WAIFS AND STRAYS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 84, 5 December 1874, Page 12

WAIFS AND STRAYS.

*-+- The Soukds ov the Alphabet. — Professor Whitney, of Yale College, U.S., has carefully examined a passage of 1000 sounds from each of ten standard English writers, in order to ascertain the relative frequency of sounds in the language. He finds that the sound of "r" is the most frequent, occurring 744 times in 10,000 sounds ; "n " follows with 673, and "t" with 592. The short sound of the "i " is the most common vowel Bound, having 590 occurrences. The least common vowel |sound is that of short "o," eight times in 10,000; least common consonant sound is that of " zh," two times in 10,000. In all he found 6271 consonant sonuds, and 9729 vowel sounds.

A Strange Delioact. — The combs of Spanish ana Leghorn fowls are utilised in &ome parts of Europe as choice delicacies for the palates of those who sigh for fresh appetisers. Undar the name at" Orestes de Ccq," a supply of these morsels has been reeendy imported from Paris. The combs are of a large size, both single and rose, and are put up in white vinegar in long tubular glass bottles holding about a pint, sealed with black wax. When we say that these small bottles cost at wholesale in Paris more than a dollar in gold each, the reflection is formed that many a large-combed rooster may in future be sacrificed to mammon, as heretofore muny have been offered up to Esculapius. Editobial Abdication. — The editor pro tern of theYreka ' Union,' in the last issue, resigns the tripod in the following terms : — With this issue of the ' Union' we resign the position we havo so ably filled during the past four months— that of the chief of the editorial corps of the ' Union. 1 We are aware this will be deeply regretted by the numberless readers ot this paper in all parts of the world ; but deeply as we deplore the pain it will cause, we cannot avoid it. The ruthless hand of time rolls on ; kingdoms and empires are raised up and overthrown ; monarchs are made and unmade ; and the Californian Legislature Has been adjourned by constitutional limitation — consequently "we have to slide." We have received reliable inform* ation that the proprietor (and the editor when he is at home) of this paper will return to Yreka by Monday's stage. In order to avoid the demonstration of excessive joy he is likely to make on again meeting with us, we have placed a ladder at the back window of the office, by which we will go out aB he comes in at the front door. It may be insinuated that we have taken these precautions purely out of selfish considerations for ourself, but such is not the case ; it is entirely for the benefit of " that other fellow." Any person who may be displeased, or who considers himself insulted by any article that has appeared in the paper during the past four months, can demand satisfaction of the editor any time after next Monday evening. Any friends contemplating presenting the editor with any little tokens of their appreciation need not wait till then, but can do so immediately. Exhaustion or the Bbain. — Dr. Radcliffe, in his recent Croonian lectures, is reported to have discussed, at much length and very accutely, the subject of brain exhaustion, so common at the present day. After describing the leading symptoms, such as loss of memory, depression ot spirits, increased or lengthened sleepiness, unusual irritability, epiliptiform condition of the nerves, and sometimes transitory coma, he argues against urging the patient to eat heartily, believing that such a practice tends to develope the disease ; he equally opposes v the training system, as generally starving the nerve tissues by excluding hydrocarbous from food ; nor should the patient be urged to work more than is natural under the circumstances, nor to rest from headwork in many cases cerebral exhaustion being intensified by the brain lying fallow ; if there is undue sleeplessness, the head should lie on the pillow, and if undue sleepiness, it should be kept high. The Callings ot Great Mbit. — Columbus was a weaver. Franklin was a journeyman printer. Sextus V. was engaged in herding swine. Ferguson and Burns were ploughmen, .ffisop was a slave. Hogarth an engraver on pewter pots. Ben Johnson was a bricklayer. Porson was the son of a parish clerk. Akenside was the son of a butcher, and so was Wolsey- Cervantes was a common soldier. Halley was the son of a soap boiler. Arkwright was the son of a baker. Belzoni was the son of a barber. Blackstone and Southey were the sons of linen drapers. Crabbe a fisherman's son. Keats the son of a livery stable-keeper. Buchanan was a farmer. Canova the son of a mason. Captain Cook began his career as a cabin boy. Haydn was the son of a wheelwright. Hogg was a shepherd. Weighing the Baby.— When B. Bouchet first recommended the periodical weighing of babies as the best test of their health and development, he was laughed at, but those, according to the proverb, ever laugh best who laugh last. The idea has, from its simple efficacy, made such way that ordinary medical practitioners condescend to inquire, in case of baby being illj doeß it Beem to be heavier or lighter? When the infant is weighed in the balance and found wanting be assured that something is wrong. Books are sold in which to record the dates when baby has been weighed, and the number of pounds to its credit, any falling off being a warning to a mother like a signal storm. From a document published by authority, a new born child weighs from 6£ to 8J lbs, and boys weigh at their birth a little more than girls. During the first three days of their life, the little strangers diminish in weight, after which they rapidly make up for lost time. The seventh day they recover what they had lost in weight during the first three days of their existence. For the apace of five months they increase in weight at the rate of three quarters of an ounce daily, representing at the expiration of this period exactly double the weight they did at their birth. The seven months foll«wing the infant increases from one-fourth to half an ounce daily, so that at sixteen months its weight ought to be double of what it was at five. A baby is not to be considered in bad health if its iucrease falls below the above rates ; but when well cared and fed, a departure from the standard figures ought to be inquired into, primarily to ascertain if the wet nurse does her duty. In the contemplated law for appointing medical inspectors for children given out to nurse, and who must I* visited impromptu, the weight of each nursling is to be registered.

