SCIENTIFIC NOTES.

/ ...\ Light from Flowers.

TriKßpavk elicited by stroking the back of a cat, or by tlio action of an electrical machitic, does not dillbriu its nature from the lightning which (lashes from the storm oloiul, nor from tlic brilliant and variegated auroras which stream through the upper regions of tho atmosphere in L'olnr latitudes, and which, to sumo extent, com pensate, in those dismal abodes of winter, tho long alißcnco of Ihe solur beams. To thesarao source—clcclrir-if y—wo probably owe tho light which, tit certain seasons, and at certain times of the day, issues from a number of yollow or orange-coloured Hewers, snoh us tho marigold, tho .sun flower, and the orange-lily. The daughter of liininous, tho great naturalist, in wiid to have first observed these sparks and Hashes playing about garden flowers during tho summer twilight of 17IW, but.similar pheno mena have been witnessed by several naturalists. At othor times the tiny ilamo jots have followed one another at intervals of .several minutes. . . . Sir H. Mansh

k'ives an account of a female about whose head ptrango luminous appearances were observed. Shortly before her death several attendants saw a pule blui.sh light, like that of the moon, proceed from her head ; and Professor Donovan witnessed, in the case of a man in the latter stages of con sumption, myslciioiw lights, once in the form of a lim.inous fojj, resembling the aurora boronlia, and twice in the form of .scintillations like the sparkling phosphor escence exhibited by noa infusoria.—" Les sons in Physical Science."

A NOVEL PROPOSAL.

TKE oilier evening a party of ladies and gentlemen were laughing over the supposed awkwardness attending a declaration of love, when one of tho party remarked that if he, ever oil'ured himself, he would do it in a collected and business-like manner. "For instance," said lie, addressing him self to a beautiful lady present, "1 would way, 'Miss S., 1 have been for years looking for a wifo. Of all the ladies of my ac quaintance 1 admire you the most. in deed, to speak plainly, 1 love you, anil wouldmoxtgladly make you my wifo !'"

" Yon Hatter mo by your preference," good humouredly replied Miss S., to tho surprise of all present. " Not ut nil; lam entirely .sincere." " The.n I refer you to my fatfar .'" "Brovo!" exclaimed tiic gentlemen. "Well, I do-C-l-tt-r-u !'' exclaimed the Indies, in one united chorus. The parties were married soon after. " Wasn't, that," asks tho narrator, "a modest way of coming (o the paint, and ll sensible nmthdJ of takifg fl man at his word ':"

ENGLISH SUNDAY IN THE OLDEN TIME.

"Hbkhk in Stiuchcumbe is a pareell of ground called Bin - mead : from whence wee huiulnxlcn in theis parts liavo amongst us the naino uf Blu-mead Sunday, tho second .Sunday after tho U'oast of Ponticost, A place, where the younger sort of both hcxub nccountod in tho ufternoonoof that day, mcote from the Tow nships adjoyningo, to dance, loapo, wrastlo, and disport themselves til! oveningo, of lato yeurs, by meanes of .some severe and rigid CatoQS oxclaimingo' against such re creations, ([uito discontinued : My opinion whereof, and of other like sociable meet ings, Church ales, Wakes, Saints feast daiOß,&c., I purposed in this place to liavo left to you as a plain legacy of my mindo therm : As also 1 did in the description of AlkingtonJo.liO. when I wrotoofKam-mead- Sunday, which is the Sunday next bofoic this of blu-mead : and tho rather because I throughout this description have expressed to what Saints each Church was dedi cated, and the feast kept: But nowc through the great length this booko is growno, and of what more I am necessarily to write, I will herein save paper and paincs, and refer you, my sonno (amongst many others) to Mr Carewes Surveyor of Cornwall, fol. OS, C!>, and forwards ; and to Mr Burtons booko of Melancholy, fol. 250, 2f>7, and forwards, in his third edition ; and whom 1 joyne in opinion, and subscribe to the Kings Dcclaracion ; and like well in this my de- Cropid ago to walko in somincr time, on Sundaios after Evoningo praier, with my wife to Hadlois Greene, between our two houses, and thcro to behold my neighbours childrin and servants, ■with yours and mine owne, to runno at Bnrly-breakos, dance in a ringe, and such liko sports, ns they like best : A laudable recreation, which hath noo repugners gave wayward dispositions, and men of too sterp.e a Judgment, as though the text of Solomon were apochriphall, " Thatthcrc is a lime for all things."—" The Berkeley Manuscripts. Edited by Sir John Maclean."

