FACT AND FANCIES.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 8, Issue 13, 12 February 1907, Page 8

FACT AND FANCIES.

A Court-room in China.— ln the raagis irate’s dirty court-room the prisoners arf brought in, tried, tortured if they refuse to confess, sentenced, and punished with a dispatch that is in admirable contrast to the deliberations of our enlightened courts. If the real offender cannot be found, they seize upon one of his relatives and hold him ar hostage. It is generally a poor relation, and the longer he stays in gaol the better his family prospers. The mandarins arc inclined to look leniently on any who are willing to pay their way out of gaol, or pay n substitute who will be caught and imprisoned lor them, so that in the small number ol its fettered prisoners Canton stands well in comparison with civilised, law-abiding communities a third of its size. Feathered Suicides.— The keeper of the lighthouse on Fire Island, which is generally the first land seen by vessels from Europe bound for New York, has made an interesting statement with reference to the number of birds which commit involuntary suicide against his lantern and his lenses. The thick lenses are chipped in places by the lucks and geese striking them with their noavy bill, after flying through the glass one-eighth of an inch thick) which covers fie outside of the lantern. Frequently, he ■ ays, he has found one or more ducks or ,cese flying about in the lantern chamber, rounded with the cut glass, and sprinkling lie lenses and floor with their blood. As nany as 60 dead ducks have been picked up on ifie ground about the base of the lighthouse m a single morning; and sometimes more than 100 birds of various kinds have been iound; while the large metal ball which crowns the lighthouse has been bent and nearly twisted from its position by flocks of wild geese coming against it, 7 ales of Sacred Trees.— The palm, the oak, and the ash are the three trees which, since time immemorial, were held to he sacred trees. The first among them, which figures on the oldest monuments and pictures of the Egyptians and Assyrian*, is the date palm (Phoenix dactilifera), which was the symbol of the world and of creation, and the fruit of which filled the faithful with divine strength, and prepared them for the pleasures of immortality “ Honour," ’.aid Mahomet, "thy paternal aunt, the date palm, for in Paradise it was created out of the same dust of the ground." The Jews and the Arabs again looked upon the same tree as a mystical allegory of human beings, for, like them, it dies when its head (the summit) is cutoff, and when a limb (branch) is once cut off it docs not grow again. Those who know can understand the mysterious language of the branches on days when there is no wind, when whispers ol present and future events are communicated by the tree. Abraham of old, so the Rabbis say, understood the language of the palm The oak was always considered a “holy" tree by our own ancestors, and, above all, by the other nations of the North of Europe When Winifrid, of Devonshire (680 —754), went forth on his wanderings through Germany to preach the Gospel, one of his first actions was to cut down the giant oak in Saxony, which was dedicated to Thor and worshipped by people from far and near. But when he had nearly felled the oak, and while people were cursing and threatening the saint, a supernatural storm swept over it, seized the summit, broke every branch, and dashed it with a tremendous crash to the ground. The heathens acknowledged the marvel, and many of them were converted there and then. But the saint built a chapel of the wood of this very oak, and dedicated it to St. Peter. The Celts, and Germans and Scandinavians, again, worshipped the mountain ash (Fraxinus), and it is especially in the religious myths of the latter that the “Askr Yggdrasil" plays a prominent part. To them it was the holiest among trees, the “ world tree,’ which, eternally young and dewy, represented heaven, earth, and hell. According to the Edda, the ash yggdrasil was an evergreen tree. A specimen of it grew at Upsala, in front of the great temple, and another in Dithmarschen, carefully guarded by a railing, for it was, in a mystical way, connected with the fate of the country. When Dithmarschen lost its liberty the tree withered, but a magpie, one of the best prophesying birds of the north, came and built its nest on the withered tree and hatched five little ones, all perfectly white, as a sign that at some future time the country would regain its lost liberty. Making Umbrellas. —There are more dungs necessary to the make up of an umbrella than one would suppose. There is the stick, generally of maple or ironwood, ribs, stretchers, and springs of steel, the runner, runner notch, the ferrule, cap, bands, and tips of brass or nickel: the covering of silk, gingham, alpaca, or the like; the runner guard of leather, the inside cap and the fancy handle, which may be of oxidised silver, horn, curiously carved wood, mother ff pearl, or any substance that the cunning artificer can devise or shape. The runner errule, cap. band, and such parts arernanuictured elsewhere, and still another factory ;ets out the steel ribs which have supplanted the old rattans. The goods for the covering