MISCELLANEOUS.

Waikato Times, Volume V, Issue 300, 14 April 1874, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

||Many persons, soya a coriebpondent of the Garden, are very susceptible to the poiaonoua influences of vegetable substances ; and poison ivy and poison oak are highly injurious to the skin, and produce excessively painful sores. ( When the burning and itching first commence, if the skin it painted with a thick whitewash, made out of a handful of unslacked lime dissolved in just enough water to form a substance that will cling to the flesh, these sores will subside very quickly. Often one application is sufficient, but if not,. put it on two, three, or more times, until the lime kills the poison entirely. If tho skm has become broken, however, this remedy may be too severe ; but a salvo, made by pouring liquid ammonia into sweet oil, stirring in rapidly until it forms a thick paste, and then applying it on a cloth to the surface, will extract the poison. For curing the stings of bees, hornets, and spiders, common fine salt and bicarbonate of soda, in equal parts, is the beat remedy. Rub the powder well into the bite, and repeat the application if the pain docs not cease. If the soda is not at hand, soft soap, made of wood ashes, will often cure tho pain. Saleratus, moUtemd to a paste and rubbed into the sting, is also a good remedy. The poison of these insects is of an acid nature, and an. alkali applied directly to it, before the blood has absorbed much of it, it very efficacious. One great benefit of tho ballot clearly is that it brings to light tho machinations of the unseen powers of evil agamat the great I'rotestant champion. Look at the numbers polled for each candidate at the Peterborough election. Out of cix. Mr Whalley comes second, thus keeping his Beat in Parliament, to the terror, doubtless, of all Jesuits and such like wicked persons. But what is (he number of -votes polled for the candidate next below Mr Whallej — that is, for Mr 'Wlmllej's most immediate opponent 3 'Let him that hath understanding count the number of the Beast.' Mr AVhalley, no man can doubt, hath understanding, and we may be bine that he has counted it long ago. For the number of lotes polled for Mr Whalley'a immediate opponent, is no other than 666. It is plain, 'then, that it is the Beast in his onn person against whom Mr Whalley has striven, and, to the delight of the Protestant world, successfully striven. Under the old way of voting we might never have known this. The craft and subtlety of Mr Whalley's enemies, seen anti unseeen, would have known how to hush up the facts. The poll would never have been allowed to stand at the exact figure of 666. If no means could be found to raise it to 667. it would doubtless have been kept dawn to 665. But with the ballot the truth comes to light ; the mark of the benst camutbe hid, and we see over whom Mr Whalley hts been triumphant. Mr Walley, after escaping like a bird out of the snares of the Court of Yueen'i Bench, has escaped out of the subtler snares which were laid for him at Peterborough. The voice which an admiring House of Commons has 80 often called on to sing will now surely be raised londer than ever in a song o( thankfulness for an institution which thus clearly brings to light the true nature of the principalities and powers ngainst which Mr Whalley lias to wre3tle.— Pall Mall Gazette. The XIX e. Silcle announces that one of tho most distinguished officers of the French Navy, M. P. Gamier, ha» been assassinated by the Chinese rebels of Tonquin- He was accompanied by Lieutenant Balmy, who opneors to have met with the same fate. This melancholy intelligence was transmitted to the Geographical Society of France by Admiral dt> la Ronciero Le Noury, who received it by telegraph fiom Admiral Dupre In the absence of circumstantial details,. Admiral de la lioneiere read a letter dated previously to tne sad event, which had been addressed to him by one of his correspondents in ludo-China. From this letter it would appear that M. Gamier was in the month of November la«t engaged in an expedition in Tonquin, his object being to enforce the Treaties by expelling from the country a Femchman who had supplied arms to the people of Yun-nan. M. Gamier had captured a town and made prisoners, who are now on their way to France. It is possible that he fell in a subsequent engagement, but the telegram distinctly states that he was assassinated. On this point full details are expected to arrive on the 19th or 20th inst. M. Gamier was only 35 years of age, having been born at St Etienne on the 25th cf July, 1839. Appointed a midshipman in 1860, he was attached in tho same year to tho staff of Admiral Charner, and in that capacity he made the campaigns of China and Cochin China. Three years later lie was