MISCELLANEOUS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1160, 21 February 1874, Page 22

MISCELLANEOUS.

At Paris an old woman of 60 has cut out her tongue. The cause of the act is unknown.

A terrible famine prevails in Greenland. At one place alone 150 persons have died from hunger. The Bntißh troops on the Gold Coast are being supplied with blue cotton veils, to protect their faces from sand and insects. In consequence of the recent exposures respecting tne adulteration of tea, green tea is now almost unsaleable in London. The Duke of Edinburgh is stated to be "a quick reader of complicated music." Trade is very duJl in Dundee aud throughout Fife, in consequence of the American crisis. An immense restaurant, just opened in Piccadilly, is described at considerable length by the Times. The establishment can provide more than 30,000 dinners daily. Operations have been commenced for widening the North Bridge, Edinburgh. The Yarmouth fishermen caught thirtytwo millions of herrings in one week lately. The number of assistant-masters at Eton is 45. Mr "Young, the Lord Advocate of Scotland, has been made a baronet. A similar honour has been declined by Mr Walter, M.P., chief proprietor of the Times. Great numberj of artisans who have been unable to obtain employment in the United States have returned to England. The police force of England (exclusive of London) and Wales numbers 17,000. The convict warders in England are organising with a view to obtain an improvement of their present position. The National Minert.' Association of Britain now has 120,000 members, of whom 100,000 belong to England. In November the Firth of Forth was almost choked xip by an enormous shoal of sprats, which were vended at a shilling a barrel. There has been dug up in Cyprus a colossal statue of Hercules holding a lion before him by the hind paw, as if he were a lamb. It is said to be exceedingly ancient. A printing office for the " blind" has been established in Vienna, by Dr Frankl. Berlin is prospecting an International Exhibition on as grand a scale as the Vienna Ausstellung. An effort is about to be made to improve and extend the trade of Berwick by the construction of a dock at the mouth of the Tweed. During a recent hurricane at Tortugas, it is said, a solid bar of iron weighing eighteen hundred pounds, was carried two hundred yards over the parapet of the fort. The report on the health of the navy, just published, contains the death of a sea- ' man who had been in the habit of smoking \ forty cigars a day. The inmates of the Birkenhead Workhouse have given notice that they will leave ' the house in a body if the present master is j superseded in bis office. It is in contemplation by the Corporation ' of London to construct a new Council Cham- l ber in connection with the Guildhall, at a ' cost not exceeding £50,000. ( In the last financial year there were in Great Britain 270,858 male servants on whom 1 a duty of 15a each was paid. i There were in the last financial year, ] 12,731,753 packet boxes stamped, on which c the duty paid for patent medicines was i £95,812 19s 7£d. 1 One of the Scotch miners' unions has £ passed a resolution to fine every member 7s 1 6d upon every occasion of his breaking the 1 rule of the union not to work above five days » week. , \ The town council of Munich has presented i a congratulatory address to Dr Dollinger on < the occasion of the 50 years jubilee of his < professorship. * At a Pernmsive Bill meeting in Edinburgh i on November 25 last, the Hon. Neal Dow, 1 from America, asserted that the Scotch i Church was the bulwark of the traffic in in- i toxicating liquor. "< Dr Brindley, the well-known lecturer on infidelity, has died suddenly in New York. { He went out to America to deliver addresses t jn opposition to those of Mr Bradlaugh. 5 It is stated thatsixteen competitive designs £ have been sent in for the Hastings Aquarium, i Some of them, are said to be highly novel, c The range of cost is from £21,000 to c £32,000. c The European country where newspapers t are most abundant in proportion to the population is Switzerland, where every town and i almost every village has its special organ. t A double-woman is being exhibited in t Paris. The phenomenon consists of two ' women bound by nature back to back, and s has two heads, which sing duets and speak. \ two different languages. s As an instance of the stagnation of trade r there, the Pioneer's Bombay correspondent mentions that when an assistant to a mer- c chant was lately refused an increase in his 8 salary, his employer added, "If you don't i care we'll make you a partner." t At the Richmond Petty Sessions a boy c was nentenced to receive six strokes with c the birch for stealing. The Inspector of « Police Btated that he had "no funds " where- i with to purchase a birch, whereupon the a cost (6d) was subscribed by the Magistrates on the Bench, and the boy thus got his t Hogging. , t it is stated that the committee formed in t Ireland to promote Irish emigration are 1 meeting with considerable opposition in Ire* 1 land, and, failing to get the support they t have asked for, are going to issue a general f appeal to the English public {or aubscrip- I tfona to enable the Irish peasantry to orai- t |F#tfc <

Speaking at a trade union demonstration at Darlinghurst, Mr Brogden, M.P., stated that he had at that moment an offer of 10,000 tons of rails of English make that were lying in New York at £2 a ton less than they could be bought for and put free on board a vessel in a Welsh port.

