MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume I, Issue 13, 13 June 1863, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

The Last Marriage of a Prince OF Wales.—Of the last mariage of a Prince of Wales, when little George the IV. espoused Caroline of Brunswick, tnere is little to be said. The cold winter journey of the Princess to England, under the charge of Lord Malinesbury, who was always lecturing her on the untidiness of her dress and the freedom of her manners; her reception at Greenwich by her sneering rival, Lady Jersey; the silent ride to London, without a cheer from any one on the road ; the mutual disappointment of the affianced pair at their first interview ; the Prince's demand for A glass of brandy, Hairis," and his precipitate retreat; the Princess's doleful exclamation, " Mon Dieu, qu'il est gros !" and the ill-omened nuptials, at which the bride was sulky, and for which the bridegroom had fortified himself by somewhat too liberal libations—all these incidents combined to form a fit prelude to the unhappy drama which ensued. It is pleasant to turn from this story to the marriage on which the hopes of the nation are just now fixed, which combine* all the elements of happiness, and all the omens of good, and which is, no doubt, destined to form one of the brightest episodes in the story of the wooings and weddings of the Princes of Wales.—Once a Week. The marriage of the Prince of Wales has been commemorated in a very enthusiastic manner by the colonists of Tasmania. The rejoicings appear to liave been general throughout the colony; and the Hobart Town Mercury printed a special description of them in letters of gold. " A new way to pay o d debts/' or rather to compel payment of them has been adopted by a Hobart Town tradesman. The Advertiser snys there may be seen in the windows of two small general dealers' shops in Argyle-street, some distance from each other, placards upon one of whieh is the following: —"If (shingler) do not call and pay the rent and shop score, 10s. l()d., this will remain in the window until the sum is paid;" and in the second window thus: —" owtsme for the last eight months for sundries 2s. 7d., this will remain in the window for exposure to her until she pays it." This very novel and cheap style of taking proceedings will doubtless have the effect of alarming some of our over rash debtors, and although the practice is not altogether a new one, its appearance in our city will, no doubt, astonish and terrify the dishonest debtor.

One of the smartest boat races that ha"e yet been pulled in Port Otago, took place on Monday last, at Port Chalmers, and was the source of no little excitement among the community. The race was between Charles Burton and H irry Bowie, watermen ; the bouts, pair-oared skiffs; and the stake-, £2O a side ; Barton rowing a Dunedin boat, the Flirt, and Bowie a smart boat named the Blue-tailed Fly. Both boats were well pulled, and came in almost neck and neck, amid great cheering from the crowd assembled on the shore, but Bowie had the advantage, though scarcely by half a boat's length, and consequently earned the stakes. The course lay round the hulk ihomas and Henry, and, during the race, both pulled very well, Bowie having apparently much the better of his adversary, until Barton, at the finish, put out his strength, and made the race the close run which it proved to be. In addition to the stakes, a considerable amount of money chauged hands on the occasion, both men being numerously and heavily backed.—D. Times. A fatal accident occurred on Friday night, at Oswald's machine. The engine driver, Samuel Masters, was oiling the machinery, when through some mischance his shirt became entangled in one of the cog-wheels, and he was drawn into the working machinery and fearfully smashed about the legs, the bone of the right thigh being literally ground up. He retained consciousness until his death, which took place shortly after nine the next morning. Deceased was about 41 years of age; he was a sober, industrious, and saving man, and highly respected by all who knew him. He was a native of South Petherick, in Cornwall. He was a member of the Foresters' Society, and ins funeral, which took place on Sunday, was attended by ninety of the brethren of Court Tarrengower and many others who had known and respected the unfortunate man.— Tarrenr/ower Times, May 26. A Fkench Swindling Thick.—A respectable tradesman of Bordeaux had set a looking-glass outside the shop door for sale, when a fashionably dressed man stopped to look at himself in it. As he stood thus occupied, with his walkingstick under his arm, a person passing behind came in contact with the stick, and drove it with such violence against the glass as to shiver it to atoms. The apparently innocent cause of this accident immediately offered to pay the value of the glass, which was 50 f., and handed the tradesman a 100 f. note. After receiving the change he took his departure, and soon after the tradesman made the unpleasant discovery that the note was a forged one. The Confederate Government of America have succeeded, it is said, in concluding a loan for about five millions sterling, through the Paris and Frankfort houses of Erlanger and Co., in conjunction with leading capitalists iu London and Liverpool.