdi has left a sum of money for the decoration of the crypt where Verdi’s remains lie. » e - a i» Not long ago the State Railway authorities in Melbourne had to investigate a case of a guard leaving his van, walking along the footplates, clambering up the engine, and making a furious assault upon the driver, the train going at full speed all the while. They are now inquiring into another curious incident. In this case somebody forgot to fix tho couplings between the engine and the train. When the signal was given the engine steamed out of the station by itself, leaving carriages and passengers in the lurch. Guard, stationmaster, porters, and spectators yelled, but without effect. The engine ran for six miles before it was discovered that it had nothing behind it. Tho most disquieting feature of the incident was the fact that it passed several signal-boxes without receiving any warning to stop.

'The skin of the black diamond rattlesnake is utilised in Florida as a barometer. When preserved like raw hide and hung up the skin Avill begin to emit beads of moisture at the first indications of a storm, even though several hours before the arrival of the atmospheric disturbance.

The only female justice of the peace in the United States, and probably in the world, is Mrs Agnes Garrett, who has just assumed her official duties at Garrett, Wyoming. She was born at Birmingham, England, in 1863. and proceeded to Wyoming in 1884/ founding the toAvn now named after her. ” * * * * »

Novel first-aid-to-the-iniured boxes are to be scattered in the streets of Paris. Outwardly th© apparatus resembles a lamp-post pillar-box, and it contains a small medicine-chest, a folding stretcher, and a telephone for signaling tbe nearest ambulance station. Access to the box is gained by breaking a glass panel.

* * * •* *■ - Among the Turks, hath money forms

an item in every marriage contract, the husband engaging to allow his wife a certain sum for bathing purposes. Should it be withheld she has only to go before the cadi and turn her slipper upside down, and if the complaint b© not then, redressed it is a ground for divorce.

# * * * An entertaining incident ’ occurred on the roof of an omnibus one Tuesday morning recently. As the vehicle was proceeding over Blackfriars Bridge to>words Farringdon Street Station a gull “boarded” the ’bus. The bird took his stand on the roof, and took little or no notice of his fellow-passengers. He rode as far as Ludgate Circus, where the ’bus, owing to the traffic, was delayed. A young work-girl opened a parcel containing her day’s food and gave the gull some bread, which it ate with avidity. * * * * * *

The remarkable gas “electron!,” for which its inventor, Professor Rychnowski, claims that it can be condensed into greenish-blue balls which are elastic like indiaruhber, would apparently be the very thing for motor-car tyres. The gas is self-luminous, and lamps would, therefore, he unnecessary at night, while in its genial rays vegetation sprouts surprisingly. To run through country lanes in winter, leaving ripe strawberries on the banks in one’s wake, would bo a pleasing experience. The motorist would be welcome everywhere.

In some parts of Scotland superstition combines curiously with a proper respect for the -“means of grace.” The child was sick, and not likely to live through the night. “Sandy,” said the mother, “tho wean’s liae gom’ tae get well; yo’ll hao tae gang for the moenister, and hae it named.” “A’ll no gang the niclit, Mary,” was the reply, “for ye ken weel yersel A’m a gey easy frightened man i’ the dark.” “Weel, wool,” said the perplexed woman, “did body ever hear the like, and the wean on deem’ ? It’ll hae to be baptised, meeuister.or no meenister; for A’ll hae no bairn o’ mine , enter the dark valley wantin’ the drap o’ water. If ye’ll no gang for the meenister ye’ll hae tae dae it yersel’.” Unfortunately not a drop of water was forthcoming on the premises. Mary produced “a wee drap wliusky,*’ and suggested its employment in the sacred rite. “Weel,” said Sandy, “there’s warse things than a drap o’ gfti.de liquor; gie ns the bairn.” So tho father, sprinkling some drops of tho potent liquid on its head, pronounced this formula:—“Though the words may be weak, the spoerit’s strong. If yo dee yer name’s Geordie; and if ye dinna dee ye’re no baptised ava.”

A-scheme is now under tho consideration of the municipal authorities of Zurich to pen up tho Sihl Yalley, near Einsiedeln, by means of a masonry dam of considerable length, so as to form a water area or lake .capable of containing 96,000,000 cubic metres of water. The water would he led along a channel for a distance of nearly two miles, and would then flow through the mains to the power station. It is estimated that tho available water would yield from 55,000 horse power to 60,000 horse power, and tho expenditure on the works is calculated at £1,400,000.

