MISCELLANEOUS.

Waikato Times, Volume V, Issue 289, 19 March 1874, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

On Wednesday, Mrs FawceH, wife of Professor Fa wcett , delivering a lecture at the Institute Rooms, Royston, ou " Women as Educators," said : — ' It is rather difficult to define what we mean by the social surroundings of women's lives. It may, perhaps, be said that it implies all that society, by tho geneial voice of public opinion, exppcts that a woman ought to be, to do, and to suffer ; and if this be accepted as a tolerably fair definition, I make a charge ag/unst the general voice of public opinion that it encourages frivolity. In the first place, this pukji&opinion raises into a position of first-rate importance, as lar as women are concerned, all matters of dreis, manners, ancl,personal appearance. How 1 often have I heard a woman's excellence in these points discussed as if, in comparison, with them, other things were of little importance. It is almost the first qnestion that is asked about a new-comor into society^ 'Is she nice-looking ?' Or, if one happens to ask ' What sort of a girl is Miss A — 5 ' you proJtmblj have «° m « *nsvrer of this kind : ' Sho is rather nice-looking, but she hasn't at all a pretty voice,' If this reply is followed up by some descriptive details of tfie young lady's style of dress and manners, your informant thinks a most exhanstive answer has been given to your question. If a woman happens to be in any way before the public, ah a School Board, election, or what not, her dress, voice, manners and Appearance are described as if they were mmtters of the most profound interest. What would be thought if the < same treatment were^ accorded to a gentleman in a newspaper paragraph running thus, describing his appearance on the platform ? «#Mr Jones next proceeded to expound Ins views on public matters to the electors. He was quietly but richly dressed in a coat of dark-blue cloth, with trousers of a lighter colour, He is about the middle height. It may interest our readers to learn that his bair is raven, black, and that he wears a beard and mustache. His voice is clear and musical, and although he spoke with considerable self-pos-sossion and fluency, there is nothing unmasculine in his appearance." — Times, December 15. The lodging house landlady's domestic sway is snpreme, and her husband is very literally ' nowhere. 1 If you see him at all (which is unusual), it it always in a subordinate capacity ; if you hear him addreis his wife — ' answer ' her q in the sense that that 'hussy' the servant girl understands the phrase, he n3ver does— it is in meek and 'deferential accents. Under the course of treatment to which he is subjected, he not seldom succumbs altogether, which is why so many landladies are,widows; but if he- lives, he plays second fiddle in the matrimonial duet. If, being yourself a lady, and interested in the triumphi of your sex, you inquire of his wife how this most desirable state of things has been brought about, she will plump down, uninvited, on the nearest chair, begin to rock herself to and fro, and presently burst into tears. 'He'd need do all he could, ma'am,' she explains, ' and never cross me in anything while the breath is in him, for when I married him I was well-to-do in tho world, and he has brought rum upon me." It may have been drink, or it, may have been spaeeion for bagatelle, or even skittles (for some men are very low in their tastes) ; but he has spent her money, and surely the least he can do in repaiation is to constitute himself her slave. In China the villain would probably have lost himself, after all else was gone, to some antagonist at cards and dice j but that being impossible in a- civilised country, his services are his ruined wife's — ' and what little use, heaven knowi, he is to me." Lucullus Mansion was a glorified lodging-house, the ierv f pink and perfection of one, .but still a lodging-house — and what holds good of the least holds goods of the lordliest, m such cases ; its mistress, Mr» Hodhn B'armby, had been rained by the husband over whom she now reigned. Thi» mischanco had not been owing to bagatelle, nor yet to skittles. Mr Hodlin Barmby was a gentleman by birth and taste,. and had loit his wife's money, where he had lost bis own, years before, in a gentlemanly way/ on Epsom. Downs.