MISCELLANEOUS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 271, 4 March 1848, Page 4

MISCELLANEOUS.

Ireland. —The ensuing winter is likely to need more skill and energy in the Government than the two that have passed. The default of food was an overwhelming calamity, which demanded one direct course oi counteraction —the people were starving, and food *as to be supplied at all costs. The paramount and peremptory uecessity superseded any need for considering the basis of a policy —that was determined by the necessity itself. But the complicated anarchy to which the state of Ireland is returning —for defiance of social institutions is anarchy in the most literal sense of the term —demands a vigorous and sagacious policy of government; as conciliatory as possible, coercive if necessary. With that necessity in view, it is satisfactory to see the attitude assumed by ;t c present Lord Lieutenant. He is kind, but he does not flatter the idle expectations of the Irish. To their random requirements he replies with the calm ! and lucid reiteration of economical and social laws, which no arbitrary will can set aside. He stands prepared to help; but reminds them that external assistance can only aid, not supersede, their own exertions. In what Lord Clarendon says there is no affectation of tender sentiment, beyond the solemn compas- ] sion which dreary prospects must force upon every man ; there is no exuberance of easy promise, no " humbug." Lord Clarendon has taken up the right position for humane but firm government. Mr. Patrick Park has just completed the bust of the horo of Aliwal, which we announced in a recent number of our journal. It is an excellent likeness; the marked features of the Commander being rendereJ with admirable effect; and the bust is, altogether, very spirited and full of character. It is to be sent to Glasgow, with a bust of the Earl of Dundonald, also -from Mr. Park's chisel. —lllus. News. The estimated cost of the new building for the Public Records is stated to be *'175,000 —the fittings £31,500. The houses and grounds which it will be necessary to purchase—including the erection of several short bt.eets in the immediate neighbourhood —will occasion a further outlay of £243,000, — making a total cost of £450,000.

Self-made Men in Parliament.—The ensuing Parliament will contain a very large number of men who may boast that their ability and industry have raised them to fortune aud dignity from humble circumstances. Messrs. Stephenson and Locke are two instauces of railway results. Sir J. Walmsley, M.P. for Leicester, began life as an usher in a boys' school. Mr. W. Jackson, M.P. for Newcastle-under-Lyne, for which town he was elected over the head of Led Brackley, the son of the Earl of Ellesmere, and nephew of the Duke of Sutherland, worked his way up from a humble clerkship to a partnership iv an Atrican house, and eventually by land speculations in Birkenhead, of the prosperity of which he is one of the authors, acquired a jirincely fortune. Mr. Humphrey Brown, after enduring the vicissitudes of fortune as a merchant and canal carrier, aud acting' for some time as a railway manager, acquired a fortune in three years as a tratlic taker, and has been elected to represent his native town, Tewkesbury, in Parliament. Many more examples might be cited. Sebastiani.^—Much anxiety is felt for the state of mind in which the excitement of the dreadful event which summoned Sebastiani back to Paris has now left him. He remains silent and solitary in his own hotel, having but once crossed the threshold since his return in order to visit the aged mother of the Duke de Praslin, who resides in the Faubourg St. Germain, ji c will scarcely receive the visits of his most intimate friends, and remains silent and abstracted amid all their efforts of condolence, It is said that he has insisted that the apartment wherein was perpetrated the murder ot his only child should lemain untouched, unchanged from the wild confusion in which it was left on the night of that dreadful crime ;' and guided by a morbid feeling, which excites the greatest compassion, he has ordered the doors and windows of the room to be walled up, so that none may enter while he lives, and the sounds of merriment and laughter be heard therein no more. Here it * fine specimen of the sentiment which guidei the vendetta of his country. The 1 odiate td aspettate' of the Corsican, how silently yet eloquently expressed!

Sjnguxab Incident at a Bull-fight. —A few years ago the inhabitants of Seville read, one day, with surprise, on the bill of the

fight, this unusual announcement : — " When the third bull has fought the piccdores and received three pair of banderillas, a young herdsman, who brought it up, will appear in the arena. He will approach the bull, caress him, and take out the banderillas, one by one, after which be will lie down between his horns." The announcement of so singular *an interlude drew an immense concourse to the circus. The third bull appeared. It was an animal well provided with horns, and very brave. He ripped up four horses in four bounds, received the banderillas and began to rear. Then, contrary to custom, the ladiadores disappeared, and the bull remaining alone in the arena, continued trotting about and shaking the bloody javelins over his neck. Suddenly a prolonged whistle brought him to the barrier. At that moment a young man di essed en maj'o, jumped into the arena and called the bull by his name, — Mosquito, Mosquito ! The animal, , recognising bis master, came up to him caressingly, and appeased. The herdsman gave him bis hand to lick, and with the other scratched him behind the ears in a manner which seemed much to delight the poor beast. Then, gently taking out the banderillas, which tore Mosquito's neck, he made him kneel and laid himself on his back, his head between his horns. The admiration of the multitude, hitherto restrained by surprise, now burst forth with Andalusian vehemence. No one can imagine the screams of joy uttered if they have not seen a plaza de toros. On hearing the frantic applause which had accompanied all his sufferings, the bull, charmed until then, seemed to awake to real life. He suddenly sprung up and bellowed. The herdsman quickly endeavoured to escape. But it was too late. The animal, as if furious at having been betrayed, threw the young man up in the air with his head, receiving him with bis horns, ran him through, trampled on him, and tore him in pieces, notwithstanding all the efforts of the cholos. The corrida was suspended, and the consternated public silently quitted the circus. — Lowes Edinburgh Magazine,

