Facts and Fancies.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 723, 21 November 1914, Page 7

Facts and Fancies.

'"Mass in" Egypt. Many of the principal houses in Pompeii and Herculaneum had Roman glass windows. The Egyptians made glass at least 3,000 years B.C. It is stated that in some of the tombs near ancient Thebes there are still to be seen pictures of workmen blowing glass) in much the same way in which it id blown to-day. After Rome was destroyed hy tlie barbarians, the art of fine glass-making was nearly lost, and only churches and public buildings had glass windows. To Dwarf the Eiffel Tower. Should Buenos Ayres carry out « project now under contemplation, the city will erect the higher; b tower in the world, overtopping that of Eiffel by 189 feet. It is planned to put the steel structure up to a height of 1,173 feet, and a statue at the. top will' be surmounted' with an electric light of 1,000,000 candle power. The tower, as plans' have been drawn, will have facilities for social gatherings, cafes, restaurants, library, billiard rooms, gymnasium, as well as a wireless telegvaphio station and a meteorological observatory. Weaving in Shadow. In one of the famous lace shops of Brussels there are certain rooms devoted to the weaving of the finest and most delicate laco r-atterns. These rooms are'entirely d.u'hcaccl, save from the light from one small windoAv falling directly upon the pattern. There is only one lace-maker in the room,.and she sits where the narrow stream of light falls upon the thread she, is weaving. "Thus," you are told by your guide, "do we secure our choicest products. Lace is always more delicately woven when tha'worker is in the dark, and only her pattern is in the light." For the King's Use,

No other race of animals can show such a history' as tho black oxen that draw the funeral cars of dead Japanese Emperors. They are or a special breed, and for centuries have been kept for the sole use of the Imperial family.

The cream-colored Hanoverian horses, reserved for the British Royal family, are nearly, as famous, but some of these animals enco wore tho yoke of an alien and an enemy. When Napoleon, occupied Hanover, in 1804, ho seized all the cream-colored horses in the Royal stables, and took £hem to 7 Paris. The state carriage at his coro-. nation was drawn by eight of these animals.

This insult, as lie regarded it, made George 111. so angry that he would not use'the others of the breed that were stabled in London. Until the fall of Napoleon the state coach was always drawn by .black horses when the King or his son, the Prince Regent, opened Parliament. t Origin of the Menu. The menu, so indispensable to' the ordering of a satisfactory dinner • today, had. its origin "in the twelfth century, the first person to use ib being Prince Henry of Brunswick. At a large banquet lies was seen to consult from time to time a long .paper at his side, apparently attached to the under side of the tablecloth, and rolled back. One inquisitive guest at length made bold to inquire what study lie might be engaged in at that apparently unseasonable time, and Prince Henry explained that it was a paper on which he had noted down the details of his dinner, and that he wanted, to- be sure that all his instructions had bsen carried out. The idea struck the fancy cf the guests, and from that time the menu became the fashion. In its primitive form it was of such dimensions as to resemble a wall map, and was given a position at each end of the tabic, -the guests at the banquet b2ing permitted to consult it.

The Ediblo Rat of Uganda, The idea of eating rats is so repulsive to us that we cannot imagine such a thing unless one were driven to it by starvation. The people of Uganda, however, eat rats not from necessity, but because they like thorn. Tho rat of Uganda, however, is very diiT.Tr.snt from the little creature that guaws holes in our cupboards. This rat is much larger; it is more than a foot long, and is therefore quite a substantial animal, and as well worth cooking as a rabbit. The wonderful thing about this rat is that it has two mouths, one behind the other. The first mouth has a pointed rat-like nose, and is ..furnished wiHi two rows of sharp-white teeth, wii.ii which it bites off its food and pa.\:es it on to the second mouth, whk'h is placed just above the throat. '!his mouth also has two rows of teeth, but one long slender tongue serves for bo.h sets of grinders.

Eats are not only eaten in 17 garni a, but they are regarded ' as a delicacy. The King, among his many retainers, has one whose duty it is to furnish the Royal table with rats. A iak catcher is not an exalted person in this country, but in Uganda he is looked upon with respect, and walks with nn air of dignity. He goes out rat-hunt-ing daily, and generally finds his game among the young banana trees, or in any place where fallen fruit or berries may be found; for this is. what the rat lives on. Slender shoots of bamboo or banana or fruit and leaves are his, food,