MISCELLANEOUS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume V, Issue 429, 12 September 1849, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Grenadier Guards. —Some important chauges and promotions are about to take place in this distinguished corps. Colonel Home, the chief officer, commandant of the regiment, retires after a long service ; and j Colonel Lascelles, a gallant old Waterloo and Peninsular officer, for many years the commanding officer of the Ist battalion, succeeds him in the command of the corps. Sir John Ord Honeyman, now Colonel Commandant of the 2nd battalion, proceeds to the Ist, vice Lascelles ; and Colonel Thornton moves from the 2rd to ihe 2nd. Colonel Stanhope will be appointed commanding officer of the 3rd battalion. The change in question will shortly be gazetted.

Sir Charles Napier " at home."—On the arrival of the messenger who bore the dispatch from the India House, announcing Sir Charles Napier's appointment to the chief comraandership of the Indian forces, the door of his temporary residence in Berkeley Street was opened by a female servant, who asserted that neither Sir Charles Napier nor his lady was at home. The messenger had been charged to deliver the dispatch into the hands of either Sir Charles or Lady Napier ; and while engaged In altercation with the servant in the hall, a door at the head of the stairs was suddenly opened, and the veteran himself appeared. "I am Sir Charles Napier," said he, " but as we are at dinner, and I have no second room to show you into, you had better call again." -The surprised messenger announced his errand, and the dispatch was soon safely lodged in Sir Charles's own hands.

The Battle of Chillianwallah. — There is something of an almost romantic interest attached to the standard captured at the battle of Chillianwallah, as, it proved to be the banner takeu from the Mahrattahs by the 56th Native Infantry at the battle of Maharajhpoor, and subsequently borne by that regiment in addition to their own two colours. It fell into the hands of the Sikhs during the terrific conflict on the 38th of January, and was retaken by the grenadiers of the 70th Bengal Native liifaiitry, in the splendid charge made, rear in front, by Colonel Godby's brigade, in which nine guns were taken, and those of Christie's troop recovered. This standard, which is of yellow silk, with a red cross, and' bearing in the upper quarter a naked dagger, without a hilt, of red silk also, was returned by the 70th regiment to their gallant brethren in arms. A Californian Emigration has been set in motion in Paris, and the uovelist, Jaques Arago, brother of the member of the late Provisional Government, although perfectly blind, is selected as one of the leaders of the expedition.

Theory of the Tides. — Raised by the moon and modified by the sun in the equatorial seas, the central area of the two oceans is occupied by a great tidal wave, which oscillates continualy, keeping time with the returns of the raoon, having its motion kept up by her attraction acting at each return. The height of those oceantic tide depends upon the relative positions of the sun and moon, and upon their declinations and distances from the earth. From the skirt of the oscillating central area, partial tides diverge in all directions, whose [ velocity depends upon the depth and local circumstances of the sea ; derivative tides are so much influenced by the form of the shore along which they travel, that they become of great

i magnitude in the higher latitudes, while near the centre of the oscillating area the oceanic tide is often very small. The spring tides rise 50 or 60 feet on some parts of the British coast ; in the Bay of Fundy, in Nova Scotia, they rise 60 feet ; at St Helena they never exceed three feet ; and there is scarcely any tide among many of the tropical islands in the Pacific. At the equator the tide follows the moon at the rate of 1000 miles an hour. There may be some small flow of the water westward with the oceanic tide under the equator, though it is imperceptible ; hut that does not necessarily follow, since the tide in the open ocean is merely an alternate rise and fall of the surface, so that the motion, not the water, follows the moon. A bird resting on the sea is not carried forward as the waves rise and fall ; indeed, if so heavy a hody of water we.re to move at the rate of 1000 miles in an horr, it would c.iuse universal destrucI * tion, since in the most violent hurricanes the velocity of the wind hardly exceeds 100 miles an hour. Over shallows, however, and near I the land, the water does advancp, and rolls in waves on the beach. — Mrs. Somerville's Physical Geography. A Sunday paper states that the county of Noifolk has obtained an unenviable notoriety in the annals of criminality, for having been the birthplace of some of the most notorious murderers that were pver brought to trial. In addition to Rush, whose trial has just terminated, Thurtell, the murderer of Mr. Weare ; Greenacre, the murderer of Hannah Brown ; Yaiharn, who was executed some three or four years ago, for the celebrated Yarmouth muider ; and Smith, who it will be remembered about twelve months ago murdered the kitchen-maid at the Guildhall Coffee-house, London ; all were born in the county of Norfolk — Greenacre, Thurtell, and Smith being inhabitants of Norwich. We learn from an Antwerp paper that several English speculators who purchase potatoes, Iruits, roots, eggs, and other articles in the neighbourhood of Louvain, Glabeeck, St. Trond, &c, have made propositions to various proprietors for the appropriation of lands to be placed by them under cultivation, subject to the supervision of experienced persons from England and Scotland, and to be planted and sown with plants and seeds imported into Belgium from the British Isles. The properties applied for by the English are intended, it seems, to he more particularly destined to the productions of potatoes. What an " encouraging" prospect for the home grower ! — Brighton Gazette.

Joseph Hume's Library. — The parliamentary library, in Bryanstone-square, is a perfect phenomenon iv extent, methodical arrangement, and accessibility to what is inside, as well as to the butsiJe. Every blue-book, every stray leaf of every vote paper, and every jscrap of a return, classified, indexed, and annotated in the veteran's own hand for forty years back ; so that there is not a single circumstance which has occupied the legislature in any shape dining the whole of that period, upon the record of which Mr. Hume cannot place his finger on the instant. Long distant be the day, but when it comes, the sale of Joe's hbraiy must challenge uational attention, and set'ure the nation for a purchaser of materials that will teed whole wildernesses of future Macaulays with data for what may be called the private history of the public events of the fit st half of this century — data of unimpeachable accuracy, and indubitable honesty, for no man has evei yet been able to impeach the political probity or personal honour of the member for Montrose. — Liverpool Albion.