Edible Funguses. — The English are not a fungus-eating nation ; and in the "good old times " this might have been as much a boast as the common one that we never eat frogs. The queetion is, whether we are the better or the wiser for not eating tl.e one any more than the other. Though we do not eat frogs like our neighbours the French, we are rather celebrated for our love of another of the reptilian family — turtle. There is no reason why we should eschew frog and relish turtle. There is still less for our eating one or two of the numberless edible funguses which our island produces, and condemning all the rest as worse than useless under the name of " toadstools." It is not so on the continent of Europe, where, very generally, the various species of fungi are esteemed agreeable and important articles of diet. The great drawback on the use of these esculents hi this country is, that some are poisonous — and few persons possess the skill to distinguish them, with the exception of one or two species, from those which are edible. In the markets at Rome, there is an " inspector of funguses," versed i in botany, and whose duty is to examine and report on all such plants exposed for salt. The safety with which these vegetables may be eaten has led to a very large consumption in that city, where not less than 140,000 pounds weight — worth £4000 sterling — are annually consumed ; this in a population, of 156,000 souls. We cannot estimate the value of funguses in our own country for an article of diet at less than in Italy, nor believe that the supply would be .in less ratio. If this be correct, the value of the funguses which are allowed to spring up and die wasted in Great Britain would be about half a million sterling in each year. — Athetueum.

A Sharp Retort. — At the Dublin- University election, Mr. Butt, the well-known political barrister, made a poignant retort upon Mr. Shaw. On the day of nomination, alter Mr. Butt had addressed the electors, Mr. Shaw said, "Speaking, not as an Oxford graduate, but as an Irish gentleman, I will say that Mr. Butt's speech proves nothing but the vulgarity of his own nature, which not even an education of this university could refine." Mr. Butt had no opportunity of replying till some time after, when be took care to tell the recorder "that it was a great pity when he secured a retiring pension of £3,000 per annum on the consolidated fund, that he had not also managed to place his tongue on the civil list.

Unluckt Numbers. — Some people, it is •aid, have an objection to thirteen at dinner. Dr. Kitchener happened to be one of a company of that number at Dr. Hendersons, and on its being remarked, and pronounced unlucky, he said, "I admit it is unlucky in one case." "What case is that, Doctor?" "When there is only dinner for twelve."

Health and Temperance. — It is reported by the newspaper*, that at a temperance soiree lately held at Londonderry, in ho*

nour of Father Mathew, the Mayor of Derry in the chair, "after the usual loyal toasts, the chairman gave Father Mathew." Toasts at a Temperance Meeting ! If these toasts were not dry toasts, what were they ? A temperance toast, one would think, must be either toast and tea, or toast and water. — Punch. Rowxando Furioso. — We understand that a celebrated nobleman, of sporting notoriety, has caused several gallons of Rowland's Macassar to be scattered over his estates, for the purpose of preserving the hares. The experiment has proved quite successful; and some hundreds of hares, .lying curled up in various portions of the grounds, have been discovered wherevet the Macassar was used. — Ib.

A CLEVIft LITTLE DftAHATIC ANECDOTE. — There is a poor actor on the Norwich Circuit who squints most dreadfully ; he was put up a week ago for Lear. "We must succeed," said the manager, "for there never was a Lear with so strong a cast." — Ib. ' Foreign Intelligence.— lt is whispered that the Peruvian President has sent a hostile message to a neighbouring potentate. Our correspondent in that quarter intimates that even if the Peruvian dogs of war were let loose, it would end in Peruvian bark, for there would be no biting. — The Papal Government loses 250,000 dollars by the reduction of the duty on salt ; but it is said, in well informed circLs, that if the revenue will no longer be iv salt, it will somehow or other be muster'd. — The Americans have sent into Mexico, to carry on the campaign, an officer named General Pillow. It is said in quarters that may — or may not — be relied upon, that the selection of General Pillow shows how much the American cause stands in need of bolstering. If Pillow is one of the right sort, he may put a feather in the cap of all his followers. — Ib.

The Executioner's Grievance. — The public executioner of Paris having been dismissed from his place without, as he thinks, sufficient cause, has drawn up and published a pamphlet, in which he pleads for restoration, on the ground that he ha* acted with the greatest kindness and respect to all his clients; and that he has invariably cut off their heads in a very neat style, and with great despatch.

** Forfici Foru !" — " Another story introduces a Sicilian married woman, whose husband, coming home from his work, finds the house turned topsy-turvy, and half the furniture destroyed : windows broken, curtains torn, tables upset, the very bars of the door twisted by main force. On requesting an explanation, he is told by his wife, 'Maritu miv, forfici foru !' which means, ' Husband mine, 'twas the scissors did it ! and she holds up her working scissors. Finding he can get no better answer, I am sorry to say he so far forgets himself as to carry his better-half into the garden, and there attaching the bucketrope to her neck, he lets her down into the well. After a souse up to the chin, he repeats his inquiry as to how the mischief was done ; but gets always the same answer — ' Fortici foru ! He now gradually lowers her deeper \ and deeper, putting the interrogatory from time to time, but with no better success. At length she is fairly plunged over head and ears ; but while thus immersed, and speech impossible, the unyielding lady stretches out one arm, and holding the hand above water, moves the middle and forefinger so as to represent the action of scissors opening and shutting. At sight of this the husband gives in, draws op his wife, and takes her tenderly home, vowing that he will seek no better answer than the only one he seems likely to get — 'Maritu miv, forfici foru!' These stories are genuine sketches of Sicilian pertinacity. The 'forfici foru' is now a proverbial phrase, equivalent as a reply to ours of 'Find out, and then you'll know.' "