HERE AND THERE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10453, 12 May 1910, Page 6

HERE AND THERE.

"HEAVEN'S AMBASSADOR." Mr J. D. Rockefeller, the richest man in tlio world, was the recipient of extraordinary homage when, accompanied by Senator Aldrieh, leader of the reactionaries in Congress, lie attended Divine service at the Fifth-avenue I3aptist ChurtJi, New York. The ladies crowded round the "oil king,'' calling down blessings on liis head because of his enormous donations to charity. The scene, invites reflection. "Heaven bless you," one lady repeatedly exclaimed, seizing Mr Rockefeller's hands. "Thank you very much," lib murmured in reply. "You are a benefactor to humanity, sir," cried a second lady; while' a third informed him that he was "Heaven's special ambassador on earth." To these encomiums Mr Rockefeller replied with the remark, "I should like to have you all come to dinner with me some day." YOUTHFUL HERMIT. In a cave in a gloomy wood a mile and a-half from Hatliersage, Derbyshire, a youth of' seventeen- has been found living in hermit-like seclusion. The youth had made the cave himself. He had found a hollow place in the hillside and covered in one end so as to make a lint. The ingenuity, displayed is considerable. The roof of the cave is composed of green turves, which' the youth cut close by. On many of them the -young heather is growing, : and he so arranged them that 110 bare earth is visible. At first sight the artificiality of the hiding-place would not strike "a visitor. The doorway to the abode is about a yard high by 2ft wide, and over it hang concealing branches or larch and pine. But the triumph of the cave is the fireplace. With "a number of fiat stones carefully placed on; each other the youth built up the two sides, and between them stretched several iron bars and a of wire netting to hold the fire. The sides of the range make excellent shelves on which to deposit cooking utensils and other requisites.

ELASTIC EARTH. As a result of a series of experiments recently carried out by Professor Milne, the pioneer of modern- seismology, it is now known that twice each day- at high tide the buildings along opposite sides of tidal basins salute each other. The experiments were carried out at Bidston Observatory, near Liverpool, one and a-half mile from the sea, with-a modified form of seismograph designed to record tidal effects, and the more minute "movements which other seismographs would not or not often record: The instrument recorded photographically, a tilt on the pillar supporting it causing a definite deflection on the film. From the very first the instrument gave very clear and definite records of one strange effect of the tides. Twice a day the recording needle swung in one direction, showing that- the steepness of the hillside on which it rested was increasing. At high tide the beel of the Irish Sea became depressed from an increased load, and the effect of this-was to pull the shores together. The amount- of this change was not very great, although much greater than might have been expected. At Bidston.tlie amount of deflection was about equal to one inch in sixteen miles. In thus securing a measurement of the "deflection caused by the tides Professor Milne has succeeded where others have failed. Many years ago he showed that our ordinary, apparently stable, English valleys opened when the sun fell upon them and contracted during the night. He also showed that _ apparently the whole of. the Isle of iglit tilts up at high water owing t-o_t-lie greater weight of the water in the English Channel as compared with that in tin- Solent. His latest work is the complement of earlier research and tends to show that the earth is a great deal more elastic and responsive to pulls and strains than is commonly appreciated. LEGISLATORS' BATHS. The United States Senate, after one of the most peculiar debates in its his-

tory. has decided to dispense with tho services of a professional niitssenr at a salary of £360. The appropriation for the inasseur, two assistants, and one janitor had been passed in silence, when Mr i3ristow, a Kansas senator, suddenly rose, and, without mentioning the word "masseur/' moved tiiat "Line 2 on Page 112 be eliiiiitiated.' The debate which then started showed that the "senatorial baths," with tho ir.?p-?our and -attendants;, wove already in fnil activity. Mr Bristow observed that lie had not soon the senatorial baths, whereon Ml; Bailey,_ of Texas', volunteered the information, 1 They are palatial," adding that, while tho baths were undoubtedly the highest achievement of civilisation, he was of opinion that the senators should provide and maintain their own baths. Immediately the "insurgents" organised a concerted attack, seeking co have tho bathing establishment and all the attendants abolished. The "Regular" Republicans rallied to- the. support .of the baths,_ which were finally left standing, with only two attendants in charge.

RELIC OF ROMAN SHIP. . After removing three .tons of earth and mud from the harbor near Christchurch, Hants, a portion of a burnt Roman ship lias been unearthed. Only some 10ft of the ribs are visible, but from these it is estimated that the length is about 30ft. It was at first thought to bo a Viking ship, but from a number of the articles found it is now believed to be Roman. Some of the,, pieces of charred timber were studded with iron, which was so corroded as to crumble almost at the touch. Among the burnt timbers was found a small incense cup which has been pronounced "of Roman date" by a British Museum expert. The cup is of bright red ware, like Samian, and wlj.eelturned. It was partly broken, but most of the fragments were found, and it ; can be restored. It is one of the smallest inccnsa cups found in England of Roman make, being 2fin in diameter and 3Ai.ii long, while its neck measures lin. The discovery was made and the excavations - were carried .out in'private grounds under the directions of Mr David Chambers, of West South-; bourne. More than twenty articles of iron, bronze, and pottery were also found with fragments of human remains. The excavations can be carried on only at rarj intervals', when a very low tide follows a rough sea which has washed. tho sand from tho bottom of the clitf. This is one of the first important authentic discoveries belonging to tho Roman period at Cliristchurch, which in the Victoria County History is not considered to have been a place of Roman occupation.

