Miscellaneous.

Waipukurau Press, Issue 278, 4 July 1908, Page 2

Miscellaneous.

Since the blowing up of the Matsushima (says “St. James’s Budgetj”), the superstitious must be fairly busy in Japan. The Matsushima was Ito’s flag-ship at the battle of the Yalu; and it is certainly curious that she should have met with a fate identical with that of Togo’s still more famous flagship, the Mikasa. The coincidence is enhanced by the fact that another once famous war flag-ship, the Brazilian Aquidaban, perished two years or more ago in just the sameway.

The United States Government (says the London “ Times ” correspondent) is turning its attention to the installation of wireless telegraphy apparatus in balloons. On 13th May, a balloon equipped with a receiving apparatus ascended and soon established connection with Annapolis, twenty-five miles distant. The officer in charge of the apparatus tells me that he was surprised by the distinctness with which the messages were received. He thinks it augurs well for the success of the experiments. So far the balloon has been only installed with a receiving apparatus. The installation of a sending apparatus is attended with danger owing to the risk that sparks might cause an ignition of gas escaping,, from the balloon. It is hoped however, that this difficulty can be obviated, and experiments to this end are being undertaken.

In a French paper appears the rather alarming statement that the tower of Strasburg Cathedral is in danger, and is discovered to have been slowly moving out of the perpendicular. The famous Cathedral of Strasburg, known to countless thousands of British travellers, is one of the finest specimens of Gothic architecture in the whole of Europe. The windows contain some of the most beautiful stained glass in any church of the Continent, and the magnificent rose window is one of the glories of the building. During the siege of 1870 considerable damage was done, but the Cathedral has been carefully and sympathetically restored, and it is to be most sincerely hoped that the condition of the grand old church is not so bad as is feared.

Any comic opera touch wanted to the voyage of the American fleet to Japanese waters is supplied by the story to hand of a girl stowaway on one of the vessels. This particular stowaway is a pretty creole from Trinidad, and it was not until the ships had been two days out of the Port of Spain that an olivebrown little maiden crawled from her hiding place on the Brutus and asked for something to eat. Her appearance caused consternation. The nearest land was 500 miles away, and the big fleet was sailing along at 10 or 12 knots an hour. No stop was scheduled, and none would be made. Shd enjoyed all the luxuries on board. She told the crew that her home was in Porto Rico, but that she had gone to the British colony when a child. The girl will .be taken to Chicago, there, it is said, to appear in a new musical play.

Mr P. A. McKenzie, in a volume entitled “The Tragedy of Korea,” tells the story of the gradual ' acquisition of -power and authority by the Japanese. It is a terrible storv of intrigue, murder, and oppression, but Mr McKenzie has many anecdotes of the Koreans themselves, of whom, by the way, he thinks highly. The following .story is amusing:—“When the electric tramway was first opened in Seoul the drivers and conductors were greatly hindered because coolies constantly slept in the road.ways and used the rails as pillows. The conductors became quite experts in throwing these men off the track. It is said—although I cannnot guarantee the truth of the story —that a number of high officials presented a petition to the Khiperor protesting against the action of the tramway company. The petitioners pointed out that sleep is natural for man, and that to disturb sleep suddenly is injurious. They therefore begged the Emperor to issue a command to the tramway drivers that when ihey came upon a man sleeping across the track they should stop the cars and wait until he awoke.”