HERE AND THERE.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXV, Issue 1, 8 July 1905, Page 14

HERE AND THERE.

Well, Hardly. to be married, but, alas! he was very nervous, and while asking for information as to how he must act, he put a vital question: “Is it kisstomary to cuss the bride?” lie stammered. A Wireless Message Intercepted. She tripped along with fairy feet, A vision that the heart beguiled, Bewitching, roguish, dainty, sweet, And as she came she smiled. She smiled- at me. (Oh, foolish heart, This eloquent commotion hush! Forbear, thou crimson t-de, to dart In cheeks like mine a blush!) |‘ Airain that glance! Wbat joy to feel That 1. whom thronging years beset. To Beauty so divine reveal Attractions even yet, < We meet Mas, the usual fall Occurs to Pride. the dull and blind; “Her smiles were not for me at all. But someone else behind.” The Tin That Troubled. Wishing to give his father a treat, Mr Thomas Tugg had bought a phonograph, and he proceeded to demonstrate its wonders to the old man. A number of records were ground out in the approved style, and as a piece de resistance he put in a record of a favourite song of his father’s. •‘Well, father,’’ exlaimed Tom. as the last note struggled out, “what do you think of it?” 'The old man eyed the instrument suspiciously and deliberately before replying. “Well, aw nivir liked tinned meats, lad,” he said; “and aw be blowed if aw like tinned niewsic!” The Dangers of the Common Communion Cup. Drs. Koepke and Huss have made an extensive series of experiments to determine how great the danger of the transmission of disease germs through the agency of the communion cup really is. Sterile cups of the usual type, and containing sterilised wine, were drunk from in succession by several healthy persons, and then by individuals known to have consumption. The recommendations of the Berlin Imperial Health Commission to the effect that the cup shall be turned before presenting it to a fresh communicant, and that its rim shall frequently be rubbed off with a clean cloth, wore carried out. but of the ton rabbits inoculated with th? material obtained by wiping the lip-marks with sterile gauze, eight died of consumption. Not only was the rim of the cup capable of conveying infection, even after rubbing with a clean cloth, but it was found that the wine itself also became infected, so that the presentation to each person of a fresh spot on the rim would not ensure security. —“Science Siftings.” Excellent Solder for Glass. Glass is one of the most universally employed bodies. It is transparent (writes a correspondent of “Science Siftings”), and is not attacked by common-ly-occurring substances. Glass onh possesses one annoying drawback apart from its fragility. It is difficult to solder together with other materials, wood or metal. But even in this regard necessity, it is claimed by a German authority, has finally led to the discovery of the right thing, and he a fiords us the following: Melt tin, and add to the melted mass enough copper, with constant stirring, until the melted metal consists of 95 per cent, of tin and 5 per cent, of copper. In order to render the mixture more or less hard, add A to 1 per cent, of zinc or lead, whereby an excellent solder for glass is obtained.

No Wonder He is Lively. The flea has no wings, and doesn’t need any. He can jump farther in proportion to his size than any other insect. Ilp can jump exactly 100 times his height without unusual effort. The difference between the legs of the flea and those of animals is that the joints which attach them to thc*l»ody arc many times stronger. If the thighs of a fly were as strong as those of a flea, he could jump as far. and his wings would be superfluous. Or. if a man’s thighs were as strong, proportionately, as a Ilea’s, he could hop along the road and over the hills as fast as a motor car travels. Old Time Virtues of Tea. Before tea became cheap enough to bo used as a beverage it was, according to the “British Medical Journal,'’ hugely used as a medicine. An advertisement in the “Tatler” used to proclaim the virtues of a “famous chymical quintessence of Bohea tea and cocoanuts together, wherein the volatile salt. oil. and spirit of both ‘formed’ the highest restorative that either food or physic affords.” Being Her Friend. Be’ng her friend. I do nnt care. »ot I, llow gods or men may wrong me, beat me down: Iler wont’s sufficient star to travel by. 1 count her quiet praise sufficient crown. Being her fiiend. I do not covet gold. Save for a royal gift to give her pleaTo sit with her. and have her hand tn hold, Is wealth. 1 think, surpassing minted treasure. Being her friend. I only covet art, A white pure flame to search me as I trace, In crooked letters on a throbbing heart. The hymn to beauty written on her face. JOHN MASEFIELD. Have You the Telephone Ear? It is discovered that the telephone is responsible for a peculiar-development of th? sense of hearing. Most users of the instrument place the receiver to the left ear, and although the extra receiver for th? other ear is to be found in thousands of offices it is the left ear which receives* the soumk and the receiver at the. other ear serves mainly to keep away exterior sounds. It will be found that an extensive use of the telephone sharpens the left ear at the expense of the right, or vice versa, if you generally make u>e of the right ear. In the majority of cases the difference between the two organs of hearing is not very great, but in some persons it is alarmingly so. The sensitive nerves arc so irritated by the sound coming so directly on them and in a tone which is strange that it sets up a reaction which, although unnoticed at the time in all probability, has a cumulative effect and upsets them.

