LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1955, 27 September 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mrs W. E. Vanderbilt baß a diamond ring worth £10,000. Should Don Pedro die, Brazil will be governed by a woman.

The Qaeen of Sweden is teaobing her peasantry how to oook. Queen Natalie, of Servia, always wears her hair down her baok.

Tho bandana factories of England and Sootland are overrun with Araerior.n orders. George Sturge, who died lately m England, left more than £150,000 to various charities. Miners are Btill flooking to Mahakipawa from all parts of the oolrny. The Customs revenue m Victoria for tho month of August amounted to £300,778. Seven families are seriously ill at Chewton, Victoria, from partaking of diseased meat.

A new school diatriot has just boon proolaimed m Nelson. under the ourious name of " The Promised Land School Dißtriot." Large sales of frozen meat have taken plaoe at Wellington at 2£d por lb, frozen and m bags, free on board. The late Denniß Croften of Dublin has left £60,000 to religious and charitable institutions.

The English are a betting people. It is estimated that over £500,000 ohaDged hands Derby day. Phyßioian— •' Pat, don't you know better than to have your pigstyo bo oloso to the house ? " "An pby ahuld oi not, nor ? " " Its unhealthy." "Be away wid your nonsense. Sure the pig has never been sick a day m his life."

An exchange remarks m reference to the report that Sir Julius Yogel is writing a novel, that it may not be known that many yearß ago when editor of the •' Otago Daily Times," New Zealand, he wrote the best dramatisation of "Lady Audley's Seoret " that has yet been staged. _ Muoh of the so-called ivory now m use is Bimply potato. A good, sound potato washed m diluted sulphuric aoid, then boiled m the same solution, and then slowly dried, is all ready to be turned into buttons, poker chips and innumerable othei things that ivory was used for onoe upon a time. A leoture waß delivered m the Orange Hall laßt evening by the Roy 0. 0. Brown, of Timaru, on the subjeot of " Conditional Immortality." There was a very fair attendance, and Mr Brown rivetted the interest of his audienoe throughout the entire evening. Mr Brown lectures at Flomington this evening, and again at Ashburton on Friday.

At the rink to-morrow evening a fanoy drees carnival will be held. Those taking part m the maypole danoe have been assiduously practising during the last three weeks and that this item will be a great success there is no doubt. The enterprising proprietor of the rink has provided ample seating accommodation for the Bpeotatora, and the Beats are so arranged that all the onlookers will be able to get a view of the floor. The services of the Ashburton band have been engaged and all the arrangements m connection with the affair are most complete.

The Matoh Committee of tho Aahburton Cricket Club met on Tuesday evening to consider a letter from tho Lanoaster Park Club, stating that they would be glad to Bond a team tp Ashburton during the third week m Ootobor. The Seoretary was instructed to reply that the ABhburton Club would play the Lancaster Park representatives on Tuesday, the 16th Oot., should that date be suitable to them. It was deoided to open the season on the 29th inst. with a matoh " A to L " v " M to Z," sides to be captained by Messrs G. W. Andrews and A. M. Jameson respectively. The Seoretary wbb also inßtruoted to write to tho Timaru, Temuka, Lauriston, and Methven Clubs, and endeavour to arrange matches with them. In view of the matoh with the Lancaster Park Club, who, it is understood, will send a strong eleven down, players ftro requested to take opportunity for praotice. The Captain of the Club will be elected on the ground on Saturday next.

The Companions of the Aehburton Kilwinning Royal Aroh Chapter, No. 187, S.C., assembled m full muster on Monday evening, 2'ith instant, m the Masonic Hall for the purpose of witnessing tho installation of principals and officers for the oußuing year. The ceremony wa3 performed m a moßt impressive manner m the presence of many visitors from Lyttelton, Inveroargill, etc., by M.E. Comp Henry Zander, P.Z., and following oflioors were duly installed :— M.E. Gomp Charles Braddell aa Z. ; M.E. Comp fl. W Felton aa H. ; Oomp W. Anderson aa J. • M.E. Comp H. Zander, S.E. ; Oomp W. S.N.; M.E. Oomp D. Maofarlane as Treasurer; M.E. Oomp J. Scaly, P.S • Oomp J. Oorbitt as S.S. ; Comp S. Noleon as J.S. ; Comp R. Oullen as Janitor ; Comp J. Tasker aoted as M.O. Oomp H. Gates preBided at the organ, and under hiß direotion tho ohoir odded greatly to the ceremony, •M.E. Comp Charles Braddell returned thanks to the Companions for the honor oonforred upon him, and also thanked the visitors for their attendance Tho officers for the Mark and Excellent Degrees will bo appointed at the ne?t meeting, After oloßing the Chapter the Companions retired to the banquet room where they participated m a sumptuous dinner provided by the Committee. The usual loyal ana other toastß were duly honored, and the visitors Bpeoially mentioned that they were Pleased to have been present, as probably the A.K.R.A. Chapter was tho most successful and flourishing Chapter they had been m, as their working wbb exoellent and perfeot, and their jewels and furniture the beat they had seen. The Opmpanions separated at an early hour, having spent a vory pleasant evening.

We remind, our readers of the aooial gathering to be held thia evening m St. Stephen's Sohoolroom.

The pin factories of England, Franoe, Holland, and Germany are said to turn out 77,000,000 pins daily.

The football match Englishmen versus South Island, played at Dunedin yesterday, resulted m a viotory for the Englishmen by five points to three. *

The richest yonng man m England is Captain Harry McCalmont, a cousin of the Earl of Cairns, who haß inherited a fortune which, when he gets it five yeara hence, should amount to £6,000,000.

