MISCELLANEOUS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 579, 19 February 1851, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Society of Madras has presented the j Marquis of Tweedale, Governor and Com- ! tnander-in-Cbief, 1842-1848, with a very superb candelabrum, upwards of four feet high, and of the value of £2,000. On the base is represented a stag, a boar, and wolfhunting. The figures are beautiful specimens of the art of modelling statues. A Madrid letter of the 9th September says, “The Duke de Montpensier was affected at the news of bis so much so, that it was found necessary tob4<ed him. The event is likewise severely felt by Queen Christina.’’

General Cavaignac is suffering from severe indisposition ; and it is considered very doubtful if he will ever again be able to take part in the public services of his country. The experiment of suspending post office labour on Sundays throughout Great Britain had been abandoned. It will be recollected, that the House of Commons somewhat unexpectedly came to a resolution, on the motion of Lord Ashley, for an address to the Crown, praying for a suspension of Sunday labour in the post office. The Government acted on this resolution, but as great inconvenience ensued, the subject was again revived in the House of Commons, which agreed to leave the matter in the hands of Lord John Russell and his colleagues. That ministers regard the experiment as a failure, appears from the fact that Sunday labour in the post office was resumed on the Ist of September. Several post-masters had reoirvnnrl in nnncnnnanno 414 A email farmer, named James Young, residing in the parish of Bellaghy, on the estate of John M’Neile, Esq., of-Parkmount, lately dug up out of a bog in which he was

working, a keg of butter in a state of remark- ; able preservation. The wood composing the i keg itself wae completely' rotten, whilst the i butter—about sixty pounds—was in taste, co- i lour, and general appearance as though it had not been secreted more than a month. Those in the neighbourhood who have seen the firkin, entertained tbe belief that it was hidden during the “ troublesome times of ’98.” A few days previously a firkin was found in Fenagh Bog, about four miles from Ballymena, on tbe estate of the Earl of Mountcashell, The possessor of it is a farmer named Moses Paul, who discovered it a few inches under the surface of a section of the bog which had been under cutting for several years. In this case the butter was quite greyish in appearance, and fusty in taste and smell. It had evidently been underground for a great number of years. The firkin, too, is uot at all like those in ordinary use. It seems to have been formed of oziers, cemented on the outside, and is in shape sometbiug like the old Roman amphora. This, we understand, is the third or fourth firkin of a similar description which has been found in the Fenagh Bog. A fatality seems to attend the statues ot the American sculptor Hiram Powers. It is only a few months since v/e bad to announce tbe accident which betel his ‘ Eve’—wrecked at C'arthagena in the vessel which was conveying it to America. A similar fate has now overtaken his statue of the late Mr. Calhoun, —-said by the American papers to have cost the artist years of toil, and which had been anxiously expected in his native country. On the Sth of April, Mr. Powers wrote from Florence that the statute had been encased for shipment,—and congratulated himself that it was rot ready to be put on hoard the Swedish ship Westmoreland in which his ‘Eve’ was shipped ! —Some hopes are expressed that the statue may be recovered.

