The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1879.

Kumara Times, Issue 998, 11 December 1879, Page 2

The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1879.

An election for three qualified persons to fill the vacant seats in the ArahJfc Road Board was held to-day. Although one of the polling booths was at the Resident Magistrate’s Court, there was not’ the least excitement evinced in the election. The result of the polling will not be brown until a late hour this evening. A meeting of the Borough Council will be held at tire Town Hall this evening. The ss. Wakatipu sails from Wellington for Sydney direct at noon on Saturday next. The prizes for which the late entertainment was held for the children of the State School will be publicly presented, we understand, on the 22nd instant, as although the vacation commences on the 18th of December, a complimentary benefit to a local amateur taking plaCo the following evening, the presentation Of the prizes to the children was postponed until the following Monday, so as not to interfere with this entertainment. We understand that the local Rifle Contingent intend challenging their brother-in-arms at Hokitika to a friendly rifle match during the approaching holiday season. The match, should it take place, will be fired on the Hokitika rifle range. Should our local team, however, bo desirous of victory, they will require some practice, as wc observe by the scores of the Hokitika men in a late match that they have greatly improved in marksmanship since Hie last time they visited the Knmara range. All accounts against or due to DvEvison are requested, by advertisement, to bo presented or settled before the end of the present month as lie is leaving the district. Matutinal bathers in Wellington arc much exercised over the fact that Sir Hercules Robinson lias been in the habit of monopolising the salt-water bath, for one hour every morning. The other morning numerous young men interviewed Mr Mesey Thompson, who reported tiiis to Sir Hercules, The Cover-

nor promptly replied, “ Well, toll them to come in !" and then aristocracy and plobian alike plunged about in the briny. A movement is on foot at the Thames to defeat the proposed increased duty on spirits. The idea is to bind all who join the movement to refrain from the use of spirits, except under niedical advice. If this is carried out it avill be another and practical stop in the cause of temperance. In the Australasion “ TEgles” tells the following story —“ In Bowlem’s Cup sweep there was £IOOO for the winning horse. The neglected Barnwell's name was on the ticket drawn by four ladies, who had clubbed together 53 ehch for the pound it cost. Immediately after the race was run the quartette presented themselves at Bowlom’s and demanded £IOOO. Rowlem of course, informed them that they must wait till settling day. They waited. Early on that morning they streamed into his hotel, and were tendered a cheque for £IOOO. Suspicious glances at each other, ami general dissatisfaction at only one cheque being offered. Then in chorus, ‘Wo would prefer, sir, four cheques of £250 each.’ Bowlem at once accomodated them. Then one, with nose tip-tinted like tire petal of a flower, to the amazement of the rest ordered one bottle of lemonade for the refreshment of the party. The others suspected some sinister intention, and forthwith quitting the hotel, started fertile bank, instantly pursued by their generous entertainer, leaving the foaming beaker nnlastecl. These four ladies chased each other to the bank counter in obvious fear that the first cheque being cashed there might be no funds left for the others. Their faith was weak, but the doorstep.” The widow of a distinguished gentleman, who several times served his country as Acting-Governor in oiic of tiro colonies, was (says “ 2Eglos '") left in rather straitened circumstances. Parliament considerately provided her a moderate annual pension. The lady not long ago purchased a cow, and, having no doubt in her own mind on the subject, asked the present Governor of the colony in question if the animal might graze in one of the ample paddocks attached to Government House. His Excellency did not commit himself, but promised to consult the lady who leads society in that part of the world. The ultimate decision, which is said to be characteristic, was convoyed in some such terms as this—“ Yes, for half the milk.” If you want to “ pull through ” in the army nowadays, it is as well to have a smattering of everything. At a small out station in India a detachment found itself minus a church and a parson, and, as a service necessarily had to be held, the captain, whom nature had by no means Resigned for holy ordersj requested his subaltern, a ranker, to read prayers. So anxious was the acting parson to “nought extenuate,'’ that on his first Sunday he read the absolution. His captain knew enough to point out that he must be a field officer at least in the Church militant to go to that extent, and so cautioned him to omit it in future occasions. But on the following Sunday our young friend, in the excitement of his novel position, forgot the warning until he had got half way through the forbidden “exercise.” Then recognising his mistake, he pulled himself up, looked round like a sergeant-major on parade, and, in stentorian tones, shouted, “ As you were ! ” A writer of “Zigzag Papers” in the Sydney Echo says “In face of the interest which has recently centred in the ill-fated city of Cabool or Oabul, it may interest the general reader to know that the first mention of the word occurs in Sacred Writ- It occurs in L Kings, ix., 13, and Was applied to the 20 cities which were given by Solomon to King Hiram, in return for his services in supplying timber and other materials used in the construction of the Temple. Hiram was not pleased with his present, and in disgust called the place Cabul. In Hebrew the wm-d _has no ■ meaning ; hut all through the East the connections associated with {lie Word meant ‘disgusting.’ in I range that, the name has had an evil meaning. To this day the term 1 Cabolee,' in the East, is always employed in the sense of detraction or depreciation.” A dress woven from the webs of large spiders common in South America has been presented to Queen Victoria by rho Empress of Brazil. It exceeds in fiuer.essaay manufactured silk known, and is very handsome. {Spaniards, nearly two hundred years ago, endeavoured to make gloves, stockings, and other articles of spiders’ webs, but they yielded so little profit and necessitated so much trouble, that the manufacture wa.s abandoned. In EB) the_ calculation was made that the webs of '<011,009 spiders would lie required for about -hi yards of silk. Such dresses are ooca-s!onaiiy seen in buutli America.