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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 288, 5 December 1877, Page 4

An interesting account of a trained mouse is given in aa American paper, A prisoner in one of the country gaol 6; ifi says " will hold a string suspended from his fiagers, and, in broken English, command the mouse to "Up, like a sailor 1" whereupon the little animal will lay, hold of the' string with his feet and climb to the prisoner's band. The mouse will also sit at command on its bind legs on a teacup, will crawl up the prisoner's face, through his moustache, and over (hie nose, and finally jump from the man's head to his hand completing his performance with a graceful §bow. One of the most interesting things concerning the hißtory of this little acrobat ia the j>r«at love it has for the prisoner. When Anderson waa removed a few weeks ago to another and darker cell, the mouse was lost, and though carefully sought after by the keeper, could not be found, Anderson was deeply moved over the disappearance of bis tiny companion, who he feared ha') been killed, and eveu the prison officials expressed regret that the little creature should have dropped so completely and mysteriously out of the usually dull routine of prison life. Great was the joy, therefore, of Anderson, and of all in the gaol, when one day the mouse made its appearance at the door of Anderson's new cell, and running iv and resuming its accustomed place by the prisoner's side. It is stated that the little aniinul seemed as greatly rejoiced aa its muster.

" The Loafer in the Street" writes in the Cbristchurch Press :— The present session of the General Assembly has been an unusually interesting one. For doing a minimum of work in a maximum of time — so to speak — it is probably without a parallel ia (he history of sessions. But we have had two Financial Statements, and what a sweet boon that is to a constant reader, and to those who under* Stand figures. Ido not. Mr Larnach is my authority for the statement that we are at present spending £1926 per day in excess of the estimated revenue. Ha remarks that he makes this statement with feelings of the greatest diffidence, and that he feeta it his duty to call the attention of hon. gentlemen to this state of things, and to ask for au earnest consideration of the subject. If trust hon. members will consider this subject very seriously indeed. Not that it affects me. Personally I quite agree with living beyond your income. It shows your friends that your credit is good. But my heart misgives me about those poor Maoris. Living at the rate indicated above, it is only natural to suppose that a time must, come shortly when the supplies that the noble Maoris have been in the kind habit of accepting will run short. This would grieve me much. But still I

have hopes — hopes because I feel sure that even a charitable provincial district like Canterbury, who robbed itself to show at the top of the tree in the matter of the Indian famine, would not be behind iv its efforts to afford the noble New Zealand savage his accustomed luxuries.

An interesting sight (says the Dundee Evening Telegraph) was wiinesstid off Wtst Ferry th« other day in a desperate and protracted fight betweeu a seal aod a hu^e salmon, The combatants were not above a hundred yards from the shore, and the encounter waa therefore plaiuly eeen. For more than aa hour the fight lasted, the seal all the while dashing about in the water after its agile prey., During the progress of fche fight the salmon was tossed many times iulo the air after the fashion of a cat with a rnouoe. It was then seen to be a very large fish. After the fish was fairly exhausted— for the seal was the victor , Urn seal rose frequently to

surface of the water with its prey in ite mouth, the salmon, however, noi being yet dead, as the movement of its body clearly indicated. Whether or not the seal swallows its prey whole is not known to the writer; but to spectators of this morning's fiVht the protractde nature of the battle soemed to have its origin on the part of the seal not to injure its prey or break it with 'its teetb. There are large numbers of seals in the river at the present time. Between seventy and eighty of these animals, tnauy of them very large and of different colors, were seen sunning themselves at low tide on Abertay Sands one day Usfc week.