ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 693, 30 July 1875, Page 3

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

Time thee Trimm, the well known French journalist who died in MayJjlast, was renowned in early life for his assiduity in business. Engaged on a weekly paper, he was always found in the office by the first person who arrived, sometimes as early as 7 a.m., and the last who finished work, no matter how late at'l'mght, |left Timothee Trimm seated at his table. One day, however, the reason of his apparent industry was discovered. Too poor to afford a lodging he slept under a table in the office. A man was recently committed for trial by a London magistrate for the following curious attempt at fraud. He had filled a deal box with bricks and paper, and then taksn it to the bouse of a Mrs Powell, with the statement that it had been sent to her by passenger train, and that there was a half-crown to pay. The lady was too sharp for him, however, and instead of sending for change, sent for a constable and gave him into custody. The advance of education has even spread to the feathered tribe. A Parisian birdseller advertises to “ teach birds to talk sensibly.” An ornithological School Board will probably he the next institution. A cookery club has been established in Boston by a number of fashionable young ladies. They meet twice a week at the house of each member in turn, who treats her sisters to a breakfast, dinner, or tea prepared exclusively by herself. The other day a woman in Glasgow sold her child tor a penny ; it was purchased by a Mrs M ‘Manus, who however, soon got tired of her, bargain, and accordingly returned it to the mother’s relations, the whereabouts of the mother not being known. The sea-serpent has ones more made its appearance, this time in the United States. An American schooner, which recently arrived at Portland, U.S., is reported to have met with the monster off Cape E’izabeth. The captain was at the wheel about midnight, one other man being on the deck when suddenly a large snake arose out of the water about four feet above the rail. Tbe body above the water was as largo round ns a hogshead, and the serpent appcarod to he about 120 long. The man on deck snatched up a long pole with a pikehead at the end and thrust it into the serpent, but the reptile dived at once, and in few moments came up a little distance off on the other side of the vessel and glided away. The captain exhibits the pike covered with the blood and sinews of the serpent as a voucher for the truth of his story. From the annual report of the Board of Works we learn that during the year 1874 the number of calls for (ires were 1750. Of these SO were false alarms, SS only chimney fires, 1419 fires resulting in slight damage, and 154 fires of a serious character. Tiro number of fires in which life was seriously endangered was 73 ; and the number of those in which life was lost was 19. The number of persons seriously endangered by fire was 157 ; of whom 134 were saved and 23 lost their lives. Of tbe 23 lost, 13 were taken out alive, but died afterwards in hospitals or elsewhere, and 10 were suffocated or burned to death. The quantity of water used for extinguishing fires was 10,579,205 gallons, or 74,000 tons", about throe-fourths of which was taken from tbe street pipes, the remainder from the river, canals and docks. There were 9 eases of short supply of water, 24 of late attendance of turncocks, and|l4of non-attendance, making altogether 47 cases in which the water arrangements were not satisfactory. Albert Smith’s famed talking-fish has been equalled by one of tbe elephants in tbe Paris Jardin do Plantes, which has been taught to articulate “Papa” most distinctly with its trnnk. Parents of children in the habit of straying from homo should adopt the Persian system of attaching a label with their name and address to their girdles. These labels are supplied at tbe local police stations. The idea is worth some reflection.

A curious bullet of olden times bus been I found by a Michigan farmer. Whilst driv* | tng his cows through a forest tho farmer came upon tho buck lying on tho ground, and evidently dying of sheer old ago. Tho farmer soon put tho poor beast out of its misery by shooting it, and on stopping to examine tho animal, noticed a round hard body under tho skin of its side, and using his knife brought to light a silver bullet, such ns was formerly used for the enclosure of secret despatches. Ho took tho bullet homo, and after some trouble succeeded in opening it, when tho bullet was found to contain a discolored scrap of thin paper bearing a cypher message. Neither message nor bullet were injured, but all efforts to find a key to the cypher havo proved fruitless.