MISCELLANEOUS.

Waikato Times, Volume VIII, Issue 412, 5 January 1875, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

> The Virginia City Enterprise has th« following :— A ' fcentleroan Who has just nrrived from the borax fields ot the d<*ert regions surrounding the town of Columbus, in the eastern part of this state, sires m the following noooitttot the sad fate of Mr Jonathan Newliouw, a man of consider, able inventive genius. Mr Newbonw, had conetruqted what lie called 'solar armour,' an apparatus intended to protect the wearer from the fierce beat of the sun in crossing- deserts irad burning alkali plains. The armour consisted of a long oW-fitting jacket made of common sponge, and a oap ov hood of the same material ; both jacket and hood being about an inch in thickness. Before starting across a desert this armour" was to be saturated with water. Under the right arm was suspended an india-rubber sack filled with water and haying a small gutta peroha tube leading to the top of the hood. In order to keep the armour moist, all tlhat was neeoasary to be done by the traveller, as he proV "grossed over the burning sands, was to press the sack oooa- - siohally, when a small quantity of water would be forced up and thoroughly saturate the hood and the jacket below it. Thus, by the evaporation of tbe moisture in the ardour, it , ■was calculated might be produced almost any, degree of cold, j Mr Cowhouse wont down to Death Valley, determined to ~^ry the experiment of crossing that terrible plaoe in his armour. 'Ho Started oat into the v»U«yr on * morning from the camp nearest its borders, telling the men at the oamp, at he laced his armour on his baok^tbat he would return in twojlays, The next day an Indian, who could speak a few words of English, oame to the camp in a great «tate of excitement. He made the men understand that he wanted the.ra, to follow him ; at the diatanoe of about 20 miles out « into the desert the Indian pointed to a "human figure seated agakist a rock. Approaching, they found it to be Newhouse, still in his armour. He was dead and frozen stiff ; his beard was covered with frost-rand though the noonday sun poured down \(s fieroest rays— an icicle over a footi in ldngth hung- from bis nose. There be had perished miserably beeausehis armour had worked but too well and because it •was laced up behind, where he could not reaoh the fastenings. Dr Kenealy, Q.C., addressed" a meeting of between 2,000 and 3000 persons at the Victoria Hall, Leeds, on October 21, and went through the chief incidents of the Tichborne trial, reiterating his well-known views on the subject. Mr O-uildford Onslow, who presided, declared it to be the duty of all Englishmen " to rise as Britons 1 , to obtain redress for J • Sir BogerV terrible wrongs." At the sitting of th« Central Criminal Court on Oclober 27, a bill of indictment was preferred before the grand jury against Dr Kenealy for libel. w The proiecutrix was Mrs S. Pittcndreigh, a witness on tbe • Tiohborne trial, and it is understood that the charge- was founded upon the same facts a 9 were recently laid before Mr Alderman Paterson at Guildhall ' Police Court, upon winch occasion the Alderman refused to grant a summens. The grand jury returned a true bill The P/rince Imperial made a publio appearance as one of the competitor? at a grand assault of anna recently, given at the RayaL Military Academy, under authority of LieutGeneral Sir J, L. Simmons, Governor of the Academy, and in the presence of a large assembly, which included nearly all the officers of the garriion. Lieut. Craokenden and Sergeant-^fajorPentacost previously engaged in a contest 1 ' with the iword against the fcayonet, and then Lieut. Torkington, R.A., who conducted ths proceedings, announoed * contest' with foils, not in the programme ; and two young gentlemen, equipped for tb* 'eaoounter in padded waistcoats and white gloves, appeared on the platform, and were .introduced as the Prince Imperial and Mr Conneau. The Prince was loudly cheered, and the two gentlemen, after the customary .salute, proceeded to the encounter. They both proved good jsworxismen, and the Prince r wh« is especially aotive, gained the first Jut. Both fenced very cautiously, until by a dexterous thrust, Mr C Oonrieau touched his adversary's breast, and scored one also. The contest for the hhird and deciding hit was tvat"]ho^ with -great interest, and was .evidently exciting all H..-F , ni jYprdsmen. •At length, the r T^three well'ineant -\ u i, MUI xus,aui* s unni;, koe lv ui&bWoindby an expert • movement, and made a fair hit on the left breast amid much applause. The Prince also took part with tb,e other cadets in a series of athletic exercises,, in which some of the •indents exhibited remarkable skill. The failure of the American tobacco crop for 1874 unfortunately admits- of no doubt ;' and smokers who inquire into such matters have grounds fop feeling no little apprehension. The crop of 1873 was a full one ; but owing to continuous droughts in most districts it was impossible to plant out the young plants in due season. The result was that at the close of the planting season the acreage under tobacco in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Southern Indiana was not equal to one-fourth of an average. Virginia was roughly estimated Missouri at two-thirds of au average. ±o make matters worse, in many distriots, after the young plants had been set, they were washed out of fl»e ground by heavy rains The result is that in the United States generally the yield will be only about one-third of an average, or pur itu»> » Lures, there will only be produced this year about 88,000,000 lbs of tobacco, as against 264,000,000" lbs last year. In some large districts the falling oft will be considerably greater, as for instance in Kentucky, where," judging from a recent report, from 75 -per cent, of the counties there will only be about 13 per cent of the crop of 1873. It may be added that in Germany there will be only about a one-third crop, and that not fit for the manufacture of cigars. J Some weeks ago, says the Paducah Kentuckian, a woman namedßridget Malhony, applied to Dr Jackson, of Columbus, Ky., for the placa of cook. Employment was given her, and for a short while she gave satisfaction. A few days ago the doctor notioed some irregularities in her life, and . notified her that she must look out for another home. This appeared to infuriate her beyond control— the pent-up devil in her nature burst forth in a fury, of passion that sent the dootor scamperins for the police and the family for an asylum of safety. Waen he returned, Bridget had departed, leaving his mirrors and furniture" a wreck- It appear* that, from a Mistaken kindness/she was not prosecuted, but allowed to depart unmolested. From .his residence sh« went to the boarding-house kept by an estimable German Catholic named Switzher, near the M.'and O. Railroad. She easily imposed herself upon the good nature of this lady, and was permitted to stop with, her, paying her board in work. She behaved badly again, and Mrs S. discharged her. Instead of going off, however, she went up into Mrs S.s room (it was immediately after breakfast) and sent for this- lady from tbe dining room. When sha got into- her presence she commenced to abuse her in a most shameful manner. Mrs Switzher tried to quiet her, and expressed sympathy for her. Bridget told her that she had better sympathise with hereelf, und made a* her- Mrs S. rushed downstairs, leaving her three children, consisting of a little boy four year* old, and two daughters, aged respectively six and ten, in the room. The oldest says that the two children were in the bed with the moaquito bar fastened down around it* and that Bridget deliberately took the lamp and saturated the bed and children with ooa) oil and ; flred it. Before assistance could reaoh them the, passage was a solid sheet of flame, and the two children were burned twitb. the house and most of the furniture. The fiend is in prison, and the poor mother nearly distracted with grief at her terrible loss^