" PALACE OF THE SEA." The Oceanographical Museum,, or "Palace of the Sea," which has been built at a cost of £300,000 on the Monaco Rock, was solemnly inaugurated at Monte Carlo . recently. - lne Prince of Monaco arrived m a landau with postillions and outriders, the Monegasque "Army" forming a guard of honor. In the splendid lecture liall the prince had the French ex-President (M. Loubet) on his left and Prince Roland Bonaparte on his right, and among others present were M. Picard, president of the Institute of France, M. Pichon, French"' Foreign Minister, Grand Admiral von Koster and Captain von Starke (representing Germanv), Vice-Admiral Grenet (Italy), Senator Odon de Buen (Spain), and Count de Souza-Rosa (Portugal). The orchestra played an "Ouverture de Fete," specially composed for the occasion by Dr Saint-Saens, and the prince then made the inaugural speech. The visitors afterwards inspected the museum, which contains a magnificent collection of scientific marine instruments and specimens of all kinds of fish. In tho course of his speech the Prince of Monaco said he had built an imposing monument in honor of the science .of the sea. All nations might study here, as the ocean and its contents belonged to no bne. He then alluded to the share Great Britain and British scientists had taken in developing the world's knowledge of the • ocean. Among the representatives of_ the Powers present were Mr John Young Buchanan, Mi" John Scott Keltie, of the Royal Geographical Society, and Mr Waiter Archer, assistant secretary of the Board • of Agriculture and Fisheries. The Palace of the Sea contains the results of. twenty-two scientific voyages made by Prince Albert aboard his yachts the Princess Alice and the Hirondelle. In the basement are a dozen large aquariums with live- fish, and on the ground;:.floor magnificent collections of scientific and marine instruments.

SERUM FOR RHEUMATISM. The Academy of Sciences has appointed a Special Commission to report on the now treatment of rheumatic fever by' a serum- discovered by the young doctor, head of the clinical department at the St. Ahtoine Hospital, M. Georges Rosenthal. Dr Rosenthal, when visited in his fiat in the Rue d'Edimbourg, handed me a little bottle containing a dark opalescent fluid._ "That is my scrum," he said. "It is-derived from horses inoculated with rheumatism cultures. Its essential effect is exercised oil the general manifestations of acute rheumatism of the joints, and the grave after-effects, such as heart weakness and deafness, which rheumatic fever leaves -behind. "I am entirely satis-

fied with its efficacy in absolutely preventing such results, and X have tested it -in a number of cases with the most complete success. My friend and colleague, Dr Thirolaix, has succeeded means of the serum in decreasing and finally in entirely removing acute endopericarditis, with 110 traces left behind in getting rid of deafness and albuminuria. I have successfully treated St; Vitus' dance and that rare cerebral rheumatism, with my serum. The injections are made in the region of;the stomach, and their number vanes with the' acuteness of the disease. After the acute stage is past intermittent, injections are given to prevent relapses. PRINCESS AS A REWARD. Major Enver Bey, the hero of the Young Turk revolution and now the military attache at the Turkish Embassy here, whose betrothal was announced recently, will become a busband in most peculiar conditions. His bride-to-be is an Imperial Princess, a niece of the present Sultan and oi his brother, the deposed Abdul Hamid. She has been bestowed upon him in accordance with ancient Turkish royal custom, as a reward for his services and the gallant part he played in the overthrow of the old regime in Constantinople. Enver Bey has never seen his Princess sweetheart, who is only sixteen .years old. He is laughingly telling his Berlin friends, however, that he has seen her brother's photograph, and that if the Princess looks anything like that he is sure he will be the happiest of husbands. Enver Bey has, of course, gratefully accepted this signal mark of his Sovereign's favor, but has requested that the marriage bo postponed for two years. Meantime he desires to widen the range of his international knowledge by residence in England and Prance; while the Princess, who has never set foot outside Constantinople, will employ the time in perfecting herself iu the English and French languages, and the other accomplishments necessary to fit her to be the wife of a Turkish soldier with the most brilliant prospects. Enver Bey is only twenty-six years old and is considered one of the handsomest men in Berlin Court and diplomatic society, where his soldierly bearing and modest manner have won him a wide circle of friends.