CURRENT TOPICS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4575, 21 February 1893, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

A. London contemporary says :— One-of the numerous victims of the recent journalistic gambling craze was, it appears, a young man who held a curacy in a westcountry village. Being anxious to raise a sum of money with a view to establishing a home and taking unto himself a wife, he devoted himself to discovering missing words, and, under an assumed name, succeeded in winning a considerable num. Not content with this he took a holiday, went out to Monte Carlo, staked his winnings on the table, lost all, and was found in a deplorable condition by his friends in one of the hotels unable to pay his bill.

A lady of small independent means, residing at Ashford, England, has been informed that the handsome sum of £150,000 has been bequeathed to her for a small act of kindness. It appears that in the spring of 1888 an old gentleman journeyed from one of the midland counties to London for the express purpose of witnessing the arrivals at one of the drawingrooms at Buckingham Palace, and at an early hour took tip his position near the ! main entrance to the Palace. After several ! hdurs . of deeply interested watching he became giddy and faint. Seeing him stagger, the crowd shouted rudely that he %wks drurlk; The lady> however, saw that ha was'ill, and helped him through the, crowd to a Seat in the park close by, and sent for 'water for him. He soon recovered; and, as Bhe wished him good-bye, asked her name. She gave him her card, and heard no more until she received the communication that he had made her his heiress.

The Premier of Victoria received a telegram from Sir John Downer the Premier of South Australia drawing attention to the cable message, stating that 400 refugee Bussian Jews are to be shipped to Australia, and that more were to follow. He asked Mr Patterson what action the Victorian Government intended taking. The Premier brought the matter under the notice of the Cabinet, and it waß decided to reply intimating that the Ministry thought that more authentio and precise information should be received before Any definite action could be determined on. At the same time the Cabinet quite agreed with the suggestion of Sir John Downer, that any aotion on the part of the colonies to stop the immigration of these refugees should be united. Mr Patterson is prepared to act promptly in conjunction with the other Premiers to prevent these persona landing. A Hairdressers' Exhibition was opened in "Vienna the other day, when a hair- j dressing competition took plaoe. While gay music was played by a military band, twelve pretty girls walked in and eat down upon a raised platform, and twelve hairdressers set to work upon their fine heads of blonde, chestnut and black hair. In a quarter of an hour the twelve girls each had an elaborate coiffure with which they could go to any ball. The young men bowed and disappeared. The prize coiffure of the season is what is called an " Alsatian head." The chief feature is a largo bow. The head lookß small, and the forehead is adorned with ringlets on either side, whilst the middle is brushed back straight. The coiffure, it is said, is very becoming, and has none of the exaggerations which have pleased us in latter years.

In the town of Sfc Louis, Missouri, the postal authorities have started as an experiment a special tram-car, which runs on an eleotrioal line belonging to a tramway company, and collects and distributes letters and parcels en route. At ten or a dozen places along the line of five miles in length there are messengers stationed, who put new postal matter on board the car, and then receive from the carmen the letters and packages whioh are to be taken to private addresses. All the loss of time involved in carrying letters to a central sorting office is avoided,, because they are sorted in the car itself. Thus, on a recent occasion, twenty-five minuteo waa all that elapued between, the posting and receiving of a letter— a performance whioh certainly establishes a "record," a3 few telegrams 0 ver go taster, or as f a3t.