MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 303, 9 December 1862, Page 6

MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS.

Further Particulars op tub Robbery of the MurGEE Mail.—The Western Post says :— Wp have beon informed that the man who robbed the down mail on Tuesday last had two accomplices close at hand in the bm>h } ready to affor.l assistance in case of nee J. In addition to the robberies r polled in or last issue, we have since heard that the teliow rol-brd one of the passeiigus ia the mail, who was • the party who bhtainrd the ninety-six ounces of gold ia the bucket ol wash-dirt at Merendees, and who was on his way to Kydnev. Previously to starting, h? had forlunvely taken the precaution to stow mo3t or' his ino'icy away in bis hat; he, however, had about twenty-five pounds in his trousers pocket, which the bushranger took, and which evidently satisfied hira, for he mate nofuithcr seaich The fellow is supposed to have made a good I'arve-t out of a number of Chiunmens' lettcis and which made hira generous, for as torn as he hai finished hb work k*> threw half a soveriusfu to (he mailman, another to the two men he had stuck up from eight o'clock, and five sliilliugs' ■to two of the men; he had detained. The police succeeded in bracking the fellow as Tar" as BnrrunduTa Inn* where they lost all trace of him; from there he is supposed to have.made for Murigee; in.fact,.be said that as his horse wanted shoeing he would he at Gardiner's Circus in the evening.. : A r-AD Stoby.—There is, or was until recently, a (all handsome man confined in the lunatic asylum at Camberwcll. . He used to sit mournfully for'days and weeks In the corner of his'{onei room, little given to talk and les3 to physical exercise. Now and then, however, he broke out in a suddon blaze of excitement, repeating incoherent sjnterices^ in which only the words "flax-cotton" was distinctly audible. The unhappy man's name was Chevalier Cjausseu.. By birth, a JDane, and a man of high scientific education he, guve"himself up early to the-study of clem stry, particularly to those brahcheaconnecteu with " the. manufacture of textile, fabrics. After years of labor and many experiments he came to the conclusionthat the fibre of flax, if rightly manipulated, is superior to cotti-n for all purposes in which the latter is employed, and therefore ought to s-npersede it, as well on this account as tieiiog an indigenous plant, for the supply;of which Europe mieht remain in impendent of serf or slave. ; Claussen's experiments were well received in "bis own country^ and his king gave him the title of Chevalier, bdt.. unfortunately/ little other substantial .enconragemerit: .The inventor then. „ went to Franc?, .married a young French ! lady, was presented at Court, arid received the Order of the';' Legion of Honour; but again got .little, else than, promises pf future reward for the years of. labor trev6ted'to the one great object lie had in hand.; Somewhat weary of his work, and sorely; pressed/ by: poverty,. Chevalier Claussen next came to this country, arriving just in time for, the International Exhibition Of 1851. He displayed in the Hyde' Park Pal-ice some beautiful articles made ,df flax-cotton,-and set allthe worldin raptures about thenew invention, the moreso as he. freely explained the secret of the process of converting flax-straw into a material equal in all, and superior in some respects, to the cotton fabric.;. The manipulation was simple lenough, according to Ciaussr-u's showing. The flax, cut into' smull;pieces- by lnacbiriery, was left for a short time to the combined action of alkaline solvents aud of carbonated alkalies arid acids, which converted the fibre into a material very'; similar to' cotton, and fit even," to' some exteut,;tb be spun with V-ottbn machinery. : ;Jli&; Enlist;manulactium; ■!» • whom' the prodefs wis explained were delighted; nevertheless, they refused with [v any thanks the cheralier's i offer to work his invention. It was ; found that' : ! flax cotton could nbf be profitably, spun without makitig various alterations in the existing macbineryj and to this the Lancashire ;mi lovvners objected, saying, .'