WAIFS AND STRAYS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 90, 16 January 1875, Page 11

WAIFS AND STRAYS.

Dryden' s Monet-Making. — As regards dedication fees., it is notorious that no flattery was too fulsome, no depth, of self abasement too profound, for Dryden' s. mendicant spirit. If ithe pay was proportionate to the degree of adulation, he was certainly entitled to the maximum. He dedicated his translation of Virgil to three noblemen, with what Johnson calls " an economy of flattery at once lavish and discreet." What this investment of praise yielded him we do not know ; hut in his letter of thanks to one patron (Lord Chesterfield), he characterizes his lordship's donation as a "noble present." The extraordinary feature in this case, however, is that in addition to dedication fees, Dryden received for his Virgil both subscriptions and copy money. The copy money consisted certainly ' of £50 for every two books of the • iEneid/ and probably of the same sum for the " Georgics " and the " Pastorals." The plan of subscription was ingeniously contrived so as to create a supplementary galaxy of patrons, each of whom was propitiated by what was in effect a special dedication. There were two classes of subscribers. Those in the first class paid five guineas each ; those in the second, two guineas. The inducement offered to the five guinea subscribers was that in honor of each of them there should be inserted in the work an engraving embellished at the foot with his coat of arms. The bait took wonderfully. There were in the end 102 subscribers of five guineas,- representing the sum of 510 guineas, which, calculating the guinea as Dryden did, at twentynine shillings, amounted to £739 10s. Indeed, Dryden was a cunning speculator as well as a shrewd bargain-driver, as his publisher found to his cost. According to the Pope's estimate, Dryden netted from hi 3 Virgil the sum of £1,200. — 'Quarterly Review.* Careless Correspondents. — As many as 18,700 letters were posted in the TJnited Kingdom in 1873 without any address. Nearly 500 of the letters contained cash, cheques., and bills of exchange to ihe value of more than £13,000. * Remuneration of Leading Actors. — The ' Boston Advertiser ' says : — Novelists and poets of the first rank are not nearly so well paid as actors of equal eminence in their chosen profession. Mr Sothern, for instance, has played " Lord Dundreary" nearly 5000 times, and if he has received on a average 400 dols. for each performance, this single character has brought him the enormous sum of 2,000,000 dols. Mr Jefferson has appeared about 2000 times as " Rip Van Winkle," and if he received 500 dols. for each representation (his terms, when he plays for a certainty, are 650 dols., and when he shares with the management he often takes 4000 dols. for half a dozen performances), he must have acquired 1,000,000 dols. by this single happy creation. It would therefore appear that the " youngest of the sister arts " is far more lucrative as a profession — to those who win the highest honors — than literature. But poets and novelists have one compensation — their fame is broader and more enduring than the actors. Ristori. — As according to recent Sydney news, Madame Ristori, the celebrated actress, is now performing at that city, it may be of interest to quote the following paragraph from the ' Pall Mall Gazette * : — The American Telegraph Agency has forwarded tho following telegram, dated Valparaiso, August 28 — " The tragic actress Ristori implored and obtained the pardon of Mimoz, who was about to be shot. The Government was induced to commute the sentence of death, Ristori signing the act of clemency. Enthusiasm indescribable." Madame Ristori, the great Italian actress, who came to us a season or two ago, " says the London ' Weekly Times/ " and left us all too quickly, has lately saved the life of a soldier who was condemned to be shot. This is not the first time she has been the heroine of a similar adventure. In 1857, between the scenes of " Medea," a lady came to her and begged her to intercede for the lif e of her son, who was condemned to be shot on the morrow. Without removing her stage costume the great tragedienne walked into the Royal box where the Queen Isabella was seated, and refused to continue the performance until her Majesty had granted her a favor. The Queen, who was also a passionate admirer of dramatic talent, readily granted her request, and the condemned son was restored to his mother's arms." Never Despair. — An American contemporary encourages men and youths to fight manfully the battle of life, by giving the following examples from American history : — Peter Cooper failed in making hats, failed as a cabinet-maker, locomotive-builder and grocer, but as often as he failed he " tried again," until he could stand upon his feet alone, then