Items.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 5091, 29 September 1891, Page 3

Items.

Mi-ss M'Mnster, tiie young lady to whom Lord Ails.-* is engaged, is not, as lias been erroneously reported, an American, but a pure-bred Scotch lass. Both her father and mother came from a village near Crieff. The father went out when a lad to India, and made his pile, in the approved Scotch fashion, and while so engaged sent home for his sweetheart, who went out and married him. Those who are anxious for the perpetuation of our old nobility ought to rejoice to see theiu breaking through the fatal traditions of caste in the way that Lord Ailsn has done. That Miss M'3laster is portionless is also an erroneous statement. A Home paper gives the following : —A drill-sergeant of one our most distinguished regiments of the line was recently in charge of a batch of recruits, when ho received instructions from his commanding officer to ascertain the religious persuasion of each of his men. For this purpose the recruits were paraded, and ill stentorian tones which drill sergeants all cultivate, the order was given : "Fallin ! Church of England men on the right; Roman Catholics on the left ; all fancy religions in the rear ! " Captain Josiah Lawlor, who set sail for England from Boston, United States, in the Sea Serpent, a boat 15 feet long, on .Tunc 23rd. arrived at Coveracb, near the Lizard on Tuesday, August 4th. He left in company with the Mermaid, another 15ft boat, on board of which was Captain William Andrews, the two agreeing to race across the Atlantic Ocean for a silver cup and three thousand dollars. Two hours after leaving he lost sight of the Mermaid, and dicl not see her afterwards during his long voyage. The voyage was eventful. Heavy seas were encountered, and on July 1 Captain Lawlorfell overboard and was rescued with difficulty. The vessel twice capsized, and once a shark attacked her. In this latter dilemma the captaiu took a patent yacht salute, making a noise like a 661b cannon, lit the quarter-minute fuse, and wrapped it in a newspaper and threw it overboard. Hie shark went for it, and just as he turned to seive it the salute exploded. A centleman on a 'cycling tour stayed one night at a prim old lady's cottage, the inns being full. He was very deaf, and took care to impress the fact on his hostess, with the instructions that some one must- enter the room to wake him at a particular time in the morning. Waking of himself sometime later he found that the old lady with creditable regard for propriety, had slipped under the door a note inscribed : " Sir it is half-past 7." In some reminiscences of Dr Tait in Longman's, A.K.H.B. tells the following good story :—On one of his Litest visits to a Scotch country house, the Archbishop went alone to a village post office to send a telegram to his brother. He wrote it oat, '• The Archbishop of Canterbury to Sheriff Tait." The sceptical old Postmaster read it aloud in contemptuous tones. "The Archbishop of Canterbury, indeed," and added, " Wha may ye be that taks this cognomen ?" Dr Tait, aback, said nothing. The [morning was cold, and lie had an unclerical-looking woollen comforter round his neck. But the Postmaster's eyes strayed to his Grace's apron, etc., and. in a different tone, he said, "Maybe 3*e're the gentleman himself '"For want of a better, 1 am," replied the Archbishop. Whereupon the «(km! old Scot apologised for his suspicions, adding, "I niis;lit have seen you were rather consequential about the legs." Then he spoke some words of cheer, which Tait truly said were vitally Scotch —"I have a son in Loudon, a lad in a shop, and he caed to hear ye preach one day, and (with emphasis) was vera well satisfeed." It is always sood to look on the best side of things ; but if you are buying them it is always safer to look on both sides. Our English Cook: "Now, ma'am, 'ow will you 'avc the duck to-day 1 _ W ill you heat it cold, or shall I 'eat it for you 1" The visitor (viewing the new baby) : "Do you think he is going to resemble his father?"' The mother: "I shouldn't be surprised. He keeps me up every night." Watermills are of ancient date. The first one ever built, according to the best accounts, was erected, on the river Tiber, at Borne, a.d. 50. Windmills were in original use in the 12th century. Tidemills were operated in Venice about 1708. Sawmills are said to have been in use at Augsberg, Germany, about 1332.

In Egypt.—Rude Foreigner] (meeting British tourist): "Ah ! I see it is true that no one but a pis; and an Englishman can face the hot winds." British Tourist: "Evidently, for you and I are the only living things aboard." Carlyle says properly, there is no other knowledge than that which is got by working ; the rest is yet all a hypothesis of knowledge ; a thing to be argued of in schools : a thing floating in the clouds, in endless logic-vortices, till we try and fix it.