MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume I, Issue 15, 20 June 1863, Page 2 (Supplement)

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

Extbaobdinaby Engine Chase.—An extraordinary occurrence took place on the Caledonian Railway lately. An engine was detached from an up luggage train at Beattock Station, and shunted on to the down line for the purpose of taking in water. When this operation was competed, the driver, instead of going to the points and returning to his proper line, put on steam and started for the south alone. The fireman, who was on the platform, seeing that if the engine kept on it would inevitably meet the down limited mail face to face, lost no time in getting ready another engine, and started in chase. After a race of 13 miles he overtook the truant engine near Lockerby, and on getting along side leaped from one engine to the other, both going at the rate of 15 or 20 miles an hour at the time. He had just time to reverse the engine, wake up the driver, who was asleep, and then run to the adjacent signal post, when the limited mail came thundering along from Carlisle at the rate of 40 miles an hour. It was fortunately stopped by the signal in time when within a few yards of the runaway engine.— Carlisle Journal.

A Criminal Romance. —There is nothing j in the " sensation " novels to exceed a real case of romantic crime that came before the Dublin police Magistrates on the 10th March. Joseph Harcourt, a respectably-dressed person, about 30 years of age, described as a tutor, was brought up in the custody of Inspectors Daly and Smith, charged with having incited two men to murder a gentleman of property, residing near Newry, in the County of Down. William Smith, one of the men, deposed that he lived at 4, Fownes-street, Dublin; that he knew the prisoner about ten years ago, when he lived at Mr. Graham's, of Erne-street; that since then he only saw him about twice a year, w hen they used to drink together. About midnight on the 14th of February, the prisoner called at witness' lodgings, in company with a man named English. They went out to have some drink, and Harcourt asked him to breakfast next day. While at breakfast, the prisoner said he came to Dublin to get a job done, and he thought he might as well put it in the witness's way, as he knew he was " hard up." There was a person near Newry who did not live amiably with his wife, and the wonder of the country was that he was not " popped" long ago, because he was in the habit of acting improperly with his servant maid. He had a fine estate, and " no money would stop the job," and after it was done they could go to America. The lady in question, when the prisoner was living in Newry, according to his own statement to witness, took out her purse, and desired him to take as much money as he wished out of it. She had £I,BOO in her own right. The prisoner offered to go with him on the following Saturday to practice shooting at a mark, and it was proposed that he should go down to Newry to learn the topography of the place. He was to be concealed in a shrubbery opposite a window where his intended victim was to be playing chess with the prisoner. The conversation was resumed in Graham's house in presence of witness, when Graham said, "Young man, you had better be very cautious what you are at. It strikes me very forcibly that you only want to get the man out of the way in order to have the widow and get the estate." The prisoner then offered Smith the sum of £SO for doing the "job," and offered him a revolver for the purpose. Both Smith and Graham had sworn informations, stating that they had never the least intention of entertaining the questton, but merely wished to draw Harcourt out, and let him develop his scheme. They also stated in their informations that the prisoner told them he had got prussic acid from a person named Donnelly. When the police went down to Newry to arrest him they found prussic acid in his possession and a six-barrelled revolver, with a letter from Mr. Donnelly acknowledging the receipt of one, in which he had asked for a revolver. These discoveries seemed to corroborate the evidence of Smith and Graham, and Mr. Harcourt was accordingly arrested The result of the investigation in the Police Oourt was that the prisoner was committed for trial, reserving his defence. The " Spectator" of March 14 says: —"The ruffian who last autumn assaulted Mr. Pilkington was a public benefactor. But for his indiscretion in garrotting a member of Parliament, the increase of crime would have received no Legislative attention whatever. As it is, Mr. Adderley's bill, which renders garotters liable to one, two, or three consecutive floggings, in addition to their sentences, has passed its second reading by an overwhelming majority, and will, we doubt not, diminish the exceeding pleasantness cf that particular form of crime. A precisely similar kind of offence, the murderous assault on the police known among London villains as ' spoiling a peeler,' is, however, not included, and with the infinitely more important general question Parliament seems powerless to deal."