crowned his victory by giving a j million dollars to help the poor boys in times to come. Horace Greeley tried three or four lines of business before he founded the ' Tribune/ and made it worth a million dollars. Patrick Henry failed at everything he undertook until he made himself the ornament of his age and nation. The founder of the 'New York Herald' kept on failing and sinking his money for ten years, and then made one of the most profitable newspapers on earth. Stephen A. Douglas made dinner-tables and bedsteads and bureaus many a long year before he made himself a giant on the floor of Congress. I General Grant failed at everything except smoking cigars; he learned to tan hides, but could not sell leather enough to purchase a pair of breeches. A dozen years ago "he brought up "on the top of a wood-pile " teaming it " to town for 4Odols a month, a; c| yet he is at the head of a great nation. One of the Lost Arts. — The frescoes of Michael Ansje'o are the wonder and admiration of every appreciative person who his looked at them on the lofty ceilings t f the Sistine Chapel at Rome ; but compared with the mural paintings at Rome, traced centuries before, they look dim and almost lustreless. The mural paintings • aTe as bright as the Nile itself, and still appear likely to "laiin the admiration of visitors for thousands^of years to come. Tae colors of the ancients, when exposed for years to moisture, do not lose their brightness, while their woven fabrics, long buried in fie earth resist decay, and even timber, preserved by some unknown process,

defies the action of the elements, and remains nearly as sound as in the time of the Pharaohs. It is said that numerous experiments i have.been tried, of subjecting the ancient paintings to the flame of ! a gas jet, but the heat thus imparted failed to destroy them. Egyptian cement, as it is well known, is almost imperishable, uniting wood, glass, stone, iron and other articles together so firmly as to resist all efforts to sever them at the point of union. Fire and water will not destroy the cement, and it is practically indestructible. This substance is supposed to have been used in embalming their dead, preserving their works of art and making their fountains durable. Cultivating a Pure Expression. — Every word that falls from the lips of mothers and sisters especially should be pure, and concise, and. simple ; not pearls, such as fall from the lips of the princess, but sweet, good words, that little children can gather without fears of soil, or after shame, or blame, or any regrets to pain through all their life. Children should be taught the frequent use of good, strong, expressive words — words that mean exactly what they should express in their proper places. If a child, or young person, has a loose, flung-together way of stringing words when endeavoring to say something, he should be made to " try again," and see if he cannot do better. It is painful to listen to many girls' talk. They begin with "My Goodness ! " and interlard it with "oVs ! " and " sakes alive ! " and "so sweet ! " and "so queenly ! " and so many phases that one is tempted to believe they have no training at all, or else their mothers were very foolish women. There is nothing more disgusting than the twaddle of illbred girls ,■ one is provoked often into taking a paper and letting them ripple on, like brooks that flow they know not whither. My heart warms with love for sensible girls and pore boys ; and, ! after all, if our girls and boys are not this, I fear it is our own fault j — that this great trust rests in the hearts and hands of the women of our land. If we have a noble, useful purpose in life, we shall infuse the right spirit into those around us. The Irisbi-speaking Population of Ireland. — In 1871 the entire Irish-speaking population numbered only 817,165. The percentages according to the total population in the different Provinces were these: — In Leinster, I*2 j in Munster, 27*7; in Ulster, 4'6j and in Connanght, 39-0 ; for the total of Ireland, 18"1. Kilkenny and Louth are tie counties of Leinster where the Irish language is most spoken. In Munster they are Kerry, Clare and Waterford ; in Ulster, Donegal, where 2S per cent, of the population speaks the I language. But in Connaught there are no less than 56 per cent, of the Irish-speaking population. In the county of Mayo and Gal- | way respectively a great many people cannot speak English. Temperature at Great Heights. — The * Times ' of Oct. 2, says : — Professor Wahl, who accompanied Professor Wise in a recent balloon a-scent, gives the following account of the temperature experienced: — The maximum temperatvire observed was 97 deg. at starting-, and this continued at I,oooft. At 2000 ft. it was 96 deg ; at 3000 ft. 85 deg. The fall went on until, at the greatest altitude attained — viz., 