MISCELLANEOUS.

Otago Witness, Issue 930, 25 September 1869, Page 18

MISCELLANEOUS.

The prizes -that 'offered by; Mr BarkaSj of Newcastlei'topit lads, in Durham and Northumberland/ to induce them to search for fossil, remains, . have teen attended by the most unexpected results. Not only have the , ladi» pipked vp 1 from the refuse sh&lb heaps large numbers of fish remains, and somefremains of large reptites,i»but, what.is really extraordinary, .and will astonish palaeontologists, one of the lads has found the t lower I jaw of a true mammal. of this disi oovery .will be to reduce the comparative ages, of all hitherto known mammalia, and carry 'back the mammalian , life of the world for millions of years. , . , We are told that at M. Oppenheim's ball'given in honour of the "Viceroy, large sealed envelopes were distributed among the ladies, who on opening found grotesque i head-dreßses inside, wfth which they had' to crown their partners. Hoops were introduced , containing springs , which imprisoned the one destined to be the lady's partner. Other innocent devices of a similar nature afforded much pleasure to the simple Orientals, and the simpler Frenchmen. But M. Oppenheim must not take the credit of being the first to introduce Biich additions to balls. In Philadelphia not long ago a wealthy American gentleman gave an entertainment at which the crackers, when pulled, burned a lime- light which suffused the room with a noon- tide effulgence. Bottles shaped like champagne bottles were introduced at supper, from every one of which partners helped the ladies to glasses of a liquid which changed colour four or five times in the process of being poured out. The music was played by a magnificent chandelier by means of internal machinery performing on glass, the tones being inexpressibly liquid and harmonious. After supper a spring in the chandelier was touched, the jets sank within the circumference of finely coloured glass of various colours, which, revolving, dyed the room and the dancers in hues and shades as various and frequent as the rainbow.

A decidedly novel style of going to prison has recently been introduced to the public notice by a young lady of Stromness, in Orkney. The name of this inventive damsel is Miss Marjory Ferguson, and she appears to belong to a sect of revivalists who have a fondness for tea and a dislike to copper money. They had a tea meeting in the Gospel Hall, admission free, but each person was expected to contribute 2s in silver to the common fund. The brethren take no copper, under the belief, which we confess we think mistaken, that it is " devil's money." A tea at two shillings cannot be called cheap, unless on the hypothesis that the ladies should drink so much as to be " wisibly swollin,"like Sam Welter's mother-in-law. Perhaps there was something in tho toa, for Miss Ferguson got into a row oa her way home, and had to bo escorted by a policeman to a lock-fast place. She •went in an ecstasy of meok triumph, with her Biblw and prayer-book in her hand, and singing at the top of a powerful Orcadian voice, "I know my sins are all forgiven," and " I'm on my way to hoaven." On the face of them, neither of these assertions appeared strictly warranted by tho facts ; and it was perhaps by way of protest against Miss Ferguson's looseness of statement, that a mob of boys gave out at tho end of oaoh verso tho lively chorus of " Hopkins for over.".

Among tho incidents with which M. Dumas was entortainod during his recent visit to London for tho Faraday locture, was a trip to WooWich. whero, under tho guidanco'of Mr Abel, ho saw tho making of big guns in tho arsonol, and experiments with gun-cotton .which must liavo surprised him. A pulisado was built of oak timbers a foot thick, firmly fixed in th© ground, and supported in the roar by strong trusses. Discs of gun-ootton were placed along tho face of the palisade about a foot above the ground, and wero fired by a battery in the usual way. Tho effect may bo described as wonderful. The palisade was literally blown away amidst a deafening report, as if the massive timbers offered no nor© resistance on one .side of tho gun-ootton than the atraosphoro on the other. The duos require no fixing; merely laying them on is sufficient. Solid blocks, of iron and stone can bo shivered into fragments by firing a diso laid on tht top. lit future sieges, 3 tome desperate fallow can but get to tho gat© or a thin part of the walls, and hang on a fow discs of guncotton, a breach can be made by firing , with ft gaWanio current from a long dis* ' Unoo, Henceforth Indian stookads* and

'Ne^i^'|aiandf bSS^&TW^? >' de " fences Vand-if-a •hole can be blown in the fsideWf tf > Bblpji whWwillcbe tthe use of building vessels of 'war 1^ After' aUj'Cotton may prove to be king'in theshape of guncotton. /'• , T,"-"'« 4 ;■; f The velocipede, mania is, becoming sublimateUinto'a.speciesof'jreflzjj; in America, and France,^' Not yerv' long, ago, at a place called V^p¥o,ken, t seventy-five'riders in fancy costumes appeared" 1 riding platform and went- through;, some, rather .eccentric manoeuvres. r^They, made the bicycles, dance to.tthe tune of a "Velocipede Galop j" the riders buffetted each other with t cotton- stuffed vbags, the stronger unhorsing Jthe .weaker, ; then two yacht-rigged velocipedes 1 "- cavorted in a nautical manner" about the platforn, whilst the " revolving velocipedes with revolving fireworks attached} closed the programme' with pyrotechnic effulgence and a Bmell of saltpetre:" In Paris we find Mladieß" driving ' these ' curious" vehicles. At a circus' it was^annpunced a few days back that,sqme ' f e ladies " would perform' on velocipedes. , The programme thus advertised them :~ f< Course eri velocipedes, par Meadames Eugenic, Camille, Marie, Ernestine, Louise, , Adrienne, Aline, Jenny, et autres Dames, s'il s'en pre"sente." Amidst some very lively music the • ladies entered. They wore, we are told, pretty little hats on masses of hair, silk jackets of ■ various colours reaching to the ' waist, and silk boots : but from the waist to the ancles nature had no better disguise than elastic tights! "The young ladies," ' says an enthusiastic reporter^ < " mounted the velocipedes, and, cheered by the multitude, worked round the ring with that ridiculous and ugly movement of the legs which this absurd toy obliges. N/ever were the pretty round forma of • pretty women made to look so laughably unattractive."