American Stores.—“Tbe word store has been declared an Americanism, but it is not always easy to decide what words and j terms have actually been coined on this side i the Atlantic, so many of those which pass for i Yankeeisms being found in the best English j writers, like the stage of Sterne, and the i pretty considerable of Burke, for instance. Many other words and phrases of this dispu- J ted nature were undeniably brought over by the original colonists, and have been merely preserved by their descendants, while our English kinsmen have forgotten them. It is quite possible that the word ‘ store’ was first brought into common use when there was but one store-house in every new colony, and all the different wants of the little community were supplied from the same establishment, j Although circumstances haveso much changed since those days, although the catalogue of necessaries and luxuries has been so much increased, yet the country store still preserves much of this character, and would seem to deserve a name of its own. It is neither a shop devoted to one limited branch of trade, nor a warehouse implying the same branch carried out on a greater scale, nor is it a bazaar where many different owners offer goods of various kinds within the same walls. The store, in ' fact, has taken its peculiar character, as well as its name, from the condition of the country; and the word itself, in this application of it, might bear a much better defence than many I others which have found their way into books, i Now-a-days, there arealways, however, more I than one store in every village. Indeed, you ; never find one of a trade standing long alone anywhere on Yankee ground. There is no such man in the country as the village doctor, the baker, the lawyer, Retailor; they must I all be marshalled in the plural number. We i can understand that one doctor should need | another to consult and disagree with ; and i that one lawyer-Tequires another with whom I he may join issue in the case of Richard Roe j v. John Doe, but why there should always be two barbers in an American village, does not seem so clear, since the cut of the whiskers is an arbitary matter in our day, whatever may be the uncertainties of science and law. Many trades, however, are carried on by threes and fours; it strikes one as odd that in a little town of some 1,400 souls, there should be three jewellers and watchmakers. There are also seme score of tailoresses — and both trade and word, in .their feminine application, are said to be thoroughly American. But to return to the 8 store’; there are half a dozen of these’ on quite a large scale. It is amusing to note the variety within their walls. Barrels, ploughs, stoves, brooms, rakes, and pitchforks; muslins, flannels, laces, and shawls; sometimes in winter, a dead porker is bung up by the heels at the door; frequently frozen fowls, turkeys, and geese garnish the entrance. The shelves are filled with a thousand things required by civilised man, in the long list of his wants. Here you see a display of glass and crockery imported, perhaps, directly by this inland firm, from tbe European manufacturer ; there you observe a pile of silks and satins ; this is a roll of carpeting, that a box of artificial flowers. At the same counter you may buy kid gloves and a spade,

a lace veil and a jug of molasses; a satin dress and a broom; looking glasses, grass seed, fire-irons. Valenciennes lace, butter and eggs, embroidery, blankets, candles, cheese, and a fancy fan. And yet, in addition to this medley, there are regular milliners’ shops and groceries in the place, and of a superior class, too. But so long as a village retains its real

character, so long will the country ‘store’ be found there; it is only when it becomes a young city that the shop and warehouse takes tbe place of a convenient store, where so many

wants are supplied on the same spot.”— Miss Cooper's Rural Hours.

Habits of Lions.—One of the most striking things connected with the lion is his voice, which is extremely grand and peculiarly striking. It consists at times of a low, deep moaning, repeated five or six times, ending in faintly audible sighs; at other times he startles the forest with loud, deep-toned, solemn roars, repeated five or six times in quick Succession, each increasing in loudness to the third or fourth, when his voice dies away in five or six low, muffled sounds, very much resembling distant thunder. At times, and not unfrequently, a troop may be heard roaring in concert, one assuming the lead, and two, three, or four more regularly taking up their parts, like persons singing a catch. Like our Scottish stags at the rutting season, they roar loudest in cold, frosty nights; but but on no occasions are their voices to be beard in such perfection, or so intensely powerful, as when two or three strange troops of lions approach a fountain to drink at tbe same | lime. When this occurs, every member of ■ each troop sounds a held roar of defiance at ■ the opposite parties ; and when one roars, all I roar together, and each seems to vie with his : comrades in the intensity and power of his | voice. The power and grandeur of these nocturnal forest concerts is inconceivably striking and pleasing to the hunter’s ear. The effect, I may remark, is greatly enhanced when tbe hearer happens to be I situated in the depths of tbe forest, at tbe I dead hour of midnight, unaccompanied by any j attendant, and ensconced within twenty yards I 1 whlpL tVIF* ctvyrrynn/linrr frnATiC V 4 VLJL IVUULUtU CT J J XV/LA VUV M A AW AA 44. W * of lions are approaching. Such has been my ( situation many scores of times ; and though I am allowed to have a tolerably good taste for music, I consider the catches with which x was tucu regaled as the sweetest auu most natural I ever heard. As a general rule, lions roar during the night; their sighing moans commencing as the shades of evening envelop the forest and continuing at intervals throughout the night. In distant and secluded | regions, however, I have constantly heard them roaring loudly as late as nine aud ten o’clock on a bright sunny morning. In hazy and rainy waathfr thsy arc to be heard at every hour in the day, but their roar is subdued. It often happens that when two strange male lions meet at a fountain a terrific combat , ensues, winch not unfrequently ends in the death of one of them. The habits of the i lion are strictly nocturnal; during the day ; be lies concealed beneath the shade of some | low bushy tree or wide-spreading bush, either , I in the level or on the mountain side. He is also partial to lofty reeds or fields of long rank yellow grass, such as occurs in lowlying vleys. From these hauuts be sallies forth when the sun goes down, and commences i his nightly prowl. When he is successful in his beat, and has secured his prey, he does i not roar much that night, only occasionally a i few low moans : that is, provided no intruders , approach him, otherwise the case would be I very different. * * I remarked a fact con- > netted with the lions' hour of drinking peculiar i to themselves : they seem unwilling to visit 1 the fountains with good moonlight. Thus, i when the moon rose early, the lions deferred ; their hour of watering until late in the morn- > ing; and when the moon rose late, they drank 5 at a very early hour in the night. * * Owing . to the tawny colour of the coat with which . nature has robed him he is perfectly invisible I in the dark ; and although I have often heard

