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Star (Christchurch), Issue 5961, 28 August 1897, Page 5

A lady while visiting an English Beaß.de [ resort was struck with, tho urbanity of a local bank manager, and has just died, leaving him .£30,000. A decidedly novel decision has been come to on the subject of toothache by the Post Office authorities at Gonova. The clerks employed have beon for some time giving this as an excuse for their absonco. At all events, the superintendent has ordered that tho people who have toothache must have their teeth taken out rather than that the working of the department should suffer. Thiß is a drastic remedy, indeed, and will no doubt have the desired effect. No Western imagination can easily conceive an idea of the splendour with which the Eusßian rulers are habitually surrounded. Chairs and tables of solid silver, ivory thrones ablaze with brilliants and sapphires, walls of amber, and floors of mother-o£-pearl — these things sound like an Eastern fable, but the Czar has them all. At Moscow, in the great palace within the sacred Kremlin walla, there are not only crowns, orbs, and sceptres covered with diamonds, but also saddles, stirrups, and sets of harness covered with similar gems. There are hundreds of swords, daggers, and scimitars the sheaths of whioh are literally masses of pearls, rubles, and turquoises. Bare tapestries, marvellous china from Sevres and Japan, flawless gems from Asia, priceless antique MSS and ■jewelled book-covers — these are a few of the objects scattered about the Czar's twelve palaces with a Royal prodigality.