GENERAL NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8046, 7 February 1906, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS.

The first pawnbroking establishment wai Opened in Bavaria in 1198. London did not have one till 1301. • • « At Washington recently the Secretnry tor the United States Navy signalled* round the World in seven seconds. When potatoes were first introduced in Germany they were lor a long time, like to tnatoes, cultivated merely as a curiosity, Tho first person who notifies tlie medical officer ot health, of Uudderslield of the birth of a child is rewarded with a shilling. This is done so that the oHiccr may send tho mother printed advice as to the best treatment for young children.

A brown Ceylon stamp Hd., 1835-5'J, wag recently sold for £7 ss. ; at tho same time a sc. British Columbia, IWiS, rose, with large margins on three sides, obtained £l3 10s. ; and a sc. Antioquia, isfis, green, post-umrked went for £llss.

Quintain survives only in the village of OHham Green, in Kent. It is so named from an instrument usod in tilting on horseback with the lance. It consisted of an upright post, surmounted by a crossbar turning on a pivot, which had at one end a flat board and at the other a bag of sand. The object of the tilter was to strike the board at such a rate of speed that he would be passed and out of the way before tho bag of sand, as it whirled round, could hit him in the Dack.

A worn silver coin is often tho subject of much speculation as to its age and period. It is quite possible, however, to read an inscription on a worn coin. Put the poker in the fire, and when red-hot place thecoin upon it, and the inscription will appear plainly, greenish in hue, and disappearing as the coin cools. This device originated from the Mint in the beginning of the nineteenth century, and was practised in order to discover genuine coins.

There is quite a large literature upon the Subject of church bells. But amongst all the descriptive poetry which has been composed upon the subject, there are no lines so correctly set forth the three chief bell functions as the following which are set forth at Durham: To call the folks to church in time, We chime. ■When mirth aud joy are on the wing, We ring. When from the body parts the soul, We toll.

President Roosevelt has been shooting with a large party near Frederick, Oklahoma, and there killed no less than eighteen wolves, the skins of which will be sent to Washington as trophies of the hunt. Special precautions are taken to ensure the President's safety ; there is a track walker at every mile on the line taken by the sposial train. One is a little astonished at hearing this is the "Land of the Free," but it shows that no ruler seems to be exempted fiom the fear which is tho unwelcome attendant on the peat ones of the earth.

In southern California there is a basin of land between MO and 300 feet below sea-level About 1,000 acres of the depressed area are covered with a deposit of salt, which is one of the sites of California. The salt is first thrown into ridges by a peculiarly shaped plough, drawn by an engine with cables, and is then piled into conical heaps before being carried to the drying-house and crushing-mill The expanse looks like a field of snow. About 2,000 tons of salt are removed each year.

The caretaker of some residential flats at Balham found a profitable use for his cat by letting it out on hire to those tenants whose rooms were infested with mice. The charge for pussy's services was two shillings a week, and as there were twenty-four occupants of the block under the caretaker's charge, and apparently plenty of mice, the cat was kept constantly employed. This novel idea opens up a new vocation for cats, especially for caretakers' cats, if they happen to be good mousers.

In some parts of the Tyrol a beautiful though curious custom prevails. When a girl is going to be married, and just before she leaves for the church, her mother gives her a handkerchief which is called a tearkerchief. It is made of newly-spun and unused linen, and with it the girl dries the natural tears she sheds on leaving home. The tearkerchief is never used after the marriage day, but is folded up and placed in the linen closet, where it remains till its owner's death when it is taken from its place and spread over her dead face.

A very clever method of remitting money from far-off Alaska has been discovered by a gold digger, He sent the following letter to a London firm recently: " Gentlemen,—Enclosed you will find an envelope, which you will tear up in small pieces and place in a glass of water. Let Bland for an hour, then stir and drain off idlowly; add moic water, and drain, and yuu will find 30 grains of gold, for which you will send me a stylographie pen wrapped up in late newspaper." The gold thus obtained realised 5b., and the stylo was duly forwarded.

The famous bead of the Japanese Army, Marquis Oyama, who is a celebrated thot was Inst taught by the American Horace Fletcher. Mr. Fletcher had published a pamphlet on the subject, which the marquis read. Not long after the two met, and Mr. Fletcher oli'ercd to instruct the Minister of War, as Oyama then was. Ho proved such an efficient teacher, and thepupi! so apt, that beiow long the marquis was able to hit, not only the bultseye, but moving objects His delight when he tirsthit a teacup thrown iuto the air was so great that he capered about shouting like an excited schoolboy.

The custom of bottling tears is peculiar to the people of Persia. There it constitutes an important part of the obsequies of the dead. As the mourners are sitting round and weeping, the master of ceremonies presents cnch with a piece of cotton wool or sponge with which to wipe away the tears. Thte cotton wool or sponge is then put into a buttle, and the tears are preserved as a powerful and efficacious restorative for those whom every other medicine has failed to revive. It is to this custom that allusion is made in the Psalms—" Put thou my tears into thy bottle." Spencer says: "A penitent's tear is an undeniable ambassador, and never returns from the throne of grace unsatisfied."

'Jlii'v is a "house (if call" in lCgmout j.slrect, ijtiilu of the Continental ]> ,m. Al the Arcadia Cigar Store, a. man can enjoy his cigarette or pipe >n a cosy sitting-room, write a letter or two. play liis game of chess or draughts, and then continue his business. Here, the morning pajer. the "Daily News," and the Wellington "Tillies" can lie purchased with the early morning smoke, lv Va Ih'ldcn, the proprietor, has a hihlu ii it I'lul nly. Call ill.- Advt.