OUR MAIL BAG.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 11126, 27 July 1907, Page 3 (Supplement)

OUR MAIL BAG.

GOOD FOR THE GLASS TRADE. Nearly 5000 plate glass and 5000 ordinary glass windows wore broken during a terrific storm at Jefferson, Oregon. BLIND MEN BUILD A HOUSE. Although they are totally blind, two Englishmen named Douglas and Whiting havo built a two-story bungalow unaided at Homer, New York. NO WONDER. It was stated at an inquest on Mrs. Ryan, of Brooklyn, New York, that. she had taken 347 bottles of patent medicine m five montns. ATTENDED HIS OWN FUNERAL James F. Willis, a Wynoming sheep herder, recently attended his own tuneral. A body positively identified as that of Willis was found on the fanch, and a number, of persons were assembled at his home for the, funeral, when he walked m. BETTER THAN IRRIGATION. A correspondent writes to the Bucks Advertiser that a farmer has found out that by planting onions and potatoes hi the same field m alternate rows th© onions become so strong that they bring tears to the eyes of tlie potatoes m such quantities that the roots are kept moist, arid a large crop is raised m spite of drought. ! "HIS ASHES SCATTERED." A curious clause as to the disposal of his body is contained m the will of Mr Henry Thomas Elwes, whicb was proved at £19,174. Mr Elwes, who lived at West Hoathley, Sussex, directed that his body should be cremated, that no religious service or ceremony should be held, and that the ashes sholud be. mixed with a bushel of dry sand, and scattered over the meadow m front of his house. "I feel that if my ashes were kept they would doubtless m time be thought to be m the way," he added. "AN INFAMOUS PLAGUE SPOT."

.The Rev. John Pringle, whno lips for many years been Presbyterian missionary m, the Yukon, has addressed a letter to the Press from Dawson City calling the attentnon of the Federal Government to what he terms the infamous legalised plague spot of Yukon. He gives details of the evils, and says tliat the whole situation is enough Jo make one ashamed of being m Canada. He asserts that mem. bers of the Government have been repeatedly informed of the evils m question, but refuse to act. In conclusion, Mr Pringle says: "Tlie, state of affairs is a blighting curse, to the country." THE KING'S COURT.

The first Court ,held m June was a remarkably brilliant ocoasion. Queen Alexandra wore a gown of delicate mauve, and the fashion papers remark on the delicacy of coloring of the Court gown of to-day. Only the most delicate colorings are tolerated, and wonderful effects are produced through the medium of ela. borate embroideries. The Court was remarkable for the revival of the shower bouquet.- Nearly every woman carried a bouquet, and .the air was heavy with the scent of English roses and choice exotics. < "Enchantress" roses composed the bouquet carried by Lady Beatrice Pole-Carew, and Miss lona Pole-Carew's presentation bouquet was of lilies of the valley. Lady Nairn carried mauve orchids, and her daughters struck a new note with their bouquets of sweet peas. Diamonds flashed from every' corner of the Throne Room, but many women wore magnificent pearls m place of the brilliants that have hitherto been the rule.:

, A PAYING WEAKNESS. For' many years a "certain old man had been engaged by a local farmer to gather his at a fixed sum per- acre. He diea, 'however, apd the farmer was obliged to get another man. A day or two later the farmer 'strolled round to see how the new man . was progressing. To his surprise, at one end of the field he found a large heap of stores. "Here, wot's this mean?" he demanded." ''Well, sir," responded the man m charge of the operation, "we thought we'd save ye a bit of trouble next seed time; so whenever we finds a, stone m the taties we just dumps it down there." "Ah £':! rebiarkedv the farmer, sadly, "I shall never find .another, man like Sam, the old one!"'." V : :, ;.'

- "Oh '" replied '-.the other, rather nettled. "Why, old Sam was rather blind, an' didn't know a stone when he seen one." "Mebbe lie didn't, and mebbe he did," sighed th© farmer, "but he worn't so particular about keepin' 'em out of the taties. They w.eighs." "- ' HUNTING IN ENGLAND.