them loudly lapping the water under my very nose, not twenty yards from me, I could not possibly make out so much as tbe outline of their forms. When a thirsty lion comes to water, he stretches out his massive arms, lies down on his breast to drink, and makes aloud lapping noise in drinking, not to be mistaken. He continues lapping up ths water for a long while, and four or five times during the proceeding be pauses lor half a minute as if to take breath. One thing conspicuous about them is their eyes, which, in a dark night, glow like two balls of fire. —CawwatHjfs A Africa,

Creation of Cardinals. —From Rome we learn that a Consistory was to be held in the last fortnight of the present month, for the appointment of a batch of Cardinals. The Romans regard, with jealousy the great number of foreigners to be admitted to the Sacred College on this occasion. There are to be three French Cardinals —the Archbishops of Rheims, and Toulouse; three German Cardinals — the Archbishops of.

Cologne, Innspruck, and the Primate of Hungary; two Spanish Cardinals- —the Archbishops of Seville and Toledo; one English Cardinal —Dr. Wiseman ; one Neapopolitan Cardinal —M. Corenzi; and three Roman Cardinals — Monsignori Fornari, (apostolic nuncio at Paris), Roberto Roberti, (Vice-President of Rome and the Comarca), and Pecci, (the Bishop of Gubbio), who distinguished himself by his resistance to the revolution.

An eminent French statistical writer once took his station near the staircase at a London ball, for the purpose of ascertaining the number of gentlemen who arranged their hair with their fingers before entering the room. He found them to average about 29 out of 30 ; those who had least or most hair usually occupied most time. — Quarterly Review. The Brussels Herald says:—The carriage which is to be used at the coronation of his Majesty the Emperor of Austria, and which is to be restored, was constructed during the reign of the Emperor Charles, who had it made for the marriage of his daughter, Maria Theresa. Since that time, this vehicle was only made use of on the occasion of the coronation of the Emperors at Frankfort. The gilding alone cost 18,000 florins, and the paintings which adorn the pannels are from the pencil of Rubens, and cost 60,000 florins. A Frankfort journal states that the colossal statue of Bavaria, by Schwanthaler, which is to be placed on the hill of Seudling, surpasses in its gigantic proportions all the works of the moderns. It will have to be removed in pieces from the foundry where it is cast to its place of destination, —and each piece will require sixteen horses to draw it. The great toes are each half a metre in length. In the head two persons could dance a polka very conveniently,—while the nose might lodge the musician. The thickness of the robe — which forms a rich drapery descending to the ankles—is about six inches, and its circumference at the bottom about two hundred metres. The Crown of Victory which the fl* gure holds in her bands weighs one hundred quintals (a quintal is a hundred weight.) The celebrated bull fighter, Montes, was overthrown and gored in the leg by a bull, which he was endeavouring to kill in a bull fight held a few days since in Madrid. The spectators were greatly excited by this mishap to their favorite toreador, and on the following morning crowds assembled round his dwelling to learn the state of his wound, which is not unlikely to lame him for life.