— All the Year Round. A most useful invention for nursery use called a " a babywaehep" is reported from America,, where it has been patented. It is described by the inventor as follows : — "You simply insert the begrimed and molasses-coated infant m an orifice which can be made any required stzo by turning for ten minutes a cog-wheel with electric attachments. Tlie^ child glides gently down. a- highly polished inclined plane ; Ij| his lips are met at its terminence by an indiarubber tube, from which the infant can draw lacteal nourishment of the purest and most invigorating character, secured for the special purpose at treat expenie from a choice breed of Alderney kine, raised on tha estate of her Majesty Queen Tictoria in the Isle of Wight. While in this compartment, which is lined with plateglass mirrors, tho perturbed spirits of the infa»t are soothed by its frantic efforts to demolish iti own image reflected in the glass with nickel-plated combined tooth • cutter, nail-knife, rattle, and. tack-hammer, which is thrust into the baby's hands by an automaton roonkty, . Fatigued by its destructive efforts, the infant falls asleep, while the organ attachment plays- softly the ravishing melody of ' Put me in my little bed.' Then.it slips into the third compartment. Here v the baby is washed, Another small tube administers a dose M of soothing syrup, and the infant glides from the machine, its naih paired, its hair combed, if it has any, ready for tho habiliments rendered necessary by the fall of our first parents." With the addition of -» little compartment in which tbo infant's troubles migbt be brought to a speedy close, and its body packed in linen ready for deposit in some secluded nook in Peckham or Camb^rwell, this machine would be invaluable at our English baby-farms, and "would no doubt be generally nddpted. — Pall Mall Qazeltc A gentleman going down the river' on a steamer — the engine of which was upon the deck — he sauntered to see the working of the machinery. Near him stood a man apparently bent upon the same object. In a few moments a squeaking noiEo was heard on the opposite side of the engine. Seizing the oil-can — a gigantic one, by the way — the engineer sought out the dry spot, and, to prevent further noise of that kind, liberally applied the contents of the can to every joint. All went on well for a while, when the squeaking was heard in another direction. The oiling process was repeated and quietly restored : but as the engineer was coming towards the spot occupied by the gentleman and the stranger, he detected the true cause of the difficulty. The stranger was a ventriloquiit. Walking straight up behind * him he seized the astonished joker by ths nape of the neck, and emptied the contents of tho can down his back. ' There,' said he, 'I don't believe that old engine will squeak again.' A man lias been brought up at the City Court, Melbourne, charged with endeavouring to impose upon the charity of several members of the Masonic order, by means of begging letters. The person alluded to had several aliases, and appeared to. have grown 'elcerly and hoary-headed,' in the coHrs* of dissimulation. His wife seem* to have been tarred with the same brush, and to have entertained a most determined predilection for subsisting upon th» good nature or sympathy of the public, with which objeot in view, sho had on several previous occasions represented herself as being in distressed circumstances, pregnant, &c. During the past nine years this worthy couple would seem to have rcapod a plentiful harvest. The prisoner by way of defence, stated (f that he was a mason, and denied the allegation of being an imposter. He was sent to gaol for six months. The strangest fact of this strange episode is that none of the witnesses, who were all freemasons, could positively deny that tbo man was a brother of the order. Mr George Pollock's well-known and successful experiment, by whioh he tested the success of Roverdin's valuable method of skin-grafting in surgery, h»s been repeated inversely in America. Dr Maxwell, of Newcastle, Delaware, reports in the Philadelphia Medical Times, of October 18, that in February, 1872, he was called to a negro, who had been shot in the face with bird-shot. As he was only a fewfeet from the muzzle of the gun, the discharge passed through the left check in a* compact a mass as if it had been ball, and passed out at the posterior portion of tho ramus of the lower jaw just bulow the lobulo of the ear. There was extensivo sloughing, and Dr Maxwell proposed ill in -grafting. He conceived the idea of transplanting the ikin of a white man ; and, tho consont of tho patient having been obtained, Dr Maxwell cut from hit own arm apiece of skin about the size of a dime. He also took from the patient's arm a similar piece ; and, having cut them into pieces about the t>ize of a4l canary-seed, carefully inserted them on the wound. All the white grafts except one died, and' this one increased rapidly in size till it was more than an inch in diameter. After tbo wound had healed, Dr Maxwell thus desonbes the patient's condition :—": — " Meeting my patient ou tho road, I readily distinguished the white patch on the side of the fiicc 20 or 30 yards distant. Upon examination, dark-coloured lines, forming a network on the white skin, were discovered. These lines increased in size and number, deepening tho colour of the patch, until, at the end of tho third month, the whole of the surface of tho wound was of an uniform black colour " The experiment, the British Medical Journal says, i 6 exceed-^ iigly indenting, and it ii said the first published caso of tho kind. In a farmer's family, neither hair, mosi, nor feathers need be procured for beds. Soft inside husks, well hctchered, are wholesome, elasLic-i and durable.

