MISCELLANEOUS.

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 212, 18 September 1873, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

Clerical Prksumi>tion. — Coal-mine- overlooker (t£ Curate). — " I can assure you, «ir, that these 'ere colliers, no* -- they're in fttfl wvrk, can ranke their ten an' twelte shillin' a i day!" Curate — " Dear mo ! All! it's n eternity more tuan Ig> t ! " Overlooker — " More than you get ! Vffij, it's more than I get ! " — Punch TBHATMeui of Cqnstipatiox stt Arsbnic. — Dr Isnard, of Marseilles, hai employed, arsenical preparation! for the treatment of constipation with success. The- preparation which he prefers to- all others, as being especially easy to use and sure in its effects, is, arsenious acid in doses of about* three to four grains to one litre of distilled water. Each teaspoonful of the solution thus contains 1 66th of the substance. The usud dose is from, six to ten teaspoonfuh, (takes in, the course of the day, and preferably at meals with wine and water. In some individuals the dose,s must be less, according to special circumstances ; in others the doses may be increased temporarily to twelre or fifteen teaipoonfuli,. after which it must be lessened as soon as the constipation., has lost its obstinate character. »^ .Adultkbatbd Rasi'BEUby Sybdt. — The German PKa/rmacopiaeia gives an excellent test for the genuineness of ra^pborry syrup. If one-iolius* of the latter is mixed with half a volume of pure nitric acid (25 per cent.), the fine red color of the syrup must not change to yellow, otherwise the syrup, owes its color to some dye-stufi', which has nothing to do» with raspberry fruits. X syrup which contained only a small, quantity of artificial coloring matter remained 24 hours unchanged and only after this time showed a yellow color ; while genuine syrup, wjien treated with nitrio acid, evetk, after three days' standing, showed no change of colo»y i»indispensable that, the experimenter should be t^Tcareful ( as to. th« measurement oi the volumes. Dv Hagar states, - besides, that syrup colored with anjline becomes colorless when treated in this manner with nitric acid. Ajs Egyptian Medical Paptrtis.— Erow tho. Allgemeine Medizbmche Central- Zeitung we, British Medical Journal, _ learn that Professor Ebers of Leipzig, during a recent visit, to Egypt, has obtained possession of, an. sneitnt. papyrus, written in the oldest hieratic character, and believed to be above 3,400 years old. Notwithstanding, its great age, not a . single letter is wanting in the hundred andT ten leaves of ' which it consists. It is a complete treatise of ancientEgyptian medicine,, in which the diseases of the several parts . of the body and their treatment are described. Nine leaves are devoted to diseases of the eyes — a bubject in which the Egyptians wtr» in advance of all other nations of antiquity. It is said that the King of Saxony has obtained possession , of the papyrus for the library of the University o£ Leipzig. The Fctub* op [Religion. — I»o one need expect that the - religious consciousness will die away or will change the lines . of its evolution, Its specialties of form, once strongly marked aud becoming, less distinct during past mental progress, will continue to fade ; but the substance of the consciousness will persist. That the object-matter can be replaced by another object-matter, as supposed by those who ■ think the " Religion of Humanity" will be the religion of the future, is a belief countenanced neither by induction nor deduction. However dominant may , become the moral , sentiment enlisted on behalf of humanity, it can never exclude the sentiment, alone properly called religious, Awakened by that which is behind humanity, and behind all other things. The child by wrapping its head in the bed-clothes may for a moment get rid of the distinct consciousness of surrounding darkness ; but the consciousness, though rendered less vivid, . survives, and imagination persists in occupying itself with that which lies beyond perception. No such thing as n " B*ligion of Humanity " can ever do more than temporarily shut out the thought of a Power of which humanity is but a small and fugitive product — which was in course of ever- . changing manifestation before humanity was, and will continue through other manifestations when humanity Las ceased to be. — Herbert Spencer. John Stuabt Mili/. — The Examner of lost week had no . less than 15 distinct and individual tributes to the merits, personal, philosophical, scientific, and otherwise, of the late Mr John Stuart Hill, of which Mr Thornton's reminiscences of him during his career at the India Hojige, and Professor Cairnes's estimate of his writings on political economy, were perhaps the best. Tw,o very fine illustrations of His delicate - generosity, «»d one of his cool indifference to literary reputation are given in thege papers. Mr Herbert Spencer tells . how anxious Mr Mill was to atf him »y undertaking considerable pecuniary risk, on. his behalf, at jb time when the • losses entailed