Miscellaneous Items.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 1501, 7 November 1885, Page 4

Miscellaneous Items.

Seene — A country road m the north of Scotland; the parish minig.ter meeting a farm servant, who is a member of his flock. Parish minister: "Well, John, and how are things doing with you ? I hope you are keeping well." Farm servant: •* Och, sir, it's deev'lish hard work j hae to dae ; nae rest frae morn tae nicht; work and work, and no a minute's peace for me." Parish minister :" Well, John, we must all -do our share m the work of this world. Remember, it is only the prepaiation for a better world, where •there will be no work to be done." -Farm servant : " Weel, sir, that may be for the "likes o' you, but I'm no tiae sure that there will be naetbing for me to dae m the other world. It will be the same thing there, and I'll be told — f John, clean the sun :' 'John, hang oot the moon ; 'John light the stai s/ and so on. I've pae doubt they'll find alwys a something . for me to do, unlucky deevil that i am."

The following good story is told In the last number of the Southland jfeura : — At a country post and telephone' Office, a place where a farm-yard is not very far distaut from the room m which operations are conducted, the official m charge wanted to communicate with the " other end "—a town a few miles, off. He rang up the officer there m order to deliver the message. The door of the country office, it should be explained, was toft open. "Blaze away," cried the town official as soon as he had adjusted the apparatus to hw ear." All right, " was the answer " I want you," contained the rural man, " to— (cock-a-doodledoo) — tell Mr — - thai — (cock-avdno'dle-doo) — hap agreed to" — (cock-adoodle-doo)— — "Oh, I say, " expostulated the recipient of this interesting information," do shut that door of yours — I can't hear a word for that confounded rooster. " The hint was promptly taken, and the rest of the message correctly received. A minister of one of the smaller shurches m Auckland, to which ho was going on a recent Sunday, saw a Dumber of city Arabs, two of whom wore desecrating the Sabbath by indulging; m a game of " Pitch and toss." He walked quietly up to them, laid his hand on the shoulder of one ot tbe players, and said : " My. boy, do you know what day this is ?" Keeeiving no reply, he put his hand on the shoulder of the other player and a*ked him the same question. The little rascal did not make any answer to the minister, but turned to his companions and said : " I say, boys, here's ■» go. The old buster has been out on the spree all night and don't know what day it is." Tbe poor minister was so surprised and shocked tbat he did not know what to say, so walked on to church, where he preached, instead of the discourse he had prepared, a sermon on juvenile depravity. Miss Maude St. Pierre, who is known as the-' Southern Coal Queen,' is the possessor of 300,000 acres of mining lands, situated m Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky. ,She overlooks twenty- two thousand acres of mineral- wealth from her mountain home m Tennessee, and .superintends her own workmen.