MISCELLANEOUS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 238, 22 August 1872, Page 8

MISCELLANEOUS.

. At the present- time" the 'following extract from an American paper 1 Imay be' useful :— A ' "Western paper whose subscription iratjr fra'OuileTexrfi^ the evil of 'sayfc :~" lsesder ! if you have borrovijed_ the.papef'yon. are" reading, don't do $ again. Sub? scribe. It isn't safe to bqrrow papers. We once, knew a:poor, 'but honest man, who borrowed apajw, innocently [ and inadvertently, ifrbnu &r hitherto wholesome neighbour. ' Fata; act, That terrible contagion, -iihe ' iamaHpox, was conveyed irisidiou&ly- in the fibres of that sheet. Of that extensive and interesting family, tv dating father, a fond wife, several intellectual and heroic sons, thirteen-- lovely daughters, two popular mothers in-> law, and three .beautiful aunts — not one remained to tell the tale." King Bunkum the First, of Fiji, recently gave*. an*Tnstance of that noble self-will which seems peculiar to colored royalty, as well as to- that of fairer complexions. A deputation* composed of the cream of the heat* monde, waited upon his most gracious Majesty, and modestly requested him forthwith to dismiss his trusty and well-beloved constitutional advisers, whose enduring affection for the " refreshing dew of the treasury " had been a source of much personal annoyance and inconvenience to sundry "waiters on providence," who, like Micawber, bad long been expecting that '• something might turn up " to crown their hopes of official bliss. Amongst other patriotic arguments, it was urged that if those adhesive mortals stuck much longer to office, it would inevitably " ruin the country." To this King Bunkum, putting on a look of unutterable dignity, replied, " If, as you say, the country will be ruined by their action, I am already, to stands upon the issue, and also be ruined." The sublimity of his Majesty's magnanimity in thus graciously volunteering to be ruined- will be better appreciated when it is borne in mind that (exclusive of the stock of yams in the royal larder) the royal revenue, was fixed by the Constitution, amounts to the enormous sum of £0,000,000 sterling per annum. The deputation having most humbly ex-, pressed their heartfui gratitude .for his Majesty's condescending courtesy, retired in good order, though not in good spirits, at the result of their mission. Verily are Fun and Fiji fast becoming synonymous terms. — "Sydney Punch," April 11. A merchant of Hamburgh has purchased the Great Eastern for the purpose of converting it into a floating lodging-house for emigrants. The Wagga " Express " states that a singular and almostmnparalled freak of natnre, in the shape of an animal with no less than seven heads, nine tails and eleven legs, and covered with wool resembling the hair of a goat, has. recently being lambed by one of the ewes on the Tonko run, in that district. The following highly probable yarn is from the " Sydney Morning Herald:" — "The craving for food by the helpless young has in many cases been known to prompt kittens and whelpa to take milk from very different genera of the mammalia ; but one of the most extraordinary incidents of this nature is related to have occurred lately in, Sydney. The -circumstance has- no. such features as would render publicity objectionable, and the authenticity of the subjoined statement is vouched by the husband of the woman referred to. Mrs. Byrnejjs.a married woman, residing in Devonshire-street, Sydney^ her husband, a native of the colony t being well-known in- the metropolis. Some months ago-she bore twinsj one of which died, and the^uryiving infani (now about seven months old) became ailing: This tbe mother, .attributed JiO, anf insuificency, o f -pp o f several dayß : she observed peculiar scratchea about her" bosom, unlike those "that; would be produced by the child.' HtfVK ever, she, ascribed them to tbe effort^ of the child when hungry at night ta get at the breast, arid toot the pre-, caution to" pare the child's nails. , Still fresh scratches -were noticed.? had been seen about iae room until the cat»s^arted .one, which had *foinnM> hiding-place behind a small cask. Immediately the rat found, itgejf, . it j&^6l&r6J J Bfyftß,' : & ff foY^EeTElr. The scratches on^Jjer— breaat were at lonce identified as those pro4aapd£%h.& iai'tf clawß,and the impreqep'on that tbia :crea^»^^«S^ble^3^danhg tbe bight, ofrrth.ejjpilk for wbieb her cbil4 Was pining, was aunnosted by the ftclfc that when tbe rat was killed |he|*d ft j?lentift# %tQJpfff & *** W *