appointed Inspector of Native Affairs, and soon afterwards he publish^* a pamphlet in which he propounded an elaborate scheme fjr an exploring expedition into the interior of Indo-Chiua, with, a view to the opening up of commercial communications brtwren Southern China and the French possessions. M. de Chasseloup, at that time Minister of Marine, nominated a. •cientiflc commission to carry out this expedition, the importance of which he fully appreciated. On the sth of June, 1866, an expedition under the command of Captain de Lagre'e, nnd comprising among other officers Lieutenant Gamier, left Sai-Gon, went up the river Me-Rong, explored Indo-China, and proceeded as far as Tun-nan. After the death of his chief, Lieutenant Gamier assumed the command of the expedition, which he brought back to Sai-Gon, along the Blue River. This voyage of exploration, one of the most important which has been accomplished iv the present century, occupied two yean and a few days. The death of lint young and intrepid traveller ii on irreparable loss for France and for the whole scientific world. The Toronto Mail gives an account of a ludicrous affair ariting out of tho resemblance of two young gentlemen, residents in that city. One of them, it seem*, was recently married, the other is still a bachelor. Lately, according to tho correspondent of tho Mail, the married person went to a dinner party. The unmarried one, as it so happened, wns similarly occupied on the same evening, but, unluckily for his lcputation, he made a miscalculation as to his capacity for nativo wine, and spoilt his night's amusement. While a glimmer of reason remained he endeavoured to get home without attracting attention. By the time tho poor young man reached a cabstand, his mmd had become so coiifusod that he was unable to remember either his own name or thenanie of the sheet in which he lived. As he was engaged in gesticulating somewhat wildly to the cab-driven a iriend of the married young gentleman, happening to pass, noticed his plight, and confounding hit identity with the latter, pushed him into a cab, whispered to the driver, and continued on his way. Tho result of this friendly act was the eon- j veyancc of the unmarried man to the house of the married ' man, where his lamentable condition, as may be easily •upposed, cieatrd anything but a pleatant surprise. The young wife was deeply mortified at the figure he cut in her father's house. Subsequently, as he lay asleep upon a sofa, tho father-in-law entered the room to remonstrate with him. After wasting much good advice, the father-in-law suddonly discovered the mistake that had been made by hit daughter, and was in the net of trying to persuade the latter, probably much against her will, that the intoxicated young wan "as not her hu«band, when the real husband put an end to the dispute and greatly increased the embarrassment of the household by letting himself in at the hall door with a latchkey. At the recent sale of the wines of the Emperor Napoleon 111., enu de vie, very old, laid down at the Tuilenes, and having the crest and initial of tho Emperor Napoleon on each bottle, sold at £20 per do/en. Some rare old Madena, having tho iinpemi Jf. and ciown on the bottles, £15 per dozen.

Tno aUack resent!}- nm U upou thu Duk« oi Cambridge in the street is now fulU o<iil>ur«sd. Captain Maunsel deliberated di^ . ibis hii'^ulhi way of bringing bio own grievances below i . .> iWi- He struck the Comm»nder-in-Chief in order th. n,- n.igl.t be limited, and when His Koyal Higlmcs> ».,»,■< »»'»M ti> bo unlkinjr away nfter the first blow, he sHin.ii. ' a second tune that he might not be defeated in In* object. Tliero "•«=• no muhce op intent to injure, and now, having told bis story, lu> iipologi-es ; but the evidence nsjainst him leaves no alien utivc, mid he has been committed for tri'il, though admitted to W. Cnp*ain Maunsel had seen more than 16 yean' service, nud hud been specially commended lor gallantry at Caw upore, but could not obtain promotion, being frequently purchased over by junior officers He was senior in service to nine of the captains in his regiment, and to one of toe majors, but remained to become the senior subaltern in the army, with the exception of one man not eligible for promotion. In IS7I he iold bis commission, but afterwards applied to be promoted to the brevet ronk of major. It was the failure to obtain this honorary itep which rankled in his mind, and was the last straw on the load of indignities which he believed himself to have suffered. Nothing can oxeuse the folly of the man in this paultry assault ; but the facts of this case furnish a strong argument against the system of purchase but lately abolished, and which even now a large number of officers would be glad to revive. — Australasian. There are