The name of Eoger Tichborne will be handed down to posterity by other means than by the fame of the great trial which is now going on. The returns from the local registrars in England show that nearly 100 children have by their parents been , named Roger Tichborne. A Hungarian named Mester hafl invented a new locomotive, wluuli is propelled by comprusstid air, instead of by steam. Several Hungarian engineers express warm approval of this discovery, and funds are being raised for trying the locomotive on railways and roads. It is' understood that the late Mr Thomas Baring has in his will left a year's salary to every clerk in the firm of Baring Brothers and Co. In 1867, when Messrs Kirkman, Hodgson, and Co. joined the firm, Mr Baring made a gift of similar extent and amount. The foundations for the Scottish National Memorial to the late Prince Consort have been finished. A huge block of Aberdeen granite, some 20 tons in weight, will be placed in position when the foundations have had time to consolidate. One of the greatest philanthropists in France, or any other country, has passed away. We allude to M. de Mete, the founder of the agricultural Colony of Mettray, where children convicted of crime have, for some years past, been received and educated, and, as a rule, reclaimed. Among the treasures to be found in the Khedive's Museum (says the Art Journal) is a necklace worn by Queen Aah-hept, mother of King Aahmes, the founder of the eighteenth dynasty, who was not only coeval with Abratn and Sarai, bub the identical Pharoah jiwho was " plagued with great plagues" because of Sarai, Abram's wife. An Athens banker has obtained a concession for cutting a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth. The canal is to have a minimum depth of 27 feet, and to be 37 feet wide at the bottom. Lu. the centre a dock capable of holding the largest vessels is to be constructed. The canal is to be finished in six years, and its estimated cost is £800,000. The Bangalore Examiner reports a horrible case of murder and mutilation at Ghaze^oor. It appears that a woman, heaving cut her stepson in pieces, roasted them, and served them up for her husband's supper. He, however, discovering a finger among the pieces, was so horrified to find that it belonged to his infant son, that on extracting a confes- \ sion from his wife, he at once sent for the ' police and gave her into custody. ' We have heard of paper railway wheels from America, and of paper suits of clothes ' from Japan. Dinner napkins at Hamburg j are generally of paper, while Londoners are fact taking to paper curtains, but the ' biggest article in that material is evidently ' ajpaper church near Bergen, capable according ' to the Journal of the Society of Arts, of ( containing a congregation 1000 strong. ( An extensive and interesting Roman cemetery has been discovered outside York on the i rigbt bank of the Ouse. Great coffins of , Knaresborough stone, headstones of the i samematerial, large quantities of pottery fragments, and skulls and bones innumerable have 1 been unearthed. Amongst other relics i 8 the \ skull of a young woman with a gold palate, thus proving that the old Romaus must have j been skilful dentists. The other day a boj named Hargreavep, aged 13, was charged at Barnsley with steal- ( ing a watch. His mother stated that he re- j ceived, when at work in the pit, 2s 6d per . day. The delinquent, who was very small c for his age and of weakly frame, thus ob- ! tamed as much wages as many a farm 3 labourer with a large family. For the offence \ with which he was charged he was let off c with 48 hours' imprisonment on bread and * water and a birching. *

The West Highland Mail Car, from Glasgow to Inverary, a four-wheeled vehicle drawn by two horses, was, on November 22nd, just as it had reached the head of the gorge which descends towards Glenkinlass, near Glencoe, lifted up by the wind, and car, horses, aud driver together were cast down the embankment, when they rolled over and over until they reached the bed of a mountain torrent.

The Scotsman's London correspondent is informed that Mr Mill's three posthumous essays on religious subjects. "The Utilitarianism of Religion," " Nature," and "Therson," will be published in one volume, and that among the botanical specimens which he has bequeathed to the Kew Museum there are some new species of which he is Baid to have been the discoverer.

A quarrel has arisen between the Hector of Clowne, near Sheffield, and the parish schoolmaster. In consequence of the schoolmaster refusing to obey an order of the rector to occupy a seat in the gallery of the church behind his pupils, the rector has requested the scholars not to attend school, and has ensured their obedience by having a padlock placed upon the door. Both teacher and pupils are thus locked out. Bamboo is being cultivated in France. To the south of the Loire, at Niames particularly, the experiments have surpassed all expectation ; and so much so that manufacturers have taken up the matter, and not only make light furniture— chairs, stools, &c. — with this newly- imported production, the natural polish of which is so pleasing to the eye, but, in Addition, these plants have become the«oumeof considerable trade with other countries, particularly £ugl»ud,

