ALL ROUND THE WORLD.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1603, 7 February 1884, Page 3

ALL ROUND THE WORLD.

Sir William Fox is to visit the South in about six weeks time. A Chinese murderer confined in the prison at Soochow made his escape but was soon after captured and decapitated the following week. Two women concerned in the murder for which the man was decapitated were also beheaded with him and their bodies afterwards dismembered, the operation being performed by six cuts, including decapitation. One of the prisoners implicated in the murder for which the others were punished died before sentence was passed, but as he with the others was sentenced to decapitation, the mandarins ordered the executioner to cut off the head of the coffined corpse. This was done, according to a legal fiction, by drawing a sword across the top of the coffin, A German, named John Woffin, died at Cleveland, U.S., on November

14, from the effects of whisky sold hiin by a saloonkeeper. In the afternoon he met some sailor friends in Duggett's saloon. A lake captain bet Idol, with Woilin that lie could not drink fifteen glasses of whiskey in fifteen minutes, and John bet that l.e could, and began.

At the tenth glass he became weak, but said he would stick (o it to the last. After drinking the fifteenth glass he went home, where he fell to the ground on entering his yard, ■ deathly sick. A physician was summoned, but the man was beyond all help, and died in a very short time, Woffin was a German, about 44 years old. ■ He had worked about the docks doing odd jobs for some time. He leaves a wife and five children. The returns of the public carriage licenses for the past year present very unmistakable indications ol the decline of the four-wheeled, or more strictly speaking, the" Clarence" cabs of the metropolis, Thus, while the number of hansoms increased hist year by 489, and the stage carriages by 185, the number of four-wheelers, on the contrary, fell off by 134. Various causes, probably, contribute to this result, apart from the natural aversion to these peculiarly uncomfortable and noisy vehicles. One is the increasing use of the railway private omnibuses for passengers and luggage; another the growing fashion of ladies taking hansoms, Altogether, 12,010 public vohicles were licensed last year for the metropolis, represented ly 6260 Han- , sorns, 3713 Clarences, and 2028 stage ... carriages, •■■.The Empress of Germany loves society and cannot do without it. At ..•-.•her age Her Majesty has no other ..;./distraction than that of surrounding ■ , 'herself, with old familiar faces, and ~.,these meetings arc called "the tea , of the. inmates." These ''teas" have become a daily institution; the Emperor appears for a few moments . at the close, and by his presence throws a little animation into these generally solemn meetings, The Empress endeavors to keep up the conversation; but Her Majesty does not ™* always succeed, in consequence of the coldness of her guests, many of whom are weary without daring to show it, Comments have been frequent of late in the Spanish Press upon the alleged encroachments of the English at Gibraltar upon tho neutral ground, which is now said to consist of a strip of territory scarcely wider than a carriage-way, the intermediary ground between the English and Spanish lines having been gradually appropriated for such purposes as tho erection of stores, tho establishment of a military camp, and a cemetery. A Madrid paper complains that in contravention .of the treaty of Utrecht, which confirmed the English in the "usurpation" of the Eock only, they are now able by their further encroachments to maintain a force of cavalry; and the paper asks "When shall wo have a • . Government patriotic enough to remedy ~ JfoiBil»B»r

i A SPIDER IN CHURCH. - Old Mr Collamore i« very deaf. The other Sunday, in the midst of the service, Mr Rolf, who sits immediately behind Mv Callamoro. saw a spider crawling over tlis hitter's bald head, His first impulse was to nudge Mm to tell him about it; but ho remembered that Mr Collamore was deaf, so he lifted up his hand and brushed the spider oft". Hoff didn't aim quito high enough, and, in his nervousness, he hit Old Collamore quite a severe blow. The old gentleman turned around in a rage to see who had dared to take such a liberty with Mm, aud Hoff began to explain with gestures. But Collamoro in ft loud voice demanded what it meant, It was very painful to Hoff. The eyes of the congregation were upon Mm, aud he grew red m the face. " There was a' spider on your head." "A white place, on my head, hey 1 S'posu there is, what's that to you 1 you'll know what it is to be baldheaded yourself somo. day." "It was a spider," shrieked Hoff, whilo the perspiration began to roll oil his face, " Certainly it's wider," said Collamore " and got more in than yours. But let it alone—do you mind 1 You may let my head alone in church." "MrCollamore," shrieked Hoff, " there was a spider on your head, and I brushed him off-this my," and Hoff made another gesture at Collamore's head. The old man thought he was going to light him then and there, and hurling a hymnbook at Hoff, he seized the kneelingstool on the floor of the pew and was about to bang Mr Hoff when the sexton interfered. An explanation was written upon on the fly-leaf of ihn hymn-book, whereupon Mr Collamore apologised in a boisterous voice, and resumed his seat. Then the service proceeded. They think of asking Mr Collamore to worship elsewhere.