Stanley's Great Work on the Congo.

A i.r.TTKK from Henry M. Stanley, dated July 14th, at Stanley Fool, Congo river, lias been received by a personal friend in Boston city. "With regard to his sudden departure from Europe ho explained the .cause as being a sensational and exaggerated telegram printed in tho English papers, to the oll'ect that one of his stations had been attacked and the chief of the expedition badly wounded. Tho chief, who was heartily disliked, was shot in tho arm, but no station was attacked. Tho station was partially broken up by tho personal ambi ticn of the loading men of the party, each of whom desired to succeed the chief. Stanley thinks the station can be supplied. Altogether ho considers .everything more encouraging. At Leopoldville thero arc twaaaiasions. The Btptiet and Livingston Congo Missions are already putting up im posing buildings. Stanley says ; "Since I arrived on the Congo last December I have been up as for .as the equator, and have esta blished Avro moro stations, besides dis covering another lake, Mantaniba. I have exjikred for a hundred of miles, or thereaboute, the river known on my map as the Welember, but which is really the Malundfc—not large, a» slated in my book, but'the size of the Arkansas—deep, broad, aaid vary liavigable. A big stream, which dtainst-pc largest part of the South ■Congo bisin, iiv.irst bo somewhere hijjhcr tap. "I am really struck with the dense popu laUon of the equatorial part of tho basin, which, if it weve uniform throughout, would givo 99,000,000. The number ot products and character of the people are also remarkable. Rubber, ivory, camphor wood, and hosts of other things would repay transportation, even by the very expensive modo at present in use. The people are bom traders, and are, fo.v Africans, very enterprising and industrious*." Stanley tells of his mediation with the tribes who were at war, and wijo, when the peace was brought about by Ins efforts, elected him "Father and Mother of their country.

A Train Robbery.

Three Men Get Away with Fiffcocn Thousand Dollars. Tin; "Tribune's" special from Fort Wayne, hid., of Sept. 28th, says : At KMO o'clock last night, while tho south-bound express on the Eel Kiver Division of the Wabnsh, St. .Louis, and Pacific Railway was running about 'M miles an hour, between Lakoton and Itoaniv station, Burt Looniis, messenger of tho Pacific Express' Company, which operates on that line, was made aware that there were three men in his car when ho supposed he was alone. They suddenly roso up at one end of the car, whoi'O they had been concealed behind some boxes, and, confronting him with re volvei'S, demanded tho key to the safe. Loomis drew his revolver, but was ordered to throw up his hands. They then took the keys out of his pocket and hurriedly took all the money there was in the safe, amounting to nearly 815,000, besides some other valua able articles. After securing the money they threw Loomis on the floor and tied his arms and legs and gagged him, and locked the doors on the outside. When the train commenced to slow up for Laketon they jumped oil. Ah the messenger made no noiso or opened a door at Laketon, it was supposed by the station men that there was no ex press matter to leave at that station. After the conductor saw his passengers oil' all right, the train proceeded on its way, and the robbery was not discovered until some minutes after the train reached I'eru. By this time over an hour had passed, and by the time word could bo telegraphed back | to Roann and Laketon the robbers had fully two hours the start of their pursuers, and no duo has been obtained up to this hour, nearly twenty-four hours after the occurrence.

This afternoon a few *1 and .?2 bills wore found scattered in tho grass about one mile south of lloann station. In throwing Loomis down and gagging him. they handled him roughly, and when Jie was found at Peru he was insensible from his sufferings, with a gag in his mouth. He is now at an hotel under the care of physicians. The railroad and express companies each oiler large rewards, and the people in that section of the country are much worked up over the robbery, it being tho h'rst that was ever committed in their midst, for it is a thickly-settled country, and there is not the slightest clue either to where the robbers boarded the train or how they got into the car. They were all masked.