A Profane Town in California. — In the northern part of California is a stream called Yuba river Across it some enterprising individual built a bridge, and on the banks somebody else built three or four houses. The inhabitants called the place Youba Dam. Three bars were immediately erected, and the "town" increased rapidly. About noon one cool day, a traveller and a sojourner in the land passed this flourishing locality, and seeing a long-legged specimen of humanity in a red shirt, smoking behind one of the bars, thus addressed him :—" Hello!" " Hello !'' replied the shirt with vigor, removing his pipe from his mouth. " What place is this ?" demanded the traveller, whose name was Thompson. The answer of the shirt was unexpected. "Youba Dam." There were about fifty yards between them, and the wind was blowing. Mr. Thompson thought he had been mistaken. " What did you say ?" he asked. "You-ba Dam," replied the stranger cheerfully. "What place is this?" roared Mr. Thompson. " Youba Dam," said the shirt, in a slightly elevated tone of voice. " Lookee here," yelled the irate Thompson, " I asked you politely what this place was; why in thunder don't you answer?" The stranger became excited. He rose and replied with the voice of an 80-pounder, "Yuba dam! Do you hear that ?" In a minute Thompson, burning with the wrath of the righteous, jumped off his horse, and advanced on the stranger with an expression not to be mistaken. The shirt arose and assumed a posture of violence and defence. Arrived within a yard of him, Thompson said, " I ask you for the last time, what place is this ?" Putting his hands to his mouth, his oppenent roared, "Yula-dam!" The next moment

they were at it. First, Thompson was down; then his shirt; and then it was a dog-fall—-that is, both were down. They rolled about, kicking up a tremendous dust. They squirmed around so energetically that you'd have thought they had a dozen legs instead of four. It looked like a prize fight between two pugilistic centipedes. Finally, they both rolled off the bank and into the river. The water cooled them. They went down together, but came up separate, and put out for the shore. Both reached it about the same time, and Thompson scrambled up the bank, mounted his warlike steed, and made tracks, leaving his foe gouging the mud out of one of his eyes. Having left the business portion of the town—that is to say, the corner where the three bars were kept —he struck a house in the suburbs, before which a little girl of about four years of age was playing. " What place is this, sissy ?" he asked, The little stranger cut, streaked it for the house. Having reached the door she stopped, turned, and squealed 00-bee-dam!" "Good heavens! said Thompson, digging his heels between his horse's ribs—- " Good heavens!" let me get out of this horrid place, where not only the men, but the very babes and sucklings swear at inoffensive travellers.''—New York Tribune.

A Visit to Robinson Crusoe's Island. —While the ship Golden Rocket was on her last passage from Boston to San Francisco, Captain Hendleton determined to stop at the island of San Juan Fernandez to take in water. On the 24th of March he arrived in the Bay of St. Joseph, and anchored on the opposite side from that on which Robinson Crusoe (Alexander Selkirk, the exile Scotchman), lived. The casks were taken on shore; and, while the crew were at work, the passengers, among whom were fifty ladies, rambled about in different directions. The island is twenty-five miles long by about four in breadth. The land is very high, rising in rugged, precipitous peaks; one them called Tunckue, 3500 feet above the level of the sea. The peaks are generally overhung with clouds. The valleys are extremely fertile, the grass growing to the height of six or eight feet. Figs, strawberries, peaches, and cherries abound in their season. The Golden Rocket was there in the season of peaches, and the valleys and hillsides were full of trees loaded with delicious fruit. Strawberries flourish best in December and January. There are three remarkable caves in the sides of the hill facing the harbor, about thirty feet in length, twenty-five in width. The inhabitants number but fourteen, of whom Messrs. Day and Kirkaldie, from Valparaiso, are the chief persons. They have been appointed overseers of the island by the Chilian Government. An immense number of goats are running wild over the island, and an abundance of fish are taken on the coast.—San Francisco Times.

A Will and a Wat.—A Federal paper says that one of the " Secesh women" lately sent South by the Government had seven pairs of gaiters, five pairs of boots, five pairs of morocco slippers, three pairs of dancing-slippers of white kid, four pairs of india-rubber over-shoes, and one pair of the longest legged cavalry boots, with double eoles, studded with good spikes, heels tapped with jackass shoes of iron, and tops splendidly ornamented with an abundance of patch-work of waxed-ends on a groundwork of patent leather. She became very indignant fit

the cutting into her stock of shoe-leather, and asserted that, as she wore out two pairs per month, she was going South with the prospect of being barefooted before she reached there. " How about these, madam V said the officer as he politely insinuated the cavalry boots into her astonished gaze; "if you will put them on and wear them on your trip to Richmond, you can take them, but they can go with you under no other circumstances."—'" Done, I'll do it," said the heroine, and grasping the heavy leather in her hands, she retired behind the friendly crinoline of a group of sympathisers, and planting her pretty feet—gaiters and all—into the depths of monster foot-harness,she returned, awkwardly displaying them, double-cased, to the gaping eyes of the for-once astonished official. He kept his word.

Habits are easily caught. Let a circus arrive in town, and in less than a week half the boys in that town will be throwing summersaults, and breaking their necks over empty barrels.