MISCELLANEOUS.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 116, 30 November 1858, Page 4

MISCELLANEOUS.

California Life Illustrated. —This is effectually dono in a'narrative of the adventures of Father Taylor, one of those devoted Methodist preachers who are to be found evry where on the outskirts of civilisation, pushing forward the work of religion. He went to California in 1849, spent seven years in missionary labors, preaching anywhere in the street, in a miner's shanty, on the top of a wood pile or a whiskey barrel, whenever he could find an audience. Subsequently he engaged in building and conducting a Bethel for sailors. This was destroyed by fire, and he was not only reduced to beggary, but involved several thousand dollars in debt. He returned to the Atlantic States to endeavor to earn means to pay it, but was prostrated at the outset by a long and severe attack of rheumatism^ One misfortune followed another, until he found himself^starving in a.garret in Now York, with the dead body of his child, and without money enough to buy a coffin. Some friends found and helped him, and encouraged him to write a book. He did so, and it was published, and had a fair sale, tinder the title of "Seven Years' Street Preaching."

His House is Desolate. —Lately, says the Trinity Journal, a miner's cabin on East Weaver Creek was burned down. It was" not a very palatial house, but it was his own, and he had planted trees and vines about the door, under whose grateful shadows he meant to rest when the penalty of labor hung heavy weights on the extremities of pick and shovel. Now the charred logs are scattered about, the trees are dead, the young vines torn and tangled, the flowers trampled to death, and we know that man's heart is heavy when he comes home at night to cook his supper by the tumbled down chimney. If it had been Gov. Weller's residence that had been burned, the sad intelligence would have blazed along five hundred miles by telegraph, and the newspapers would have been filled with lamentation; but as it was only a miner's cabin, nobody makes a fuss about it, and none visit the ruins but the owner's dog and fowls which peer dubiously about, not comprehending clearly the exact state of things. But never mind ! Other trees and vines can be planted; a nice house will soon be built; our brown sparrow is hatching in,a bush, close by, and before long she and her brood will hop about his camp, houseless' too, but rejoicing in the glad sunshine that gilds the grand walls of Nature's temple.-— San Francisco Times.

Commissariat of Xiyerp^.-^lmagine oxen, sheep, calves, and pigs extending in one unbroken line of five abreast for 70 miles, or from Liverpool to Stafford, and this is pretty nearly Liverpool's annual consumption of beef, mutton, pork, and veal: place these animals hi single file, and Liverpool de- r yours every day a mile of this great line. The produce of 500 acres, yielding a fair average crop of wheat, is scarcely sufficient to keep the town in bread for 24 hours; lit demands 15 tons of sugar per day, and will be satisfied with no less, while nearly a ton of tea is daily put into its teapots; its daily allowance of tobacco for smoking, snuffing, and chewing is about half a ton; the monster drinks 17 hogsheads of spirits every day ] or about one hogshead for every waking hour of its existence; and if all the

barrels of beer which it empties between the Ist of January and the.last day of December were placed end to end, they would reach from Liverpool to Birmingham. Holidays.—A. very new view of holidays has recently been taken, arid it is rather edifying. It is hsld that bankers' clerks,' cashiers, and others in situations of trust,' are not only entitled to occasional relaxation, but ought.to.be compelled to absent themselves for a time, now and then, from their place of business, because thus much fraud may be prevented. While a fraudulent person is on the spot, and vigilant,- he can keep his irregularities safe, but if you send him away to Southend or Herne Bay you. break the threads of his plots,-''and hei is pretty sure to be found out. So now a clerk who wants.a holiday seems to have, a new and a proud claim to one. " I should like, Sir,, to have a little sea air," will henceforth mean."Examine my books, compare my balances; I am totusteresatquerotundus" And a man never taking a holiday—always a bad sign—will now he almost "enough to warrant a call for A 198.~Ittii$trdte(i News. -'■■/.-■■-■''. ■■■■. A Dreadful ;; Iwci^ew^.—Near a corner of Washington and Franklin1 streets, lately^ iWe noticed a man whistling for his dog1. There was nothing remarkable in this, to be sure, but that which next attracted our attention might have been considered interesting, inasmuch as it caused many people to laugh. There was a young lady in the enjoyment of very voluminous hoops, who appeared to be indulging a terpsichorean entertainment of the St. Vitus order. But a decided commotion below soon told the story of her sufferings, and various were the means for relief that she adopted. At length she gave a sudden jump forward, whereupon the lost dog appeared, and passed down the street with hi 3 owner, evidently highly gratified at regaining his freedon.— Boston Post. ........ „.. A day or two last summer Dr. Guthrie was fishing on the estate of Lord Panmure, where he is always welcome; but, on this occasion, his Lordship; finding him at his favorite sport, accosted him with an unwonted demand. " Doctor," said he, "I've a small account for rent; you've never paid me any rent for this fishing." " Well," replied the doctor, "how much does it come to ■?" " Oh," said his Lordship, " I'll compound with you. You shall-preach metwo sermons: one to my people down here, and the other next year in London, in any chapel 1 shall appoint." The bargain was struck, and to this little conversation, as we are told, is London indebted for the visit of the great Edinburgh preacher.— Patriot. The Legal .Estimated Value of a Kiss.—Important to Ladies.-—Mayo v. Santulano. —This was an action in the Westminster County Court, brought by Amelia Maria Mayo, described as an infant, and suing by her next friend, William Warter, her uncle, to recover from defendant, a master tailor, 1 Marylebone-street, Golden-square, the sume of £5 5s as damages for an assault. The plaintiff, seventeen years old, said: I was residing with my uncle and aunt in the house of the defendant, where they lodged. I passed through the kitchen from fetching some water, when defendant put his arms around my neck, and said " Give me a kiss," pushed me in the corner against the dresser, and assaulted me. I I screamed and told Ellen to fetch Mrs. Santulano; when she was going away seemingly for that purpose he left me.—By Mr. Davis: Defendant never behaved so rudely to me before, though he had often said he would like to kiss me (laughter), and attempted to cuddle me (renewed laughter). Other people might have said they would like to kiss me, and no doubt they would (laughter).--Ellen Osborn, nursemaid, in defendant's service, said she recollected the morning of the alleged assault, when defendant put his arms around plaintiffs shoulders, saying, "Kiss me, my maid." She was then leaving the room, and saw nothing further.—The defendant, in reply, most positively denied ihe accusation. He was a married man, and his wife was an Englishwoman, who was the mother of five children. The plaintiff was such a nuisance, playing with and tickling his workmen in the shop adjoining the kitchen spoken; of, that he had given the relatives noticer to quit; but it was not till he was actuary obliged to turn them out that afterwards these proceedings were vindictively taken. Most of his journeymen had kissed the maid; but he being a married man, how could he ? (Laughter.) His Honor observed that he never heard of a similar action being brought. The kiss had not been fully proved, although a slight touch of the shoulders might have been. That, however, was only a common assault. Judgment for one shilling.

Facts for the Teet6talkrs.~T?rom a, return moved for by Mr. John Locke, and just published, it appears last .^year-there were in the United Kingdom 2416 brewers, 92,065 victuallers, 39,789 persons licensed to sell beer, (to be drunk on the premises), and 2665 licensed to sell beer not to,be drunk on the. premises. The number of victuallers brewing their own beer wat 25,026. The number of bushels of malt consumed by the brewers was 25,965,000, by victuallers 7,334,000., and by persons licensed to sell beer 3,153,000 bushels.