are mostly made at Home, except the fine silks, which are almost all imported from France. Having gotten together the materials, how does the umbrella get along ? The stick is turned, stained, and polished, the handle is put on, the little brass cap on the end is riveted fast, and then two slots are cut in the sticks, which receive two springs, over which slides the " thingumbob’’ that keeps the umbrella either up or down A band is then fastened on it which the ends of the ribs of the umbrella arc to slip, when it gets ribs. The frame-maker then makes the sticks, fastens the stretchers to the ribs, and strings the top cords of the ribs on a wire which is fitted into the "running notch.” He then strings the lower ends of the " stretchers" on a wire and fastens them in the " runners," and when both runners are securely fixed he turns it over to the coverers. Around the room are hanging V-shaped wooden patterns, brass bound on the corners. The cutter lays his silk or gingham very smoothly out on a long counter, folding it back and forth until there are 16 thicknesses. He then takes one of these patterns, lavs it on the pile of cloth, and with a keen-edged knife he slashes cruelly in the fabric, according to the pattern. These pieces are 1 hen carefully scanned bv a woman, who 1 ejects every one having a‘hole or flaw in it. Then a man takes the pieces and carefully stretches the edges. Unless the whole length of the edge is properly stretched the cover will not fit smoothly. Next the pieces. ;o into the sewing room f where they are -own together on machines by what is called he pudding bag stitch. Then a woman >ews the covers on the frame, keeping the. tmbrella half open with a contrivance made or that sole purpose. If she is a good '.'onian she can sew on a cover in five ninutes, besides stitching on the tie.’' The edges ot the umbrella are then smoothed rith a flat-iron. Once more a woman holds he umbrella up to the light and searches for flaws. If it be all right then the cover is trimly folded round the stick and into the sale room it goes to take its chance of being ; ought and going out into the inclement v -rid. Ami how long docs it take so inv ■riant a thing as an umbrella to come int j ■mg ? Just about 15 minutes.

tf A CHIVALRIC FATHER. "My son, stop ! You must not dispute .vith your mother in that way." Boy; “ But she’s in the wrong." Father ■ “ That makes no difference; and you might as well learn, my child, once for all, that when a lady says a tiling is so, it is so md then he added, earnestly," even if it isn’t so." A NOVEL THIEF DETECTOR. At Elsterberg, in Saxony, a lot of shoe " uppers” had been stolen from the shop ol a bootmaker. A simple incident led to the discovery of the thief. A bobbin of hempen yarn wag hanging in the window through vhich the thief made his escape, and the waxed end of the yarn stuck to his clothes as he climbed through, and was found next mornng stretching oveu several fences until it reached the back door of a rival shoemaker's premises. The circumstantial evidence was conclusive, a nd the thief pleaded guilty. AN INWARD MONITOR. On the sth January, 1791, a party of five officers of the garrison at Ouxonne went to ikate on the moats of the town, which at hat time were very deep. When it struck ive, one of them, a young lieutenant 0 artillery, exclaimed : “ Five o’clock ! I must ;o to dinner!” " Oh, stay a little longer !" icgged his comrades. " No, I am famished " Hie others continued their pastime, but suddenly the ice broke and the whole four ere drowned. The fifth, whom hunger had Iriven home, was Young Bonaparte—alterivards Emperor Napoleon I. A RASH ACT. A Scotch university professor, irritated to find that his students had got into the habit of placing their hats and canes on his desk—cloak rooms being at a premium—announced that the next article of the kind placed there would be destroyed. For r ome days all went well, until the professor was called for a moment from the classroom. A student slipped into his retiring 00m, and emerged with the professorial nat; which he placed conspicuously on the desk, while his fellows grinned and trembled. The professor on returning saw the hat, thought some rashly obstinate student had been delivered into his hands, and taking out his knife he cut the offending thing to nieces, the while vainly attempting to conceal the smile of triumph that played about iris countenance. He was in a very bad temper the next day. A SUBSTANTIAL SOLATIUM. A man has just died in Paris who rejoiced in having been knocked down by the Emperor Napoleon on a memorable occasion. He was a detective, named Rossi, and when Orsini made his attempt on the 14th January, 1858, he was on duty outside the Opera House. Nowithstanding the terrific explosion, he did not lose his presence ol mind, but made a rush for the Emperor’s carriage. His Majesty, however, took him for a conspirator, and raising his fist, dealt him a well-directed blow between the eyes, which sent the man rolling. As a solatium, Rossi afterwards received 5,000 f. The Empress Eugenie still keeps the hat which tlui Emperor wore on the occasion of Orsini’s unsuccessful attempt. It is riddled through with infinitesimally small holes hardly bigger than pin thrusts. A NEW TREATMENTS Said the doctor, “ The most striking casi of my life was that of a woman who had not left her bed for several years. She ate well, slept well, her pulse was reasonably regular. But every day she would send fo: me in great haste, and I would go and mala c slight change in the bread pills on which i was keeping her. Finally I got tired, and decided to try heroic treatment. So, afte hearing her story, I began to laugh heartily t would look at her, and then begin again I kept this up for a considerable time, and she kept getting more and more angry. Sin wanted to know what was the matter. Tin idea was so ridiculous to me that she should lie there day by day, and pretend to be sick 1 Why,’ said I, ‘ there is nothing in the world :he matter with you but laziness,’ and kep' :m laughing. She finally reached for he thoc, and threw it at hie, ordering me to ge iut of the house. I pretended to get angn at that, but kept on with my abuse. Thci she jumped up, and seizing the broom, drove me out of doors. She acknowledged she was well from that moment." No doubt many other hypochondriacs might be cured by similar treatment. THE INSANITY OF AUTHORS. The story of Cowper’s trying to hang himself and afterwards experiencing intense religious remorse is well known. Another instance is that of Saint Simon, whose enormous vanity itself looks like a form of monomania, and who, in a fit of despondency, fired a pistol at his head, happily with no graver result than the loss of an eye, Alfieri, who was the victim of the " most horrid melancholy," tried on one occasion, after being bled by a surgeon, to tear off the bandage in order to bleed to death. Among those who succeeded in taking away their life are Chatterton, whose mind Had been haunted by the idea from early life; Kleist, the poet; and Bcneke, the philosopher. A clear instance nf cerebral disease is afforded by the botanist Linnaeus, whose faculties gave way after a stroke. The mental stupor into which the poet Southey finally sank was a similar phenomenon. Swift's fatal disease, the nature of which lias only recently been cleared up by science, was cerebral disorganisation brought on by peripheral disease in the organ of hearing, Zimmermann, the author of the work on solitude, who had been a hypochondriac from the age of twenty, ended his life in a state of melancholy indistinguishable from insanity. The final collapse, under the pressure of pecuniary anxieties, of Scott's cerebral powers is too well known to need more than a bare mention. Besides these instances of senile collapse, there are several cases of insanity showing itself in the vigorous period of life. Sometimea, as in the instance of Richelieu who had shown himself an erratic being rom his childhood, the madness appeared is a sudden and transient fit of delirium. In other cases the disorder took a firmer hold on the patient. Charles Lamb, Handel, and August! Comte suffered from insanity for a time, and had to be put under restraint. Tasso, whose whole nature was distinct!;, inged with the " insane temperament," hai igain and again to be confined as a madman Donizetti\vas also for a time insane and :onfined in an asylum. Among those who became hopelessly in me were the poets Lenau and Hokieilir. >ud the composer Schumann, the latter o: a horn had long been the victim of melnn :holy and hallucinations, and had before hi: confinement attempted to drown himself in the Rhine. Grafton : " Aw—what’s the matter, de; i boy ? Spwained your wist ?’’ •' Xaw—rheumatish. Left one of me rin gs off the other day, ye know, and caugh in my fingaw,"

AN EXPENSIVE COMMA.

A new tariff bill was introduced in hhfi 'nited States Congress about twenty years > j, which contained an error in paneluaf a. There was a section enumerating v.iat articles should be admitted Iree of mty. Among others specified were “all ioroign fruit-plants." The clerk in copying the bill unfortunately changed the hyphen in the compound word, “ fruit-plants,” to a comma, making it read, " all foreign fruit, plants," &c. The consequence was that for twelve months oranges, lemons, grapes, bananas, and other foreign fruit were admitted duty fee. This mistake cost the United States Government about 2,000,000 dollars. BEER. For some years (says a Home medical paper) decided inclination has been apparent all over the country to give up the use of whisky and other strong alcohols, using as a substitute beer and other compounds. This is evidently founded on the idea that beer is not harmful, and contains a large amount of nutriment; also that bitters may have some nedical qualities which will neutralise the Ucohol which it conceals, &c. These theories are without confirmation in the observation of physicians, The use of beer is ound to produce a species of degeneration of all the organs ; profound and deceptive fatty deposits, diminished circulation, condition of congestion, and perversion of functional activities, local inflammations of both the liver and kidneys, are constantly present. Intellectually a stupor, amounting almost to paralysis, arrests the reason, changing all the higher faculties into a mere animalism, sensual, selfish, sluggish, varied only with paroxysms of anger that are senseless and brutal. In appearance the beer-drinker may be the picture of health, but in