Abstruse. "Why one fish should be of excellent flavour and another in the same river not worth eating, is a puzzle which zoologists do not seem to have tried to solve. 5 ’ Thus speaks a learned contemporary. We cannot solve the question, but will put another well-known puzzle to the writer. Jf a pint of snowflakes when melted make half a pint of water, how much milk should a cow give that is fed on Bada Ruga turnips’ Answer:! Divide the turnips by the number of snowflakes and multiply the product byr the hairs in the cow’s tai]. Deepest Gold Mine. The deepest gold mine in the world i® at Bendigo, iii Australia. The mine in question is called the New Chum Railway Mine, and its main shaft is sunk to the depth of 3900 feet, or only sixty, feet short of three-quarters of a mile. The chi.?f problem in working this extremely deep mine is how to keep the tunnels and general workings cool enough for tile miners to work in. The temperature—usually about 10S degrees —is terribly enervating, and to enable the men to work at all a spray of cold water is let down from above and kept playing continually on the bodies—naked from the waist upward—of the miners. Dummy Horses. The various departments of the British Patent Office teem with odd and absurd devices, but one of the oddest ideas yet put forward is a dummy horse, for which a patent lias recently been granted a Canadian inventor. The object of this horse is to avoid trouble with nervous animals which are apt to run away at the sight of a motor car or carriage. It is intended to be attached to the motor ear for the benefit of the real horse's nerves. In order that the "horse” may serve its full purpose of utility, it is made with a hollow body, in which are to be stored the tools, extra gasolene and other things required by the motorman. The automobile horn is fastened in the mouth of the dummy, and at night the eyes are lighted up, one being green and the other red. and are supposed to serve the same useful purpose as a port light upon board ship. One More Sight. A traveller tells this story of an American fellow-wanderer in Rome, and, like some others, it is to be taken, no doubt, with certain grains of allowance. The American, who had come from the plains of the West, visited the Vatican, and was courteously shown over the papal palace. He asked many questions, and desired to see everything. After all the customary sights had been shown tile priest who attended him asked: "Is there anything else, signor, that you would like to see’” "There’s one thing,” replied the American. “that I want to see more than anything else, and 1 liain't been on the edge of it yet.” “What is that signor?” “The cattle pens.” “Tile cattle pens! Why. we have nothing of the sort,, signor.” “You liain’t? Then where in the world do you keep them papal bulls that we're always bearin' about?”

