MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume II, Issue 72, 6 January 1864, Page 1 (Supplement)

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

Curious Delusion.—At the Cjrowa Police Court, X.S !?., a man was brought up, charged with lunacy: The prisoner was recovering from a very severe attack of delirium tremens, during which lie imagined that he was sentenced to be bound on an ant hill for seven years, to atone for his sins, and that afterwards a still severer punishment was to be inflicted on him. In pursuance of this idea he actually selected a very large and populous ant hill, and coiled himself up on it. The ants were not long in attacking the intruder, and stung him so severely that the thought occurred to him that if the succeeding punishment was to be wors3 than this he had better cut his throat at once. Accordingly, he procured a razor, and did cut his throat, though not fatally. The flow of the blood seems to have had a beneficial effect, and the wound having been looked after, the delirium began to subside. Startling Effects of Sunstroke.—A subscriber in the neighborhood of Breeza writes us to state some startling effefs produced by the intense heat of the sun during the past fortnight in that locality. He savs that while a man named John Setton, a shepherd, was travelling over the Breeza Plains, one of his dogs fell dead, evidently from a sunstroke. Another that he had with him was aLo injured, the hair of one side of the head being burned off as if by fire! This is the first case of this kind that has ever came under our notice, in any way exhibiting effects so startling. We may state that the plains referred to are very much exposed, there being very few trees, and the sun has consequently, increased power.— Tamworth Examiner.

I ExECUTloXß.—Criminals on the scaffold com- ! fort themselves cieditably. They look death in i the face when he wears his crudest aspect, and it they flinch somewhat, they cun at Last bear to look. I believe that, for the criminal, execution i within the prison walls with no witnesses, save some half-dozen official persons, would he infinitely more terrible than execution in the presence of a curiou«, glaring mob. The daylight and the publicity are alitn elements, which wean the man a little from himself. He steadies dizzy brain on the crowd beneath and around him. He has his last part to play, and his manhood rallies i> play it well. Nay, so subtly is vanity iuter* twined with our motives, the noblest and most ignoble, that 1 can fancy a poor wretch with the noose dangling at his ear, and with barely five minutes to live, soothed somewhat with the idea that his firmness and composure will earn him the approbation, perhaps the pity, of the spectators. He would take with him, if he could, the go:>d opinion of his fellow*. This composure of criminals puzzles one. Have they looked at death so long and closely that famiiarity has robbed it-of terror P Has life treated them so harshly that they are tolerably well pleased to bo quit of it on any terms ? Or is the whole thing mere blind stupor and delirium, in which thought is para yzed, and the man an automaton ? Speculation is useless. The fact remains that criminals for the most part die well and bravely. It is said that the championship of England was to be decided at some little distance from London on the morning of the day on which Thurtell was executed, and that when he came out on the scaffold he inquired privily of the executioner if the result had yet become known. Jack Ketch was not aware, and Thurtell expressed his regret that the ceremony in which he was chief actor should take place so iuconveniently early in the day. Think of a poor Thurtell forced to take his long jou'my an hour, perhaps, before the arrival of in tel ligeuce so important [—Dreamthorp. By A, Smith.

A Quaker Argument.—" Ah," said a sceptical collegian to an old Quaker, "I suppose you are one of those fanatics who believe the Bible ?" The old man said, "I do believe the Bible. Do you believe it ?" " No, I can have no proof of its truth." "Truth!" inquired the old man; •' does thee believe in France ? " " Yes; for, although I have not seen it, I have seen others who have. Besides, there is plenty of corroborative proof that fcuch a country does exist." "Then thee will not believe anything thee or others has not seen ? " "No " " Did thee ever see thy own brains ? " " No." " Knowest thee the man who did see them?' "No." "Dost thee believe thee has any ?" This last question put an end to the discussion.

Mungo Park served an apprenticeship in a doctor's shop, in Selkirk, and during his study of physic compounds, the following little episode, which we had from a venerable doctor of medicine, occurred:—An old well-known burgher stepped into the shop one day, and looking in an excited manner nt the boy, said, " Mungo, is the doctor in?" "No. sir." "Oh dear: and I'm nearly dead wi' the toothache." "But 111 draw the tooth for you if you wish it drawn." " Yon, callnnt! Did you ever draw ony teeth before ?" " Yes, 1 have, sir." "Troth, I'll rather come back again, and see the doctor than lippen ye." The old gentleman went off, and ere long returned with the old questirn, "Mungo, my man, is the doctor in nho ? " " No, sir, he's not come yet." " What am I to do ? I'm nearly daft wi' the pain. Mungo, are you perfectly downright sure ye've drawn teeth before this? " "I really have sir," said the boy. " Then get the nippers, and tak' out mine. "Now, mind!—tak' care—be canny ! " The youth extracted the tooth, and after the old gentleman got over the shock it ceased, and found himself re ieved, he complimented the lad on the skill he had shown, and then asked him how mauy teeth he had drawn before operating on himself. " Only thirty-two," said Mungo. " Thirty-twa! troth, I think it's a guid only ! Where i' the warld did a' the folk come frae ? " " Oh, I took them all out of one man's mouth." "That was dreadfu'! I wonder that the man would let you pull them!" "He could not prevent me." "How?" "Because he was dead." The old gentleman sprang from his seat, ejaculated, " Mercy on us!" and hurriedly left the shop.

The condition of wood is greatly dependent upon the time when it is felled. The result of a series of experiments made in Germany show that December-cut wood allows no water to paS3 through it longitudinally ; January wood passed in 48 hours a tew drops; February wood let two quarts of wnter through its interstitial spaces in 48 hours; March wood permitted the same to filter through in two hours and a half. Hence the reason why barrels made from wood cut in March and April are so leaky.— Building News^ The Prise of a Husband.—The Great Northern Kailway Company v. Pym, Administratrix. —Mr Pym, the deceased husband of the defendant, was killed on a railway. Besides his widow he left nine children. The widow brought an action under Lord Campbell's Act for damages. The jury returned a verdict for plaintiff, with £13,000 damages. The company had contended that as the estates of the deceased did not pass from the family, survivor had not sustained such pecuniary loss as would bring the case within the intention of the legislature. Leave was given to apply to the Court of Queen's Bench to reverse the verdict, whether there was any damage sustained which would give a cause of action. A rule of nisi ma obtained, which rule was afterwards discharged. There was then this appeal to the Exchequer chamber. This case having been argued, the court were of opinion that the judgment of the court below must be affirmed.