OUR MAIL BAG.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10574, 27 January 1906, Page 2 (Supplement)

OUR MAIL BAG.

LORD ONSLOW'S CHARGE

I fear that owing to the impossibility of rebutting evidence tendered by the police, there have been many cases of unmerited convictions (of motorists).— Lord Onslow, quoted m Automobile Club Journal. NEW GERMAN UNIFORM. The German army is to be clothed m a uniform of new color. It is a blend of grey and green, and though by no means attractive to tho eye, is said to be exteremely serviceable, as it is difficult for an enemy to see at a distance. FAIR PLAY FOR URIC ACID. It has become of late years a fashionable craze to attribute many fomis of "chronic rheumatism" to uric acid. Uric acid is a harmleiv by-product of the human economy which has been most shamefully exploited as a dangerous poison.—Dr Luff m Clinical Journal. IF SATAN WERE PREMIER. Who invented the system of referring tho problems of Government to Royal Commisrions? If Satan had ever been Prime Minister of England it would certainly be an invention of his. No 6iiaei method of putting off time could possibly be conceived.— Weekly Despatch. "ALL IS OVER." An Italian student named Mariitni, having lost all his money at the gambling tables at Nice, shot himself m his lodgings. Only threepence was found on the body, ancl on the table lay a visiting card with the words : "All is over. Rien no va plus." "Rien ne va plus" is the formula adopted by the croupiers to announce that no more bets may be made. TRADE HUMOR, A horso m a trap at Grays recently bucked into the. window of Mr A. Horn-cas-fie. Passers-by were afterwards nmused by the announcement iv the window: "Fairly broke! The residt of backing a horse." Remedial work has since been effected, and the pin-chafing public are now exhorted : "Don't break the window to get this: come m by the door."— Tho Outfitter. FATAL MOTOR ACCIDENT. A well known American society woman, Mrs F. B. Harrison, was killed recently while motoring m Long Island. The accident happened by the breaking of the steering gear just its the car was going down a steep hill. Mrs Harrison was quite young, and had only been married three or four years. She was the daughter of the late Mr Crocker, of California, from whom she inherited an enormous fortune! Her brother, who was with her m the car, and the chauffeur were both seriously injured. SERMONS BY TELEPHONE.

The congregation of tho Presbyterian Church at East Orange, New Jersey, are to hear the minister preach through telephones. Receivers, to fit over the oars of tlio worshippers, have been fitted to each pew, so that the preacher can be heard without effort m every part of the building. The arrangement has ako an advantage for the preacher, at. he will no longer be obliged to deliver his sermon 'pitched m a toying key. All that will be necessary for him will be to speak m an easy, natural voice into a transmitter fixed m front of him m the pulpit. CATCHING A FLY. Anyone who has tried with outstretched hand to catch a fly cannot fail to have noticed its wonderful alertness m escaping. "One reason for this, explained a naturalist, "is the fact that the fly was watching the movements of its would-be captor out of air or most of its 8300 eyes. Another reason for its rapid retreat is that instead of seeing one hand coming towards it, the fly would have seen at least 7500 hands all looking alike, and all moving down upon it m the same direction. A third reason of the fly's nimbleness is its ability to vibrate its wings nearly 700 times m a second, and to travel through the air at a rate of a mile m 21, minutes, or 24 miles aii hour."

