The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1888. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1777, 27 February 1888, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1888. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

♦ . The Bey E. A. Soott, inoumbent of St. Stephen's (Anglican) Ohuroh, Ashburton, is delivering a series of Sunday evening Lenten leotures on the subject of Booial evils. That selected on Sunday last was " Gambling,'' upon which the rev gentleman gave a very plain and outspoken address. Kindly and courteously, but withal unshrinkingly, he enlarged upon the soul-destroying tendencies of this vioe, whioh he regarded as, perhaps, even worse than that of drunkenness, and urged his hearers to avoid the smallest of beginnings, suoh as tho betting of a pair of gloves upon a horse-race or playing for bix» penny points at whist. He regarded the aotion of tho Legislature m legalising the totalisator as mistaken and mischievous, and urged his hearers to esohew tho vioe of gambling m any and every form. He also disapproved entirely of rallies m oonneotion with ohurch bazaars, and held that it was j incumbent upon all who profeßß tho Christian religion to abstain the very appearance of evil. The address next Sunday evening will be upon ,tho subject of " Drink and its evils." The " Snake Nut " tree or ophiooaryon, is a native of Domarara, m Guiana. The nuts are about tho size of a walnut, and when they are opened tho kernel displays a wonderful resemblance to a snake coiled up. There are the head, raou.th, and eyes, so complete that anyone unacquainted with tho nut would | believe it to be an imitation made by human hands and not a freak of nature. This wonderful reßemblanoe to a snake has induced the natives to oonsider the nut an antidote to snake poison. The tree appears to be peouliar 10 the lower part of tho river Essiquibo and ita ributaries.

The house of Mr John Griffin, at Trevorton, was destroyed by fire shortly before one o'clock on Sunday morning. It appears that about nine o'clock on the previous evening Mrs Griffin was putting the children to bod, and one of them requiring a drink she set the lamp on tho table close to the window while Bhe went to fetch 'it. On returning 9he f found tho curtains m a blaze. She gave an alarm, and Mr Eattray and his son, who live near by, came to her assistance, and with a few buckets of water tho fire was apparently extinguished. Mra Griffin retired to bed about eleven o'clock, but was awakened an hour and a-half later, and found the house m flames. She and the children only managed to effect their escape m their night-dresses, being unable to save anything. The fireballs were rung, and the brigades turned out, but by tho time they arrived on the scene, the house waa merely a mass of smouldering embers, the progress of tho flames having been so rapid. The only feasible surmise as to the origin of the fire is that when the ourta r n3 ignited Home portion of the woodwork caught and was not extinguished, and smouldered until it burst into flames some hours later. Mr Griffin was not at homo at the time of tho ocourrence, being away harvesting. The house was insured for* £100 m the South British office, and the furniture for £70 m the Union. I A oricket match, A3hburton High School v Ohristchurch Boys' High School, was played at Ohristohurch on Saturday. Chrißtohuroh wen 1y an innings and 23 runs. Soores—Ashburton 22 and 68 (E. Buohanan 27, A. Buohanan 15) ; Christohurch 113 (Rees 30, Garetin 20, A*mitage, Orr and Whittle 13 eaoh). E. Buohanan bowled well for the visitors, Garstin and Boss for the home team. The regular" meeting of the Somerset Maeonio Lodge 1811 E.C. waa held at the Masonio Hall on Friday. There was a large attendadce of members, and a number of visiting brethern were also present. The following offioers were eleoted :— W.M., P.M* Bro. H. W. Felton ; Treasurer, Bro. W. Pattman ; Tyler, Bro. B. Oullen. Other bviineso was transacted and at its conclusion P.M. Bro ; 0. Braddell, on behalf of the brethren of the Somerset Lodge, presented the retiring W.M., Bro. E. Dimant, who ia leaving this district, with a very, handsomely-illuminated testimonial on parchment as a token ol the esteem m which he was held by tho members of the Lodge, and also expressive of the keen appreciation the brethren had of tho services rendered the Lodge and the cause of Masonry generally by Bro. Dimant. Bro. Braddell, m presenting the testimonial, spoke m the highest terms of Bro. Dimant as a man and a Maßon, and warmly expressed the sentiments of every one present that the Somerset Lodge was about to lose one of the most highly esteemed and honored members of the oraft. ' Bro. Dimant returned thanka m a most eloquent speeoh for the honor o*«£erred upon him. An adjournment was made to the refeotory, Where a number of the brethren took the opportunity of again bidding farewell to Bro. Dimant and wishing him every happiness and prosperity m his new home. Henry 111., of France, was so foolishly fond of spaniels that he used to carry a litter of them m a basket suspended round his neck when giving his audienoea. His passion for these animals coat him on an average not less than a hundred thousand crowns a year. The London firemen are to be uniformed with asbestos oloth. Last year England paid £3,000,000 to tho foreign farmers for eggs. A white collio has bean presented to the Queen as an unheard of rarity. i M. de Villars olaims to have invented a ! balloon whioh oan be guided. Tho French Government alone will utilise the invention. Aooording to ; u Truth " the Pope has re-' oeivea upwards of 14,000 pairß of slippers from female devotees m various parts of the world. A man m Nebraska has done something new. He was tried for crime, oonvioted and served a sentence. On his release he sued his lawyer for £6,000 for malpraotice. A lady who adverftisod for a girl to "do light housework " reoeived a letter from an applioant who said her health demanded sea air, and asked to know where the lighthouse was situated. A peasant ploughing at Tjoring, m Denmark, unhearthed a handsbme armlet of pure gold weighing twelve ounces, whioh, aooording to the Director of the Museum of Antiquities m Copenhagen, dates from the second or third oantury A.D. A despatch from Belgrade says King Milan, m addressing the Deputies at the recent Servian celebration, said:--" The horizon is dark, and a fearful war seems to be impending. Servia must be prepared to defend her interests." The infant son of Mr and Mrs Mayfield, Wakefield; Mass., is stated to have weighed but eight ounoes at birth. At itß death, whioh occurred when the ohild was several weeks old, it weighed but two pounds. The child was described as perfectly formed. No generous man would go to a spiritual seanoe given by a lady medium, and as the ghost is walking about, while the medium is tied m the oabinet, exolaim, " There's a ra* right by the ghost 1 " It spoils the effeot to have the ghost cry out, and gather up its skirts, and run. A boy had always declined to eat oatmeal, although his mother had urged it upon him as a strengthening diet. Suddenly he surpriseaiher by one morning by eating a liberal plateful and calling for " more." When she asked for an explanation, he replied : "I am going to eat oatmeal till I get strong enough to thrash Gregory Scott." Bad dreams, disturbed sleep, indigestion, •stomaoh gas, all vanish before Amerioan Oo.'s Hop Bitters. Read and ponder A Frenoh gardener has produced a new and beautiful %?ater-Hly. The flowers are six inches m diameter, and of a Mareohal Neil rose color. "Bough on Oatabrh" oorreots offensive odors at onoe. Complete cure of worst chronio oases ; also unequaled as gargle for diphtheria, sore hroat, foul breath. 4