Varieties.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 415, 28 April 1904, Page 2

Varieties.

LIVING STONES. most curious specimens of vegedfcgtto table or plant life ia existence are the so-called 'living stones' of the Falkland Islands. Those islands are among the most cheerless spots in the world, being constantly subjected to a strong polar wind. In such a climate it is impossible for trees to grow erect, as they do ia other countries, but nature has made amends by furnishing a supply of wood in the most curious shape imaginable. The visitor to the Falklands sees scattered here and there singular shaped blocks of what appear to be weather beaten and moss covered boulders, in various sizes. Attempt to turn one of these 'boulders' over and you will meet with - a surprise, because the stone is actually anchored by roots of great strength; in fact, you will find that you are fooling with one of the native trees, No other country in the world has euch a peculiar 'forest* growth, and it is said to he next to impossible to work the odd shaped blocks into fuel, because the wood is perfectly devoid of« grain,' and appears to be a tw|sted mass of woody fibres. A POINT IN PICTURE BUYING. At dealers will be interested in a point just decided by the, Paris Courts.. A picture dealer sued M. le Bargy, the wellknown actor, for the value.of a painting > The picture had. been submitted to jfc gf

Bargy at the d*»ler*e shop, and then}sent to his residence at hia request for farther* examination, when he found that the work did sot come op to his expectations, and he thereupon returned it. The dealer (according to a 'Chronicle' message) contended that the defendant had paronaaed the picture before it was Bent home, but the latter argned that it had been taken only 'on approval,' and pointed ont that no amateur oould be expected to accept a piotnre or piece of antique fnrniture as an art object until he had seen how it suited the surroundings in which it was placed. The court upheld the defendant's contention, and judgment was given against the dealer.

TOO MUCH PIANO. I An interesting case between tenant and I houseowner occupied the attention of the Parisian law courts recently. The plain- -. tiff;), an elderly couple, M. and Mdme. . Wright, askod that the lease they had B'gned in respect of their apartment should be rescinded by the landlord owing t' the presence of a noisy tenant above t eir heads preventing them living the peaceful life they had mapped out for their declining years. This they thought they had secured for themselves when they signed the lease draws up by the the house owner, which forbade them to keep dogs or noisy birds, or even to use a sewing machine without the consent of the neighbours. The injunctions laid upon them they imagined' would be equally rigorous for all the other tenants; but when they moved in they were rudely disillusioned. Above them lived a lady ' who would break, out into melody at all times, would take up a pair of sticks and imitate the beating of a drum, open and shut the lid of an iron box to simulate cymbals, and then have a turn at the piano, accompanied by the singing in a raucous voice of the latest. boulevard ditties. At midnight she would invite a bevy of lady friends to join her in a dance, interspersed with songs. This sort of , thing went on every night till two in the morning. M. and Mdme. Wright thought at one time of reciprocating by starting a rival performance, but decided that they would rather endeavour to get lease ressinded The recital of the details of the musical misdeeds of the unneighbourly neighbour caused great amusement in court.

AN AWE WABD DILEMMA. The unhappy plight of the gentleman of unimpeachable character who was charged with picking a lady's pocket in a church at Bournemouth, a few days ago, and was found to have a farthing in his pocket, a coin which had also disappeared with the lady's purse, reminds me of a curious story that is told about something that once happened in the Coin Boom at the British Museum. A party of people were examining the collection, when one of the rarest coins was found to have disappeared, Search was made in the room, but it was nowhere to be found. The doors were closed, and every member of the party consented to be searched, with the exception of one gentleman, who persistently refnsed. Before to stronger measures the custodians made another exhaustive search in the room, and the coin was eventually found sticking between two boards of the floor in a corner. Then the gentleman was asked why he had so vehemently declined to be searched. For answer he produced from his waistcoat pocket the counterpart of the missing coin I That and the one belonging to the Museum were the only ones known to exist, and he had.come to compare them, and to see which was the better specimen. If he had been searched and his coin discovered, who would have believed his story P