GLEANINGS.

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1614, 7 November 1882, Page 4

GLEANINGS.

Qardijul, Mopuing,-. .speaki jig, at a meotingbf the Society of St. Vincent and Paul, at his residence,' .Westminister, strongly'deprecated the relhrioils' fex'citc- . incut occasioned by such organisations as t [the Salvation Army ami the fyue, .Ribbon ,, t ;Army. , , <■• It is stated, says the Elect ridan, that - electric lights are being erected' along- a .portion of the Surrey Canal, ..audit .is probable that the whole length will eventually be lighted by the same means. Tins canal runs through the south-east J district of London to the docks. The tricycle is rapidly,, becoming more popular. Jji London the doctois and postmen tare using them to excellent ad■vantage, making from six to ten miles an hour "without fatigue. 11. F.uire, the . French inventor, lias applied his storage battery to one, propelling it ten miles an hour, Epistolary mortality is on the increase. The proportion of dnad letters received during the past year at Washington, was very nmeb. greater than in any previous year. A good many of the letters that perished were lotteiy circulars, somn of them relating to lotteries for religious purposes, the erection of churches, etc. A new Übe for glass has recently been developed in its substitution for marble tops of tables and dressing-cases. A Pittsburg firm has turned out slabs of glass that are said to be a perfect imitation of maible, while they admit of decorations of various designs, both in form and colour. The four otficcis of the Austrian Army highest in command m Bosnia are Irishmen. The Governor of Livno is MajorGeneral O'Reilly. The second in command of the cavalry is Colonel O'llerlihy, aud theie are two Captain O'Sullivans under him. One of the Uenerals of Brigade is Rudolph Oliver Swanston, who comes of a West Cork family. A company has been established for the purpose of supplying the inhabitants of London throughout a large area with hydiaulic power for the working of cranes, lifts, and other machinery. Mrs Summmul, the supposed oldest woman in the world, lives in Florida. She was five years when the Declaiation of Independence was fiist read. Her oldest child is now Ul>, and her youngest was 7- yens old last spring. Until the la&t seven years the old lady has been active aud in the full enjoyment of hci faculties. Etiquette in Geimany forbids the carrying of parcels, no matter how small, by a gentleman. Under immerse pres sine ot necessity a lady may take home in her own hands a small purchase, or cany a book or roll of music to the house of a friend, though she takes also in doing so terrible social risk. And w lien a dressmaker comes to tiy on a little walkingjacket, a small boy must need walk behind, beating thegarmenton his aim. An officer cannot Tinder any cheumstanees carry anything when in uuifoiin. Accokdiv! to Lund and U'uter, some young men in Kent have formed a society tor the " protection of the natural form of woman," and have bound themselves to ,' induce then sistcus and ladies who aie njuring their bodies for the sake of fashion to " severtheremaininglink which connects the present generation with barbarism.'* One of the six laws drawn up is a pledge that each member shall be a continual woiry to giih neglecting the healthy advice of the .society. A Polish journalist, M Fryze, publishes in the Km i/tr Fotanwf, of Wai saw, an account of the interview which he had with (leucial SkobclolT shortly befoie his deatii. M Fiy/e began the conversation by remai king that General SkobeloiT had been so much troubled by interviowei s that the very sight of a journalist must be obnoxious to him. "On the contrary," was the reply, "1 owe my present position mainly to the Press, and especially to the English Press. If it weie not for the special correspondents — of whom theie were always some with me during the Turkish war — I should have remained a Majorgeucial, and no one would have heard oi me." A c.vxxov of Queen Mary's reign was fned on the labt Fouith of July at Frenchman's Bay, Sulhv.ui, Mime. The d.iy was also celebrated by a vetcian of JSI'2, Alanson Townsond, of Pliu'iUK, New York, aged •).">, by repeating from memory the whole text of the Declaration of Independence. Piobably its most unique celebration was that of Captain Roper, an English shipmaster, whom the harbour authorities of ban Fianciseo would not allow to abuse liio caigo of Chinamen. Ho ligged his ship with bunting fiom tiuok to kuelbon, to celebrate " the day when England ■won hei independence by getting nd of this country. ' Tilii Ilussians h i\e strengthened theii aimy by the no\cl addition to o.ieh company of a pack ot powuful and wvlltiamed dogs. These w.itchful animals me to be sen out -with the sentinels on picket duty, wheio their keen eaiband btill keener scent will pro\e an impiegnable bauici to the linking spies ol the enemy. Tho dogs ut>od men species of bloodhound fiom the Uial mountains. This l)i eed is selected because of its habitual silence. The dog gi owls but never barks, a matter of tho firs,t importance to soldieis near an enemy's camp. In addition to these Uial dogs, swift houudb arc to be tiaiued by the Muscovites to act as despatcli beareis, much as the toil in pigeons in JB7l. Canine messengois would certainly be hard to catch when sent stealing tlnough the woods at night. The London coiicspondcnt of the South Ai'slialian says: — A rebel chief from the tVest Africa was once brought to see London, to gam an idea of the power of the nation whom he had been opposing, lie was astounded. At last, said the sable monarch, "Drive inn from the giecn fields on one side of London in a stiaight line till I come to green fields again." tic was accordingly diiven mile after mile. When some seven miles had been accomplished, and yet masses of brick and mortar were in front, the African cried sulkily — '• It is enough ;tuui back : I am the Queen's most humble subject." But if you are on foot tho \ astness of the extent of these 532,000 buildings strikes you still more forcibly than it stiuek the African. Stick in hand, in this bi iglit fine July weather, you set from some such central j)osition nb St. Paul's., and jou walk on and on, either east, west, north or South. But you never seem to come to the " green fields ;" ever and e\er as you reach the end of a stree£ new lines of traffic ladiate away in bewildering variety ; fresh rows of shops and warehouses greet your astonished gaze, and leave you in blank amazement aa to where the customers for so vast a host of settlers can come from; it seems as though the world might come to buy and find shops enough. I won't say that it is impossible to get out of London on foot ; but truly, I should be sorry to essay the task. And everywhere there are signs of vitality; new buildings by the scoie on every hand. Every year 100,000 people Comb into London. In 18G1 the population was only 2,800,000 ; now, in twenty "Jyears it has grown to 4,000,000. 1 ' Greai changes are takiiig place in Auck- ' an'd^ ne\V business premises of various kinds are ill rapidly improving the appearance of the city; several firms are extending' their premises, ' and the keen competitive spirit of the Old Country is now apparent amongst the city tradesmen ; the L-wKolesaitf warehousemen, ironmongers, and banks, are extending their, boundaries ; and not the least important amongst the local industry establishments is the completion of a large concwe'buildirig' three' stoieys high, 75 feet long, and 50 wide, erected in Lornc-strect, as a cabinet 'Ifactoryjfop Messrs'. G&rhck and .Granwcll, who have erected ma^hi^era with the latest Improvements, enabling Hbetn 1 to turn out their work .economically and expeditiously. This. firm arc 'ioWglvin'ffup their drapery and clothing business in order toisecore^inore 'Space as show rooms for tbeir fura,iture r ffid,,to efiect a speedy clearance, have rcOUC?d tqa yfery" low pnceal their drapery and clothing, which 'will be ,spld (for cash only) 'ftir one'mbnth'/'^niV'fs'a'splendfd opportunity ii6JB thrifty Housewives flotoonly to secure £loth 7 ; jjig but,aJikmds Qf,,ManChoaser/ and furnishing