SCHOOLBOYS, TAKE NOTICE. Au electrical "spanking" machine, invented by Professor Dennis, is being tested m the public school at East Penna, Illinois. The mode of operations is to place a recalcitrant pupil over a" chair near the spunking machine, press the button, and the flow of electricity starts a series of paddles m operation, which < play upon tlie anatomy of the victim. The residents of the village have pro- i tested, and declare that they will take i their children from the school if tlte nee 1 of tlie machine is not stopped. The m- | vetitor claims that the strength ant! fre- i quency of the ".spank" f an be regulated ; to a nicety by the new machine, which lie hopes will supplant the old-fashioned cane m all modern schools. PAPER CLOTHING. ' - The Japanese are now making under- : clothing of their finely crisped or grained paper. After the paper has been cub to a pattern the different parts arc sewn together and hemmed, and the places where the buttonholes arc to be formed are strengthened with calico or linen. The stuff is very strong and at the same time very flexible. After a garment has been worn a lew hours it will interfere with the perspiration of the body no more than do garments made of fabric. The stuff is not sized, nor it is impermeable. After becoming wet the paper is difficult to tear. When an endeavor is made to tear it by hand, it presents '; almost as much resistance as the thin skin used for making gloves. FRUIT AND HOW TO EAT IT. , Most people instead of taking fruit on , an empty stomach, or m combination with simple grain preparations, such as bread, eat it with oily foods, generally cream. Then, perhaps, the whole mess of food is washed down with tea, coffee, or other liquid. Fruit, to do its best work, should be eaten either on an empty stomach or else with bread merely, never with vegetables. Eaten m the morning, fi-uit is very refreshing, and serves as a natural stimulus to the digestive organs. But even when people do eat fruit at the proper timo they usually counterbalance its good effects by saturating it wit_ sugar. Very few kinds of fruit (says a medical paper), if thoroughly ripe and at their best, require any sugar, particularly if eaten m the raw state. NOVEL INSURANCE. Thero is scarcely anything m respect of which you cannot inMirc. Patti insures her voice for a tour; Kubclik his right aim ; Paderewski his two hands. Race horse owners insure their horses for certain races. Husbands insure for specified sums to be paid to them m the event of their coming into possession of twins. You may insure for 5s per cent against appendicitis for any sum up to £500, and like conditions mle as to smallpox. Denmark has an Old Maids' Insurance, and you rould get the same thing' at Lloyd's. Poor Colonel Mapleson was ah authority on the disadvantages of hot insuring. He omitted tv draw a £10 cheque to insure his theatre against fire. That same night the building was burned down, and ho lost some £30,000. FALLING INTO THE SUN. In an interesting paper on tho Lunary Theory m "Nature/ Mr. P. H. Cowell, of Greenwich Observatory, states that during his investigations dealing with eclipses he has been forced to the conclusion that the earth's orbital motion is being slowly accelerated on account of a sensible retarding effect of the ether, "It may seem curious," observes Mr. Cowell, "that this resistance should " accelerate the earth's motion', but that would not be the effect. The total energy is diminished, and this implies that the planet falls towards the sun, and consequently revolves faster m its orbit. " The theory of an inter-planetary resisting medium was first broached to explain the movement of Encke's comet, but was subsequently abandoned as untenable. Mr Cowell's practical readoption of it ih, therefore, noteworthy. CANCER "CURED" BY' SUN-RAYS. Dr. Hirschberg, »t leading surgeon of Frankfort, claims that sun-rays will cure cancer of tlie skiu. He suffered from skin cancer ou the outer portion of his car, he stato., and was preparing for au operation. He wa s staying ati Cfciux les Territet, ou Lake Geneva, and took daily walks, during which his ear was exposed to the sun Irom the south. After eight^day.. ho found, to his surprise, that tlie caucer was peeling from the wound, leaving a smooth surface. Ho then systematically exposed his ear to the sun-rays, and m a few weeks the whole of the swelling scaled off, leaving a smooth, new skin. Dr. Hirschberg attributes the eutire cure to the effect of the sun-rays. He also declares that ho has made successful experiments iv direct application of the sun-rays m cases of tuberculosis of the. larynx. A CHINESE SOLOMON. There lived sonio time at Nankin a Chinese lady and her husband. The latter, being compelled to join the army, remained absent, so long that his wile, thinking him dead, married again. The new couple were enjoying theii" honeymoon, when all of a sudden the first husband appeared on the scene, like Menelaus m tlie second act of "La Belle Hellena." "Give me back my Avifo!" "Never! We are lawfully joined." The case was taken before a magistrate, who demanded tha^the wife should be left m his custody for a few days, telling the parties to come again after that time to receive judgmcut. On the day appointed the two rivals again appeared before the judge, who informed them that, aa the woman had died m the iutcrval, one of them would have to defray her funeral expenses. .The first husband flatly refused ; the second, on the. contrary, said he was preSured to do tbe last honors to the dear eported. "Very good," said the magistrate, drawing aside a curtain. "Here is your wife, ufive and well; take her, if she is willing." • The woman did not need telling twice, but walked off with her second spouse, invoking blessing on the head of the fc.u_ou.uii of tbe Middle Empire.

