SCISSORS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 4112, 25 September 1884, Page 4

SCISSORS.

In a plain shirt there are 20,000 stitches. Miss Agues Benedict is to attempt to swim across the English Channel this month. For twelve years in succession Archer heads tho list of winnning jockeys in England. Bad look-out for South Australia. The exhausted state of the finances of the colony precludes the possibility of free education. In England, including operators, there arc 4353 women in the Government employ, or 8 per cent, of the total number of civil servants. Recruiting islanders is getting played out. The Fanny has returned to Mackay after a six mouths' absence with only 1G Kanakas. The amount expended by the various English railway companies in managing, working and upholding the lines for the past year was about £37,000,000. In ISSI the value of the exports and imports of London was £198,000,000; in 188 £201,000,000. Liverpool, in 18S1, „105,060,000 ; in ISS2, £203,000,000. It is announced that the Marquis of Salisbury has lent a pair of hose worn by Queen Elizabeth to the Framework Knitters' Company, for display in tho ''Old London" section of the Health Exhibition. It is proposed to establish, by means of a joint stock company with a capital of a quarter of a million, club-houses in various cities and towns in Great Britain and Ireland for the exclusive use of commercial travellers. From the census taken on April 13, by order of tho statistical department of the Greek Ministry of tho Interior, it appears that the population of Athens is now 8-1,903, or 18,009 more than in 1879 when tho previous census was taken. News received in London from Cairo States that 200 Turkish soldiers belonging +o the Egyptian army stationed at Abassieh, having received orders to proceed to Assouan, 130 of their number deserted. Ihe remaining 70 subsequently left for Assouan, but on arrival there they immediately deserted. , , , The Auckland tram cars arc being worked without conductors or guards as we call them, the passengers being expected to put their fares into a box on entering the ear. This box is fitted with an ingenious arrangement, which, when a person puts in only a penny, arrests the coin and gibbets it on a glass dial until tho full fare is paid. The British Government have, it is understood, declined to purchase the Rafi'aelle Madonna elei Ansidei and the Vandyck equestrian portrait of Charles I. at the price placed upon thorn by the Duke of Marlborough, £100,000. They have, however, made an offer for three of the works in the Blenheim collection, the two abovenamed anel one of the Rubenses. This offer, in its turn, lias been refused by tho Duke, and there the matter now rests. The 400 th anniversary of the death oi the Beruhardinc monk Johannes yon Dukla was celebrated on Sunday, July 13, at

Lemberg, Austria-Hungary, by religious services, processions, and illuminations. An immense number of people took part in the festivities, which had the character of a national Polish demonstration. Three compositions in verse, specially written for the occasion, wero seized by the authorities on account of their revolutionary tendency.

In September, the Metropolitan Railway directors state the London inner circle railway will be complete. It is expected that the tunnel under the Mersey will also be ready for the rails which the Mersey Railway Company are about to lay. Just as an uninterrupted circle is to be opened for the benefit of travellers in the east, west, and centre of London (the Tall Mall Gazette observes), there comes in sight the completion of a link between tho two shores of the Mersey, which will mako Liverpool and London the ends of a loop or circle, extending also to the West of England and the Midlands.

The lato Henry J. Byron, dramatic author anel actor, was as famous for his bons mots as Hook or Jen-old ; anel now that he is gone, his old associates are recalling to recollection some of the many good things ho said. Among those which have only just appeared in print wero the following. "A play," said be, "is like a cigar. If it is a bad one no amount of puffing will make it draw. If it's good everybody will want a box." The comparison is simply perfect. Once a horse in Byron's stable fell ill, and the groom strongly urged his master to give the animal a ball. "Oh, very well," saiel the wit, "but don't ask too many people." A literary curiosity appears in the Publisher's Circular —an engraving of a bookworm, which was sent by Mr A. J. Bowdeu with the following note :— " Booksellers aro often made aware, in a manner that is more painful than pleasant, that there are such things as book-worms in existence. However, it is not many booksellers that have ever seen one, for, despite its large ravages, the worm itself is very rare. Mr G. Suckling discovered three at Messrs Sothcran'.. Strand houso a few days ago. They wero half-way through a bundle of quires, and were evidently on their second or third journey, judging from the number of perforations made in the paper." He is, says tho Circular, a wax-like little fellow, resembling a Stilton maggot. Letters received in London from the China station contain details of a terrible accident which occurred on board the Daring at Ilong Kong, resulting in the death of Joseph Northmore, a private of marines, and William Jones, an able seaman. The Daring was engaged in gun practice, and prizes' were given for the quickest and smartest at firing. One round had just been fired from the gun, anel the two men were in the act of ramming home the projectile for the next round when the charge exploded. Both Northmore anel Jones were standing directly in front of the gun, and were killed instantly. Northmore wis blown clean through tho porthole, and although a boat was lowered at once, nothing could be found of his remains. Jones's body was found lying in tho porthole frightfully burnt and mangled. A court of inquiry has been held into the cause of tho explosion, anel it is thought the accident was due to faulty sponging, for which the unfortunate men were themselves rosponsible.