How English Organ Grinders Live

It may naturally be asked whether the organ grinders are able to earn a living, and the question may be answered strongly in the affirmative. Few, if any, artisans, or oven skilled workmen, can earn as much day by day as tho Italian organ-grihder. Their takings, it is true, vary much accord ing to the districts they work in and the time of tho year. Some organs, too, set to now and popular tunes, ore very liber ally patronised. But one pound a day is said to bo the most that an organ grinder ever takes, while, with some ex ceptions, live shillings is about the least, so that a London organ-grinder may bo regarded as a fairly-prosperous man. An organ can bo hired from the makers for eighteen-penco a day, while the price of a new organ is £25. The cost of setting an organ to new tunes is about ft, and since novelty is essential, this is a frequent source of expense. They, moreover, possess habits that Lend to en hance their prosperity. Content to live on plain and scanty faro, their expenses are infinitesimal compared with those of tho English artisan. Many of them live in gangs, with board and lodging at a fixed charge a head per diem. The lodging houses they frequent are, for the most part, kept by men of their own nationality ; and the fare provided is of tho simplest de scription, often consisting of little moro than bread and milk for breakfast, and maccaroni Boup for supper ; the whole, in cluding bed, being provided at a charge of about sixpence a day. Their occupation is by no means euch easy work as it seems, tho piano or opera, organs, as they are called, weighing from seventy to a hundred pounds—no light weight to drag about all day long,—" Cassell's Family Magazine."

The Rev. Julian E. Tenison-Wcods, -tvho was reported to have perished during the resent earthquake* in the Straits of Sunda, has written to his friends in Adelaide, ap prising them of his safety, and giving an interesting account of his experiences ill the regions affected.

Mr Archibald Forbes, writing of his voyage from Now York to Queenstown by the White Star liner Britannic, says that the mlocb was not comparable in resthetio beauty of adornment to that of tho Waira rapa of the Onion Company of New Zealand —to his thinking "the most beautifully decorative ship m the world."

What it Lie Did.

A Candidate's Story of an Adventure,

1 (inck had an example of how well it is to lull tho truth, said a gentleman who was once a prominent candidate for Governor of Arkansas. Sonic time ago I was^travelling on horseback through a vury lonely part of tho country. I was never a brave man, and I was not in the lea.st surprised upon dis covering that I was scared. Every rustle of the leaves, every .sudden cry of a bird, startled inc. 1 couldn't think of anything but robbers and desperadoes, and shuddered as 1 remembered a man who, years a£o, had been found in the woods, murdered in cold blood. Every feature of the ghastly face came up, and i turned sick when the gaping wound in his throat came up with .startling verisimilitude. While I thus reflected, a short turn of the lonely road, winding around a thickly wooded hill, brought mo almost face to face with two men, who seemed to be standing for me. Their horses were hitched to a neighbouring grape-vine, and the sugges tive manner in which .they looked at the animal I was riding .sent a thrill like a .streak of ice-water up my back. I saw at once that they were desperate men, and felt that they would not hesitate to kill me. Flight was out of the question, for any siich move on my part would, I was con vinced, prove certain death. For the first time in my life 1 resolved to play the bully, and, assuming what I fancied was an un concerned expression, I said, " Good morn ing." " How are you':" they replied. " Going

far ■>" " I don't know that ifc is any of your business," I replied. "I don't want any trouble with you, for I have decided to lead v better life. Never again do I want it paid that I filled the blood of a human being.'' " A bad man, I reckon," said one of the desperadoes. " At one time I could not have denied such an accusation ; but, as I tell you, I have resolved never to kill another man. I hope you will not molest me." "Hold on, pardner !" " I've got no time to talk.'1 " But hold on ! What's your name." "I'm Bill I'oston, the outlaw, and the man of whom you have often heard. I have killed men for less than this, and 1 don't want you to cause a breaking of my re solve." " Do as you like about your resolve," said the taller of the desperadoes. " I don't know who you are, but I know that you are not Bill I'oston, the robber." "Jlowdo you know" "Becniisc I am Kill I'oston and this is my brother." " Oh, Lord !" I supplicated ; " have mercy on me !" "Climb off that horse. Cap; I reckon we'd better hang you right here." I begged, but saw no mercy intheireyes; I prayed, but I heard no answer. "I'll teach you how to go around the country committing depredations and lay ing them onto me ! Fine man you are ! Stole this horse I reckon. John, get that rope off my saddle. We'll swing him up right here." 1' Oh, my kind friends ! I have committed no depredations. I am a candidate for Governor of Arkansas, and am on my way to meet an appointment at a place of dis cussion. You wouldn't hang a Governor, would you? Just think of what your State would lose !"

