MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS.

West Coast Times, Issue 338, 23 October 1866, Page 1 (Supplement)

MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS.

The London Exhibition of 1861 left many things to be desired. The commissioners, for instance, had forgotten especially to establish a club for the exhibitors within the precincts of the Exhibitionbuilding. The French Imperial commissioners, aware of the regrets justly expressed by many on this subject, have resolved not to overlook this suggestion, and they have done things in the handsomest manner for the Paris Exhibition of 1867. The exhibitors will, in consequence, find a club for their special use, comprising all

the comforts and conveniences possible, either for the transaction of their private affairs or for their meals. The dimensions of the club arc magnificent, the principal hall on the ground floor being larger than the Imperial Exchange (the Bourse), Paris. It will be the most convenient place of rendezvous for exhibitors from all parts of the world, Australia included. Nothing at all procurable will be missed there, as the commissioners have staked their reputation bonhommes dc hon r/out and refinement on the rendering of this club the pur excellence.

Horse Flesh foe Human Food.— Mr Frank Buckland writes : — Having had someexperience in this matter, I would now like to tell it to my friends, the readers of "Land and Water." Not Isng since an exceeding fine young horse was sent to the Zoological Gardens as food for the lions. The master of the horse insisted, for certain private reasons, that the animal should lie destroyed, which was done accordingly, though the horse was in perfect health. The next day my friend, Mr JBartlett, resident superintendent of the gardens (with whom I had often talked over. the suhject of hippophagotomy), invited me to lunch ; two exceedingly fine hot steaks were placed on the table. "Now, Buckland," said he, "one of th,ese steaks is horse and the other rump steak, propei". I shall not tell you which is which, make your lunch of that which you think is best." Accordingly, I set to work upon that dish, which I fancied from taste was the rump-steak, and I thought I was right, for Mr Bartlett 'also j>artook of the same dish. His daughters all the time were laughing at us both ; I tried in vain to get a clue from them as to whether I was eating horse- or beef ; but it was no good, not a hint could I get, for whether L tried one dish or the other, my" attempts to make a meal only produced shouts of merry laughter at my doubts and difficulties. However, luncheon over, and the dish I had chosen being quite empty, I said, "Now, then, Bartlett. which have I eaten? " '' You have made your lunch off horse," said he. " Uncommon good it is, too," I replied, though I confess, as far as the idea was concerned. I had much rather I had made my choice the other way. A Sea Captain's Remedy tor Cholera. Captain Peabody, of the packet ship Isaac AVright, has written a letter, giving an account of the treatment of cholera cases which occurred on his vessel iv January last, during a trip from Liverpool to New York. Captain Peabody says that, " Within forty-eight hours after sailing, cholera appeared, and in ten days twenty-seven passengers had died of it though they were treated by the book supplied by the medical authorities. He then tried a method of treatment that had been recommended by his predecessor in command, and did not lose another patient on that voyage or since. The, remedy was this, a table'spoonful of salt and teaspoonful of red pepper in half-a-pint of hot water. He was himself attacked with cramp and cholera, but the medicine carried him through." He adds, " The medicine acts quickly as an emetic, say, in one or two minutes. It brings up a very matter, which sticks like glue. It! was given to an old woman of eighty-four years of age, who was on deck the very next day. I have known it used on board their ships by at least a dozen shipmasters besides myself. Its use is quite general at Liverpool, where even some of the regular doctors find it to their advantage to use it. Provided with this simple recipe, I no longer consider the cholera an unmanageable disease." — " New York Evening Post " Novel and Dangerous Wager. — The " Elgin Courier's " Cromdale correspondent says: — "A servant lad in the employ of Mr Hose, farmer, Delliefure, laid a wager the other day, against two of his fellow-servants, for half-a-crown each, that they would not stir for so many minutes a basin with a handful of snow and a handful of salt. The challenge was readily taken up by one of the men, named John Mackintosh, who succeeded in gaining the wager, but by the time the last minute was expired his lingers got fixed to the ice. In a clay or two he completely lost the use of his hand, and inflammation having set in he suffered great agony, and had to apply to a doctor for relief. But for the timely relief afforded by the doctor he would have lost the use of his arm for life. He is now in a fair way of recovery. 1 '

Strange Sagacity in a Posy.- -I hadapony once which very frequently exhibited the following peculiiiritii'S : — Whenever the pony had been turned out to graze, upon being fetched up and put into the carriage, it invariably turned lame after going a few 3 r ards ; so lame, in fact, that frequently I had to turn back, not having the shame to drive an animal in such apparent pain ; I say apparent, because no sooner had the pony been relieved of its harness than it used to canter round the field perfectly sound. The same pony when fetched from the stable would go perfectly well as long it wished, but when I drove it in any direction contrary to it 3 inclination it became lame directly ; as soon as its head was turned homewards the lameness entirely disappeared. — E. H. C.

Freezing to Death. — That to be frozen to death must be frightful torture many would consider certain from their own experience of the effects of cold. But here we fall into the usual error of supposing that the sufferings will increase with the energy of the agent, which could only be the case if the sensibility remained the same. Intense cold always brings on speedy sleep, which fascinates the senses and fairly beguiles men out of their lives. The most curious example of the seductive power of cold is to be found in the adventures of the botanical party, who, in Cock's, first voyage, were caught in a snow storm on Terra ad Fuego. Dr. Solander, by birth a Swede, and well acquainted with the destructive de.ceits of 'a rigorous climate, admonished the company, in defiance of lassitude, to [keep moving on. "Whoever sits down," said he, "will sleep ; and Avhoever sleeps will perish.' The doctor spoke as a sage, but felt as a man. In spite of the remonstrances of those he instructed and alarmed, he was the fivst to lie clown aud die. The same warning was repeated a thousand times in the retreat, from Moscow. Allison, the historian, to try the experiment, sat down

in. his garden at night, when the thermometer had fallen four degrees below zero ; 'and so quickly did the drowsiness come stealing on, that he wondered how a soul of Napoleon's unhappy band had been able to resist the treacherous influence. — " My Note Book."

Mr Favnall, in reporting upon the condition of the sick poor in workhouses, recommends the abolition of pauper nurses.