MISCELLANEOUS.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 2, Issue 56, 26 October 1878, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

(From late European Paper.) A n**\v ir« melad of tin* Ajax tvpe Is to be laid down at Portsmouth Dookvanl in October. Romance is a thin" of (ho past. A Cook's excursion to t A prils is projected. Messrs. Spiers mid Pond nro said to bo anxious to obtain Abe control of (lie refreshment moms at New Ninevidi station on the projected Euphrates Valley line. Captain Sir (I. Nan s, who commanded the Alert in the late Arctic Expedition, has again been put in charge of the same vessel for special service. Miss lieckwith swain twenty miles in (lie Thames—from Westminster to a short distance beyond Richmond and back. She was in the water six hoursand twentyfive minutes. The cost of repairs of the German ironclad bluing Wilhelm at Portsmouth Dockyard amounted to AI :*()(>, which, considering the serious nature of her injuries, and the perfection of the work, certainly cannot bo doomed an extravagant sum. We learn from our Paris correspondent that a great deal of the moderation evinced by M. Gambetta in dealing with the Berlin Congress, and of the marked change in the tone of his organ, I,a Uepublhpie l''miienise,in treating the Anglo. Tnrkish Convention and the cession of Cyprus, is attributed there to the personal influence of the Prince of Walee, who entertained the great Republican chief at dinner recently, and bad several occasions for private conversation with him. 1 ho work of raising ('loop,aim's Needle is now steadily proceeding. Powerful hydraulic presses are placed under each end of tile great monolith, and ns these are worked every increase in the elevation ii secured by wedges of timber driven in, and afterwards by building up blocks of timber, so n,< to maintain the height gained. The obelisk is now I seveal lliehns above the pedestal, and! I when elevated to about thirty feet above I

. the machinery for suspending the :•. the centre will be brought .nt" requisition. Tli..-.- who delight to find »"precedent fur all the is of L rd Beaconsfield in some oneof his numerous novels will lind .. singularly appropriate passage in • t.\mingsbv," in which the hero, discoursing upon o scheme of government, declares thai tin ler such n s\ in i. ■ should have "no more ■ ' "' i: ' ; who never sawa liel I," " no ■ ■ *»■■ •• ignorant of theology," and "no nwro diplomatist* who could not speak French. ' This is the most remarkable example of personal allusion which har yet been iiiKtunced in and of l-ord Ucnconsticld's novels. (in Friday week tho River Wye wan poisoned in a most extraordinary manner. Shortly beforotivo o'clock adreut Western goods train arrived at tho Bnrtou Station from Worcester, and injonc of tho trucks was n covered-in tank tilled with creosote, which was discovered to be breaking. It was immediately detached from tho train and shunted ton siding. A few drains aru scattered about [the lino for the purpose of allowing the water to run [off, mid in a short time tho creosote poured through tin -ii into the Wye, killing [thousands of fish, including a large quantity of salmon. Theatrical business at Pompeii, which has been nt a standstill since tin' eruption of Vest)vis, a.n. 7'.', appears to be looking up, judging from the followingj.aniiounccment oi'Signor Lnigni —"After* lapse of more than IXOO years the theatre of this city will !)•■ re-opened with ' Ijii l''iglia del Rcggimcnt.' I solicit acontinuanco of tin' favour bestowed on my predecessor, Marcus Quiutus Martins,' andjbcgto assure the puhlie thatj shall make every effort toei|iial tho iaie qualities displayed