MISCELLANEOUS.

Westport Times, Volume V, Issue 892, 25 November 1871, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

A Pole, named Janicki, who was one of the engineers employed on the works of the Suez Canal, and was afterwards engaged by the Russian Government to draw u{i plans for a fortified harbor in the North Sea, has just made an important discovery, which is much talked of in commercial circles in St Petersburg. It consists of a new kind of floating dock, with a single bottom, and divided into compartments, into whieh air may be pumped when necessary. If the dock is to be immersed the air is let out; when it has to be raised the air is pumped in again, forcing out the water, and raising both the dock and ship in it. The departure of the French deputation from Dublin was made the occasion of a popular demonstration, almost amounting to a " monster procession." Regard for France and dislike of England were ostentatiously evinced by cries and banners bearing suggestive mottoes. ,

The " Standard" learns that thereports circulated in regard to the total failure of the potato crop in Ireland are exaggerated. It is not likely that a moiety of the crop will suffer, and as the potato is no longer the staple food of the lower classes, there is no need for apprehending any serious consequence. The Church and the State are coming to open war in Bavaria. The Bishops there have demanded the withdrawal of the inteiference by the State in Church matters, and have been informed that their request cannot be complied with. Moreover, the Minister tells them that their conduct is wholly unconstitutional, and that it will he looked after. France and Italy have had a sharp misunderstanding on the question of a French convent at Rome over which France has a sort of protectorate, and into the affairs of which the Italian Government proposed to inquire. It seems that the protection which France interposed was resented by Italy, the more because it came through the ambassador to the Papal Court, the Due d' Hareourt, who has no relations at a! I with the Italian Government,.and no duties which cau admit of his approaching them. The regular French Ambassador to the King of Italy, the Due de Choiseul, was, however, not at Rome, and in his absence the remonstrance, which should have been made by his subordinate, was made by the ambassador to the Papal Court, the Due d'Harcourt. But whatever the misunderstanding was, it appears to have been removed. The French Government is said to have declared th.it it has no intention whatever of interfering in any way to restore the Pope though it had felt great anxiety for the guarantee of his absolute spiritual independence ; and on the other hand the Italian Government seems to have conceded the French claim to protect the convent in question. Still Italy no doubt feels that she has more to fear for her new capital from France than from any other European power ; and hence her eagerness to secure a complete understanding with Germany while France is still paralysed. The preparations for the manufacture of the Martini-Henry rifle and ammunition on a large scale aro now far advanced at the Government factories and we understand that ab 'lit 10,000 of these rifles, with 2,COJ ) O;K> rounds of ammunition, will be supplied during the present year. It is. perhaps, the knowledge of this circumstance which has stimulated iuto renewed activity the opposition cf those who are unfavourably disposed towards the Government. To jude;e from a question lately asked by Mr Ber-ial Os!>orne, and from some paragraphs which have appeared in the columns of our contemporaries, one would suppose that the MartiniHenry failed to give satisfaction at Wimbledon, instead of having for the third time publicly justified by its quick aud accurate shooting its selection as the new military weapon. The condition of the Jews at Sheeraz during a famine must bo indescribable, for their normal state, according to the testimony of the celebrated Wolff, is wretchea in the exteme. A Persian Mussulman gave him the following information, which he afterwards found to be correct —" First, every house at Sheeraz with a low, narrow entarance is a Jew's house. Secondly, every man with a dirty woollen or dirtv camel's hair turban is a Jew. Thir.ily, every coat much torn and mended about the back, with worn sleeves, is a Jew's coat. Fourthly, every one picking up broken glass is a Jew. Fifthly, every one searching dirty robes, and asking for old shoes and sandals, is a Jew. Sixthly, that house into which no quadruped but a goat will enter, is a Jew's." Dr Dollinger, who is just 70 years old, is a very abstemious man. He eschews tobacco and alcohol, rises at four, and goes to bed at nine. His library of 30,000 volumes occupies the whole house. The International Exhibition now being erected at Vienna, will, with its connections, occupy from four to five square miles.

A correspondent mentions a case beyond the ordinary oculist. It is that of a young lady who, instead of a pupil, has a college student in her eye. There is a young man in Toledo who has grown round-shouldered through bending down to kiss the girls, who are rather short in his neighborhood. The latest production of the American ' Woman's Eights Advocate ' is an essay to prove that Shakespeare was a woman. A Wisconsin editor was called out of his bed one night to receive a subscription. After that he sat up nights for over a week, but the offence wasn't repeated. The site for the new Mint near Blackfriars, London, will cost fifty thousand pounds. " The old man's drunk again," the latest popular song, was sung at a concert during the late carnival at Washington. A United States senator left the audience believing he had been insulted. A resident in Epsom writes to Bay he only backed one horse in his life, and that was into a shop window. ! Texas has a new gamo in cards—one holds a revolver, the other holds the cards. - A coroner- holds, the inquest. An old lady who was in the habit of declaring, after the occurrence of any invent, that she hod predicted it, was j one day cleverly. " sold" by her I worthy spouse, who lik„ many others

we wot of, had got tired of hearing her eternal "I told you so." Rushing into the bouse, breathless with excitement, he dropped into a chair, elevated his hands, and exclamed—" Oh my dear, what do you think ? The old cow has gone and eaten up our grindstone." The old lady Was ready, and hardly waiting the last word, she screamed out at the top of her lungs—"T told you so. "You always would let it stand out." There are some very strange and amusing stories told by the Judges of the sayings and doings of aspirants to matrimonial honours. We have heard of a couple coming one cold stormy night to the door of a J. P., and making such a din that the Judge got up, came to his bedroom window, and enquired what the shivering couple below in the street wanted. They told him they wanted to get married. He bawled out to them, " Go, marry, and be damned." The simpletons thought that the oath was all that was wanted, went home, and lived as man and wife. Hydrate of chloral has been tried with perfect success as an antidote to sea-sickness. Experiments have been made in this matter, a dozen drops or so being taken before going on board ship ; and cases are reported in which persons most sensitive to the effects of the sea have wholly escaped those effects throughout a voyage of some hours. One other point may be urged in favour of the discovery, viz., it is perfectly harmless. It is proposed to use mineral oil instead of coal in the steamers on the Black Sea. Experiments made in this direction have been very successful, and it is expected tnat an " immense saving " will thus be effected.