8,742 ft., the temperature was but 68 deg. It fell gradually as we descended, but was lower than in the ascent, owing, doubtless, to approaching twilight and the attendant lessening of the sun's power. Observations were always made with a view to estimate the quantity and quality of any mechanical or other impurities of the atmosphere, but it will require some little time and careful work before anyjjinformation on this point can be made public. -Mosquitoes Utilised. — The ' Scientific American' describes a strange fertiliser. At Stratfprd, Connecticut, where mosquitoes are as thick as a fog, lives an ingenious Yankee, so they say — believe it who may — who puts these insects to profitable uses. He has invented a large revolving scoop net covered with lace, which is put in motion by a windmill, water power, or steam. The lower half of the scoop is placed in water, The upper half moves through the atmosphere, and. at each rotation draws an immense number of the " squittoes" down into the water, where they drown and sink to the bottom. Every revolution of the net draws in an ounce of mosquitoes, or a ton for 32,000 turns of the machine. The mosquitoes thus collected make a splendid manure for the land, worth 45 dollars a ton. French Suicides. — The following facts arc extracted from a report of the French Minister of Justice. The number of suicides reported to the authorities for 1572 were 5276, or 161 more than those of 1869, and 272 less than those of 1868, the department of the Seine , contributing one-seventh of the total. Seventy-eight per cent of the total belonged to the male sex, or 15 per 100,000, the remaining 22 per cent., representing the female sex, were in the proportion of 6 per 100,000 ; 2312 or 45 per cent, of the suicides had recourse to strangulation, 1463, or nearly 8 per cent., to drowning, 581 to firearms, 378 to charcoal, 206 to cutting instruments, and. 107 to poison. The causes were poverty and reverses, 453 ; family misfortunes, 732 ; love, "jealousy, debauchexy, and bad conduct, 315 ; drunkenness, 513 j physical suffering, 629, various, 473; insanity, 1568; capital crimes, 23. A Page in Natural History. — A schoolboy lately handed to his teacher the following characteristic composition . — " Aboxit Dogs. — Dogs is usefuller as cats. Mice is afeard of mad cats. They bite 'em. Dogs follers boys, and catches a hog by the ear. Hogs rarely bite. People eat hogs, but not the Jews, as they and all other animals as doesn't chew the cud isn't clean ones. Dogs sometimes gets hit with boot-jacks for barking of nites. Sleepy people get mad and throw 'em. Dogs is the best animal for man; they do more for man. than growned hogs or orses, or even gotes. Gotes, unlike cats, have horns. The end. What the Microscope Shows. — Leuwenhoee tells of an insect seen with the microscope that multiplied twenty-seven millions times would only equal a mite. Insects of every kind may be seen in the cavities of a grain of sand. Mo\xld is a forest of beautiful trees with branches, leaves and fruit. Butterflies are fully feathered. Hairs are hollow tubes. The surface of our bodies are covered with scales like a fish ; a single grain of sand would cover one hundred and fifty of these scales, and

yet; a scale covers five hundred pores ; through these narrow openings the sweat forces itself like water through a sieve. Each drop of stagnant water contains a world of animated beings, swimming with as much liberty as the whales in the sea. Each leaf has a colony of insects grazing on its like cows on a meadow. Power of the Hitman ErE. — George Pitt, afterwards Lord Rivers, declared* that he could tame the most ferocious animal by looking at it steadily. A friend said: "Well, there is a mastiff in the court-yard of the neighborhood ; will you try your powers on him ? " Pitt agreed to do so, and the company descended into the court-yard. A servant held the mastiff by a chain. Pitt knelt down a short distance from the animal and stared him sternly in the face. They all shuddered. At a given signal the mastiff was let loose, and rushed furiously towards Pitt, then suddenly checked his pace, seemed confounded, and leaping over Pitt's head, ran away, and was not seen for many hours afterwards. " Consumption op Aib in Activity and Repose. — Dp. Radclyffe Hall makes the following interesting statement, with regard to the , amount of air we consume in repose, and at different degrees of activity .