on Mr Spencer by tbe publication of liis striking " System of Philosophy " became too great to bear. Mr Thornton tells how, during a jear of nervous prostration, wbich would otherwise ltflTC.com*peUed him. (M,r Thornton) to resign his office, Mr Mrll quietly discharged the whole of q both his own and his colleagues duties. And apropos of " the petition composed in 185? by Mr Mill ot tbe time when it was proposed to abolish the East India Company's sovereign rights — the famous petition in which Mr Mill urged by way of protest to the Government the claims of the Ea*t < India Company on the gratitude of the British Crown and people — Mr Thornton tefls an, admirable story. of Jiis indifference to the credit of Hi literary parentage. Ihe authorship of the prtition was ascribed in» Court of Directors to one of tbe Court — tbe speaker adding, after a moment's . pause, that it was written by thief gentleman, as he understood, u with th» assistance of Mr Mill." Mr Thornton, much excitedly this injustice, burst into Mr Mill's room, after the court was over, lo express his indignation .• ' What's . the matter ?' replied Mill,, a* soon, as he conld get a word in ; M (the director) was ojiite. right. Tbe petitibnwas joint work of and myself? ' Haw ean-you be sOjHir- v verse?' I retorted. 'You" know that I knew you w^e 1 every word of it.' ' No,' rejoined MtiH, ' you are mistaken : one whole line on the second page waj put in by .' ' Evidently Mr Mill was capable of fefcling more kindly for his friends than for himself, and the Examiner ha» done a public service in publishing. these records. — Spectator. This morning we were invited to inspect in the Mnzagon jj Dock tho bottom of tbe David Aughtersen. The ship has., been stripped of her metal sheaLhing. On the port side,,right on tho floor, about four streaks from the keel, and about 15 feet from the forefoot, is a. hole made by the Xipuiss or swordGsh. The sword was broken off and ■ remained in the Jrole, leaving four inches projecting from ttfe bottom. All attempts, however, to get to out failed, and they had finally to cut away the wood, and so loosen itf and then they succeeded in bie iking off a piece nine- inches long. The point-, which has pierced right into tthe^timbn', still remains i imbedded, and judging by the dimensions of the pieoe extracted, it is twelve inches long. ' When it occurred no one on bourd can tell, but from the appearance of tho broken , sword it must have been done some considerable time. The - amazing fct^e of the shock may b* imagined when it is^ sufficient to pierce through the cop^ier, and for 13 to 14 inches into tho solid oak plank and timber. From the position of the hole the swowlfiih mu#t have risen up right under tho ship.— Times of Bidia, May 12. There is plenty of snobbishness in your Qprce democracy. It apes its betters with a vengeance, and is suggestive of the increasing inelegance of the baboon the bibber he climbs upon tlie pole. In a daily journal I observe^ a pretentious wedding announcement. There | are details o»i to officiating minister, who was duly assisted by the Rev«rend Mr Somobody Else ; tho ceremony is announced as having occurred at the residence of the bride's father, who is, of\ course, an « esquire. European and other journals are callid upon tocopy the momentous intelligence. One saliemN point i» omitted. The bridegroom is a cabdriver !— -JiJylwA Prussia is paying, in the foim of a deraoraliseo^eapital, one of tho penalties of her elevation to the headship of Germany, and through the German conquest of Ejrance, to the leading place in Europe. Until of late Berlin was rather a quiet sort of humdrum city of second-rate rank, where people lived with tome degree of regulauty, kept good hours, and did not indulge in any fra«ant dissipation. Paris was tho sink of European iniquity, tbe Vanity Fair of the Continent, the recognised mart for superlative wickedness. The Prussians have changed all tb&t, and Berlin is Lecoming the favorite temple of the class of people termed by Carlyle "the Devil's worshippers." Herr "Watcher, in a recent speech, declared that every evening tbe popular theatres of the capital trampled under foot marriage, morality, and religion amid the exhalations of beer and tobacco and the laughter of the audience, "/ll this," BaidJie, "is going on without any effort to check it on the \tft of those whose duty it is to watch over the people ancl their morals. By al9 classes of society, from the learned to tbe unlettered, even to tbe lowest rabble, the turpitudes of the stage aie frantically applauded." This is just -what used to be said of Paris vhen Imperial corruption was at its, height. Another point of rmmblaiiu; if tlio mnitia for speculation^ w luck has infected the Berlineis. Bubble companies arc got up to day to or.plodc tomorrow, and all the \ikat prAdiu's of the needy promoter aie in ctttnion uee. A re\enu<> Asfcst-or" m Ohio, usking the usual questions k inquired: — ' Did \our wilo luno any income last year?* 1 Ye>, sir/ replied tbe iieeeeecd, ' both girle.'

