MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

Waikato Argus, Volume V, Issue 380, 22 November 1898, Page 1 (Supplement)

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

A strange accident happened to a horse in Marton the other day. While the driver was eating his lunch, the horse which was feeding from a nosebag, went to drink. The nosebag filled with water, and the result was that the horse was suffocated.

The seamen of Norway may vote before leaving their couutry if election day is within threo months of their departure ; or they may vote at a foreign port within the same time, by having their votes sent home through a Norwegian Consul.

Three drunken men recently took possession of the town of Forbes (Victoria). They rode into a bar on horseback, and, racing down the streets and brandishing the stirup leathers with the irons attached, they felled a horse with a blow from one of the irons, and almost rode over several townspeople. They violently resisted capture, but were held, and sent to prision for ten monthp. Instructions have been issued from the Defence Department that officers of companies shall be notified that for the future a personal payment of 2s (id per man will be made to each merr ber of the company for attending each of six Government daylight parades hold during the Volunteer year, provided that not less than two-thirds of the number enrolled are present.

A lad at Kuiuara, celebrated hi 8 tenth birthday, began the day by receiv* insr a nasty out on the oheek from a fall" ing flat-iron. Then he went into the country, and broke his arm near the ■wrist while playing on a heap of sleepers. He was put in a cart and sent home, but on the way one of the wheels came off and the cart was smashed, the boy being picked out from beneath the ruins. He concluded the day's fehtivities by walking six miles to get the broken arm set

General Grant lacked sense of all music, and, while he did not objscfc to the " concourse of sweet sounds," could not tell one tune or voice from another. While Parepa Rosa was ringing in Washington the general, his daughter Nellie -uid the Englitih minister went to the opera house together, occupying a box. The great soldier and the English minister conversed together, paying little attention to the music until Parepa began to sing. Miss Nellie ventured to whisper " Papa, Parepa is singing." The general replied indulgently: "All right, Nellie ; she's not disturbing us. Let her sing."

A London paper says:—" Lord Ranfurly is one of those strangely adaptable men who can plough a field one day and on another act as Lord-in-Waiting in the Queen's palaces. He was one of the pioneers in the ill-fated fruit growing colonies at Mildura and Benmark. At Mildura, Lord Ranfurly owned the largest farm, and put so much enthusiasm and work into it that it was th« " show farm of the colony. He was not merely content with supervising the work but lent a strong and skilful hand in planting and pruning, prouder of his upturned shirt sleeves than of the gold lace of the gaudiest Lord in-Waiting."

Mr Charles Williams, the special war correspondent of the Daily Chronicle' writing on the slaughter of dervishes at Omdurman, 35,000 being killed, says: Nothing like this slaughter is upon human record, I believe, per hour and ppr mile. In my tale of the battle I spoke of the impossibility of any troops in the world living under similar fire, but I n«ver dreamt of aught like this, and allowing for dips and concealments on the ground, probably not more than 15,000 of the enemy were visible at any one time from our lines after the first demonstration or after the fighting began. Think of what this means, four- out of six visible men swept away in about three hours' fighting.

Another example of the curfew for children, which Hobart has been putting into pratice, is supplied by America. The trustees of several villages in this State (says the New York World)—Warsaw being the latest example—have passed ordinances forbidding ohildren under fifteen years of age from "being on the. streets-alleys, or public place " after the hour of 9 o'clock p.m., from April to October, or after 8 o'clock for the other half of the year. It is made unlawful for parents or guardians to allow or permit children under their care to be on the streets during the prescribed hours •' unless there exists a reasonable necessity therefor " A fine " not exceeding 2odol" is provided for parents who violate this section.

Probably the most wonderful story of a man's unlucky day that has ever been told appears in the Lancet, which introduces it as a curious instance of coincidence. A patient, at the age of ten years, fractured his right index finger. It happened on Aug. 26. When thirteen years old he fractured his loft leg below the knee, through falling from horseback, also on Aug. 20. When fourteen years of age he fractured both bones of tho left forearm by stumbling, his arm striking the edge of" a brick (Aug. 26). In another year, on Aug. 25, when fifteen years of age, ho had compound fracture of the left leg above the ankle by his foot being caught under an iron rod and hi s

body falling forways. Next year, again on the same date, Aug. 26, he had compound fracture of both legs, the right being so severely crushed that it had to be amputated at the lower third of the thigh. This was caused by a horse hitched to a tram of coal, which, runuing. wild underground, caught him in a narrow passage, crushing both legs severely. After this he did not work on Aug. 26, for twenty-eight years, and little wonder, but in the year 1890 he forgot his fateful day and went to work, with the result that he sustained a compound fracture of the left leg. After this he has studiously avoided working on Aug. 26, though never missing work at other times.

