Miscellaneons.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 22, 10 December 1874, Page 2

Miscellaneons.

*. British Subjects. — The British Censis of 1871 makes it clear that Queen Victoria rules over nearly, twice the number of subjects that were governed by the. Emperor Claudius. The Imperial Crown of England is the symbol of soverignty to which 23 -i,000,000 of people look up j 'and these inhabit 7. 7 69, 449 miles of. territory., They live and die in .44,142,651 houses or other habitations, and they are congreg.ted for the most part in 2,200 towns. aid villages, of which London, with i*s population of 3,Boo,ooo— taking the '■ natural circular limits of a 15 miles' r.idius" — is the centre: ' . A Khyming Housewife.— Ttay have a woman in Toledo, it is said, who. c.innot speak without ryhming. The m i nia seized her after a severe fit of illness, and now she cannot get rid of it. The effect of this when she is attending to the ordinary duties of her h>usehold must often be remarkable. It is, we suppose, .something like this : «•' It would give me, Matilda, enormous relief, If you'd cook those potatoes and beans with thee beef." Or* this— «' Mary Jane, go right upstairs and sweep and mak my bed ; Ahd do it quickly, too, d'you hear, or else I'll punch yer head ! " Or this— " Ypu, Johnny, if you tear your pants, I'll flog you till I make you dance !" Or this— , " Alphonso, you are eating now your fifteenth buckwheat cake — The next tiring you'U be howling With a frij_htful stomach-ache." Or this' — " Louisa, put your bonnet on and get your woollen shawl And come with me to Ferguson's to make a little call; It makes no difference, my child, what bonnet . you may wear, • But, for gracious sake, Louisa, take a comb and frizz your hair ! " Autographs of Celebrities. — At a late sale of autographs in London, a lovelytter of David Garrick's brought £7 10s., a page of correspondence in the handwriting of Erasmus realised £16 10s, and humorous note from Burns was sold for Ll3. A four-page musical manuscript of Bach was sold for Ll6, and a letter of* Beethoven for £11 10s* 4 higher prion— £22 10s— was realised for one of Goethe's letters. ' Hogarth's j letter accepting the membership of the j Augsburg Academy brought £18 iOs; one of Mozart's, £16 10s -, one of Ruben's, £15 15s ; and one of Tasso's, £18 10s. The highest price was that! .riven for a letter from Goldsmith to Joshua Reynolds describing his miseries on the Continent viz , £37 10s. The Royal Marriage. — The treaty between the Queen and the Czar for the marriage between the Duke of Edinburgh and the Grand Duchess VTarie Alexandrovna provides that the duchess shall enjoy free exercise of her religion, but attend a Protestant church on State occasions, and that the children shall be brought up as Protestants Hnr Koyal Highness receives £150,000 from the State Treasury, and £150,000 from her father, both of which sums will remain in "Russia at five per cent , ais) a further present of £11,250 a yen* for life. If she becomes a widow, sue will receive an annuity of £6,000 a year from Great Mritain. The Duchess also retains her own. fortune of £90,000, and has, in fact; about £400,000, producing, with the special annuity, but without the . jointure, £31,260 a year* If the Duke and Duchess die without children, £150,000 of the capital reverts to Russia; There is to be only one household, towards which the Duchess may contribute as she pleases, remaining, however, exempt from her husband's debts, if he has any. Agricultural Holdings.— The total number of returns for separate holding's o L * agricultural land,, exclusive of allotments, obtained in 1.873 amounted to 4,2,655 for England, 67,517 for Wales, aid 80,857 for Scotland, or to 561,029 for the whole of Great Britain. Besides this number there were 2,288 for the Isle oi, Man and 3,870 for the Channel Islands. For Ireland the total number of holdings may be taken at 600,000. Ihe total acreag-e under crops, fallow,\and grass in 1873-. divided by theltotal number of returns detained, shows. that the average extent of eacli holding was 56 acres in Kng*--1 md, 46 in Wiles, 56 in Scotland, 39 i i the Isle of Man, 9 in Jersey, 6 in Guernsey, and 16 in Ireland." " Petition fob J DivjRCE f&oM'Brig-' it \m Young. — under the law for. the suppression of polygamy passed by Congress at its lust. session one of Brigham Y lung's wives— krs Ann uliza Young — Has applied tp the Distritit Court of ; U;*h for. a divorta She says in her petition that she was married to Your g in 1868 ; that he treated her as. a wife, for one year ; thatVe then treated her with unkindnessj aad finally deserted ht ; and she prayeafor a divorce, for 2 ),000 dols. as the expenses of liar suit, an 'l alimony at the fete of 1000 dols 'a m-mth , Young; has lied an answer, in wliich he takes the\ curious ground thit all his so-called WarpiageSj save - one^ are not marriages He says that it is a doctrine and belifcf of his Church th it members thereof anay enter into, plural or cles.i&l rtiarriaies, and he says th it women entering info this relation are aware tbat by it tHeyldo not beddme entitled " to the society W to the .personal attention" of theirl celestial hus'- ; bandi He, adds, .... moreover that , his wholp property " dose nVt,. exceed in value 600,000 dols:; that h-iinijome' dcfse |not exceed 6000 dols a mpnkh j and that he has a large family, conastin^' of 63 persons, all of whom are dependent on him for support.'* X