FACTS AND FANCIES.

Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette, 17 February 1915, Page 7

FACTS AND FANCIES.

Sealed Orders.

Sealed Orders in the Navy are orders given to the commanding offeer of a ship or a squadron sealed up and only to be opened at sea at a certain specified point—usually a certain distance ont from shore or in a designated latitude and longitude. The object of sealed orders is to preserve secrecy, and to prevent any hint of .a ship's orders or destination leaking out until she is well at sea. The orders may be sent direct from - the Admirality, or may be given by a senior officer.

If You Want to be Lucky— Never spill salt. Don't cross your knives. Don't walk under a ladder. Don't break a looking-glass. Don't put your shoes on the table. Don't turn back when you have once left a room, or started on a journey. Don't look at the moon over your left shoulder, or through glass, when

it is new

Don't wear green, and Don't pick up your own umbrella should you chance to let it fall.

Declaration of War.

Formal declaration of war between one country and another are becoming almost the exception nowadays, owing, to the necessity of moving quickly and hiding the movements of the armies and navies concerned. In fact, during the last century sixty wars were begun without any formal declaration at all. The Great Powers agreed, at the Hague Conference of 1907, that a warning ought to be given of the opening of hostilities, either by actual declaration of war or by an ultimatum giving a certain time for answer, as was the case with Great Britain and Germany. What Jack's Larder is Like. The following are the amount of provisions carried on board a man-o'-war with a crew of just un9er 800 men: Fresh meat, 1 ton; fresh vegetables, 2 tons; salt pork, 9201b.; flour, 45 tons; biscuits, 1 ton; 'preserved meat, 3f tons ; tinned salmon. J ton : tinned rabbit, 14181b ; pickles, l£ ton, suet, 3401b. ; split peas, £ ton; dried beans and peas, l£ ton ; celery, seeds, 531b. ; condensed milk, 51- tons; sugar, 20 tons, tea 1| tons; coffee % ton; drinking chocolate. 2? ton; jam, 1£ ton; raisins, \ ton; rice -| ton; mustard 3251b.; pepper, 2501b. ; salt, l£ ton; vinegar, 150 gallon's ; rum, 1236 gallons; soap 6J tons; tobacco, 2 tons.

An Important British Possession.

The Island of Malta, in the Mediterranean, holds a most important position as a point of call for vessels between England, on the one hand and Australasia and the East on the othet, because it is just half-way-between Port Said, at the Mediterranean terminas of the Suez Canal, and Gibraltar, at the west entrance of that sea ,• and this last fortified rock and this strongly-fortified island are our only possessions in its waters except Cyprus at their eastern end, which we have occupied since 1878, as a guarantee for peace and safety. They were not Maltese whom the British force be"seiged in 1800, but 3000 French soldiers, whom Napoleon Bonaparte 1., perceiving the value of the situation, had left in possession when he sailed forward to endeavour to establish the power of France at the eastern end of the Mediterranean. The French garrison were allowed by the British commanders to march out with all the honors of war, the defeated officers still wearing their swords.

Prisoner Free Until He Runs.

Allowing freedom to a prisoner in walking and performing ordinary work, a shackle for use in penal institutions where convicts are sent out to work on roads or farms will lock a man's leg, throw him, and make it practically impossble for him to escape when he attempts to run, -says an American.magazine. The device consists of a bar which extends from the waist to the ankle and is joined at the hip and knee in order to allow use of the limb. At the knee, however, is a catch lock which will snap whenever the limb is swung as in running position. When a prisoner is placed in a chair the lock catches at 45 deg., eliminating the danger of his jumping from a. moving train or escape through a court-room window. The bar is made of hardened steel, which resists filing. Notches at the waistline and ankle allow the shackles to be fitted to a man of any size. By its use one officer can guard a number of prisoners without fear of escapes.

The Thorn in the Flesh.

The nature of the "thorn in the HesE" which afflicted St. Paul has long been a subject of speculation. The late Lord Lister's explanation of the cryptic phrase is among the most valuable, for, according to Sir Rickman Godlee, he maintained thai, it was neither a wife nor weakness of eyesight, but an impediment in the speech. It has been pretty generally held that the thorn of affliction in the frail hody of St. Paul was a nervous disorder. Thus Lightfoot, in his commentary on Galatians, is of opinion that the apostle suffered from .some trouble akin to epilepsy, but not involving loss of consciousness. In Corinthians St. Paul writes: "Lest I shall be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan t6 buffet me, lest I «hould be exalted above measure.' This thorn was, of course, according to the general opinion, the nervous disorder.