I Mr Joseph Benoni writes to the Athenaeum : — "As some doubts have been raised about the genuineness of the Moabite Stone, I wished to satisfy myself so far as I was capable of judging ; therefore, when in Paris at the end of August, I requested permission to see the stone, and left my card for M. Ganneau, to whom I was well known. Aslcouldnotthenseeit, Icalledsubsequently, and was again unsuccessful. On returning to Paris this month, I applied again twice, but was informed that the stone could not be seen, as it was not yet * arrangde '!" j

i A correspondent of the Madras Athenaeum describes acrobit training in Madura. Whilst out strolling one morning lie heard a child howling, aud on seeking the cause found a little native boy being well rubbed with some greasy substance. The child was then held up by one arm and then by the other j then by each of its legs in like manner, and, while thus suspended, well shaken. Lastly, the operator inserted a couple of fingers in the child's mouth and held it up by this means. The most astonishing part of the business, however, was that after the first few minutes the victim seemed to actually enjoy the "fun," bearing the treatment far better than the best bred bull pup would have done.

The Glasgow Abstainers' Union has opened a public-house, in which no intoxicating liquors are to be supplied, at 6, Abercromby street, Glasgow. The house ia a corner on 6, and was recently occupied as a spirit shop. It consists of three rooms, one of which is used for reading, another for smokinsr, and bagatelle, draught, and dorninoe playing ; and the other is occupied by a man and wife, who have charge of the establishment. The place is to be supplied with the Glasgow newspapers daily and a number of periodicals ; and it will be open free of charge to anyone between 8 o'clock in the morning till 10 at night. Tea, coffee, and abstainer's liquors are to be sold, but it is not necessary for anyone to purchase anything in order to secure admission.

Her Majesty's consul at Canton, in a recent trade report, makes the following comment on one of the exports characteristically called "Lie Tea": — "Reference has been made in former reports to the article called 'Lie Tea, 1 which is composed of various substances, and principally of the cactus leaf and the sweepings and dust of the tea godowns. Large quantities are made in Canton for mixing with the true teas, and it is difficult to detect the adulteration. The admixture of iron filings is also frequent. And this is particularly ebservable in the teas of IS7I I and 1872 seasons. The teamen have been warned against the practice, but it still prevails, and probably will, until the law against the adulteration of food is enforced in England, and reclamations are made here in consequence." The King of Italy has, it is well known, singularly frank and unceremonious manners, and is always on the easiest possible terms with his entourage. The following story, circulating in the Viennese society, is amusingly characteristic of the re galantuonto. Being in conversation with the Prince of Thurn and Taxis on the subject of the campaign of 1866, when France and Germany were his allies, and the Austrian army was commanded by a Prince of the Imperial house: "My position," said Victor Im-' manuel, " was very difficult and peculiar ; I did not know how to operate with my army ; Napoleon telegraphed : ' Stay where you are.' 'Bismark, on the other hand: 'March !" so I felt almost inclined to send and ask Archduke Albrecht which I had better do.*'

A London letter recalls two more anecdotes of Landaeer. In one of the artist's early visits to Scotland he stopped at a village and took a great deal of notice of the dogs, jotting down rapid sketches of them on a bit of paper. Next day, resuming his journey, he was horrified to find dogs suspended in all directions from the trees, or drowning in the river, with stones round their necks. He stopped a weeping urchin who was hurrying off with a pet pup in his arms, and learned, to his dismay, that he was supposed to be an excise officer, who was taking notes of all the dogs he saw in order to pro3ecute the ownera for unpaid taxes, so the people were all anxious to get rid of their dogs. Another time he went to Portugal, and the King sent for him to express his admiration. "Ah, Sir Edwin," said the King, "lam glad to see you ; I am so fond of beasts. "

The Glasgow Perald, speaking of Mr Disraeli'a speech, says :— " We think it due to our staff, and to the gentlemen with whom they were co-operating, to mention what we believe to be a feat almost unprecedented in reporting and printing. Mr Disraeli's speech, which lasted about an hour and a quarter, closed at 4. 25, and the meeting terminated about twenty minutes later. At 5.28 we published a third edition, containing a verbatim report of the preliminary proceedings, and of Mr Disraeli's speech, and the substance of the subsequent proceedings, every word of which, with the exception of the Conservative address, was reported from the lips of the spoakers. The report occupied five closely- printed columns. Seventeen minutes were occupied in the process of stereotyping, so that everything could have been printed from our types in forty-six minutes after Mr Disraeli closed."

A London correspondent mentions that the boy O'Connor, who went with a broken and unloaded pistol to frighten the Queen into signing a pardon for the Fenian prisoners, and was sentenced to one year's imprisonment in the House of Correction, with hard labour, together with 25 lashes with the oat, has not been subjected to hard labour, th»t be did pot receive any flowing, that

the term of his imprisonment was reduced from twelve to, eight months, and that at the end of that time he' received an outfit from Government and went out to Australia. It ia now stated that he is in Australia, and has recently sent three letters in verse to the Queen, that he regards those verses as incomparably better than any that 1 our Laureate ever WTote, and that he is earning a small weekly salary by performing the duties of a clerk in some merchant's office.

