ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 318, 26 December 1862, Page 5

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

1 Fatax Railway-Actmstt.-A fatll- collWoii took pkue on the night of the 3rd October om tb« Great Norfhern Railway a httte on this t-ide of York. A goods tiain was rowing south war.l, and had just pas-ed the mail train going north, when it ran into uuotherKooJstrai'i, which, having been shunted to -allow the mail tialu to pass, was «t the moment ' \ issuing out of the biding and crossing the upper line to Retains p<oper/piace on the down line, when the tram coming south, and of course on the up line, ran full speed into it. The engines aud carriages were reduced to a heap of rubbUb, and one poor fellow. » stoker,, was smashed to pieces. The stoker of tHe other ' ; tram and both euginemen escaped without' material injury. • .... «>*«•* Another iNUNDATioK.r-Another sluice latfly gave way in araaiu drain on the Marshland, near Lynn, and many acres of the land flooded by the bursting of^the Middle Level Sluice last May were ajnitn inundated. Much of the water which had found its way on to the land by ti»e bursting of the Middl* Level Sluice hud been discharged into the Marshland bmepth and Fen drain. This increased tax upon it wa* provi led tort > some extent, but on 4th October a great part of the sluice fell in, having no doubt beea uuderuuned by the extra rush of water through it As the tide rose it found its way up the dram and overflowing the banks flooded the adjoining land in many places. After an immense expeuditure of labor t ettectuai measures have been taken to prevent lurther injury. ' iti^Lß Accident.—On a recent afternoon anuntortunate occurrence took place at the riflj ranee o( the 3rd Glamorgan Volunteer Corps, Swansea. Some target practice was going on, and a boy named Grif. fath collected the metal behind the target. Private Watt fared at the butt, and the boy, having got away from the protection afforded by the targ, V was struck by the bullet and fell lifeless on the ground. On examination it was found that tha shot had struck him oy the left ear and passed out through the right eye. Wo blame isatacbed to anyone, but the occurrence shows that extraordidary precautions are required in connection with all rifle ranges. Danger of Narcotics—Two children, named Fallow about a month old. had syrup of popnieß given them repeatedly, by their parents, who reside in fealisbury-street, Portman-market. On Sunday, beptember 28, an overdose was administered from the effects of which one, a girl, died, the other, a bor, being only recovered by means of great exertion At an inquest on the body, the coroner, Be Lankester severely condemned the giving ox narcotics to children ' aod especially the-giving the syrup of poppies, the strength of which varied so materially that aqnantity which would be a safe dose at one time would certainly destroy life of another. The iurv endorsed these sentiments by their verdict vuiocu Fearful Steamboat Collision.—A most fearfu collision occurred on the Tyne on the night of the ! 7th October, and it is feared with great sacrifice of ! human lite. The Tynemouth pa«kit steamer was coming down from Newcastle to Shields with passengers, and was a little below Bill Point about ni-ht-tail, when she met another steamer, the Forrefter coming up from Shields, also with passengers, FroS some cause that has not been explained, the Tvnemouth ran into the Forrester with fearful violence, cutting her down nearly to the water's edge. The Tynemouth backed into mid channel, and draped the Forrester with her. They parted then, andftE Forrester began to smk and went down within about three minutes after the collision. Her crew and passengers were left struggling in the water. Such boats as were near put to their assistance, and picked up all they could find, but it is believed that a consider*. We number of persons were drowned Extraordinary Suicide—An extraordinary sni- " cide was committed on the sth October by a young man name. Thomas Keed, a chemist, at IS bhields. The unfortunate man took a small boat at the low pan o the town, and, after giving the man to whom the boat belonged a shilling, he pulled out nto the middle of the stream, and then stamted-GooJ-bycM- lie took the boat over the liar out to sea. and while m 12 faihonw of water, he was observed by some men in a steamboat to pull off his clothes and tie ch«n up m a bundle. He then placed the oars in an orderly manner, and stuck up the boat hook, with his handkerchief half-ma^t hfch, as if for ' mournmar. _ He shouted to the steam-boat men. whose suspicions that there was something wron£ with him had been aroused, and they were makiul towards him with their boat. -But before they could reach him. he leaped from the boat's gunwale into the sea. having a large stone fastened about his neck with a rope, and sank instantly, of course, aud was drowned. Upon petting hold of the boat the steam! f wa^?h.oUn- d V U writte» °ver with chalk, the deceased bianung his partner for being the cause of nis ueatii.

