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Otago Daily Times, Issue 13374, 29 August 1905, Page 6

There lias just .died at Yarinsk, in Vologda, Mikhail Stepauoff.'tho vainest man in the .world. ; Stepanofff although' nearly, au years of-age, was a dandyvuntU the day of his death.. Ho delighted in the comP<"% of young ladies, iead all tho fashion papers sent: direct to him. from.Paris, London, Berlin, and New York, and maintained ft tailor of Ins own, who was employed all the year round in-inventing for him new creations.; It was popularly believed that" this Kussian Anglesey wag only half human. Ho wore artificial teeth,, of which ho had »5 sets, and ho changed the colour of his hair whenever fashion demanded it. Even his legs were made to order, for it was one of his weaknesses to wear knee "breeches, which admirably set off a puir of shapely calves, modelled "for him by a "physical culture sohool" in Now York. By his will Stcpanoff- left the sum of; 400,000. roubles' to found a school 61 Physical Beauty for Aged Gentiemen." To his son, who'is a solicitor in Moscow,.ho bequeathed only his collection of false teeth. . "My son has insulted mo often," ran a' passago in the dead man's last testament. "I leave him my collection of false teeth, in tho hope that they may induce him to chew his false words," As the result of an : unlucky spell of management at one of tho Strand theatres,' Mrs Brown-Colter's freehold property, East Lodge, Kent, and furniture were offered at auction on Juno 30 and July 1. East Lodge was bought in' at £8900. Among"" tho curiosities sold at tho furniture sale was a. fine old Chinese four-leaf screen, with' boldly-designed panels of landscape and.rivcr scenery, representing various phases of Chinese life, presented to Mrs Brown-Potter by Li Jlung Chan?, knocked down for £14. "A set of seven old Spanish chairs fetched £22. A seven-octavo trichord boudoir grand. piano waa knocked down for £45. An antiquo mahogany settee fetched £17 10s.' I'or it tho bidding .was spirited, as it lias a brass plate on which is inscribed, "Rout' seat from the Bath Assembly Kooms, 1771— ,1899." Mrs Brown-Potter's gramophone, with 95 records, fetched £11. A full-length portrait of Sirs Brown-Potter, in tho role of Miladi in "Tho Three Musketeers," by Mr. John Collier, painted in 1899, and exhibited at the Grafton Gallery, 1900, was eagerly competed for, but bought by Mr Arthur Aldridgo for Mrs Brown-Potter's mother for £75. The-total proceeds of i,he furniture, carriages, horses, etc., amounted to £3COO. The remarkable luck of tho Englisli captain in winning tho toss in the'five test cricket matches, has been freely commented upon as a great factor in the Englishmen's success in the recent trials. " Observer," in tho Argiis, after commenting on Jackson's extraordinary good luck, goes on to say:— "Wo aro apt to think that it is a pity, that the conservatism of cricketers does not permit of some more rational arangement." A writer to the paper, however, points out that " Observer" and others seem to have overlooked the fact that tho Australians have only themselves to blame that tho plan of tossing for choice of innings in. each test match is still in vogue. He says: " Warner, at the commencement of his Australian tour, .suggested that in tho test matches they should only toss twice—namely, for tlio first and fifth, tho choice in the other three being taken by tho two sides alternately. The same proposal was made by tho English executive at tho commencement of the pre-. eent tour. In both cases the Australians refused to fall in with proposal. It would bo interesting to know what is their objection to such an eminently commonsenso arrangement." A horribly repulsivo story was told by Colonel Hoskin, Cf the Salvation Army, at an anti-gambling meeting in Collingwood Town Hall, Melbourne! ne said that on the previous day he had received a letter from a friend (in Australia, and presumably Victoria) in,, which it was stated that two boys in tho district had made a bet of a shilling that ono would go further than tho other in cutting off his h'ngors. Each boy cut off a finger, and ono of their, cut off a second linger. The other boy was in the act of amputating his second fniger when someone camo on tho scene, and put a stop to it. Several sceptics in tho audience cried "Over!" amidst laughter. ( "I ain prepared to produce my replied Colonel Hoskin, and" thereupon he handed a letter to tho Mayor. If they wore-not satisfied, ho-promised to produce the writer of tho letter or tho boys themselves;,;. Tho Matin (Paris) tells a doleful, tale of an old. Irishman, Patrick Nickleby, who was born at Killarney, whero his father was' a horse-dealer. Pat, who ivas in his seventieth year, had wandered over half tho world—gold digging in tho Transvaal, seeking ivory in Africa—until ho finally stranded at Paris and oarned si precarious! livelihood as an organ-grinder in the' Twelfth Arrondissement At a little cafe on the Boulevard do Bercy, someone told Patrick, for a joko, that Ireland had been swallowed up in a frightful cataclysm. "If-that is so, I have nothing elso to live for," said tho old man, and, continues the Matin, with his barrel organ he throw himself into the Seine at tho Pont do Bercy. Saturday, July 8, being Fair Saturday at Grecnoek and Port Glasgow, all the publichouses in the two towns wcro compulsorily closed under the new Licensing Act. As a result of this prohibition there was a great Tush of holiday-makers to Gourock, farther down tho Clyde, and the seenes of drunkenness that were to bo witnessed there seem to have almost baffled description. We quote from tho Glasgow Herald:—"Tho publicans had men stationed at the doors regulating the traffic. This apparently had littlo effect in stemming tho tide, for men and women in various stages of intoxication were soon observed staggering about the streets. At 3 o'clock tho publichouses in Shore street were closed, and about 9 o'clock at night the license-holders in tho other parts of. the town were forced to shut their premises. Early in the afternoon tho police cells were full, and the polico decided to allow 'drunks' to sleep off .their debauch whore they had fallen. Tho effect of this was seen particularly in Shore street, tho green -there being black with tho recumbent figures of intoxicated men. Many ' drunks' also sprawled along tho sea front at Ashton. There was considerable fighting, men having tho clothing well-nigh torn off them, and women alao taking part in disgraceful brawls." What - have the "squabbling churches" to say to seenes like these?

An extraordinary spectacle of a village held up by a swarm of bees was witnessed at Wcstonon-Tront, neaV Derby, early in July. Tlio bees were evidently tot, and became infuriated because. a n uttemot to occupy tenanted hives was, after a tremendous battle, repulsed." Tho whole village was soon alivo with mad bees. The main street was quite impassable, and people had to confine, themselves to their houses, closing 'doors-and windows. Six fowls were overwhelmed and stung to death. Indeed, the bees attacked everything that cawo within their reach. Tho' afternoon was well advanced 'when they cleared oh". Great'interest has been created in Ulster by the report that gold had been discovered in County Down. About two years ago a well.was being sunk near Ballyroney. Down, when tho sandy clay attracted the attention of an American financier who was visiting tho neighbourhood at' tho' time. .Further investigation, it is said, demonstrated that the clay contained both gold and silver.. Tho fortunate American was anxious to form a'syndicate, but'there was a difficulty about tho question of title. Now such obstacles arc disappearing, and the " distressful, country,' may dream of an opulence to which she has hitherto been a-stranger.