The Spanish Committee having m oharge the Christopher Columbus oelebrationß offers a prize of £2000 for the best book m any language on the geographical discoveries of Portogueae explorers previous to tho time of Magellan,

The annual products of land m New Zealand from agricultural and paatoral pursuits and mines are valued at about £6,300,000. Mr Beetham estimates that by thb judioious expenditure of capital the produce of the mines might be quadrupled.

Jerußftlem is rapidly becoming again the oity of the Jews. In 1880 there were, probably, not more than 5000 Jews there; now there aro more than 30,000. The recent persecutions m Russia have led thousands of them to seek a home m their ancient city.

An interesting case under the. Marriage Act, 1880, will shortly be heard m Masterton, where a prosecution will be made for a breach of the forty-six section of the Aot by a man marrying hiß deoeased brothers widow.

Prinooas de Metternioh is one of the ugliest women imaginable. She said of herself when m Paris, " I am the best dressed monkey m the city," and Bho really had the courage to found a " Club of Ugly Women," a club of whioh there were only five members.

There has jußt died at Birtley, a village m the county of Durham, a woman named Mary Long, at the age of 110. She leaves a sister aged 104 ; and a brother died a few months ago, aged 100 years. The two deceased were blind, and so is the surviving sister.

It appears from a oase whioh was heard at Dalston recently that women are employed m London to make boot-uppers at from ninepence to one shilling per dozen. This is done by maohinists at their own homes, and by working like galley-alavea ten shillings a week can be earned by an expert hand. It is dreadful that starving people should be employed by wealthy firma at suoh miserable rataa.

A dirty old portrait of Robert Burns wbb recently bought at a broker's shop m Toronto for £2. It haß been carefully cleaned, and turns out to be an oil painting by Raeburn, dated 1787. The purchaser now values it at £2000, and he intends to send it to Sootland for exhibition, with a view to it« sale. This pioture was bought many years ago at the sale of the household effeots of a deceased Scotch farmer m Canada.

Tho "New Zealand Herald" says:— A psr&on oonneoted with the early history of New Zealand reoently paßsed away — Isabella Margaret Nelson— who had been for fiftyeight years m tha aervioe of the De Thierry family. The Baron de Thierry and his retainers landed at Hokiangain 1837, and deceased has followed tho varying fortunes of the family Binoe then with perfeot oonstanoy and- devotion. Of the De Thierry family there now only remain Charleß, the present Baron, and Mr Riohard De Thierry, his brother, at whose house deceased paused the latter years of her life.

Captain Wray, tho R.M., to-day gave judgment m the oaao Thomas v Brick, a Buit that haß been exoiting a good of interest among farmers and others having dealings m stock. Judgment was given for tho plaintiff for half commission, . the Magistrate deoiding that the Bheep, over the Bale of whioh the action arose, had been placed m plaintiff's hands for disposal, and that though they were sold subsequently by defendant it was through plantifi's negotiations that the Bale was brought about. The plaintiff olaimed full commission, but the Magistrate thought that the oharge of half commission, customary m oases of re-sale, was sufficient, and accordingly gave judgment for that amount.

Mra Arthur Stannard, tho authoresa o Booties' Baby, was brought up m a barrack yard, her father having been m a cavalry regiment, and Bhe having been the playmate of the officers, m much the same way as the little heroine of her own story. She has never since come up to tho level of her twin successes, Booties' Bay and Hoop-la, but they have uufiioed to win her a secure position with publishers and also with newspaper proprietors, har style being very suitable for feuillcton-vrtiting m weekly issues. She is a most indefatigable woman, and her husband, who is a young Amerioan, also works like herself m literature. She is extremely popular, and, during the past winter, had a career as a literary lioness, which was momentarily interrupted, about two months ago, by the sudden advent of twins. When condoled with by her friends on suoh an apparently unwelaome condition to a literary •menage, Bhe humorously replied that she only wished they had been triplets, " it would have been suoh a splendid advertisement for the play and the novels." A correspondent of the " British Medioal Journal " (Surgeon W. T. Blaok) makes the following interesting remarks on the injuri. otis effeot of tea on the teeth :— Some years since, when on duty at reoruiting etations m the North of England, I took observations on the teeth existing amongst the olass of men offering themselves. It became a cause of rejeotion of itself m great numbers. Aa far a* my inquiries went I was led to traoe it to the exoeßßivo tea-drinking indulged m by the working classes m the manufacturing townß, and this went on all through the day, whether with food or not. In faot, instead of five o olook tea being the invention of the upper olasses, it was found to exist to an injurious extent among the working olassos long before that time. Tea seems to have a peouliar tendenoy to oause bypertomia m the tooth sacks, leading to inflammation, and, eventually, abscess of the fang, with, of oourso, dentralgia at every stage. Whether this special tendenoy waa due to theme or tannin having an elective affinity for dentine, it is not possible for me to say. It would be curious to know if medioal men, practising m suoh manufacturing distriots, had observed the deterioration of teeth to be coincident with teadrinking. Ohioago has many female detectives, but they are not known as suoh. Their identity is successfully conoealed. The female deteodye rarely, if ever, appears m the courts. Her evidence is carefully oolleoted and then oorroboration scoured before tho case is brought to trial. The queen of the female detectives m Chicago is a motherly woman, perhaps 50 years of age. •« I have lived out," she said, m beginning her story, "as a domestic just to get into a house and see what took plaoe there, and who called In the absenoe of the husband. For the sanfe purpose I have aoted as a strolling fortuneteller and as a book agent and a pedlar of patterns. No one can have any Idea how many oases there are of domestic misery, and how muoh deception and misery there is m the world, and generally what is termed the fashionable world. Women will suffer every imaginable indignity and insult rather than let tho faots be known, for exposure means almost invariably the loss of sooial position— dearer to most women than life itself. There are many divoroe cases reported m the papers, but there are many more whioh never oome to light, and of whioh the publio never hear."