Untitled

Pahiatua Star and Eketahuna Advertiser, Volume 1, Issue 51, 3 December 1886, Page 4

*, Just throw roe half-a-dozen of the biggest of tli<»-« trout," a cili/en to a fish dealer. “ Throw them queried the dealer. “ Yes, and then 111 go home and tell uiy wife 1 caught ’em. 1 may he a poor fisherman, but I'm no linr.” The l’arihaka meeting this month (says tile Taranaki Herald) was a failure, and even the Maoris admit that to be a fact. It seems tlmt the I'arihaka natives are not so hospital as of old, and instead of supplying visitors with provisions free of charge now exact a small payment.

An entirely new vegetable is being introduced by a great Drench firm which is exciting soup.- interest. It is called cliorogi, and is a native of Northern Africa. It belongs to the mint family (botanical name Stuck)/* ajffinit). Its fleshy roots or tubers only are eaten, dressed like string beans or fried like fritters, and are said also to make an excellent pickle.

It is stated that the Corea visited the port of the Sandwich Islands, Malicolo, and llavonnah I lari sir in the Island of Sandwich, in each places the French military stations have been established. The force at each place, numbers about a hundred men. Any idea of leaving the Hebrides is regarded by the Frenchmen with amusement and laughter. A little boy bad done wrong, and was sent after parental correction, to ask the secret forgiveness of Ins Heavenly fnt Her. His offence had been passion. Anxious to hear what be hod to say, his mother followed to the door of his mom. In lisping accents she heard him ask to tie 1 letter, never to be angry again, and then with childlike simplicity, lie added, “ Lord make tna'l temper better too I" Alter much dallying anil hesitation the British War Office has decided to adopt the machine gun for the army. Threebarrelled Nordenfel Its, each weighing sixty pounds, slid tiring 400 bullets in one minute, and tivc-barn lied guns, of 140 |s>iinds, and tiring 000 rounds a minute, are to be sent to Egypt and India. The twelve.barrelled gun,that tires 1200 rounds a minute, IS bring experimented with.

Droitwich Church, which is one of the oldest in England, is to be pulled down, as a recent subsidence in the ground has caused the building to become undermined. This is the effect of the pumping for brine, which has so seriously depressed the soil in and about Droitwicli. The fine old tower of the church is of quite unknown age. It escaped the great tire of 12U8, which destroyer! most of the body of the structure.

A rumour h»s In-on current in the Wintod district recently (says the Southland Times) to the effect that a man with scant and tattered raiment is living in the bush ■n a barbaric state sustaining life on vegetation, boiling into the deep recesses of the forest and scrub at the approach of anyone, and generally conducting himself in the most approved “ Wild man o' the woods " style. The |iulire, however, have thoroughly searched the bust), ami have found no trace of such of an individual.

The snail harvest has recently begun in France. The “ poor man's oyster" is so appreciated in France that Baris alone consumes some 48 lons daily, the best coming from Grenoble or Burgundy. The finest s|iecitncns are carefully reared in a ctcarj/oticrr, or snailqwrk, such as the poor Ua| uchui monks planned in bygone days at Colmar and Mcinhach, w hen they had no money to buy food, and so cultivated snails. But the majority are collected by the vinedressers in the evening from the stone heaps where the snails have assembled to enjoy the dew.

According to a Nelson writer, at All Saints' Church, in that city, when the Bishop preached, the offertory from over 600 people came to XU 15s sd, or a trifle over H‘d each. The writer adds : Wijly, iws who gave initis in ii i “ 'bire mus U. ar . *ol ui i.., iii in Nelson.

Electricity is a recognised motive power now. A boat was profiled twice across the English Channel by stored electricity recently, and Lord Salisbury's wheat and oats were all threshed by electricity last season, the current being brought a distance of over a mile to the threshing machine. A successor to the lamented Jchn Brown has been found in the person of a Hindoo brass-worker from Benares. He was one of a delegation ihat called on the Queen recently at Osborne, and Her Majesty was so pleased with his ap-iH-arancc that she asked him to remain as her special body servant.