Mr Alfred Whitney, a Chicago inventor, has organised a company to obtain electricity from 150 miles above the eartli. Mr Whitney asserts that the atmosphere extends seventeen miles, and that above this is an thereal region charged with pure electricity, which he proposes to tap by means of a cable. Seventeen miles up, Mr Whitney says, the power of gravity will he lost and the cable will simply fall into space. Any number of miles could therefore be easily unwound, and 150 miles up he expects to get electricity equalling 140,000 horse power. Although scientific men naturally laugh at the idea, the company has actually secured land for electrical works, and has applied for patents.

An amusing addition to tlie orthodox sources of admiration for Shakespeare is recorded in the current number of the Manchester “Owen’s College Magazine.” A city father was showing the beauties of .the college—architectural and otherwise—to two ladies. They were specially interested in the library, and had already admired Mr Christie’s bookcase and discovered that the carpets in the different sections did not match, when tlieir conductor drew their attention to the splendid first folio of Shakespeare. They said, “How interesting!” and were passing on, when a statement of its value brought them back for a more respectful second survey. For some time they contemplated the portrait which adorns the title page; then one said thoughtfully, “Yes. I always liked Shakespeare; you know, he has such a nice face!” „ a * e «• »

One of the most gigantic mining operations ever undertaken is about to he carried out at Chappie Creek, Colorado. A tunn'el. no fewer than 14 miles in length, is to he bored in order that the minerals may be brought 'through and forwarded to the coast. The real advantage will be that the ore will then hs able to pass from the mine to the

port over a comparative level plane of transit, wboreas now tho mineral has to be transported over the range of mountains.

Professor Koch has discovered a successful method for tho destruction of rata which frequent tho holds of ships. An experiment ■ has been conducted on board the Bulgaria at Hamburg. Tho rats were placed m cages in the hold. An apparatus was then used to fill the hold of the ship witn a gaseous substance. When this was concluded the cages were brought on deck, and all the rata were found to he dead. The now system will in future be used in the German navy, and also on the big German steamship lines.

At tho final State examinations for ladies, which have just been held m Russia for the first time, 111 candidates have obtained their medical degree.

A lady admits that tho writer who summed up an English woman’s idea of happiness with the parody, “It is a nuc day; let us go out and buy something,” expressed the feminine mental attitude to a nicety. *****

Thoro was a time when children wero systematically “hardened” or inured to cold and wet. That this process can scarcely ho recommended is shown by tho statistics from a paper read by Dr. He.oker, of CarJJsfaad, ,before a local medical society. Great liability to colds was shown by 31 per cent.' of the unhardened, 38 per cent, of the mildly, and 62 per cent, of the severely “hardened.”

A euro for sea sickness has been discovered by tho Italian Ambas.sa.doi at Washington. It consists in looking at your own reflection in a mirror, and the longer you look the better you become, until, after a prolonged course of Narcissus-like ecstasy, the sea sickness vanishes altogether, and equilibrium \iis re-established between the brain and the stomach. This is, of course, the reason why women are, as a rule better sailors than men. .But it was ’ not kind of them to keep’ the secret to themselves all these years.

“He’s perfectly quiet, gentlemen, said an innkeeper, referring to a horse which two novices were to drive, but von must keep the rein off his Gal. “Rioht,” said they; “we will hear it in mind.” When they returned the innkeeper inquiredh ow thye had got on. “Splendidly!” was the reply. We had one rather- sharp shower, hut we took it in turns to hold the umbrella over the horse’s tail, so there was no real danger.” , *

Teeth of all kinds have been worshipt.od and are, in fact venerated as relics in some religious shrines. . Buddha’s tooth is preserved m an Indian temple ; The Cingalese .worship the tooth of a monkey T while the elephant’s and shark’s tooth serve a similar purpose among the Malabar and Tonga Islanders respectively. The Siamese were formerly the possessors of the tooth of a sacred monkey, which they valued very highly, but in a war with the Portuguese they lost the holy grinder and had to pay £700,000 to get it back again. It is now kept in a small gold box, inclosed in six other boxes in one of the many temples of the Siamese capital.

