A STRANGE STORY.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2182, 3 July 1886, Page 1 (Supplement)

A STRANGE STORY.

44 Truth " has reported from America a rumour that the * 4 late'' Lord Aylesford id not dead. It is well known that enormous rams of money changed hand* in consequence of the event, the late Earl having been one of the most heavily assured men of the period. It is scarcely credible that the 4< cutest" Yankee scheme would have been equal to hoodwinking nearly all the British, and many foreign life assurance office*, but it will be interesting to /state the evidence upon which the money was paid. The only American document furnished was a transit granted in Jersey city "to remove the remains of Earl Aylesford, aged 35 years, who died at Big Springs, Howard County, Texas, on Jan. 13th, 1885," the cau^e of death being cirrhosi* of the liver ; a transit being asked for burial " at England in the •State of Great Britain." Jersey City being many hundred miles from Texas, this document is in itself of apparently small value, and might breed suspicion ; but it was justified by the certificate of a well-known London physician, who had been the late lord's private medical attendant for many wears. He was present at the opening of the coffin on Feb. 3rd, 1886, the day of the burial at Packingham-Majrnn Church. He declares, " T saw the remains of the late Earl, which remains I had, from my intimate knowledge of the t-aid late Earl, no difficulty in identifying." In the fact of thin testimony and the significant fact that the cau«e of death was what might naturally have been expected from the Earl of Aylesford's life, his family history, and his known physical condition when h# left this country, the American rumour is probably a mere oatch-pennv canard.

We are told : 4 Let not the sun down on your wrath.' This, of course, is best; but, as it generally does, I would add never act or write till it has done bo. This ru c has saved me from folly. It is wontioiful what a different vi-w we take of the same event four-and-twenty hours after it has happened. — Sydney Smith. The King of Corea on February 5 issued an edict abolishing slavery in his kinijdom. Henceforth there can be no slaves in Corea, 3ave those who voluntarily, because of poverty or otherwise, spII themselves, but the children of such ire to b° all free horn. It is estimated that upwards of ha'f of the population of the kingdom are slaves. '".rEgles" writes in the Australasian: — Far north, where the p^arlfishera do meet and rejoice together, things are made lively, and time passes lightly by the aid of jests of a practical and personal kind- They are rough specimens of human nature, but not without some rude originality. One of the leaders in all sports, as well at in ventnres, 13 noted for his tender-heartedness, although in business he is a hard man. At hi 3 house, which i 9 within the territoiy of King Douglas, he entertained a party of fishers at Christmas. His spat was comfortable enough until, during a brief absence, some of his guests judiciously placed thereon son^e tacks with their points heavenwards, and they expected to hear from him some strong expressions when he sat down. But he was a reserved man. and disaDpointed them by saying nothing. After dinner friendly pipes were lighted, and after a little, the host went to the door to knock the ashes out of hia calumet On his doing this the guests each leaped ever so high, for ander the of each was a small quantity of gunpowder, eonnteted by a thin black line to the spot where the lighted ashes fell. With these gentle amenities the people of Thursday Island pleasantly pass the long summer evenings. A Brutal Boss — Recently, at » Xfvr South Wales Police Court, Angus Sotherland was charged with ill-treating Thomas Robinson, a lad from the training ship Vernon. The evidence for the prosecution showed that Sutherland took the lad, .vho was his indentured apprentice, into a stable, and fastened a rope by a slipknot round his neck, after which he threw the rope over a beam, and while holding the end, thrashed him severely with the double thong of a heavy whip. During the operation he thrice jerked the rope, leaving an abrasion and bruises on the boy's neck, and all the time kept it taut enough to keep him on his toes. For the defence, it was shown that the boy had lied, and was bad and unruly. The Bench considered the charge proved, and Mr M'Kell, the P.M., said it was one of the worst cases of brutality on the part of a master that had come under his notice, and he had fully made up his mind to give the defendant three months' hard labour in Port Macquarie gaol, without the opinion of a fine, but as Mr Wilson, his brother Magistrate, refused to agree, he was obliged to give defendant the option. He therefore inflicted a fine of £10, the highest penalty, together with costs, £1 15s lOd, or throe monthi/ gfeol<