HERE AND THERE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16811, 14 August 1922, Page 6

HERE AND THERE.

AN EYE FOR EVERYTHING. A PECULIAR. BEQUEST About, three hundred years ago th* Lord of the Manor of Roydon bequeathed the sum of £IOOO, the interest from which, was to be voted, anrm * ally to provide dowTries for four brides. Under the terms of the bequest the money ha® to he divided between the youngest, the eldest, the shortect and the tallest brides married during the course of each year in the parish church. This entails the “ measuring of the bride.” After the marriage ceremony the bride and bridegroom proceed to the vestry to sign the register, and the bride i® then measured by the officiating minister. In order that hd* correct stature mav be ascertained ®h*> is required to remove her shoe:* and letdown her hair. At the end of the year the marriage records are examinee, and the dowries awarded to those who fulfil tho necessary* qualification.'. THE USEFUL MACKINTOSH. Keep vour old mackintosh, a-s ther« are many uses to which it can be put. It can be made into excellent apron® for washing-day? and general housework Cut out a straight piece, hollowed ai the waist, and attach tapes. At least two aprons can he made from one mackintosh. Again, you can make a cover for the baby’s perambulator, or a cape for a small girl. For the latter, cutout a circle of the material, with t hole in the centre for the head, then turn down the hem® and stick with rubber solution. Another simple article is a bathing-can. Cut- out another circle and eew elastic round the edges. A band and bow qf coloured ribbon can be used as a decoration. TYPEWRITTEN PICTURES. It is said that, a gentleman in Washington achieved considerable fame for himself by the wonderful “portrait®” of famous people which he produced on his machine. Hundreds of letters anl signs were used in making each picture. and at first sight it seemed impossible that thev could be nrodneed on an ordinary typewriter. With the aid of a magnifying glass, however, earh individual letter could be picked out. AMAZING ESCAPE BY CONSUMPTIVE.

Where i® Ronald M'Kinnon. the convict who escaped from Wadsworth Prison, London, on May 20? M’Kinnon’ * ingenious method in gaining his liberty ranks as one of the most remarkahl feats in prison history. M’Kinnon. who i® thirty-four, suffers from tuberculosis. and at first it was considered that the physical strain caused in squeezing through the 7-inch bar of hi* cell, descending 40ft to the prison yard, and l climbing the 18ft outer wall would have weakened him and helped his capture. Mind apparently triumphed over matter, and there has been no evidence that he suffered from even a temporary breakdown in his dash for freedom. When he escaped from prison McKinnon replaced his convict trousers by a pair of white ducks on a clothes-line in Earlsfield Road, and a theory has been advanced that he walked and trotted the roads disguised a® an athlete in training by discarding his convict jacket and cap.

REDUCING METAL TO GAS. . Two scientists have solved a problem that lias baffled most clever men for thousands of years. Theee professors claim to have succeeded in changing tungsten (a metal) in to helium gas. Between 50.000 and 60,000 degrees of heat were needed for the experiment. This is the highest temperature ever known. The temperature of molten steel is 2.000 degrees. That of the sun is 9,000 degrees, while some of the hottest stars are 30,000 degrees. One hundred thou sand volts of electricity were discharged at a high speed through a fine tungsten wire, the wire exploded with a deafening report and a flash of two hundred times brighter than sunlight. and decomposed into gas. From these experiments it i® thought that- we a7-e approaching an age when it will be possible to turn baser metals into gold. BOX NUMBERS. Many people have often wondered if box number® are a nuisance. The “ box number” came into !>eing as a result of the great increase in the use of newspapers as a medium of advertising. It helped to save confusion and labour. A person who advertise® in a newspaper may not wish to disclose his address. Tn such cases, when he insert® an advertisement he informs the clerk at the counter that ho desires a “box number.” The clerk give® him a receipt on which is a number. Tt is this number that appear® in the advertisement: for instance. “ Apply Box No. .” Some newspapers, trade journals in particular allow readers to send monev in pay - ment for goods advertised. This “ deposit” is kept by the newspaper until tlie buyer receive® the goods, when it is sent on to the seller. By this means the buyer is assured of fair play. HALF A CENTURY TN GAOL. After an appeal from the dock for

another chance George Williams. 66, a short, wizened, grey-haired man with half a century of prison life behind him, was given hi® freedom at London Sessions last month. Known to the police under many aliases, he had pleaded guilty at the last sessions to breaking into a house at Lewisluam and stealing

®ix knives and six spoons. Williams record showed that at the age of 12 he was sent to a reformatory for stealing a purse. When 18 he was sentenced tc seven years’ servitude for stealing 8s sd. Since then he had been convicted eleven timevS and had spent practically nil his life in prison. “In the whole of my life,” Williams pleaded. “ J have never been given a chance, and now I believe this is the last time I shall ask for it- I have suffered enough for my crimes already.” Mr Lawrie. deputy chairman, decided to give Williams tlie chance he pleaded for and released him on probation. “At the 6arae time.” Jic added. “if you come back here again your punishment will he verv heavy.’*