MISCELLANEOUS.

Globe, Volume I, Issue 36, 11 July 1874, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

The following anecdote was told by a preacher, for a fact: —A preacher was praying, and in his prayer he said, “ I pray the Lord to curtail the power of the devil, “ Just then an old darkey in the congregation cried : “ Yes I Amen I Bress God 1 Cut him tail right smack, smoove off.” According to a writer in “ Blackwood” every man who is not a monster, mathematician, or a mad philosopher, is the slave of some women or other.

A painter being asked to estimate the cost of painting a certain house, drew forth pecs and paper, and made the following ca’culation ; —A naught is a naught; three into five twice you can’t; I’ll paint your house for 50 dollars.”

A very agreeable girl, about twenty, having during a country visit run out of powder to whiten her face, has tried pounded sugar with the beet results: she says it tastes nice when she is kissed.

“ Margery, what did you do with that tallow that Mr Jones greased his boots with this evening ?” “ Please, ma’am, I baked the griddle cakes with it.” “You did? I though you had wasted it,”

A man in Illinois committed suicide by drowning, lately, in six inches of water. He could not have done it alone, but his wife, with that sclf-sacrificing devotion and helpfulness so characteristic of her sex, sat on his head.

The Engineer of one of the largest dockyards in Spain, a Scotchman, some time back ordered several wheelbarrows to be made. The vehicle, it may be mentioned, is unknown in the Peninsula. The first one made was brought into the yard for inspection, carried by four men, two holding the wheel, and one at each shaft.

“ I came off with flying colors,” as the painter said when he fell from a ladder with a palette and brush on his thumb.

A Western paper announces that board for the summer can be obtained at “ a large and shady brick gentleman’s residence.”

Mr Stephen Mitchell, who was killed by an unfortunate accident at Moffat, a few days ago, has left a will, in which he bequeathed £70,000 for the formation of a free library at Glasgow. There are said to be fifty women practising medicine in New York and Brooklyn. The finished manuscripts left by Mr John Stuart Mill, dealing with “ Theism ” and “Nature,” are now passing through the press, and will be shortly issued by Messrs Lougman. An Irishman, speaking of a person’s love of money, said : “ I verily believe that if he were an undertaker, it would be the delight of his heart to see all mankind seized with a common mortality, that he might have the general burial, and provide scarves and hatbands for the survivors.”

“ John,” said a clergyman to bis man, “ you should become a teetotaler ; you have been drinking again to-day.” Do you ever take a drop yourseP, mecnistcr?” “Yes, John ; but you must look at your circumstances and mine.” “ Very true, sir,” says John ; “ but can you tell me how the streets of Jerusalem were kept so clean ?” “ No, John, I cannot tell you that.” “ Well, sir, it was just because every one kept his aiu door clean.”

Six women arc striving to be postmaster at Smithville, Georgia, and six houses go unswept. What is the difference between a farmer and a bottle of whisky ? One husbands the corn and the other corns the husbands.

betrothal is announced of the Grand Duke Vladimir Alcxaudrovitch of Russia, with the Duchess Marie of MecklenbnrghSchwerin, the eldest daughter of the Grand Duke of that country. The marriage is remarkable, because it is the first instance of the wife of a Russian Prince being allowed to retain the Protestant faith, which is permitted to the Princess Marie by the marriage contract. The marriage is to take place in July next. The Diocesan Synod of Edinburgh has appointed a committee to take such action as may procure the alteration and amendment of the law of marriage so as to legalise in Scotland banns proclaimed in England. The startling announcement was made that the Episcopal clergy of Scotland had habitually broken the present marriage law in regard to banns, and had so rendered themselves liable to exile for life from Scotland.

The “Guardian” says:—The tender of Mr Magnus Tait has been accepted for the erection of tho Normal School buildings, a full description of which appeared in tho “ Guardian ” a short time ago. The amount is a little over £BOOO. On the first occasion when tenders were called for, they exceeded the amount which the Government were disposed to spend on the building, so new ones were invited, and fifteen months allowed for the completion of the building. The above is the result.

Mr James Youl, so well and so honorably known in connection with the acclimatisation of salmon in Tasmania, has been appointed by the Queen a companion of the Order of St Michael and St George. On dit tljat it is in contemplation to confer a similar honor on Mr Daniel because of his snccessful exertion* in providing a cheap food supply for the people of England. We (“ Athenreum”) understand that Jacob Wainwright’s journal,which gives an account of Livingston’s death, and narrates the long march of his escort homewards with his remains, will not be published in advance of Dr Livingstone’s own narration, to be issued under the direction of the family. That portion of the great traveller’s journal which was brought to England by Mr Stanley was found in excellent order.