Fully Prepared. “Air Spitdluiig,” began the youth, hanging his hat on the back of the chair, “I will occupy only a few moments of your time. 1 have come to ask you for your daughter. I ” “Young man,” said the elderly banker, “do you ” “Yes, sir; I realise fully that she has been tenderly nurtured and that she is very dear to you; also that her home is one in which she has been surrounded by every luxury. But she is willing to leave it.” “Can you ” “No, sir; I can’t quite maintain her in the style to which she has been accustomed, but I have a good salary, and 1 am ready to chance it. So is she.” “Will you ” “Yes. sir; I will keep my life insured for a sum sufficient to provide for her if L should be taken away.” . “Would you ” “No, sir; i would not expect to live with the family. 1 am able to buy and furnish a modest home for her.” “Young man,” said Mr Spudlong, looking at his watch, “1 rather like your style. You can have her. Good ” “Morning, sir.” The Circus Placard. If you want x receipt for that edict oracular Known to the world as a circus placard, Take all rhe long: adjectives in the vernacular — Words that have only one syllable barred: — Astounding, incredible. startling. sensational, Fabulous, famous, enormous, unclassed. Wonderful, elephantine, aggregat ional. Glittering, gorgeous, outre, unsurpassed. Radiant, ravishing, lustrous, quotidian I'ulgeiit, prodigious, colossal, bizarre. Enchanting, astonishing. Afric, Numidian. Shimmering, glimmering, spectacular. Gargantuan. Gog-and-Magog. Brobdingnagian. Magical, marvellous, -mystical. Magian, On ly-live-sppci men-born-in-a-cagian. Novel, eccentric, abnormal, unique Loop-looping, death-flouting, killed every week — Take of those adjectives all that able. Set. them in order so they’ll be perusable 1 rint on pink paper 'and paste bv the yard. And the the happy result is a circus placard. 1 For Fussy ” Appetites. When the appetite of the family begins to falter, and every one feels out of sorts, try leaving the meat out of the daily menu for a few da vs. Eat fruit and green things in large quantities. Grapes are said to be a specific for malaria, and fortunately they grow plentifully in malarial communities. Doctors prescribe lettuce, tomatoes and lemons for liver troubles, but salads should have little vinegar in them when eaten for health’s sake. Pineapple is a delicious breakfast fruit, and is believed to be very efficacious for diseases of the throat. Grape fruit, also chicory and lettuce salad, with plain oil and vinegar dressing, are excellent for the nerves" The English people eat watercress plentifully, believing that it is a remedy for lung troubles. Figs and dates at night are not only a delicious little bedtime bite, but decidedly' wholesome. Don t drink extremely' eold things early in the morning or late at night, and don’t go to bed too early. Too much sleep is not good for digestion. A week or two of dieting on these lines will rest the system and encourage tired appetites. Tsar’s Private Newspaper. hile the Russian citizen is forced to be content with his foreign papers blacked out by the censor, the Tsar, until the commencement of the Japanese war, was supplied with news of the outside world only through the medium of a daily paper printed for him bv a apeeial department of the Foreign Office. This contained clippings and translations from all the European papers, and was printed upon fine paper from special type. All items which might be supposed to be disquieting to the Tsar awe eliminated by the editors, and the freshly-printed sheet contained news designed to please the one subscriber. Since the commencement of the war the Tsar has insisted upon also being supplied with •■unblaekcd" copies of eertain English papers, and these have been Bent with no good grace by the censors,

who in times past have resorted to odd devices to keep certain publications from their imperial master, counterfeit* sometimes being printed. This was notably the case with a revolutionary sheet published in London ami which was rabid in its strictures of the court officials. Th? paper ami type were so cleverly counterfeited that it was some, months before the .scheme was detected. The blacked out matter is saved for record, and in huge scrapbooks may be fouhd all prohibited articles. A glance at these books is a courtesy extended by the censor to his friends. Automatic Flogging. The spanking machine lias been used in farce comedy as a mirth provoker, but the Hogging machine now adopted in the Russian army is a more complicated and serious affair. The whipping has always been done by other soldiers under the command of an officer, and the punishment has varied according to the feeling of the soldier toward his victim. The new machine is automatic in its action, ami as soon as the culprit is fastened in position a spring