To Obtain Light Without the Use of Matches. — To ol^^P light instantly without the use ot matches, and without the danger^T setting things on fire, take an oblong phial of the whitest and clearest glass ; put into it a piece of phosphorous about the size of a pea, upon which pour some olive oil, heated to the boiling point, filling- the phial about one-half full, and then seal the phial hermetically. To use it remove the cork, and allow the air to enter the phial, and then recork it. The whole empty space in the bottle will then, become luminous, and the light obtained will be equal to that of a lamp. As soon as the light grows weak, its power can be increased by opening the phial, and allowing a fresh supply of air to enter. In winter it is sometimes necessary to heat the phial between the hands to increase the fluidity of the oil. Thus prepared, the phial may be used for six months. This contrivance is now used by the watchmen of Paris in ail magazines where explosive or inflammable materials are stored. Artesian Well — One of the most remarkable artesian wells of our own time is that of Crenelle, in the Paris basin. It was under* taken in 1834, to which time no successful artesian sinking had reached a greater depth than about 1000 feet. It was thought that the waterbearing stratum sought would be reached at a depth of 1500 feet, but that was not deep enough. The boring continued with intervals until 1841, when on the 26th February the boring rod was observed to descend suddenly several yurds. In a iew hours the water reached the surface, eventually rushing up with immense violence, mixed with sand and mud. But the sand and mud soon ceased, leaving a magnificent flow of pure water, which has continued ever since. A high lower is erected, and the water rises through pipes with sustained force and volume to the reservoir at the top of the tower at the rate of fully half a million gallons per day. Catacombs op Paris. — The catacombs of Paris were consecrated with great solemnity in 1786. They are thought to contain the remains of at least 3,000,000 of human beings. The long galleries, with bones from top to bottom — the arm, leg, and thigh bones, andtho grinning skulls piled in front— make up one of the ghastliest exhibitions I have ever witnessed. When I had gone through those dismal corridors, and extinguished my torch as I emerged from the darkness, I faucied that all the people of the Coutinent must have been interred there. These hideous vaults are really dangerous. There are many chasms yawning along the journey, and the roof looks as if it might fall in at any moment. There is imminent peril, too, of being lost, unless you keep close to your guide ; and once lost, there is slender hope of your recovery. The effect of the light and shade cast upon the skulls and bones and dreary walls by the burning tapers was such as to make it appear that the broken skeletons were getting themselves together, and striving to join in a hideous dance of death. Som* of the jaws seemed to wag, and the eyeless sockets to wink, at our melancholy procession as it filed by, our voices awakening dismal echoes that sounded startlingly unnatural. There is sometkiag grimly grotesque in the journey through the catacombs, and persons of a nervous temperament seldom feel tempted to .repeat the experiment. I am not surprised that men who hare been lost there for less than twenty-four hours have been made insane by the undefinable horrors of their situation. — Junius Henri Brown, in 'Harper's Magazine' for September. Prices Received pdb Litebary Work. — Probably no goods are so uncertain in value as literary wares. A work of genius may bring a fortune to its creator, and it may fail to keep him from starring. One might infer that luck, rather than merit decides the success of an author's venture. However, at the present day, the owner of an inspired pen and a tolerable degree of shrewdness is more certain to benefit in transmitting his products into current coin than he has been in any age before. Let us see how a tew distin^u sued writers of the past have fared in their efforts to make riches as well as fame out of their divine gift of book-making. Milton received from his publishers £5 down for " Paradise Lost," and the munificent promise of £5 more should the work reach a sale of 1,300 copies. Dryden was paid £1,200 for his translation of Virgil. Pope was occupied the greater part of twelve years in translating the Iliad and Odyssey. For the one ha received £5,200, and the other £2,885 — not a mean income considering the time in which he lived. For his poem the " Rape of the Lock," he received £25. Q-oldsmith's " Traveller," brought him £21 ; " The Deserted Village," £100 ; and " She Stoops to Conquer," £1,000. Sir Walter Scott was paid £1,500 for his " Marmion," and £2,000 for the " Lady of the Lake". Lord Byron gained £4,271 by " Childe Harold," £4,271 for " Don Juan," and £525 for "The prisoner of Chillon." Campbell received £20 for " Pleasures of Hope" ; and Dr. Johnson received £16 for " The Vanity of Human Wishes," and £125 for " Rasselas." Air Amputated Limb ik Sympathy "with thb Lite Bodt. — The Whitehall ' Times ' has an account of an accident that befel a child named Willie Cummings, who lost his arm by being run over by the cars. When the lad was taken home, his arm was brought after him. It was thrown into a pail, when the poor little fellow screamed with pain. The severed limb was then placed in a box and buried in the garden. Shortly after, little Willie complained of a pain and a queer feeling in the severed hand. He said that something was crawling on the inside of the hand. The limb was exhumed, when a large worm was discovered in the palm of the hand. A large jar was then obtained* and it became necessary to crowd the arm in, when the sufferer fairly went into a paroxysm of pain. The limb was placed in a jar partly filled with alcohol, and then replaced in the ground. The little fellow complained that his arm and fingers were in a terribly cramped position, and that the little finger and next one were growing together. The jar was then taken up, when the limb was crowded and cramped as described. This is remarkable, although such instances are often related. In this case, the little nine-year-old lad was ignorant of what disposition was made of the limb. The lad is very low at the present writing, and some doubts are entertained of his recovery.

During ten years, 235 actions for damages against railway com* panics liave been tried at Manchester!