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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 193, 5 August 1876, Page 2

The fastest train has been dubbed the " Widow " by some of the smart postoffica authorites, because it fetches the mails much quicker than auy other train. The word d-e-b-t is composed of tho initials of "dun everybody twice." "C-r-e-d-i-t is formed of the initial letters of "cali regular every day; I'll trust." A few evenings since a course upstart having exhibited his geollemanliness (?) in the presence of a witty young lady, she remarked, "He's almost a perfect brute. All he lacks is instinct." Art received rather an awkard criticism from a free-and-easy young mau who recently met a sculptor in a social circle and addressed him : " Er — er— eo you are the man — er — that makes — er —mud heads?" And thia was the artist's reply, — "Er— er — not all of 'em; I didn't male yours," An important discovery has been made by a London physician, who was baffled by the sickness of a gentleman and his wife. They complained of nausea and vomiting, for which no ordinary causes could account. At length the despairing doctor examined the highly-glaz9d delicate green calico liniug of the bed curtains, and found it to contain a large quantity of arsenic. It appears that this poisonous oalico is sold in large quantities.

QFor continuation of News see fourth page.) I

With reference to fhe Luna's late trip for the purpose of taking soundings in the Straits with a view to determining the line the Dew cable is to take, the Argus says: — " For this purposo she has been fitted with a new Bounding apparatus of a most ingenious character. It is what is known as Sir William Thompson's patent, and is similar to that in use on H.M.S. Challenger, during her recent deep-sea sounding voyage. The apparatus on board the Luna was made at Mr E. W. Mills' foundry, from drawings, aud is a beautiful, but withal simple, piece of mechanism. The soundings will b3 taken witb pianoforte wire. This is the finest description of wire, and its strength and fineness may be understood when we say that a mile of it only weighs 14lbs, and that its breaking strain is 2201b5. Five hundred fathoms of this wiro is coiled round a drum, which is exactly a fathom iu circumference, and which has attached to it simple but accurate indicators, showing the number of revolutions iu fathoms, tens, and hundreds. At the end oi the wire there is about five fathoms oi ordinary sounding line, to which is attached a deep sea lead, having at the bottom a tube about five inches long, lilted with a valve. If the bottom is solt this tube pierces it, and a sample of the sand, gravel, or mud is retained by tbe valve, and brought up. If the tube comes back empty the bottom is known to be rock. The wire runs very rapidly through the water, offering, indeed, scarcely any resistanoe, and ot course, as soon as the lead touches the bottom the strain ceases, and the drum stops, a reading of tbe indicators at once showing the depth. The reason for using a few fathoms of line between the wire aod the lead is to prevent the wire from becoming kinked by resting on the bottom. Iu hauling in the wire it is coiled on a second drum, placed beneath the paying-out one, and is re-coiled on the latter without strain. There is an ingenious break affixed to the big drum, eo as to regulate the speed at which it revolves. Ia hauling in, the wire passes between welloiled pads. Tbe whole apparatus is fixed on a kind of iron frame tramway extending from the centre of the Luna's deck to the bulwarks umidship. In souudin., the drum is placed close to the side of the vessel, and in hauliug in is taken back some distance. Provision ia taken to prevent any iujury or stoppage owing to the ship rolling. By means of a similar apparatus, the Challenger was enabled to take soundings to the depth of two miles every half-hour. The Luna on her preseut trip will traverse, in a zig-zag way, the line selected lor the new cuble some time ago, and angles will be taken at every soundiug, so tbat .the bottom of the Straits in the direction taken, will be accurately mapped out, aod its configuration and formation be known. Mr Smith, of the Telegraph department mechanician, is in charge of tbe sounding apparatus, and Captain Johnston will take the angles and direct operations. Several other offbersof the Marine and Telegraph departments are passengers with Captain Fairchild. In Providence and Worcester the price of milk has gone up two cents a quart for the winter, but our excellent system of waterworks enables milkmen here to retail at old rates.— Norwich Bulletin, Eight hundred lightning-rods have been ordered for the Vatican; ond the agent who took the order says, "I will do Vatican to give satisfaction." A train on the Northern road ran into a cow the other day. It didn't hurt the cow, but it threw tbe engine off the track. People accustomed to the beefsteaks furnished in the boardinghouses of this section express much surprise at the slight damage done to tbe train.— Norwich Bulletin. ■. A Naval Anecdote. — The following anecdote will be read with interest: { — " 1780, Jan. 16, Sir George Rodney j encountered the Spanish Admiral Langara off Cape St. Vincent. The action, wbich continued till two hours after midnight, was well contested, but tbe victory of the English was complete. Langara's own ship oi 80 guns waa taken, aud three ships of the Hue besides, while four oihers were either sunk, blown up, or driven ashore. Langara himeelf was brought a prisoner into the Buy of Gibralter, aud conducted to lodgings in tbe town. One day, as it is recorded, the captive Spaniard went out in a boat to visit Admiral Digby, in wboao ship was serving one of the young princes, the same who, in after years, became King William the Fourth, When Lim»ara first came on board, be was preseuted ia due form to tbe Eoglish prince; but when the conference between tbe chiefs had closed, aud it was intimated tbat Langara desired to return, his Royal Highness appeared in his character of midshipman, and standing before the Swo Admirals as they £at, announced ia the respectful tone becoming an inferior that the boat was ready. The Spaniard, surprised ut seeiog the son of a monarch acting as a pp.tiy ofiiear, immediately exclaimed, « Well does England deserve her superiority at sea, ' wheu the humblest stations iu her Davy are filled by princes of the blood.' " — [Some doubts (si-ys the Navy J having ueeu expressed us to tbe truth of this Btory, as related in Driakwater's siege of Gibraltar, it was referred to King William himself. In reply, a letter from Sir Herbert Taylor, written by his Majesty's command, and dated the 24tb of March, 1835, declares that the anecdote is correctly stated in every j xespect.] j

