HERE AND THERE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16892, 17 November 1922, Page 6

HERE AND THERE.

AN EYE FOR EVERYTHING. I ! WANTED—A QUEEN. ‘ There i« a vacant throne waiting for an American heiress willing to become the bride of a young and hamkome but lonely monarch in the Balkans. The sovereign in question is King Boris of Bulgaria, and his desire to wed ’i beautiful and wealthy American maiden was revealed to a Geneva correspondent of the "New York Herald ! by the Premier. M. Stambolisky. The Bulgarians, a practical, democratic people, have lost faith since the war in j Royal alliances, and believe thax an ; I American Queen would prove a greater asset to their country than a European princess. Morganatic marriage i> u.i known in Bulgaria, and no law e\i- - specifying that the King’s consu . must he of Royal blood, so the American girl who gives her hand and heal’’ to King Boris will enjoy the titles, rank and privileges of a Queen. King Boris is 30. of a quiet- disposition, and of unimpeachable morals. His Ann can bride, on her part, must possess beauty, health, and financial connec tions of the first order. She must ; - • be cultured and inclined to take .-in active part in the education of women and the creation of schools for girls in Bulgaria. If she comes up to tin - standard, states the correspondent, sh can be the first American Queen. EGYPTIAN TREASURES. The sale of the famous MacGregor collection of Egyptian curios, which took place in London, attracted much attention. Since it was made illegal to export relics unearthed in Egypt, dealers in Europe and America have J found it almost impossible to meet the j demand for such things. In consequence j extraordinarily high prices have been obtained, and competition for the treasures of the MacGregor collection has been wonderfully keen. The col lection is unique, having taken ruere i than a generation to gather together One of the gems is a chair made 10(H) years B C. Tt is without a seat, but . there is evidence that once it was covered with some soft woven material. There is a cup in brilliant blue faience, a kind of glazed porcelain. * i which stands 6in high, and was made ? probably 1500 years ago. The out standing piece, however, is the head of a king of the Twelfth Dynasty, which is regarded as the finest known example of ancient Egyptian sculpture. f c A LUCKY LANDMARK A famous landmark of London is the huge grasshopper of copper which sur i mounts the Royal Exchange. Tt has survived two fires, and is all that : s left of the original Exchange, which 1 was swept away by the great fire of 1666. Tt was saved and placed on top of the s&cond Exchange, which in its t turn was destroyed l>v fire in 1838. The grasshopper was the only part of - the building to escape, and was afterwards placed on the third Royal Ex ■ change in the position it now occupies. t j A quaint story is attached to this relic . of the past. The grasshopper was j adopted as a. crest bv Sir Thomas J Gresham, the founder of the Exchange, who when a poor hoc was found lying in n helpless condition by the side of a country road. Probably he would hare perished of hunger had not a - j passer-by been attracted to his position by the croaking of- a grasshopper. NATURE'S WARNINGS. When watching for weather signs - ; look in the correct direction—at the c i horizon in the direction from which | the wind is blowing. An unsteady j wind or one which veers about forej tells unsettled weather. This is inj dicated by one layer of clouds passing J m one direction, and another layer j travelling in the opposite direction. 5 Don’t arrange an outing on a day when visibility is unnaturally good or you will return sadder but wiser. An r indication of good weather is a gentle breeze springing up in the evening after a day of oppressive heat. The most reliable weather prophets are birds. Silence foretells rain. but when birds are heard chirping merrily after a shower, good weather is almost certain to follow. A LITTLE COMMON SENSE. I The unions must learn a little oom- , j moil sense under the rod of experience, j What their leaders seldom if ever xneixj lion is tlie awkward fact that they | cannot compel the employers to pay ; wages. I n the last resort , the em pJoyers shut their works, and wages then cease altogether. Then men then fall back upon unemployment pay: and it is certain that the ease with which the dole can lie obtained is an encitement to men to quarrel with their em plovers. It is indeed the deliberate policy of the mor< revolutionary Labour leaders so to raise the scale of unemployment pay that every man may strike with the pleasa it certainty that he will lose nothing, ai d may even gafu by refusing work. Any system more ruinous to the country could not be devised—London “Morning Post.” THE OPEN TOMB. The tomb of the Gibson family, in a corner of Sutton. Surrey, parish church yard, was opened recently, in the pre sence of churchwardens, in accordance with a request made by a member of the family 150 years ago. The vault, which contains the remains of Jam -> Gibson, merchant and citizen of Lo ! don. and six members of the family, has the request decrees. “ to be opened every year, on August 12, for ever. To ensure this being done, a sum of money was left to the authorities ol Christ Church Hospital to be distri buted among the poof of Sutton each year. Tradition has it that when the last member of the family has been buried the vault is to locked up and the key taken on a specially chartered ship to Palestine and thrown into the River Jordan.