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Colonist, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 8265, 4 June 1895, Page 2

An Eabtii quake.— About two o'clock yesterday a somewhat prolonged and sharp earthquake Bhock was experienced in Nelson, and though it wa^ not sufficiently severe to overturn ar.icles or do a->y mischitf, it nevertheless occasioned a> feeling of uneasiness. Foresters' Social.—A Foresters' social will be held in the Hall on Wednesday evening next, from eight to ten o'clock. Winter Evening Debating Society.— At the meeting of this Sooiety, 10 be beld at ihe Bishop's School this evening, the subject of debate will be opened in the affirmative — That Co-operation is the best solution of the evils arising from the antagonism between Labor and Capital. Waimia County Council Election.—The election of a Counoilor for tae Wangamoa Biding will take plaoe to-monow. Messrs W. Wastney ani A. G. Deacke are the two candidates, and it ia desirable tbat all who possibly oan do so should vote. The Colleges. —The tejond term of ihe year commences at both the Boys' College and the Girls' College to-morrow. The School of Mu3ic.—ln connection with this Sohool, it may be mentioned that a new term commences to-morrow, so tbat a convenient opportunity presents itsaif for new members to join. Becovebing. —Many friends will ba glad to learn that Mr E. H. Donkin, who had his leg badiy crushed Eomedme back, has so fur recovered that he waa yesterday abla to viait town, baing driven down by a frund. 'Ihe inju;edlegis now, we are pies d to karu. progressing in a very satißfac:ory manner. Tbinity Chdbch Obgan. —The pipe organ for the Preßbyt;r:an Oburch was landed yesterday from the Mahioapua, and haa been placed in theOhuroh ready tor erect 03. Mr Taylor, foremaa for Meaers Fincham and Bobday, the makers, has a!ao arrve', and will proceed with thd erection of the organ, and Mr Hobday is expected to arrive shortly. We purjoae giving full partiauiara cf the iostmment when the work of placing it in position bas been completed. Testimonial to a Fibbuan. —There :s now on view in the window of Messrs J. E. Bounsell and Co, a very handsome illuminated address from tbe members of the Nekon Fire Brigade to ex-firemin and treasurer, Alex. Roberts jd, who has removed to Wellington. The addres3 ia the handiwork of Mr P. TopliSß, and is a beatiful Epedmen of tbe art. A number of small views of local scenery in the margin are very effeouva, and will assuredly give a pirtiou ar charm to the addreßß in the mid of the podse.sor. A Choir Social. —This evening under the management of the members of All h'aiot'a Church Choir, a social gathering wi 1 be held in the Schoolroom, ihe object being to raise the ba'ance of ihe cost of ihe organ stops lately obtaned. La,3t evening buiy hands were at work adorning the room, and in addition to musio, including some glees, objects of interest will, we hear, be placed fur iuapeotion, and otherwise every effort will be made to ensure a pleaß%nt too al evening. Refreshments will also be provided without extra cost. Gsistih and Sons, Limited.—At a meeting of the Provisional Directors of this Company, held last evening, the 5010 shares applied for were allotted, and it was agreed that the fint meeting of shareholders should be hold on Monday, the 17th Jane. Mr Griffin, the manager, was authorised to employ what labor he required, the Provisional Directors resolving tbat business Bhould be started at once. To Sir Robfeft Stout is due the honor of having brought Mr Poynton, r^oentiy appointed to Otago, from a digger's hat on the West Coast to the position of magistraoy. Sir Robert found him on one of his visits to the Coa&t, and seeing in him a man of much promise, be helped him to the top of the tree. Two station-owners in the Nor.h were disousaing overdrafts. " I have to call ar,d see Elloedee, the bjnk manager, to-day," remarked one of them, " and I hate the thought of it. IVi my firat visit." " PojL !" said the other, "its nothing man: you'll soon get over it Ihe first time I interviewed my banker for £10,000 I fairly Bhook, and approached him with hat in hand acd deferential mien. About tbe seoond £10,000 I felt less delicacy, and now that I have get up to my limit, £60,000,1 just walk in wilh my hat on, I Bmoke my cigar, put my feet on the iable, and spit en his carpet. You'll do the same, old man, when the incubus gets a bit heavier." Messrs John Hammond and Co., of Manchester and Enderley Mills, Newcastle, England, contractors to her Majesty's Government, have obtained the oomraot for the supply of un form clothing to the poutal eervioe for. Great Britain. This contract, amounting to over £300,000, is given for three years. A queeb story comes from Syd.ey, and it reads like tbe tales we v ed to haar some five years ago anent the great American bioycle road teoord makers, who usually managed to Blip on a train unknown to all timekeeper?, and get home in unprecedentedly short times. The dodge lenksd out, however. In Sydney it appears that during a olub road raoe one man reached the winning point a long way ahead of the others, wbb pot down sb the winner, and warmly congratulated on his performance. Laier on the scratch men came in, and when they were told the winner's name, said they had passed him a way back, and he had not repasßed them. Finally it was discovered the plaood man had taken a ehort out. He was disqualified. It will interest many in oar oommaniy to know (says tbe ' Otago Daily Times') tbat Mr G. Bills, of George etreet, has now on view in his shop the only known sp.cimen there ia of a blaok penguin. Some yetrs ago a blaok peognin waß included among tne specimens in the Otago Museum, but it wbb secured by Sir Walter Buller and taken by him to England, and, unfortunately, lost while Sir Walter waa returning to the Colony. The latest oanard circulated by the Conservative organß is to the effect (Bays a contemporary) that the Governments intends to prorogue Parliament nntil the retnrn of th« Colonial Treasurer. Toe item wbb nursed, fondled, and made muoh of until the Government considered it had reaohed such dimensions as to necessitate a denial, which immediately exploded the babble. A local journal had endeavored to perpetuate the lie, and we hear that the illness of the Boa John MoKenzie is most opportune at the present juncture. If we remember rightly a similar remark was made by the Bame print when tbe late Mr BaUacoe oomplained of what proved to be a moital illness.