" Who is your opponent ?" " Colonel Blacket." " What sort of a fellow is he ?" "He's a bad man." " Are you well acquainted with him ?" " I never saw him, but know that he's a bad man."

"He's a much better [man than you are, or at least will soon exhibit more capacity for executive duties than you can possibly show. In short, he'll be the liveliest man pretty soon." They put tho rope round my neck. I prayed in vain. I asked the Lord to forgive mo my sins, and closed my eyes, every moment expecting t« be drawn up.

" If I let you go will you promise never again to use my name ?"

"I swear I won't. Let me live and I'll bo a better man. I'll do anything for you, and when I'm elected G aver nor I'll pardon you."

" All right: yen may go this time. Tako off the rape, Johio." I mounted my horse and rode away, with tearful thankfulness and a determination never to tell another lie. Next day when I reached the place of discussion, a largo , crowd had gathered. When I approached, tho people were shouting with laughter. Great Alexander ! Some one was relating my experience. Shoving my way forward, Ilreeognised in the speaker the tall man who had accvised mo of taking his name. He was my opponent. 1 could not face tlie crowd ,and loft as rapidly as possible. The whole thing was a joke. At the elec tion I was defeated by an overwhelming ?unj.oj'ifcy. — "Arkangjiw Traveller."

BRUTAL MURDER OF A YOUNG GIRL.

Chicago, September 26.— The "Tribune's" Lafayette (Ind.) special says:—"This morning's news from Benton county, some twenty miles west of Lafayette, conveys the intelligence of the brutal murder yes terday of Miss Ada Atkinson, the tiftecn year-old daughter of Cephas Atkinson, a well-known and wealthy cattle-dealer of Benson county. Mr Atkinson and his wife left home in the eai-ly morning and drove to a railway station some miles distant. When they left, Miss Lucy and Miss Ada were the only occupants of the homestead, the latter being the younger of the two sisters. After dinner Miss Lucy concluded to make a visit to the town of Oxford, a few miles distant, and left her sister alone. This seems to be the last time the girl was seen alive, save by her murderer. About five o'clock in the evening Miss Atkinson returned from town, and on going through the lower part of the house was unable to (md her sister Ada. She next went up to the bedroom, where she found her sister lying on the iloor covered with blood. She gave an alarm, which summoned an old man who was at work near at hand, and to him she related what she had seen. A passing neighbour was hailed and an examination showed the girl to have been dead some time, the limbs being rigid. Word was sent to the father, and he came home on horseback from the station, riding like mad. Physicians were summoned and horsemen sent out in every direction, in the hope that the scoundrel or scoundrels might be captured. Dr. Me- Connell and Dr. Wells made an examina tion of the girl's person, the supposition being that tramps had outraged and then murdered her. They found that her person had not been violated, but the body was I literally hacked to pieces, there being twenty-five separate and distinct cuts. The murderer had evidently first severed the jugular vein and after that had gone deliberately to work to see how much he could mutilate the body. There were cuts on the head, face, and neck; also on the back and loins. Great gashes across the stomach exposed the intestines, while everything near was spattered with blood. Most of the mutilation was committed after the girl was helpless, as the wounds were not through her dress and underclothing, which had been drawn up that the knifo might sink deeper into the flesh. When first discovered the dead girl was lying on the floor of her bedroom, her face to the floor and her head resting partially upon one arm, as though attempting to grasp the carpet. The bed had not been occupied, or if it had, it had been newly made up again, save on one side, where there were marks as if some one had been sitting on the edge. The murderer and his motive are wrapped in the most profound mystery. The motive could not have been robbery, for not an article is known to have been disturbed. There was money in the bureau drawers, but it was not molested. The motive may hare been outrage, but according to the physicians it was not per petrated. There were little or no evidences of a struggle in the room, but this may have been because of the speedy death of Miss Ada after receiving the wound in her neck. Her clothing was not torn, as though the villain had first thought to perpetrate an outrage. There could not have been cries for help, as a farm hand was working near the house and says lie heard no noise or cries of any kind. The girl was but 15, and had no differences with anyone, though she had gentlemen admirers. No traces of the murderer can be found in the house or out, and altogether the utmost mystery sur rounds the affair. The officers of Benton and Tippecanoe counties are searching every clue and trace, but their efforts thus far have been useless. Great excitement prevails in the locality where the deed oc curred, and Judge Lynch would hold court, if the culprit were captured. Oxford (Ind.), October 2.—The Coroner's inquest in the case of Ada Atkinson, who was so mysteriously butchered, isjeonducted with the utmost secrecy. The Coroner Vent to the scene and interviewed Jacob Neiling, who is closely watched on account of a bloody handkorchief found in his pos session.