* v7hy should we tronble ourselves about > tiie new ■ raw material' as long as wp have got cotton in abundance 1" With something \ of a'prophetic v* in, M. Clausseh remonstrated, arguing that the supply wasVot all to be depended upon, ■and that, besides, it woulft be better and cheaper in ; the long run, to make Europeon liands feed European mills, by the aid of perfected steam agencies, than to leave the task to trie rude manual labour of' unwilling bondsmen. It was the1 voice of the' preacher in the desertr: Lancashire listened not; and when the Hyde Pnrk Show was over, Chevalier Clausen and his invention were no m< re thought of than fhe man who discovered the comoass. Sorely troubled in mini, and with abject poverty staring him iv the fa"c, Claussen then pursu'd his" pilgcima^e, crossing the Atlantic to America. What happened to him in the great \Veistern Republic is not accurately I'nown ; but it is presumed that some 'cute natives laid hold of the young man from the old country, squeezing his br lius and then throwing him ovtrbo rd. It was rumourel that Chevalier Claussen had got a (i partner;" an'l not long after somebo ly, partner or ot ier»visc, 1 rought him back to this country, shutting him up in a lunatic asylum at Camberwell. Here the his'ory of flix-ctfou ends; the inventor in a mad house ; Lancashire without food for her mills and her people.— Spectator. Trial Br Ord»ai.. —The co/s led w.is a small cake of consecrated^ barley bread, which tho accused, after swearing to his innocence, was required to If, \vhen he took it i tto his hands, he trembbd and turned pale, and, when he attempted to swallow it, his jaws became fixed or his throat coniracte 1. and he was unable to do so, he was pronounced guilty j but if he couid eat it comfortably he was acquitted. This wa* the easiest form of ordeal, and was the one by which the clcigy were usually trie J. It seemavery improbable that any man of strong nerves could ever be found guilty by it, thongh the instance of Earl Godwin is sometimes quoted m favor of its efficiency. The earl was accmei by the Norman friends of Edward the Confessor of haiing been a party to his brother's (Prince Alfred's) murder, and is said to have claimed to be tried by the eorsned. He swore, as it is alleged, to bis innocence, and attempted to swallow th* consecrated bread, but was choked in the ant, and dud on the spot. The story is not entitled to much c -edit, being pwbably one of the innumerable falsehoods inveated by lie Normans to damage,the reputation of the great earl. Another form of trial by ordeal was by cold water. When this was adopted, the accused was stripp d, and his hinds tie 1 crosswise to his feet; he was then sprinkled with holy water, and permitted to kiss the cross. Ar< pc was then tied round him, with a knot two a half d *■ from hi* body, and he wa> thrown into a ppnd % If he sank low enough to draw'the knot under the surface he was declared innocent j if he floated, he was declared guilty. The^rcsult of this experiment must have, depended, very much on the vehemence with which the accus* d< was thrown into the water, and the manner in which the -ropes "were held. There was'also the ordeal by hot water. A cauldron of water with a fire under it w&s plated in-a remote part of a church, and at a certain depth' of water (fixed according to" tlie gravity of the offence) was a stone or piece of Iron. 'No one entered' the church* after the' carrying in of the fire,, but the ~prie*t and the< accused, and, when everything was teady, two frienda on each'side- entered the - chm eh to «cc' if the water boiled.' If they were satisfied of this, they were joined by a< fixed number of others, and 'these stood along the cTiwh ton opposite sides. The priest then sprinkled them,with holy Voter, and gave, them the gospel _, and the 1 cross tojim =' 'After this no one to speak, but ?to pray to4*od to reveal the truth. Tho' priest them sang the -Litany, and- at the conclusion of tbe'eeremoriy,'at a signal from the priest, the' accused plunged his arnrinto the hpfc watered drew^ out