After a severe competitive trial of two days' duration, the Sterndale Rennet Scholarship of the Royal Academy of Music has been awarded to Master Charlton Templeman Speer, whose age is barely fourteen years. We (says “ Public Opinion”) believe the young gentleman resided, if he does not now live, at Douglas, Isle of Man. Qe showed great precocity at a very early age, - According to the “ Musikalisches Wechenblatt” of Vienna, a tenor capable of singing simultaneously two different notes has been presented before a congress of Vienna doctors. This astonishing faculty is attributed to an irregular development of the glottis. We only hope he may be proved to be a fraud ; a cheerful prospect truly, if through his irregular development he should sing consecutive fifths 1

The hairless horse “ Caoutchouc,’ 1 now on exhibition in this city, says a San Francisco paper, has been matched by Mr Wm B. Oat, the owner, against Mr C. 8. Crittenden’s fast trotting stallion “ Irwin Davis, ’ for 250 dollars, to walk five miles, oyer the halfmile track, next Saturday. “ Caoutchouc ” is now in training by his keeper, and takes his exercise under cover of coat and “ pantalets," every morning, and is a very remarkably fast walking animal, and it is thought very doubtful by those who hare seen him walking if any horse can beat him. It does not appear that Constantinople was, during the eighteenth century at least in such a state of literary darkness as we are accustomed to fancy. The London Journal, May 30, 1730, states, as part of its advices from Amsterdam, “ Besides the dictionary formerly mentioned as to have been printed at Constantinople, they have printed another folio, entitled ‘ Tuchfatil Kubar,’ treating of the globes and geography; and a quarto, entitled ‘ Tarib-Sayah ; or an account of a Traveller,’ being a History of the late Kevolulions in Persia.”

A nitro-glyceriue faetory at Ticonderoga, N.Y., which had been closed for several weeks; w;w again put in operation. The factory blew up, killing two men, Inamed McMahon and Keefe, fragments of whoso bodies were found in the woods around. They had been making repairs, and are supposed to have disturbed some concealed nitroglycerine. *

The Edinburgh Medical Missionary So* ciety, of which Dr Livingstone was a member, have in contemplation the erection of a new training institution, to bear his name. The directors of the society have received for their project the approbation of Dr Livingstone's family, of Sir Bartle Frcre, and many other intimate friends of Livingstone.

An Otago paper states that when the butcher who supplied His Excellency the Governor with meat during his residence at Fern hill sent in his bill, he applied for the appointment of “ butcher to His Excellency the Governor of New Zealand,” &c. The major domo, however, objected to the prices charged, and the butcher was informed that the coveted appointment would be conferred on him only on condition that he reduced bis bills.

A farmer cut down a tree which stood so near the boundary line of his farm that it was doubtful whether it belonged to him or his neighbor. The neighbor, however, claimed the tree, and prosecuted the man who cut it for damages. The case was sent from Court to Court. Time was wasted, temper soured, and temper lost; but the case was finally gained by the prosecutor. The last that we heard of the transaction was that the man who gained the cause went to the lawyer’s office to excute a deed of his whole farm, which he had been compelled to sell to pay his costs. Then houseless and homeless, he thrust his hands into his pockets and triumphantly exclaimed, * I’ve beat him.’

The Merchants’ Exchange of St. Louis have endorsed a scheme proposed by Captain Eads for the improvement of the mouth of the Mississippi. The plan “proposes to secure a channel 600 ft wide, and 28ft deep, by a system of jetties. The total cost of the work will be 5,000,000d01, the channel to bo maintained for ten years at a cost of 400,000d0l per annum. When a depth of 20ft is attained, 1,000,000d0l is to be paid, and when each additional 2ft depth shall be secured, an additional million is to be paid. The payment of 500,000d0l per year is to depend solely upon the maintenance continuously of 28ft in the channel,’ A despatch from Cape Coast Castle, dated March 29tb, says : —“ A second embassy arrived here from the King of Ashantee yesterday, and was immediately received by Colonel Maxwell, the acting administrator. They brought the King’s thanks for the release of the Ashantee prisoners, and his assurance of the most complete submission to the British flag and to all the terras of the treaty. The rebellious towns and tribes in the western portion of the Protectorate have submitted. The King of Ashantee is said to have taken up his residence in Coomassie. Colonel Maxwell leaves to-day invalided. The next in command, Colonel Johnston, assumes the government.” Another despatch has informed ns of Colonel Maxwell’s death on his way home. From the West we get a true story, which gloomily suggests some of Feydeau’s weird and horrible fancies. It is well for mankind’s peace of mind that things like this which we are about to relate seldom occur. The St Louis Chief of Police was very much agitated the other morning by the receipt of of telegram from the conductor of a Vandalia train then approaching the city. In the briefest manner the despatch stated that in the luggage car of that train was a trunk emitting so diabolical an odour that it irresistably suggested a murderous tragedy; and further, that its owner was on the train, and the number of his check was so-and-so. A whole battalion of policemen and detectives was immediately sent to the depot, the train arrived, the trunk was quietly confiscated, apd its owner secretly accompanied to his hotel, not to be arrested 'until its fatal contents were revealed. Then followed a scene to which only the pencils of a Kaulbach and a Dord could do justice. The lid of the trunk was slowly lifted up in the presence of a horror stricken group, and—it is hard to

