MISCELLANEOUS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 66, 15 May 1869, Page 5

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Queen and Lord Brougham. —Lord Campbell states that Lord Brougham, having frequently censured theG-othic style of of the Houses of Parliament and, their architect, Mr. Barry, the Prince Consort thought to appease him by asking him to dine with the Queen. "He went and dined, but widened his breach with the Court, by leaving the palace immediately after dinner, instead of going with the rest of the gentlemen into the gallery, into which the Queen had retired with the ladies, and where she is in the habit of conversing with her guests. He afterwards tried to make amends by attending the Queen's drawing-room — a condescension he had not before practised since her accession — but here again he was unfortunate (although I really believe he wished to be civil and respectful) by speaking to the Queen ex tnero inotu as he passed her, and telling her that ' he was to cross over to Paris in a few days, where he should see Louis Philippe, and that if her Majesty had any letters or messages for the King of the French, it would give him much pleasure to have the honour of being the bearer of them.' Her Majesty declined, not entirely concealing her surprise at the offer."

A Meeting of Creditors Opened with Prayer. — An amusing story, says the " Ballarat Star," is told of a Gympie tradesman, who, finding it impossible to pay his creditors 20s. in the £1, "called them together, apparently determined to make up for the deficiency in cash by religious ceremony. Tradesmen and creditors accordingly met at the appointed hour, and having seated themselves, the latter waited patiently for some proposition who had called them together. That person made none, however, until some of the creditors appeared to be .getting impatient, when he calmly rose and in a grave manner said, " Gentlemen, I beg to move that this meeting be opened with prayer." Several of the number jumped up indignantly at what they thought to be a piece of impudence ; but one man, evidently fond of a joke even at the expense of his pocket, proceeded to say the orthodox grace, " For what we are going to receive,- the Lord make us truly thankful." The .story does not state the result of the meeting or the amount of the dividend.

It is said by the "London Times " that there are 200,000 people in New Zealand. In the Statesman's Year Book for the present year, the total number given is 172,000 m 1864 (when the enumeration took place). Of these 106,000 were males of European descent. Thus, while the Northern Island, Taranaki, Wellington, and Hawke's Bay contained 65,000 or 37 per cent, of the population, the Middle Island, comprising the Provinces of Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago, and Southland, included 106,000, or 62 percent. Thus all reasoning based on the general census in reference to the safety of the Northern Island and the power of the white population to repel the attacks of the natives, is illusive. Comprehended in one political denomination, they are separate in position. While the North attracts to itself the whole peril of a Maori war, the South may be unaffected by its ravages, and indeed be unable to render any effective aid.—" Sydney Morning Herald."

. Louis XIV. — It has been said that no man is a hero to his valet ; and all the world saw as much of Louis XIV. as his valet could see. Five hundred people assembled to see him shave and put on his breeches in the morning. He then knelt down at the side of his bed s and said his prayer, while the whole assembly awaited the end in solemn silence — the ecclesiastics on their knees, and the laymen with their hats before their faces. He walked about his gardens with a train of two hundred courtiers at his heels. All Versailles came to see him dine and sup. He was put to bed at night in the midst of a crowd as great as that which had met to see him rise in the morning. He took his very emetics in state, and vomited majestically in the presence of all the grandees and petites entrees. Yet, though he constantly exposed himself to the public gaze, in situations in which it is scarcely possible for any man to preserve much personal dignity, he to the last impressed those who surrounded him with the deepest awe and reverence. The illusions which he produced on his worshippers can be compared only to those illusions to which lovers are proverbially subject during the season of courtship. It was an illusion which affected even the senses. The contemporaries of Louis thought him tall. Voltaire, who might have seen him, and who had lived with some of the most distinguished members of his Court, speaks repeatedly of his majestic stature. Yet, it is as certain as any fact that he was rather below than above the middle size. He had, it seems, a way of holding himself, a way of walking, a way of swelling his chest and rearing his head, which deceived the eyes of the multitude. Eighty years after his death, the royal cemetery was violated by the Revolutionists ; his coffin was opened, his body was dragged out ; and it appeared that the prince, whose majestic figure had been so long and so loudly extolled, was in truth a little man of sft. 8in r

Getting over a Difficulty. — It is the custom in Mexico for the Church to require a foreigner, wishing to marry a native, to bring proof that he is not already a married man. "A Scotchman, about to marry a senorita of very good family, was required to furnish the proof of his being a bachelor. Not finding any of his countrymen who knew him sufficiently well to testify to this fact, he determined to supply the deficiency with the oath of a native. Meeting a Mexican in the street whom he had never seen before he proposed to him that he should swear to his being unmarried, for the consideration of five dollars. The senor after a moments consideration, told him to get down on his hands and knees and creep about. Not exactly understanding what he was at, the Scotchman obeyed, much to the detriment of his unmentionables. The Mexican then told him he was all right;he would swear that he had known him since the time he crawled !

A Thoughtful Boy. — A certain Sunday-school teacher was in the habit of making a collection in his juvenile class for missionary objects. He was not a little surprised one day to find a counterfeit shilling among the coppers; and on asking the class who put it there, the donor was pointed out to him by one who had seen him deposit it. " Didn't you know that this was good for nothing ?" said the teacher. " Yes,"" answered the boy. " Then what did you put it in the box for?" The boy coolly replied, "I didn't s'pose the little heathens would know the difference ; so I thought it would be just as good for them."