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Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17419, 1 April 1922, Page 12

The list of "missing" who will never bo traced is not coniincd to the armies whicHi fought through the war. Thero is also the civilian list of missing; persona deported, who never returned; refugees who stayed too long collecting their household treasures, who wore caught in the fire of the enemy advance, and victims of aeroplane bombardments, whose bodies were never recovered from the ruins of their homes. Among the ruins of a house in tfiie Rue d'Origny at Ithcims the Remains of a. woman named Arnould have just been found. She was killed on April Bth, 1917, in the course of a, bombardment, with all her family. The other bodies were recovered, but the ruins fell in such a way that limp. Arnould's body could not hitherto be found.

A story of a fight put up by two children to save tiieir father from a marauding lion has come to light from Nairobi. .British East Africa. An elderly Masai native was attacked by a lion which was raiding the cattle he was tending, and the beast inflicted terrible injuries on the man, who had used his spear to defend his charges. As he lay on the ground with the iion standing over him, his two sons, aged 20 and 12, came to his help, armed only with short swords. They threw themselves upon the animal and drove their weapons several times into its body, inflicting fatal injuries. Then, while the animal was jet alive, they dragged it from the body of their father and went for help.

The, projected filming of tho Gis-borne-liotoma route, with a view to advertising the scenic attractions of that Highway to Gisborue, was before tho Oisborne Chamber of Commerce recently, when, on account of the stated inability of the local bodies to contribute towards the cost, the project had to be abandoned, and it was decided that such cheques as were in hand for ;lie purpose would have to bo returned. Members suggested the taking of photographs of the scenic route, and their distribution in hotels outside the district. The compilation of an illustrated booklet was recommended, but nothing definite was decided upon.

A name is no protection to a plant, if its nature is objectionable. A tree, known as the "Tree of Heaven" has just been, declared noxious by the Young (N.S.W.) Municipal Council, and orders issued for its . destruction throughout the municipality.-The trees ppring up at various points, and, once allowed io take root, are extremely hard 10 exterminate', the roots running for long distances under ground. From these roots new trees 6pring up without number, and cause groat damage to foundations of buildings.

Bodenham, a village seven miles from Hereford, possesses a pierrot troupe in which the star artist is an_ earl, wjiilo the company consists of ullage girls, farmers, and a labourer who is a sentimental tenor. The Earl of Essex is chief of the "Canaries," as the troupe is named, and ho not only sings comic Bongs and parodies of his own composition, but also draws up the programme and directs tho performances, which are given in the neighbourhood for charity.

Pessimists are predicting a short life for M. Poincare's new Ministry, and all because it was formed, not only on a Friday, but on the 13th day of the month. They point out that M. Paul Descllanel who succeeded M. Poincare as President for so brief a period, was married on the 13th of the month, which was a Friday. The great Napoleon always regarded _ Friday as •his unlucky day, especially if it fell on tho 13th. Tt wiw on Friday that he started out on his disastrous Russian campaign. Strange to say, Edmond Rostand, the famous playwright, had no superstitious feeling concerning No. 13.. His first work, the "Somaritaine, which brought him fame, has 13 letters, and he was the 13th holder of the 13th chair at the French Academy.

"News sending by wireless is a bigger problem than many people imagine," remarked a wireless officer on the Dorset to an Auckland reporter. "Take, for instance, what constitutes about three-quarters of one of your columns. To send that by wireless would take at least two hours by a high power station." For that reason news at sea was very costly, and under present conditjpns it was a very expensive matter. There was a good news service in the Atlantic, but it did not extend further than a certain radius over that ocean. In the future something undoutbedly would be done for the other parts of the world, but at the present time news despatch was almost prohibitive by its cost.