There are few persons more difficult to deal with (says tbo Tall Mall Gazette) than an unsociable monarch. When an ordinary person i» jfflictrd with a fit of the "glumps" he has generally nruinberoi kmiUriorus vl ("Might in poking him in the ribs nnd W rr r \ ' I'hcer up « d boy," and in otherwise trying to i< 1 mi to ft p>< pi r sHte of lightbeartedness; but v 1 i a 1 v;or an emj rror On 1 natter i* entirely different. "»"<> t>i • da.-es to til..- tin- liberty ••♦ cbasing away tbe f!"i (Is tl »l obscure hi« iiigust preBoi«v, and all that can b. % » I* no i- ,o leave Inn alone i.ntil cue!' time as it shall piers- l.i= majesty fo ■»! nl Ihe M'ushii p of ' hiß smiles once more on h" fpilovv-erealiuetf. 'ilns jjoikc has, it seems, been succe&siml^ pursued m tbo case of t\m llaori King in New Zealand, where, according to the Melbourne Argtcs, native affairs have lately assumed quite a new aspect. For years past it has been the object of tho Government to withdraw tbe lung from the state of sullen isolation in which ho dwelt. On one occasion Governor Bowen was kept shooting in the W<\ikato in the hope that the king might be induced to meet him. The native Minister has, at various times, but always unsuccessfully, sought an interview. All his einisiaries have been similarly repulsed. A few week* ago, however, the startling intelligence was received that tho king had voluntarily visited the frontier town of Alexandia, had walked about the settlement, stayed all night at the house of a settler named Morgan, expressed himself in the most friendly way towards pabehas generally, appeared much pleased at his having visited the place without being known, and had quieily returned to his own people, after promising shortly to give a great feast to which the pakehas should be invited. It is almost impossible to overrate the importance of this event ; and it is considered that the Maori difficulty will bo practically at end if the isolation of the King is overcome, and friendly and intimato relations established with his majesty. Dr Hall does not approve of the. old doctrine which was imtilted into the minds of children — that they should spring out of bad the inatant they awake in the morning. He says that up to eighteen yearp every child should be allowed to rest in bed, after tha sleep is over, until they feel as if they had rather get up than not. It is a very great mistake for persons, old or young —especially children and feeble or sedentary persons— to bounce out of bod the moment they wake up ; all our instincts shrink from it, and fiercely kick against it. Fifteen or twenty minutes spent in gradually waking up, after the eyes are opened, and in turning over and stretching the limbs, do as much good as sound sleep, because the operations set the blood in motion by degrees, tending to equalise the circulation ; for during sleep the blood lends to stagnation, the heart beats feebly and slowly, and to shock tho system by bouncing up in an instant, and sending the blood in overwhelming quantity to the heart, causing it to assume a gallop, where the instant before it wai in a creep, is tbe greatest absurdity. Ibis instantaneous bouncing out of bed as soon as tho eyes are open will be followed by a weariness long before noon. " Tiraon " writes in the Southern Mercury : — " The papers are full of the Governor's trip through the country — 'viceroyal ' some of them call it. His extravagance wtwn't great, but his independence was immense. He didn't loaf on the public puree like some Governors I know of. No ; he paid for everything himself, and he took very good care not to pay too much. One enterprising publican wanted to charge two guineas a-head for dinner. But Sir James wasn't to be done. He explained that one guinea was enough, and be ■wouldn't give more. However, just by way of showing that he was acting on principle and wasn't in any way mean, he sent his aide-de-camp out to the groom with a whole hulf-a-crown by way of douceur. But the groom did not regard it in that way. Ho did not understand French, and he said it was too much of a do, sir. The honest fellow declared that he couldn't think of taking so much money all at once, even from a Governor, and with tears in nis manly eyes he begged the gallant aide to restore it to the generous donor. Think of that, my boy ! What a re-proof it wag to his greedy master." The New York Tribune, in reply to an inquiry whether iron filings are beneficial, ' as a fertiliser,' to old apple trees, justly treats the notion with ridicule, because, although iron is ' indispensable to the health and growth of plants, tho quantity they use is so small, being not more than one part in. ten or twenty thousand of