Excerpta.
§ Great Power in a Small Space.
The new class of torpedo boat destroyers which were designed by the late British Government, and which have been built under the direction of the present Admiralty, are proving a great success. The Hornet, lately turned out by Messrs Yarrow, has run over 28 knots, a really amazing speed upon the water. It is calculated that no less than ti,ooo horse-power can be obtained from the powerful engines which are crammed into these little vessels of 260 tons. Some measure of the immense power applied is supplied by the fact that a liner of 10,000 tons, if engined on the same scale, would have to develop no less than 230,000 horse-power ! The 12-pounder gun, which is the principal armament of these little vessels, has already been proved to be a most effective and deadly weapon, and experiments in a sea way have shown that its shooting up to 1,500 yards is both accurate and rapid, despite the unstable platform on which it is carried.
A Scotchman of the Mutiny.
Tn the force defending the Shan Nujeff, in addition to the regular army, there was a large body of archers on the walls, armed with bows and arrows, which they discharged with great force and precision, and on White raising bis head above the wall an arrow was shot right into his feather bonnet. Inside the wire cage of his bonnet, however, he had placed his forage cap, folded up, and instead of passing right through, the arrow stuck in the folds of the forage cap, and ‘ Dan,’ as he was called, coolly pulled out lhe arrow, paraphrasing a quotation from Sir Walter Scott’s ‘ Legend of Montrose,’ where Doughal Dalgetty and Ranald MacEagb made their escapes from the castle of M’Cullutn More.
Looking - at the arrow,’ My conscience !’ said White, ‘bows and arrows, bows and arrows ! Have we got Robin Hood and Little John back again? Bows and arrows ! My conscience, lhe sight has not been seen in civilised war for nearly 200 years. Bows and arrows ! And why not weavers’ beams, of in the days of Goliath ? Ah ! that. Daniel White should be able to tell in the Saut Market of Glasgow that he had seen men fight with bows and arrows in the days of Enfield rifles! Well, well, Jack Pandy, since bows and arrows are the words, here's at you !’ and with that he raised his feather bonnet on the point of his bayonet above the top of the wall, and immediately another arrow pierced it through, while a dozen more whizzed past a little wide of the mark. —‘ Reminiscences of the Mutiny,’ by W. Forbes-Mitchell.
A Battle with an Eel.
In ‘ Sub-tropical Rambles in Mauritius ’ the author, Mr Nicholas Pike, thus describes an adventure with a monstrous cave eeQ, Seated on a projection of rock, he savs, beside a small arched basin containing about six feet of water clear as crystal, he was watching the graceful movements of several lovely little Cbißtodons when suddenly they vanished as.if by magic. As he had not stirred, he was curious to learn the cause of lhe panic. For some moments he could discern nothing, but at length caught a glimpse of part of an eel’s head, no larger than a man’s thumb, protruding through an opening in the pink coral bed four of five inches in width.
He says: Finding that the animal did not come out, and that he was evidently lying in wait for his prey, I determined to take him if possible, and so baited a good sized hook which I susj ended over his hole. Instantly hook and bait were seized, and I saw that I had an ugly customer to deal
with—a large, savage fellow. It was a codhook with a steel chain, and with a jerk I drew out the eel’s head from the crevice, then called loudly to Jumna, my native assistant, who was a weak little man, to hold on tightly to the line while I jumped into the water to spear the eel.
Jumna looked terrified, and plainly did not like the job; nevertheless, he held on like death. I carefully lowered myself into the water, and approached the hole, when suddenly the creature came at me boldly. 1 was a little too quick for him, however. Then began a struggle. The water in the pool appeared to boil, as with line and spear we put forth all our strength to haul tho eel out upon the rocks. Foot by foot we drew him forth till fully three yards of his squirming body were extended on the reef. Still we saw no end. Ten feet, eleven feet were pulled out? ‘ Why,’ I exclaimed, ‘ we’ve caught a young sea serpent !’ At length his tail came out with a sweep around towards our legs, when we quickly ran up the rocks dragging our game after us. Even on land we had much ado to hold him till I had severed the vetebrm in several places with my hatchet. This specimen measured 12 feet 3 inches in length, and round the largest part of the head inches. The bead terminates in a blunt point, having two small, bright eyes not inure than an inch from the end. The large mouth is filled with long, sharp teeth; even the roof is covered with these formidable weapons. There can be little doubt that this eel would prove a dangerous antagonist to an unarmed person.
A Mother’s Sorrow.
Mother : ‘ I don’t know what to do with Henry. He won’t work, wants to sit up all night and lie abed all day, uses liquor and tobacco immoderately, and absolutely refuses to wear decent clothes or get his ’air cut.’ Her brother : ‘ Why, he must be a born author.’
Mother (weeping) : ‘ And after all I’ve done for that child !’
Neuralgia
is the first, surest and most reliable sign of nerve decay ; it is a symptom provided by nature to warn the sufferer of approaching weakness and distress, though in most cases the pain is purely local; the disease is constitutional and local remedies such as liniments, oils and menthols only give temporary relief, and do not do the slightest permanent good, for they only act by deadening the sensibility of the affected nerve. The remedy to be of any lasting benefit must be tissue forming and nerve strengthening and must have general invigorating properties; it must also contain the material to restore the lost tissue to the impoverished nerves, and no remedy, except Clements Tonic possesses these wonderful powers. Clements Tonic has been used for thousands of cases by young and old of both sexes for neuralgia, sciatica, and other nervous complaints, and we have never heard of a case where it has failed to give quick and prompt relief. Read of tho case of Mr B. Beacham, Parnell, Auckland, N.Z., who writes on November 6th, 1893 : Sir, —About seven months ago I got hurt by lifting a bag of corn, which brought on two abscesses, one on the groin and the other on the knee, I was laid up for four months and under the doctor for a long time, this affected my general health and made me very weak with a very poor appetite. I was persuaded to try Clements Tonic and I am glad to say that I did so, for I have proved its curative effects. There is no mistake about Clements Tonic for imparting strength and giving tone and vigor to the appetite. I took four bottles in all, and they completely set me up and put me in good health again. You can make use of this as you think proper.— Yours respectfully, R. Beacham, Auckland, N.Z.
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Kaikoura Star, Volume XIV, Issue 756, 17 July 1894, Page 2
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1,291Excerpta. Kaikoura Star, Volume XIV, Issue 756, 17 July 1894, Page 2
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