HOME NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 700, 28 December 1909, Page 9

HOME NEWS.

INTERESTING ITEMS BY MAIL. ' London, November 12. ■ A weird and-fascinating: story-is told 111 a rocent number of the "Daily Express" about a cnrious - Egyptian. coffin lid, whioh stands ill a corner of tho First Egyptian -Room of. the British Museum. For.iu long timo lt.has been said that tho spirit-of the long-dead priestess of; Amen has been working for evil on those who have been either m possession oi the. hd •or m any way connected- with its , removal from - its ongmal resting-1 place. No Joss than nrao.peoplo sufforea, it is said, from its-influence pnor to, its 1 finding-. an abidmg-place in the British 1 Mjisoum, and of-theso.four rersons have died m-tragic circumstances. Now the 1 talo is told that .since the priestess, was installed 111 tho Musoum two of. the attendants in i tho First Egvptian Room havo died, whilo of two men who visited ■ the mummy eaSe.'and scoffed, at l tho super-' stition,one,: a scientist; of repute, ■ has committed,snicido, and the Othot,'a. well- , kriown' engineer, has met. with 'a serious accident.: ■>;' Hairdroaing. Tragedy „,Mr. James Oddis, chief officer of . the Public Control Department of the London County Council; put forward- a remarkable theory at tho inquest on Miss Elizabeth : I-lobkirk and Miss - Marcel Beauramo, ..who received fatal burns at Mr.: Leon Raffner's -hairdressing shop m Windmill, Street, Piccadilly. ... "Petroleum Cannot bo used for a shampoo, without danger," ho stated.-. "There is Teason to bolievo that human hair is subject to olectnhcation. : A spark might be given by tho hair, and -this might- ignite the vapour of petioleum."; The jury found .that ther deaths were due to misadventure. Thoy. decided that the- • accident , was caused by tho upsetting, of a methylated spirit lamp, and added that thero ■was not sufficient evidence of a potrol shampoo having taken place, * A. Historic Hduse. - Tho London County. Council is to :bo asked by the - Improvements Committee to rescind a resolution granting an :op- ' lion of a- lease of .the . house Nos; 59 and GO, Lincoln's Inn-iields. Tho committee state that their attention has been called to the fact that tho building is of considerablo; historical , and architectural m- . terest. -: The . committee state , that it ■is gonerally. . agreed that the. house-; which was divided. into two shortlv after 1750, was built- by, Inigo Jones. It . was built for Robert Bertio, Earl of Lindsay, and thus obtained 'he 1 name of .; "Lindsev I House.", In 1700 the house was.occupied I ,by . tho Earl of Dorset, the poet, andi thrice Regent during tho,absence of- William IV from tho country. Subsequently it was ocoutucd by, the Earl, of Lindsey, who was, created, Duko of Ancaster.:. Another- woll-known person - who occupied the houso - was Spencer Percoval, Prime Minister from JBO9 to-1812; Tho house is ono of . the oldest now- remaining, on the western side of-Lincoln's . Inn-fields, and it is of exceptional arclutectural merits. The facado •is in .the Renaissance 6tyle, of stone, since covered .with stucco.- 1 Fire at Beau Desert. ~ Beau Desort Hall, the seat of the Marquess of-Anglesey,' in Staffordshire, has had a remarkable'escape from, total destruction by fire., As-it is, tho damage is vory considerable,' amounting 1 to somo thousands' of; pounds, but the priceless heirlooms; ahd valuable pictures l were, for the most part,. saved. The fire occurred in the upper, stories of the ancient west wing,,and was, by- tho onergy and perseverance of four local fire brigades, confined to those portions of the building; Tho "state apartments," so called -. be-' cause in-1815. they •; were occupied by Prince Regent,-. Ins brother, - and suite, lip. immediately under the servants'- quar- , ters, which havo been destroyed: 'Most of tho furniture and paihtmgs -wore removed;but the rooms .were-;badly damaged by ■ water and' rondored a, complete 'wreck.: Tho Bishop's room, which takes its namo from tha fact that: Beau Desert Was formerly, an.episcopal palace, also suffered ;iJbriotisly.,' ■ -Guyi Faw|<es-Dayii . ■ ■ ' . . The , main foaturo of this year's cele-' mations of Guy I'au kes Day v,-as the npticeablo falling-off in the -nmnbor of - guys," and tho generally diminished-in-terest taken in: the proceedings. ■ At Harwich,throo men forming a-group on a car 1 .Cook's expedition to the 1 North Polo were seriously burnt,' owing ■ to- a cracker exploding anQ sotting light 1 to the wlute lvaddlng wfth which, they I .wore onvoloped. -At Oxford a number'Of I .undergraduates wero arrested.for letting;! off; fireworks in the-street, while in High ' • Streot -fireworks - were - flung into undergraduates' ; rooms through open windows; loading to their- retaliating by pouribg watei-iOll the crowd. Search fpr £1,000,000.' Owing .to the:..recent gales, the search, tor tho Spanish, treasure' ship -at Dollar Cove, 111 Mount's Bay, has again had to , 00. suspended. . rhe divers. havo succeedcd in.; locating a Areckj deoplyi embedded in • sand, :and groafi difficulty, has been oxt^ri- 1 onced in : effectually: using ;• the sand ■.Pfm»B f ::,It ! W ; hoprt .to resume the searchf ,tbo .. salvors ,wo confident 1 ■ v!' not-be. long- before thoy'-will ,be l able to-oxamme, the; interior-' of the' ship. .Should .the' Wreck prove to be tlio one which th(. syndicate are seeking, a fortune of over sterling should' bo awaiting them. Docreaso of-Pauperism. ■ 1 _ The report of tho Local Government "j ol ™ fivmg the comparative statements pt pauperism for tue ; third quarter of the sear shows -thoo tho; aggregate . number, on. the relief lists at the end of September hmountcd to 731,453 persons (or 21.9 P 61 ,.0f th° population),,as compared .with- (EG,SS3 (cr.22.J per 1000 of tho population) on the corresponding day in 1908 : M OO ! 1 ' was higher than' in' 1908 during overy week throughout tho quarter, -but as compared: with the population it made, no movement either way. Out. door ..pauperism,-: on- tho other hand, showed in each weok of the quarter a decrease, on the figures recorded for 1908; i Footballers as,'.' Workmen." '■ -: An. ihtere'sting .aiid: impbrtailt : decision in the. case of professional footballers has been made m tho Court of Appeal. Tho oastf was an appeal - by, tho Crystal Palace football Company from a decision of the Croydon County, Court judge that George I Walker and Richard Roberts, ' former members of the company's: team,' ' who claimed compensation in' respect of in- : juries, met with in the football field, ■ were ' workmen, and, as such, entitled to com- : peasation.- Ho - awarded .'each -jBI a, week tor a ceitain Knod. The Master of the lloUs, -in, dehvenng judgment,- said he : thought that, having regard to the terms of., tho contracts -tho . meii had entered -. into/witii-. the'.comphny,, they-'vfould'be narrowing tho Act very considerably' if they were-to hold that the . applicants were' noty.workmen. 'within: the meMiiig" 1 of- tho Act./ The i appeal was dismissed \Vith costs.— Standard of Empire."