GENERAL NEWS ITEMS

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 2335, 29 September 1921, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS ITEMS

“A dying man’s sudden impulse,” was the explanation given at the inquest at Torquay, into (he death of a dentist named Ernest A. Mayo. Mayo, who had been subject to lung trouble for some time, was under treatment in a nursing home. He was believed to be at the point of death. One day he suddenly freed himself from the nurse who was supporting him, and leapt from a window, falling 30ft. to the ground.

A hatter at Bonn was sued recently for selling a customer a poisoned hat. After wearing the hat a short time, the purchaser felt his forehead throbbing, and shooting painsin the head. Not being accustomed to such maladies, he had his hat examined, and found that the band was made of artificial leather, which contained a sufficient quantity of sulphuric acid to account for his pains. The Court awarded the buyer damages, and told the hatter that it was his business to discover whether his goods were injurious to customers before selling them. A little boy, George Kelly, was playing with others on the Cardiff Canal side, when he missed his footing and fell into the water, which at this spot is' a considerable depth. Hearing the alarm, Ahmed Abdulla, who was crossing the bridge at the moment, ran to the spot, and, without divesting himself of a portion of his clothing, he dived for the lad, who had disappeared for a second time. On rising to the surface, Abdulla spotted the boy, and diving again brought the little chap ashore. Hundreds of spectators had by this time been attracted —the alarm bringing swarms of anxious parents. The Cunard Steamship Company reports a singular occurrence at sea, The Carmauia, inward bound from America, when 300 miles west of the Fastnet, received by wireless a message from I he Canadian Government steamer Canadian Trapper, asking for the transmission to her by wireless of the words of the burial service. It appeared that a fireman on board the Canadian Trapper had been taken ill on the voyage, and had died, and the captain, being desirous of reading the burial service over the body, discovered that there was no copy* of the Prayerbook on board. Accordingly flic Carlnama’s operator telegraphed by wireless the whole of the burial service in batches of 150 words at a time, and these messages were received while the service was being conducted. As each message came the captain read the portion of the rite, and in this way (he service was completed in about an hour.

An extremely rare case of quintuple! birth is reported from B«*la Pest. It is authenticated by the Ellenzek, which gives an account of the birth of these five children. The mother, whose age was 41, had previously had ten children, including twins. She was taken ill after getting off a tramcar, and taken to a clinic, where the five births occurred over a period of a fortnight. Three weeks later she left in a healthy condition. Professor Barsony, of Buda Pest, gives the ratio of such cases of multiple birth as only one in 700,000.