MISCELLANEOUS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 406, 7 November 1874, Page 5

MISCELLANEOUS.

A merchant came into a printing office some short time since, and seeing a pile of payers lying on the table — it being publication day — unceremoniously helped himself to a copy, and said, " I s'pose you don't take any pay for just one paper?', "Not always," was the reply. Shortly afterwards the printer entered the merchant's store and called for a pound of raisins, which was quickly weighed out to him. The printer took the raisins, saying, " 1 s'pose you don't charge anything when a fellow don't take but one pound 1" " No," said the grocer, after seeing the disadvantage under which he was placed by his own stingy illiberality towards the printer, and said, " When I get any more newspapers from a printer I'll pay for them." A Melbourne solicitor named Hoskina has adopted the highly unprofessional, but very straightforward and honorable course of advertising his charges for every description of legal proceeding. From his published tariff we learn that a man may iudulge iv the luxury of insolvency for £6 18s, but if he is so imprudent as to have more than £100 worth, of assets he has to pay £2 more. A mortgage, according to the old law, costs £4 4s, but if the estate has been placed under the Land Transfer Statute the cost is £2 2s less, a tolerably convincing proof of the advantages of the new system. "Atticus," in the "Melbourne Leader," thinks the practice likely to prove very beneficial, for, as he saya, "if people knew beforehand what a lawsuic was likely to cost, there would be a great deal less litigation." As the result of experiments on the growth of barley on the same land for twenty years in succession, Messrs. Lawes & Gilbert report that when the same crop is grown consecutively on the same ground for a series of years, mineral manures alone fail to enable the plant to obtain sufficient nitrogen and carbon to yield even a fair crop ; that nitrogenous manures alone increase it very considerably : but that the largest crops are obtained when nitrogenoiis and mineral manures are applied together. In the case of barley, these combined manures gave for twenty years in succession, and on the same land, rather more of both corn and straw than farmyard manure did ; considerably more than the average barley crop of the country grown under a system of rotation of crops ; and an average weight per bushel of between fiftythree and fifty four pounds. At a fashionable watering-place in the County Derry lately a prepossessing young lady, not out of her (i teena," rather myateriously disappeared from the family circle, and no small stir was the consequence. Various rumours were afloat, and many inquiries made regarding her, and the matter seemed inexplicable. During the latter end of the week an Irish medical student from the same locality, who had been attending lectures under a son of Galen in. the great city of St Mungo, was also missed from his lodgings, and his landlady felt that, owing- to his youth, (nineteen) some ill had befallen him ; but on Monday last, about nine o'clock A. M., she was not a little surprised at seeing him returning accompanied by a very handsome young lady wearing marriage favours. The anxious landlady sooned' learned that her young lodger had crossed over to Ireland on Friday night, and returned on Sunday morning with his ladylove, just in time to h^tr the banns published for "the" third and last time in the parish kirk ; and, as there was no person to " forbid " them, a venerable clergyman united the youthful couple in the bonds of matrimony on Monday morning at oight o'clock. About the same hour a message was wired across the channel from the lady's friends to a representative of the Royal Irish constabulary to stay proceedings ; but that astute official just arrived in time to share in the benediction, and afterwards partake of Irish hpspitality at the wedding breakfast. — " Deny Sentinel." Tay bridge, near Dundee, Scotland, will be the longest in the world built over a tidal stream. Its total length will be 10,321 feet, or nearly two miles, or 1,127 feet longer than the Victoria bridge, Montreal, which has hitherto claimed that distinction. The cost of the Tay bridge is estimated at £.350,000. It will be built in eighty-nine spans, having a rise of 1 in 353, the centre one being 88 feet above high-water level. In its construction 7.200 tons of iron, about 15,000 casks of cement, and 16,000,000 bricks will be required. The contractors for this gigantic undertaking are Messrs Hopkins, Gilkes and Co., of Tees-side. They expect to finish the work in 1876. A "Bohemian," who contributes to the " Queenslander," is sorry to lose the services of the Marquis of Normanby. Ho says that " the Marquis is a gentleman, every inch of him, just* as much as if ho had no title and had to work as hard for his bread and cheese as a Bohemian." He continues that the sort of which the Marquia is, ia a rare one. Without forgetting for a moment that lie was a nobleman, and the biggest man in the colony, he could and did always make himself comfortable, and everybody he earno in contact with. He never lost his dignity, yet never patronised anybody, nor was rude, nor haughty, nor stuck-up, nor had the least tinge of the prig or cad about him. It's a real pleasure to have a man like that to represent the Queen out here."