One of the oldest and most important beet factories in France is that of Bourdon, at Montferrand. It works up 360 tons of beet in the day, which is purchased at the rate of 16f. per ton, the pulp being sold at the rate of 12f. The yield of sugar varies from 5 to 5£ per cent. Upwards of 22toDs of molasses are daily distilled, 2001bs. of which yield 25 quarts of alcohol, and the residue when evaporated produces from 10 to 17 per cent, of potash. The country round it very rich, more fertile than the "black lands" of Russia. Manure is rarely employed, the farmers alleging that it makes no difference in the yield. Wheat and beet is the rotation followed. The wheat is peculiarly rich in gluten, and is in request for making maccaroni. The return of beet is 20 tons to the acre, and the rent of the latter varies from 70f. to 120f. The factory only employs oxen for draught purposes, of which 500 are in request, half that number being annually fattened for the market.

j The Hobart Town Mercury states that while his Excellency vSir George Rowen was , staying at the Government House, one ' morning, between five and six o'clock, a j healthy, middle-aged woman named Anne Mulligan, called and informed the Inttler that she had brought a present of fish for his Excellency Sir George Bowen ; that Bhe knew his Excellency was an Irish gentleman who was fond of fish at dinner ; and that, as she was a first class cook, she was determined not only to cook, but to serve the fish at table. The eccentricity of the woman's manner caused suspicion as to her soundness of mind ; and she was accordingly handed over to constable Mitchell. I The woman had recently been employed as cook at the Tasmanian Club, Macquarie street, she having been specially engaged for the situation in Melbourne. On the Tuesday previous she abruptly absented herself from the club ; on returning she began to smash a quantity of empty bottles. The woman was paid her wages and discharged. She subsequently went about the city " shouting " ad libitum for batches of cabmen, and tossing her money about in the most careless manner. She then purchased a barrow, and began the business of a fish-hawker, intimating to the passers-by that any purchases of her ware could have the free benefit of her culinary skill if required. Although lavish of her money in supplying drink for other people, the poor woman appeared to entertain a natural dislike to imbibing strong liquors, her favourite beverage being a glass of water. It is supposed that she was an inmate of a lunatic asylum in New Zealand Borne time since.

Strangers paying a visit to Dunedin are often at a loss to know what is the best establishment to visit for the purcalise of drapery and clothing. Herbert, Haynes, and Co. offer special advantages to the public that can be met with nowhere else in the city. They keep at all times the largest and best assorted stock of every class of goods, imported direct from the leading manufacturers and warehousemen at home, which, being bought entirely upon cash terms, they are enabled to offer goods of such sterling value as cannot be equalled by any other house in the trade. Every article in stock is marked at a fixed price for ready monsy, from which no abatement is ever made, so that the most inexperienced buy their goods at the same prices as the best judges. Their terms are — net cash, without discount or reductions of any kind. A fuller description of their stock will be found in an advertisement on the last page of this paper. [Advt. Maravilla Cocoa. — Taylor Brothers (the largest Manufacturers of Cocoa in Europe), having the exclusive supply of this unrivalled Cocoa, invite comparison with any other Cocoa for purity — fine aroma — sanative, nutritive, and sustaining power — easiness of digestion — and especially high delicious flavour. One trial will establish it as a favourite beverage for breakfast, luncheon, and a soothing refreshment after a late evening. N.B. — "Mara villa" is a registered trade mark. Mara villa Cocoa. — The Globe says :—: — " Taylor Brothers ' Maravilla Cocoa has achieved a thorough success, and supersedes every other Cocoa in the market. Entire solubility, a delicate aroma, and a- rare concentration of the purest elements of nutrition, distinguish the Maravilla Cocoa above all others. For Invalids and Dyspeptics, we could not recommend a more agreeable or valuable beverage." For further favourable opinions, vide Standard, Morning Post, British Medical Journal, &c, &c. HoMCBorATHic Cocoa. — This original preparation, which has attained such a worldwide reputation, is manufactured by Taylor Brothers, under the ablest homoeopathic advice, aided by the skill and experience o£ the inventors, and will be found to combine in an eminent degree the purity, fine aroma, and nutritious property of the fresh nut. Soluble Chocolate, made in one minute without boiling. The above articles are pro. pared exclusively by Taylor Brothers, the largest manufacturers in Europe, and sold in tin-lined packets only by storekeepers' and others all over the world. Steam Mills Brick Lane, London. Export Chicory Mills, Bruges, Belgium,