Why mast Ealing be objectionable to Q-ood Templars ?— It is compounded of A.L ,B. and GUN.— Fun. Sir Hercules Robinson has annexed Fiji. A labour worth j of Hercules.— F%»oh. • . i . Young Lady : " Have y m seen Bridget about ? I can t find her anywhere \ " Pafc : " &hure an bedad didn't I see her jiat now asleep in the bitohen, watching the bread baking." — Fun. f^Coarae Protestant (to Ritualist clareryraan) : "How are you off for cat's-meat?" Reverend Ritualist: "What do you mean by cat's-meat? " Coarse Protestant : " Lights." — Punch. First Passenger (with filthy clay pipe) : "Im afraid you don't like the Binell of 'baccy, Sir?" Second Passenger (with, regalia): "Haw— not other people's— haw." First Passenger : " All right, Sir. Anything to obliga a gen'leman. Just hand us over one of your weeds, and I'll put out my pipe." — Punch Boozy Parent (whose daughter has a weakness for an artist) : " I .bear that yon take walks with that picturemaking fellow. Have no more to say to him ! A pretty fellow, with scarcely a coat to his, back ! " Smart Grandsont " Ob, come now, gran'pa, he r s not much worse off than you in that reapecfc, for it was only yesterday I heard the doctor say you hadn't any coat to your stomach."— Fun.