LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLIX, Issue 12630, 18 October 1905, Page 5

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

In the Valley of Aosta an eagle recently swept down on a woman carrying in her arms- a child aged 28 months, and flew away with it, leaving the mother beside herself with, grief. Seventy peasants,' with the local cure at their head, immediately went after, the eagle, but all^their efforts to recover the infant proved fruitless.

A Pittsburg baker claims to have invented a machine for the production of that staple delicacy of the American table, pie. It is all, he says, "done by machinery, and without the use of ovens or pans. Twenty-four thousand pies can be turned out in ten hours, or forty every minute;" HeW^manyy, people can ■eat' them''andl'M^e* is^ofc;.. mentioned. ~.■■*>■ :•; cfciu:^"/* §>'" i-~--j ,■-■. * An ins'ght into the . extents <j>£ the American mania, foje-•gambling -,isv"'afforded by .careful gstunat^^of thjs'season's wagers at 'SaVaiwga; in thej Stateof New X Oi-k; -the American jM-onte, Carlo. Gambling houses, racecourses,.; and pool rooms' -4iad' a*»r;musJriiJonY growth there during therjSjsa&on I which 1 is just ending^.,and, con's^'vatijre 'estimates place the total sunis lpst-^at-. £4,000,000, of' wiiich ' £3jOO0$OO; ; gambled away 6h*the-i'acecouifses:;alone. Many bookmakers havft gix>wn ■ wealtny; in consequence. ~, , -;.:?.i?6 ■■•■ <-r~ '■ ">"''":"1>

- There were 50. nien ,taken. y jntd ' the police service of "this colony last! yea;-. ; 'J'he nationalities^ 'rdh'gioris,' aftd; pecu-,, pat-ions are '-'as follows' :^New^; Zealand f torn 37, English, 2, ;Scotoh JiHsW''4y Australian 3. Religion, VAAnglican-'!l9y Presbyterian 16, Roman Cathohqs.rl3j, Wesleyans 2. Occupations:''"Labourer* 20, farmers 3, miners 6,' artillerynien T 3, ex-constables 2, bushmen 2,.: asylum warders 2, and one each of the following: Grocer's assistant^ carter, platelayer, plumber, engine-driver, woollen manufacturer, carpenter, shepherd, butcher, ploughman, steward, and blacksmith.

Tho remarkable case of a man whose' eyes drop out has been brought to the notice of the Berlin Medical Association. The patient, who has unusually prominent eyes, is a man cf 56 years. Waking up suddenly one night with excrutiating pain, he found his left eye lying on the pillow, but with the aid of his relatives was able_ tp ./put it back again, the sight not being in'any way affected. If tho patient leans forward the eye will also fall out,.so.that the unfortunate man is in a constant state of terror. Sometimes it is the left and sometimes the right eyeball which falls out. ' '■ ■'■ -"• > '". The scene which occurred in a BerhcJ theatre during a performance of "William Tell" should serve as a warning t > feminine theatregoers the world over. A woman—the correspondent calls her a lady ; but we think there must be some mistake—declined to rer.ove her hat, whereupon a rash' attendant undertook to remove it for her. She went for him with her sunshade, and the tumult, thanks to kindly co-operation on both sides, rose to such a height that a force of armed policemen had to be called in to clear the house. Now, there are many women in London who go to theatres in hats of portentous design, which they obstinately refuse to take off. A dislifco to appearing uncovered anywhere oiyo in church seems .to be born in some women.

Tho MacCormick Hay Rakes have backbone, no sagging in the middle. Agents, Williams and Harper, Wangauui.

We direct attention t& our auction columns, where Mr. A. Vickers will hold an important laud sale at Taihape on Saturday next.

Ba suro to procure tickets for the grand concert to be held in St. Paul's Hail on Thursday, 26th October. Fuller particulars on Saturday.

Members of the Veterans' Association are requested to parade to-day at 3 p.m. sharp at tho Campbelltown sido of tho Town Bridge, for the purpose of attending the funeral of their late comrade, Mr. James Atkinson.

At last night's meeting of the Borough Council it was resolved that Mr. Smithies be allowed leave of absence when required, in consideration of his giving necessary supervision during the erection of the retorts. Also that until the receipt of the applications for'permanent managership, Mr. Gumbley be in charge of the gas works temporarily-

The Manawatu Rifto Association meeting, which is to be held at Palmerston North on the 9th and 10th oi November, promises to be a great success. The Wanganui Rifles will be represented by the following:—Lieut. Cox. Color-Sergt. Scott, Sergeants J. Harrison. G. Harrison, and G. Brown, Lance-Sergt. Stewart, Corpl. Smithies. Lnnce-Corpl. Anderson, and Bunting, and Bugler Arnold.

