ENGLISH CLIPPINGS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 2749, 16 July 1883, Page 3

ENGLISH CLIPPINGS.

•.; A national exhibition of railway appliance* will bo held m Chicago on June 12th-23rd, m the Interstate Exposition Buildingßj one gallery of whiob. isonej

third of a mile long. Railway tracks arc to be laid at this building to accommodate cars and locomotives. There will be also an exhibition of an electric railway. The building was opened for the reception of articles on May Ist. The exhibits will include locomotives, cars, running gear, interior furnishings for passenger cars, all sorts of freight car appliances, machinery for manufacturing railroad equipments, all kinds of track goods, station and depot appliances — m short, everything which goe3 to make up a thoroughly equipped railroad. One of the interesting incidental attractions will be an original locomotive engine built by George Steplienaon, which has been lent by the British Government. The managers think that they have found the man who first ran a locomotive engine m this country. M. de Lesseps was recently interviewed upon the question of digging a rival Suez Canal. In the course of his remarks he said : — " Whatever prico may be quoted for the shares is a matter of inj difference to me. I was as confident m the future of the enterprise when the price ruled at 300fr as when it ruled at 30C0fr. There is no divergency of opinion between the British Government and myself. We both agree that the existing canal must be widened. Those who have any notion of geography know the Gulf of Pelusium, whioh has but one thalweg— viz., the ono which wo occupy. In order to dig a canal on the right it would be necessary to upset the whole irrigation of Egypt; while on the left no such thing can even be thought of, owing to tho downs. If lam not competent to judge m tho matter I should like to know who is. I have not, however, to defend myself, for nobody attacks me. The transit duties are not equal to 1 per cent on the value of the goods, whereas commerco realises a saving of 2 per cent m the amount of insurance charges. I trouble myself as little about tho matter as Englishmen would were a number of French merchants to request a reduction m the tariff of the South-Eastern Railway." The gossip of Washington points to the approaching departure of tho "Flower of all China," the young Chin Chi Yung, for Europe on a diplomatic mission to the Court of St. James, the Celestial Government being just now occupied with the comparative diplomacy of the different countries of tho world, by nil of which China expects ere long to be proclaimed sovereign lord and master. "Mr Chin," for so the young hero is called by the ladies of Washington, is Jesoribed as a Indy-killor of the first wator. "Ono of the Rreatest masters of lirtation I ever met with !" exclaimed a poung lady by whose side he had seated limself at one of the balls at the White House. Mr Chin's complaint that it was ;he thickness of his soles alone which :ompelled him to inaction while the rest if tho company whisked around the room was capped with the observation, " But it s not only the Boles of my feet that are 3xed ; it is the soul of my body that is chained to your side." This speech displays not only his gallantry but his knowledge of English, which he has acquired mostly from the fast young men of New Fork. "Mr Chin," unlike his countrymen m general, refuses to don the European costume, but wears tho " full Chinese "m all its glory. He wears garments of blue and yellow satin gorgeous to behold. He wears the junk shoeß jt black satin with soles of white felt three inches thick, and invariably folds his hands beneath his loose-hanging sleeves (always lined with bright-coloured satin) whenever ho talks to the ladies. Mr Chin has the brightest and most intelligent countenance it is possible to sec His eyes are black, and, although almond shaped, very bright and sparkling, and when he smiles ho displays el set of teeth which put those of tho American beauties to shame, and they frequently suggest the idea of bringing over a Chinese dontist to repair the damage caused m their own ratelitrs by the climate, according to their own account, but ascribed unjustly to the exaggerated consumption of the sweets and acids m which they indulge. The ambassador, Mr Chin's uncle, is a fat, easygoing Chinaman, seemingly indifferent to all that is going on around him, and yot never losing a single item of the proceedings. His nephew is called upon to interpret the pretty sayings of the ladies, and it is quite delightful to behold the mighty Chang Tsao Ju, reported as grave as a patriarch at the Council Board, shake his fat sides with laughter at the little coaxing speeches and cunning compliments addressed to him, which he knows very well are put out to interest, as it were, and expected to bring m big profits m the way of ivory fans and jewelled hairpins or cedar-wood boxes. The wide-spread unwillingness on tho part of the travelling public to be burned to death has led to a general demand that hotel landlords should provide their guests with means of escape from tho upper rooms m case of fire. As is well known, all travellers are obliged to sleep m these upper rooms, for not within the memory of man has an hotel clerk had a vacant room on the first floor or second floor to place at the disposal of a guest. It would be very interesting to know who are the people to take possession of the lower rooms of every hotel some days before it is opened, and who never m any circumstances leave thoir rooms vacant. These people evidently constitute a distinct class, differing widely m habits and pursuits from the rest of mankind. In all probability they spend their entire time m their rooms', and it is for this reason that no casual traveller, _ when climbing up into his lofty room m the sixth storey, ever meets them and relieves his mind with a scowl. This, however, is neither the time nor the_ place for an exhaustive scientific inquiry into the origin and nature of the perpetual ocoupants of first-floor rooms. With a view to enabling their guests to sleep m comparative peace, hotel landlords — and especially those of the Western hotels— have latterly provided every room with a stout rope, long enough to reach from the window to the ground.' Tho guest ib shown this rope when he enters this room, and it is supposed to inspire him with the hope of avoiding death by fire. At first this plan of placating the occupants of the upper rooms was eminently successful, Ehttt now it appears that m the estimate of hotel landlords it is a failure. It has occurred" to wicked and impecunious travellers that a rope which can be safely descended when an hotel is on fire can be descended with at least equal success m the quiet of the night when there is no fire, and when there are no persons pre•sent to witness the feat. Accordingly travellers of the class last mentioned have formed the habit' of quitting their hotels by the rope,, leaving their bills unpaid. Any man. who watches the outside of a Western Hotel m the small hours of the night is sure to perceive two or three travellers cautiously descending from the upper .windows by means of ropes, and afterward* walking briskly towards the railway station. Naturally this sort of thing fails to meet the views of the landlords, but they dare not .deprive their guests of ropes, for few travellers are bold enough to risk death by burning m a room totally unprovided with any T fire escape. The remedy is, however, \a simple one. Let the landlords provide ropes about 20ft too short to reach from a window to the ground. In case t of fire' the guests can descend these ropes and drop safely to. the arms of firemen, while the wicked traveller who tries to use this rope for illicit purposes will be compelled

m tin p 20ft into the open mouths of ImliiJogs or upon the side-walk — m the latter case infallibly breaking his log. Simple as thia plan i.», it lias not yet occurred to the Western landlord's mind, lint now that it has been generally suggested to him, he can batdly fail to see it to his own great profit, and the total discomfiture of the wicked.