mention the fearful fact—to their dilated eyes were disclosed the ghastly forms of six Limbnrger cheeses. The following notice of an actor formerly

well known in Christchurch, will no doubt

prove interesting to our readers : —Mr John Hall remains at the Prince of Wales, Liverpool, and promises to become a permanent feature there. He has lately appeared as Cassidy in Byron’s “Old Soldiers,” with what success may be judged from the utterances of the “ Porcupine,” one of the most intelligent and discriminating of the journals indulging in dramatic criticism. Speaking of Mr Hall, “ Porcupine” says :—“ The old Irish servant, Cassidy, exhibits Mr Hall, the

favorite comedian of the house, in a new

light. Burlesque is bad training for an actor. The nightly * topical ’ stillness begets a low gagging style inimical to study and finish, and we are glad the opportunity has offered for showing that an actor who is facile princcps in all the effects of extravaganza, legitimate and illegitimate, is capable of better things. The talent for make-up displayed on previous occasions is apparent in the respectable appearance of the aged retainer of the family. This is remarkable, because invariably the Irish servant-man of the stage is a dirty guy, and the exaggeration of dress is but the prelude to the grossest extravagance of action. Mr Hall plays the part in a natural manner, and the humorous as well as the slightly . pathetic shades of the character were developed with true comedy effect. We compliment him on being the only actor we know who plays an Irishman without exaggeration.” This, from a writer residing in a town in which Irishmen abound —•the stage Irishman above all others —is no slight praise. Another Liverpool paper says :—“Mr Hall achieves distinguished success in both pieces. The understanding he has established with his audience makes acting easy work for him now, but ho does not relax in his zeal or his invention. The part of Cassidy, indeed, is a piece of pure acting, without extravagance, and Mr Hall infuses into it very acceptable dry humour, avoiding the crawling, sneaking sort of intonation to which in Irish servants Mr Boucicault has accustomed us. In the scene where his master discharges him be exhibits also real pathos. His part in the burlesque is the wildly extravagant one of Fernando Yillabolla. His dress is new. His antics, his gesticulations, and his facial expressions are all his own, and great is the enjoyment • of all who admire really humorous eccentricity. He crowns his efforts by a remarkable topical song, ‘ Poor Blind Worm,’ sung with a hiccup, to the tune of ‘ Poor Mary Ann.’ ” Mrs Hall Emily Wiseman lias had a great success at Manchester, Another of the Wiseman family, Fanny, who will be remembered with especial interest by Australians, .is playing at the Theatre Royal, Liverpool, where Mr Willie South is also located.

The Invalide Russo ” has published an official report from Colonel Ivanoff, jjeommanding the Russian force on the Amou Darya, which states that Khiva remains quiet. The contribution levied upon the Turcomans, which was recently paid to the colonel, was accompanied by an autograph letter from the Khan. The Khan at the same time returned the goods taken from the Khirgiz by the Turcomans, and also the contribution paid by the JYomudas. The “ Invalide” further reports the execution by the Khan’s orders of five of the principal Captchak citizens who distinguished themselves by hostility to Russia in the late war. The Khan, having successfully collected the contribution payable to Russia, is now endeavoring to introduce a system of regular taxation on his own behalf, securing him an annual revenue from the nomad tribes.

A double suicide of two young English people —a man and a woman—at the Hotel St Petersburg, has been one of the principal topics of the week in Paris (says the “ Pall Mall Gazette,” of May Ist.) They poisoned themselves with prussic acid, and took great pains to obliterate from their luggage and clothes all traces of their identity. The bodies have, however, been fnlly identified as those of a young man named Hall and his wife, natives of Bath, who attempted suicide at Ilfracombe last summer. Hall was for several years a clerk in the Westminster Bank, London, but returned to Bath eighteen months ago owing to an accident to his knee. While at home invalided, he met and married Miss Hovvarth, a musician’s daughter, whom his father had adopted at six years of age. She was then 20. They went to Ilfracombe, North Devon, where they attempted to poison themselves last July, and coolly left directions for disposing of their clothing and jewellery, and enclosed £3 to their landlady for the extra trouble which their deaths would cause her. They recovered, and, after suffering three months’ imprisonment, Hall returned to his wife, who, in the meantime, had given birth to a boy, now at Bath. Six weeks ago the wife went to London to a situation, and was followed by her husband on the 18th of April. On hearing of the Paris suicide, their friends in Bath sent photographs of Mr and Mrs Hall, and received telegrams that the bodies had been fully identified as those of the lady and gentleman whose photographs had been received.