SELECTED EXTRACTS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 221, 6 January 1877, Page 2

SELECTED EXTRACTS.

RARE: SAPPHIRES.: ~.-< The %or&in,refer.encA.t.o, .tha. marriage of Coimt_Aiigiistin JBranicld_wltll3ldlle.. de Stolipine, relates-the history^ sapphires, forming part of the family jewels of the bridegroom. One of them was given to Jean* "Sob'i'e'slci,'"King of Poland, when,"ki"-1683< 'he was l - ealled-to the aid of Aiistria, i and,d > eh>ere4.,YiQ9 n a, then besieged by Kara Mustapha, whose baggage and treasure "had A b'een" skeked. ~Tbe/Branickist . became allied.to, the Spbir, eskis by--marriageyi'and".thus- came"int© •possession precious; stone. ; The The other was' pur6haseti'lß' or-'2o'years ago by the'motTie'r'bf 't^e.pres^nt J Uoiint Branicki. It was obtained from the plunder after the' taking of Delhi during the Sepoy revolt. The the ; navel,of,..the.divinity. When sold a condition was imposed that it should, not, appear in England for a certain number of years. That period having expired atf -the'nioment of the last Exhibition in London, the jewel was shqwn ; there. , Tie two, gems were also see» <• 'four'- of > & ve -'years -ago-' at the' •naajOTage oi 'one iieipgs".of pbxmt' Branicki. They are both of. the size, of a l five-franc piece, and have no , known equals. *'Their '"commercial value 'cannot* therefore be estimated; '■'->'('. •<• «•*"'* /»■<'- >• +— -" ABOLITION OF AIT ANCIENT CUSTQM/ ,;:./.wv. .,.>/,. ■/ u.viKor centuries past a portion of the income of the bellman of 'sY.'John's"ChurchV Porth, was derjxefl.Jrom .&. £ee,x£> levied' on the parents of every child born in #ie city. Latterly the "bellman and his fee came a, •in not a few cases payment was but qn o^g t claim of the bellman was'intariably held to be rclid. i ./A 1 few A .months / ago / fcb,e man died, and at a meeting of-the Town

lively it was reported that his snccefflfa ha&vbeen appointed at a «§' peffiwinum, and that the ihs h«\been abolished.^'./'' \ MaSiED TO HIS AUNT. N '-. A\t the EnmskilMi Petty Sessions, before ike -Earl ofJJ«Lmore and other magisK trates, WitimmSmyth of County Tyrone, was charged wiHi having answered certain questions falsely to secure his marriage with his present wife, Catherine, who had been ■ his mother's brother's wife. Mr«_ _ and produced evidence tp sho,w /tljatifhe late Alexander Wood's, Smyth's uncle, died, leaving a widow and'two that the ..defendant ,• sought to- .get; married to' her in FivemUetowiiy-bmV the' cl'eYgyma'n.' he could not perform the ceremony, and that subsequently that Smyth 'came to Ennislallen,'and' in order to be marriedy told *he J Regi'strOT'6f'-MaTrikges'' that Catherine Woods was,a spinster, : ; In,, the ordinary course .of: .time-rafter • > the '■ 'notiee : the-nephew' and aunt were nlamed 1 ,". .and the Crown'how' prosecuted the' de-, -fendant fQK falsely .stating his. wife -was a • ' spinster.- J The-defendant isa mife^-lppkih'g. younjr man of abqut.,,3,o,' and.his. wife. : is about 40 years, of, .age.. The Court 're-' ' manded the'case to 'the- Assizes I ,ball 'being accepted for the defendant. ' . « "STRAWBERRY .GEO WPS&, IN ■ SCOT- "■'■■'• ~„>. :.:.... L 4TO' - V •>'•' ''■-"'■ ■ "' Strawberry growing in the field lias be-" ..come an important industry in some parts • of 1 Scotland. They require a great deal of labor, but' otherwise -they- are not- an ' ex- ,: pensive,crop.. ._T.he,..priginal.co.st ;Ot planting an acre doss not exceed'£2o, and the; ''plants''will 'remain' perfeo'tly '.good 'for.., ■.several"'years. Some time ago we heard "Of • a farmer..near. Cupar-Angus netting' £4OO this se&sdn''from'three acres "of thiji. .land under, £trw,berrics.,., The. plants on wliich these grew were foiir years 'old: Another farmer near Perth refused £2,800 ■for the crop of twenty-eight acres-of stv-aw- ■ berries,. : and the offerer was to have pulled the crop-,' which"was r, w splendid'one. "If . ..-•anything., like £IOO cap ,begofc.f'pf J the pro T , duct 0f,,.0ne acre,, we .doubt not many mers -will'-pab- 'considerable pm-fcioiis 'of their sharp, thin land under this crop. There is no other way it can pay so .well, N.B. Agriculturist. ~.,. —: — ~^~. —: —~ . ..... ■ '•-■■'■ ' "A Calcutta papar has received a letter from tlie K'ooloo Yallyy ponfenaing very, unpleasant stor'es of the cruelties perpetrated by some of the Sikh Rajahs and 'chiefs in the protected Sikh .'territories. • The wrjjter, .Las been for. in any = years in •these territori i .'S;- , -a , nd- 'is' : ptTsnii-flly' ac-' ' • qifainted with several hundred villages on the borders of Jheend and Puttialla. He says:—"The people'"tell "h:o" freely of 'their troubles^and'-long'f ox the - Angtez; j Raj. to come, especially in the territory of

