MISCELLANEOUS.

Waikato Times, Volume VII, Issue 337, 11 July 1874, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

A Slight Mistake. —Chubb's clock got out of order one dny nbout Christmas time, and began to strike wrong. That was the cause of tbo fearful excitement at bis bouse one nigbt. They were all in bed, sound asleep at midnight, wlion the dock suddenly struck fire. The new hired girl happening to wake just as it began, heard it, and bounced ont of bed, under the impression tbat morning bad come ; and, ns it is as dark at five a in. just at tbat season as at midnight, she did not perceive her mistake, but went down into the kitchen and began to get breakfast. While she was bustling about in a pretty lively manner, Chubb happened to wake and he heard the noise. He opened his room door cautiously, and ci"ipt softly to the head of the stairs to listen. lie could distinctly hear some one moving about the kitchen and dining-room, and apparently packing up the china. Accordingly bo went back to bis room and woke Mrs Chubb, and gave her orders to spring the rattle out of tbo front window the moment she hoard Ins gun go off. Then Chubb seized his fowling-piece, and, going down to the dining-room door, where ho could hear the burglars at work, be cocked the gun, aimed it, pushed the door open with the muzzle and fired. Instantly Mrs Chubb sprung the rattle, and 1 before Chubb conld pick up the lacerated hired girl the front door was burst open by two policemen, who came into the dining-room. Seeing Chubb with a gun, and a bleeding woman on the floor, they imagined that murder had been committed, and one of them trotted Chubb off to the stationhouso while tho other remained to investigate things. Just then the clock struck six. An explanation ensue 1 from the girl, who only had a few bird-shot in her leg, and the policeman left to bring Chubb home. He arrived at about three in the morning, just as the clock was striking eight. When the situation was first unfolded to him, his first action was to jam the butt of his gun through the clock, whereupon it immediately struck 243, and then Chubb pitched it over the fence. lie has a new clock now, and things are working better. ;

ImpbovEd SnEErsHEAns. —This invention (says the report in a trade circular) supplies a great want, as it enables men without experience to shenr sheep better than the most skilled shearer can with the old-fashioned shears. The principle 13 simple in the extreme. Thejhandles are squeezed together, which forces Ihe cut across the comb or teeth, which are sharpened, thereby producing a scissors-cuttjng motion. When the knifo has travelled over tho teeth, it lifts itself by a peculiar motion from off them, so that when taking its back or return motion tho knifo allows the wool to escape, nnd does not injure it by scraping. A w tiling man can shear, it is said, six sheep while n little o^er one is being done by tbo old process ; besides which, it does aw ay with the necessity of having skilled labor. A curious vessel, built in Europe, and now owned by the White Star line, will shortly be placed in service. Die framework is of iron, covered with sheets of thick copper, riveted in tho samo manner as iron vessels. The whole interior is made of copper, the inside being galvanised, the beams and every exposed part completely protected by copper. The masts are of wood, but shout hod in copper from top to stem. Sho is a screw-steamer capable of earning 7000 tons, Custom-house measurement', i* about 515 feet in length, and has been christened ' Adirondack., She will be used for tho transportation of corrosive sublimate, vitriol, potash, soda, and similar kinds of freight, which are destructive to wooden ships, and even iron-clad vessels. Her outsido will be coated with a preparation of fat and copal varnish, to protect her from the effect of the sea water, and it is said that the reflection of the ship upon the ocean on a bright sunny day is like the reflection of the sun at sunset on a large building containing many windows, only an a largo scale. It is claimed that she can be seen at sea on such days a distance of about 17 miles. Your every-day toilet is a part of jour character. A girl who looks like a " fury" or a sloven in tho morning, is not to be trusted, however finely she may look in the evening. No matter how humble your room may be, there are eight things it should contain, viz : —A mirror, wash-stand, soap, towel, eonib, hair, nail nnd tooth brushes. These are just as essential as your breakfast, before which you should moke good and free use of them. Parents who fail to provide their children with such appliances, not only make a great mistake, but commit a sin of omission. Look tidy in the morning, and after the dinner work is over improve your toilet. Make it a rule of your daily life to " dress up" for the afternoon. Your dress may, or need not be, anything better than calico; but with a ribbon or flower, or some bit of ornament, you can havo an air of self-respect and satisfaction, that invariably comes with being well dressed. A Birl with fine sensibilities cannot help feeling embarrassed and awkward in a ragged dirty dress, with her hair unkempt, if a stranger or neighbor should come in. Moreover, your self-respect should demand the decent apparelling of your body. You should mako it a point to look as well as you can, even if you know nobody will see you but yourself. — Household. A. French paper relates tho following singular case arising out of policy of insurance uyon a quantity of cigan. A gentleman one day presented himsslf at tho office of the Phoenix, and snid he wanted to insure a quantity of cigars which ho had imported from H»vano. 'Cigars! 1 said the manager, that is droll; however, what is the value of them ?' The gsntleman replied that he wished to insure thorn for 2000 francs ; an inspector examined tho cigars, and, having satisfied himself as to tbeir value, and the premium was fixed and paid, and the policy delivered to the insurer. Four months afterwards the gentleman returned to the insurance office, and said, ' Gentlemen, the cigars which I insured with' you have been burnt, and I apply for the amount of tho policy. 1 'Wo have had no intimation of the fire,' said the managor, ' how did it occur ?' 'In the simplest way in the world,' replied the gentloman, 'I h»vo smoked them one after the other. Hero is the certificate of my neighbor and a lodger, -who attested the fact.' 'You are joking,' the inanagsr told him. 'We shall not pay you.' 'I am serious, and you shall pay me,' replied the insurer. The result was that an action at law, the presiding Judge holding tho company to the text of tho argument, said that as it was not denied on the one sido that certain merchandise had been insured against fire, and on the other hand that the said merchandise had been destroyed by fire, he must give judgment against the company. The latter did not offer much defence to tho action, but on tho following day a summons was issued at tbeir instanco upon tho plaintiff for arson, for having wilfully sot fire to merchandise which had been insured. The crime being punishment with death, the sharper, who no longer chuckled over tho supposed success of his trickery, was too happy to make terms with the company, by paying all tho expenses which had been incurred. The old soldiers of the First Empire heM their annual banquet in Paris, March 20th, at the establishment, Catelain, in tho Palais Royal; M. Bolmontct in the chair. The tradition loaf of army bread was on the table, adorned with a, branch —this time entirely budless—of the colebiatcd chcstnut-trcc of the 20 Mars. The assemblage -.vas not numerous, the final retreat sounds more loudly every day for those ancient warriors. Of the 3000 who were alive in 1852, scarcely a hundred remain. Toasts were drank to the memory of the groat Emperor, to the Army of Austorlitz, to Marshal MacMahon, and to the resurrection of the glory of the country. Tho guests then Bcpaiatcd with the usual farewell saying of " to our next mooting." A very peculiar point of law has cropped up in Victoria A wife sued her hnsband for maintenance, and obtained an order for tlio payment of £50 por month. As ho resided in England, although hisvpropcity was in Victoria, the wife applied to have sufficient amount of his property seized, so as fco guarantee tho payment of this monthly sum. The necessary capital amount was fixed at £16,000, and for that amount an order-was giantetl. Tho effect of this is- to place n man in this position- Whilo he is alive his property may be soized and tnlcen out of his control to provide for the maintenance of his wife, but at his death he may will this property away, without leaving his wito anything. Thus he can control his property more alter death thtu during his life.