Holland House and Sidne? Smith. — 1 was one half-day ac Holland House ; the meeting was formidable to rrfe. They are kiud, and most voluntarily, benefactors to me ; but that makes the meeting somewhat awful ! Lady Holland is a formidable woman. She is cleverer, by several degrees, than Bonaparte ! The fear of appearing not at my ease, is always my most uneasy sensation at that house. Pride and shyness are always sparring in my inside. But on this occasion I was peculiarly fortunate. I walked for about an hour, almost alone, with Lady H. Ido assure you I was quite spruce! Most fortunate was the mood upon me at the time — none of your Scotch mauvaise honte ; no, no — I felt such self-possession, such a rattle of tongue and springtide of conversation, so perfectly joyous, that I acquitted myself like a man, an^ went away as well convinced that my dignity had been unimpaired as if I had been dining with Cullen Brown. Off I marched with Sidney Smith ; Sidney is an excellent subject— but he too has dqne some kind offices, and that is enough to produce a most green-eyed jealousy in my noble and heroic dispositions ! I was determined I should make as many good jokes, and speak as much as himself; and so I did, for though I was dressed at the dinner table much like a Barber's clerk, I arrogated greatly, talked quizzically, metaphorically; Sidney said a few good things, I said many! Saul slew

his thousands, Darid his tens of thousands. Mrs. S. helped me to two delicious dishes — and I was exceedingly hungry — veal and pickled pork — both highly commenJable, particularly the latter. She was very engaging to me, and spoke of poetry, and so did ber cousin, who is pleasant. An agreeable party, in spite of my cravat being much like a halter. — Memoirs of T. Campbell.

Manufacture of Maraschino. — The principal manufactory in Zara (the capital of Dalmatia) is that of maraschino, the liqueur made from the raarasca or black cherry, which is grown mostly in the neighbourhood of Almissa, between Spalato and Macarsca. Bordeaux is not more famous for its wines than Zara for its liqueurs ; and in the manufacture of them they surpass all other places. I visited these distilleries one day, and found them to have nearly all the same appearance : a low ground floor, opening on a little back garden ; large coppers of the liqueur closely covered, so as to exclude air ; the shelves filled with various coloured rosolj ; the Portogallo, or orange, clear as amber ; and the delicious Garafalo, or clove, the prince' of liqueurs. Spanish wax was boiling in a pot over a brazier, and the corked bottles, being reversed, are dipped in it and sealed with the name of the firm. The fruit is picked and skinned in June and July. Drioli and some of the houses pretend to have secrets for mixing the proportions, which are transmitted to the women of the family from generation to generation ; but, in truth, it is like the secret of the protean Jean Maria Farina, of Cologne, the true secret being the possession of adequate capital aud a current sale. The best maraschino is that of Drioli, Luxardo, and Kreglianovich. The maraschino of the first of these, is reckoned by the native Dalmatians as the best of all, but it is dear. Luxardo makes good maraschino, and has a large sale. The maraschino of Kreglianovich is very good in quality and moderate in price, but not strong enough for the English and Russian taste ; for, while the Sicilians prefer weak and sweet maraschino, a more powerful liqueur is requisite for the English, Dutch, and Russian. There are, altogether, about a dozen distilleries in the town, and several of the proprietors have made handsome fortunes. — Pat on' s Highlands and Islands of the Adriatic.

Political Influence of Literary Men in America. —lt is but natural that a government which does so much for the promotion of education should seek to make an ally of literature. Literary men in America, like literary men in France, have the avenue of political preferment much more accessible to them than literary men in England. There is in this respect, however, this difference between France and America, that whilst in the former the literary man is simply left to push for his way to place, in the latter he is often sought for and dragged into it. Iv France he must combine the violent partisan with the literateur, ere he realises a position in connection with his government. In America, the literateur is frequently converted into the politician without ever having been the mere partisan. It was thus that Paulding was placed by President Vaii Buren at the head of the navy department, that Washington Irving was sent ai minister to Spain, and Stevens despatched on a political mission to Central America. It was chiefly on account of his literary qualities that Mr. Everett was sent as minister to London, and that Jylr. Bancroft was also sent thither by the cabinet of Mr. Polk. Like Paulding, this last mentioned gentleman was for some time at the head of a department in Washington previously te his undertaking the embassy to Loudon. The historian exhibited administrative capacity as soon as he was called upon to exercise ie; whilst in this country he has earned for himself the character of an accomplished diplomatist, finished scholar, and a perfect gentleman. But Mr. Bancroft's future fame will not depend upon his proved aptitude for administration or diplomacy. As in Mr. Macaulay's case so with him, the historian will eclipse the politician.—Machiy's Western World.

Alleged Antidote for CHOLERA.-Theie has been discovered on Mount Olympus, in Asia Minor, a plant, of which the botanical name is unknown. The stalk and leaves resetnhle thyme, the flowers those of lavender. After a number of experiments, it has been found that a decoction of this plant has the power of producing reaction in the stage of collapse in cholera, to arrest the diarrhoea and sickness, in fact, to bring about the most satisfactory results. This plant which is affirmed to be a true specific against cholera, is known by the name of Zarabia. —Medical Times.