ONE THING AND ANOTHER.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 4, Issue 363, 13 January 1880, Page 3

ONE THING AND ANOTHER.

(Collated from our Exchanges.)

The late Charles Lever, when Consul at Trieste, accompanied his daughter on a. visit to London. Lord Lytton, hearing of his arrival, invited him to dinner. "Ah, Lever," said he, greeting him, " so glad you were able to come ! You will meet your chief—Clarendon"—then Minister for Foreign Affairs. But Leverhad omitted the formality of applying for leave. "I fear I must retire — ivy nose is bleeding," he replied, mak ing for the door, which at that instant opened, Lord Clarendon being- announced. After shaking hands with the host, his Lordship espied Lever before he could make good his retreat. "Mr, Lever, I didn't know you were in England ! J didn't even know you had asked for leave." " N-n-im, my Lord," -tainmered the witty novelist, "I thought it would be more respectful to your Lordship to come *nd ask for it in person !*'

The Otasro Daily Times says : —lt takes ft good deal of knocking about to kill a healthy colonial boy. On Sunday morning, as a youth of about 15 was returning from church, he beheld a building in course of erection, and was immediately seined with an idea that a little gymnastic exercise would improve his nppdiU' for dinner. Acting on the impulse, of the moment he mounted the scaffolding and w«s soon running at tlio rate of five miles nn hour along the top of an unfinished brick wall, a bible in one hand and his hat in the other. Unhappily he made a false step and fell heavily to the ground, a distance 'of about 20 feet. Fortunately, he alighted on his head, which appeared to be composed of tolerably substantial material, for, after crawling to a log and seeking , the consolations of religion by the perusal of the sacred book, to which he had held fast in his sudden descent, he ' arose and walked briskly homewards. An Easy Rule for Ascertaining the Month Day and Week day.—T. B. Paget has written the following instructive letter to the Times :—The following old couplet, committed to memory, affords an easy rule for ascertaining without reference to an almanac on what day of the week any day of a month will fall :— "At Dover dwells George Brown, Esquire, Good Christian friend, and David Friar." Explanation.—The couplet contains 12 words, one for each month in order, beginning with January. The initial letter in the calender for the Ist of the month represented by the word. The key to the use of the rule is the knowledge of the Sunday letter for the year, which this year (1879 , ) is E. Answer.— D, the first letter of "Dwells" stands for March 1. But Dis the letter or day before E—that is, D the Ist of March, was a Saturday. The calculation is instantaneous that March 16 was the third Sunday in the month. Example 2,—On what day h>: the week will Dec, 3 fall ? Fis Dec. .1. But Fis the day after E—i.e. Monday ; therefore, Dec. 3 will be on a'Wednesday. So many of my friends have asked for a copy of this ready reckoner that perhaps ■ its proved utility may induce jou to publish it for general information.

They had a. dime supper in the neighbourhood, of Paw,tucket, conceived and carried out by the ladies. The conditions of'this novel supper were these:

For every word spoken by the gentlemen at the supper-table a forfeit of ten cents was imposed ; but, on the other hand (as duties arealways compensated with rights, and restrictions with privileges), it was agreed that whoever could weather the . whole supper, submitting to, all queries, surprises, and ingenious questions, without replying, should be entitled to it gratuitously. Many and frequent were the artifices and subterfuges resorted to by the ladies in attendance to entrap the unguarded, and, one after another, stout and discreet men went down before the constant volleys of artful interrogations. At last all fell save one individual—a queer chap —whom nobody seemed to know. .He attended strictly to his business, and passed unheeded the jokes, jibes, and challenges. They quizzed him, but all in vain. He wrestled with the turkey and grappled with the goose. He baled out the cranberry sauce with an unswerving hand, and he ate celery as the scriptural vegetarian ate grass ; and, finally, when he had finished his fifth piece of pie, he whipped out a pocket slate, and wrote on it, in a large and legible hand : " I am deaf and dumb."— Detroit Free Press.

During a very heavy thunderstorm at Geelong, two women,named Mrs Delvan, and Miss Fuller, were killed by lightning. Miss Gunow was also struck, but recovered.

Robert Gardner, a sawyer living alone near Picton, went home intoxicated. Next morning the hut was fonnd burnt, and the man inside of it.

At Glen Innis New South Wales during a quarrel with his wife, S. Marshall, auctioneer, took a revolver and shot her. The bullet was extracted by Dr Dick from over the right eye.

It is istimated that 30,000 persons are still out of work at Glasgow, gcotland. The iron trades only are doing well. The building trades are in the worst condition, and it will be necessary again to make provision to assist the unemployed during the coming winter.

A Wesleyan minister in a neighboring Colony borrowed a horse from one of his flock. The steed was restless, and in the operation of mounting the worthy man fell over the saddle on the off side, striking the ground heavily with his head. A doctor who resided some miles oft'was immediately sent for, and during the time which elapsed before his arrival the unfortunate gentleman was kindly attended to by the most intelligent and best educated person in the neighborhood, viz., the master of the Government school. When the doctor arrived he made enquiries as to the condition of the reverend gentleman since the accident, and whether he seemed to be much hurt. The schoolmaster replied that he feared the concussion was a serious one ; "in fact, , ' said Mr Decimal, " it was fully two hours before he recovered his conscientiousness." — Mgtes. A Yorkshire lad who had lately gone to service, having had salad served up !to dinner every day for a week, ran away ; and when asked why he had left hie place' he replied : " They male' me vent grass i' th' summer, and I wur afraid they'd male' me yeat hay i' th' winter, and I could not stond that, so I i wur off."

At a public dinner in one of the Australian colonies a learned judge of sprightly disposition, in response to a complimentary toast, spoke of his strict impartiality. He informed those present of the remarkable domestic fact that he had had born to him 18 children, nine by his first wife and nine by his second; nine boys and nine girls; nine born in one colony and nine in another ; twins twice, once twin boys, once twin girls. Now this is really a curious experience, apart from the significance of impartiality pleasantly attributed to it.

A singular cure of a bad case of hiccups was lately effected in Paris. During a thunderstorm, lightning struck close to a girl twelve years old. For a moment she seemed to be suffocating, but this sensation Dassed off into a fit of

hiccups. These 'became so distressing that after three days the mother took her to the hospital for advice. The surgeon ordered her to be taken to the operating theatre, where, on seeing the medical man standing at a table covered with some awful looking instruments, and surrounded by a number of assistants in in white aprons, the child became so terrified that she forgot her hiccups, which did not recommence, and she was thus cured.

Sir Star Blank, a distinguished citizen and public man in one of the Australian colonies, has been, and I believe

still is, dangerously ill. In fact, his sickness, it is feared, is of mortal character. Now. in the city where he lives a volunteers' brass band has been lately organised, and the members are enthusiastic and eager. They occupy for their band practice a house next to that in which Sir S. B. lies ill. The band— determined to be prepared for the worst contingency —is vigorously practising " The Dead March" for his funeral, which although considerate in itself, does not tend to greatly cheer the spirits of the sick man next door. —-ZEgles.

When the girl who has encouraged a young man for about two years suddenly turns round and tells him she can never be more than a sister to him, he can for the first time see the freckles on her nose.

A gentleman, learned in the origin of social customs, was asked the meaning of casting an old shoe after a newly-mar-ried couple as they start on their trip. He said, "To indicate that the chances of matrimony are very slipper-y."

Professor lecturing on psychology :— All phenomena are sensations. For instance, that leaf appears greeii to me. In other words, I have a sensation of greenness within me." Of course no harm was meant, but still the class would laugh.