ONE THING AND ANOTHER.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume V, Issue 425, 17 August 1880, Page 2

ONE THING AND ANOTHER.

(Collated from our Exchanges.) Thb floating bathe in Paris are already at their moorings, and many „ people take their dips even before the swallows have arrived. As usual, the proprietors of the hatha have their assistants in shirt sleeves, and pay a few un fortunates to sit in dressing sheets acabin windows, and to chatter their blist over hot coffee. That animals have minds and can reason has lately been maintained at great length in an interesting book w written by one Dr Lindsay. According to this learned author there is hardly anything that a dog cannot learn. He tells among hundreds of other entertaining and surprising anecdotes the story of an able Newfoundland dog who was accustomed to accept pennies from his human acquaintances as testimonials of their respect and affection. These pennies he deposited in a cat-proof safe scooped out by himself under the front- f doof mat, and when he wanted a piece J&. of cake or a roll he would take the pro- % per price from his bank, carry it to $ the baker, and buy what he wanted. 'U He was also accustomed to lend money .* at interest on promissory notes to other * dogs, and when any note' became due -/* and unpaid he would carry it to the - /'ffront door of a notary's office, and "/f , ;: solemnly protest it witli six distinct i*£ howls, after which he would return the b note to the bank and subsequently, take '' ' ■ it's value out of the hidej of the debtor. !""■ Dr Lindsay unaccountably fails to I jy , [] mention this latter featurje of the dog's -i'y. commercial career, but'i perhaps his capacity for receiving truth was exhausted' JL&'J> when the first half of the story was told iPv to him. ,&(■' : \

The Geelong Advertise}' states that a •very interesting account of the voyage of the ship Myrtle Holme from the west coast of America to Liverpool has been furnished by the captain of that vessel, to Captain Pleace, the harbourmaster there. The ship's voyage was indeed an extremely perilous one, the vessel having to encounter a series of fearful hurricanes, during which several ships foundered with all hands on board. The narrative contains an account of an experiment with oil which was used to calm the troubled waters and the results were so satisfactory that the captain of the Myrtle Holme was fairly taken by surprise at the success of the experiment, f which was made on the statement published in a newspaper of an American skipper who had tried it himself. When +.he gale was at its height, and the mountainous seas were, breaking on board the Myrtle Holme, the captain had six small canvas bags made, each being filled with a gallon of oil. A bag of oil was hung to the end of each main yardarm, and a small hole made in the bottom of each bag with a sail needle. As soon as the oil commenced dripping, and the vessel drifted from the dripping oil, the seas around the oil-stained waters began breaking, and never broke near the ship's side. This experiment was repented with similar results on several other occasions of emergency, and the Myrtle Holme reached her port of destination without any damage, Only * four and a-half efallons of common lamp oil were used in the various experiments. The Myrtle Holme is now on her way to Adelaide from London. The Sydney Evening News is responsible for the following anent Chinese cursing:—"At cursing the Chinese M surpass all the people of the earth. The gambling-house keepers have employed two Buddhist priests to anathematise Willy Keilly, the half-caste, who assisted * the police. Instructions have been given to spare no expense, but to do the thing properly. The priests have been at it day and night, spell and spell about, for three days. They commenced at the top of Willy Keilly's head, and cursed every hair, every pore, and everything else down his right side, and they are now nearly up to his left shoulder. They are doing the work thoroughly. After finishing up with "VV'illy, they have, "* in accordance with Mongolian practice, to curse all his relations, however remote, and his ancestors back to the 16 th *. generation. They expect to finish the job in about three months, if the weather holds up."