reality he is most incapable of resisting disease. A slight injury, a severe cold, or a shock to the body or mind will commonly provoke acute disease, ending fatally. Compared with inebriates who use different kinds of alcohol, he is more incurable and more generally diseased. ' The constant use of beer every day gives the system no recuperation, but steadily lowers the vital forces. It is our observation that beer drinking in this country produces the very lowest kind of inebriety, closely allied to criminal insanity. The most dangerous class of ruffians in our cities are beerdrinkers. NAPOLEON'S MYSTIC " M." It has been said of Napoleon I. that he was ‘all star and destiny." One of his peculiai fads was his regard for the letter M. which he considered especially ominous for good or evil, A compilation of the facts in the M case shows good reason for both him and Napoleon 111. considering it a red or black letter according to circumstances. To begin with, Marbocuf was the first to recognise military genius in the " Little Corporal." Marengo was the first battle won by Napoleon, and Melas made room for him in Italy. Mortier was his most trusted general, Moreau betrayed him, and Murat was first martj'r to his cause, Marie Louise shared his highest fortunes; Moscow was the abyss of ruin into which he fell. Metternicb vanquished him in the field of diplomacy. Six of his marshals, Massena, Mortier, Marmont, Macdonald, Murat, and Moncey, besides twenty-six of his generals of divisions, had an M as the irfftial of their last names. Murat, Duke of Bassano, was his most trusted counseller,. His first battle was that ol Montenotte ; his last Mont Jean, by which name Waterloo is known in French history. He won the battles of Milesimo, Mondovi, Montmirail, and Montereau. Then came the storming of Montmartre. Milan was tha first enemy's capital and Moscow the last. He lost Egypt through Menon, and employed Miellis to take Pope Pius prisoner. Mallet conspiied against him, Mvirat was the first to desert him, then Marmont. Three of his ministers had M initials, Marel, Montalivet, and Mallieu; his first chamberlain was Montesquieu. He surrendered to Captain Maitland. His companions at St. Helena were Montholon and Marchand. WHAT WILL CURE A COUGH ? A cough is a work of intelligence of a current of electricity in a wind pipe. We don’t want any mistake made about what we mean ; an intelligent work of a current of electricity is performed in a cough, h cough is actually an attempt of a current of this almighty influence to cast off a gather mg of gas and water on the surface of the ■vind pipe. The cough is only a spurting of a current of an almighty out of a chest with such violence as to throw out all the unnatural encumbrance on the pipe. When a cough is made a contraction of the whole chest is made—just to the extent that a current of this worker is discharged by the cough, The brain is not operated in this work. !t often attempts to stop it, but it is a poor attempt, for it will most always fail. We are always in our senses when a brain is operated for an intelligent work. A cough is performed for a minute and sometimes lor hours without consciousness on our part. Mucous is a saturation of the water of a pipe by a gas from the stomach. It is but gas under water, A chance is offered in this understanding of the substance to obtain a remedy for a cough. A thousand doctors would see the remedy if it was known what mucous was. Anything that will stop the generation ol gas in the stomach will stop a cough. When a peison is sick with a cold the stomach is suie to be out ot order. The bad stomach permits a gas to be created. It can always be smelled. No cough is possible without a mucous m a pipe, or pus, and a mucous is impossible in a pipe without a gas from a stomach. Every cough other than that produced by a decomposition of lung, or bronchial pipe, is only a tickling of gas and water on a wind pipe. W hat is capable of stopping the creation ot gas, A good condition of stomach is sure to stop it. A glass of soda-water is the thing that will prevent a construction of mucous. It is all that is necessary, except to open a closed pore if it is not opened, and it is capable of curing a cough, and preventing a cold continuing, Let our patrons try'"it Ihe gas discharged from a bad stomach passes through the nostrils and mouth. When a breath is inspired some of the gas ; s drawn into the wind and all the pipes of die chest and mixed with the water in the pipes. If the gas is discharged for a great length of time it will create a sore nose and vhat are called canker or cold sores on the ■iquth and lips. These sores are only a poisoned tissue. J A cough will sometimes continue as a result of a cold or closing of the pores of the body for months or weeks, and finally Mve a corrosion t° the bronchial pipes and lung. W hen this is the character of the cough a constant disorganisation of the process ol digestion is possessed, just the samecon■;ition of disordered digestion as was first puxluccd by cold. An opening of pores is -oil wanted, and it must be performed I roblems of Nature. " W HERE are you going, my pretty maid ?’ \ n \ t 0 Slie . kind sir," she said nail s " at "k° o ' u you sneeze, ray pretty “ Atchoo ! atvhoo ; kind sir aha said.