A widow married a young man, and her daughter married his father. By the widow's marriage with the son, she became her husband's grandmother, consequently great grandmother to a son, the issue of this marriage. Now, as the son of a great grandmother must be a grandfather, or great uncle, this boy must be bis own grandfather. The latest craze in America is pet alligators. They are taken when mere babies from their native swamps in the South and fetch from 1 to 2 dols. in New York. According to the New York World, a young lady in Lexington Avenue bns a fourteen-inch nlligator with a silver collar round its throat and a chain attached, who follows her like a [>et dog.

At a school examination ill Scotland one of the questions asked was, “ who signed the Magna Charta ?" No reply being given, the question was repeated. Still there was no answer ; when the examiner sternly demanded for the third time, who signed Magna Charta?” Upon this a little girl meekly called out, " i’lease, sir, it was na' me."

The art of shopping.—“ What's the price of this article V" inquired adiafold lady. " Seven shillings,” said the draper. ” Seventeen shillings t" she exclaimed; *' 1 will give you tliiiteen." “ Seven shillings,” replied the honest tradesman in a louder tone, “is the price.” “Oh ! seven shillings,” the lady sharply rejoined " I'll give you five." The railway returns published up to October shew that the revenue is less by the enormous sum of E'50,000 this year than it was last, and this in spite of the fact tliut 10 per cent has been added to the length of the line since last year's returns were made out. The time has come when some serious consideration must be given to the question of our railways, und the host mode of making them pay.

A few weeks ago a girl named Cham* hers died from puerperal fever in the Wanganui hospital, anil the Hospital Board sent in a bill for X"2'2 10s to the Auckland authorities for 15 days’ board. The Auckland [tap* rs have called attention to it as exorbitant, tint the secretary of the Wanganui Board states that in addition to twenty bottles of champagne and five bottles of brandy charged for, there were several dozen bottles of soda-water.

The New Plymouth Harbor Board has evidently gained (?) the confidence of the Bank of New Zealand, as at the last meeting of the Board, a resolution was carried, “That the Chairman he authorised to arrange with the Bmk for nil overdraft of X'tiOO and 'jive at teruritu the Hoard't cement at Motorua A lively sort of a position that for a Harbor Board to be placed in—better send the cement up to the manager, and ask him to put it in the strong room for a little while.—Exchange.

A correspondent of a contemporary points out thnt the undergraduate course of Miss Annie Forbes is unique in the annals of the Otago University, and, for a lady, is without a parallel. Going to tin- University as dux of the Girls' High School in 18H8, she gained the first junior scholarship of the New Zealand University for that year, and her college course of nine classes show six first-class certificates and three seconds. Six times she has been dux of her class, and as many times she lias received prizes.

One of the largest American manufacturing and exporting firms, writing by the lust mail to nn Auckland firm, gives the following forecast of business :—“ Business bus greatly improved in this country, with the prospect of a very great boom beginning with 1887. It probably will not reach its height until 1889. Everything indicates a commercial prosperity such as we have not known lor the last four years. We have more orders for the spring of 1887 than we have ever had in any previous year in our history at this date."

A dangerous lunatic named Guiseppi Cecine, a powerful man, 42 years old, has recently caused great excitement at Caralnlup, in Victoria, where he lived in a hut alone. He was in the habit of sallying out armed with an axe, and threatening violence to those who refused compliance w ith his demands. He recently stopped the driver of a horse und cart, uml demanded brandy and other articles, brandishing ail uxe and threatening to murder on refusal. Frequent complaints were made to the police, and every stratagem was used to effect the mail's arrest, but the efforts of the police were unsuccessful for some time. Eventually Cecine was cleverly captured and lodged in the lockup. His conduct in the cell was like that of a wild beast, and as lie was too dangerous to produce la-fore the magistrates they interviewed him through un aperture. l)rs Cunningham and ltobinson certified to his insanity, and an order was made out for tile mail's committal >o the Ararat Asylum.