BITS FROM BOOKS.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 8, Issue 28, 5 April 1907, Page 8

BITS FROM BOOKS.

I have brought myself by long mcditaHoj to the conviction that a human being with i settled purpose must accomplish it, and tla nothing c'an resist a will that will strike evei existence for its fulfilment.- Lord Beaeovsjield The Custom of "Toasting."—The cus torn of "toasting" our favourites appears tf have had its rise in the reign of Charles II Dr. Johnson observes that the meaning o the word at its first use was "a celebrated woman whose health is often drunk;" anc the reason of her being so termed may be found in the "Tatler," which says:-" I: happened that on a public day a celebratec beauty of these times (King Charles II.) was ii the Cross Bath, at Bath, and one of the crowc of her admirers took a glass of the water ii which the fair one stood and drank hei health to the company. There was in tin place a gay fellow half-fuddled, who offeree to jump in, and swore, though he liked no the liquor, he would have the toast. H< was opposed in his resolution, yet this whin gave foundation to the present honour whicl is done to the lady we mention in our liquor who has ever since been called a * toast.'" The Casual Action of Design.—Desigr is a cause which is made known to us in om consciousness as possessing a peculiarit) which sharply distinguishes it from.even physical cause known to man; for it calls tin future and the non-existent into an idea existence, and then selects and adapt present phenomena, so shaping them thathey must co-operate for a result which a: yet has no local habitation in nature. Out own experience thus gives us a clue to e. plain the enigma, "How can a future whicl does not yet exist influence the present ?' The explanation being, that though it doe? not yet exist physically, it has already an ideal existence in the mind. Now, nature teems with complicated adaptions, in which it appears as if the future had in this wa> influenced the present. The eye, with it; wonderful machinery, with its innumerable and exquisitely delicate adaptations for the reception of light, is "made in secret," and fashioned in darkness, where no ray of lii-.ht can as yet come near it. The car, while it is being shaped and moulded, is quite cut off from the vibrations of air for the reception of which its complicated machinery V in process of construction. These arc'iuii among millions of the processes of naiu:-> which reveal the same characteristic Natural Theolot/y and Modern Tlioimlt. !••. J. Houghton Kennedy, B.D. Treatment of SiiEErScAr.-A r ; .-.-uri , arsenical djjp in France is given bv Neumrir, Arsenic, 2£lb.; sulphate of iron, ?jll>.; wnie, 22 gallons. Boil for (en minutes. Tin mixture is enough for ioo sheep, jhe ms' phate of iron is used on account of ils asti in gent action preventing the absorption of i). arsenic. The iron imparts a nv.,ty ,- ; !..i; to the wool. An equal quantity of aim. may be used in place of the iron, if ,-i astringent is thought to be necessary. Alu: is also added in some cases to discountthe sheep from biting or licking the skin, \m, thus getting the arsenic into the system. Carbolic acid dips are made bmixing the acid with soap, or gelatine, or a'; alkali, as soda or potash, to cause it to com bine readily with water. A useful prepaid tion is made by dissolving soap in common carbolic acid, about alb. to each gallon v< acid, and then adding a pint of turpentine This mixture may be used in the proportior of one in fifty of soft water, and if pDreW, made it should form a milky fluid \viif, water, without leaving any brown scum o>. the top. Salving or dressing with dilutee mercurial ointment is by some preferred t< dipping, and forin-lambeues.that treatu.eu; is certainly more safe. Some skill is require.; to divide the wool and distribute the ointment equally, so that a sheep propcrl) salved should show very little trace of the ointment on the fleece,— The Field. Transmission of Eggs for Hatching.An account appeared in the Stock!wq,cr i.l.i long since of an experiment in which twe sittings were forwarded to Sydney. The system of packing adopted was that the eges were greased with mutton fat, and then wrapped separately in sheets of tissue paper, after which they were firmly embedded in sawdust in a wooden case, which arrived safely, not one egg being broken. The eggs were placed in an incubator immediately'on arrival, and though several contained qpaipns when tested, none hatched. The greasing the eggs, so as to close up the pore* of the shell by which the air necessary to support the life of the chicken alone can gain entrance, cannot be regarded as a satisfactory proceeding. Had the eggs been packed ii. an earthenware jar, so as to prevent loss oi weight by evaporation, better results might have been anticipated; but even then success is doubtful. I should imagine that good results could more readily be achieved (at least, in a voyage that was not of too extended a duration) by taking on board a very docile broody Cochin hen, placing her in a nest that could be swung,'' and allowing her to incubate during the voyage—timin? the proceeding so that the chicks would hatch about the time of arrival, says Mr Tegetmeir. The nest would have to be made on a turf base, which could be dampen daily. The plan appears to offer a chance of success, but whether the game would be worth the candle is not at all certain.