COSMOPOLITAN PARIS. It. is estimated that only a third of tho population of Paris are Parisians born. The remaining two-thirds aro composed of provincials and foreigneis, tho fatter consisting of 27,C00 Germans, 26,000 S\vi-.-s, 21,0C0 Italians, 12,000 Belgians, 11,0C0 English, and 9000 Russians. CRAZE FOR CHEAPNESS. On tho authority of one m the boot trade, every shop-girl m London prefers •••hapely brown-paper and a permanent cold m the head to the old notlung-likc-leather conviction of all classes. Here, perhaps, is the cause of Mr Howell's recent complaint thait all the * poorer classes m England were alitictcd with catarrh .— H. W., m The Outlook. THE MEN TO KNOW ABOUT. Protesting against the glorifications of the rich m tlio American papcirj and magazines, Mr Hughes, at the Rochester Institute banquet, New York, said: — "We want to know los-s about men who started poor and amassed great fortunes, and moro about men who lived unsullied lives and died poor. Tho whole community need, the baptism of self-re-i-pect.'' — Reutcr. CRICKET GAMBLING. Sixty Chinese have been arraigned before the Hongkong Court, charged with gambling by betting on the results of crifcket rights. Many thousands of people journey from Canton to see .his local sport. Tlie crickets themselves aire valued by their owners, at enormous prices, a victorious insect fetching sometimes hundreds of dollars.r-South Cliina Post, Hongkong. HOSTILITY TO* BRITAIN. The only object of the visit of the British Squadron is to make it appear that this country a>nd Great Britain are allied against Europe to bulldoze and insult those nation"; that refuse to submit to her insolent dictation, and tnat being so, President Roosevelt owes it to himself and to the country to make it clear to all concerned that lie is no party to any such policy. — The Gaelic American, New York. OUTWITTING ANARCHISTS. When their majesties recently left Eho Park for Pekin there were m the Imperial cortege six Imperial sedan chairs exactly alike, ull occupied and borne by the same number of men as usually carried their majesties' sedan chairs, the only exception being that no one knew which of these six Imperial sedan chairs contained either the Empress Dowager, Emperor, or Empress. This was, of course, to confuse any would-be Anarchists. — North China Herald, Shanghai. INJURIOUS SMOKING. In furtherance of the cra-ude against juvenile smoking a conference took place at the Liverpool Reform Club under the auspices of the Liverpool branch of tlie International Anti-Cigarette League, an organisation which claims nearly 50,000 members. Captain Richard Rigg recalled that over 10,000 Volunteers for the Boor Avar were rejected m .Manchester as phy-

sic-illy unfit, and the majority of them were suffering from palpitation of the heart due to excessive cigarette iunokiiiE. BIDDING FOR A. CROWN. At the recent auction of the jewels of the late Maharana of Dholpur, the State crown; was put up for sale. This regal headpiece was of pearls and diamonds. The set of pear-shape pearls was perfectly graduated, and as a set was unmatchable. The diamonds were all of the best quality, ancl m the centre was set the "Grosvenor" diamond of watery clearness. Supplied with the crown was a necklace of diamonds, to which the larger pearls could be attached for wear as a necklace. The lot went for £33,666.-— Englishman, Calcutta. • TRUE TO THE OLD LOVE. A romantic story is told of the late Count of Flanders.

