MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

West Coast Times, Issue 1342, 11 January 1870, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

A correspondent of the Field writes: — " One of the most remarkable instances of ' getting up stairs' as far as the equine race is concerned, occurred at Jonds's Railway Hotel, at Oxford, on Thursday night, Sept. 2. A string of yearlings, belonging to Mr J. Merry, M.P., arrived by train at the above-named city, nnd were led the Railway Hotel by the people in charge. One of the most valuable of the lot — and certainly one that does not belie her pedigree, if, as I was told, she is a daughter of 1 tumbling Katie— escaped from the hands of the stud groom, aud attracted by the lights from the hotel, or wishing to consult the lawyer, whose room she ultimately succeeded in reaching, galloped down a 'narrow passage fifty-three feet in length, into the hall of the hotel — af<;er , dashing her head through the window of the bar parlor, much to the consternation of the inmates, who were quietly enjoying their evening repast — then through the. hall up the first flight of stairs (twenty in number) into the corridor or passage of the hotel upon which the doors of the bedchambers opened. It beinij; late at night (11 o'clock) only one bedroom door was unfastened, and this happened to be the one of our friend Hie Liwyir — No. 7 into which the excited animal rushed, jumped on the huge old-fashioned bedstead, tearing the bed furniture to ribbons, and t';eu contrned to get her leg through a canebottomed chair, and in her efforts to free herself of this incumb ranee, demolished nearly all the furniture in the ,room, In the mctt.ilime the stud groom ran up ' stairs, caught' hold of her by the tail, and got ,her down, when she was held by three or four other people who had been attracted by the noise. The question then arose how to gef her down stairs. This was accomplished in 'the following manner : — The whole of tin* shutters belonging to the hotel were laid on the stairs and fastened, her legs were tied tightly together, pome rugs and mats were placed on her back, and by.main lorce s>he was dragged down the staircase and safely landed in'tl'e hail, then taken out of the front door into the street, where she was released from bondage, and led to a loose box to enjoy a straw instead of a feather bed. Strange to say no damage was done to the animal, except twenty or thirty skin deep wounds, the principal of which were caused by the glass broken in the bar parlour window. One

curious circumstance, however, remains to be told. No. 6 bedroom Avas occupied by an Irishman, who, being a martyr, to rheumatic gout, had been compelled to crawl upstairs by means of a stick in one hand, and holding on to the balustrade with the other, Such, hoAvever, Avas the terror excited by the unearthly row in the next apartment, that Avith three bounds he sprang doAvn the staircase into the hall., From that moment the rheumatic gout left him ; he is no\v perfectly sound, and can be called on to vouch for the fact.

She has married a woman. Such is the position of a plaintiff before a laAv Court ■of Santiago, in Chili. The Avife has sued for a divorce, founding 'her application on the simple fact that her husband is of the same sex as herself. This Avas enough to pi ocure a divorce, but not enough to create an embarrassing Liav case ; and yet the bench of Santiago is sorely puzzed over the matter. It was easy to separate hasband and Avife ; but how about the property ? The one of the two ladies Avho undertook the part of husband married the other for her money and for her prospects. She avus in the habit of fequenting the baths of Colinn, for the purpose of selling fresh eggs and other such commodities to the Avorld of fashion Avho seek health and repo3e in that Avatering place. The police had Avatched the egg-seller, and noticed that he or she always wore a cloak, and that on no account Avas it ever put aside. Otherwise the egg-seller's dress and gait Avere that of a man. On the other hand, the Avife of this singular mate is of a simplicity and innocence so great that for some time aftcv the . arriage, she had no suspicion as to the nullity of her hus- „ band's pretensions. In the meantime, madame ,the husband, in all the pride of manhood, employed herself busily in making purchases and contracts in her wife's name and with her Avife's marriage portion. Noav the question arises Avhether the Avife should be responsible for the debts incurred by the husband Avhile managing her affairs. There is another question also — what punishment should be inflicted on the husband for contempt of law a.id for forgery committed in signing the marriage contract and other documents under an assumed sex. The legal aspects of the case may be left to tbe learned magistrates of Santiago. We are content to pay our tribute of respect to the sweet' innocence of the Avife Avho kneA^ no better, and to recommend the ambition of the Avould-be husband to the serious contemplation of the above uucompromising assertors of Avomen's rights. — Daily Neivs.

We (European Mail) hear that an Italian, named Muratori, has offered to sell to the Emperor Napoleon the secret of a comp< sition intended o neutralise the destructive effects of the new AA'eapons, the principal component of which is a sort of felt mixed with various other substances, and thus transformed into a compact and adhesive mass. This felt, after being kneaded by powerful machines, then made liquid, aud finally cool, d, will resist, it is said, even, at a shorn distance/jas has been proved by experiment, rifle and pistol balls, bayonet thrusts, and sabre strokes. 'A chastepot rifle ball, at a distance of rather more than half the range of that AVi-apon, cannot pkree' a cuirass made of this material, which is said to be well adapted for covering the hulls of ships of war, as a substitute for the heaA'y and costly iron and steel at present employed. The felt plates, be r sides, possess the advantage that, unlike those made of metal, instead of being broken to pieces by a cannon ball, they yield to the impact, and the hole^ made by the shot close of themselves, as if the felt Averc so much india-rubber. AA r e are further told that the composition does not cost much more than the fourth part of the pries of steel and iron.