The Fenian Pbisojiers. — In the House of Commons, on the 27th March, Mr Anderson asked the Secretary of Stute for the Home Department, whether anj of the remain- \ ins; Fenian prisoners wure implicated in the murder of theManchester policeman, or in the Ckrkenwoll outrage, or in an y other non-political crime ; aid if the time had not come when he might safely recommend that the Royal clemency be extended to all those prisoners whose offence was distinctly political, even if aggravated by their haying been in. her Majesty's survica ? Mr Cross : I cannot undertake to f place any exact interpretation upon certain terms used in the question of the hon member — namely, what is a nonpolitical crime and what is an offence distmotly political. I will, therefore, confine myself to stating the number of priBoners now undergoing sentence There are two prisoners undergoing penal servitude for life connected with the murder of the Manchester policeman ; there are no prisoners undergoing sentence connected with the Clerkenwell outrage; thero ace two prisoners undergoing sentences of 15 and 7 yean respectively for treason-felony in supplying Fenians with arms, one of them being tkeir specially accredited agent. There are, in addition, 11 soldiers under sentence for life— 3 in England, 8 in Australia, and also 3 more soldiers in Australia for shorter sentences — one for 35 years, two for 10 years— who are now, probably, on ticket-of-leave ; and there a-ro two prisoners in Ireland under sentience of 20 years and 10 years respectively for shooting at the constabu ► lary. It is not the intention of the Government to interfere with the course of law. (Loud cheers.) In reference to the above the Mail makes the following observations i~1A declaration of amnesty might, perhaps, even operate to turn th,e scale in favor of a Ministerial candidate at some future Irish election ; it would, at all ovents have done much to reconcile a large section of the Irish Liberals to the I recent change of Government. That Mr Disraeli has resisted this temptation shows his determination to carry on> the government of the country on strictly Constitutional' principles, not svrerving from the dictates of justioe, or purchasing support by a weak compliance with tho demands of any party, when ho considers those demands in tbemrelvesunjust, or such as, with regard to the general good, tbouldi not be acceded to. It also shows his confidence that, whileadministering the affairs of the State on these principles, he •will receire the support of all right-thinking, men. In one respect, Mr Disraeli's conduct on this occasion does contrast forcibly and favorably with that of Mr Gladstone. His decision, pronounced on Friday evening in bhe House of Commons by the Home Secretary, is given in plain, unmistakable i language, There is no evasion, no nebulous suggestion, to meet the exigencies of the hour, of a remote boon to be forgotten or explained away afterwards.' Rats. — ' An ingenious individual of Liskeard, Cornwall,, has for some time past been exhibiting himself in s dresscomposed from top to toe of ratskins, which he has been collecting for three years and it half. The dress was madeentirety by himself; it consists of hat, neckerchief, coat, waistcoat, trousers, tippet, gaiters, and shoes. The numberof rats required to complete the suit was 670 ; and t|pkindividual, when thus dressed, appears exactly like ond^ be Exquimaug described in the travels of Parry and Boss, l'ne tippet or boa is composed of the pieces of skin immediatt-ly around the tail of the rats, and is a very curious part of thodress, containing about 600 tails, and those none the shortest. | According to the French Moniteur, there are in France upwards of 2,000,000,000 rats and other rodents. Supposing each of these little quadrupeds to commit the damage or only one centime per annum, this loss would amount in the aggregate to 20,000,000 francs annually. Hence it is most desirable to find some means of destroying this vermin in large numbers as expeditiously as possible. But it is about slaughter-houses that they do most congregate. At Monfaucon the proprietor of a slaughter-house had a walled enclosure where, ono night, he threw the carcases of two orr three horses, and then went quietly witH his workmen and stopped up all the holes by which the rats had entered it, after which Tie went in wittt these same -workmen, each armed with a stick. In a single month he killed 16,050,, and 2650 in one night. There is a common pound in Pariscovering some ten acres, surrounded by a stone wall, and to» this all dead carcases are brought. The bones- of thes&animals are valuable, but then to be saleable they must beclean, divested of adherent and often putrid flesh. To perform this operation by hand is both expensive andy tedious,, and as rats were found to be fond of horseflesh, the authorities have colonized this horse-pound with rats by thousands-] from the catacombs of Paris, and they perform their work ' beautifully, so that the carcase put in overnight is found a> neat and polished skeleton in the morning. But, as may besupposed, rats so well provided for rapidly increase ; hencethey have to be kept under. Every month a grand ' battue is made upon the colony. The manner of doing this iscurious. Horizontal and oylindrical holos are tared all round, in and at the foot of the enclosing woll», the depth and diameter being respectively the length and thickness oft rat's body. Upon the morning of the ' battue,' men armed' ith tin pans, kettles, drums, &c, rush in at the peep off day, and ' charivari '..the poor rats, who, frightened to death,, poke tiheir heads into, the fir»t opening. They were then* killed in large numbers before they had time to escape. For BtmiNh. — " A Begular Prnrtitioner' soys that for bodil burns ana scnlds the following remedy is almost magical in* its efficacy : — Mix common kitchen whitening witLsweet oil,, or, if sweet oil is not at hand, -with water. Plaster the whole- , of the burn nnd somo inihes beyond it, all round, with the • above, after mixing it to the consistency of common pafte,. ■ and lay it on an eighth or rather more of an inch in thickness. Ik acts like a- charm }. the most agonising pain is in &» few minutes stilled. Take care to keep the mixture ,moiit by l the application from time to time of fresh oil or fresh water,. ; mid at night wrap the whole part affected in gutta-percha or- , flannel to keep the moisture from evaporating.