To judge from the returns of Vkills" m the last hunting season m England, foxes are much more numerous than the "non-hunting. man," or even than the man who shoots, would think. From, a return of kills by eighty-nine packs m England it is gathered that 5129 foxes fell to bounds m the hunting season just ended, while at least one-third of that number were marked to ground. These figures mean that the average wayfarer should see more foxes than he does, night prowler as the fox is. : "One;- pack alone (the Cattistock): accounted for 181 foxes, while the Belvbir killed 161, the Bicester and Warden Hill show a lower average, but m some parts of Ireland fOxes are quite as numerous as m England. In Scotland there are many foxes of the hill type. Of these," the professional Highland foxhunter, who uses terriers and a gun, will secure from forty to fifty on an. average each year, or, m other words, as many as most packs of hounds. • The Highland foxhunter is rather a professional lamb protector than a sportsman, though searching the cairns with terriers is an exciting pastime. WILLING TO TACKLE SQUIRES.

An amusing letter has been received by Mr John Wren from a man at Coburg, Samuel Lowry (telegraphs a Melbourne representative), who expresses himself as willing to settle^ the pretensions of Bill Squires. "I am a brave iriari," he- says. "Seeing and hearing so much about this wonderful Squires, who you are boasting and bragging so much about, I may plainly inform. you that I am willing myself and quite prepared to take him on myself at any moment and place you may think fit. lam only a poor man, but for the fun 1 Of the fame I will give a cheque for £100 to be anded over to Squires as a Christmas box, providing he proves himself a bet- [ ter man. .1 myself want nothing m proportion from the other side,, nor even one fraction of tbe gate money, but am t quite willing to lose the above cheque/ I provided I am beat, and furthermore will dig his grave free of cost if I by | mischance may kill him. If you could only arrange for a match of five rounds I will be only too pleased to distinguish myself. Trusting you will arrange as early as possible if accepted. My age is 40 years, height 6ft 2ip, weight 13st, occupation gravedigger." FICKLE FORTUNE. A rather pointed illustration of the fact that fortune is capricious, and that the acquisition of a large sum of money j is not always an unmixed blessing, was given m the Insolvency Court yesterday (telegraphs a Melbourne representative). An. affidavit of an applicant for a certificate of discharge showed that his career was of an untroubled nature until he won the first prize m the Druids' art union, and received over £900. He thereupon entered into an engineering partnership which proved a failure and heavy loss, and then turned his attention to auctioneering business. This venture also ended disastrously, and was punctuated by a fire. Stock and station agents business and other ventures were no more successful, and the last straw came when the insolvent, who spent six weeks at Macedon with a friend, under the impres sion that he was a welcome guest, received an account for board and lodgings m respect to himself arid his wife for £16. "There is just one grain of comfort," remarked applicant's counsel. "He started with nothing, even if he has ended with nothing." The issue of the certificate was deferred pending inquiries as to certain details. THE WAITER BAMBOOZLED. It takes a great deal to shatter the composure of a head waiter and to reduce him to the level of an ordinary, apologetic mortal, but the feat was accomplished m a very simple way. A lawyer went to supper at a certain cafe after the theatre, and ordered a cup of coffee. [ "Please bring it m a cup with the handle on the lett side," he said, confidentially, to the waiter. "I'm left-handed, and I don't like any other kind of a cup.'' "Yes ? sir," stammered the waiter ; "1 will, sir." He was seen to hasten away and confer with the head waiter. Then the head waiter bore ('own on the party. "What sort of a cup was that you want, ed, Gir?" he said. "Cup with the handle on the- left side. I'm, left-handed," returned the lawyer.

The head waiter disappeared, to "return a little later obviously perturbed. "The cup you "he began. •.. "What?'- exclaimed the lawyer. "Do you, mean to tell me that m a first-class cafe like this you haven't such a thing as a cup with a- handle on. the left side? Absurd ! Why. how am I to use any other kind? You must have plenty of them." 'Well," said the head waiter, "we usually have, but I'm sorry, sir ; the last w e had was broken this morning."

