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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 235, 5 October 1870, Page 2

Wonderful Capacity of the Rhine - landers for Wine. — The wonderful capacity for drink of the Rhinelauders is amusingly illustrated by Goethe in his journals. " The Bishop of Mayenee,/ he says, "once delivered a sermon against drunkenness, and, after painting iu the strongest colors the evils of over-indul-gence, concluded as follows: — 'But the abuse of wine does not exclude its use, for it is written that wine rejoices tlie heart of man. Probably there is no one in my congregation who cannot driuk four bottles of wine without fueling any <iisturbauce of his senses ; but if any man at the seventh or eighth bottle so forgets himself as to abuse and strike his wife ai d children, and treat hia best friends as enemies, let him look intohis conscience, and in future always stop at the sixth bottle. Yet, if after drinking eight or even ten or twelve bottles, he can still take his christian neighbor lovingly by the hand, and obey the orders of his spiritual nnd temporal superiors, let him thankfully drink his modest (sic) draught. He must be careful, however, as to taking auy more, for it is seldom that Providence gives anyone the special grace to driuk sixteen bottles at a sitting, as it has enabled me, its unworthy servant, to do without either neglecting my duties or losing my temper." In the matter of earthquakes Japan appears to be unrivalled, no less thau 19 shaky days being recorded for the month of May, the number of shocks varying from one to twenty-four, the majority being recorded as violent or severe. For remainder qf News see Fourth page.