NEWS BY MAIL.

Hokitika Guardian, 26 January 1924, Page 4

NEWS BY MAIL.

BRIDE OX A STRETCHER

LONDON, Nov. 27

A golden haired girl of 10, Miss .Sylvia Avery, was carried on a stretcher into a London register offiice yesterday to be married to M. Achillo Jean Alice ran , whose address was'given as Montpcliorphue. liromplon-road, K nigh is l/rid.go. The marriage was originally arran ged for last Saturday, hut it had to he postponed as some formalities had not been completed. It was then fixed for yesterday, but on Monday Miss Avery was taken seriously ill and removed to a hospital to undergo an operation. Yesterday morning she begged to be married before th» operation. Her doctors thought ii best to let her have her wav. and. since the wedding could o-o l a!:,, place in the hospital—which is not a building registered for marriage— u party of doctors and nurses accom; anted her stretcher to the register oh ICC. Bin in the rush to get her to the office nobody had thought of warning the bridegroom, and it was not realised until the party were in the office that he could not possibly know anything about it. A woman triend ot the bride at elite set out in a motorcar to look for him. The search occupied an hour. In l !>■> meantime Miss Avery lay on her stretcher be the office lire ami jolted bravidv with Imr nurses, though it was obvious that she was in great pain. By the time M. 'lzernri i reived she was so exhausted that lie could only wbistier tic words of the marriage vow clinging to bis band the while. She managed n* sop: the register and was hurried back to the hospital. THE YYOXDF.R Y.TfAF.K. LONDON November 27. ,\n enormous bone riveted the attention of the fellows of the London Zoological Society at last night's scientific meeting. Its story was told by Sir Sidney 11 armor, E.R.S., of the British M ii.scum. The cxliihit was a single segment I rniu the .spine of a whale which came to a remarkably dramatic end alter breaking -.several records. This One vertebra measures -lit i.jiu in width, thus depriving the famous "Wexford Whale'' of the pride of the place, as t!:,, latter's spine only measures .'ill-Sin

Sir Sidney explained that the v.liah* swam into the entrance of the Vannmn Canal at Cristobal. 11l- moved up until i; nearly reached the fhitun Lock. As its huge hoik wa.s a serious danger to shipping while the beast floundered rottml looking' h»r a way to escape. H was killed hv machine gun fire.

Next it. was towed to some 7n-ton cram's with the idea ol preserving Ihe

wonderful carcase for science. The cranes made a gallant cllort, hut were uucrgial to the strain. Il was thou examined and the length was estimated at flsl't. (Note the 2-10 in. of scienti'i" restraint.) The weight was guess,.,! as being about 100 tolls.

The bod', was iov. oil In sea and aban,loned. but it lib l w ashore at: Nombro d,. |leis . "Drake in bis liaminock and a thousand leagues away"). After ■snie local discontent—the wind being cn -liore - it was again towed to sea. aml I'nited Plates airmen bombed it. into fragments.

Tile wind stayed I rue. and tile bits came hack to the land. Mr I'. A. Mitchell Hedges, the explorer, secured the record breaking bone on the spot and lias presented il to tile British M iisi'iini.