• When still, we use 500 cubic inches of air in a minute ; if we walk at the rate of one mile an hour, we use 800 ; two miles, 1000 ; three miles, 1,600 ; four miles, 2,300. If wo run at the rate of six miles an hour, we use 3,000 cubic inches ; trotting a horse, 1,750 ; cantering, 1,500. Royai Needlewomen. — The Empress Eugenic is said to be an accomplished artist in needlework and embroidery. During the last year she has beguiled the hours of their tedium by working a set of " vestments," and also a stool and cushion for the use of the priest. So jealous was the fair devotee of sharing the pious task with anothei 1 , that she would not allow a stitch to be set by any hand but her own. The gentle craft of needlework has been practised by many royal ladies before the time of Eugenic. Matilda of Flanders, the spouse William the Conqueror, was particularly famed for her skill in embroidery ; and the Bayeux Cathedral attests heir ingenuity and industry with a needle. Into a piece of canvas nineteen inches wide and sixty-seven in length, the royal lady, stitched the history of the conquest of England, by her martial consort, commencing with the visit of Harold to the Norman court, and ending with his death at the battle of Hastings. The leading transactions of these eventful years, the death of Edward the Confessor, and the coronation of Harold in the chamber of the royal dead, are represented in the most regular order in this piece of needlework, which contains many hundred figures of men, horses, birds, beasts, trees, houses, castles, and churches — all executed in their proper colors, with names and inscriptions over them to elucidate the story. We may hope the beautiful but hapless Mary Queen of Scots was able to cheat the hours, during the long and weary imprisonment, of a part of their misery, by her close application to the needle. She wrought several curious and elaborate works in embroidery, while a captive in her haughty cousin's toils, which are noted in history. In a letter to his friend, "rare Ben Johnson," Sir William Drummond describes a bed of state which Queen Mavy covered,, with emblems and devices embroidered in gold and silk. She was considered to possess great talent for composing these pictoral allegories. Thirty rebusses and punning devices, besides much herald blazonry, were stitched into this bed of state. f ' The workmanship," concludes Sir William, "is curiously, done, and truly it may be said of it, the execution surpassed the material." We read also that Mary spent niauy months embroidering a rich scarf for her only son, whom she parted from when he was only an infant, and longed hopelessly to see again during her eighteen years of imprisonment. How many sad thoughts and bitter fears must have been sewed into that garment by the unhappy mother who mourned, with much else, the loss of her liberty, her crown, and her child. A Memento of Moobe. — A little book of French epigrams which once belonged to Thomas Moore was sold in London for a few shillings. It contains one or two translations in pencil on the fly leaves. They are altered and polished rncst carefully, but do not seem to have ever been published. One is as follows : — ■ Cloflio, that r scribbliug\ chattering pott, To me the other morning said, " Which of my works do you like best ? " I answered," " Those I have not rtad," Another is ■ varied several times : — Prometheus, to punish his pilfering art, " Had a vulture to feed day and night on liis heart ; Hndst them, my good friend, been in his situation, Alas for the bird ! 'twould have died of starvation. This is a different version : Prometheus, to punish his pilfering, they say, Had a vulture to fesd on his heart night aud day ; Hadst tho\i, my good fiiend, been in his situation. The vulture, by Jove ! would have died of starvation. Names op Cottntbies. — Europe signifies a country of white corn* plexions ; so named because the inhabitants there wero of lightea complexion than those of either Asia or Africa. Africa signifies thA land of corn, or ears. It was celebrated for its abundance of corn anoF 1 all kinds of grain. Spain, a country of rabbits and conies. This country was once so infested with these animals that the inhabitants petitioned Augustus for an army to. destroy them. Italy, a country of pitch ; from its yielding great quantities of black pitch. Gaul, I modern France, signifies yellow-haired ; as yellow hair characterized its first inhabitants. Hibernia, as utmost, or last habitation ; fop beyond this, westward, Phcenicians, we are told, never extended their voyages. Britain, the country of tin ; as there were great quantities of lead and tiu found on the adjacent island. The Greeks called it Albion, which signifies in the Phoenician tongue, either white op high mountains, from the whiteness of its shores, or the high rocks on tlie western coast. The ' Germania ' is informed by a correspondent in Rome that on hearing of Count Arnim's arrest the Holy Father exclaimed, *' Ecco, ecco ! Arniin in prison like myself ! He does not deserve it. Should it be of any use I would gladly give him a certificate testifying him to have served his Government well here. For he has in truth done all that he could to injure myself and the Church."