The most infallible way ef preventing a kitohen door from creaking it said to be to engageoa servant girl whose sweetheart come? to the house to see her. "High" Life Below Stairs.— | Master (sniffing); " There's a raoßt | extraordinary smell, Jamas; I've noticed it several ." Hall Porter: "I don't wonder nt it sir. I've spoke about it down stairs. The butler, sir, you see, ie « 'lgh Church,' which he 'as fit up a horatory iu the pantry, and burns hincense. We could stand tbat; but the cook ia the ' Low Church' persuasion, and she burns brown paper to hobviate the hinconse. It's perfeckly hawful on Saintst' Days, sir!"— Punch. Mr. Rqgek Gile*, Surgin, Purish Clurk, and Schuletnister, Ilnipster, Zummerzetshir*?, reforms ladeas au geutelmen that be draas teath without wating a moment, blystars on the loast tarms, and fizzicks every boddy at a penny a peace. He sels Godfather's Cordel, kutg korns, and j undertakes to keap evry boddies nayles I by the ear or so on. Young ladeesand j gentelmen lamed thare Grammars langwage in the purtiest manner, also gurt | care taken off their morals an spelltn, aIBO teechin the baze phial, and al other sorts of phanoy work, including sarm sinking, queer-drills, faahingable pokers, and all other kontary dances tort at boom and abroad to perfekshuD. Perfumery in aii its branchis, Has times be kruel bad, he bags to say he is jist begun to zell al sorts of stashuuary wares, as blackin bawls, fine fresh rid herrins an coles, skrubbin brushes, trakel, mous traps, brik dust, and al other sorts of sweatmeefs, including taters, sassages,- and all other garden stuff, also phrute, hats, zongs, hoyl, blak led, bukkets, and other heatables, korn and buoyan zarve, and all hardwares. He also purforms fleabottomy on the shortis notis; and farthermore in partiklar, he has lade in a large sortment of tripe, chany, dogs meet, lollypops and other pikkles, such as carrots, hoysters, winder «oap, &c. Hold rags bort an zold hear aud uo wares hells, and new lade eggs evry day by rae , Mr Roger Giles. A large stock of skorgt pees. P.S.— I teeches joggrephy, rumtnatiks, and al them outUndish things. N.B. — A Bawl on Weosdays, when our Mariar will purform on the pinnner-furte. Geeat Guns.— The London and Provincial Illustrated Newspaper says: — Four guns of the same, size as the stupendous piece of ordnance of 81 tons, which has been miking such a noise at Woolwich lately, are being rapidly constructed for arcing the Inflexible, and if we cm only find a captaia and crew who do not mind going on board and living with such monsters, the ship willbe a very terrible craft indeed. Of the thirty-nine other vessels building, five are also ironclads, but of much smaller oapacity ■ than many we now possess; while all the rest are unarmoured vessels of various kinds. There are two Bwift despatch vessels, twelve fine corvettes to "aot as cruisers, and some smaller sloops and gunboats. The despatch vessels, to be cafled the Isis and Mercury, will be a novelty in iheir way, they are to be built of steel, with wonderfully powerful engines, and strongly armed. It is estimated that they will be so swift as to run nearly 20 miles an hour, while their size being considerable — upwards of 3,000 tons — they will be bandy for transporting large bodies of troops from ODe colony to another in case of urgent necessity. Each will be armed with ten heavy guns, so that while endowed with great speed they will still be formidable vessels of war. The Wabash (Indiana) country has always been celebrated for the persistenoy and quality of ita fever and ague. A local physician thus describes the genuine Wabash article: — "It comes creeping up a fellow's back like a ton of wild cats; goes crawling through his joints like iron spikes, and ia followed hy a fever which prohibits the patient from thinking of anything but Greenland's icy mountains. It isn't the * Every other day ' kind, but gets up with a man at daylight, and sleeps in tbe small of his back all night His teeth feel about six inches long, bis joints wobble likealooße waggon wheel, and the shakes are po steady that one can't hold conversation except by putting in dashes."