America.—The late Archbishop Trench, in that most interesting and instructive book " On the Study of Words," points out that occasionally a name will embody and give permanence to an error. Thus, " turkeys" are not from Turkey, as their name seems to say, and as was assumed by those who imposed that name, but from the New World, where alone they are native. With regard to America, or the New World, we know that it was discovered by Christopher Columbus; yet this discovery, rather the honour thereof, was ascribed to another eminent discoverer, one who had no title to this honour, even as he was entirely guiltless of any attempt to usurp it, for, himself. The discoveries of Columbus gave rise to jealousies in the minds of many Spaniards.;, one of his bitterest foes was Bishop Fonsica, who, after the return of Columbns with the news of his great discovery, was appointed superintendent of Indian affairs. This man, instead of being a help to the discoverer, did his utmost to deprive him of his well-earned honours. He showed to others the private letters of Columbus to the Sovereigns of Spain, and allowed them the benefit of the charts and maps of the route by which Columbus had made his discovery. One such adventurer who gained such use and benefit of the labours of Columbus was Ojeda, who fitted out four ships at Seville, assisted by many eager and wealthy speculators. Among the number was the celebrated Americo Vespucio, a Florentine merchant, who was considered well acquainted with geography and navigation. This pedition sailed in 1499, and in thirty-seven days reached America. Vespucio returned to Spain the same year, and an account of his voyage was published, and his name was given to the continent at the suggestion, it is said, of the publisher of the narrative. Now the discovery, as made by Columbus, has been kept a State secret; but the perfidious bishop, for his own ends, revealed the facts to friends and friendly adventurers. In 1507 a popular work on geography was published, and Americo Vespucio's name was given to the new continent. This error became embodied in, as well as permanency given to, th« word A rrKV" UH m

To oure rheumatism, gout, soiatica, and lumbago the excess poisonous urio acid must be removed. Eheomo will quiokly and permanently do this. All chemists and stores. 2/6 and 4/6 par bottle. Just try it

CROWN AM) 61.~i i.'.ii

The King of Greece has made $6,000,000 in speculation on the London 'Change. The Czarewitch during his recent Indian .cur required no less than thirty tongas or arts for his luggage, and about 300 pairs of ponies to draw the same impediments. The fondness of the Empiess of Germany for old and quaint places is well known, and she has succeeded in persuading the Emperor to declare the Potsdam new palace his official residence for a period of two years. The Hamburg firm with which Captain John Orth (Archduke Johann) insured the Santa Margherita has placed the insurance, 858,000, at the disposal of his executor All hope of him and his ship has been abandoned.

Russian journals report that since their marriage the Grand Duke Michael Mekailovitch and his wife, the Countess de Merenberg, have taken the name of Count and Countess of Love. This romantic appellation is the literal translation of the name ol the Romanoffs.

No fewer than seven portraits of the German Emperor are being painted by three artists in Berlin. One of these portraits, in which the Emperor is represented in hunting costume, is intended to be a present to Queen Victoria, and will be hung in the private apartments at Windsor. The King of Spain, who has just turned five years of age, recently posed for his statue. When the sculptor, M. Querol, at last hit upon a pose for the youthful sovereign to appear in marble, the youngster said to him, "And, above all things, please make me a great, tall fellow with a long moustache."

The Grand Duchess Stefanie is said to look surprisingly young—not more than twenty —and would be very handsome but for her insignificant eyes. Her complexion is oil rose leaf loveliness. She has given up her " weeds," and a dress recently worn by he,r was of gray, with a girdle of silver. Stfft pink roses were in the hat.

HOW ROMAN CRIMINALS WERB PUNISHED.