Not long ago, an Englishman in New York, provoked beyond endurance, settled matters forthwith and straight-

forwardly by knocking the insulter down. Tlie blow was clean —“a knockout” —delivered intentionally on the point of the chin. The Englishman, promptly arrested, was astounded to find himself charged with felony. He was told that Ills victim wore eyeglasses when struck, and that to strike a bespectacled man in the face with the clenched fist is felony by the law of New York. Tourists and travellers with a tendency towards self-protection will do well to note this paragraph, apd to take care on arrival at New York to' turn the other cheek to a near-sighted assailant.

Many claims have been made on behalf of the modern newspaper. It is now held .forward as the only reasonable euro both for cold and poverty. If you stretch it over you at k night it is better than a warming-pan, better than an eiderdown quilt. If you roll it up into wet hails and put it on the fire it does instead of coals.

John Boyd, a wealthy ; New York lawyer, has just died, at the age of sixty-three, a. victim of his own eccentricity. He held that no man should get others to do work lie could do himself, and, acting on this belief, insisted on white-washing his cellar. He missed his footing- on a step ladder and fell backwards. His neck was broken.

$ # Questions having been raised on the subject of the decision of the French maritime authorities to allow women to act as sailors in the Channel fishing smacks, the Minister of Marine has addressed a circular to all the French port officials, in which he says: “Women cannot navigate .as captains, hut

according to the French law- they cannot be prevented from embarking as members of the crews.”

* * © * © * The lady whose teeth dropped into her plate while she was dining at the Criterion Restaurant had certainly much to bear. It was, however, stated in evidence that she had, at a time when the teeth were in the earliest bloom of their youth, written the following warm testimonial to her “You. have altered my appearance. I look quite a different woman, and I shall be able to get another husband. My daughters will not bo able to have it all their own way now.”

A man named Meraud complained to M. Brunet, police commissary for ono of the districts on the south side of tho Seine, that he had been robbed of six valuable carrier pigeons, and said that one of his friends had seen them at tho house of another man. The Magistrate went to the place indicated, and there saw some birds. “How did you come by them ?” he asked the man. “Oh, I bought them some months ago,” was the reply. “Well, bring them to my office,” and M. Brunet. There ho had a wax seal attached to each bird’s log, and the birds were liberated. They flew back to Meraud’s' house, and an hour later the chief was on liis way to tho police depot.

• ***«* Two noblemen in the reign of Maximillian 11.—1564-1566—0ne a German, the other a Spaniard, who had each rendered a great service to tho emperor, asked the. hand of his daughter in. marriage. Maxiffnllian said That as ho esteemed them both alike it was impossible to choose between them, and Therefore their own prowess must decide it, but, being unwilling to risk the loss of either by engaging them in deadly combat, ordered a large sack to be brought, and declared that he who should put his rival into it should have his fair Helena. And this whimsical combat was actually performed in the presence of the imperial court and lasted ah Ixour. The unhappy Spanish nobleman was first overcome, and the German succeeded in enveloping him ‘in the sivck, took him upon his back, and laid him at The emperor’s feet. This comical combat is said to he the origin of the phra.se “give him the sack/’ so common in the literature of ccurtinor. * * * * - ° Sir Edward Law, one qf the Britishers who figured in the Durbar honours, is a master of Indian finance and a framer of Budgets', He is the head of the financial department of the Government of India, but he has served the Empire in a much wider capacity in the long years he has given to its service. Sir Edward is an Irishman., horn in R-cstrevor. just over fifty-six years of ago, and he began life as a soldier. He was in command of the transport in tho Guards Brigade at Suakim in 1885, and despatches and medals tell of his service there. After nearly twenty years in the army, he left it, as Sir « Claude Macdonald and other men have left it, for the diplomatic service, and he has drawn up treaties and sat on international commissions since. Ho knows the Shah, and knew his father; has had something to do with the public debt of Turkey; and has been British Minister at Athens. It was tnere that ho found his wife. Lady Law is a Greek lady, with a maiden name which it is safe to say is not to be found anywhere else in Debrett. " She was Miss Hatsopoulo before she married Sir Edward Law, who had,not then been our Minister at Athens.