is tightened or loosened to gauge the exact force of the. blow. A pointer is moved over a dial to the requisite number of strokes and the mechanism is started. With perfect regularity the victim’s back is scourged by the thongs, the handle of the whip being moved by a screw device after each stroke so that the lash does not fall upon the same spot throughout the punishment. Each blow is of uniform severity, and as soon as the required number have been given the machine comes to rest and the offender is released, with the assurance that the exact punishment ordered has been meted out to him. Academy Clothes. From the point of view of clothes this year’s Academy is a triumph of mediocrity. The Mould of Form may be in its place, but the Glass of Fashion is wanting, remarks the “Express.” Rarely has the artistic send soared above the conventional white satin evening gown, chiffon fichu, black picture hat, and inevitable string of pearls, which occur with the painful regularity of a uniform. In One direction only have this year’s exhibitors departed from the traditional Academy fashions, and that is by perpetuating on canvas the charms of the marabout stole. This fashionable article of feminine attire has had an irresistible attraction to portrait painters, and several artists have tried to depict its fleecy, feathery whiteness, with varying degrees of success. Inaccuracies in the cut and finish of gowns that would be detected by the humblest village dressmaker abound on the walls. Skirts arc innocent of the harmless and necessary seam, and all artists have ignored the necessity for dress fastenings. Nor have the male sitters fared any better. Distinguished politicians, men of letters, and clerics gaze placidly down from the walls in coats that would rend the heart of any tailor with self-respect, and trousers that he would have refused to cut. Mr Sargent, for instance, gives Senov Manuel Garcia, most youthful and centenarians. a badly fitting frock-coat, and trousers that are decidedly baggy at the knees, while Air Al. 11. Spieimann. although wearing an immaculate dress coat, has a collar several sizes too large. Possibly the Rev. Stopford Brooke is one of those unfortunate beings who have never mastered the mysteries of tying a bow. but Mr Onslow Ford need not have immortalised his shortcomings. Air Sargent has elected to paint the Countess of Warwick in an evening gown of pearl-coloured silk. A cloak of rich pearl grey silk, lined with blue satin, falls from her shoulders, but 1 he toilette, though a very becoming one, is not the most suitable for the garden at mid-day. which is suggested by the background. Even more extraordinary is the toilette worn by Lady Hillingdon, who has been supplied by Mr Frank .Dicks??, R.A.. with a low-necked gown of white chiffon, the fashionable elbow sleeves, a diamond necklace, a hat two seasons old. a stole and a chiffon parasol. Miss Daisy Dcwer. painted by Mr Arthur Hacker, wears a sable stole aud muff with a white evening frock.

Under Difficulties. Oh. l-h»vely one! h-h hear m-ui-iu iue Js a-a all I ask; I h»ug to l»-b-be. with thee That I may b-b-bask Within tile w-w-warnith divine of tb-tli-thy caress. W-w-wiit thou hr m-ui-niine ? Ob, answer, “Y-y-yes I” Good thir. ala th! I cannot tliay Thith thing thou athkvih me.’ Thop! iitheu ! hathten not a wav I The real lion'th plain to thtr. If I for theveii ageth tlitrove My anthwrr to ekthpivth To tliitli the thtory of thy love. That antliwer’d thtill be •• Veth !’’ Literary Memories. A capital volume of reminiscences, under the title ‘’Tracks of a Rolling Stone,” has been written by the Hoi" Henry J. Coke. He presents Captain Marryat, in the midst of his family circle, spinning, with an imperturbable Sedateness, impossible varus. which grow more and more preposterous as he notes bis listeners' eredulitv. He tells how he called upon Leighton in Rome, and found him on his knees, diffident. and almost desponding, rolling and buttering, preparatory to sending it to the Academy, his Cimabne procession—the picture which was accepted, and bought by Prince Albert before the Exhibition opened. He shows us Garibaldi, dressed in a red flannel shirt, among the chosen ones of society, and Bulwer-Lytton sauntering apart, envying the Italian hero the Obsequious reverence paid to his miner’s costume. He paints for us in a very few words a portrait of Sir Richard Burton, which convinces one of the inevitability of the most incredible adventures that befell him. He shows us Tennyson—not only Tennyson the poet, but' Tennyson the smoker—whose matudinal indulgence in tobacco inspired Sir William Harcourt’s remark on "the earliest pipe of halfawakened bards. Most curious in Mr Coke’s book is the revelation of the precise method by which Thackeray drew his character. Mr Harry Poker, of ■•Pendennis.” 