Some of the punishments solemnly jprfeecribed by the old Roman law, on which oufr own has to a certain extent been founded strike us modern readers as being somewbaj absurd. Those old lawgivers probably very well what particular punishments were most appropriate to the timesandcondltlon& in which they lived, but judged solely from a modern standpoint they appear often to have gone strangely wide of the mark, inflipft ing in some cases the most trivial penalty for the grossest crime, and punishing what seems to us a lighter offence with extreme and even barbarous severity. For instance, we have merely a fine inflicted for breaking the bone of a free man, a civ is Eomanus, of whose sacred character the world heard so much. So that a wealthy man could order his retainer to break an enemy’s head with comparative impunity, offering him as legal amends a small amount of money,* thefeby, according to our notions, merely,, adding insult to injury, On the other hand, it is supposed that anyone who was convicted of injuring crops by means of enchantment h§d to suffer the death penalty. Anyone who burnt a stack of corn was to be boifna, beaten, and himself burnt—a pretty direct form of retribution, and one emineritly"calculated to prevent the commission of a second offence. A thief taken in tjje act must be beaten with rods, and given over as a slave to the person whom he had rpbbed. If he were already a slave, he must first be beaten and then thrown from the rock. _ On the other hand, if a thief were so ingenious and such a practised hand as to be able to effect his escape, he was only condemned, when subsequently tracked by the Scotland yard authorities of the period, to pay twice the value of the thing stolen. One of the strangest punishments under the old Roman law was that awarded to a parricide. His head was to be veiled, he was to be sewn up in a sack with a cock, a viper, and an ape, and this sackful of misery was then thrown into the river Tiber. THE TROTTING HORSE. Secretary Fasig of the Cleveland track says regarding the American trotting horse: The trotting horse is an American citizen, needing no naturalization papers or introduction. For general use and business he is, next to man, God’s noblest creation. The draft horse can pull, the thoroughbred run; neither can trot; neither is adapted to the general business of mankind; one is a slow slug, the other treacherous and flighty—a gambling machine; whereas the trotting-bred horse can pull your plow, he can run as fast as is ever necessary in business, and he can make you grow young with the pleasure he affords in a 1 spin’ down the smooth stretch of road on your way home—such a 1 spin l that opens your heart, makes you pat the baby on the head, furnishes a kind word and a loving kiss for your wife, instead of that desire to kick your dog after a slow, work-your-passage-with-the-whip ride behind a dunghill beast. What is the trotting horse but a thoroughbred or race horse ? The more thoroughbred blood in him usually the better the trotter. _lt is true there have been good trotters of mixed blood. Thoroughbred trotters or grades of them have no legitimate place on the farm. He is not the proper horse for a business man to drive or to take ladies and children, out for a ride. Nearly everything tricky, vicious, balky and skittish that is mean in our horses comes from the thoroughbred blood in the modern American trotter. Yet the genuine thoroughbred is an angel compared with his cross-bred descendants. These as a rule drop every desirable attribute of their ancestors except perhaps the trot, and conserve and improve in the bad traits. Let the horse gamblers keep the racers and trotters for their own special use and get their own necks broken if they wish. There never was a good serviceable thoroughbred horse except for sport. Even for war they are useless. The French, the best cavalry and carriage horse breeders in the world, found they had no use for thoroughbred blood, The horses for work, for business,jfdr the carriage, the saddle and safety, are tne old specialised European breeds for these pur poses. The French coach horse is the best safe roadster. He does not spurt at 2.20 for a short distance, but he can “spin" fast enough all day and repeat next day. He is also a beauty to look at, handsome from muzzle to heels, and not a slab-sided, yew necked, spindle legged monstrosity like the thoroughbred. He is a domesticated pet, knows his business, safe, true, sagacious* with almost human intelligence. He has been bred for centuries for man’s special use with all bad faults and points eliminated! He is not a wild savage horse lately from the desnrt, trained by, and for a savage man like the Arabian, as is the thoroughbred The same is true of draft horses and other special breeds of Europe of centuries standing The English hunter is a special bred modern horse and a fairly good animal, but not safe simply owing to his thoroughbred blood.

Cockney Buss.—Two Cockney mashers went one Sunday for a quiet walk, with all their senses keenly alive to the novel impressions of Nature. Suddenly one of them came upon a well-known elder tree covered with its large white umbels In full bloom. Starting with delight, he exclaimed, "Hey, Jim! look here; aren't this grand ? I never raw cauliflowers a-growing beforel" Many have testified Rhecmo has permanently cured them from rheumatism, etc., after all other remedies had failed. All chemists and stores. 2/6 and 4/6,