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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 150, 25 June 1872, Page 4

Agitation. — Agitation is a part of the sublime order of nature. In thunder it shakes the stagnant air, which would otherwise exhale miasma and death. And in the immortal thoughts of duty, of humanity, and of liberty, it so rouses the hearts of men that they think themselves inspired; and not the mercenary clamor of the market-place, nor the outcries of politicians, clutching at the prizes of ambition, can suppress the utterance that true men believe themselves heaven-com-missioned to declare.

A Few nights ago Mr. A. Hunter, of Mercury Bay, was awakened by the pitiful cries of his little girl, and on proceeding to the room where she slept, he found to bis great astonishment the little girl's face covered with blood. On examination it was found that a rat had bitten her through the upper eyelid, and

also severely in the foot, which caused her to walk lame for several days. Similar instances of the ferociousness of rats have been frequently recorded. Very recently three children in Australia were attacked while in bed by these vermin, and two of them were so severely bitten that death resulted. — Cross.

There is good reason for supposing that the close monopoly so long enjoyed by Shaw, Saville, and Co. in New Zealand will soon be blown to the winds, and it is doubly gratifying that this will be done by the enterprise of the people of the Colony. What Dunedin has already done, and Auckland is about to do, Wellington is going to imitate. We learn that steps are being taken to purchase vessels enough to do the principal portion of the carrying between the Colony and Great Britain. At present it is intended to purchase right out four first-class iron ships ; and we believe we are correct in stating that one firm in the city has pledged itself to take £500 should the company be formed. This is certainly a step in the right direction, and one that has not been taken a moment too soon. — G. R. Argus.

The Aeab and the Infidel. — A French infidel, a man of some learning, was crossing a desert in Africa, called the Great Sahara, in company with an Arab guide. He noticed, with a sneer, that at certain times the guide, whatever obstacles might arise, put them all aside, and, kneeling on the burning sands, called on hiß God. Day after day passed, , and still the, Arab never failed to do this ; till at last one evening, when be arose from his knees, the would-be philosopher asked him with a contemptuous, smile, " How do you know there' is a God ? " The guide fixed his eyes on the scoffer for a moment in wonder, and then said solemnly, "How do I know that ,a ,paaj_, ;[and not a camel, passed my hut last night in the darkness ? Was it not by, tHe print of his feet in the sand.? „ Even so,"i said he, pointing to the sun, whose last rays were flashing over the lonely : ' desert; "that' footprint is not of man."

THE INANGAHUA.— Latest. reports from Reefton state that. th c heavy falls ,of snow there, continuin

almost uninterruptedly for two days and nights has caused a temporary cessation of nearly all out-door occupations ; parties living in tents and canvas habitations have suffered much inconvenience, and, in the neighborhood of timber, have run no slight risk of loßing their lives. Iv several instances the weight of snow on the trees has caused the sadden falling of heavy branches, crushing everything beneath them, and some very narrow escape, have been made, On the Grey track, one of the overseers, Mr. James Milne, had a very narrow escape of losing his life, as it appears that on returning to his tent after spending the night at ReeftoD, he found that a tree had fallen during the night time right across it. Had he slept at home as usual that night he must inevitably have been crushed to death. At Larry's Creek a man engaged on the road-works was resting himself in his tent during a snow storm, when a sudden crash overhead caused him to spring from his tent, and he had no sooner emerged when a huge limb fell across the tent and stretcher. A news runner, whose name we are unable to learn, has been missing since Monday last, and it is feared some mischance has befallen him. He was last seen on • the Victoria claim, Kelly's line, and his non-appearance at the usual calling places afterwards, led to misgivings as to his safety. A small search party went out on Tuesday, but could find no traces of him, and another larger party was organised on Thursday. In many places the roads and tracks are covered to a depth of six feet with fallen timber, and locomotion is not only dangerous but almost impracticable. — Westport Times.