the stonei ''■•His ann was immediately bound up" in a clean cloth and sealed with the seal of the church,' and * it; on'bemj^ untied v threes diys'afterwardg^ thff 4 wound was cleai'ir he' ws - pronounced ; ;if fool, he was dedared guilty. Thov ordeal of hot iron T WdS^anbther- ino'Jfe of trial "and in thfrthe-eante fules^ were observed as tpthe attendaacaof the prie^t^ancl friends as in the trial, by hot;wat€r^ Near the fire a space yfm measured off ctuhl to mae-ftiae^heHengtb of rhe prisoner^ foot, might possibly makeiA; lengfcti of wyea^eig'ht/^^a^thi^di^ce*'^ 11 eubaividedby-limsrihtdi'firole tSim^e^^po^oTiM^by tbe fir^tof tl^"priß66er sfa^od] i^r a s imak Iheap of Jfit6)t(tf or'saad'Ojfeaotoe^oescription. ,'} 0o i pufTdtithe^nd^r|i|t^i^^^^^^

;%i^sP^£#s^ Kyn£* ■ tcp -was:^tii^iti^^ifi-Mfei&urii^^;rail (first-class ' ;.eareh^^jb£r^ halting at a ;,water, a-aie'baame;LTOysgppall^aikea hermisband i—^M th^^^sl^^l^OiiSupptc) bjre ?"('.) The ; husband j^)!^isj&^ think not, ;W.deMl^;:Ho^^eiyi-^;grie^'fVMitt6i-.of our metropolitan fnen^a^j-^^ ; ■ Cure f r the TooTnisEß.^Tlie following kan ' M^S^S^irtiueflyri-r-^^ly geaßpen^," says H, ;,*. L can cure y?mr toothache iir ten'minite^^* *• How? bow?" I iriquirodj /do ifc in pity." •'lnstantly." said he ', " have you afiyalum ] " Ye?," *' Bringit, aud .some, common eajVY., They were produced, l&y friend p&lverised them, mixed them!in equal proportions j then wetted asniall piece of cotton .causing- the nowder to adhere."and placed it in my tooth. '5; ThereJ? said-he 'vif that does notcure you I will Forfeit in'y head." It' was as he predicted., On the introduction of the mixed alum and salt I experienced a sensation of coldness, and with it -the aum'and s^t—l cured the torment.= [Very good, if true]— Atlas. "'■■■ '-]';:[ ■'■■;.■ ;•; ■r- ;;■■-' /•" -"■' ••< ■■ ~: ■ .*■ :■. ' ■, ■ Forty Teaks.—Lancashire, the premier county of England for numbers, and five other countiesDurham, Mbmnouth, Stafford, Surrey, and Warwick —have more than doubled their population in the last 40" years.: Three mow—Middlesex, Ohester, and tho West Eiding—have nearly doubled theirs in the same period. J One Welsh county—Glamorgan—has more than trebled its population.* Aif Apocryphal Sory.—The Meuse states that three wealthy citizens of Liege, who went t6 London to see the Great Exhibition, have been robbed if all their property during- the■;night in one of the best hotels ia the B'itisii metropolis. They were lodged itt a handsome apartment, and on awakiug in the morning they found all their property gone, and even the smallest, drawers ransacked. Th«y could not imagine how it happened that none of them heard the robbers, who must have remained a long time in the apartment. A policeman who was called in unravelled the mystery. He lound an empty phial which bad contained chloroform, and was left benind 'by thß->thieves, ; ■; :■..;.,'.-•,■; Stories of a late M.P.—A book has just been published under the title of *'. Reminiscences of Captain Grunow; formerly of the Grenadier Guards, and M.P. for Stafford." Amongst the ;" Remarkable Characters in. London" of whom the captain has little stores to tell are Lord Westmorland, who ate a whole leg of mutton, and Colonel Mackinnon who gbt into a Spanish convent, shaved himself, and appeared before Wellington disguised as a nun amongst the rest, Of the duelling and gambling, which were thenso prevalent he has narrated numerous painful particulars. Henry faring gambled, aud was cornpalled to.endure th« fate of Drummond, and ivtire from the firm to which he belonged. Lord Thanet, with £50,000 a-year, lost it air at play—£l2o,ooo in one night! Sir Francis Vincent lost his fortune in a' French hell, the Salon dcs Etrangeres, in Paris. Gount Hunyady " broke the banks" again and again, anl won a total sum amounting at one time to nearly £2,000,000 and then kept on till he Jost it all, and actually borrowed £50 to get back to Hungary? Then the Story of Scrope; finding Lord Byron in bed, with his hair in curl papers, is very well told. Catalini, he tells us would always be paid before-hand for her singing, and being invited with her husband to spend some time at Sto'we, was requested to sing, which she did; but on leaving, her husband, presented the Duke with if & little bill." viz.", for 17 song 3 - £1,70 D." Of course;the duke paid "like a gentleman," the captain says. ■: Suppression op Hoops.