Miscellaneous. The Stranger.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XX, Issue 1416, 28 December 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

Miscellaneous. The Stranger.

KOT BY BHET nARTE.) We wore camped on the creek, My ole pardner and I, Dead beat with our walkin' Aad jis* goin' to lie Down and tumble ourselves into slumber, When we heard a loud, hollowin' cry. 'Twas a chap as was lost — So my wiser chum said — Wbi«h polite intimation destroyed My thoughts of the dead Arisin' and peopliu' the territory Which tbey vacated for their damp bed. Twas a stranger we met, If a queer, singular hue, Who this moment, aloile, To the flamia' blaze drew, And seated hisself on a camp-stool With a forwardness which haogs to some few. He sought shelter, 'tvas plain, Such his looks would bespeak, And I promised it readily Ere one could speak ; Whila my sophistical mate echoed faintly,

" He'd be darned if I hadn't a cheek." Persuasion lent sway,

With its powerful naight; Ilad ifc bc9n an encounter I should not have been right, For my pnrdner wa3 far from weak stature — la truth h« paid marked love to fight. Whan tha moraia' advanced i»to blooming mid-day Blithe slumberous we

Arose from our long lay ; But tie stranger, a light, wholesome

sleeper, Had vanished like shining array. My mate foadly wished^ He was miles on his track, And I thought ifc bad taste If my pardncr to lack That small stock of decent politeness Which establishes living a fact. Had you witnessed my face You would seriously asic, Tor what strengthened reason I wore a dark mask, For f rota joy to dusl sorrow 'twas changing At the hopelessness of my night's task, For he sipped with our " tins,"

Whioh'the same we did use For abstracting rich metal 3 If yellowish hties, And we herd that he was a town sharpsr, Who this light avocation pursues. From that ideal day

Stern antipathy reigned By two humble chii<ns Against one who had deigned To seek shelter from the night's tempest, And the stated dislike was not feigned. Oiiebbfuii Joe.

Hints to Swimmers.—" When the bathißg season arrives," remarked a natatorinm professor the other day, " we'll hear of the usual miximum of drowning cases, and among them, as usual, a fair share of expert svrimmeis. The cliief reason why good swimmers arc so often drowned when they are accidentally thrown into the water is because the shock causes them to loosj their presence of mind. The loss of presence of mind leads to paralysis of the body, or to such wild exertions as accelerate drowning, instead of contributing to preservation. The ability to behave wisely in case of andden accidotits can oiUy be acquired by experience, just as evorything else has to be acquired. The theory of the matter can be taught in swimming schools, but the practice must be acquired by experience. Hence, in some of the European swimming schools, says the Hebrnv Journal., the pupils are taken ou£boat riding aud purposely upiet, a 8 though tho upsetting were accidental. They are also suddenly pushed overboard, and subjected to all marines? of prepared accidents, so as to accustom .'aem to acting in emergencies. In this way 'hey learn how to behave in case of real accidents, and are protected against the loss of their presence of mind on occasions of danger ou the water. They are also taught to have faith iv the sustaining power of the water rtself. They get know that the water will sustain thsm if they will only render it in the least help.

A finger laid upon an oar or the gunwale of fin ov*rturned boat, or a board, or almost any floating substance, will sustain the human body in calm water. Persons who have been 'properly taught, and have acquired the habit of acting with s^lf-posses-sion in the water when they are upset, do not attempt to climb upon the overturned boat, but simply take hold of it and quietly support themselves. A boab half filled vyith water, or completely overturned, will support as many persons as can get their hands upon the gunwale, if they behave quietly. In a case of accident, a person who understands and acts in accordance with these facts would stand a better chance of being saved, even if he were a poor swimmer, man an expert swimmer would stand who should lose his presence of mind.

Origin of *the Cravat.— The cravat got its name from the Croats, a regiment of whom, all throttled in cravats, arrived tn Paris iH 1000, aad set the new fashion in H«ck swathiags. Cravats kept in vogue ustil ths eve of the Revolution, when, as if in anticipation of the guillotine, throats were allowtd to go bare. When tbe terror was over, Cravats once more came into fashion, and were retained in favor for some quarter of a century longer. Napoleon wore a cravat at the battle of Waterloo. In 1822 George IV invented or introduced the stock, which was made of Genoa velvet, or silk, and it at once became the rage, completely killing the cravat. The stock has, in its turn, been superseded by the more comfortable tie, which may be regarded as_a frea and easy adoption of tbe cravat. When Beau Brummel assumed the guardianship of fashion in Britian it was aot considered fitting that a gentleman should travel with fewer than eighty cravats and an iron for smoothing them.

The Pope in his recent allocution, referring to tha successful issue of the aegotiafcions with Prussia, said : " God grant that Italy, who is peculiarly dear I>o us, may share the spirit of peace with which we are animated toward all natloas. We earnestly desire that Italy should put aside her unhappy iadifiarenee with the papacy, whose dignity is violated chiefly by the conspiracy of sects. The means of obtaining concord would be to establish tb« Pope in a position where he would be subject to no power in thft enjoyment »f full and real liberty, which, far from injuring Italy, would powerfully contribute to her prosperity."

Tha first Gospel printed in Japan, that of St. Mark, was issued in 1872, the whole" New Testime^it in 1880, and the issue of the entire Scriptures in the native character is expected immediately. From the report of the council of the United Mission in Japan, which Is just to hand, it appears that the union now includes fifty churches, with 4,356 adult members. The gain last year in churches was nine ; and in members, 1,128. The contributions of the native Christian for last year average seven shillings each. There are now eighty-three European and American missionaries in Japan.

Mew York Truth says that a new rival to the festive .gin rizz and the joyou3 mint julep ha 3 just appeared. This latest refresher is exceedingly pleasant boMi to the eye and to the palate, and is comparatively innocuous from an alcoholic point of view. It is called a " cardinal smash," and is composed oi strawberries, witli ice, Guracoa, n suspicious of chartreuse, arfd just a toothful of vfiiitky,