CLIPPINGS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2071, 15 October 1885, Page 4

CLIPPINGS.

Mks A. T. Stewart is said to wear a tired and pitiful expression, as if her millions did not make her happy. Courting m India auiongat the natives ia romantic. When a husband is selected for a blushing maiden, the tirst endeavour of the latter n to catch a glimpse of her future spouse through the keyhole, in return for which, tlie enterpiising damsel reveals her shadow to him in the verandah ; further, if she c.vi wnte, she contnves to wute a billet-doux in his slip pers, which are always left behind at the entrance of the house. Should the future husband wish to show his devotion, he partakes of refreshments 111 tho house of hid future father iv law. This done, be cannot withdraw fiom his engagement. The sword of honour which the Emperor of Russia Ins presented to tieneral Komaroft 13 described as being a magnificient weapon. Its shape is that of an old French sword ; the blade is made of Dunasoene steel; the scabbaid as well as the hilt is of gold ; between the chased ornaments on both sides of the scabbard there aie rows of jewels, and at the upper end of the sword there are clusters of six or seven large diamonds. At the lower part of the scabbard are engraved the words, •' FOl valour," also sunounded by precious stones. Further ornaments in tho shape cf loses formed of jewels aie set 111 different places. In the gardens of a well-known noble man's country seat, in the south of Ireland, one of the show places of the country, painted boards were set up in different parts of the pleasure grounds, with this request : " Please do not pull any flowers without leave." Recently the district practical joker passed by that way, and, observing the notices, procured a paint brush, ai»d, unobserved, at daybreak added an "s" to the last word on all the painted boards, which had the effect of malting things pleasant, until the cause was discovered, for tourists and strange visitois who cherished a latent passion for floral gems. Tub Germans were at the beginning a thirsty race if the histonan Taeitua is to be believed ; but it could not be generally believed that this thirst of theirs has become severer with time. A report on German drinking just issued shows that the quantity of spirits drank in New Germany is rive times gi eater than in Gieat Biitam. In Prussia alone there are 03,000 spirit houses, and the average consumption of gram biandy (schnapps) among the workmen is six glasses a head daily, and the total \ alue of the spirits sold in a year is §(53,000,000 Yet bad as Prussia is, there are three countries in Europe still more drunkeu ; they are Sweden, Russia and Denmaik. Our esteemed fellow-townsman, the Hon. Lambert Tree returned to Chicago yesterday to make prepaiations for his departure for Belgium. He speaks with marked accent since his appointment to the diplomatic service, and as he sat chatting with us in our office last evening it was only with the assistance of a French dictionary we were able to follow his convenation with any degree of certainty. "Jodge," said we, "the .Belgian mission is a daisy, eh? "It ih alleged to be tres joh," he replied. " The advantages of said mission are recherche —that is to say, to wit, creme de la crcme." "We have often heard it spoken of as such," said we. "Oni," said the judge, " e'est tre3 joli, as hereinbefore stated."— Chicago News. What is a " Plaid " ?— The English tourist in Scotland (says an exchange) dons the plaid as soon as he arrives there By the word "plaid" an Englishman understands a checkered kind of choth. He speaks of a lady weanng a. "plaid •havvl," a "plaid dress," etc. The word is never used in Scotland except as desci ip tive of a particular article of dress, a kind of long mantle, of rectangular cut, and fringed at the two narrow ends. Tins, indeed, is generally composed of checkered cloth, but a Scotchman would no more call the cloth "plaid" than he would speak of leather as "boot." He would call it "tartan "if it be the well known Highland cloth of divers colors ; if not, he gives it no special name. A Nkn\ Schmik— A scientific Frenchman residing near Brest has had a happy thought, which he communicates to the Paris Figaro whilst waiting till he can embody it iv a document to. be submitted to the municipal authorities. It con cerns the dead, and what the living aie to do with them. Cemeteries, observes the man of science, arc overcrowded ; in the vicinity of large towns they are more over, unhealthy. Cremation is contrai} to French notions, and yet the dead must be disposed of in some manner Then he goes on to say that eighteen years ago he made the suggestion he now again brings to public notice, feaiing it has been forgotten. It is neither to bury nor bum the departed ; but, so to say, to tnrn them into statues by a system he has tried on human bodies— and to a still large extent on animals— with the utmost success. He is the mvcntoi of a peculiai compound for the preservation of corpses, which, after they have been duly rubbed with it, arc to be steeped in a bath, whence they are tin mil out "copper, /inc. silver, or gold statues," according to the social po-ihon and means oi relatives. He is willing to explain fully his system to inquiring minds. In the mcintime he draws attention to its manifold advantages, such, for instance, as the indefinite preservation of the dear departed, the suppression of unwholesome cemetnes, and the facilities of erecting statues. On tl>e decease, he points out, of a great man whom the country wished to honour, they would be to the exponce incurred for marble or bronze. The body wouW itself become the statue, in silver, gold or bron/i , and thus, not the offigy, but the lllus tnous man him-ielf, would be handed down to posterity. Salt as a DrsrrtOYHi of tiie Teeth. —At a recent meeting of the New York Odontological Sotiety, Dr E. Parmly Brown said : " I will venture the assertion that the excessive use of common salt is one of the main factors in the destruction of human teeth to-day. lam now engaged in collecting some statistics on this point, from which I hope in time to demonstrate, what seems to me to be the fact, that common salt excessively used is a great solvent of the human teeth. If it will injure the human teeth through the chemistry of our systems in some way or other that I will not try to explain to night, why might it not also have the effect of preventing a. good development of the teeth wheu taken into the system in excess ? I have lately procared tome statistics from the Sandwich Islands, from a gentleman who has been there, covering a period of over forty years, that are very suggestive and interesting. Within that period the teeth of the Sandwich Islanders have decayed rapidly, and siuce they have begun to decay it has been noticed that the natives are in the habit of biting off great chunks of ialt and eating it with their food According to all accounts tho teeth of tfie Sandwich Island' 1 « were formerly the most free from dec ly of any people on the face of the earth, if I remember rightly. You will find that people who eat a great deal of salt and a great deal of sugar are often entirety toothless. I know several instances of candy storekeepers where three generations are entirely toothless. People who eat an excessive amount of salt nrr tempted to eat large quantities of candy, pickles, and vinegar. There «ecmb to be * craving for those substance* after the excenive use of salt Yes! It is ceitamly tin* Ask any of your friends who have purchased there. Garlick andCranwrll have numcrmi* unasked for and rery favourablu commendations from country customer* «n their excellent packing of Furniture, Crockery, and Glass, Itc. Ladies any gentlemen about to furnish should remember that Garlick and Cranwell's is thk Cheap Furnishing Warehouse of Auckland. Furniture to suit all classes : also Carpets, FU or Cloths and all House Necci•anei. If your new house is nearly finished, or you are kohir to get married, visit Garlick *n<l CranweH, Qoe< n-str<.^' and Lorne-streot, Auck land Intending parcbau r»can V>-»vearata.loK"' ■•■ fret.