Facts and Fancies.

Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette, 21 August 1912, Page 7

Facts and Fancies.

Daylight Saving in Henry VllJ.'s 'Time.

In an old book of husbandry, published in the early part of the sixteenth century, we find the following advice given to a wife:

"I advise thee earnestly to remember well one thing: when in the winter time, Dhat the days be short and the -evenings long, and thou sittest by the fire and has supped, consider in thy mind whether the works that thou and thy maiden do are advantage equal to the fire and candle, the .meat and the drink, that they consume; if not, go to thy bed, sleep, and be up by time to breakfast before daylight, that thou ■ mayest have all the day before thee entire to thy business."

Apart from the question of economy, working by artificial light was a very different thing in those days from what it is now that incandescent gas and, electric light have become so common.

The Whistling jugs of Peru.

The potters of ancient Peru used to manufacture an ingenious musical instrument which may very properly be called a whistling jug. Specimens are abtained from the ancient burial places of. Peru. One of these consists of two vases, whose bodies are joined one to the other, with a hole or opening between them. The neck of one of these vases is closed with the exception of a small opening in which a clay pipe is inserted leading to the body of the whistle. The closed neck of this double vase is modelled into a representation of a bird's head. When a liquid is poured into the opennecked vase the air is compressed in the other, and in escaping through the narrow opening is forced into the whistle, -tihe vibration producing the sounds. Many of these sounds represent the notes of birds.

A Great Gambler.

Charles James Fox, the famous Prime Minister, was one of the greatest gamblers extant. Walpole noted that he did not shine in a debate on "The Thirty-Nine Articles," and added: "It could not be wondered at." He had played hazard at Almack's from Tuesday evening till Wednesday afternoon. At four o'clock that afternoon he recovered £12,000 which he had lost. Unfortunately, by his five o'clock dinner he had again lost £11,000. On the Thursday he spoke in the "Thirty-Nine Articles" debate, dined at half-past 11 p.m.; he then went to "White's?" where he drank till seven the next morning, from there to Almack's, where he won .£6,000, and the same afternoon set out for l Newmarket. Two nights after, his brother lost ,£II,OOO, and three nights! after Charles lost making a total of the two ihrothers' losses in three nights iof £32,000!

Defence Against Evil Spirits.

The Chinese believe that evil spirits are able to move only in straight lines, and that they cannot penetrate through solid matter; therefore, the problem- of keeping them out of a dwelling- or garden seems to them a simple matter. On passing through the entrance of the ordinary middleclass home in China, it is necessary to turn to the right or left because of a fixed screen, the purpose of which is to keep evil spirits out. Likewise, just at the back of the entrance to a walled garden, may sometimes be found another wall erected for the same purpose.

A Unique Church.

The Church of St. Michel D'Aiguille, at Le Puy, a small town in Central France, may lay claim, without fear of contradiction, to a position which is absolutely unique. Its position on the narrow rock is little short of marvellous, and when we mention that the rock is some 300 feet high, the situation of this unique building appears even more precarious. The church is one of great antiquity, however, and has withstood the ravages of wind and rain for ten centuries. This forms an additional feature of interest, a»d is more than sufficient guarantee as to its stability, Le Puy is off the beaten track of tourists and globe-trotters, so the church is not so widely known as it deserves to be. Those who have seen it, however, have been greatly impressed, and are unanimous in agreeing that it is one of the "sights" of Europe. It has a fitting companion close by in the shape of a rockl pf similar proportions, but this one is surmounted by a statue of the Virgin Mary.

Aden's Primitive Bathrooms.

Aden is a primitive place. Drinking and bathing water is drawn from the sea, condensed, and delivered to residents in waggons at one halfpenny a gallon. There is no plumbing, and modern bathroom fittings are conspicuous by their absence. Wash-tubs are used for bathing purposes, and for shower-baths an ordinary tin bucket with a sprinkler soldered in the bottom and suspended from the ceiling is used. Thus a shower arrangement. costs only fivepence. How soon these conditions will change for the better cannot be definitely stated. The authorities have considered the advisibility of piping "water into Aden from Lahej, about thirty miles distant, but have come to no decision in the matter as yet.

A thought that is not the soul of an action is valueless.