Lavayette (Ind.), October 2.—Detective Tenbroeck, of Indianapolis, to-day made an affidavit charging Alexander Potts with the murder of Ada Atkinson. He claims that Potts had a knife that would make wounds like those on the murdered girl; that his shirt and vest had blood stains on them, and that the tracks found near Atkinson's house fitted Potts's boots. Potts is aged 55 years. The general belief is thathe is not the murderer.

At Greta, N.S.W., the other day, a man and his wife had a peculiar midnight ex perienae. They awoke and found a strange man sound asleep between them. The in truder, who was drunk, had crawled in by an open window—perhaps his usual mode of entering his own domicile when on the ".booze."

A STARTLING INVENTION.

The baby does not seem to take to tho electric feeding-bottle. He is now i Q strong convulsions. From the fact that my new electric razor nearly severed my km,. lar ran this morning, I conclude that thn current must be turned on a little too strong. It certainly is a great blessing to have ones coffee ground, the carpets dusted the hot water brought upstairs all the clocks in tho house wound up, and the front door slammed in the face of the tax collector simply by turning a small handle down in the wine-cellar. We really must impress on our next housemaid that t-ha proper way to light the Swan burner in the hall is not by grasping both wires firmly previous to applying a match to the ends or the hospital authorities may refuse to receive any more of our cases Now that tho electric boot-cleaner has torn, the buttons from my best out door pair of boots, and scorched all tha French polish off my dress-shoes, I think wo may call tho contrivance an unqualified success. lam sure my mother-in-law would liketosleep^in the room with a "New Patent Electric Surprise Bedstead " in it Tho " Little Marvel " machine which turns me out of bed, puts my clothes on gives mo my breakfast, and propels me fo the direction of the railway station fiy& minutes before the morning train starts had better be set for half-past nine o'clock' to-morrow. The " Electric Family• Prayer Reader " must certainly be out of order, as it has given us the same chapter of Genesis for tho last throe mornings. Judging from the livid appearance of the cook, whoig now lying insensible under the kitchen table, I fancy that in trying to light v,-hafc she calls " that there dratted lamp," she must have unintentionally " completed th« circuit."—"Punch."

All Exciting Life.

