GENERAL NEWS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1168, 5 August 1885, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS.

In one of the schools in Wellington a few days ago (says the " Post ") the question was asked " who spoiled the Egyptians V The answer was immediate, the author having apparently studied modern history according to the gospel of Labouchere rather than ancient history from the chronicles of Moses. It was "The English, sir." A fatal accident illustrating the care necessary in dealing with electricity i 3 recorded by the Calif or nian " Mining and Scientific Press." At Sacramento, a short time ago, a man named Frederick Mier was oiling a dynamo at the electrical works, and in doing so placed his right foot upon a bolt that went into tho concrete floor. When the oil can struck the dynamo it formed a connection, which gave him such a shock that he was instantly killed. A correspondent of "The Lady " writes : "I send you a tale told by the Hoi. Grantley Berkley. The gallery where the ladies sat was at that time quite dark, one of the members, the late Maurice O'Connell, had arranged with his wife that she should come and hear his first speech ; but her arrival was unfortunately delayed. The honorable member finished his address, and rushed off to the gallery, impatient to hear bis better half's congratulations. There was but one lady in the place. He clasped her in his arms, and found them rather fuller than he expected. He had, in the dark, bestowed a very hearty salute upon her Grace the Dowager Duchess of Richmond." An artist in modelling in this city is engaged iv finishing a colossal group, "Victoria Guarded by the British L : on," which is to surmount the facade of a lofty building in West Melbourne. The other day an elderly English gentleman strolled into the artist's studio, after he had been reading some journalistic fulmtnations against the baseness and pusillanimity of England. From the position in which he first caught sight of the effective group, the lion did not appear by the side of Victoria, but rather behind her, and he ejaculated, " Ah ! Australia sitting on tho British lion. Admirably done, and most apropos at the present time, too." — iEgl es in the "Australasian." A boy in one of the London board schools was found guilty of a serious infraction of discipline, and was directed by his teacher to tell bis mother what misdemeanor he had committed. The nuxt morning the schoolmistress called Johnny to her desk, when the following dialogue ensued . — "Well, Master Johnny, did you inform your mother what infraction of discipline you were suilty of yesterday, and the reprimand and punishment you received ?" " Yes'm," was the sententious reply. " Well, and what did your mother say." " She said she'd like to wring your neckf or you. " No more disci pline reports were sent home to that mother. The defence forces of New South Wales will amount to 10,000 men, when tho volunteer force is raised to a strength of 3000.

Malarial Fever.— Malarial fever, constipation, torpidity of the liver and kidneys, general debility, nervousness and neuralgic ailments yield readily to this great disease conqueror. American Co.'s Hop Bitters. It repairs the ravages of diseases by converting the food into rich blood, andit gives, new life and vigor to the aged and infirm See.

The Manchester "Courier 1 ' says:—- " We have spent millions in the neighborhood of Suakim, we have poured forth the blood of our soldiers like water, wo have swallowed all our objections to bloodguiltrness; and now that at our expense Suakim has become a desirable seaport, clear of encumbrances, and exposed to no, serious military dangers, we are to hand it over to Italy, who has not lost a penny or a soldier in its defence. Here is the net result of the diplomacy of her Majesty's advisers, backed by a grant of eleven millions of hardly-earned, ill-spared British money. Russia receives a conj siderable extension of territory in Asia, Italy becomes possessed of a useful port upon the Red Sea and England— England pays the bill with her blood and money,' and is saddled with a burden of humilia-i tion and contempt such ad was nev.er imposed upon her in the worst days of the Second James." The degradation of women among so. called civilised nations probably reaches, the lowest depth in Saxony. The American Consul at Dresden, in a recent report to the State Department, gives a graphic picture of one phase of life in Geemany in the following language :—"I: — "I have heard it estimated that women and dogs, harnessed together, do more hauling than the railroads and all other modes of conveyance of goods united. Hun,-, dreds of small waggons can be seen every day on all the small roads leading to and from Dresden, each having a dog for the'near horse' harnessed, while the 'off horse' is a woman, with her left hand grasping the waggon-tongue to give directions, and the right hand passed through a loop in a rope which is attached to the axle, binding her shoulder. Thus harnessed, woman and dog trudge along together, pulling miraculous loads in all sorts of weather. A Melbourne correspondent writes : The increase in the number of divorce cases of late is not creditable to society. One case in which the Judge is to be asked to decide offers some queer features. A bank clerk in one of the city branches got married to the girl of his heart, but, knowing that the authorities would not look with favour on his action, kept tho matter quiet. They, however, having discovered the fact, or suspecting that he was about to commit such a foolish act, gave him the option of resigning on banishment to Queensland. He chose the latter, but the wife of his bosom would not accompany him, and subsequently returned the marriage ring, with the explanation that she had nti proper love for him. By this act she seems to have been under the impression that she was legally freed from her huabaud, as she afterwards married someone else. Naturally the husband did not appreciate , this proceeding, and he intends to seek the aid of tho Court, making the second husband the corespondent. There once lived, in a fashionable quarter of Dublin, an eminent lawyer, who afterwards came to occupy a position in the judicial bench. He was a man of high professional attainments, but of testy and irritable temper. His next, door neighbor was a retired major noted for the eccentricity of his habits. Between the two there was anything but a friendly feeling, and they did all in their power to annoy and harass each other. Ono night memorable as " tho uighl of the great storm," the major's chimneys were blown down. Crash thny went through the roof of the lawyer's house, and hence through floor after floor, carrying havoc in their course. As may be imagined, the man of law was in no good humor as he contemplated the doatruc- ■ tion ; and what made matters worse was that it was the major's chimney that had occasioned the wreck. His mind was actively engaged in devising some scheme by which he could get satisfaction from his arch-enemy, when a missive acuived from the latter, couched as follows : " Send me back my bricks immediately, or I'll place the matter in the hands of my lawyer !"

