Miscellaneous. ENGLISH COURAGE. AN INCIDENT OF THE BATTLE OF ALBUERA.

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1604, 14 October 1882, Page 2 (Supplement)

Miscellaneous. ENGLISH COURAGE. AN INCIDENT OF THE BATTLE OF ALBUERA.

Ik this great and long-contested battle, Beresford commanded against Soult. Many mistakes' were made, and at one desperate crisis Bei'esford thought of retreat, bat while ho hesitated, Hardinge boldly ordered Cole to advance, and directed Abercrombie, who commanded the remaining brigade of the second division, to push forward into the fight. The die thus cast, Beresford acquiesced, and the terrible battle continued. At' this time sixguns were in .the enemy's possession ; thewholeof Wertd's reserves were coming forward to reinforce the front column of the French } the remnant of Houghtori's brigade could no longer mainits ground; the field' was heaped with carcases;! the Lancers were riding' furiously round the captured artillery on the upper part of .the hill; on, the lower slopes a Spanish and English regiment, in mutual error, were exchanging volleys'; behind, General Hamilton's Portuguese appeared tp be in retreat. The conduct of a few brave men soon changed this. Colonel Robert Arbuthnot, pushing ; between the double fire of the 'mistaken troop's,, arrested that mischief ; while Cole, with' ihe Fusil-, iers, flanked by a batalliori'of the lmsitania legion,, under Colonel Hawkshawe, mounted the' hill,' dis-' persed the Lancers,- recovered <the captured^guns,, and appeared oh the right;of Houghton's brigade, just as Abercombieipassed it on. the left.r'Such a gallant, jtine issuing from the midst of, theimoke, i and rapidly separating itself from the confuted and J broken; multitude, stai^e^^lbeVeneiny'i/heavy'* masses, M which' were increKiirig'and pressing on^ ward as tp' an 'assured , victory. They f hesitated; and theri Vomited forth'* a '«rtorm ; hastily endeavoured to enlarge their front, while'a ; fearful ; discharge of grape, from '(the artillery; whistled, through, the British ranks;.wCol^-and! colonels f ell woundedi-' and |Bb %ho^i,, sja^jck ,Jby Jthe^iron ttempestjHi^l|4r^ijd? t>taggered like sinking' ships.*' Suddenly and «ternlyj a !>'i?^^?fe!^ I*di1 * d i

bility of their order ; their flashing eyes were bent on the dark columns in their front ; their measured tread shook the ground; their dreadful? volleys swept away the\head of every formation ; their deafening shout* overpowered the vdissonant cries that broke from all' parts of the tumultuous crowd, as, foot by "foot, 'and with a horrid carnage, it was driven by the incessant vigour of tho attack to the farthest edge of "this hill. In vain did tho French reserves, joining , ynth? the , struggling multitude, endeavSiir to susjain the"figWr- their efforts oply increased the irremediable confusion, and the mighty mass, giving way like a loosened cliff, went headlong down the ascent. The rain flowed after in streams discoloured with blood, and 1500 w,p.undj3dj»*eo» the remnant.of .6oo.o. unconquerable British "soldiers, stood triumphant on the fatal field. f

The Madbb db Obo. A story about which there is a fascination which it is impossible to resist when you hear, men tell it, is that of the " Home of the Gold." Somewhere in Southwestern New Mexico, in the Sierra Madrc, it is said that there is a wonderful valley. Small, inclosed by high rocky walls, and accessible only through a | secret passage, which is known to but few, is this extraordinary place.. It is about ten acres in extent, has running through it a stream which waters it thoroughly and makes, it a perfect paradise, with its exquisite flowers and beautiful trees. In it are thousands of birds of the most brilliant plumage. Running across it is a ledge of pure gold, about thirty! feet wide, which glistens in the sunlight like a golden belt. The 'stream crosses this ledge, and as it runs, murmurs around blocks of yellow metal as other streams do among the pebbles. This ledge of gold is supposed to be solid gold and to run down into the centre of the 1 earth. The legend is of Indian origin, and around it cluster a number of Indian stories 1 in which the name of the ill-fated Montezuma occurs frequently. The descendants of the, Aztecs believe firmly that the day will come when Monteziirna will return and free them from the domination of the descendants of Conquistodores. They believe that the money necessary for this work will be taken from Madre de Oro. The secret of the entrance into the valley is supposed to be carefully guarded by a tribe of Indians living near it, and among them it is only communicated to the oldest 1 men amid the solemn ceremonies of the medicine lodge. Having such a story to work upon, there is little wonder that the vivid imagination of the Mexicans should have built upon it tales of men who have found this wonderful place. One is that of a certain Jose Alvarrez, who, wandering through the mountains in search of game, saw the valley from the top of one of the walls. Finding that he could not hope to enter it by climbing down he took up his abode with the Indians who guard the canon leading into it. The daughter of the chief fell in love with him, and betrayed the secret to him. Exactly how she found it out they do not tell. Having been shown the entrance, Jose went in, and would possibly have got 1 away with some of the gold had he not weighted himself down to such an extent, that he could not get up the declivity at the lower end of the passage. He was discovered, and the Indians sacrificed him on the • golden ledge, with all the terrible ceremonies of the old Aztec religion. The girl in despair at losing him, threw herself from the high walls into the valley below. Hundreds of prospectors have .spent months of toil, trying to find the Madre de Oro, but it is scarcely necessary to say, with no result.

