HERE AND THERE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16307, 23 December 1920, Page 6

HERE AND THERE.

WHERE-GIRLS EXCEIa ' ' Some tests -of hundreds of boys and girls between tho ages of eleven and • fourteeiurecontly disclosed these interesting results. ' • , Tho memories of the hoys np to ten yoars of age was infinitely better than those of tlio girls; after ten tlie - girls leaped ahead. Then, at fourteen, tho hoys excelled tho girls again. The. girls were found by a largo majority to have truor ideas of colours than the boys. . Inaccuracies were, by a largo majority, more prevalent among tho girls than the boys. The moment an occurrence touched a. girl’s personal interests, she at once began to exaggerate; a boy immediately became silent or noncommittal. V PHILADELPHIA’S BELL. p -I 1 , 1 the famous Liberty Kell in 1 Inladclphia rang out for the last time. Sixty years before, it had proclaimed “liberty to all the world,” but for eightv-Jivc years it has been wlent. A scheme is now oh foot to mend the wounded hell, and repair tho crack which developed in it so mauv years ago. The proposal has been pub forward by Mr D. H. Wilson, iho New \ork engineer who, with his electric welding needle, quickly repaired the damaged machinery on tho German merchant ships, though it was. confidently assorted by (ho Germans whe wrecked tho engines, that it would take at least a year to pub them iu order again. Tho crack in tho bell has, however, become part of it, and its restoration seems to many Americans almost bko sacrilege. Mr Wilson, however, declares that it is perfectly possible to carp the Liberty Bell, and make it ring again as it used te ring in the earlier days of the Republic. It was first bung i of tho State House, in Philadelphia; iu tho summer of 1753. UNDER THE TABLE. Wlmn King Goongo first met a, L nmo. Minister it was when lie was quite a child. In fact, it was in Ids nursery days, and Queen Victoria, Mr Gladstone, and a party of distinguished guests wore pitting round a table in the drawing-room, discussing weighty 'Ofittors. All went smoothlr till Mr Gladstone_ suddenly, felt somethin obrush against his foot. “Heavens above us, madam!”, exclaimed Gladstone, “ there is someone under the table overhearing our conversation!” Ho bent down and dragged out the miscreant, who proved to be a small hoy, trying to hide his face in his hands. The Queen burst out laughing, and said, “It’s of no consequence, Mr Gladstone—ho is my grandson, George 1” The future King had been’ up to some mischief in tho drawingroom when ho had heard the party approaching, and in order to escape punishment had hidden under tho table. V “ SPOONERISMS.”- . “ Spoonerism,” those famous lapsus lingme specialised in by tho lato Dr i Spooner, always amuse mo. An excellent example of a slip of tho tongue is that concerning tho text, “Tho, cock crew and Peter went out.” Ono disciple of Spooner rendered it thusly,: “ Peter coxed, and tho crew went out and wept bitterly.” Perhaps tho nicest story of all is that of an occasion when, at a railway station a Spoonerito is said to have given his wife sixpence and to have kissed tho porter for carrying his luggage. V A SECOND “ DANIEL.” An amusing story comes from Constance. Tho proprietor of a travelling circus there notified the police that a lion tamer, who was addicted to drink,, was missing. All the cafes in tlie town ’ Were searched in vain. Finally Iho tamer. whose name , is Gruber, was found in the cage of a, lion and lioness, all three lying together asleep. Efforts by frightened employees to rouse tho tamer were met with noisy protests from the trio. Eventualy they were jiermitted to sleep on, while the employees watched tht cago nervously, fearing that the tamer would ho attacked niid eaten. After eight hours Graber awoke, patted tho lions, walked out. of 'iho cage, and wont home to his wife for t breakfast. V INVISIBLE SEARCHLIGHTS. The production of an invisible search* light that can bo used iu sending messages for naval purposes without tho possibility of detection, is the problem, set, half in jest, half in earnest, by' Admiral Bullard, of the United States Naval Communications Service, to tho experts of tlio General Electric Company. Experiments have demonstrated that it is possible to increase a 600,000 candle-power light to 1,200,000 without additional electrical power, by simply conserving light rays heretofore wasted. This waste -was caused by the employment of parabolic lenses. Searchlight lenses, if built with mirrors curved on new lines not parabolic,, will conserve most of the lost rays, and tlio discovery is about to bo put to the practical use of doubling the power of existing searchlights,

MEANEST PEOPLE IN NORTH AFRICA.

Shcshawan, in Morocco, which was recently occupied by Spanish troops, t'u a small town of a. low tbousaiurinhabitant? situated in the tribelami of the. Beni Zejel, about forty miles to tho south of Petuan. Tho Morocco corre-sjx-udent of “The Times” says be j s almost certainly the only living European who has hitherto visited Shosliu-. van It was founded four and a hrfjf ccrt urics ago by tho Shercof Alni .Imnu, at a spot which he considered sufficient! ly far removed from the coast and frcim the plains to render it immune fnmi the attacks of the Portuguese, who at this epoch had overrun not a little of the western part of North Morocco. The date of its foundation is said to ho 1171. Its 'inhabitants arc n>iKwncd for their meanness, and a riaturn proverb states: “If you see. a Jew wrepmg, know that ho has been swim), led by a. Modem merchant from Ecu. ff you see a Moslem merchant front Ees weeping, it is only a Aloof of Sh '■ phawan who could have got the bettm of him.”

GOOD ASK FOR DOG’S HEPtIJEVE. Although 6000 people Mgiiod a pefiticn for his reprieve, the sentence of death passed on “Onkic,” a Swibiton dog, lias been confirmed. A further appeal. however, is to bo made to a, hH'er Court, ami the sentence wifi remain in ;ibcyani;e. “ Onkic,” a Wadi'and white toincr. hud ken ordered to bo destroyed on account of his ferocity. But t|' iw National Canine Defence League took op-the case, with the result that-the appeal was heard. Dining part 0 f the proceedings the dojr was‘allowed |„ lake a seat beside the counsel for his defence, Mr Coed Whiteley ,^ s ,j lovor of animals," declared'the lathy “I put the character of doss on higher level' than the character of men. Mr Mliitelcy contended That the dog wtm not dangerous, hut onlV playful—a new supported bv sercni witnesses. He suggested that th.l Comt should order the animal' to he. kept under proper control.