Lecture — A lecture was delivered by Mr James Adam in the Temperance Hall, Wick, on Saturday, July 25th, on the subject of Free Emiwration to the Province of Otago, New Zealand. The lecturer mentioned that thoro wore a great many settlers in Ota<jo from Caithness, and that they were so »mxiou» for their countrymen to follow them; that they had formed an association for the purpose of aiding— either with money or advice — everyone coming from Caithness or Sutherland. The lecture was illustrated by a great many fine photographs and maps, and at the end, a number of healthy young men came forward, and enrolled themselves as emigrants for the November term. Speaeed by Blacks.— lt will be remembered that some time ago the "Bathurat Times" published a few particulars in reference to the Palmer River, from a letter written by Mr. C. Hurford (brother to the builder of that name residing in Bathnrst). It seems now that the unfortunate man has become a victim to the blacks. His death is thus mentioned by a mate who was working with him up to the time of the murder, and who writes to Mr. G. Hurford of the sad event : — " I am sorry to inform you that your brother Cornelius is no more. Six of us were out prospecting, and having heard of a rush, we were making for it, when we were attacked by the blacks, and your brother was speared through the heart. Me fell dead without a struggle, and we had to fight three hours afterwards with our assailants. We will endeavour to secure his body and give it a decent burial." The deceased had a few ounces of gold in his possession, and this, with his other property, will be handed over to the police for transmission to his relatives. A llaxi>i.e33 Bbidb. — The old distich about " rings on lier finders and. bells on ter toes," bo far as the first part is concerned, would be quite inapplicable to a lady who recently entered the holy estate, at Jovington, England, nor need sho have any anxiety about " giving the hand where the heart can never be," for, alas, she had none to give. The "East Sussex News" say 9: — "The ceremony was performed by the Very Rev. Archdeacon Philpott, in the presence of a large congregation. The nuptial pair both beloug to the pariah of Jeviugton ; but the singular part is the fact that the bride has no arms, and the ring had to be placed on the third toe of her left foot. At the conclusion of the marraigo ceremony she signed the register, holding the pen with her toes, in a very decent "hand." The bride has accustomed herself to use her needle, and do many other useful things with her toes. Extraordinary Bigamy Case. — Three persons are in custody of the Macclesfield borough police on an extraordinary charge. A silk-piecer named George Hollinshead lived with thia wife in George Street, Macclesfield. Recently they took in a lodger named Jonathan Bentley. Mrs Hollin3heacl has had seven children, of whom two are living. It is stated that she and her husband were married at the Old Church, Macclesfield, in 1852. The lodger Bently, it appears, paid some attention to Mrs Hollinshead, and at leugtn it was arranged that Bentley should marry the woman, and that the three should live together. The husband accordingly put up tho banns for the marriage at St James's Church, Sutton, and he actually accompanied "the couple" to church on Sunday morning last and gave the woman away to Bentley. On returning they wero mobbed by the neighbours, and husband No. 1 finding the neighbourhood too warm for him left his old quarters to his successor. The police had to interfere to prevent a breach of the peace. They have since apprehended the woman on a charge of Bigamy, and Hollinshead and Bentley for aiding and abetting. — " Manchester Guardian." Emigkatiok to the United States. — In the first six mouths of last year, says the " Philadelpha Ledger," the total number of arrivals of immigrants at New York was 148,485 ; but this year the first six months the number of arrivals declined to 78,323. This decrease is so marked that it leads ta tile expression of a belief in New York that, heretofore the annual number of arriving immigrants at that port has reached 250,000, this year it will not greatly exceed 100,000. The chief falling off is said to be in the number of German arrivals, a fact which is to some extent accounted for by the circumstance that the German steamers did not this year reduce their steerage passage fares, as the English vessels did. The great decline in this lucrative trade will sufficiently explain the extreme rivalry of the English lines in cutting down steerage fares to the lowest rates that have prevailed from British ports this spring and summer. Although the number of the arriving immigrants have this year so greatly decreased, yet as a class those who have come are said to be composed of-much better material than usual. Ak Amateur Casual. — A novel scene has been witnessed at the Workhouse, Spalding. At a recent meeting of the Board of Guardians, the Rev. Mr Jones said that lie had inspected the casual ward, and ha thought that the amount of work extracted from the vagrants — breaking 2 cwt. of granite in four hours — was too much, and was simply an act of cruelty. The Rev. gentleman also added that no guardian would like to undertake the task. Upon this Mr Brett, another guardian, declared hia willingness to perform the work, and on Thursday he entered one of the tramps' cells, and broke the required quantity of atone in one hour and forty -five minutes. Holloway's PifcLs and OnroiENr — Tho moßt effectual cure for Gout and liheumatism. A frequent cause of these complaints is in the inflammatory state; of the blood, which usually attends bad digestion, producing lassitude, and great debility, thereby indicating the want of a proper circulation of that fluid, and the impurity of the blood 4 thus induced greatly aggravates these disord jrs. Holloway'g L'dls are of so purifying a nature, that a dose taken it timo are. an effectual preventive against gout aid rheumatism, but whoever may have an attack oT either should use Holloway's Ointment also, (he searching properties of which, combined with tKo effects *{ tho Pills, ensures a certain euro. The Ointment should, at lease twice a day be thoroughly rubbed into the parts uffectod after they have been sufficiently fomented with warm water to open the pores thereby facilitating the introduction of the Ointment tv the glands. The Inspector of distilleries, in his report presented to the General Assembly, states that in 1873 the consumption of spirits was three gallons per head, and receutly it had fallen to one and fo-ir-tifths. This, Mr Seed believed, was owing to the decrease of the drinking habits of the people. French statistics show that there are cities of fifteen thousand inhabitants in that country without a physician. The same figures also indicate that the per centum of motality ia lightest where there are fewest doctors. Rough on the Schoolmaster. — "Your son," said a schoolmaster to a fond mother who was inquiring about her son's progress, " will not work. He exhibits sneh a want of intelligence that it is impossible to think of hia ever succeeding in medicine or at the bar. He is next door to .iv uliofc." " Then," rereplied the lady, indigantly, '-I shall devote him to teaching. I shall make him a schoolmaster !" An Unwieldy Pen to Write With.— A sheep pen.