A GIANT PHOTOGRAPH. Without doubt the largest photograph in existence is now being , exhibited in the art gallery of the American Institute at New York. It covers an area of ten feet in length by eighteen inches in width, and was printed from seven different negatives forming the parts, but these have been so deftly joined that the picture seems to have been taken hi one view. The subject is a panorama of the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876, and the work is by Mr. F. Gutekunst, of that city. Duplicates of the picture are selling at high prices, and one has been presented to Her Majesty the Quqpn. In this connection we may note that an improved means of exhibiting photographs on a screen as dissolving views, or simple pictures, has been introduced by Mr. W. C. Hughes, of Hoxton, finder the somewhat odd name of the " Painphengos." The chief novelty consists in adding power to the light of the projecting lantern by the uae of four wicks, giving a flame eight inches wide, but the lenses and other parts are also improved. With this apparatus a well-defined photagraphic image twelve feet in diameter can be obtained on the screen. — CasselVs Magazine,

COLOR-MUbIC. It is known that certain people have the power of associating different colors with different musical notes, and the subject has been recently studied by two Swiss savants, Herren Bleuler and Lehman, of Zurich. Their results show that, as a rule, higher notes are accompanied by lighter colors, and lower notes by darker ones. Chords when struck are attended by corresponding color combina- i tions. For example, a skilled musician who j was examined stated that he perceived a j distinct color with each key — to wit for C major, grey ; G flat major, reddish-brown ; A major, blue; A minor, Jead-color ; F sharp | major, yejlow ; and so on. To many persons, too, the same piece played by different mii struments appears in di£ferent ; colors. Noises, again, are generally accompanied by colors of a grey or brown hue. The authors also found that some minds perceive colors on hearing consonants, vowels, dipthongs, words, and sentences. Others perceive sounds on seeing light and colors, so that the reverse phenomenon also exists. Thus a broad, quiet gasflame suggested the sound tue^ani when the light flickered the sound changed to I. The faculty is said to be in a high degree here- < ditary. — Gassell's Magazine.

In an examination of an ambulance class of ladies, among other remedies for a case of poisoning, two rather novel ones were recommended by two of the candidates. One advised that the patient " should Be made to swallow three yards of, gas pipe till he was very sick ;" the other would h&e given an emetic , and followed that up with some bland subistance, "such a8 castor oil," and further advised that "his stomach should* be washed with warm water. — TJic Lancet.

OIL ON THE WAVES. It is well known that the anicent metaphor about "pouring oil on troubled waters" to calm them is liter ally true ; and ships at seahavebeen .paved from foundering by pouring barrels of oil upon the waves around. A striking experiment of the kind was recently made at Feterhead in Scotland; >iir order to allow a -fleet of fishing-boats to enter, the stormy .harbour with their cargoes. By means of a reservoir and pipes leading to the f harbour, a r istream of oil was discharged upon the water, | and spreading in a thin 'film over its surface, jeduced the rough waves to a mere swell,' and [ permitted the boats to land. The,chief action I of the oil is probably to diminish the friction ' between, tithes, wind and water, and .thus pre-, 4 vent, the 'formation of wavea*. while the existing motion of the watery quickly -subsides^into ; a^ low* heaving.' Probably the ■, experiment, after the « success at Peterhead will be re,peated elsewhere. '< t / -

V,rC,'^» i ■ THE THE^PRICAInOATJ One of the most sensational scenes'in' Victor r Nesslers'j opera,. Title , Ratcatcher^ of Hamdin, is that representing the exodus of rodents' -fromHameUn, brought about* by the tunefql shells "of qharmer.. ."While this fantastic; personage, is singing his inc&litation .Mffusaitts-upoK^p^sanMicif rats invadd ttie< i^BTidu'sesWmposing'tKe'^Met{^,ff6m f crewcej3

at the Dresden opera house that a few, nights ago, upon the occasion of the " BatcateKer's" first performance in that theatre, the property rats fairly took in the worthy old cat, perpetually retained upon the strength of the establishment in - consideration of her long and valuable services. This conscientious creature while watching the stage "business" with y plaoid interest from his favorite corner behind one of '"ihe wings, suddenly perceived what she believed to be a host of her natur&l4oes in the very act of committing an audacious trespass within the sacred limits of her territorial jurisdiction. With a piercing new of indignation* she "straightway bounded upon the stage, and, to the delight of the audience, furiously attacked the legion of ," counterfeit presentments" that occupied the boards. No sooner, however, had actual contact with the property rats enlightened her respecting their. i fictitious nature than she majestically retired.In obedience to an enthusiastic recall, she was brought on a few minutes later in the arms of a supper to receive the tribute of applause her spirited conduct had so richly earned.— London Telegraph.