Romance of Real Life. — “Prince George of Denmark, in passing through Bristol, went to the Exchange, accompanied by one of his attendants, and remained there until the merchants had pretty generally withdrawn, none of whom had sufficient resolution to address his Highness. At last, one Duddlestone, a bodice-maker, mustered courage, and inquired of the Prince if he were not the husband of Queen Anne. Having received an affirmative reply, Duddlestone expressed the deep concern he felt that none of the merchants had invited his Highness home, assured him that the neglect arose from no disrespect to the Queen, but a diffidence of their means of entertainment, and finished by entreating the Prince and the gentleman who was with him, to accompany him to his house, ‘ where,’ added Duddlestone, ‘ a good piece of beef and plum-pudding, with ale of my dame’s own brewing, and a welcome of loyalty and respect await your presence.’ Prince George was much amused with the bodice-maker’s request, and, although he had ordered dinner at the White Hart* cheerfully accepted the invitation. Duddlestone, on arriving at home, called his wife, who was upstairs, desiring her to put on a clean apron, and come down, for the Queen’s husband and another gentleman were come to dine with them. In the course of the repast, the Prince requested the bodicemaker to return the visit at the palace, and to bring bis wife with him, giving him a card to facilitate his introduction at Court. A few months after, Duddlestone, with his wife behind him on horseback, set out for London, where they soon found the Prince, and were introduced to the Queen, Her Majesty received them most graciously, and invited them to an approaching dinner, telling them that they must have new clothes for the occasion. Dresses of purple velvet, the colour they selected were consequently prepared, and Duddlestone and bis worthy dame were introduced by the Queen herself as the most loyal persons in Bristol, and the only ones in that city wno bad invited the Prince, her husband, to their house. After the entertainment was over, she desired Duddlestone to kneel, laid a sword on his head, and, to use Lady Duddlestone’s own words, said to him, ‘ Ston up, Sir Jan.’ He was then offered money or a place under government; but he would not accept either, informing the Queen that he had £5O out at interest, and he apprehended that the number of people he saw about court must be very expensive. The Queen made Lady Duddlestone a present of her gold watch from her side, which her ladyship considered so

great an ornament, that she never went to market without having it suspended over her blue apron. Sir John Duddlestone, rising still higher in royal favour, was created a baronet, 11th January, 1691, but the sun of his prosperity soon set. In the great storm of 1704, he lost more than £20,000, and was sadly reduced, so much so, indeed, that his grandson and heir, Sir John Duddlestone, the second baronet, held an bumble appointment in the Customs at Bristol, and was living in the year 1727, in a very low condition.”— Anecdotes of the Aristocracy.

