MISCELLANEOUS.

Waikato Times, Volume VIII, Issue 456, 20 April 1875, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

As an eminent Q.C. was passing along Collinsstreet a few days ago, I}© was met by the United States vice-consul, who was accompanied by a skipper of real Yankee grit. An introduction took place, and the consular officer mentioned that the nautical visitor to the port was involved in some law business, and that he found great difficulty in getting a sound legal opinion upon the point in dispute. The captain forthwith began his story, but was stopped by the consul, who told him it was not etiquette to approach a barrister without the intervention of a solicitor. However, an adjournment having been moved across the way, the Q.C, who is one of the most good-natured fellow in the world, Said, " Now, captain, whalfo your^cn^culty V The ' story was soon told, and in two minutes ha was in receipt of a clear and valuable opinion. " What's to pay ? " asked the gratified skipper. " Pooh ! Nothing," was the ready response. "Waal," said Captain Jonathan, " you air the straightest old hoss of a kerbstone lawyer I've met yet. Why, that advice of yourn would have cost me a dollar, any way, in Philadelphia ! " — " Australasian." Constance Kent, the Road murderess, is still alive. In a paper on female prison life in England, the ' Daily News ' special correspondent relates a visit which he paid to Working prison, and says :—: — " Passing a file of stocking knitters on my way out of the prison, I noticed a woman of about thirty standing at the end of the row. She was full-fea-tured, of sallow complexion, with dark eyes, and had short, dark hair pushed back under her cap. She was noticeable amid the crowd because, while all the rest curtsied as the Lady Superintendent passed, and looked eagerly for the ever-ready smile of recognition, «he, after casting one sharp, angry glance at the approaching visitors, stood sullenly regarding the floor. " Who is that 1 " I asked Mrs Gibson, when we were out of sight and hearing. " That," said the Lady Superintendent, " is Constance Kent, and a very hard subject to deal with. She is one of ' the women in the prison whom I cannot get at." Our cousins on the Pacific Slope, write JEgles in the Australasian, don't do things by halves. They go for big things. They have had a mining excitement, and now they have a reaction. But just see what an excitement in San Francisco meant. The two great stocks most favourably affected by the discovery of the "bonanza" — the gigantic silver lode — were California and Consolidated Virginia. In each of these companies there were 108,000 shares, /and, at the average prices of the first fortnight of January, these two stocks represented a market value of 28£ millions — not dollars, but pouuds sterling ! To talk of amounts of this kind musn raise a man in his own estimation. Ordinary finance must appear to him a mere matter of detail. But an American is not afraid of large figures. Daniel Web. eter once said in an oration (after dinner), "Gentlemen, there's the national debt — it should be paid — yes, gentlemen, it should be paid — I'll pay it myself. How much is it ? " The London Daily News recently published the following statement concerning its issue of Saturday, the 21st ult. : — ' This issue was, so far as we know, in respect of breadth, length, and solid content, the largest newspaper without a supplement ever published. Its printed matter was nearly equal to that contained in three numbers of the Cornhill or the Gentleman's Magazine, was more than is estimated in the Edinburgh Review, or the Quarterly, and exceeded the proportions ©f two volumns of the t, average novel. The pieces of metal lying within the sixty-four columns were 1,044,099 in number. The paper on which is was printed was rolled on cylin. ders, a single one of which holds a roll of four and —, a half miles in length ; each copy was delivered from the machine printed on both sideß, and duly cut from the cylindrical web of paper ; and the whole edition was printed on five of the Walter machines at the rate of 50,000 copies an hour. The Hungarians are justly proud of their oxen Tbe^r are used as working cattle over the whole empire, and at present there is little indication of their being superseded either by horses or steam- power. It is no uncommon sight to see a team of oxen yoked to a plough, and driven by the ploughman entirely by the voice and without any assistance from either reins or driver. A Philadelphia officer got up a jury of 12 crou-eye^ mca ft ad «T«o t be judge laughed.

— -.v* s v Auveraser " tells the following story of a monkey:— "One of the two monkeys that have recently been running loose in the vicinity of Lloyd's stables, Hargreaves-street— is missnag. It appears that one morning, this monkey r observing, one of Biuee's sodawater and' lemonade • carts standing convenient, descended from, the roof o* an adjoining building,, and 1 ,, ia defiance of that clause of the- Police Offences Statute- having reference to petty larceny, made off with a bottle of very highly serated waters.. Ascending-again tothe ridge of the building Jacko proceeded to nibble off the wire, and having thus far been successful, was smelling the cork, preliminary, it is to be presumed, to its extraction, when suddenly there was a tremendous explosion. Jacko was observed to spring several feet to the air, and- upon alighting he proceeded in the fastest time on record towards Kangarooflat. Where there were previously two monkeys there is now only one, and as soon as the survivor,, who had closely watched the proceedings,, observes as oda water cart he makes tracks.." A friend -vho is so fond ofgardening (says a con* temporary) as to have established a hanging garden on his balcony in Mayfair has related his experiences." "My sister," be said, "gay« in«, some rare seeds. I planted them and watered them every morning for a month, as I had been directed to _ do - Now, what do you think came up?" "Thistles? Daisies? Cauliflowers?" "No." "What then ?" " A policeman, who informed me that, if I persisted in spoiling the hats of peaceable people, I ' should be indicted for a nuisance." i