MISCELLANEOUS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VI, Issue 501, 22 May 1850, Page 4

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Prince of Wales. — At one of those little battues which Prince Albert enjoys occasionally in the preserves near Osborne, the Prince of Wales was permitted to be present with the sportsmen in attendance on his father, while her Majesty and suite accompanied them in a carriage. As is usual upon such occasions, there was a good deal of sharp-shooting and cursory firing here and there. A bird bad been killed by one of the party, and the Prince, with all the eager impetuosity of a boy, started forward to seize it just at the very instant that a hare, which leapt up from its form at the report, was covered by Lord Canning's gun. He was thus right in the line of shot. As Lord Canning pulled the trigger, Colonel Grey, who saw his Royal Highness's danger, with wonderful presence of mind and promptitude, rushed across the ground, and throwing himself before him, received a portion of the shot in his coat, which would otherwise have struck the Prince in the head and face. It may be easily conceived into what state of alarm and surprise the Royal party was thrown by such a painful and sudden occurrence. Lord Canning, in ignorance of the extent of the injury done by his gun, and overcome by terror, fell fainting to the ground the moment he fired, while Lady Canning, imagining that her husband was wounded, was thrown into the most pitiable grief. Those feelings were fortunately of short duration, and were soon dispelled by emotions of joy and thankfulness at finding that his Royal Highness was. totally free from harm, and that Colonel Grey had escaped any ill results from his courageous conduct except the lodgment of some lead in

his coat. — Times, Dec. 24. [Some ingenious penny-a-liner contrived to have this paragraph inserted in nearly all the London papers of the 24th December. The next day it was contradicted, as "in all this dramatic concoction of a fertile mind there is not a word of truth."]

Fourier's Plan of Paying the National Debt of Great Britain. — His calculations were as follows : — " Assuming a dozqn good fresh eggs to be worth half-a-fraric, or fourpence- halfpenny, we require 50,000,000,000 of dozen to pay off the national debt. Now, in each of 600,000 phalansteres, it will be easy to keep 12,000 hens, which will lay every day in the year, instead of about 200 times, as at present. But assuming only 200 eggs as the yearly produce of each hen, we have in a phalanstere, daily, 1,000 dozen of eggs, at one half franc per dozen, 500 francs; yearly, 100,000; and in 600,000 phalansteres, 60,1)00,000 ; or taking the number of hens at 10,000, 50,000,000, or £2,000,000,000 yearly, and therefore .£1,000,000,000 in six months as the value of the eggs alone. He never asked who were to luy 50,000,000,000 dozen of eggs. We remember a story of the late Mr. Bolton, of Soho, which is well authenticated, and which bears strongly upon this point. It was during the short peace of 1802, Mr. Bolton was at Paris, where he encountered a wealthy English nobleman, lodging at the same hotel. The nobleman, possessed with the true English taste for everything not English, purchased, among other expen&ive knick-knacks, a gorgeous gold box, exquisitely carved and chased, and exhibiting it triumphantly to Mr. Bolton, challenged Birmingham to produce anything like it. The great founder of Soho prayed for a nearer view of the box, which was politely handed to him for inspection. After regarding it attentively for a moment, he proceeded (to the horror of the owner of the toy) to wrench off the cover. "Stop, stop," shouted the nobleman, "the box cost me 50 guineas, and I would not sell it for 100." "Be at ease," said Mr. Bolton, "I can replace; and, if you wish, give you any number more, as good or better, at ten guineas each. Meanwhile read this," (pointing to an inscription on the back of the hinge) — "Bolton and Watt, Soho." It is thus that people are gulled with the name "foreign," and that coxcombs take a perverse pride in giving bread to any rather than to their own countrymen. — Standard.

The Fate of Sir John Franklin. — Tbe Arctic officers have been summoned to tbe Admiralty, to offer their joint advice as to the course which it seems most proper to pursue under the present condition of things with reference to the fate of Sir John Franklin. Sir John Richardson in his report to the Admiralty presents strong grounds of hope that the missing expedition may be shut up under circumstances which are compatible with its reappearance. According to him, the lands in the neighbourhood of which the lost expedition should most probably be looked for abound in animals which might supply the failing stores on board the ships ; and he thinks that should Sir John Franklin's provisions become so far reduced as to be inadequate with this aid to a winter's consumption, it is not likely that he would remain longer by bis ships, but rather it is probable that, ifl one body or in several, the officers with boats cut down so as to be light enough to drag over the ice, or built expressly for that purpose — would endeavour to make their way eastward to Lancaster Sound, or southward to the mainland, according to the longitute in which the ships were arrested. Great strees is laid on th c fact that no trace of a wreck, or of any misfortune to the expedition, is found on any part of the path along which they must have passed. For ourselves (the Athenaum) we think this argument tells both ways. We rejoice to know, however, that the search after the missing adventurers is to be renewed. The Enterprise and Investigator are to be immediately re-equipped and despatched at once to the Sandwich Islands, there to await further oiders. From this it will be seen that the route by Behring's Straits is to be explored, and the westward coast of Banks' and Parry's Islands will, we presume, be carefully examined.

