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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 206, 1 September 1879, Page 4

A daughter of Nathaniel Hawthorne has completed her first novel, which will shortly commence appearing in the columns of the Boston Courier. Russia is now completely shut off from the outer world. Her people are denied passport to foreign countries, except in rare instances, and for a brief period of time. All letters and telegrams are opened by censors of the government, and foreign publications are prohibited, unless so effectually defaced by censorship as to render them useless. A gueßt at the Christmas dinner of the United States Consul in Bangkok, Siam, states that the edibles were almost entirely canned food from America, including tnrkey, chicken, corned beef, salmon, lobsters, mackerel, clams, potatoes, and other vegetables, fruits, and pies, both mince and pumpkin. A flower-girl brigade has been started in London by the Baroness Burdett-Contts and others, with the intention of enabling the flower-sellers to earn more by teaching them how to arrange their ware6*, and securing regular customers for them. The flowers are bought for the girls at Covent Garden, and made up at a central depot. Speaking of the late Temperance meeting held in Wellington, the Pott says it was decidely the most interesting of its kind that has taken place for some time. Th< ■election of speakers waa very happy, and the apeeches by no means either dry 01 watery, but humoroud and vigorous. Sii William Fox's description of the bootmakei who would persist in telling him his new boot did not pinch, was an excellent illustra tion, and took well, but the honorable gentle man made a very wry face when the Rev. Mi Williams said that drink was more produc tive of lying man than anything else— not •ven excepting politics. The truth of th< remark as to the lying is everywhere ap^ parent, and nowhere is it more palpable thac in our courts of justice, where the amount oi perjury which takes place in the evident given by witnesses for and against charges of illegal trading is enough " to choke i black." The Spider's Bridge.— One chilly day I wai left at home alone, and after I was tired o1 reading "Robinson Cruaoe," I caught t spider, and brought him into the house t( play with. Funny playmate, wasn't it ■ Well, I took a wash basin, and fastened uj a atick in it like a vessel's mast, and ther poured in water enough to turn the mast int< •a island for my spider which I namec Crusoe, and put him on the mast. As soor as he was fairly cast away he anxiouslj commenced running round to find th< mainland. He'd scamper down the masi to the water, stick out a foot, get it wet shake it, run round the stick, and try th< other side, and then run back to ths top again. Pretty soon it became a serious mat ter to Mr Robinson , and he sat down to thin! otit. As in a moment he acted as if he wanted to shout for the boat, and I was afraid he was going to be hungry, so T pul treac eon the stick. A fly came, but Crusoe wasn t hungry for flies just then. He wa« homesick for his web in the corner of the woodshed. He went slowly down the pole t< the water, and touched it all around, shaking hw feet like pussy when ahe wets her stock ings in the grass, and suddenly a though! appeared to strike him. Up he went like a rocket to the top, and commenced playinc circus. He held one foot in the air, the! another, and turned round two or thres times. He got excited, and nearly stood or fill head before I found out what he knew and that waa this— that a draught of air niadi by the fire would carry a line ashore 01 which he could escape from his desert island He pushed out a web that went floating ii the air until it caught on the table. Ther he hauled on the rope until it was tight ■track it several times to see if it was stronj enough to hold him, and walked ashore. ] thought be bad earned his liberty, so I pu him back in his woodshed again.— Correa pondent English paper.