The club room of the T.Y.M.I. was filled last evening, when the meeting was held to make arrangements for the monster pic-iic to take place it Waikupa on November 9. Committees v/ero elected tc run the side shows, and 1 he'following sports ' programme was drawn up:—-75 yards, 100 yards, 440 yards, steeplechase, long jump, lu'gh jump, hop, step and jump, bandsmen's race, veterans' race, bun eating, boys' race under 17 (open), tug-of-war (married v. single), sack race, potato race, ladies' race, wheelbarrow and obstacle races. Entries close for these events on November 4. Arrangements have l.^en made to run excursion trains tc the grounds at 9.37 and 1.1.15. The services of the City Band have been accepted, and nothing remains but to heve a fine day for excursionists to thoroughly enjoy themselves at the finest picnicing grounds on the coast.

• "Only cnce in the history of whist playing in this locality," writes a man from Waukasha, Wis., to an American newspaper, "so far as can be learned, has a hand been dealt in which there was no card higher than a seven spot, and that hand was held a few days ago at the local whist club by August Jacobsen, of this city. The hand was made up as follows:—Spades i 3, 4; diamonds, 2, 4,; clubs, 2, 5. 6. 7; hearts, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7. This," says the writer, "beats the famous 'Yarborough' hand for which the Earl of Yarborough offered a prize of one thousand pounds for several years and found no one to Avin it. He was willing to pay this amount to anyone who could show him a hand dealt in which no cardhad a value higher than a nine spot. The offer was known throughout England, and in time all hands of exceptionally low value became known as 'Yarborough' hands. The Jacobson hand bids fair to become as celebrated among whist players as that which the Earl was unable to find."

The .work of collecting the remains of the men of the British forces who '■fell iii the war has now been completed, in spite of the great difficulties necessitated by the enormous area to be searched (wrote the Johannesburg correspondent of the London "Telegraph" under the date of August 6). The bodies of several thousands of British soldiers have been reverently exhumed from the graves on the Transvaal battlefields and conveyed to central cemeteries at Pretoria, Middlebnrg:, Bar* berton, Pot chef stroom, Johannesburg, Standerton, and Lydenburg, and reint*rrod- with military honours. The number of graves opened is 2180j and about 5000 bodies have been remterred. The Government are prepared to supply skßelies and photographs; of the ■ ghaVeSv'-: and -aw 'inspector:: has; been appointecl;'to^kfe^p the.cemeteries in.pjvvdfiivr; Thp;asaads ipf inquiries have been Received' i'rbdi relatives of the dead, 'an^d'in nearly all oases the authorities vhiW beeii able' to furnish particulars .x>£'Cthe.-nual%;burial.v.. . ■ ..._.

x Asocial and danee1 was held; in Mr. H^Bayly^shed} Kai Iwi, on the 13th •'Qetober, and was a great success. Had it. not .beeri ..for the heavy rain, in the "■'early part"'of the evening, there would : ii' 6 "dottlk have been over' 200 people ipresent.*. > Under . the prevailing cir..cumstances/, ;tliere were about 35 . c^npies on the ,floor 3 and a,number of the eld folks in tlie district also turned tip.; The daiicfj'■""niiisic was supplied by M'i rss E; Ma4ison,>Messrs.'^Tawse Bros., W;hite;;:Ri .Laird,, and :..Bnnd.:; ; ' Messrs. Barclay,apd C, F ;,Lajir^ apted.as M.C.'s. A ' wo'rd,',ofUpraise' is''"<lue. to the ladieu 'i yi-'^he s'u'riiprfeuoUS' suppe,r provided by 'themj'; iirid fflsa'the keeii Mterest they took'.in;the social. The following gave musical items:—Miss Johnston, Miss A. Mah'son, Mrs. C. Laird, Messrs. Collier, Laird (2), Aitken, and Brind. A recitation was also given by Mr. Aitken. Miss Mansoh played the accompaniments. Great praise is due to the committee, and the secretary (Mr. H. J. Davy) for the way they worked, and the success they achieved. The piano was kindly lent by Mr. Peter Manson, and the committee wish to tliankMr. H. Bayly for placing his shed at their disposal,' and also Mr. Frank Modre for forwarding a cheque towards the expenses of the social. ' : :