THE POPE A VEGETARIAN. It is announced inTtomo that the Pope has become a vegetarian. His Holiness formerly suffered severely from gout, but he has liad no attack since January, and ho attributes this to the fact that he has adopted vegetarian diet. DISOBEDIENT PATIENTS. Half the difficulties of medical practice arise from the disobedience of patients, many of whom seem to think it a mark of independent spirit to disregard the injunctions of the doctor. They will boast of not taking the advice and medicine they have paid for, as if «/.iey were having a joke at the practitioner's expense instead of their own. — British Medical Journal. THE AGE OF TOLERANCE. The world seems to be growing happier as it grows older. Good humor is almost a universal habit. 111-natured people are nearly as extinct as.the dodo. Kindness of heart is so common that it has ceased to be a virtue. Few of us can boast of possessing an enemy, and there is hardly a good hater left m London. We find it all blessedly easy to forgive and forget and blessedly hard to cultivate the art of resentment. It is the age of tolerance. — M.A.P. "BY MISTAKE." The oil tank steamer Santa Maria, which recently arrived at Seattle, reports that her cargo of 5400 barrels of oil was lost "by mistake" during the voyage. Orders were given to pump the bilge water out of the steamer, but somebody blundered, and the pumps were connected with the oil tanks instead. The crew worked industriously pumping out the ship, and when the captain discovered the error the tanks were empty. GAMBLING INSTINCT IN WOMEN.

Just as each girl of eighteen is firmly persuaded, that she is going tb marry a millionaire, so everly woman, when she takes to gambling or speculation, looks forward to making her pile m the first coup. The gambling instinct m women is nearly always built on this shifting, immoral foundation of gain. — World and His Wife.

BEAUTY AS A DUTY. Modern thought recognises good looks as a symbol of excellence within. Oldfashioned mothers considered beauty a dangerous gift. The mother of to-day knows that ugliness is a handicap, and she teaches her little daughter to cultivate beauty m every form — the beauty of cleanliness, of charming manners, of unselfishness, gratitude", 1 thoughtf ulness, bodily grace.— Lady of Fasbiori. . JEWELLED STOCKINGS.

Sehora Creel, wife of the Mexican Ambassador at New York/according to the gossip of .the Embassies, pays from £40 to £100 a pair for her stockings. Her pet weakness is for jewelled hosiery; the entire front of which is composed of lace covered with pearls, rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. -..-..,-

The stockings are sent to Chihuahua to be cleaned, and there the gems are extracted, the lace being sent to one expert, cleaner and the silk to another. ONE THING SCOTCH CAN'T HOARD.

r ."Travelling m the Scottish Highlands one summer (says a New York lady), I stopped at a farmhouse for a cup of milk, and the view from the door was so lovely that I said to the farmer :

"Ah, what a superb place to live m! " " 'Ou, aye,' he answered, m conventional Soots, 'it's a' richt; but hoo wad ye like, ana'ani, tb'hae to walk ' fufteemile ilka time ye wanted a bit glass o' whuskey!' . " 'Oh, well,' said I, 'why don't you get a demijohn of whiskey and keep il m the house?'

"He shook his head sadly. "Whuskey,' he said, 'won't keep.' "• HONK ,-..Oii:---..0,'0F COURSE., She said something that rubbed him the wrong way. Seeing the look of pique on his face, she cried: — ' ■-.-■'

"Oh, my darling, my darling! I have hurt you! "No, my dearest," he replied, gravely. "The hurt I feel is due to the fact that I know it hurts you to feel that you have hurt me!" "Oh, no ! Do not let thatchurt you for an instant. My hurt is because I know it hurts you to feel that I 'have hurt niyself by hurting you." r , :"'• ' "Noj my precious. My hurt . is because you are hurt over feeling that I am hurt, because you feel that you have hurtune, and are therefore hurt yourself, 'and—'' •* Let us leave them, dear reader. They will get over it m time. COXSWAIN'S LIFE-SAVING RECORD, ..-.-. After completing forty -two years' rescue work on the Goodwins, Dick Roberts, the veteran coxswain of the Deal lifeboat, has just retired from that position. He has assisted m saving about 500 -lives froni the treacherous Goodwins, and has only missed one launch of the lifeboat. On one"llccasl6n— April 20, 1886,. — a solitary figure was: found on some wreckage on the 'sands. Upon the ap[iroach of the lifeboat the- man ran -wild-, yaway across the sands, with the danger of heing engu'lfed<in tjhe quicksands. Some of the crew left the lifeboat, arid with great difliculty Chased the mariand [brought him ashore. Tbe poor fellow proved to be the sole survivor of the Norwegian sailing-ship August Herman Francke, which was lost on the Goodwins. He had become demented from his terrible experience. HIGHER LIFE FOR PIGS

