Miscellaneous.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XX, Issue 2038, 4 March 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

Miscellaneous.

The Rejected MS

1 climbed to the editor’s sanctum, And found him there sitting With paste-pot and scissors before And ex’s around him all strewn ills hands were thrust deep in Hishevelled and long was big ’llonl his lips was a thinking I trembled as soft I approached Kell a weakness creep into my And my voice grew so faint I scarceMhH As I said : •• Here’s a poem } please ! ” JH His eyes wandered back from the And calmly my person did note; hM line liand was withdrawn from big poc|n(S9 And seized my pour lay by the ’Twas a minute—methought ’twaa a cjVWaj Ere tile editor opened his lips ; d liul tlie words he spoke when they parted ’ Cast over my hopes an eclipse : ” : Tis rhyme without reason—’tis rubbish, 1 Kaeli Kd. in the basket would throw Itoi'i fool 'way your time with the Muses,! believe me. you’ll ne’er bo a poet." J

He jeeted ! the deuce—you don’t mean iflj 'Tis better than many I’ve writ,” Hidn't know you ! Ah, that is the reaMgjH The editor saw nothing in it. N’o matter how good the prodnotioii, |B It it comes from a pen that’s not kndH Ten to one ’tis never accepted. Hut in the waste-basket is thrown. } JH " Let's have it I I'll copy it over, And send it as one of my own, And I 11 liet yon the oysters at ('aide's ’Twill nut in Hie basket be thrown ffc*’ Next week tlie poem 1 ha!, was "rubbish” When a name unknown did it head, Appeared in large type in 7'/m Cyilir With a tribute of praise from the Ed.

Nerve-Stretching —Many people think of the nerves as something intangible, somewhat as they think of nervous diseases, as mainly imaginary, and have little sympathy with the sufferer. Hut the latter are terribly real, and tlie former are puite as substantial as t'ne blood-vessels, and like them, the larger ones are surrounded by touch elastic walls. Their office is two-fold ; to communicate sensation from tin; eiivuml'erenee to tlie centre, and force Horn the centre to the eireumferenee.

Xu part (.1 liir system is so frequently and variously discard, but the .!i-'a-e mav be ol such a character as not to show at all to the eye ; or tin-amte-t pain may mean only that tin l nerve is pr, ssed on and irritated by some hidden cause, as when the bony canal through which a ii"vv is-uu s is nndniy narrowed by aye. eras when rheumatism enlarges the l-ony matter of a joint. In such cases, as lh • cause is permanent, no medicine can etfeet a eomnlete cure.

Years ago th“ plan was adopted of severing the painful neive. but as the nerve soon grows together again, the relief is but temporary. Then the plan was improved upon by cutting out a portion of the nerve. A none durable r. lift was obtained, but wo have the impression that it tended to the dis-int,-gration of the nerve, finally, it was found that l lie nerve cord 1 be rendered insensible by forcible stretching. Tito sciatic nerve is the largest in the body. It issues from the network of times near the; end of flic spinal cord, and is distributed to' the muscles of the thigh. The following case illustrates relief by stretching : ‘

The patient’s pain was so severe and constant that he was con lined to tin, bed most of tlie time after admission to the hospital. Nerve-stretching was tried. The nerve was cut down to and lifted up by the finger, and subsequently was grasped by the whole hand and drawn strongly, first downward and then upward, with sullieient force, to raise flic entire limb from the tabie. Soon alter the operation the patient began to improve. r,nd in a few months was as strong and Lcaljthjr as he had ever been. When last heard Horn he bail no return of the seiatiea, ,

The Paint Brush.-- A word of warning concerning the dangeis of the paint brush. A eomiiKin practice among water-colour artists is to put the brush to the mouth, ju order that they may with the ton true get a hue point, ami it. is argued that tins method must be often resorted to in delicate painting. Moreover, artists frequently cm;tract the habit of holding several brushes m the hand not actually engaged in painting. s., as to have 1 hem in realine-s when required, ami it often happens that the brushes, iiont not having I properly eteane I. c-i-iain a eeli am amount oi dried paint mi the I) .ndk s. Now, it is well known that we are an all constituted at ike. for some persons can m. v. ith impunity what others could not v eßun . upon witmeit tear of serious eonsepitenees. This is (lie ease with regard to ihe handling of paint brushes, for a I though in the majority of instances no ill dice's may arise, stilt there are some people, and especially girls, with such delicate and absorbent skins, that the injurious elVects of (he dried paint on the brush is conveyed to the system by the mere process of handling, and blood-pois nir.g of a more or less severe character is the result. It would lie well, therefore, not only to avoid placing the brush in the mouth, unless thoroughly cleansed in clean cold water, but also to lake rare that ail paint is removed from the handles of the brushes Imfore putting them away after use. I’y carefully adopting this practice and by oecasiunaly sucking a lemon while engaged in the stiu.io. no bad ehrris are likely to happen, and what has hitherto been considered a pleasant occupation will nut prove injnrio* to health as i; tins done on one or two orcasions reeeittiv. }

The Turn of }hc Tjlde.

The harbor lights are dim with <jm tike Which hangs about the under sky, And wraps the simple fisherfolk In lurid mist as they go by. Along the shore die wind blows free, Keen twilight kisses the wan sea far out : steer thither, watch with me The tender slats come out or, high. Tile sky is deepening overhead ; The sail Haps loose; the wind has died ; The water laps the boat like lead; Paint ripples splash against; the side. And shimmer with unearthly light ; The harbor light-are out of sight We. drift into a starless nut Is (; Together on Ihe ebbing tidy. How still—how strange—the* tide is slack, We eddy round—we drift no more. W 1 1 a I swell i- (hat which sweeps us back bo win re the gathering breakers roar Abo'.ii the pale ualightcd land ? Can any tell if we shall stand Safe in i lm morning hand in hamjl I pun tiie deep;;ml shore .’ When Was \ Lfittic OirlWh n mamma was a little Jid she never used to ro up ami run. Nor snout and scream with] noisy fun. Nor climb an apple tree.! She always kept her hair if, ~u ri When mamma was a litdel,jd. When mamma was a littlef-id (.It seems to her you seoV She never used lotumble cM„ IU Nor break Imr doll, nor tc* ] ie r t r uW n, Nor drink her papa’s te»_ ° she learned to knit " pjain“seam,” and " purl"— M When mamma was a littM, , Hut gratnr.a-ays—i( nins|| l °( mc _ ■‘ Mow last dm seasons! (lVr ns whirl! i "mom.i, ‘T ar, was ft,pi like y., v M a ii lie was gramhiiips little girll"