It is not strange that "the story" of the "Rev. John Creedy," which occupies a place, in the current number of a popular maga zine, should have attracted a considerable amount of attention. There is little doubt that the author had a serious object in view, and that, in short, he believes it to be true that instinct often, at any rate gains the day over civilisation. John Creedy is described ns by birth an African. Bat at a very early age he was captured and sent to England, where he received aUni versity education,and became, toallappear ances.aChristianandaclergymanof culture. He married an English girl, and elected to return to Africa as a missionary. The marriage was objected to by an uncle, and as the steamer, with the couple on board, moved out of Southampton Water on her way to the Gold Coast, this gentleman—an old sea captain—is made to observe, " And when he gets among his own people, his in stincts will surely get the better of him.1' The prediction is fulfilled. John Creedy lapses into a savage. His wife dies, and then having declared that "the one thing" which' bound him to civilisation is gone, he tears up his European clothes forthe second timft It is maintained that, consciously or uncon* sciously, the author of the story has struck a- blow "not merely at foreign mission work," but at " the central and most vital power of Christianity." We do not think so. The. object in view may have been ta' show that converted savages do not neces sarily remain converted Christians. Neither do they. But it would be still more easy to prove that converted thieves do not necessarily remain consistent Christianß. Everything depends upon the nature of a man, and the power which Christi anity has obtained over him. To urge that a blow has been struck at Christianity by the picture of an apparent Christian re lapsing into his original state of savagery isi as absurd as it would be to maintain that 8 blow had been struck at temperance by the; picture of an irreclaimable drunkard. Ste tistics, we suspect, would prove that the irreclaimable drunkard is more common than the irreclaimable savage.—"Figaro,"

The Position of Women in Ger many.

" I would not like to be a German peasant

woman,"says Mr ex-ConsulHenry Rufßes,in

his newly-published work ('' Germany Seen

Without Spectacles "). "I would much pre far to be a German horse, for German

horses are well treated and well fed. Ths

Germans are naturally kind to all dumb animals. Women, however, receive none of these kind attentions and considerations

at the hands of the male portion of the com- i munity, but are treated as if they were of a species lower than the brutes, with no feelings and no souls. Woman is made to

perform every kind of degrading labour. Sh&i,

prepares the fields for planting, she drives '■ the oxen and holds the plough, and not nn; frequently she takes the place of the ox before the plough. She sows the seed, she ■ : , tills the soil, she shovels, she hoes, ehe reaps, she gathers the harvest, she threshes : the grain and carries it to the mill, she grinds it at the mill, she markets the pror duct of her small strip of land to buy bread for her children and beer for her. lord and master. She does the work and the drud gery in the factories; she is the scavenger for cleaning the streets and gathering offal ". in the cities and high way s for enriching tha , land. She does everything but play soldier and hang round beershops and drink beer from early morn until late at night, litp , the German men, and these occupa^ioM would be assigned to her, provided they M;;: quired hard labour or drudgery of, any kind. Yet the are strong and robust/and : perform what is called 'man's labour,* While at work in the fields, and it is Only ' during warm months of the year that they can, they are only paid 10 or 12 centefor; a day's labour of twelve hours. When they board themselves they receive from 20 to 2$ or 30 cents a day."

Book-keepers in New York.

Every vocation is overcrowded in tbea* days, but perhaps the most overcrowded.; of all are the lower ranks of business tod "literature." The man with a littfo general and no special education, fe " good penman," is a drug in the market, and that as much, or even more, in thtt New World than in the Old. The" Nw;, York Herald " gives some perfectly appal'1 ' ling statistics on this head, asserting.on-,, good authority that there are "bY& thousand men now looking for employment as book-keepers" in New York. Ihm : mon, we are told, "though they coulii work at a hundred different things.; it . they had a mind to, will persist in eittor keeping books or keeping idle," and that \ though the average wage' of abookkeeMT: is not above 15—IS dols. a week. TM;,. aversion to directly productive employ* monts, and the increasing inclination to take to some form or other of tradingi 1* all the more alarming at a time when the j tendency of competition distinctly is to reduce the legitimate profits of the work-ot , distribution, and to the number of persons.' , who can get a Hying by it.

STAR SATURDAY SUPPLEMENT, DECEMBER 1, 1883

6



GOLD! GOLD!! GOLD!!! IMPORTANT NOTICE. "TE AEOHA" AND " WAIRONGtOMAI" AUCTION SALE. The property of C. S. Stafford, Esq. NEXT WEDNESDAY, 6th DECEMBER, 1883, PTJBLIC HALL 7 TE AEOHA. Particulars and Time ri"ablo of Steamers see Advertisements. Such an opportunity cannot occur again. \'O POSITION EQUAL TO THIS. —Between and almost adjoining both those rapidly rising Townships. U. ;r. G-ELjIjIOISr & CO., Auctioneers.