the Rajah of - - This -Rajah is even worse than the Rajah of Puttialla, though •less of a drunkard:' To'fturmg" people is . liis- .-H&'has. a-'tank- nv his'palace' court-yard, atld' wheii"he"'wants'" 'sport,'' he serids''me.ii' i s}ut inj.o, ; £Fie,.bazaar,,.who. seize men "and bring them in, tie strings to their toes, and _throw them, .in the_ 'tank, while Ire laughs over their drowning struggles. When they--are--nearly dead, they are taken out, and restored to life by his Hakims. Not many years aged goldsmith was "captured and brought in/and thrown.into.-.the tank*'- He soon became, insensib ley andj&ied- a few minutesafter he was'-dfagge'd'otft:"'" Many "of native States are the "dark .pkices .of j the , earth, fujtof theJiabitationS'of cruelty^'-'-ROMANTIC LOVE 5TQRY.,,..,. • 'A reqent. Fj:ench,paper relates-the following *—**-In±he oasrs^df'FdfraWa,■ in the. regency of^'Tiinis,*jlwellsa,"wealtjiy,Cadi, who possessed a lovely daughter, Mariam, or, as the Arabs call it, Meryem, by name. Her brave yooh'g'*'!Arab" Sheiij," 'AliniedBbtfMerzan, belonging to one of the best families of thje'£ga-lik,*of Fez, desperately loved and asked in marriage. The Cadi consented ahd" r ise : day was fixedT At the appointed hour the ardent >■ bridegroom m.ad'e Ms appearance, accompanied by a brilliant retinjie of and followers* To his uttsr astonishment and indignation the Cadi coolly toM I *luila "tfiaf'lie" had •changed his mind about_ihe-marriage. What the Cadi's reasons were, whether hie had >Ahmed's disadvantage, or whether, as in case of young Lochnivar, -anotHer suitor bid hand;; does not" At all events,. zan was no liochnivar to take n9 for a'tif'- answer in such a case. ' "He drew'his'trusty scimitar, .cjdled upon his, xethmej \& "folJowhiiim^'to' the death, chargeduppn.thepeople ofithe

Cadi and the defender ef^tEe' his way through the tents of thei seized the lovely Meryem (notliing loth, perchance), placed her before him on his faithful steedj and went.,ofF like .a whirlwind'to the land of bjebeWVEandra, leaving thirty-two dead Feri--'ana Behind'hi mto prowess and;.that of his friends. The whole region is and a l goum' of 600 fierce cavaliers,. at _th ft last advices.-was in hot--pursuit of the eloping pair, ' t . .'