Probably never since Canton was open to foreign trade (says Mr Consul Brenan, in his report on the trade of the city) has piracy been so rife as during last year. The boldness of the pirate is, however, surpassed by the apathy of the provincial government. Perhaps the word piracy is scarcely applicable to the acts of these ad venturous "robbers. They have no armed craft of their own with which to give chase and run down their victims. The usual plan is for a band of half a dozen men to go on board a passenger launch disguised as honest men. When a suitable spot is reaohed they throw off all disguise, overawe the crew and passengers by flourishing revolvers, and then half the party stand by ready to shoot, while the rest proceed to searoh the passengers and tbeir luggage; and when they have taken all they want they transfer themselves to another boat or land near a friendly village, where a division of the spoils takesplaoe, They are not devoid of a certain chivalrous feeling. Cases have been known where, after having robbed some rich passengers and made a good haul, they have restored to the poorer passengers what had already been taken from them. On other occasions they have overpowered the master and crew of a launch, and '• borrowed " the use of the vessel for a few hours, during whioh they have overhauled a junk known to have valuables on board. Having pillaged the junk taey have steamed away to their own village, and before landing they have offered to pay the master for the time his launch has been detained. The owners of passengtr boats are now given to engaging some old pirate as a detective. He points out suspicious-looking characters whom it is better not to take on board, and keeps in check any of his own friends who may have been premeditating a coup. The boat people never attempt to effect an arrest; there would probably be bloodshed, and they would then be involved in judicial proceedings almost as unpleasant for themselves as for the pirates. They are thankful enough if they can get rid of the dangerous passengers, and persuade them to try their fortune elsewhere. In the course of an article in the London ' Daily Telegraph' on the charge of the 21st Lancers, we get an interesting glimpse of what the Russians thought of Balaeava. "So you were at the Battle of Balaclava ?" the writer asked a Russian officer. "Yes," he said, "I wrs; it was a very hot day." What did you think of the charge of the English cavalryf" "It was brilliant, splendid. Of oourse it was all a mistake, but that ■was not their fault. It was a wonderful sight. 1 shall never forget it. I can see them now, that handful of men—not quite aB many as one of our regiments. But we were all exhausted. We had been in the saddle all day, and all the day before, and we were drawn up but did not expect an attack. Presently we heard the bugle, and the colonel rode along and told us that the English were coming at us. We could see men coming along, riding as though they were going to a picnic, waving their lances, and swords in the air and shouting like raving maniacs. We could not make it out. They were such fine fellows, too, it seemed such a pity to kill them. I felt awfully sorry for them. There they were, riding into certain death. Such splendid horses and rich accoutrements. Everything English and the best ! Such saddles! Such harness ! You never saw anything like it. And they did not seem to have a bit of fear in them. They seemed to enjoy the fun! They were gallant fellows ! Our men took a great fancy to them. We took some prisoners, you know, and it was very funny to see them, they were such generous chaps. Of course they could not speak a word of Russian ; all they could do was to hand our fellows their brandy flasks. They had splendid English brandy ; but, you know, that is no good to our men. It was like milk to them. I remember seeing our fellows drink the English brandy with an air of curiosity, and disappointment on their faces. They handed back the flasks with looks of contempt and then presented the Englishmen with their vodka. You should have seen the grimaces your countrymen made when they swallowed that Btuff. Our regulation vodka, was simply fire-water—awful ! The Englishmen did not like it, it was too strong for them. It made some of them drunk. Ha !ha ! ha ! What a funny thing ! Here were our fellows drinking and fraternising with the English, and a few minutes before they had been at each other's throats. But those English were such splendid chaps we could not help admiring them. I assure you I wept when I saw those fellows, the flower of your cavalry, lying dead on the ground. They were so handsome and so noble, it seemed such a pity that they should have been killed so stupidly. We liked the English. We always got on with them. They were all nice fellows, and gentlemen. Very different from the French. We did not like them at all' They were vicious, vindicture demons; but your men were so jolly and so beautifully cleau. We got very fond of them. Ah 1 dear me, that was many years ago. 1 '