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Star (Christchurch), Issue 6122, 8 March 1898, Page 3

Christchurch Gymnastic Club. — Tht Christchurch Gymnastic Club, which had a successful season last year, will shortlj commence the coming winter season Already there are about a hundred candidates for election as active members, and s meeting of the general committee will be held shortly to make arrangements. Picnic. — The annual picnic in connection with St John's Sunday School was held in the Richmond Domain on Saturday. About 200 children were present with their teachers, and they thoroughly enjoyed their day's outing. The City and Suburban Tramway Company carried the children there ar<l back free, and received a hearty vote <•■• thanks from the children before the par, y broke up. There is a common belief in India thai the Indian oriole lights his hanging nest with fireflies. It is said the bird catches the insects and fastens them head first in a bit of moist clay. Naturalists have found the insects thus imprisoned. Tattooing among ladies is held in higher esteem abroad than in England. Queen Olga of Greece has an anchor tattooed on her shoulder, as a token of her affectiou for her father, the late Grand Duke Constantino of Russia ; and Princess "Waldemar of Denmark wife of the sailor son oi King Christian, is also marked in. lik< fashion with the addition of a crown Princess Chimay's tattoo mark is an mi tial C below a crown. According to recent statistics concerning the populations of towns from 1800 to 1890 it appears that during that period thi population has been doubled at Amster dam, Birmingham, Brussels, Manchester and Rome. It has increased threefold a Copenhagen and Marseilles; fourfold a Prague, Lyons, St Petersburg, Paris an( London; fivefold at Dresden, Cologne Breslau, Hamburg, and Vienna ; sixfolc a ! Le < c . ds ' L^ e rpool, and Warsaw ; sevenf ol< &t , ,? -t ld - and Glasgow ; eightfol< at Munich; ninefold at Leipzig, Buda pest and Berlin; aud tenfold a Baltimore.