BRIEF MENTION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10092, 4 March 1911, Page 1

BRIEF MENTION.

The dew that is annually condensed on the surface of England is equal to five inches of rain. The world's 'greatest liner will carry twenty-five tons of potatoes and 10,000 bottles of ale and stout. Pupils of the Grimsby (England) South Parade Council schools, whose average number is 600, have deposited £4OOO in the Hull Savings Bank since 1902. Playing cards were first introduced into England at Christmas, 1463, and King Edward 111. played the first game ? it is said, wearing his crown at the time. During the election of the alderman to assist the new Lord Mayor of Lon* don, anyone who is found in the build ing in which the ceremony takes placM who is not a Liveryman is liable to imprisonment. ' - • New York will shortly posters the largest hotel in the world, built at ah outlay of nearly £3,000,000. and intend' ed for commercial men. It. is planned to have 1600 rooms and 1000 baths, and the structure is to be twenty-five storey* high. The last great organised crusade foi the prevention of a disease,in Kngland, prior to the- recent war against raia, was in 1896-1897, when, in order to stamp out hydrophobia, more than 70,000 stray, diseased and ownerlass dogs wdre seized and painlessly put td death. Extracts from, old records givesoitte curious reasons for bestowing the honour of the freedom of the city of Canterbury. One citiaen received the freedom for " undertaking to servo as cook at every mayor's Michaelmas another ''because he cured Nicholas Johnson's leg," and a third " because N he married a widow with a large family." . In the Prussian town of Rappin, in the province oj' Brandenburg, there is an official the overlapping of whose duties has recently produced a remarkable complication. In one capacity he is inspector of butchers' meat, and in another he has occasionally to place the official j seal on marriage certificates. On one occasion he used the wrong stamp, and instead of sealing the nuptial contract, he certified that ' the spouses were—free from trichinosis. The High Court of Berlin has had to be set in motion to rectify the error. The record price for the square inch of paint in the English saleroom probably rests with Meiasonier, whose " Napoleon I. at the Campaign of Paris " was sold in 1882 for the benefit of St George's Museum at Sheffield. The picture measured 12jin by 9iin, and realised £55 per square inch. The " Three Graces," by Raphael, was sold privately by the Earl of Bnidley for £25,000. As the picture is only 6|in square, its measurement value most be put down at jthe colossal figure* of £555 per square inch.—"Lady's Realm. " l . .

On the south" bank of the Thames where they are digging the foundations ' of the new home of the London County Council, some timbers have beep.- unearthed ■ ' sodden into the consistency of' black cheese." They twenty feet below the modern and at the • bottom"''6r"'s&Ven feet of solid mud, the deposit of aces, and below them, wonderful to relate, was, a hed of silver sand. The timbers clearly formed part of a genuine Roman boat—the one carvel built Roman boat ever found in' Britain. Only dugouts ,h&ve been found before. When a Japanese appeared to prdsecute in a case of theft at tie-Thames Police Court, some considerable difficulty arose as to putting him on'oath. The Magistrate asked hrm if he would be sworn by the' breaking of a plate or ' the burning of a candle.*" The man decided to be sworn by the candle me- - thod. A candle was brought into' Court and remained alight on the edge of the witness-box while the oath was- administered, the idea with Orientals being - that, as the candle is snuffed out, so will their souls be snuffed out if they do not tell the truth.

An action tried at Debreczin, Hungary, turned on the slimness of the ankles of Mdlle Szilasi, a prima donna. She had herself photographed in cpsi tunie, but refused to pay for the' pictures when ready, on 1 the ground- that her ankles were made to appear less elegant than Nature had made them. The photographer thereupon brought an action. By order of the .Judge the lady's ankles were measured ana coinpared with the pictures by photdgraphio experts. Their evidence wft« to the effect that photographs cannot lie, and the prima donna was Ordered to-pay. ' : "'.' Prince Louis of Battenberg, who is being spoken of as a future Sea Lord of the Admiralty, is .one of our ablest Admirals, _ and good judges > declare* that his rapid rise in the profession has not been m'-any, degree due to' his lexalted rank.. There was a time in his career, however, when he began to think he* would never be 'a success in the Navy. He loved the life and worked hard from the day he entered, but his almost total ignorance of the English language was such a serious handicap that he determined to give up the idea" of a naval career. The late King Edward, however, who was then Prince> of Wales, persuaded him to give the Navy a further trial. In connection with the preparations for the Coronation, a special pile carpet for the.nave of Westminster Abbey is being made by a Glasgow firm. The foundation colour will be royal blue, and the ornamentation will include emblems of the Order of the Garter arid other heraldic devices. The pattern is on such a large scale that the design is repeated or matched only once in every six and a half yards. At the previous Coronation special Chippendale chairs with rush seats were used, amf small chairs and narrow stools of xm polished beech were supplied in ham dreds. Next June polished. chairs witt, seats upholstered in silk. will be used* Forty years ago, the first' balloon during the siege of Paris made its as-< cent. On September 23, 1870, the Neptune, manned by Durnof, landed far from the enemy's lines. The success of this experiment led to the establishment of a balloon postal service every other day, by which more than 3000 . letters were got out of the besieged city, and gave news of the sufferings of the citizens. Of sixty-four balloons which were sent up, only five fell into the hands of- the enemy. Two perished in the sea. Some years ago, it may be recalled, the services of tne balloonists were commemorated by, a monument by Bartholdi-, at the Porte de Neuilly. . •",••■

Uncovering the head to show respect is a Western custom; .in the East it is covered, and the feet uncovered. The Jews in the synagpgue wear their hats. This reveals the secret why a Turk cannot wear a hat; for, as the Turk prays with his head covered, and as in some parts of the prayer he must bring his forehead to the ground, the rim of the hat would prevent him. The turban docs not, for it yields. "When the late Sultan Mahmoud introduced his innovation into the dresses of th« army and officials of his empire, he substituted the tarboosh for the turban. The tarboosh is a cylindrical cap, like a little barrel, without a rimj m other words, the inside of a turban ; for the turban is merely the tarboosh with a wrapper of cloth rwnd £L