MISCELLANEOUS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 425, 10 June 1870, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

Important Discovery—At a recent meeting of the Wellington Philosophical Society a very interesting paper hy Mr. Skey, of the Government Laboratory, discovered by the writer for detecting the presence of gold in stone. Dr. Hector stated that the immense number of specimens of quarts which had recently been sent to him to be tested had rendered him desirous of finding some simple and rapid means of ascertaining the presence of goLL He had directed. Mr. Skey’s attention to the subject, and that gentleman, after many experiments, had invented a method which fully met all requirements without the use of quicksilver. The details of the system are briefly as follows—The Stone having been thoroughly crushed and calcined so as to alter the chemical character of any superfluous matters, is immersed in a bath of iodine or bromine, and after this has stood a time slips of Swedish filtering paper are dipped into the fluid and dried, the alternate dipping and drying being continued until the paper is thoroughly saturated with the fluid. The dry slips are then burned in a muffle, and if no gold is present the ashes present a perfectly white appearance. If the stone, however, has contained gold at the rate of Idwt. to the ton, the ashes will be found to be a beautiful purple colour. No other substance than gold wall give them this colour, and Dr. Hector stated that as soon as experiments had been made with iodine or bromine baths, containing a known quantity of gold in solution, it would be possible to compile a table of tints by which the colour of the ashes would show the exact proportion of gold to the ton of stone tested. This discovery of Mr. Skey.s may therefore be considered a very important one, Our man flirt does not want for recreation, the country supplies h’m at the start of every season. It is his agreeable, self-im-posed duty to attach himself to a young girl as much as possible, and imply that he is madly fond of her. The elegant fellow does it with his |tonguc in his cheek all the time. He never commits himseif, to use a favourite phrase. That is, he has never the courage of his intention when his intention is bad, and he is epually brave when bis inclinations are good. If women only knew the utter worthlessness of some of the nincompoops they occasionally favor! I have seen a male flirt—his soft brains rendered softer by the heat of wine—pull out your tender, and indeed harmless, note, Miss I.aura, for the criticism of a circle of mean snobs, of his own quality, in a club smoking room. The pleasant dandies are bartering confidences and testimonials, you perceive, and are so far honest as to keep back nothing. Well, these fellows are vulgar exceptions, if you will; but let me warn ladies addicted even to “harmless flirtations against trusting MS., with a common “ yours sincerely” at the end of it to male friends “ Gentlemaujs Magazine.” The Princess of Beauffromont pleads for Reparation on the ground of illtreatmeut ard desertion. One of the most serious items 'aid to the charge o f the Prince is that when he returned from the Mexican campaign instead of flying at ouoe to Pan where his wife was staying, ho sent her the following telegram, ‘Where are my shirts? I can’t find them’, As Maitre Alloa remarked there Was nothing in the tariff which, would have prevented the light dragoon adding some expression of friendship, All Pan soon became aware of the laconic despatch, and the princess could not leave her house without being asked what she had done with the Prince’e linen.—“ Pall Mall Gazette.” It is said that in the tombs of the Ne. cropolis of ancient Egypt two kinds of mummies have been found, One is incomplete—that is to say, all organs necessary to life have been separated from them; the other, on the contrary is quite complete. Having observed this, a Swedish chemist ; Dr. Grussolhach, who has the reputation of being both good and learned, Professor at i the University at Upsal, has come to the ; conclusion that the Egyptian mummies are not all, as has been said and believed for i some thousands of years, bodies embalmed : in any procsss of preservation whatever, but that they are rsaily the bodies of individuals whose life has been momentarily suspended, with the intention of restoring it at a future time, only the secret of ; preservation has been lost. Meanwhile Professor Gmsselbach adduces many proofs 'n support of his idea; among others, his ■ experiments during the last ten years, which he says, have always proved successful. He took a snake, and trated it in such a manner as to benumb it as though it had been carved in marble, and it was So brittle, that hal he allowed it to fall, it would I have broken into fragments. In this state he kept it for one or several years, ■ and then restored it to life hy sprinkling it I with a stimulating fluid, the composition of which is his secret. For fifteen years the snake has been undergoing an existence ■ composed of successive deaths and resurrections, apparently without sustaining any harm. The professor is reported to hav 1 sent a petition to his Government, requesting that acriminal who has been condemned ' to death may be given to him, to treat in the same manner as the snake, promising to restore him to life in two years. It is understood that the man who Undergoes ! this experiment is to bo pardoneh 1 Whether the Swedish Government has accepted or rejected the learned chemist’s proposal is not known.