'The original was one Andrew Areedeckne (pronounced Archdeacon, and abbreviated to “Arehy”). a diminutive member of the bld Garrick, "round as a cask, with a small, singularly round faee and head, closely cropped hair, and large, soft eyes—in a word, so like a seal that he was often called Phoca.” Mr Coke declares that the following specimen of Phoca’s talk (in ‘•Pendennis”) must have been phonographed: "Mr Henry Foker. loquitor:. ‘He inquired for Rincer and the eold in his nose, told Mrs Rincer a riddle, asked Miss Rincer when she would i,c prepared to marry him. and paid his compliments to Miss Brett, another young lady in the bar, all in a minute of time, and with a liveliness and facetiousness which set all these young ladies in a giggle. "Have a drop Pelt; it’s recommended by the faculty, etc. Give the young one a glass, I{.'. and score it up to yours truly.’’’ T fancy the great man who recorded these words (observes Mr Coke) was more afraid of Mr Harry Phoca’ than of any other man in the Garrick ( lull—possibly for the reason that honest •Harry was not the least bit afraid of him. The shy, the proud, the sensitive .satirist would steal silently into the room, avoiding notice as though he wished himself invisible. Phoca would be warming his back at the tire, and calling for a glass of ‘Foker's own.’ Seeing the giant enter, he would advance a step or two, with a couple of extended fingers, and exclaim, quite affably, ‘Ha! Mr Thaekry! litary cove! Glad to see you, si r. How’s Ma jor I Jobbings? and. likely enough, would turn to the waiter, and bid him, ‘Give this gent a glass of the same, and score it up to yours truly!’ We have his bio

grapher’s word for it that he would have winked at the Duke <»f Wellington with just as little scruple. ’ Yes. Andrew Areedeckne was th? original of Harry Foker; and from Hie cut of his cloth?* to his family connection, and to the cmnicality. the simplicity. the .sweetness of temper (though hardly doing justice to the lovableness of th? little man), the fnnoii* caricature tits l.im to a T.” The Heavily Insured. In reference to M. Patlvrew-ki’s distressing illness, it is interesting to recall that, like all other great musical performers, I - .* has always been heavily insured against all kinds of risks chat might temporarily prevent him from appearing on the concert platform. His two hands are permanently underwritten for no less than £10.0(10. so that if either of them sustain.'d siieli an injury through accident or disease as would prevent him from playing for the future, or so impair his powers as to render his performances of les-, value, he would qualify for the iarg* sums named. Of tin* other most famous concert performers. Kubelik is generally understood to he one of the most heavily insured (remarks "Punch”). He has stat<il that he pays £3OO premium for insuranc.? in respect of his bow-hand alone, so that if prevented from fulfilling a single engagement he would receive £2OOO compensation. For a total disablement of this hand he would receive £lO.000. In the case of Josef Hoffmann, not only each hand, hut each individual finger. is separately insured. Such insurances are by no means confined to musical performers. Each of the Australian cricketers is insured against any injury that would incapacitate him in the field, while most of the leading English players arc protected in this way against the penalties of writer’s cram|M Mr. Bcerbohm Tree insures not only his general health hut also his left hand and his left hip. If anything should occur to prevent these two portions of his anatomy from coming into picturesque conjunction he would receive a cheque of considerabh* dimension*. George Alexander, in addition to his voice, insures his trouser-press. Air. Harold Begbie pays a heavy premium on his adjective box. and if at any time he fiiihxl to produce the icipiired epithet while writing one of his charming articles he would he entitled to hatnlsome comp.*nsation. Air. Bernard Shaw’s insurancJs are numerous and weighty. For instalic •, it is stated on the Lest authority that he pays no less than £.">oo premium to indemnify him against the humiliating cons.‘quenees of official recognition, sinh as elevation toithe ranks of the Order of Merit, election to the Athenaeum t’luh under the Distinguished Rule, or inclusion in the ranks of the British Academy. Mr. Balfour's iiitcllcj’t. we understand. is permanently underwritten for no less a sum than £20.000. ihu* if h? were ever compel 1 , d to give a definition or make a statement the interpretation of which should he unanimously agreed on by Mr. ( haplin. Mr. Asquith. . Lord < «eorge Hamilton. Mr. ( haiube) lain, ami Mr. Arthur Elliot, lv will at once qualify for the sum nimitioned. Air. Hall Caine, the eminent ManK novelist, has taken out a policy of £5OOO against being mistak'ii for Bacon.