It is security that the good soldier wants more, nays tl c Iron, than high pay. The State can give that security, and private employ eis cannot. A certainty of provision for life will reconcile a man to the idea of not receiving very high wa^es m his y«>uth. The question remains, how are twelve years' and six years' men to bo provided for during their army reserve, the militia, and \uteran service ? Much ini»ht be done by giving a small number berths in the police, post-office, &c, and by inducing local boards, and county and municipal authorities to employ them in such woik as should not suffer fiom temporary absence during training or even by a shoit embodiment. To make the military sei vice popular, however, it ia essential that the whole nation should co-operate in the good work, and that the present vulgar prejudices against 60'diers should be dispelled. The public must exert itself to raise the social status of the soldior, or rather it must clesitt from that ignor&n 1 -, suicidal practice of refusing it to him. Yoti practically tell aSsoldier he is a blackguard, a SCKtial pariih ; that lespectable non-comnfissioruHl officers are unrit to associate with petty Dover tradesman at a glee club. Richmond, the immaculate, considers that it would be mote contaminated by the presence of a depot eexitre than by the hteteme who throng its tun .ices on summer Sundays, and the tricky tradesmen who spend, in that bumptious suburban village, their ill-gotten gains. The publican lefuaes to admit a soldier to his barparlour for fear of affronting the adulterating tiadesmt-u who frequent it Bazaar keepers lay it down as a rule that Her Majesty's uniform is out ot place whore loafing gents and flaunting soiled doves from St. John's Wood are allowed to circulate without hindrance Steam companies refuso to admit a dying corporal of the guard to ' shelter himself in the saloon from tho inclemency of the weather. Masters and mistresses consider their drabs of servants given over to perdition if they keep company with a soldier The lower classes look on the enlistment of a son as the climax of a career of vice, and the attentions of one of the country's defenders as almost as disgraceful as open prostitution. Mr Gerard Kiefft, the Curator of the Australian (Sydney) Museum writes m a Sydney paper as follows :—: — The whole of the earth's surface, from Pole to Polo almost, is inhabited by dogs. Certainly none have been found on the Antartic continent, and it is only lately they were proved to exist aborigin ally in countries south of the eoaator, such as the Falkland Islands, New Holland, and Ndtf Zealand. The Falkland Island dog is very much like our dingo, but the New Zealand or Maori dog is considerably smaller. I often doubted the existence of such a creature in New Zealand, but my friend Dr Julius Haast, has convinced me of the dog's presence during the moa age. I use the expression ' moa age,' because ' stone age' in New Zealand would comprise only a very recent period, whilst 'moa age* means many hundied centuries ago. Dr Haast •was kind enough to forward to the Austraham Museum a very tine series of moa-huuters' relics consisting of the remains of several kinds of gigantic birds (none of which, however, are in a fossil state), of sandstone knives, flint chips, fragments of whale skeletons, and of the remains of the small Maori dog. The statement of some casual observers, that dogs were introduced into Australia at a i rather rdcent date, has been refuted by their remains being found in a fossil state in the Wellington cares, and in other parts of New Holland. I believe that dogs did not exist in Tasmania j and a statement made by mo that the dingo was once an inhabitant there was erroneous. One of the noted luxuries of tho London market is " Devonshire cream," or " clotted cream." The method of its preparation m ns follows: — From six to eight qunits of milk is strained into an earthenware pan or crock, which, when new, 19 prepared for use by b 'ing stood in cloar cold water for several days, and then scalded three or four times with skimmed milk, The milk beiug strained into the pan is stood in a cool room from nine to fourteen hours, according to the temperature. It 's then carefully moved to the top of a stove or range, or plaoo'l over & slow fire (not too near it), and nlowly heated — so that at the end of half an hour the cream w ill haTo shrunk away from tho sides of the pan und gathered into large wrinkles, the milk at tho sides of the pan commencing to simmer. It must not boil. The pan is then cnrefully returned to the diirv and left about ten hours, when t'le ci earn 1= skimmed off. This cream is vory delicious to use on preserves A man of the name of Harrington was tried at Warwick for blasphemy. Old Clark, QC, was the leading prosecuting counsel. Clarke, in the general reply he claimed on the part of the Crown, inveighed in no measured terms upon the vile tendeacy of the man's writing, '> especially those parts which denied the existence of his 1 Satanic majesty and hia various attributes, the doctrine of future rewards and punishments, &c. Warming himself as he went on, as he of course would from the very nature of his subject, he exclaimed " Gentlemen, if there be any truth in what he assorts, where are we ?" (A fa- . vorite expression of his). "If there be no de\il and no hell, what is to become of us ? Gentlemen, it is men liko these who would .'deprive us of all hope here and comfort hereafter." It was only the ill-suppressed laughter around ' that made the learned counsel aware of