MISCELLANEOUS.

Waikato Times, Volume VIII, Issue 445, 25 March 1875, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Timaru fyjcratd publishes an interesting- article on the observance o£ Valentine's Day, and! concludes *& foHows :— u Nowadays. *■ Valentines * aye either mere toys for the gratification of children, cp^lse coarse weapons with which very thoughtless ofc^very low people annoy each- other- ~ We cannot ima^ne , anyone with a grain of sense or spirit .sending a purchased picture or printed verses,, 'Ifcrnugh the post, as 1 a genuine love missive ; and in which that is done must be very rare indeed! As a mean© ti£ pleasing children,. and excitiag their furiosity, the distribution of Valentines, is' a "Terjr harmless' custom, and may well b$ encouraged* We cahn#i iind terms^ however, severeenough to property designate the cowardly practiceof srod&g, anonymously, ill-natured or improper cai\atures for tji c purjwse of giving £am. We havlkknowft the mos.t cruel insults conveyed to helpless people Sf means; and many a grudge* wlKch^fear jirevents the open expression of, is, w\<3bed*with safety by posting an offensive Valentine. It is a blackguardly, sneaking, indecent custom ; and anY man who would be guilty of it,, afi^r reflecting a^jninute on its baseness, deserves, .'t^ b^ horse whipped^ That the practice we allude toh6weve^y*is only too common, is manifest from the ie^r^ons number of nasty Valentines that are exjiiostedN'fbr sale in the shops. Whether the good sense $M right feeling which generally form the? i substratum of English' character, will eventually ! suppress'it, we cannot say ', but we think the law UnigtK be turned in many worse directions than the sale.of publications avowedly intended to do harm." to the Spor#Pg Gazette, thp Ohan^rlain recently oompls*ned that the religious-, feelingiyof the audiences at tije Charing Cross The-, atre were needleatty and wantonly shocked by certain, allusions to Mr &purgeoa ; Whereupon Miss Lydia Thompson took the bull by hotfns, and wrote to MrSpurgeon as follows :: — '• Chating Cross Thes|fe.. Sir, —^ln the extravaganza, " Blue Beard," now playing, at this theatre, the hero ( pnacted by myaclA^ gives a card beai^ng your pamo to Blue Beard, acftl^ we 'always like to Iqok upon the Surrey side' This announcement is invariably received with great applause ; but^ in ' deference to your position, I write to ask if jcsl have anp objee f n to tlte use of your name. If so, I will v w it at Once. — Yours respectfully Lydu T S^ev. C. H. Spurgeon." v To thi.i letter Mi son. duly leceivec} the following "eptv : — " '^Ir Spurgeon duly received your cou> and would have replied, but has beer an attack of illness. Mr Spur^ebr that, you having had the i i^hlraVof the little incident, he leave tho matter in your fully, Charles Blacksha

depend u^ttTit^for^^Bioal -JieifcHjh alone, but that 1 tKeir mental capacity inusV& l&e end stiffen by having too much, too little, or improper- food .given to them,. We have heard i^ asserted on best medical authority, thtft an insufficiency of nourishment during childhood ctoes not always have the effect upon the physical growth which might so naturally be expected, but that it impoverishes the brain power, and gives us the dull iiriellect of the farm laborer, whose thought and inWHg&nce is generally most difficult to awaken. Iru^jDe true that this density of comprehension, is owin^tp bad and insufficient feeding, ho*v vital beeches tne necessity for choosing and preparing with "care and the diet of our little ones, if we wish to - raise up a generation of intellectual > men and women. What happier or more beautiful sight can be had than children rich in all the blessings of perfect health* In Queen Victoria's crown there are 1,363 brilliant diamonds, 1,27 d rose diamonds, and 147 table diamonds, 1 large ruby, 17 sapphires, LI emeralds, 4 small rubies, and 217 pearls — a total of 3,1 8& precious stones. A strange item of news is, given by a late New York Herald. It reads -.—'Twenty barrels entered "is ' salt meat,' and • Australian beef* were seized at Portsmouth England, on the 23rd October, and in each barrel wa.9 found the corpse of a full-grOwn negro. They reached England from the United States, and werA" intended to dissection in London : but who sent them and where* did\he sender get them?' If this is the sort of ' Australian okpf that occasionally finds its waj to England, there itf^io wonder why it should not be altogether popular. ' Some resident* of Creswick,' observes the Avooa Mail, 4 are agitating to have the name df Slaughtered hill, tfhere many of the Burgesses reside, altered to one more j euphonious. If settlement should extend Very greatly in this distriot, we may also have occasion for a change in our local nomenclature. 'Fryingpan FJat,' 'Dead Horse Gully,' 'Linger and Die,' and 'Strip me Naked,' are scarcely the plac« to have one's English letters addressed to:' , 4*iy „