MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS.

Southland Times, Issue 1114, 26 February 1869, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS.

A curious application, having reference to the use of the title Esquire, was recently made to the county magistrates afc Canterbury. It seems that at a former sitting of the Bench the overseers put in their lists of persons qualified to serve as jurors, when exception was taken to a gentleman named Canon being described as an Esquire, and notice of such objection was sent him, according to law, to enable him to show cause against the proposed alteration. Accordingly, Mr Canon attended before the magistrates, and claimed the privilege of his original description, on the ground that he had once held the office of Sheriff for the city and county of Canterbury. Mr Canon quoted an authority, showing that the High Sheriff of a county outside Canterbury was entitled to be called an Esquire in perpetuity. The Magistrate's Clerk — "Yes: that is because he has been appointed to the office by the Queen, and has held her commission, but you received the honor from the town council of the city of Canterbury only." Mr Canon— 'But the High Sheriff of London is elected only- by freemen, and he claims to be called an Esquire." The Chairman said : the question was a difficult one, but as the Bench thought that no person not holding her Majesty's commission was entitled to be called an Esquire, and as Mr Canon could not show that he did so, although he held the office of Sheriff for Canterbury, hi 3 description would be altered from Esquire to. Gentleman, the effect of which will, be that he would be liable to be called' upon to serve as* petty instead of a grand juror.—' Court Journal.' : ■■-. :- . . ; The following is a sketch of Queem Isabella from one who is behind the scenes of her life : "When a triumphant revolution placed "dear herJatidMS spit* of her, one of the new men,, who, like Boland with Louis XVI., joined insolence to power, Isabella, under the mask of

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resignation, awaited a propitious hour to revenge with the malice of a woman the humiliation of a Queen. She granted an audience to these men, whom she disliked, #fade them wait, sent them back without having deett them, and then despatched an orderly offtcer, who ordered them to meet her in council 1 at a" 1 late bour of the night. When all business was over, the Queen read, chatted with her ladies, dictated letters to her secretaries, deciphered new music on the piano, tried a new set of jewels or a new dance, and went into the garden to play at ball or shuttlecock. After an evening at the Italian Opera, where she had listened to Tamberlik, she withdrew to her apartments, where she played music till two in the morning, took a light supper, went to bed late, and Tose late. Queen Isabella sings like an artiste, drives like a Koman Emperor, and rides like an amazon. The French Court, during its atay at \ Biarritz, indulged in a new description of ] sport A drive of ring doves is a novelty. At this season enormous flights of these bird 3 emigrate to France from Spain, and year after year take exactly the same course. The sportsmen of Sare, a small town beyond St Jean de Luz, are very cunning at this game, and planned the " battue depalombes" at which the Emperor, Empress, and Court assisted. The manner of proceeding is this : One side of the trees which borders the line of flight is occupied by boys with loud voices and white flags ; both of these are exercised as the doves are seen following their annual route, and the birds, being as innocent as sucking doves (which indeed, pei haps they are), always fly off in one direction, where a kite, in the shape of an eagle, is hovering, and where the net is set in sight of every pigeon. The flock, as soon as it perceives the sham bird of prey, decends, and then begins the slaughter. So stupid and frightened are the birds, that whole flights are killed or taken. Bombay Cathedral is now lighted with gas. The sparrows that frequent the place found the burners very convenient to build their nests in, and when on the first two Sundays the gas was fully turned on, the materials composing these nests ignited, and there were for a few minutes three or four small conflagrations that for a time looked dangerous, more especially as several sparks fell into the pews immediately under the burners. Here is an epitaph on one Captain Stone, which runs as follows : — Aa the earth the earth doth cover, So under thiß stone lies another. An Arab, named Syud Ahmud Mukhi, has just arrived in Lahore from Arabia, bringing with him a precious cargo of sundry articles, consisting principally of wearing apparel, which he declares to have belonged to Mahomet. Hundreds of wealthy and influential native gentlemen flock to his house to gaze upon these sacred relics of their prophet, paying various sums, averaging from one hundred rupees and upwards. The long expected volume of the Queen's book in Welch, " Dalenau o Ddyddlyfr ein Bywyd yn yr Jcheldircedd," has just appeared. The translator has been exceeding successful in his task ; the delightfully simple, familiar style adopted by the Royal authoress being well maintained throughout, and the book is entirely free from that stiffness which characterises many translated works.