Brian Boeoihme's Harp. —It is well known that the great monarch Brian Boroibrae was killed at the battle of Clonttrf, a.d. 1014. He left his son Donagh his harp ; but Donagh having murderod his brother -Teige, and being deposed by his nephew, retired to Borne, and carried with him the crown, harp, and other regalia of his father. These regalia were kept in the Vatican till Pope Clement sent the harp to Henry VIII, but kept the crowo, which was of massive gold. Henry gave the harp to the first Earl of Clanricarde, in whose family it remained until the beginning of the eighteenth century, when it came by a lady of the De Burgh family into that of M'Mahon of Glenagh, in the county of Clare, after whose death it passed

into the possession of Counsellor Macnamara of Limerick. In 1782, it was presented to the Right Hon. William Conyngham, who deposited it in Trinity College Museum, where it now is. It is 32 inches high, and of good workmanship — the sounding board is of oak, the arms of red cedar — the extremity of the uppermost arm in part is capped with silver, well wrought and chiselled. It contains a large crystal set in silver, and under it was another stone, now lost. — Tipperary Free Press.

Lions at the Cape. —The following extraordinary and distressing occurrence, which, lately occurred near the Bushman's Station, Tambookie Land, appears in the Eastern Province Herald, and is vouched for at strictly true : —" Three hushmen and a little boy went out to hunt. At night they had laid themselves behind a rock. One man and the little boy were rolled tip in a skin blanke', and a lion came and carried them away, the teeth of the animal going into the man's back and loins'. However, the man and child were dropped, Jand the lion was satisfied with the caress. The man awoke his companions, and was telling them how he had been carried away by the lion and escaped, and whilst relating his story the lion came again, took him by the neck and carried him away. He cried out to his companions to shoot; one took aim, but the gun missed fire; the other fired, and killed the lion, other lions were seen approaching, so they fled to a precipice for the night. The next morning they went to see their companion, but both tbe man and lion had been devoured by the other lions, leaving no remains." Asimilar occurrence has again happened, but the particulars are not known. Use of Gutta Percha in House Repairs.—Hitherto the remedy to make good defects occasioned by shrinking &c. as in floor boards, has been to let in between tbe joints slips of wood, putty, &c,; but this cannot be depended upon as in case of further shrinking it drops through, neither is it waterproof. I propose tbat gutta percha be used. Thus : warm the gutta percha till it becomes glutinous, then, with a heated iron or chisel point all along the joint, and it will be found that the adhesiveness of gutta percha is such, after two or three minutes, that it becomes as one board, the great merit being tbat there is no occasion to use any solution or cement to make the gutta percha unite to the woodwork, as in the case when applied to leather and other purposes ; but there exists sach an affinity between the two, that, for example, supposing a hole six inches square were cut in the flooring, with nothing underneath for support, and to make good the same a new piece were let in, well set round in gutta percba, it will so unite with the boards, as to enable that portion to bear as great a weight as any other part. What has been said o( making good the space between the floor boards will equally apply to all joiner's work, as in tbe panels of doors, and a shake in them has hitherto been without any effectual remedy. Also to the skirting running round the rooms, which is often to be found leaving the floor boards, &c. The great feature gained is, that gutta percha not only fills up the space, but, at tbe same time, hardens and unites the whole. —The Builder,

Effects oe Mesmerism on a Bear. —A gentleman residing at Oxford had in his possession a young Syrian bear from Mount Lebanus, about a year old. This bear was generally good humoured,playful/and tractable. One morning the bear, from the attentions of some visitors, became savage and irritable; and the owner in despair, tied him up in bis usual abode, and went away to attend to his guests. In a few minutes he was hastily recalled to see his bear. He found him rolling * about on his haunches, faintly moving his paws, and gradually sinking into a state of quiescence and repose. Above him stood a gentleman, well known in the mesmeric world, making the usual passes with his hands. The poor bear, though evidently unwilling to yield to this new influence, gradually sank to the ground, closed bis eyes, became motionless and insensible to all means used to rouse him. He remained in this state for some minutes, when he awoke, as it were, from a deep sleep, shook himself, and tottered about the court, as though labouring under the effects of pi strong narcotic. He exhibited evident signs of drowsiness for some hours afterwards. This interesting scene took place in the presence of many distinguished members of the British Association when last held in the University of Oxford.—F. T. Buchland.