many men in existence whom deem it no harm to speak slightingly of women. According to their idea, it is quite meet that the strong should assail the weak. One of these robbers of reputation received a severe rebuke on a recent occasion. At a dinner at which no ladies were present, this man, in responding to the toast ' Woman,' dwelt almost solely on the frailty of the sex, exclaiming that the best amongst them were little better than the worst, the chief difference being their surroundings. At the conclusion of the speech, a gentleman present rose to his feet and said, ' I trust tho gentleman, in his application of his remarks, refers to his own mother and sisters, not ours." The effect of this just and timely rebuke was overwhelming, and the maligiier of women was coverned with conf'ision and shame. A farmer should make » memoranpum of everything he sees, or hint 3 he gets worth notice, ioi future use. Some things you can afford to buy at once, others you wish to inquire about Some tools are better than you now use, and when yours are worn out you will be gltd to remember where they may be bought. So there will be knowledge and useful ideas floating about you, and your memorandum book may catch a great portion of them if you will. According to the Journal of Applied Sciences, the qualities <JPthe best anthracite or cannel coal may be given to the tertiary coals by soaking them in a mixture of naphtha bitumen. A similar treatment of peat, by means of the residuum of kerosene refineries, has lately been adopted in the United States, as furnishing a fuel far superior in heating power, in freedom from foreign substances, and in availability to the best qualities of true coal. Luxury is a vice which prompts many to run into expenses beyond what their circumstances will admit. And why ? Because respect is attached to prodigality, and contempt is shown for those who do not maintain a similar profusion ; because the custom of lavish expenditure is universal, and because things that are superfluous, useless, and frivolous are rendered almost necessary and indispensable. Here is the mischief of luxury. Professor Goldwin Smith is answered He maintained at Sheffield that his experience m the United States confirmed his opinion th»t the Americans hate the Britishers, and he attempted to explain the reason. Especially in the literary class, we are informed, does this feeling exist. Men of literary and scientific attainments dislike us as a nation and as individuals. We believe Mr Smith has misinterpreted the feeling of the cultivated American? on this question, and our conviction is strengthened by Professor Tyudall, who, in a letter addressed, this morning, to a contemporary, disposes of the ex-English Professor 1 * statement. Piofussor Tyndall quotes tho view on international anutjr of eminent Americans, amongst them the Professor of the Cornell University itself. His experience of the feeling of the people of the United States is quite at variance with Mr Smith's. ' Either,' says he, ' they do not hate as alleged, or, if they do, the manner in which they suppressed this feoling, out of consideration for a guest, proves them to be the most courteous of nations.' Professor Tyndall has not been so long among our Transatlantic cousins as Professor Smith, but we prefer his judgment. He is, at all events, free from that personal bias to which, in all such matters, the Cornell proleisor is a martyr. — Globe, January 19. The influence exercisod by the moon on meteorological phenomena has beon the subject of a communication to the Academic dcs Sciences of Puns, bv M. Mirchaud. From examining tho distribution of storms between the years 1785 and 1872 he supposes that he detects some relation between the appciranto of storms and the ago of the moon, and he attempts to show by tables that tho moon has an appreciable influence on the temperature and pressure of the air, on tho stnte of the sky, and the distribution of rain. Mr George Coppm is agitating for the establishment of a Yictontm Humane Society, on the basis of the Royal Humane Society of England. St Michael's is one of the two parish churches in CuparFife in which the ministers of the first and second charges preach alternately. On the afternoon of Sunday, the 13th April, the Rev W. M'Farlan, rainUter of tho second charge, preached and intimated to the congregation that ho wished them to adopt the more modern form of worship, of standing dnring the singing and sitting or kneeling during prayer. On Sunday afternoon last, it being Mr M'Farlan's turn again to preach m St Michael*, the congregation almost unanimously adopted his suggestion. The Eev Dr Cochrane,the minister of the firit charge, preached in the afternoon. The opening psalm having been given out by the Doctor a number of the congregation rose