Miscellaneous.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XX, Issue 2087, 1 July 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

Miscellaneous.

Tbe Heart's Kingdom.

Who that hath seen the face of suffering With joy illumed, The patient life of heartfelt offering By care consumed, Tet wrapped in holiest atmosphere of pence— Who that hath felt The sweet religion of young, smiling lips, And humbly knelt Before the sacred shrine of love lit eyes— Oh, who can doubt That heaven Is but a kingdom of the heart, Peaceful, devout? Not Ills Wife’s, O dainty glove of pearly hue. With perfume faint as lily-dew, Soft as the petal of a rose ; What memory within me glows 1 What glamour thrills me through and through? What leads roe to exclaim : “ Hhen Fugacesl " and hide thee from view, Where none may trouble thy repose ? 0 dainty glove 1 The eld, old story, never new Since Eden's time. For, entre nous, It I thy secret must disclose, Discovery might work me woes ; My wife wears " 4’s”—thou are a “ 21 ” 0 dainty glove 1

Some Uses of Gloves—The reign of Elizabeth may fairly be considered the turning point in the history of gloves. Through long years, and keeping line with tbe growth of refinement and courtesy, the glove bad been invested first with one association and then another, given part and lot in this custom and that, nntil it lhad come to hold a very prominent place in the economy of life. Both at weddings and funerals gloves were offered as gifts so commonly as to be made a recognised feature of the social ceremonial proper to those occasions. Either for peace and in favor, or defiant and in deadly anger, it has come to be as binding upon ordinary transactions as a written deed, and as evident of purpose as if the presence of its owner had enforced its evident intent. Particularly os a token of love, as though it gave in pledge tbe band and regard of a fair lady, or as a cartel of war, threatening so much of the vengeful punishment as tbe band it bad covered could inflict, did the glove play its part in times when both these sentiments were especially cherished and avowed. It was made the tegis of trade, insuring the chapmen, and chaffering purchasers of the wares they offered, peace and protection ; and in agreements of greater moment the glove was made witness of a promise given and the pledge of its fulfilment. The donation of land to a church, and sometimes even the offer of bodily service, was made good by tbe placing of a glove upon the altar; and in the transfer of laud—or, in. occasional instances, of kingdoms—a glove was made a veritable lease by virtue of which possession was taken and held. As securing safe passage, like a passport; as an offer of amity, like as though a friendly shake of the band were proffered; even as a bribe when it was often “lined" with good gold pieces, to tempt men from their allegiance, or induce them to view a suit fnjorably, tbe glove had many a momentous message to convey, many an important negotiation to open or to bind. What Canning Did Not Know. When the late Lord Westbury observed of one of bis contemporaries that he had not a single redeeming vice, he made a remark that was far less cynical than it would at first sight appear to be. No man can live up to the best which is in him. To expect a human being to be all genius, all intellect, all virtue, ail dignity, would be as absurd as to expect that midnight should be all stars. Curiosity about the minor incidents in the lives of some great men is to a certain extent legitimate, and even profitable; but there is, perhaps, in our days at least, some danger of its being carried too far. To find the great on. a level with ourselves may gratify our vanity, but it may sometimes lead to very erroneous conclusions. We have often been struck with the significance of an anecdote which Hookam Frcre once related to his nephew abont Canning : “ I remember one day going to consult Canning on a matter of jgreat importance to me, when he was staying at Enfield. Wc walked into the woods to have a quiet talk, and as wc passed some ponds I was surprised to find that it was a new light to him that tadpoles turned into frogs. 1 Now don’t you go aud tell that story to the next fool you meet,’ he added. Canning could and did rule a great and civilized nation, but people are apt to fancy that a man who does not know the natural history of frogs must be an imbecile in the treatment of men."

Her Vow- —“ The Queen of Spain’s Chair ” is a hill directly north of Gibraltar, and known on charts as La Sierra Carbonera. The tradition is that Dona Leonora de Gusman, mother of Enrique IL, accompanied Alfonso XL to the siege of Gibraltar in 1349, and ascending the bill in question, solemnly vowed that she would never descend until the standard of Castile fioated above the keep. The Moorish defence was so stubborn that the Spaniards were compelled to abandon the attempt to seize the fortress. The question then was how to extricate the lady from the consequences of her rash vow, for she dare not break it, A cavalier soon hit upon a successful solution of the difficulty. Knowing the gallantry of the Moorish governor, be sent him word of the trouble, and the courteous Moslem immediately procured and hoisted the gorgeous Castillian flag in full view of the distressed group. This enabled the proud beauty to retire gracefully without any loss of honor. A Curious Psychical Phenomanon At eleven o’clock on New Year's night, in some parts of Germany, each member of a family melts some lead in a shovel, over a hot stove, and when It is thoroughly liquefied it is poured quickly into a howl of water. Naturally, it assumes all manner of queer forms and shapes, which a lively imagination can weave into various types. Early on New Year's morning the fortune-teller calls, and, with these leaden effigies spread out before her, proceeds to read the fortunes for the coming year. Now, it is a singular interreaction of the psychic with the physical that these forms should often partake largely of that which Occupied the mind when the lead was poured into the water. Tor, just at this time, ane must make a wish. Whether the insensible metal does really take on the forms, or whether the imagination, governed by the wish, makes them seem to assume such forms, the reader must judge for himself. A Great Empire- —One seventh part of the land-surface of the earth and one twentyeighth part of its whole area constitute the dominion of the Czar of all the Russias. More than one hundred million of people call him father, and are under his absolute government. In Russia a child is born on an average, every eight seconds throughout the year, and a death occurs every eleven seconds. At the present rate of increase, the population will double in about sixty years. But Russia is very far behind most civilized nations in the care of children and in the preservation of life, statistics show that sixty per cent, of all the children die under the age of five years. The average duration of life in Russia is only twenty-six years, which is much below the average in the western countries of Europe and the United Slates. * Patti celebrated her birthday anniversary a few days ago in Kansas City, and pleaded guilty to forty-four years. She says Nieolini will sing no more, and that her nieee, whom she lias adopted, will join her in Cincinnati, and accompany her t'i Wales, Sim carefully evaded answering the question whether this is really her farewell tour.