—ln tho earlypart of last Wiekt an announcement was made to the young women working at the West-gate and Marsh Mills, in Drogheda, who .number some 800 or 1,000 individuals, that the .\fessrs Chadwick, GradweHj and Co. had given express orders, that for the future no girl wonM.b'e allowed inside the walls of the Establishment wearing the ''expansive contrivance" known as hoops in their petticoats. This mandate, as Explained by the manager, was the result of q, conversation among: t f the proprietors of the mill, in which they discussed the proiKciety of adopting that course in 6iser to^ obviate the danger of auy accident which might occur by the dresses of the young women coining into contact with, any part of the vast revolving machinery. TJ c announcement was - received by the girls with speechless amazement, and they looked at each ocuer again and again, as if they doubted whether the manager was, in earnest. "After leaving the mill the same evening, they met in large. groups; »;d discussed the question amongst themselves, when it was unanimously declared that the propiietors of the mills had pursued a very hcarrless course. It was first resolved that a deputation should wait on the tn*nager, and try what tearlul eyes, soft persuasion^, bol 1 remonstrances, and powerful appeals would eftect in iadueing him to supplicate the ownera of the establishment ".'.to withdraw the obnoxious law. This was absolutely' tried ; but all was in vnin. The f'.poweTs that be" were inexorable, and diverted j of.■"■■the1, hoops they should be, or otherwise reconcile thetnselves to the alternative, of forfeiting their situations. The terrible knowledge that there was no help for them crept into their nearts, and •'homeward they trudged their weary way" to :remove" what.they believed to be the latest glory of the sex. On tlie following day they appeared in deep j'ejecteJness, no longer the happy beings they were the <3ay before, exulting in their, circular apparel. A. number of the girls, however, are noticed regularly )'• hooped up tothe gate of the mill wh«re- they rej move the cane and leave it in keeping of parties living in the neighborhood until thay return ;from work, when it is again inserted in the skirts. — English paper '. ■' ::'; -."■.■■ ':.; >;': :': ."/■■'' '-''' ; ■'■• SunTERRAKEANRivBRS.—EarIy this year the A"bbe Eichara discovered the subterranean watercourse of La Recca, which disappears in tb^e mountains a dozen leagues above Trieste, and appears again not far Irom the sea. The Abbe Rfchard h<d pointed out the practicability of driving a horizontal heacJing into! the hill, so as to intercept the water of the^ subterranean thaiweg of La Recca,'and make use of it for the supply ot t^e town. The scheme has been corroborated by an analagous project, ina'le by Mr Jules Francois, engineer of mines, with respect to that part of the French Alps which touch the Meditemnnean.: The most interesting instance which, has yet occurred of these phenomena, and one which, is at present the. ttieme of the most attentive studies of Mr Jules Francois, is that of the jValley of Revest, at tba north-erjst of Toulon. Up to the present day, this water is lost for Toulon, as that of the Recca i 8 lost to Triiisfce; but very soon, led upon, the southern slope of m ount Faron, at more than 80m. (26 feet 3 inches) above the ieyel of the sea, it will suoply Toulon and all the maritime establishrnenta, furnishing an enormous supply for the speedy extinction oi firas, and at the same time fertilising, by irrigation, ♦the magnificent tracts of cultivated land,: encircling the town.: Since 1860 the tunnel has been, at work, which is to cut the subteraunran cuiTentof Ragas, and conduct it towards Mount Faron, by an opea canal in the flank of the left side of the Valley of the - Revest.-Builder; I ,'r.,' .-., ; .:.::„ ~, ■ ' '•."