MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

Lyell Times and Central Buller Gazette, Volume VI, Issue 270, 24 April 1886, Page 4

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

About 1000 electric lights are now burning in Boston nightly. In the Franco-German war every third German soldier had a map of the country through which he was travelling. Lees and Farnan have signed articles to fight in about three weeks time for £4OO and the championship of Australia. Murphy, the well-known Auckland light-weight boxer, and J. King, of Melbourne, met in the Masonic Hall, Sydney, on March 27. Murphy undertook to knock his opponent out in six rounds. King was never in the fight, and received amo unmerciful beating from the New Zealandcr. The Edinburg Conrant, a fine old paper, once a lender of journalistic enterprise, ceased publication on Feb. G, after an existence of 181 years. A newspaper legend says that Daniel Defoe, author of " Robinson Crusoe," once edited the now defunct journal. An American journal has calculated that if the military forces of all Europe were drawn up in line, the distance from right to left would be six thousand miles, as the force would consist of nine million soldiers. The reviewing officer would require an express train for several days to go from one end to the other. | Harry Hutchens says it is useless for Malone, the Australian, to challenge him to run in the antipodes. It is too far for the Englishman to travel to compete for the gate. No less a sum than £IOO lay for several months in the hands of an English contemporary in the hope that Malone might be induced to cover it, in which case Hutchens would willingly have gone over and tried to lower Malone's colours. I Two of the best-known peers England has had of late years, Lord Shaftesbury and Houghton, died last year, leaving respectively £28,000 and £27,000 personally—a sum in each case less than the late Mr Vanderbilt's income for five days. Yet most people who would compare the lives of these noblemen with that of the millionaire would admit that they got out of them very much more of what gives relish and zest to existence, and makes life worth living. Following the example of Mr Joseph Zaehnsdorf, who lately bound two Elzevir editions in human skin, another London binder has executed an order to encase a copy of Hans' Holbein's " Dance of Death " in the same gastly integument, certainly a very appropriate covering for this work. These are not the only instances, however, in which the casting of the " human form divine " has been utilised. In the library at Mexborough House, near Methley, Yorkshire, there were formerly two books, Sir John Cheek's " Hurt of Sedition," and Braithwait's " Arcadian Princess," both bound in the prepared skin of Mary Bateman, " the Yorkshire Witch," who was executed early in the beginning of this century for murder, but these were among those which disappeared during the cataloguing of the library for sale, when one of the former Earls of Mexborough was in difficulties. Yet another instance. When the writer was last in Paris he was shown a small book by a dealer, who solemnly avowed it was bound in a portion of the skin of the notorious Louvet de Couvray, and which he valued at 1000 francs, and for authentication of which he produced a long pedigree. H. H. Honore, Colonel Fred Grant's father-in-law, who was very rich before the Chicago fire, lost most of his property thereby, and for a time had difficulty in meeting his ordinary expenses. Having, according to report, overdrawn his account 2500 dols at one of the Banks, the cashier asked him towards the close of the year to make it good. The ex-millionaire vowed he could not give a cheque on anybody. Said the officer: "We want it mainly for the book-keeper, so that hecan balance." " I'll draw on the Czar of Russia, if you like," remarked Honore, " though neither he nor anybody else who is worth anything is indebted to me." "He'll do; it's only for form's sake, you know." The cheque was drawn, and happened to go through the regular course of collection. When it reached St. Petersburg it was nearly covered with stamps, endorsements, and seals, and was finally presented to the Emperor, He declared that he had no recollect'on of H. H. Honore; but then, as he was an American, he presumed it must be all right, and ordered it to be paid. The drawer did not hear of this for a year after, and then said that he had no idea his credit was so good in Russia. But the next time, he thought, he would draw on Julius Cteoar.