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Poverty Bay Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1306, 10 April 1883, Page 3

During the excavations in connection with the construction of the new drainage system . of Brentford, England, a large number of ‘ antiquated horses shoes of various shapes were found embedded in the gravel at a depth of : Bft. Antiqusries suppose that they are the j shoes of the cavalry horses which took part in the battle fought at Brentford in 1642 aur- ! ing the war with Charles I. and the Parlia- j mentary party. Some of them are completely . eaten through with rust and surrounded with ' calcareous matter. A number of old coins ■ have also been discovered during the progress i of the same works. Ata funeral in Gundagai (N.S.W.) rc- | cently, the undertaker was in such a beastly state of intoxication that he fell off the hearse, ' and the wheels passed over bis body; and • when the coffin was being lowered into the | grave the same man nearly fell in after it, ■ and generally conducted himself in «uch a manner as to bring remonstrance upon him. Another circumstance that enlivened the monotony of this “sweet sweet thing in funerals ” was the discovery that the key of the cemetery w-as missing, and the fence had to be broken to admit the mourners. All this woald have, generally speaking, been -annugh trouble :J>ut pot so. When the clergyman used the words,Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” in the beautiful'service for the burial of the dead, a thoughtless, unfeeling bystander picked up the largest clod of earth he could find, and deliberately threw it on the coffin, and cracked the lid. ° Do, for gracious sake, waiter, take those nutcrackers over to that man,” exclaimed a nervous old lady sitting opposite to a party who was cracking nuts with his teeth. “No thank you,” politely returning them : “mine are not false teeth.” At a recent lecture given at Rathesay, by the Rev. Dr. Roseby, he explained at length • the movements of comets, illustrating his re- • .marks by numerous diagrams and models, and . showed the mode by which calculations were ! .made of the distance, size, and rate of speed these bodies. Be alluded also to the re- ; cent comet of 1882-3, touching upon the most . noteworthy points in connection with it. Its ■ movement was retrograde, and the remark- i able feature about its visis was the very small j perihelion distance which it attained. It ■ made an exceedingly near approach to the ; sun, actually rushing through the cometary I and meteoric matter which we know to surround that body, On the 17th of last Sept., its distance from the sun’s actual disc was not more than 100,000 miles. Dr. Roseby then confirmed the opinion generally expressed as the result of recent observations, as to the improbability of the comet’s return. It was retreating in a curve which, so far as at present could be Bfien 5 would be prolonged indefinitely. We hope that before long we may be able to write the same about the “ Assassination Committee” as the “ Pall Mall Gazette” does of the “ Mollies” in America “ The Republic took five years tu unroot the “ Mollies j” but it executed absolutely the whole of the actual murderers of the bloodstained gangs, with a patience and sleuth* hound perseverance as remarkable as successful. Some of the murderers were tracked down and hanged fully seven years after their crimes, ana the organisation never re= appeared in the States, as its entire workings were known to the authorities, and pre\ entire measures replaced the drastic retribu- : tion that broke it up.” A novelexcuse for not residing on his de-ferred-payment section was recently given by a young man in the Tuapeka district. When*brought to book by the ranger, he seriously told the official that he was so •• nervous ” that he could not lead a solitary life on his farm ; so he had packed up hts personal property, and was living with his brother on a neighboring farm. The unsentimental members of the Land Board do not ► look upon this excuse as sufficient to meet the requirements of the Act, and they have officially called upon the nervous selector to show cause why his license should not be cancelled. We have reason to believe, however, that the Board will suggest, (unofficially, of course) that a matrimonial venture would overcome the difficulty. No doubt the eligible young ladies of Tuapeka will be sufficiently tender-hearted to attempt to save this timid young man from the dire consequences of his nervousness, which threatens the possession of a fine agricultural section and some very substantial improvements. The ladies, however, must lose no time, as the Board has only given the nervous one a fortnight to show cause.— Dunedid Guardian. ‘ A great deal has been said and written of late about the abstemiousness of our sailors in the Royal Navy. The following tends to prove that “ Jack’s” abstinence is to be attributed rather to compulsion than choice •• A most discreditable affair has occurred on board the hired transport Lusitania, which had arrived at Portsmouth from Egypt. A * party of about forty seamen were sent on board to assist in unloading, and several of them gained access to the spirit room. They broached a cask of porter, one of ale, and one of rum, and partook recklessly of the contents until nearly the whole of them became insensible and speechless. Guards were obtained, who conveyed them to the flagship, where eight of them were found to oe so dangerously ill that for a long time their lives were despaired of. Three naval surgeons remained the whole night with them, and it was only by continued applications and incessant care that they recovered. A strict inquiry will be held into their conduct ” Tor Continuation of News see fourth Page