Landing of Convicts in the United States.- —lt appears that 300 convicts in all have received their pardon in Bermuda, and, as only ten have arrived, the remainder may be daily expected. It is stated that they have the option of going to the West Indies or the United States; but of course they will prefer coming here. On the 18th inst. the barque Leontine, Captain Thormann, from Hamburgh, arrived at quarantine with 115 passengers, and was reported to the Mayor on the 19th. Before her arrival the Mayor had intelligence that four of the passengers wereconvicts from Mecklenburgh for burglary, and were sent out to this country by the Government, who winked at the ingenious device of sending them first from the prison to the workhouse, and thence on board the Leontine, Their names are Toadhim Kohler, Johann Woding, Carl Hahl, and Hermann Meyer. His Honor caused them to be arrested as soon as the barque arrived, and on being brought before the Mayor, they were interrogated, and admitted the fact. The captain was also brought before the Mayor, and, on his engaging to take the convicts back, his Honor declined to proceed against him. They have been therefore placed on board. It seems that a correspondence has taken place between the authorities at Hamburgh and the Mecklenburgh Government in reference to these convicts, and that strong measures have been taken by the former to prevent a repetition of the trick. A communication was also received at Washington from Hamburgh, notifying the United States Government of these facts. In the case of the Bermuda convicts, the captain has also undertaken to convey them back, and the offer, we understand, will be accepted. From the 781st page of the third edition of the Revised Statutes of the State of Neto York, we find that the maximum penalty is a fine of 300 dollars for each offence, with imprisonment not exceeding one year; but that the fine and imprisonment may be remitted on the masters of vessels taking back the convicts. This law, however, only applies to this state, and it would seem desirable to have a general law of Congress to prevent such rascals landing anywhere on our shores. It will be recollected that the inhabitants of the Cape of Good Hope rose in arms against the landing of a cargo of convicts conveyed from Bermuda in the same vessel which brought Mitchel], and the result was that she had to put to sea immediately and convey them to Australia. And shall we receive the prohibited reprobates of British society, who are too bad even for a British colony to permit to land? Nearly two years ago a freight of informers was smuggled here from Ireland, which created considerable excitement. It is to be hoped that no more convicts or informers from the old country will be permitted to land on our soil; or, if landed, that they will be forthwith despatched to the country from which they came.-— New York Herald.

The Sting of the Passport System. —What I write I write as a warning for the wives of England, that, if they do travel, they may take care and go abroad with their husbands. * * * * The Ambassador smiled a bit, and went on’writing. “There go my eyes upon the paper,” said I to myself, as he looked at me; and whether or no, I did feel ’em twinkle. “ And that’s my nose, I’m sure of it,” for it suddenly burnt so ; “ and that’s my mouth,” and I couldn't help smiling at the thought,—“ and that’s my complexion.”—for I felt a flush,—“ and that’s my hair ; and now I’m finished.” And having given my name, of couise I thought it was all over; when the Ambassador—as if he had been asking for the coolest thing in life • said, in a sort of English that even a poodle might be ashamed of—“ What is your age !”—“ What!” cried I, and they might have heard me in the street. —“ What is your age ?” said the Ambassador once more, twisting his ferret moustachioin such an aggravating way that I could have torn it off.— “ Well!” said I, “ what next ?” And that’s all he got out of me. —“ What is Madame’s age ?” said the Ambassador, beginning to laugh.—“ Whataquestion forapolite Frenchman !” said I, laughing too. “ Ask a lady’s age ! Well I’m sure !”—“ I must know Madame’s age,” said the Ambassador.—“lt’s like your impudence,” said I, “and you’ll know nothing of the sort.”—“Then Madame can’t go to France,” said the Ambassador, throwing down his pen.— “ What is it to France how old I am ? France is very curious. Per-

haps I’m five-and-twenty, said I.— Five-and-twenty,” cried the Ambassador, and where he learnt the words I can’t tell, suppose Madame, for sport, we go double or quits . —Mv blood did boil, but I contrived to say nothing—only to laugh.—“ Really, Madame said the brute, beginning to be gruff, , 1 must have your age.”—“ Well, then, sai I, throwing my veil quite back as if daring him to do his worst, “ as for my age, there s my face ; and take what you like out otthat. —The wretch laughed —wrote something and gave me my passport, which I did not look at, I was in such a passion, till I ed myself fairly in my room at home. Would you believe it? When 1 unfolded the passport, I saw within as my description,: “ Agile"— which is French for “ Aged. • But no, Mr. Punch, not even to you will I reveal the insult that’s been put upon me. Mrs. Amelia Mouser, in ‘ Punch.'