Out of the seventeen existing TransAtlantio c*bles, it is said that only seven are iii use, tan having been destroyed through various OiUßflPt luf, human hair Bimetimea exhibits some remark ib'o fr aka. Dr Bartholin gives an instates of a child born with one-half of its head covered with whi c b&ir Bud the other ba'f with black ; and another cuß9 ia known of z girl in wbiah the hair wr? blaok and red. Bbooklyh has now an institution of which no otber Acne ican cry can boast— ao'rou 1 lating library for the blini. It comprises only 600 volumes, but tben ft blind mm's boob is at hast ten timea as bnlky as its oount rpart in ltt'erpres?, and far more than ten times as costly. Princess Helens of Orleans, may after all be married at Stowe House. Buoka. The prinoeaß ia rcgirdel as one of the loveliest women in fiur jpei She possesses a wealth of golden-br jwn hair; with dark blue eyes, black eyelrowa, and Jong tlaok eyelashes. She is very tal and a pplendid fi^aro. Her affianced hatband, the Dake of Aosta, a nephew of the K<ng of Italy, is alao described as being remarkib y handsome. A beautiful scene was witnessed daring the recent frost ia England over an acqueduct over wbiah a oanal runs. 7ha overflow of the canal drop 3 a d stance of 120 ft into thd water bolo», aid during the iatense frost this w&ler gradually became a frozen mass, and formed a pillar of enowy whiteness. When the Bun shone brightly the eoene waa an exquisite one. Signob Manuel Gabcia, one cf the teaohera of Jenny Lind, and stil a busy professor at the Royal Academy of Music, attained the age of 90 years on March 17. Sib Chablts and Lady Halle propose to go to t ie C pc for a professional trip in Jjly. It is not very often a inus ci in of 7G oates t j st.irt upon soon, a journey, but Sir Charle3 bca.s his years lightly. London is the largest city on the earth with a population of 1,231,431, Paris stands h it with 2,447,957, New York third with 1,800,739. Next follow Canton, Berlin, Tokio, and Vienna in the order earned. A handsome stained-glass window bas recently been erected in St Panl'a Cburch, Cjbbitiy, Sydney, in memory of the late Sir Chailes Copper, who was for 30 jeirs one of the churchwardens of the church. Padebewski, the famous pianist, on arriving at Cliftoo, we ltarn from the • Bristol Me oury,' received a letter asking him whether hi* time would allow him to " play one piece during the afternoon " to an invalid lady whose health precluded her from going to any crowded conoert room, and offering half a guinea reward. The pianist appointed a meeting at his hotel, and after playing several bolos, bid the lady, who slipped the promised half guinea into his band, goodbye. " I really think," said the virtuoso, " that I bhall be able to get to the next town without it," and the proferred fee wa3 returned. The most prosperous tin mine in England is the Dolooath mine in Cornwall. Tbe balance sheet for the March quarter showed ■hat during the quarter the mine has been worked at a loss of £5,100 16s 9d. Yet tbe shareholders were informed that the " lord " had, for the third time, refued to remit any of his dues, which at the rate of oneeighteenth of the gross produoe of th 3 mine, amounted to £797 16s 7d. Outsiders think that in this matter Mr Basset, the " lord " in question, can well afford to be generoua. On ihe last renewal of the lease, eleven years ago, he was paid a renewal fee of £25,000, while his later profits have amounted to £89,000. Three of the pupils of an Essenden Sun-day-schcol were ins purab'e, bo when only two appeared lately the lady teaoh*-r naturally a3ked, " Where ig Charles to-day ?" • He's gone fiahin 1 , mum, to tbe Saltwater river," was tbe rep'y. " Someone told him that the bresm was biiin'." " But," said the teacher, "didy.ULot try to stop him; did you not reprove him in any way ? Did you say nothing at all to him ?" " No, we didn't say nothiu 1 , bnt we tried to Btop him fishm'." " In what way, William?" the t aaher aekej. " Well, mum, we soeakedhis bait. There was intense exoitement in the Paris Correctional Court recently, when a woman who bad been arraigned, named Augustine Richard, suddenly drew a pistol from her pocket, and fired point blank at the Judge. Apparently the weapon had only contained powder, for no trace of any bullet could Ba found, and no one was injured. It seems that the unfortunate prisoner, whose mind is paid to be affeoted, had a personal grievance against the Judge, M. Schaeffer, who had presided when the woman lost two law suits, ishe thereupon pestered him with letters of abuse, and her indignation at what she considered her unjust treatment lei her to discharge the pistol in front of the Bench. She was brought before an examining magistrate and remanded to an infirmary, while direotions were given for her to be examined by a medical man, who will report as to her sanity. The smallest book in the world ia sorely a volume printed in Hollatd in 1674. It contains 49 tagea, and on its title page it bears the inoription, " Bloem Hofja door, O. van L. Gedruckt by B. Schmidt " (" The Oonrt of F:owers," by C. Van L. Printed by B. Sohmidi). The volume ia superbly bound in calf, tooled, ornamented on back and sides, and it U closed by a clasp of gold filagree, solid, but of exquisitely delicate workmanship. It opens co as to diaplay the text to advantage, and is in every way a highly finished book as much as any tall folio. But is ia not so large. If it ware laid upon a penny postage stamp it would cover a quarter of it. If three other similar volumes could be found the four together would just cover the penny Etarnp, This would not be so wonderful if the book were not an admirable specimen of the printer's and bookbindex'a art.