Every day he went a long walk, and always passed a house where a white hand was waved from the closed windows m return to his deep salutation. He never entered the house. The occupant was a lady to whom lie was attaclied be- ' fore he was married, but whom he has- ' never seen since. i Before parting, they arranged that ■ when m Brussels he sliould pass her door ' once a day, and this testimony to an old love was faithfully carried out. ( ADMIRAL TOGO'S MODESTY. ' While the British China Station '< Squadron was being feted at YokolmJiui ' during October at garden 2>arties, din- ' ners, and dances (a Daily Mail correspondent writes) Admiral Toco attended ' one of the dances given by the Japanese 1 Governor. * i The quiet and retiring disposition of '< the famous naval hero impressed the ' British visitors. He was still dressed m ' hii. war tmiiform— black braid instead of ■ gold on" the sleeves, aud wore only ono i order, the same as that which has been < presented to Admiral Noel. i TAMMANY AND ENGLAND. I The City of New York did not enter- < tain the British Fleet. It did not a,p- i propiiato ono cent, for it. That is not the way the City of Southampton by its* Mayor meets and -welcomes our Ambas- * sador wjien he touches British soil. It ii* not the way that London has honored representatives of our army and navyNob welcomed by the city, the squadron was warmly welcomed by the people. It is Tammany, only Tammany, and tho worst of Tammany, that held the Mayor's hands. We are ashamed for the city ' thus disgraced.— lndependent. New York. SWALLOWED BY A MOUNTAIN. A singular mishap has occurred to the Gellygaer (South Wales) foxhounds, j While the pack was m full cry on the j mountain at New Tredegar, nine of tho i be^t hounds suddenly vanished together i with the fox. Ib was found that' they had fallen down i a deop fissure on tho mountain top, cans- i ed about a year ago by a landslip. The i depth of the crevice has never been ] fathomed, but some idea of its extent, may bo judged] from the fact that afterthe disappearance of the dogs not a. sound was heard from them. The animals liave not been recovered, and it has been found impofsiblo to de- 1 scend the opening even -with a rope. A FAIR WARNING. The new assistant rector was trying, to impress upon the mind of his young son the difference between his own position and that of his, superior. "Now, Ted," he ended, "I want you to remember to bo veiy polite to the "rector. We are strangers, and I am only the as- . sistant ; it becomes us to be extremelycourteous. Some day, -perhaps, I shall be rector lliyself." The next day the boy was M'alking • with his father, when they n\ot tlie dignified rector. ' , "Hullo!" promptly began Ted. "Pa's ; been tellin' me 'bout you— how you'ro the real tiling, an' he's just the hired man an' we've got to knuckle under. But some day he limy be it himself, an' then ; you'll see!" * DREAM THAT WAS FULFILLED. A correspondent of the Spectator relates a curious dream of a friend, wlio ; had been suffering great anxiety owing to ! reduced circiiansUuiccs. This friend droamt that she -was m a church, -when all 'the worshippers began to go into the churchyard to look for a. magic bird which -was to bring the findcigreat duck. Joining m the r%arch the dreamer soon discovered a thrush, and directly sho picked it up it dropped a sovereign into hei' hand. Next morning she told her sister of the dream, and when she went iiuto the garden shortly after breakfast, she found, a thrush, which had just been killed by a cat. Wlien the pud. arrived, it brought a letter from her -brother containing a. cheque for £1, and later m the day another cheque arrived from a. friend. QUITE AMERICAN. Tho miles of Now York's asphalt j streets suggcslod to Mr A. E. Schult/, ] a unique way to advertise his motor-car j business. He designed a car with a I kind of hollow fifth wheel, tlio tyres of j which bovo letters of thick felt spelling ; out his name and tho excellence of his j goods. | The letters on the tyre were supplied : with whitewash, from a reservoir abovo : the splash-bouj'd, and Mr Schultz, start- ' ing out on his car, left a forty-mile ti-a.il ] of cunning advertising on the New York j streets. i hi Brooklyn special officers wore put ' on the whitewash trail, and Mr Schultz was informed that he would not bo permitted to use tho .itreete as so nuiuy vast blackboards. i AMERICAN BRAG. 1 The ChootaW Inquirer, m order lo do justice to a great subject, rises to the occasion thus : — "Texas is a whopper. Sho is a peach. She's the widest, broadest, and longest country on earth, extending from east to west and also from north to south. She could put Rhode Island m her vest pocket. She could swallow three or four states like Maryland, and wash 'em down by drinking the Mississippi dry, and could digest 'em without ever having the colic. Texas is the empire state of the union, without any Kaiser Bill lor an emperor. She's the chiefest among ten thousand, and altogether lively, wild, reckless. She's the pebble on tho beach. She's one of the old blue lien's chicks. She's the cock of the walk, and the democrat of the world. She's . a wolf, and it's her day to howl. ' MAKING A MANTLE. In the manufacture of the mantle for j incandescent gas (says Chambers' Journal) a sleeve or stocking of the familiar shape of the finished article is first made from a netting of cotton or other suit- ; able material drawn up or "gathered" at the top by a thread of asbestos, and '. bridged across by a st vonger loop of the same material to form the means of attachment to the central supporting rod. This sleeve is then soaked m a solution oi". the nitrates of thorium and cerium mixed m the proportion of 99 of the former to one of the latter. As soon as the fibres are thoroughly impregnated with the liquid, the fabric is wrung out and dried on conical moulds, which preserve its shape. When it is dry the cotton base is burnt away by applying a flame to the upper end and allowing the flame to gradually creep down until all the cotton is consumed and the nitrates converted at tho same time into the refractory oxides. The very fragile skeleton which remains is strengthened by dipping m collodion, which is m turn burnt off again by the user when the mantle is finally placed upon tho burner. -