Disparity in stature and intellect has in all ages proved a fruitful theme of discussion. The limits of variation in tho same species presents one of the moat curious phenomena in the philosophy of evolution. Bub the scientiGc inquirer must be careful not to attempt to study two subjects at the same time, otherwise research will not be so fruitful, as witness the case of a large wealthy land-owning, sheep raising, ignorant and objectionable squatter in the Western district, the other day. Being compelled to wait some time at a telegraph station for a return message, he proceeded to exercise his wit on the youthful clerk in charge of the office, a young gentleman of small stature. "Don't you think," said the six-foot pastoral tenant, " That a man like myself would be a much better specimen to breed from than a little chap like yourself ?" " Well,'* replied the diminutive one, "it all depends whether you breed for beef or brains." The rest of the dialogue is not' preserved. — " Atticus" in the'" Leader." The following case of heartless conduct on the part of a doctor is reported in the " Wairarapa Star " :— On Suuday,, some children who had been attracted^ to tho bush behind the Wairarapa Acclimatisation Society's grounds by the barking of a dog stated that a man was lying bleeding at the side of a log. Mr T. Braggius and Mr Redden went to the spot indicated and found a shoemaker named John. A. Willett lying on the ground with a gash in his throat across the windpipe from which tho blood was flowing freely. Information of the occurrence was communicated to Dr Beard, but he rewsed to go to the man's assistance, although it was represented he was dying. The jiolice ware next communicated with, and as Dr Hosking was not at home, Constables Cullinane aud Honloy proceeded to the place indicated and carried Willett \to Dr Beard's residence but were pfiremptorily ordered about their business. They had no option but to obtain a trap in which tho man was conveyed to the hospital where his throat was subsequently stitched by Dr Hosking. As the windpipe and large bloodvessels are not injured there is every liklihood of the man's recovery. Willett, who is better known as " Little Jack," has been in the employ of J. W. Loahy and Co. for the last two years. The injury was inflicted with a razor. Willett had not been drinking, and the only explanation he gives for the attempt on his life is that he was suffering from Jow spirits. " Where are you going? " said Selwyn to an acquaintance. "To see a friond." "Well, I'll go, with you, for,l never saw rone yet."

I

mixed with air. The lecturer explained that one product of the explosion was commonly known as after-damp (damp being but another word for air), and it was this that killed most miners in colliery explosions. Those who were not killed directly by the explosion were suffocated by the after-damp, or choke damp, as it was also called. After-damp was a heavy gas called carbonic acid,and no one^could lire in it more, than a few jjec6rids. Flour-mill explosions were explained and illustrated by experiments. For years explosions in flourmills had remained a mystery ; but now it was known to result from the extremely fine particles of flour floating in the air of the room. These presented a very large surface for the oxygen of the air, and when the millstones became heated to a temperature of say 120° P. the carbon of the flour particles and the oxygen of the air entered into such rapid combination that an explosion took place. This was shown by blowing lycopodium seed upon a candle flame, where instead of burning quietly it exploded more like gun powder. The same result was shown with flour, and powdered charcoal. Explosions in coal mined often arose from the same cause — viz., very fine particles of coal dust floating in great quantity in the air of the mine. The products of coal mine explosions were carbonic acid gas, water, and carbonic oxide. Some heated charcoal was dropped into oxygen gas*, when it immediately flashed up like gunpowder. After-damp and choke ' damp were fully explained and shown to be carbonic acid and carbonic oxide gas. The lecture was listened to throughout with marked attention. —Last night gun powder, nitro - glycerine, dynamite, gun-cotton, and detonators were dealt with. Professor Black referred mainly to their manufacture, properties, uses and the chemistry of the different explosives. We will endeavor, to give a fuller report of this lecture again.