The Great Fkog QtrESTioN.-The scientific controver^y respecting the frog iv the block of coal, lately so great aa attraction in thht annexe, which country visitors persisted in irreverently calling the « back y«rd» o the exhibition, bids fair to be *£ amusing as the mediaeval « Battle of the Frogs and Mice." NevS was there such a learned confusion of tongues as has taken place on this vexed question of a toad ia a hole. One party stoutly declares that the presence of livinsreptiles m carboniferous masses is perfectly feasible and has been proved by ocular demonstration many times withm the memory of men still livine, the opposite camp hotly denouncing the-theory as an absurdity, and froggy as an impostor. It is, alas 1 impossible to bring froggy into court to testify us to whether he indeed remained entombed in the bowels of a slab of coal for 160,030,001) years, more or less • or whether he was simply playfully hopping about the muddy pool at the bottom of a coal mine or talc mg a quiet snooze in a crevice till he was disturbed by the miner's pick Of cmrse the controversy has been carried on with great acrimony on both sides, and has led to several corollaries of an "enormous gooseberry'• description— the latest being the. discovery of a Imnjf toad in a marble chimneypiece !— Illustrated London News. "JF^us i

Horrible Storvt.—The following paragraph is going the rounds of the papers; it purportsio be extracted from a "Continental journal," but no name is given, and we need hardly express our opinion that the alleged facts are mere fabrications:—" When at the end of last century the terrible machine of Br (juillotin made its appearance, it gave rise to great controversy among .the faculty throughout Kurone The inventor pretended or believed that death by his instrument was easier than by any orher means, and that.the> vertebrae..the nerves, and all the organs of the head, killed the whole body at once, and instantaneously. Several experiments were made at Vienna Some prisoners were to be executed, and several celebrated medical men, who had already disputed the correctness of the statement of Dr Guillotin, obtained permission to remnm outhe scaff.ld during the execution, and when a head had been cut off it was hankd to them. The first was that of a young man. The eyrs were closed and the tongue protruded. Eight minutes were allowed to expire, when the tongue was pricked with a pm, when it was drawn, in, and the lace made a grimace indicative of pain. The second head was that of a woman. The eyes were open, and their supplicating looks were accompanied by abundant tears. Fourteen minutes after the exeauftou the eyes turned towards the Bide from whence tha woman's name was called, The third head was that ol the most gudty of the criminals. A slap was given to the face, when the eyes opened, the face fluked with an indiscnbable expression of anger and ferocity, and a shudder of auguish was visible on tU neck being touched." . Aioran the Ventriloquist.—Some years aeo. one Moran, a slater, possesstd the faculty of ventriloquism in a very extraordinary degree j from the tops of the houses he could accost travellers in the streets, in a voice that seemed to proceed from the next passenger. This mm was employed to work at the new episcopal palace, bailt bylPrimate Kobinson at Armagh. One morning a laborer who wrousrht about the premises, was terrified by a hollow and dismal voice, that proceeded from a dark cellar in a house that had belonged to the late Thomas Orie. jluch hw Grace the Primate had given oilers to pill down. He was summoned, in a manner that he found it impossible to resist, to descend into the dark ternßc vault. Trembling.agitated, and perspiring it every pore, he ob=yed the awful mandate. *When he was in the cellar, profound silence prevailed fora few minutes. . The same voice then solemnly uttered these tremendous words: «I am the spirit of a muV- > our kitchen, and communicate to you the horrid crimes I have committed. If you regard jour life here or your salvation hereafter, meet me in that room at twelve o'clock '"-The poor laborer was unable to utter a sylable. and with trembling knee« ha betook himself to his house, sent for the vfcar/of hi* parish and encouraged by his presence, awaited the approach of the awful hour. Twelve o'clock, however came, but the spirit came not. Next morning he wm obliged to resume his work j when he came opposite to tne spot, the same voice again accosted bim7but in an elevatedland angry tone-"Beware how you brinj with you the vicar to our interview. This nicht lei me me-t you alone,-at twelve o'clock, or your destruction wrflHwoe." The wretched laborer, thus beset as he thought, by preternatural powers, obeyed. At rtfTTfe r f^ twelve o'clock, he was seated at a little table in his loom. Hw apparatus, for defence againstthespiritual visitant, wa£ a bibe, a *worf and a bott eof whisky. His pallid lips mnSH * nately applied jn ejaculating pious pwyenfttoiwwau or swalbwing exhUiratinor dramu: and hiu>Pft&Bbiin*. bands now and then grasped and then aropwdS * ' useless steel, as his courage rose and felL Jteia-^" 5 • white his wife and daughters stood aimoefc KraatSS, afc the outside of the door, eountbe 'i^mSi^a^^w-^ thecookooclock. At length, at the tiStiSttSfr&* - the expected hour, a deep groan waa heard inttfc ' ' ' room, and a> nofce which to their affHehte&*arm? V," •eemed to resemble the fall of. a thunderbolt! ' poor laborer had dropped down poweriaa on ti^ lU»k^ v ' Hisimagination had overpowered him. and at the&itV •" ~f y rtroke of the dock, he had tumbled on the KroMdV ' v ■ ; Bensles. lump. All his vital powen weresu«p«sed *' " for* Jong lime; aod, af«ar' tneir xenvk,^^^ r > ;' fel'ow;wMde P nv^/or«oon«ideral»te,^W^^C -f f exercise ofhißunder^odingrani if it^n<rtiir - *> eelehrated architect of Dnblio. "Iw wonidASiMiiZi^r "* -■- V Uhed^a wrttched ?SfM