NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1042, 21 December 1912, Page 4

NEWS AND NOTES.

“ Has anybody a needle and thread?” cried Dr. Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic candidate for the United States Presidency, during his tour through Delaware. “ I have lost a button at a strategic point,” and retired into bis room with the borrowed implements. There he was observed sitting on the edge of the bed patieutiv threadiug a needle and sewing a button on his coat. Dr. Wilson never has a valet and attends to his own wardrobe.

A man who appeared in the Magistrate’s Court, Wellington, in a certain case, admitted that his wife had assaulted him. “Yes, I gave you a crack,” cried the wife, angrily. “ A crack does you good.” “It's no use,” she said, after a while, “you will have to pay this money or you will go somewhere else.” A word from the Magistrate quietened her awhile ; but she soon informed the Court that: “If he doesn’t pay up, I will gel him sent up to the Terrace.”

A new instrument, “ The Optophone,” is stated to have been invented, which makes light audible. The invention is based on selenium, possessing properly of changing its resistance when illuminated. A sensitive indication can be made to move by merely holding a lighted match over a selenium cell, to which is attached an electric battery. This movement is in the optophone attached to a telephone arrangement and so made audible. It is claimed by the inventor that though the blind cannot actually see, yet by this means they will be able to locate light by the sound.

The “good old British cheer,” that lengthy “ hip. hip. hip ” arrangement, has been long supplanted by the forceful and more expeditious “ ’ip ’ray,” aud this latter form was applied with much vigor by the boys of Wellington College at the prize distributing ceremony. Mr A. de B. Brandon, chairman of the Board of Governors, took occasion to remonstrate gently with the youthful iconaclasts, aud to urge them to “ give a good old British cheer,” and avoid these short cuts.

That the germs of disease can be carried by letter is a wellknown fact. It was demonstrated only recently in New PI; mouth, says the News. A local gentleman received a letter from a friend in Canterbury who had written it whilst in the throes of a severe bout of the “ flu.’ Two hours afterwards the first symptoms of the trouble began to manifest themselves, and the illness that followed was exactly of the type with which his southern friend was afflicted. Previous to reading the letter, he had been in the enjoyment of exceptionally good health.