to their feet, and the singing commenced; but ero the first line was finished the reverend gentleman, with uplifted hands, and gesticulating in the most excited manner, called upon the innovators in a loud and commanding voice to " sit down." One by one the people resumed their seats, and the innovation was not again attempted during the service. Dr Cochrane afterwards preached a discourse denouncing innovations as a scandal, a disgrace, injurious to religion and detrimental to the interests of the Church. Whether the congregation will vary their postures to suit both ministers remains to be seen. By means of an American invention, it is atated that messages may be transmitted through land wires at the rate of 500 words per minute. Attempts aro now being made to apply this invention to submarine telegraphy, and should this application prove successful, the power of deep-sea cables will be enormously increased, and it will become possible for the companies to cultivate the transmission of messages at a cheap rate, instead of confining themselves exclusively to business which can bear a high charge. The importance of the invention in the transmission of long news mossages is obvious, and it should also render possible the substitution of telegraph letters for the present mails, when long distances have to be travened. There is no reason, except expense, vr hy mercantile correspondence between England and India, or between England and Australia, should not be conducted exclusively by telegraph, and by inventions like those now 4^eferred to, the difficulty of expense will be removed. J}\t Fisherton Asylum, where a Commissioner of Lunacy wb killed by a lunatic some months ago, a female warder Ins been attacked by a lunatic giving her a violent blow on the back of the bead with a chopper. It broke her skull, and drove part of her chignon into the wound. The woman still lives. A thrilling scene occurred at Mrs Livermoro's lecture at Springfield, Vermont. The lady had been dilating eloquently upon the bad effects off tight lacing, when a young woman in the gallery, with great difficulty and much perseverance, burst her corset strings, and drawing them forth, knotted them together and tossed them to some gentlemen near by, with the observation : " Here, boys, you can have this to play cats-cradle with." } In the Thuana we read of a passionate old judge, who was sent into Gascony, with very considerable powers to examine into many abuses which had crept into the administration of justice. Arriving late at Port St Mary, he asked "how near he was to the city of Agen ? " They told him two leagues. Ho then de 1 ined to proceed that same evening, although they told bin -<t the leagues were long, and the roads very bad. In consequence of his obstinacy, the judge ■was bcmircd, benighted, and almost shaken to pieces. He reached Agen however by midnight, with tired horses, harassed spirits, and went to bod in a very ill-humour. The next morning he summond tho court of justice to meet ; when niter having opened his commission in form, his first decree was, "that for the future, the dibtance from Agen to Port St Mary should be reckoned six leagues." And this decree was ordered to be registered in the records of tho province, before be wonld proceed to any other business. It is manifest that the British public, or, at all events, a considerable portion of the public, finds it impossible to entertain any great amount of awe at tho sight of a gamekeeper — even when acting on behalf of Royalty, and dressed in his vrrv "best coat with brass buttons," and carrying "a % polished walking stick." Such, at least, wns the experience oi h<>r Majesty's bead gamekeeper, who on the last day of jN'oveinber, was contumeliouslj treated in Windsor Park. Four men were taking a Sunday walk in that favorite pleasure ground, when the sight of the respectable bead gamekeeper touched some spring or other in the mind of oue of them— a certain Mr Tidbury. He forthwith " made it noise with his hut, and said 'Pfullo ! Hi, hi !' " Her Majesty's keeper came up in great wratb, and sternly demanded — " Did you call me ? " " No, sir, I did not," observed Mr Tidbury. Whereupon the keeper called his tormentor " a (adjective) bar," and applied tho polifhed walking stick to his back. W '1 he transaction wns somew lint dramatic, reminding one of tho first scene m Rouiej and Juliet, where the biting of a thumb leads to similar consequences. The county magistrates before whom Her Mijosty's keeper was brought to account, mildly reproved Irs violence ; but as there had undoubtedly been great, provocation, and as brass buttons and a. polished walking stick must n at i rally go for «omething, they have held tho assault to baie boen justifiable, and mulutod poor Mr Tidhm-v in the sum of 13s for coming