MISCELLANEOUS.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 61, 1 April 1870, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

An American paper defends the humanity shown by.the civil authority to culprits condemrieoTtd death. It frequently happens that" the Judge or Sheriff chooses the day most to the victim. "Will Thursday suityou ?"—'.* No it isthe 13feh. I fear itmay bring me ill luck." " "Well, then, the following dav ?"—" Tour Honorforgets that its Friday." " That's so ; but on Saturday I have business, and Sunday won't do, so we must put it off till Monday."—" Very well, Monday, will suit me perfectly." Even after this the culprit, who took part in the foregoing conversation, made some difficulties. He had but one more request to make. He was a musician. Might he be allowed to spend his last hours in singing a few quartets with some friends ? His request was granted, and when the Sheriff came he observed, " Music generally accompanies a dance —this time it has preceded it." A medical student, with a very proper esprit de corps, meeting two riotous youths the other night who were not medical students, followed them to see whether they perpetrated any knocker-wrenching,.bell-pulling, or other freaks usually attributed to his confraternity, and seeing them smash a glass pane of a pillar post, gave theni into custody. The culprits wer brought up on Dec.. 3rd, at Marylebone, when it appeared, that they were "artists," and they stated that they had left their respective studios at eleven o'clock, perfectly sober, but went into a public house, when one of them, being of a " delicate constitution," became "incapable." Mr. Mansfield expressed surprise that young men having the appearance of gentlemen should go to public houses —-he never did when he was a youngman. One of the " artists " assured, his "Worship " that times had changed! since then; we now live in a more advanced age." The Magistrate appears to have been amused by this piece of intelligence, and let them go free o» nayment of ss. for being drunk, without noticing the wilful damage. Poor little Carl Schafer, the diminutive German traveller, who a few short years ago was almost lionised by a j section of the Melbourne public, has. ! gravitated down to the lowest depth of poverty, and was recently an appliI cant for admission to the Benevolent Asylum at Melbourne.

, News from Nelson says that a new reef has been discovered at "Wangapeka, half a-miie to the north of CullifordV.. The reef was rushed by eighty men by candle light. A good prospect of gold was obtained.

.Two Irishmen stopping at the Island House,- Teledo, lighted their gas, and* with windows open, sat down to enjoy a chat. The hungriest of Toledo mosquitoes soon flocked in and drove them, desperate. The clerk, who was summoned to devise some means of defence against them, told them to close the windows and put out the gas. They acted on the suggestion, and placed themselves between the sheets. Just as they began to dose, a lightning bug, which had strayed into the room, caught the eye of one of the travellers. He roused his companion with a punch, " Jamie, Jamie, its no use! Here's one o'the craturs sarching for us wid a lantern!"