DARK PICTURE OF ENGLAND. England has been contending against tho curse of pauperism for more than half a century. She has had recourse to all the means that common sen« could sugges.-, and common sense hah been compelled to acknowledge i(_-elf conquered before the rising tide of misery and of the army of the unemployed.— L'ltalie, Rome. SPAIN'S BILL FOR LUXURIES. Don Julian Manuel de Sabando states, m a statistical work which he has just published, that the people of "Spain spend £5,000,000 a year on cigars and cigarettes. £4,000,000 on lotteries, and about A.2,7<J0,0tf0 on bull fights. Among other luxuries £6,200,000 goes to the wineshops, ancl ±52,600,000 to holiday making. CURIOUS PANIC ON LINER. While the French liner La Champagne was coaling at Havana, a. rush of immigrants to the side to witness the operation caused the vessel to list and to take m water at her coal ports. i A cry was raised that the ship was sinking, and a panic ensued among the immigrants, 400 of whom jumped into lighters. About 20 fell into the water and swam ashore. Six are m hospital, ancl it is thought that six who are missing wore drowned. MAN WITH A SH,VER SKIN. I Some years ago, writes a Berlin correspondent, a man, aged 40, wag^ suffering from a nervous disorder, ' and the doctor who treated him gave him pills ! compounded of nitrate of potash and nitrate of silver. The remedy was succc.eful, but whenever attacked with pain, the patient returned to the pills, until after some years his skin gradually took on a silvery tinge. *

Hi_ face and hands now look as though made of silver, says the Wockeiischrift Medizenesche Kliuik, and the doctors declare that they will always remain 60. TOP FLOORS FOR QUIETNESS.

The tpo floors of tall buildings are being much sought after m New York, on account of their being far above the din and noise of the great city's streets. Many of the great financial magnates have fitted up sleeping apartments on the top floors of the skyscrapers, where, says the Pittsburg Despatch, after nightfall, a whisper may be heard a biocK away, and at midnight there is no spot on the western plains half so lonely and deserted.

Roof restaurants m the financial district are becoming popular for the same reason. There is an air of quiet about these places 200 ft above the street level which particularly appeals to the man who has been m the hum of the street all the morning.