"The hog is by nature cleanly and needs only opportunity for culture to uplift him to a plane "of refinement high as that attairi«i by any other' animal. Such at least is the .belief of Rv K. Rutter, -a farmer, who lives near Andrews. He will demonstrate his theory," -says the New York World.

"Five small piglets will be plucked from the. mire, placed m scrupulously clean quarters and given the choicest potato peeling and expurgated swill, washed down with a couple of horns of apollinaris from, the well. They will be bathed daily; m R-utter's' bath f tab. Six months of this life will the swine live. At the end of the term they will be conducted back to their pristine mud. "Rutter declares they will shun it as the pestilence and* scurry back to the upholstery, flecking off the debasing soil from their manicured toea with a rosewater scented ! bristle."

THE SMALLEST MAN. A human being nearly a foot smallerthan the famous Tom Thumb is the latest curiosity at .Glasgow. This is Harold Pyott, who, at the age of twenty i 6 only 23in high. Harold was born m the Cheshire .town, of Stockport. At first sight he does not seem to be as old as twenty (say s an English paper). A double set of teeth, dark m color, and some of which j were, broken, set all doubts at rest regarding his age, and did not require the production of his birth certificate. He would not take up much standing room m a crowd. As a matter of fact, he will stand very comfortably on the palm of a visitor's hand, and the visitor will not be overburdened. Tlie little wonder has never been iU m his life, though liis frailty makes "this statement appear «ur. prising. He is, indeed, a tender little creature, . whose continued existence is marvellous. ELECTRIC RAILROAD. Genoa and Milan are to be connected j by an electric railroad eighty-five miles long, which is to cost £9,000,000. The high cost is owing to the nature of the country through which the line will pass. It will require nineteen tunnels, one of which will be twelve miles long. There will be 372 bridges and the road will be six years m course of construction. The cost of the line construction alone will be £100,000 a mile. The road will be. double tracked and there will be no grade crossings. Trains will consist of three cars, each accommodating fifty passengers. It is proposed to run twenty trains a day, and it is estimated that the daily traffic will be six thousand passengers. A complete schedule has been ar- ! ranged to take care of the express and local traffic, as well as the freight -if that section of the country. The power j will be derived from a 24,000-horsepower hydraulic generating plant. - SINGLE WORD REPLIES. Single word replies, more or less witty, are fairly common. A patient whom the famous Dr Abernethy had advised to j take a walk on an empty stomach calmly replied, "Whose?" -A recent example was the answer of the late Dean Hole to a boring cockney fellow traveller oi» the Great Northern Railway. "What comes after 'Itching?" asked the bore. "Scratching," came the swift retort, an'l thereafter the conversation flagged. Many brief and telling replies are laid to the account of Douglas Jerrold. It will suffice to recall one. "What's going?" said a bore, stopping Jerrold m the street. "I am," and the speaker suited the action to the word. Akin to this was the answer of John Wesley to the blustering swaggerer who pushed against him on the path, with the insulting remarjc, "I never make way for a fool." "I always do," said Wesley, quietly stepping aside and then placidly pursuing his way. Brief and witty was the reply of a Catholic cleric to an opponent m argument, who had declared his disbelief m purgatory. "You mightgo further and fare worse,',' was the ecclesiastic's, parting shot. — London Globe.