the mistake he had committed. yEgles contributed the following to the Australasian' — * " A joung man of good education and excellent family con- < noxious in New Zealand brought a warm letter of introduction, a short time since, to a distinguished minister of the gospol in Melbourne, nis object was to obtain some remunerative employment, aud '.he frankly said as much when presenting his credentials, which explained how carefully he had been trained. ' I can't assist you 111 any way,' said tho reverend gentleman, ' but Providence, my dear mr, will not desert you, brought up, as you teom to have been, in truly Christian principles. Ido not see that I can bo of any further service to jon, but, before you go', let u« pray together,' and to the surprise of the visitor ho knelt down on j the draw ing-room carpet, ''lie visitor knelt too Ho is, I believe, still open to engagement, but doesn't rely so muoh now on Christian principles. 0 temporal Omorei!" 1 A London correspondent says 1—"1 — " Mr Lowe is certainly ( not popular, and if half the stories told about him are correct, hi 9 rudeness and brinquerie are not confined to hit reception of deputations He enjoys, or perhaps, suffers would ; bo a better phrase, a most unenviable reputation for being perfectly reckless a3 to tho pain he inflicts, provided ho can say a smart thing. Not long ago, at a dinner party, the conversation turned upon the marriage service. ' Wliftt an absurdity the whole affair is,' said the Chancellor); 'when l married Mi^ Lowe, I nominally endowed her with all my worldly goods, when nt the time I had not sixpence in tho world.' ' But, my dear Robert,' «aid the lady, who, although neither brilliant nor clever, thinks her husband tho greatest man in the universe, ' you know I did not marry you for - your money, but for your brains and your education ' ' Pre_jgiiely §o, my love, for theso were the very things with whioh I could not by any possibility endow you.' The retort was neat but rather brutal.' " The following, says the Argus, comes to us from a trustworthy source, and there is a quaint mixture of roguery «aud honesty about it which is rather amusing. A coat was missed from the lobby of a gentleman* resin 1 ing in the suburbs, and as no trace of it could be discovered, it was naturally concluded that some of the light-fingered fraternity who are always prowling about on the outlook for aomethink to turn up, had appropriated the garment. A few days after the owner received a scrawl signed C. The document stated that the writer being decidedly impecunious, had taken the liberty of removing the coat, but aa lie was desirous to make as much reparation as lay in his power, he begged to enclose the pawn ticket which he 1 received when the article was pledged. ] The blue gum is growing in favor everywhere. From the Natal Colonist we take the following : — "A medical correspondent suggests that, as a preventive of fever, groups of gum-trees should bo planted in the town lands upon the flat along the bottom of the Berea, in the vicinity ■ of the slaughter-house. He holds that this would in a great degree, neutralise the effect of the malaria which '. nightly arises in that locality, as evidenced by a white mist which hangs over the flat after sunset." We note also that an infusion of the leaves of the blue gum is recommended for the South African cattle disease, " redwater. " " What makes your horse so slow ? " asked a tourist one day in the Glen of tho Downs, Ireland, of his Celtic Jehu. " It ia out of rispects of the bnyutiful sanery, yer honour. He wants ye to hoo it all. An' thin, he's an intelligent baste, and appreciates good company, an' wants to keep the like's o' yv in beloved ould Ireland us long an yo can." To keep children close in warm rooms, never allowing them to feel a rough breath of nir ; to do everything for them, paying heed to r\ cry whimpered " I can't " and "I don't want to ; " to inquire anxiously after all their preferences and listen pityingly to all their whining ; to teach them no tnsks, and never to let them got wholesomely tired -all that comes undor the name of " coddling," and I pity the children who are put through tho weakening process. The motto of the Good Templar girls of Salem, N.J., ia — " The lip§ that touch wine shall nevor touch mine." An Omaha paper, without intending to be personal, insinuates that if the Omaha postmnster would resign, " many persons would feel less anxious about their money lettors." First Sportsman : — ' Ye had that chap to-day, Moss, when jer gave him that dufllng fiver and asked for the change? ' Second ditto •— ' But selp-mo if the two quid ho gave me in change wasn't duffers too ' Onoof the most stupendous feats of newspaper enterpriso is credited to the New York Herald in connection with the Vienna Exhibition Rather than be defeated by their energetic rival, the Tribune, the manngcrs of tlie Herald ga^c infctruotious to their correspondent, Mr Edward Yatos, to '• spare uo expense." He fulfilled liis instructions. In order to steal a march on tho Herald, the Tribune telegraphed to Quoenstown, so that " the copy " could go on by boat. Mr Yates, however, telegraphed right through ; and the charge for the ratssago amountsd to tho nice little «urn of two thouand guinea?. ' An electrical apnratus, to bo pi iced 111 1 lie holds of ships, for t.lic purpose <>f gnmg warning in cases of leakage, has been devised by M Sortais. On the ontranoo of water a current is established, and a communication is thus set in operation, which givca notice to the oiliccrd on deck. I