MISCELLANEOUS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 392, 22 October 1869, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

An extraordinaay scene was presented in Storno’way harbour, Scotland. A shoal of whales, more than two hundred in number, were driven into the bay by a fleet of fishing boats, and soon the shops were closed, the town deserted, and every man and many of the women engaged in the hunt, which lasted upwards of thirteen hours, and resulted in the capture of one hundred and seventy-five whales, valued at upwards of £7OO. There are four sisters, and all widows, living in the parish of Wick and Abson—three living in one house and the other residing about two hundred yards distant —daughters of the late Dame Gay, of Hellbrook, in the same parish—viz., Sarah, I relict of Mr. John Harrington, parish clerk, aged ninety; Nanev, relict of Mr. A’lard, aged eighty-four; Rebecca, relict of Mr. George Williams, aged seventy; and Ruth, relict of Mr. William Smith, aged eixtye’ght—th ir united ages being threehundred and twelve years, an average of seventyeight each. This, however, is surpassed by the family of Radford, of Smalley, near Derby which is at the present moment more remarkable for the longevity of its living members tblm, perhaps, any family in England. Six children of Mr. John Radford, in 1534, aged eighty-eiglD, are now living—four sons and two daughters; their respective a-es being ninety-three, eighty - seven, eighty - five, eighty - four, eighty-one, seventy-eight, and the sum total of their ages is five hundred and eight, giving more than eigh-.y-fourto each. Two years ago John Radford, of Smalley, the late head of the family, died at th; age of eighty -seven. An account of the gross t üblic income of the United Kingdom in the year ending 30th of June, 1839, Was given, as usual, in this journal on the day of the fo ■ . th quarter. The total was £73,155,032. The account of the year’s expenditure has since been issued;—lnterest on the debt, £26,033,613; civil government, £10,760,095 ; army. £14,493,300; navy, £10,873.935; Abysinian Expedition, £4,500,000; cost of collection of Customs and Inland Revenue, £2,560,491; Post Office, £2,308,885; packet service, £l,2o6.33B—making in all, £73,408,259, or £253,227 more than the income. There has also been an expenditure of £425,000 on fortifications specially provided for. Nervous people, whose ideas of electrici'y are connected with artifici d thunder and lightning, with sparks and shocks, will not perhaps be pleased to learn that their food is made up of voltaic combinations. Yet we have it on the authority of an American professor that such is the caseHe tells us that we carve for such combinations ; that our liking of mustard and salt with beef, our mingling sugar with coffee, of rasius with almonds, salad with oil, are produced by a need of the electronegative and the electro-positive together. It even seems that Sam Weller was not very far wrgng when he spoke of drinking his ale from the “ native pewter,” for there is in that metal a combination with the beer that renders it more agreeable. By such laws does nature do her work. In an article treating of a Baby Show, the “Saturday Review” remarks All the mysteries of the nursery, generally held sacred from the gaze of the profane world, here go on in primitive simplicity j and any wavering young bachelor may realise t the life the after effects of his marriage with a beloved object on small means, and put it to himself wsethe this is the kind of thing he likes or not. To be sure, paternity may make some difference, but the facts of baby nature are the same in both cases, and we are bound to say that baby nature and nursery mysteries are not particularly appetising to the majority of men. Whatever poetry or beauty lies round the cradle of the first-born—and poets and artists make out that a great deal does lie round it—is here vulgarised out of existence ; and, if anything could make a man a sworn celibate for life, it would be a careful scrutiny of a baby show, such as we saw at Woolwich. The duelling mania which recently set in in Daly has extended to the fair sex. A meeting took place in the neighborhood of Genoa a few days ago between two nuns. The combatants exchanged pistol shots, but no blood was shed. One of the German papers, reporting the duel, observes that it is a pity that this expedient did not occur to Miss Saurin and Mrs. Star, as it would have save I much valuable time. The elder son of the Viceroy of Egypt will commence a course of study at the Oxford University, as a member of Christ Church, in October term. His Highness will occupy a house at Oxford during his three years of residence in the same manner as the Prince of Wales in 1839. Ladies who bathe will ho interested in the costume of lady bathers at Dieppe. At that town members of the newly-formed swimming club wear a ‘vetement” of stout white merino, close-fitting to the shape, and hound at the knees with scarlet ribbon, a scarlet sash round the waist, and a scarlet ruche round the neck; short sleeves, looped with scarlet hows, and a casquette of the same material as the “vetement,” with a scarlet peak. A Pesth shopkeeper has shot himself, leaving a letter to a friend, in which he wrote:—“l have decided to kill myself tomorrow. Life is insupportable. I adore my wife, but she has grown so stout-—she that was of so ravishing a figure when I married her. Adieu, my friend ; tell my wife that I prefer to die rather than to be unfaithful to her or to separate myself from her by means of the law. Farewell, and pity me.” Canada has adopted a new patent law. It excludes from its benefits all aliens and non-residents, A person may secure a patent only by residing a year in the dominion. '

A Rocky Mountain editor, alluding to the demand for female suffragu, female doctors, and female clergymen, remarks another want presents itself—that of female wmien. , The following should bo cut out and wasted in a scran-book :

In the Matter of the Dissolution of the Mining Partnership h'tluM to existing between William Beattic, Andrew Wood John Gilbert, and Stephen Tubman, of Alexandra.

5yJs wide by 968 yds. long contains lacre 10 „ 484 .. >. „ 20 242 „ „ „ 40 121 „ „ „ 70 C9 19 „ SO 60J „ „ 220 feet „ 198 feet,, „ 440 99 110 „ 3>">9 „ GO 720 , 120 363 „ „ „ 240 „ Tr. +1,