LATE CABLE NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 22 October 1929, Page 2

LATE CABLE NEWS

"AMOROUS UNCLE” PARSON’S IMPROPER LETTER. ’) • LONDON, October 12. An extraordinary letter, written by the Rev. Eric Farrar, aged 64, to Dorothy Sheppard, aged 18, who replied to Farrar’s advertisement for a young lady to act as companion to an elderly gentleman, formed the subject of a libel action at Ryde. Farrar wrote: “ Your reply is one of many. You ought to know that my uncle is ah amorous gentleman of 64, and might desire to take liberties, but he will treat you generously and take you to- all sorts of shows. I am sorry if you are too respectable and modest to consider, this. Otherwise, you will not regret it financially.” Farrar admitted to the police that he had inserted the advertisement and had sent the letter, which his solicitor described as grossly impTOper and senseless, but not libellous. Farrar was committed for trial.

WIDOW OF 27. ELOPES WITH BOY OF 17. • ~>: 4 -. ' i .' f ' LONDON, October 12. “ Betty is a sweet kid,” says the 17-year-old clerk, Er:c Nurthen, ecstatically of his bride, who was a widow, 27 years old. He explains, however, that he speaks relatively. “Her way is so young when we are together that 1 like 30 and she like 17.”

The couple achieved notoriety by running away .and marrying at Gretna Green, but the romance has found the going hard. When Eric returned to his officri he found a dismissal notice. He admits that the firm is justified. The boss had heprd of the intended elopementyand;gay© Eric four;days’ leave, but, • “ on condition that yo.u do nothing silly like, eloping or. marry? ' ing.” v' j;.!.. •":••>■! -a.-',;,; ■ ' . ; -

Eiic promised, but “.What eLe cpvlß I do?, You cannot tell peer j body when you are going to elope.”

POWDER BLUE. .MEN’S NEW GOLF SHOES. ; LONDON, October 12. Brighter shoes for men are a feature of the Shoe Leather Fair, A well-dressed golfer must wear shoes toning with his plus-fours, whether they be powder blue or conary. Walking and sports models are shown in royal blue and navy. Sp ke-pointed footwear in black and white checks ahd crimson, and patent shoes inlaid with pink sriakeskin are exhibited. Another bad year is comng for reptiles, especially Java lizards, pythons, and iguanas. Women are demanding more reptile skin'shoes. Python shoes aye the most expensive, retailing at £5 os. • ■ "

■Pointed toes'and -Louis Quirize heels are completely out, of. fashion) the prevailing type .of women’s shcos having one. bar, with button at the side; and no tqecap,, , Kaffir.brpwn is the predominant note for. winter walking shoes. Satins and velvets, with brocades, tinsels, and even ci'epe de chine, are the mode for evening wear. Silver, arid gold kids are forecast as favourites.

There are novelties in rubber Wellingtons, with shaped heels, in all colours. Shoes made of Australian sharkskin are priced at £6,105. The buyers are given a. guarantee that the shoes will not crack, no matter ho.r hardly they are worn. , ,

CASH FOR SMITHS. WHO WANTS A PENSION P . LONDON, October 12. Not everybody named Smith can be chosen, ’ but the administrators of the so-called . Smith'bequest invite further applications from the British branch, of the fa mil y for pensions under the 300-year-old will of Henry Smith, an aiderman of the city of London in the seventeenth century.

Henry made a fortune and placed it in the hands of trustees, asking only an income of £SOO a year for liirpself, the remainder to be distributed, first, among relatives, secondly among people named Smith, and thirdly to The London estate, which originally produced £2OO a year, now yields £25,000. At present 1000 Smiths share £SOOO a year, and others share with the general public in £20,000 distributed among hospitals. The customary pension is 10s a week.

BETTER MUSEUMS. IDEAS FOR BRIGHTENING UP. LONDON, Oct .12. Museums and art galleries will become a good deal more than a wet-day

refuge if the recommendations of the Royal Commission investigating them are adopted, with the slogan brighter and better museums and art galleries. Domestic life has at last gained recognition and an open air folk museum may record for posterity to marvel at, the breakfast table quarrel, the, putting out of the cat and all the other incidents which have hithertc been regarded as unworthy of perpetu ity.

Better publicity and advertising if urged and, as a pla r e of entertainment museums, with their fearsome posters, may rival the theatres. It is proposed Cuit the British, Natural History, and Science Museums, and the National Tate, and Scottish Art Galleries should be open until 8 p.m. on two evenings a week. The development of a system o guide attendants, and the'abolition cl aj 1 fees, and the provision of four new museump are also proposed.

CAT SKINS. AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY. LONDON, Oct. 12. Cats, ill life, have an annoying habit of always coming back, but now the thing does not end at death. The Cat will always come back., 'The Persian that graced the family hearth for so many years may even return in the form of a shining coat to grace all'unwittingly the shoulders of his mistress. One hundred and twenty thousand cat skins from Australia are being auctioned in London and you may get your revenge on that black tabby that kept you awake.every night for months. Your boot can’t miss its mark this time because he will be in the form of a footrug in your* motor, cay. The skins are chiefly used for foot-rugs and coat linings. ' . More than 1,000,000 Australian skins including 421,000 opossum, 356,000 wallaby, 90,000 ringtail,.Bo,ooo red fox, and 1/,000 kangaroo, will be auctioned.

MILLION TO ONE. CHANCE CAME OFF. LONDON, Oct. 12. A partridge dashed through the engine window of the Leeds express as it was travelling, at. 70 m.p.h., causing glass to enter the driver’s eye. Though he. was in intense pain,,the d r iver pluckily continued ; to. - his destination, and was then taken to hospital, where the glass was removed,.,-. Vt An official declared that the accident was unparalleled. Trains hit hundreds of birds in the course of a year, and there was only . a millionth chance oT trouble following.

TO MATCH. CIGARETTES AND FROCKS. LONDON, Oct. 12. Coloured cigarettes matching the women’s dresses are the latest vogue, leading to the introduction of red, pink, yellow, blue, green,, and black cigarettes, cploured with non-injurious vegetable dyes, of. the same hue as the costumes) The pipe-making industry in France is seriously depressed owing to a 50 per cent decrease in the past three years in England’s demand for pipes. The demand for tobacco has decreased 20 per cent, whereas the demand for cigars has increased 50 per cent in nine years. Britain consumes more cigarettes, per head than, the United States. To-bacconists-consider that the rush and hustle of.modern life is responsible for the favouring c'f cigarettes, compared with pipes;

MASTER’S BIRCH. HELPED BUILD EMPIRE. LONDON, October 12. Politicians, bisbops, major-generals, and innumerable others have squirmed in the iron grip of William Hall, who has just, retired from the oost of school messenger at Eton. His duties included holding down boys at the famous birching block, but he refused to reveal their names, it being a point of honour not to discuss the grim scenes at which Jhe assisted in the headmaster’s study.

Hall, who is 73, is white-haired, though he v*hs formerly fiery red, for which he was nicknamed “Fusee.” He fought ifr the Zulu War.

He is df.-the opinion that the thrashings have done the boys the world qf good, and helped to build up the British Empire.

WORLD’S HIGHEST. 1050 FT SKYSCRAPER. NEW’YORK, October 12. Alfred Lefcourt plans to build the tallest building in the world—loso feet above street level—on the corner of Broadway and Forty-ninth Street. It will be a £6,000,000 investment.