BIG BRIBERY CHARGE. Giving ev'dcnce on May 28th before tlie Quebec Court, Baron Lepine, who acted as agent of a Belgian syndicate m tli© purchiso of a large tract of territory, deposed on oath that Mr. A. Turgeon, Prvincial Minister of Lands and Forests demanded £12,000 ad a fund to influence the Press. The syndicate, Baron Lepine added, offered £8000, wliich Mr. Turgeon declined. Tlie Minister's friends assert tliat he will be able to disprove the testimony of Baron Lepine but m the meantime the incident is causing a sensation here. "DO IT NOW." The proprietor of a large business house bought a number of 6igns reading, "Do It Now," and had them hung around the office, hoping to inspire his people with promptitude and energy m their work. In his private office one day soon afterward a friend asked him how the scheme affected the staff. "Well, not just the way I thought it would," answered the proprietor. "The cashier skipped with six thousand pounds^ the head bookkeeper eloped with tlie private secretary, three clerks 'asked for an increase - of ' salary, and the /office boy ran away to become a highwayriian." .-■ WOMEN WHO WORK.

An: interesting contribution to labor statistics'" is Jb6ritained .m a. recent report of the ' Census Bureau on .the "subject, of women who work m the United States. Of the 23,485,559 females, 16 years of age and more, 4,833,630 are wage-earners. Sixty-four per cent, of them are under 35 years of age. The number of women at workf moie than- doubled m the 20 years from 1880 to 1900 ;, they are now,, engaged m all but nine of! the 303 occupations m which the breadwinners of the country are engaged. Almost one-fourth of the total 'number, of women at work are servants, While 45,6,405 are farm laborers, chiefly in' the Southern States. A MEAN BRIDEGROOM.

Tlie soleriinity of. a marriage ceremony) celebrated m 'an" American 1 town recently was broken when the bridegroom suddenly demanded that as a part of the obligations assumed by the bride she must covenant to build the eari^morning fire, y John H. Hams^an&MLinriie Allen werei! the contracting parties, and tliey stood- m bhe official cliambers of Judge Cope, upon whom they had called to be made brie. r

"Why, man alive, that is the. most as-, tonisliinginnovation that I ever heard suggested as a part of a marriage contract?' shouted Judge Cope, when he had sufficiently recovered' to grasp the significance of the interruption.. Harris started to argu6 the. question. The bride looked aoashed. y

Judge, Cope sharaply admonished Harris that he was not ambitious to figure >m a burlesque performance, and that if he/desired to wedto say. so, and if notito leave. "Proceed, -Judge,": fiaid Harris, and tlie knot was tied. , , '„„ THE "HOT PLACES'* BELOW.

A series of interesting experiments with regard to the heat of rock - and water m the workings m deep mines on the Bendigo goldfield are, telegraphs the Melbourne" representative of ■ a .Sydney paper, being carried out under the supervision of Mr Dunn, Geological Director - of . the Mines Department,, and Mr Baracchi, of the Government Meteorological Observatory. In the Victoria quartz' mine, which is one of the deepest m Australia, if not m the world, holes have been drilled into solid stone, and specially prepared thermometers been inserted and left for a length of time. On being withdrawn, the maximum heat recorded is shown on the instrument. Records have also been taken with regard to the water, wbich at these depths, below. 4000 ft, from the surface, is quite warm. From a scientific point of view, the results have been -most interesting. It is stated that there is a difference of about Bdeg m the boiling point of water at the surface' and m the lowest depths of the iriine. BACHELORS REVOLT. The spinsters in' the American town of Danville, Illinois, have joined hand? m a common cause. They ,want the town bachelors taxed. y'Furtheririore,-lbey want tl»e tax graduated' according to age. ihe older the man, the bigger the tax, demand Hie unwedded women: of Danville. Arid this is no idle dream; tliey hare drafted' their demands iii black and white, and it is now before the Common Council of the town m the form of «• proposed ordinance. The ..bachelors determined to retaliate, and they have issued thei following counter declaration: — . ' 1 "We, the single men of Danville, would like to make the acquaintance of the un-. married women of tliis community who are so much interested m us. We would like th. privilege ;ofi petitioning the City Council* as a, matter of: self -klefence wliile awaiting further moves of tlie enemy, to enact an ordinance taxing these unmarried women of Danville £10 for each time they refuse a proposal of riiarriage, not because we feel aggrieved pr wish to get^aarried, but as, a matter of protection."