MISCELLANEOUS.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 287, 4 September 1874, Page 4

MISCELLANEOUS.

' The'Eiiglisfih'lnsurance Company lost "-'; : : the case, before the Court of Exchequer, . in, which, th*s question-was whether'a policyholder harl a rigljt-to travel ■ without ,-,. the company's^permissions..;. Dr. Bcasley, :>•; who had insured his life for £I,OOO, went '' -.to New Zealand, 'and there died. His heirwas'refused the money on the grounds that 'the'company ' had not allowed him to go jtp. New. .Zealand ; but .Court compelled thereto'pay.'. '. A man was recently sentenced at Auckland to a fine-of-20a or forty-eight hours' •imprisonment for'drunkeness, and instead of doing as ninety-nine out of. a hundred would-dcr'undei' similar-circumstances, ,he persisted-in'taking, the alternative of cheap lodging, He philosophically remarked that the day, was wet, and the morrow was '••likely to he wet also, so..that"it was ex- •' tremely unlikely that he could earn anything. ' He did not see <the force of" paying'2ls. 6.l.','"when there was no prospect. ~ of recouping the money, and after all it wus but for forty-eight hours, which was 10s. "a-day. -The ' Southern Cross,' acl- . mires i. the man's financial ability, and thinks he might find some more' extended sphere for his talents than in bargaining for Government lodgings., A ; somewhat ludicrous incident took place last, week, the subjects .of which were a young lady recently arrived from Home and a gentleman whose acquaintance • she has succeeded' in cultivating since her arrival'"'in the Colony/' The lady was , lately, an' inmate ol the Barracks at Cave rah am, and had been in town during . the day, .where • she happened by r the : merest accident to meet with her admirer, . who-ofcourse co'.ild not do less than see her safely home. They accordingly took their seats in".one of tho 'buses which- run '" to CatfevshainV Jehu gave the reins to his horses, and' was driving along thinking "about nothing „at all, when he was startled Irom'his reverie by hearing the/air one in •his conveyance exclaim, '• o'my! there's a lady'." Cabby .'"'casting a glance over his' shoulder into the conveyance,-was just in time'to.see the gay Lothario withdrawing his arm.-from the waist of his charmer, where it happened to be placed by the merest chance in the world.- But acci'•i dents will happen! In his haste to with- ;' draw his arm, he forgot that the sides of '' the 'bus were made of glass ; the result Was, that he drove his elbow through it, ~ smashing one of the large panes of glass. ■- The driver being somewhat used to such little episodes on tho Caversham Road of • late, took no'notice at this point, but stop- , ped his conveyance and took in the lady who had inadvertently caused all, the inischiefjand proceeded on to his' destination. There'the .gentleman handed him Is. for .'. theAfat'e oi himself and"his interesting companion. The driver, in legal phrasepjogy, - demurred' to this,' as he did not v . consider it a full satisfaction for the dam- {, age. .done../ The gentleman refused, for ■; some time to accede, but subsequently- „, handed over the half-crown, and looked as pleasant as,possible inider the circum- . stances. Up then took his departure with . his lady-love, followed by a friendly adrnciuiiion 'from the cabman, to be more .careful when courting in future.—' Guar-. ian.' . ,