tho plant, and iron is so abundant in all soils, that tho application as a fertiliser ia not likely to be generally beneficial.' Bnt though iron bo not a fertiliser it is certainly of use as a preventive of what is called American blight, and of aphis upon the brassicatribe. Our experience of tho uso of iron in this way has led us to regard it as noxious to many kind of plants a» well as to their insect plagues, so that »c cannot deem it in any ■ respect a fertiliser. It would be expedient to institute a series of experiments with a view to determide its value and utility in horticulture. Tho society's gardens- at Richmond would probably afford opportunities for such experiment! as might be necessary. A ■writer in a Melbourne paper says: — '"The superstitious belief which nearly all married women have in the hidden vntues of 'he wedding-ring has often struck me as being very affecting. Nine women out of ten will tell yo,u that ther wedding-ringa have never been off their fingers since the day they were married, and would look on any accident that would lead to a removal of tbo matrimonial emblem as a misfortune to be for ever deplored. Thi* speaks ■well for women. It shows how they cherish us in their very heart ef heaits, and how they strivo to have always beforo them an outward and visible sign of the inward and spiritual grace we have given to their lives. It is well that custom requires tho symbol of the married state to be worn by the woman. It allows her an opportunity of publicly expressing the value in which she holds it, and inferential^ the loyalty to tho man who placed it there. It is to the woman what the Victoria Cross is to the soldier, or the bine ribbon to tho statesman — something to bo openly worn-, and never parted with while lif3 holds. She may scold va and quarrel with us, neglect her home and flirt with other men, lecture ns for an hour when we are a minute late for dinner, bnt she clings to the wedding-ring through all, and would shudder at tho thought of taking it off. From which I draw the conclusion that they love us a great deal more, in a secretive sort oi manner, than we give them credit for." There is a good deal better way of preserving shingles than to paint them. We have seen shingle roof's kept till fifty years old only by the application of lime. Here is a very effective recipe for preserving shingles : — Take a- potash kettle or large tub, and put into it one Barrel of woodashes lye, olbs of white vitriol, olbs of alum, and as much salta» will dissolve in the mixture. Make tbe liquor quite warm, and put as many shingles in it as can be conveniently wetted at once. Stir them up with a fork, and when well soaked take them out and put in more, renewing the liquor as necessary. Then lay the shingles in the usual manner. After they are laid, take the liqnor that is left, put limo enough to make it into whitewash, and apply to the roof with a brush or au old broom. This wash may be renewed from time to time. Salt and lye »re excellent preserrali-res of woorl. — Ohio Farmer. Mark Twain once bought a horse by auction. "In the afternoon," he says, " I brouuht tho creature into the Plaza, and certain citizens held him by the head, and others by the tail, while I mounted hii». As soon a* they let go, he placed all his feet in ji bunch together, lowered his back and thun suddenly arched it upward, and shot me straight into the air, a matter of three or four feet I I came as straight down again, lit in the saddle, v ont instantly up again, camt 1 ilown almost on the high pommel, shot up again, and came down on tbe horse's neck— *ll in the space of three of four seconds. Then he rose, and stood almost straight up on hit bind feet; and I, clasping hit lean neck desperately, slid back into the saddle and held on. He enme down, and immediately hoisted his lieela into the air, delivering si Ticious kick at the iky, and ttood on his fore feet ; and then down he came once more, and began the original exercise of shooting me straight up again. Tho third time I went up, I heard a stranger say, i Oh, don't he buck, though !' While I was up, somebody struck the hone a soundi'g thwack with a leather strap, and when I arrived again 'the horse' was not there." "Mamma," asked a little girl of her mother, as she passed a dentist's window in which she saw some seta of false teeth, •' what are those for 5 " Those are for people who havtn't «ny teeth, my dear." "Couldn't you buy some for baby, mamma?" asked the little one. A youn£ liidy had coquetted until the victim was completely ex hnusted. He rose to go away She whUpeTed, as sho accompanied him to the door, "I shall be at homo next Sunday ovening." "So shall I," he replied.